February 2006
CAD Testing
Do you have new hires take a CAD test?
In the last post we looked at the Habit of Reading from a print material point of view. This month we look at the available resources on the web.
www.augi.com – the AUGI website. My number one choice for AutoCAD related news and info and getting my questions answered. Here are a few links to check out. You must be a member to get to these, but you should be if you are reading this.
The AUGI Forums – a great place to post a question and get an answer. I would suggest going to the AUGI World copy from Sept/Oct 2005 and read the excellent article by Mike Perry on using the forums.
Now try reading the FAQ for the forums.
Now you are ready to go into the forums.
When you are in the forums do a search first for the keyword of your concern. You may find that others have the same questions that you have. If you find nothing, then post your question and wait for the response.
Next got to the ATP – AUGI Training Programs – A wealth of training material waits for you.
Check out the International sites – Japan, Europe and Australia
Lastly – go to the Publications page and see all of the archived publications that AUGI provides.
Moving to Autodesk you may get a lot out of the online discussion groups. These have been around forever and have a depth of info that may not be found anywhere else. www.autodesk.com is not only the direct link to Autodesk but a good place to do some research.
I read the press releases at to find out what Autodesk is saying to the world. These are a gold mine as it relates to finding out what Autodesk is up to. I often find out what is coming and what Autodesk is pushing from the press releases. I know that a lot of it is marketing hype, but read it anyway. You get a perspective from the global view as you look at the overall progress and movement of Autodesk products.
I read these to see what is in the products I use everyday. There is so much here. Best Practices, Free Webcasts, Trial Downloads and more. Check it out.
If you are on subscription – this is a treasure chest of value. Web support, e-learning, extensions. WOW.
Each industry has a need and here is where solutions are provided.
Enough said – if you are not frequenting the Autodesk site, you are missing a great deal of information that impacts your firm.
CADDigest – http://www.caddigest.com/
Tenlinks – http://www.tenlinks.com/
CAD Depot – http://www.caddepot.com/
UpFronteZine – http://www.upfrontezine.com
I cannot say enough positive things about what Roopinder Tara has put together. The sites include news, reports, reviews, directories, shareware and online magazines. It would take too long to list out the benefits of these site. Click on the links and find out what they have for you.
Blogs – the newest and most dynamic information
Ours first – BLAUGI – Autodesk Users Group International official blog
From Autodesk
Between the Lines – AutoCAD blog by Shaan Hurley of Autodesk
Between the Walls – Architectural Desktop blog by Chris Yanchar of Autodesk
Lynn Allen’s Blog – AutoCAD, Inventor, user meetings, more, from Lynn herself
In the Machine – Autodesk Inventor weblog, by Autodesk folks
AutoCAD Insider – AutoCAD Concepts to the next level by Heidi Hewett
And more…
All things BIM – Diary of a 21st Century CAD Manager
Angel’s Civil 3D 2005 Thoughts – Autodesk Civil 3D
The Architect’s Desktop – Autodesk Architectural Desktop
area31 – custom programming
AutoCAD Tutorials – tutorials and techniques
Autodesk Informer – Autodesk products, links, tutorials, related software, news
BAZZCAD CLOG – AutoCAD information framed in a AutoCAD interface
beside the cursor – AutoCAD related, by Richard Binning- AUGI president
Beth’s CAD Blog – AutoCAD, Architectural Desktop, Building Systems, Revit, Viz
Breaking Down the Walls – ADT, Revit
CAD Panacea – AutoCAD links, tips and more
CAD Shack – Autodesk Building Systems, AutoCAD, and Revit Systems
CADDManager.com Blog – my blog – CAD management
CADneto – AutoCAD Electrical
CADRE BSD – Building Systems
CADtrainer – education and business on CAD
Change Agents – BIM methodologies
Civil 3D – Paving the Way – Autodesk Civil 3D
EatYourCAD – for all users
Ellen Finkelstein – Tips, Tutorials, Books, Downloads, Links
In the Dynamic Interface – AutoCAD and DWF technology
JTB World – tons of stuff, trick, programming tips
The Mad Cadder – tips and tricks and information
Mistress of Dorkness – CAD technology with a FM twist
Revit Rants – about using Revit, various work processes and tricks
Revit It – about AutoCAD (in French)
Revit OpEd – OPinion EDitorial – Revit, both real and imagined.
Revitalize – A Revit Blog. Know How, Know Way.
RobiNZ Blog – CAD and design
Scott Durkee – CAD management topics
WorldCAD Access – commentary on CAD subjects
will render for food – using CAD and digital media for design, renderings and more
Whew! – that was a long list, but in no way exhaustive. There are so many more sites that can be read. You may want to suggest another site for people to check on.
