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Greetings!
On the Road
I spent the week in Anchorage, Alaska teaching a Revit
class and exploring the wonderful wilderness (and the
city).
This past week I have had my usual conflict of faith
with regards to Autodesk and the Autodesk community
in general. I have been using Autodesk products for
over 20 years. I owe quite a bit to Autodesk because I
certainly would not have been able to make a living if I
hadn't learned their software and gotten reasonably
good at using it.
In the '80's, there was a sense that Autodesk valued
their customers and was willing to work hard to please
them (I'm talking pre-AutoCAD 2000). However, once
AutoCAD R14 came out and it seemed like Autodesk
had finally (phew!) come out with a reasonably stable
product, there seemed to be a shift in attitude.
First, there was the push to verticals, then the push to
subscription. I keep hearing from customers who call
Autodesk or their local reseller and are basically told "if
you don't like (fill in the blank), tough." Got a bug?
Not Autodesk's problem...must be the way you are
using the software. Want the software to work the
way you do? Gee, you can hire a specialist to
customize the software (and pay big bucks).
If you think you are alone, I am right there with you.
There has been a general cooling in my direction over
the past three years, and, frankly, I am tired of playing
the unrequited lover. Sure, I will continue to use
Autodesk products (after all, I have text books to
write), but I also will start looking for companies that
are more interested in treating me like a customer,
instead of like a nuisance. My intention is to use
Autodesk products less in my professional life and move
towards non-Autodesk products. It will be a slow
transition, but I hope that this ezine will remain useful
to my readers.
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2005 ASME Student Mechanism Design Competition |
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The 2005 ASME International Design Engineering
Technical Conferences & 29th Mechanisms and
Robotics Conference is opening submissions for the
2005 ASME Student Mechanism Design Competition
(Graduate and Undergraduate Divisions).
IMPORTANT DATES:
Letter of intent due: May 6, 2005
Project report due: July 1, 2005
Notification to finalists: August 12, 2005
Oral presentations will be given and prizes awarded to
finalists at the conference in Long Beach, California,
September 24-28, 2005.
For eligibility, submission instructions, and other competition »
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Customizing AutoCAD 2006 |
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Old-time AutoCAD users are going to be annoyed by
the new Customization interface introduced in 2006,
but hang onto your hats and stop your grouching.
Download the tutorial below and it will go a long way
towards easing any discomfort. I walk you through
how to create custom toolbars, create custom icons,
and add custom commands.
Once you go through the tutorial, I guarantee you will
feel a lot better.
Download the free tutorials from Moss Designs »
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Figuring out Dynamic Input in AutoCAD 2006 |
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I can already predict that many AutoCAD veterans will
be calling their reseller to find out how to turn off the
cursor indicator with coordinates when they are in draw
commands.
There is a new toggle button in the status bar named
DYN. Simply turn this toggle off and the cursor display
will go back to the familiar.
However, if you are the adventurous sort, you might
consider leaving it on and seeing if it grows on you.
I've written a tutorial to help users get familiar with this
startling new tool.
Read the tutorial on Dynamic Input... »
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Locking Toolbars and Windows |
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If you've ever been annoyed by toolbars and dialogs
that seem to jump all over your screen, you'll like the
new option available in AutoCAD 2006 to lock (fix in
place) toolbars and windows.
To access it, simply right click on any toolbar and
select the Lock option.
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Teaching the Offset Command some New Tricks |
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The Offset Command in AutoCAD 2006 has some new
options which will be exciting to many users.
The Through option is used to select a second object
or point to set the distance for the offset.
The Erase option is used to delete the source object
after it is offset.
The Layer option sets what layer the offset/new object
will be assigned. You can set the new object to the
current layer or the layer used by the source object.
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Scale and Rotate now have Copy Options |
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The Rotate and Scale Commands in 2006 now have a
Copy Option.
Simply select the object(s) you want to rotate/scale,
select
the basepoint, then right click to select Copy.
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The new Join tool in AutoCAD 2006 |
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The new Join tool is located on the Modify toolbar or in
the Modify menu. It acts similar to the old overkill lisp
routine. It basically eliminates over-lapping lines and
arcs and constructs a single object from them.
The user is prompted for the source line - this is the
line that will control the starting point, as well as the
resulting object's properties (layer, linetype, color).
Then, select the overlapping lines. The overlapping
lines will merge with the source line.
This tool is useful if you are importing data which has
been scanned or if you are suffering from a drafter who
didn't know how to use the extend tool.
By eliminating the overlapping lines and forming one
line, you reduce the drawing size and make it easier to
perform edits.
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Using Text in AutoCAD 2006 |
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The Text tool continues to evolve in 2006. Old-time
users may find themselves frustrated, but if they take a
minute, take a breath, and think about what has
changed, they may find that it really is an improvement.
Many users only work in MTEXT. Those users are
missing out...because the old DTEXT command really
has some nifty features (like justify) that come in
handy when you are trying to align or fit text into a
specific space.
It used to be you entered justify and then right clicked
to get to the options. In 2006, enter justify and the
options pop up right away, saving users a mouse click.
It used to be you exited the command by pressing
ENTER, but now when you press ENTER, DTEXT will
drop you down a line - a feature that users have
wanted for a long time. Now to exit the command,
press ESCAPE. Download my free tutorial to help you
brush up your TEXT skills in 2006. I guarantee that
your comfort level will immediately return and you will
be creating text with no problems and boosted
productivity...thanks to the 2006 improvements.
Download a Free Tutorial from Moss Designs »
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