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Greetings!
Autodesk Declares War on Adobe Acrobat
If you've visited Autodesk's website lately, you've seen
a brief flash video on their home page, declaring that
Acrobat fails to deliver your
documents in one piece.
Frankly, I have no idea what that means and I am
baffled how Autodesk can say that DWF beats PDF in
any way, shape or form. The only advantage I see to
the DWF format is if you want to set up a
webpage...then DWF makes it easier for visitors to your
site to view and print your drawing files - but the
visitors still need to have downloaded and installed the
DWF viewer.
However, when it comes to emailing documents, PDF is
vastly superior. You can combine your drawings, word
documents, excel spreadsheets into a single PDF
file...you can't do that in DWF. So it is DWF that drops
the ball, NOT PDF.
Additionally, the new Adobe Professonal includes FREE
Digital Signatures, while Autodesk requires you to
purchase a certificate to secure your document. Also,
Acrobat Professional includes review and commenting
tools that are missing in DWF.
My biggest complaint with DWF is that my
customers don't know how to download it, install it, or
use it. Autodesk doesn't pay me any money to train
my customers on how to download, install, and use the
new DWF viewer, so it is easier to send documents in
PDF format which EVERYBODY knows how to use.
Check out Adobe Professional...
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SolidWorks 2004 Release Imminent |
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SolidWorks is advising any partners who develop add-on
software that the next release of SolidWorks will only
work on the most recent Microsoft operating systems.
Starting with the next major release after SolidWorks
2004, SolidWorks Corporation will only support these
Microsoft operating systems: Windows XP, Windows
2000, and later. Because these platforms represent
Unicode builds of the SolidWorks software, the
SolidWorks software will not be released with an MBCS
build after SolidWorks 2004.
This is a real issue for programmers & customizers who
create add-ons for SolidWorks and Autodesk products.
Lispers in particular often have problems migrating code
from one release to the next - although Autodesk does
provide a free migration tool to facilitate this.
Of note, those who program in Visual Basic should have
NO problems from one release to another...this is true
for Autodesk apps as well as SolidWorks. Inventor only
supports Visual Basic or C++, not lisp. The reason
Autodesk elected to support VB is because VB
programmers are plentiful, but the fact that you don't
have to migrate code for upgrades definitely gives VB
an even more significant advantage.
Read on... »
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Setting a Drawing to STB |
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Thank you very much for providing your helpful and
informative newsletter. I have a question that has
perplexed me for awhile now. I am using AutoCAD 2004
with Windows XP Pro.
I have older drawings that are set to use a ctb plot
style instead of my preferred stb style. Even though I
set up the "Tools"->"Options"->"Plotting" tab screen to
use named plot styles instead of color dependant plot
styles, it doesn't affect the drawings that were set up
to use color dependant styles.
When I go to "Page Setup"->"Plot Device" tab screen,
the "Plot style table" box only shows the ctb styles
available. I can't select the stb styles, because they
aren't there, even though they are in the same
windows folder.
How can I change an existing drawing to use stb plot
styles instead of ctb plot styles? Any insight you can
give would be greatly appreciated!
Anthony L. Pecoraro
Senior Drafting Technician
NYS-OPRHP, Finger Lakes Region
Trumansburg, NY 14886
The switch to STB and CTB is confusing for many
AutoCAD 2000 and beyond users. If your drawing is set
to CTB then only CTB styles will appear in the plotter
drop-down list and vice versa. You can not list both
ctb AND stb simultaneously.
A drawing can use either named or color-dependent
plot styles, but not both.
CONVERTPSTYLES converts a currently open
drawing from color-dependent plot styles to named plot
styles, or from named plot styles to color-dependent
plot styles, depending on which plot style method the
drawing is currently using.
For example, a drawing using color-dependent plot
styles assigns plot properties to objects and layers by
color. In other words, all objects with the same color
have the same plot properties. CONVERTPSTYLES
converts the drawing to use named plot styles that can
be applied to objects or layers independent of color
assignment. In other words, all objects with the same
color can have different plot properties.
When you convert a drawing, CONVERTPSTYLES sets
the PSTYLEMODE system variable to the appropriate
setting (1 = named- STB, 0 = color-dependent- CTB).
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Corrections, Additions, and More |
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GUID Tutorial Delayed
Last week I promised a tutorial on how to use GUIDs
with AutoCAD 2004. It is about half-done, but I need
to test the code to make sure it works properly. I had
some minor surgery on Monday and have been off my
feet -literally! most of the week, so haven't been able
to code or do much else this week. Stand by and I
should have it for you in next week's issue.
Controlling Transparency
I wrote a tip last about controlling the transparency of
your MTEXT box. This was in AutoCAD's Help, but
unfortunately it doesn't work. My guess is this feature
didn't make it in the release.
If you want to turn transparency off permanently, turn
PALETTEOPAQUE sysvar On. Set it to 1. That disables
transparency for all palettes and Mtext dialog. If you
don't like typing, you can turn it off through the Tool
Palettes right click title bar menu, Transparency menu
item. Enable the checkbox.
