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What is your overall top problem area out of the ones listed above?
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In this months issue:
BAD CAD – Working with the Users
BAD CAD – 10 Steps to fix files
December 2005 – Survey Says!
I have let you know what tools I use in the past and I wanted to let you know about another one that I had not added to the list but have used for some time. I use the CADCard. It is a great tool to help remember and figure out what I call the “Magic Numbers”.
What size do you make 3/32″ text on a 3″=1′-0″ scale file?
What dimscale do you use for 1/8″ plans?
What do all those Dim settings do and what do I change?
The CAD Card helps me land on one of the Magic Numbers. 24, 48, 96. I know that when I try to scale something or change scale that I will most likely land on one of the Magic Numbers.
Well they have just come out with a CADCard Jr.
Drawing Scale calcs are not longer a tough job. Text Sizes come easy. In engineering and architectural lunits.
I highly recommend this tool.
I think that the Purge command is most likely been set aside nowadays. We now have such expanded CPU power, loads of RAM and semi-unlimited storage space for our files. It seems like no one Purges anymore.
Oh yeah, you use it when you are having troubles, but not as a routine part of CAD. I have seen many files that were blotted and needed to loose some “wait”.
So why do you need to Purge from time to time?
1. Reduced file size
2. Avoid potential problem data
3. Cleans out the layer list
4. Purges the following – Blocks, Dimstyles, Layers, LTypes, Plotstyles, Shapes, TextStyles, Mlinestyles, Tablestyles, Regapps or All the above.
Sometimes AutoCAD Purge is not enough. Here are some alternatives to the AutoCAD tool…
SmartPurger at JTB World
DwgPurge 8.0 by DotSoft
SuperPurge by Manusoft
M8Tools for batch Purging
Autodesk is always looking for ways to communicate with Architects (not an easy job) and they are developing another. It is called Diana. They have observed that architects and engineers have a difficult time figuring out which Autodesk product would be best suited for their design needs. So here is a stab at answering the question
Should I buy Autodesk Revit Building or Autodesk Architectural Desktop?
To take a sneak peak of the beta version before it is launched to the public next week, go to: www.autodesk.com/diana. (Remember, she i?s in beta, and you may find a few glitches.)
I took a look and found it informative albeit on the simplistic side of things, but I have been doing this for a while, so you may not find it that basic. Diana will talk with you and ask you some questions about your environment and then propose a solution. It does a very good job of leading you through some of the issues that you need to consider. It does a good job of making BIM understandable to the novice.
Many Architects struggle to know whether they should be using Revit or ADT and this might be helpful in thinking it through.
I also suggest you talk to your reseller and ask their advice.
I have posted some items to think about on this blog before and you may want to check them out.
Why move to ADT rather than Revit Series 8.1
Why move to Revit Series 8.1 instead of ADT 2006
20 reasons to move to Revit Series 8.1
20 reasons to move to ADT 2006
Warning – What you should know if you choose Revit over ADT
Warning – What you should know if you choose ADT over Revit
2005 was a banner year for Autodesk! Why should you care? There are always things that Autodesk does that we do not understand or think are flat out wrong. They often act like the 900 pound gorillas, but there are many things that they continue to do right.
Here are some hightlights culled from their press releases over the last year that I think will impact all of us into the future.
2005-01-04 – Autodesk Announces Availability of AutoCAD Revit Series 7; Provides Competitive Advantage and Ultimate Flexibility
2005-02-16 – UGS and Autodesk Form Strategic Alliance to Extend Collaboration Across the Supply Chain for Nearly 10 Million Users – UGS is a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services with nearly 4 million licensed seats and 42,000 clients worldwide. Look for some cool DWF stuff to come out of this alliance.
2005-02-22 – Autodesk Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire COMPASS Systems – Look for Data Management tools to expand.
2005-03-08 – Post-Production House Nice Shoes Steps Up Advertising Workflow with Discreet’s Systems – Keeping the gamers happy
2005-03-15 – Autodesk Releases Major Updates to Entire Product Portfolio – The 2006 product line is the strongest overall platform to date.
2005-03-23 – California Resident to be Sentenced for Software Piracy – Autodesk remains vigilant in fighting pirates!
