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Greetings!
I'm back in the States, back on California time, and
back in front of the computer.
Thanks to the Sydney, Cairns, Melbourne and Adeliade
groups for showing me such a wonderful time! It was
wonderful to talk with users and find out that a lot of
their concerns are not that far different from the
concerns of users here in the states. Primarily, the
high cost of upgrades, subscriptions, and the necessity
of constant upgrades (in order to keep your license
active) becoming increasingly onerous.
I heard MDT and ADT users grousing that they had
invested heavily in training and customization of their
software and resented being forced to move over to
Inventor and Revit - even if those moves are still a few
years away. A few of those users plan to take the
opportunity to look at competitive products...after all,
if they have to switch anyway, they might as well take
a moment to see what other products are out in the
marketplace.
More and more users say that they are not just
looking at the cost of the software...they are looking at
the release cycle and, if the software requires an
upgrade more than once a year, they aren't
interested. Their reasons? Many of the new features
are more "gee whiz" than actually useful to them
specifically. They have to rely on their IT department
to perform the installation and the IT guy doesn't know
how to install the software properly. They can usually
count on 1 to 3 days of down-time during any single
upgrade installation period, which means lost revenue
and angry customers.
Surprisingly, many of the Australia users rely on
Autodesk's new DWF file format for collaboration - more
than the US users, I have spoken with; and the
Australians are looking forward to seeing more PDM
solutions and paperless options available in future
Autodesk releases. They are a lot more open and
excited about it than the American audience.
The Aging of User Groups
One topic brought up by the Australia user groups is
the number of grayheads in the user groups. The
average age of their members is 50. I have noticed the
same thing among user groups in the States. Most
members of local user groups are over the age of 40.
You don't see a lot of college age kids at Autodesk user
group meetings.
Does that mean that the average Autodesk user is
older? Or do younger users opt not to join their local
user group? What does this bode for the future of local
user groups? After all, will sponsors want to present to
a bunch of retirees?
Now, I know there are 20 year-olds using Autodesk
software. My son, Daniel uses AutoCAD and ADT at his
job at a construction company. I have dragged Daniel
to a couple of SVAPU meetings and even to AU. He
liked AU, but he considered it a "one-time"
adventure...he doesn't want to take four days off
every year to attend AU. His boss considers those
days "vacation time" - not work-related and if he has
to use up vacation time, he prefers to use it, well,
vacationing.
When I asked my son why user group meetings don't
interest him, he tells me that they are "boring" or "too
long". After putting in his 8-10 hour day, his greatest
aspiration is to go home and eat a microwaved dinner in
front of the television. The prize give-aways at the
meetings don't interest him because he only uses the
software at work and his company supplies the
software already.
My other son, who is 25, tells me that user group
meetings are "a waste of time". Instead, he belongs to
several IT newsgroups. He considers newsgroups a
more efficient way of getting the most current info. He
can search on specific issues and because he is a
frequent visitor, he knows who to email if he has a
specific question based on how they have responded to
past issues.
Other 20-somethings tell me that Instant Messaging
(IM) is better than email or newsgroups...you don't
have to worry about spam or viruses, you don't have to
wade thru a bunch of messages that don't interest you,
and you are "virtual chatting" with the best sources of
information - usually your peer group.
I discussed the issue of LUG Age-ification with John
Clauson, President of AUGI, recently and he agrees that
it is a definite trend. He thinks this will make "virtual"
user groups, like AUGI, more valuable because AUGI can
act like a conduit to help users world-wide connect,
either on the guilds, thru the forums, or thru IM-ing.
What do you think? If you belong to a LUG, what is
the average member's age? If you are under 40, do
you agree with my two sons - user group meetings are
NOT the most efficient way to network and get
information?
Email me and
let me know what you think.
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Creating a GUID |
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Q: What is a GUID?
A: A "globally unique identifier".
Why should you care? Well, because AutoCAD
2004 assigns GUIDs to all your tool objects, custom
bitmaps, etc. If you plan to customize the latest and
future releases of AutoCAD, you need to learn how to
create and use GUIDs.
If you have ever programmed firmware, (gosh, hasn't
everyone?) generating a GUID is similar. It is a random
ID you can assign to an object.
You don't need to purchase any software to help you
generate GUIDs, Microsoft has a free GUID Generator
you can download for free.
So, once you can generate your GUIDs, what do you do
with them? Well, in next week's issue of CADzette, I'll
show you how to use GUIDs when you create custom
tools for your tool palette in 2004.
Download a Free GUID Generator »
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Mulitple Palettes in 2004 |
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For those users who can't wait for my tutorial on
creating your own custom palettes, Chip Harper has
created some sample lisp routines, atc files, menus,
etc. to demonstrate how you can customize and
TURBOCHARGE your palettes.
To download Chip Harper's files... »
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Junior Drafter Wanted |
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Bill Brown Construction is a leading construction
company focusing on
concrete and structural steel located in San Jose.
The current position is for the CAD drafter, whose
Duties include
preliminary and detailed design of structural steel for
residential
projects. Detailing steel beams, columns, and frames.
The minimum
qualifications for the job are Expertise in AutoCAD.
Experience on other
Autodesk Applications, a background in any vertical
(architecture,
mechanical engineering, civil engineering) familiarity
with weld symbols,
and AISC standards will be a definite plus.