CADzette Archives Now Available
I have had some requests from subscribers to post past
issues of CADzette on my website. Therefore, all past
issues are now available for viewing. Just go to
www.mossdesigns.com and select the CADzette
Archives link.
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Free BIM Seminar in San Francisco |
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Graphisoft has launched a road show with free seminars
and low cost training classes throughout the US and
Canada.
Building Information Modeling
FREE - 3:00 to 5:00 9/17/2003
San Francisco Institute of Architecture - 555 Howard
Street
This seminar will review the concepts and tools used in
ArchiCAD to create a Building Information Model (BIM).
Recently the industry has begun to recognize the
economic impact of this concept and is calling it "the
wave of the future". For more information or to register,
go to www.archvista.com or call us at 415-222-9919
Here's an opportunity to learn all about BIM and decide
for yourself whether this technology holds benefits for
your practice. Graphisoft, the originator of the Virtual
Building concept, invites you to an educational seminar
which will bring the concepts down to earth and
demonstrate a real-world implementation of BIM.
Attendees will receive AIA/CES credit for attending and
be entered in a drawing to win a free digital camera at
each event! Space is limited, so register today.
Find out about other free training seminars... »
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Intel Sponsors Unwired Day |
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Mark your calendar for Thursday, September 25. Add a
wireless card to your laptop (I bought one for less than
$40 at Fry's Electronics) and prepare to surf the
internet at high speed on Intel's dime at your favorite
coffee shop or cafe.
On Thursday, September 25, Intel will be teaming up
with leading wireless Internet service providers,
notebook manufacturers, retailers, hotspot location
owners, and content and software providers in the U.S.
to bring you a day packed with wireless excitement.
Bring your wireless-enabled notebook and try Wi-Fi
access free for one day only at thousands of locations
like hotels, cafes, airports and restaurants across the
country.
Additionally, BOINGO Wireless Service
is giving away a 60 day trial period for those users
who download their software and try it out before the
September 25 date.
To find a wireless location near you... »
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An Alternative to AU for Developers & Customizers |
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Every year Bill & Denise Kramer host a CADCruise for a
small number of Autodesk users who are interested in
VBA, LISP, C++, and ObjectARX.
Because the number of attendees is limited, the classes
are customized for the users. Everyone is encouraged
to bring their laptop, plug in, and code on the fly.
The trainers include Phil Kreiker, who wrote many of the
express tools, Randy Kintzley, an Express Tools author,
and John GIbb, an author and active AUGI guru.
The benefits of the cruise environment is that it allows
you to combine vacationing with a spouse and family,
socially interact with some real gurus, and get the
answers you specifically need to move up a level in
your coding.
This year's cruise is from February 8-15, 2004
and travels to beautiful Cabo San Lucas and Puerta
Vallarta.
To find out about the cruise »
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DWF Creator for AutoCAD 2002 |
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The DWF Creator for AutoCAD 2002 gives users of
AutoCAD 2002 and Autodesk products based on
AutoCAD 2002 the ability to create DWF version 6 files.
This new DWF format supports multisheet DWF files,
which means that you can include all drawings from a
drawing set in one DWF file. DWF files are easy to view
and print with the free, lightweight, and distributable
Autodesk® Express Viewer, which is included in this
download. From within Autodesk Express Viewer select
Help, About, Get Latest Version to ensure that you
have the latest version of the viewer. This download is
a 120-day software trial, and the use of this product is
subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user
license agreement that accompanies the download.
You need to download this DWF creator if you are using
the latest DWF viewer, but you haven't upgraded your
2002 products.
Download the DWF Creator... »
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PUBLISH - NEW 2004 SYSTEM COMMAND |
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Creates multi-sheet drawing sets for publishing to a
single multi-sheet DWF (Design Web Format) file, a
plotting device, or a plot file
Standard toolbar:
File menu: Publish
Command line: publish
The Publish Drawing Sheets dialog box is displayed.
Click Publish to begin publishing the current drawing
sheets to either a DWF file or a plotting device.
The Publishing Complete dialog box provides information
about the published drawing set. It displays a message
about the status of the publishing process ("Publish
completed successfully" or "Errors and Warnings found,
save and review log file for details"). The dialog box
also allows you to save the log file that was generated
during the publishing process, and it allows you to view
the DWF file.
If you enter -publish at the Command prompt, PUBLISH
displays prompts on the command line.
If you enter +publish on the command line, you can
select an existing Drawing Set Descriptions (DSD) file
from a standard file selection dialog box. The Publish
Drawing Sheets dialog box automatically opens with the
List of Drawing Sheets, allowing you to republish the
selected file.
This is different from the PUBLISHTOWEB command as it
allows you to create a batch of dwf files from a drawing
that you can then send to a customer who has
downloaded the free DWF viewer.
Download the FREE Express Viewer from Autodesk... »
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