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April 22, 2005 CADzette - Volume II Issue 49
CAD News - Large and Small
Dear Elise,
Adobe Now Supports 3D!
 
Adobe PDF is the ideal format for sharing your drawings and specifications. Now you can create Adobe PDF documents with embedded 3D models. Convey complex 3D designs to all of your partners and clients no matter what tools they use.

Export shaded, 3D models and photorealistic renderings directly from MicroStation, Inventor, SolidWorks, MDT, as well as other formats.

Control viewing and animation and navigate the model using hyperlinks and bookmarks

Set the model quality and resolution

Even better, you can use the mark-up tools within Adobe to redline your documents and designs.

Warning about the Latest MDT 2006 Object Enabler
 
I installed the latest object enabler for MDT 2006, but I uninstalled it almost as fast. I have my AutoCAD 2006 set to save to 2000 because all of the engineers at my office have AutoCAD 2002 or less. Everytime, my AutoCAD tried to save, I got an error message saving that the Object Enabler blocked the save.

This block occurred whether I had MDT objects in the drawing or not. Since I couldn't save any of my edits so what was the point of that? I've notified one of the Autodesk MDT team members of my problems and we'll see whether it gets fixed.

Smile - You're On Satellite
 
Annalee Newitz brought my attention to a new feature available from Google. Go to maps.google.com, click on the Satellite link on the upper right of the page. You will see a satellite map of the US displayed.

Select one of the try it links in the address section. Enter your address in the Search field. Now you have a satellite image of your home or place of business.

One caveat...you may find yourself plugging in random addresses you know, wasting huge amounts of time, just to see the satellite images. Email the links to friends and relatives to impress them with your new skill set.

The Seven Stages of Software Upgrade and Installation
 
Knowing that you are in plenty of company with Autodesk's latest release of software products, you may take comfort from these five stages you will experience as you move over to the new software:

  • Phase 1: Uncritical acceptance.
  • Phase 2: Wild enthusiasm.
  • Phase 3: Dejected disillusionment.
  • Phase 4: Total confusion.
  • Phase 5: Search for the guilty.
  • Phase 6: Punishment of the innocent.
  • Phase 7: Promotion of nonparticipants.

If you experience all seven phases in the course of a single workday, consider yourself "normal".

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