Adobe Acrobat 3D
Adobe now has three Acrobat products now with the latest being 3D. This is not a sales pitch. I just find it interesting to watch PDF and DWF compete with each other on features. One of the things that made me really start paying attention to DWF was the 3D capabilities.
Adobe responds with their own 3D product.
Here is an interesting survey created by Novell to see what folks want ported over to Linux. Looks like AutoCAD made the list in a very high position.
As you may know, I am on the AUGI Board of Directors. We are having our first face to face meeting of the year in San Rafael this week. Read my posts on the meetings at BLAUGI
I was discussing design philosophy with a coworker today and thought that I would share a bit of the perspectives that surfaced during that conversation.
I think that a firm needs to define their approach to Design before they seek tools for developing and documenting that design.
One tool may not provide all the technology, ease of use, power in presentation or detailed design functions that you need. Each one of these tools may work fantastic in one phase but not as well in another. Often firms loose productivity when they try to process all designs with one tool.
If you are using multiple tools, you may be faced with transitioning data from one tool to another. These transitions cost time and money. They need to be reduced or eliminated. Hence back to my topic – Design Philosophy Drives Technology Selections. The approach you have as to when you make the transitions, which tool to use at what time, and how you get through the entire process is driven by your Design approach. The technology you use should support your design goals. Think through the questions that you are trying to answer related to design during each phase and then think about which tool best answers those questions.
Apply the best tool for each step in your design process, but figure out the design process first.
Have you noticed that Autodesk no longer ships the User Guides with the software. You can still get the books from the link below. They also put a little post card in the box for you to submit for the books. The books are free and shipping is free.
You will need the box for part number and serial number to fill out the web form.
Just off the wires… well actually, I saw this yesterday…
BOSTON (Reuters) – Autodesk Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Carol Bartz said on Tuesday that she is stepping down as CEO after 14 years in the job, during which she became recognized as one of the most powerful women in American business.
Bartz, 57, will remain at the helm of the software developer’s board, taking the title of executive chairman, a part-time job that will include visits with major clients, trips to emerging markets and government relations work.
I contributed to AUGI Hot News for January 2006.
We often get stuck in a rut, doing the same things day in and day out. These ruts are affectionately known as habits. Habits can be good and they can be bad. Good habits may be things such as exercise, eating right, getting plenty of rest, and drinking four, eight-ounce glasses of water per day. Bad habits may include watching too much TV, biting your fingernails, and so on.
I want to discuss forgotten habits. These would be things that you once did but have now forgotten to continue doing. Forgotten habits in CAD will cost you time and money. They will stunt your CAD growth and can even corrupt your files.
Habit #1 – Reading
We all have very busy schedules and have little spare time for much of anything. Reading is the top one on my list of habits that are easily forgotten. Obviously my focus is on reading CAD related items. You should take to read a good book or novel also to escape the techno-world we live in. I just finished reading “To Kill a Mockingbird” – a mid century classic by Harper Lee. But I digress…
You should be reading CAD related information whenever you get the chance. Here are a few places to look for good CAD info.
AUGI
Of course this is tops on my list. AUGI World is a bi-monthly publication that is delivered as part of your AUGI membership. AW contains superior articles by noted authors and speakers like, Matt Murphy, Robert Bell, David Harrington, David Kingsley and myself. Guest articles cover just about all of the products that Autodesk develops.
Autodesk
They have Autodesk Press which publishes many good books on many topics. I am currently reading “Introducing & Implementing Autodesk Revit Building” by L. C. Fox and Jim Balding and also Mastering Architectural Desktop 2006 by Paul Aubin.
Don’t forget the books that come with the software. Read them whenever you get a chance. I highlight and flag interesting items and make notes in my books. Autodesk has stopped shipping the books with the software lately, but you can still get them for free. Look for a 3×5 card in the media case or go to http://autodeskbookrequest.com and request your book.
Third Party books
I did a search on Amazon for “AutoCAD” and found 1,797 books. Many of these books may be for older releases, but the vast majority will offer many tips and tricks that will more than cover the cost of the book. I often will find one or two jewels in a book that pays for my time and outlay for the purchase price and reading time.
Magazines
I mentioned AUGI World, but let’s not forget Cadalyst. The articles in this magazine are great. Recurring columns and authors that are top notch. Robert Green’s column is often worth 10 times its weight in gold. Sara Farris does an excellent job of putting together high quality editions, month after month.
Before I move on I want to encourage you to read other technology based magazines also. I think that anything tech related is worthy of reading and you will find many items and articles that effect your daily tech use.
One more thing – often the advertisements are just as good as the articles at keeping track of what is happening with technology. I know that the ads often over hype things, but they do reflect the pulse of the industry.
So far we have looked at hardcopy publishing and the information they provide that can be carried with you. Next time we will look at Reading from an online perspective.
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