Salary for this position will be based on experience and
applicable skills.
Email resume to dstassart@bbrownconstruction.com.
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Protection from the Latest Viruses |
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External penetration by the "Blaster" worm can be
stopped by a firewall,
like Zone Alarm (free), that blocks Windows NetBIOS
ports (e.g. port 135),
when properly configured.
Windows' susceptibility to the RPC vulnerability can be
alleviated by
applying Microsoft's RPC patch, specifically KB823980.
In general, all
home user's should keep their OS' up-to-date by going
to "Microsoft's
Update web page
regularly (i.e. at least once a week or two) and apply
the latest fixes,
patches and upgrades.
Be aware of almost daily occurences of reports of new
viruses, system
vulnerabilities, and malicious tactics used by those with
less than
honorable motives (e.g. Trojan email attachments,
bogus web sites and
active scripts, IRC ploys, peer-to-peer file exchanges,
ad-/spy-ware,
social manipulation, etc.). Always be cautious and
avoid engaging in
compromising activities.
If you are getting alot of Mail Delivery Returned email, it
does not necessarily mean your system is infected. It
may be that someone's system had your email address
on it and is "spoofing" using your address.
You can also use TrendMicro's House Call to scan your PC for
free for all the latest viruses.
To download Zone Alarm Free or Purchase Zone Alarm Pro »
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New Migration Tools Now Available from Autodesk |
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The Autodesk Batch Drawing Converter 2004 converts
any AutoCAD or AutoCAD-based drawing file to
AutoCAD Release 14, AutoCAD 2000, AutoCAD 2000i,
AutoCAD 2002, and AutoCAD 2004 file formats.
Autodesk Batch Drawing Converter allows conversion of
pen widths to lineweights and the addition of page
setups.
Autodesk also provides migration tools to help you bring
in your menus, toolbars, shortcut pgp files, etc. into
the 2004 format.
These FREE migration tools are to help users who are
struggling with the upgrade from 2002 and below as
they move into the 2004 world.
If you try to download the Batch Conversion tool, you
will be asked to select a language even though they
currently only offer an English version. English will NOT
be listed as an option for download. Select any
language in the drop-down list, you will still get the
English language version.
To download the migration tools »
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Tips & Tricks |
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iMike is a configurable figure of a man for Autodesk
Inventor where you can use it for ergonomic designs or
just to enhance your scenes. In the 3D subassembly
iMike.iam, using the embedded Excel sheet you can pick
the size (type) of the person and its parameters (after
you change them, close Excel and hit the Update
button in Inventor). Individual joints are constrained,
you can move his legs, turn his head or even raise his
sunglasses...
For a better display quality you may want to switch off
edge display (Tools/Options/Display/Active - Display
edges).
How to turn off the drawing status bar in
Architectural Desktop?
You can disable the ADT 2004 status bar using the
Registry - in:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R16.
0\ACAD-204:xxx\Profiles\{current profile}
\Preferences\AecStartup40
Set the value ShowAecDrawingStatusBar to 0. This
setting is available in ADT 2004 SP1 (make sure you
apply the Service Pack 1 or higher).
Switch off the drawing background in the MText
editor window
If you are disturbed by the visible drawing background
in the mtext editing window (transparency), you can
switch it off by clicking on the right or bottom edge of
the mtext editor ruler. This will also display your edited
text in brighter color.
Inserting Blocks from Tool Palettes
Autodesk reports an issue with block insertions from
Tool Palettes in
AutoCAD and LT 2004. When you drag an object from
the palette, the
Insert Block dialog box doesn't display when you click
your right
mouse button. Instead, change the rotation or scale
before you insert
it. Right-click the Tool Palette icon for your block and
select
Properties from the shortcut menu. Set the rotation or
scale, then
drag the icon to insert the block. Subsequent insertions
from the icon
will use those values. You can also use this method to
change other
attributes that are set to By Block.
To download imike »
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CAD Manager Boot Camp goes to Vegas |
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You do not want to miss this 'chance of a lifetime'
opportunity to meet, learn from and interact with other
CAD managers who will be coming in from all across the
country! This intensive three day event is brimming
with relevant information designed to give you more
tools that will enhance your ability to accomplish the
tasks you have set before you.
Accommodations are provided from Wednesday October
1 through Sunday October 5, giving you the leisure of
arriving the day before we begin and staying until the
day after we finish. We have also included all of your
meals for the duration of the actual event.
CAD Manager Boot Camp, including meals plus four
nights accommodations, is only $1645. However, all
registrations taking place before August 5th will receive
the early bird price of only $1545
I went to a CAD Manager Boot Camp last year and it
was definitely worth the time and it is a bargain! You
will have a fabulous time, learn a bunch, and the CVIS
group makes it a great deal of fun.
For more info... »
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PNGOUT - NEW 2004 SYSTEM VARIABLE |
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Saves selected objects to a file in a Portable Network
Graphics format
Command line: pngout
The Create Raster File dialog box (a standard file
selection dialog box) is displayed. Enter the file name in
the dialog box.
Select objects or : Press
ENTER to select all objects and viewports or use an
object selection method and press ENTER
,P>
AutoCAD creates a Portable Network Graphics file that
contains the objects you select. The file reflects what
is displayed on the screen.
This is similar to the following commands:
BMPOUT
JPGOUT
IMAGESAV
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