RobiNZ CAD Blog

A challenge for Andrew Anagnost, make this using only the advertised product

Why do Autodesk show things that can't be done with the product being advertised? I recently got this advert on Facebook: The link went to a bundle offer for AutoCAD LT subscription: Look at that image: Can AutoCAD LT do proper 3D? No. Can it render? Not that I'm aware of... AutoCAD LT is fine, for what it is, but imagine you paid out $1888 expecting it to create what is shown? A challenge for Andrew Anagnost, make this using only the advertised product or stop marketing fantasy. Read more →

End of an era, as Autodesk leaves Shaan Hurley

On Tuesday 30 March 2004, I posted this on TypePad: Getting Started This is the first post to see how it all works. Read other weblogs, thought I'd have a go myself. RobiNZ CAD Blog The reason I chose TypePad, then a new'ish (public launch October 2003) hosted platform, is one of the most influential 'other weblogs' was Shaan Hurley's Between The Lines ~ AutoCAD Blog. I'd been thinking about blogging but had no interest in coding or self-hosting. When Shaan told me his pioneering CAD Blog was hosted, authored, on TypePad it was enough to spur me into action,... Read more →

AutoCAD & Revit mouse wheel unwanted zoom extents after panning

Not sure when it started but both AutoCAD & Revit started Zooming to extents after a 'hold the wheel' mouse pan. Maybe something changed (mouse driver) or working on a remote connected machine impacts timing... Bit of a searching I found an Autodesk forum post (about AutoCAD) but no real solution. There was a clue as a post mentioned it was probably a miss-detected mouse wheel double-click. After a bit of trial and error I found altering (speeding up) the Double Click speed setting sorted it. On Win 10 Settings > Devices > Mouse > Additional Mouse Options [link on... Read more →

An AutoCAD thing I wish Revit had

When you just want to put something in the middle of two other things/points without the hassle of dimensioning and EQ constraining, arraying or whatever… A “Mid between 2 points” snap override would be handy. Read more →

AutoCAD Toolbars live on?

AutoCAD appeared (in use at ZF Transmissions) about 01:20:00 into the marathon Microsoft Build Day One keynote. It was a segment about ‘empowering first line workers”: I.e. the ones who do actual work… It was interesting but what got my attention were the toolbars. I Love the ribbon! Microsoft Build 2018 // Vision Keynote | YouTube Read more →

Next generation of Autodesk BIM 360 announced #AU2017

BIM 360 revision announced Read more →

My favourite AutoCAD Command?

Shaan Hurley recently asked: “35 years of AutoCAD, what is your favorite command?” Mine is an ancient one that doesn’t even have a button in the current ribbon user interface: OOPS! OOPS predates the current Undo/Redo commands and, from my sketchy memory, was used to restore the geometry AutoCAD deleted when you created a block. This was in the AutoCAD DOS era (yes I’m that old!) but the command is still in the current version. The help says: OOPS restores objects erased by the last ERASE command. which it does but that description omits the thing that makes it useful.... Read more →

This AutoCAD 2018 update is critical

Software Updates, Service Patches, Bug Fixes. Call them what you will they come around fairly frequently. However, this AutoCAD 2018 & AutoCAD LT 2018 update for an earlier update comes with a rare instruction to install this month! Check out Heidi’s blog post for more details and how to install via the desktop app or direct download. Critical Action Required: Install AutoCAD 2018.0.2/AutoCAD LT 2018.0.2 Update - blogs.autodesk.com/autocad A few weeks ago, we explained a mistake that was made with the 2018.0.1 Update, and quickly resolved the issue by releasing the AutoCAD 2018.0.2/AutoCAD LT 2018.0.2 Update*. As this update fixes... Read more →

Oh look, it is 2018 already

An Easter surprise ‘present’ from Autodesk! Read more →

AutoCAD’s Windows Reporting Tool

If you are trying to assist someone troubleshoot any software or hardware problem knowing the machine configuration can be a big help. If you have AutoCAD installed there is an easy way to get it in a format that is easy to share. Start AutoCAD then from Command: GRAPHICSCONFIG click the Tuner Log button. You’ll get a text file with detailed system information for processors, disks, monitor drivers/display resolution, operating system version, physical & virtual memory and more. While some of it is AutoCAD specific the “Additional System Info” is a great resource for support staff. Read more →