2005-03-24 – Autodesk Re-brands Discreet – Its Industry Leading Film, Television, Post-Production and Gaming Business as Autodesk Media and Entertainment – A rebranding and refocus. Bringing discreet into the fold. Some of the discreet users are not excited – but I am.
2005-04-27 – Autodesk Revit Building 8 Achieves Stage One IFC Certification – Now Autodesk can boast of an IFC compliant tool
2005-05-18 – Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Standardizes Freedom Tower Project on Autodesk Revit Platform – You may be sick of hearing about SOM, but this project is putting Revit in the minds of many firms that think it is not for big jobs.
2005-06-07 Autodesk Launches Integrated Structural Modeling Application for Engineering Productivity, Design Quality and Collaboration – Revit Structure – slowly growing with successes among key structural engineering firms. This is the second product based on the Revit Platform. More to come…
2005-06-15 Autodesk Introduces Software for Developers to Create High-Quality, Cost-Effective Applications – RealDWG 2006 – develop real DWG files – enables third-party application providers to develop and market products that read and write leading design data formats AutoCAD DWG and DXF.
2005-11-28 Autodesk University Opens to Record Setting Numbers – Still dedicated to the users
2005-11-29 Autodesk Inventor Seats Surge Past 500,000 Mark – Making a dent in ProE and others?
Record Revenue… Making money the old fashioned way?
For the fourth quarter of 2004, Autodesk reported net revenues of $356 million, a 21 percent increase over $295 million reported in the fourth quarter of the prior year.
For the first quarter of 2005, Autodesk reported net revenues of $355 million, a 19 percent increase over $298 million reported in the first quarter of the prior year.
For the second quarter, Autodesk reported record net revenues of $373 million, a 33 percent increase over $280 million reported in the second quarter of the prior year.
For the third quarter, Autodesk reported record net revenues of $378 million, a 26 percent increase over $300 million reported in the third quarter of the prior year.
Acquisitions – Autodesk was in a buying mood – for the whole year
2005-02-22 Autodesk Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire COMPASS Systems
2005-04-18 Autodesk Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Software Developer Colorfront
2005-04-18 Autodesk Partners with Maximum Throughput to Resell Sledgehammer NAS, SD!O, and HD!O
2005-05-03 Autodesk Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire c-plan
2005-08-02 Autodesk and mental images Expand License And Development Agreement
2005-08-22 Autodesk to Acquire Leading Developer of Mechanical Motion Analysis Solutions
2005-09-27 Autodesk Partners with RAM International for Structural Engineering Solution
2005-10-04 Autodesk Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Alias
2005-10-19 Autodesk Acquires Engineering Intent Corporation
These and many other items from “the desk” are an encouragement to me that they are doing something right and have been for a while and will be in the future.
Like the holiday tale from Dickens, I am reminded that often I am visited by a ghost… The ghost of AutoCAD past.
Many of us have been using AutoCAD for a long time. I find that many of the habits that I have acquired in the past are still “haunting me” today.
It might be that command line tool that I love and always default to, because I cannot remember where the icon is located or the toolbar that it is located on. It is the feeling of handicap I get when I open ADT and find that none of my old AutoCAD pulldowns have loaded. It is the strong desire that I have to create a CUI for every old MNU that I have carried along these many seasons.
Am I being held back by my fondness for old tools? Is there a better way of doing things that I have not embraced? Are my old tools really that old?
I have been thinking about this for some time and have decided that – YES – I am doing some things “the old fashioned way”. But there are also many items that I have jetisoned along the road.
Is there a problem with using old tools? Here are a few:
1. Old tools don’t fully exploit the new interface
2. Old tools won’t create new entities like Dynamic Blocks, Fields, etc.
3. Old tools are getting harder to maintain
4. Old tools use the new software in old ways.
Is there a benefit in using Software Past?
1. It still works fine
2. I don’t have to think about which tool to use
3. I don’t have to get retrained
4. I am getting my job done fine without the new tools
Be it old tools, old software or old methods. The CAD Manager and CAD User has to think these issues through and define the best and most productive environment possible.
I think that there are a lot of users out there that are happily living in the past. How about you?
Just published! Are you on the mailing list?
In this months issue:
BAD CAD – Part 2
Troubles in the Machine
What needs Fixin’?
Beyond the graphics
Nov. Survey Says!
CAD Managers often have to communicate in writing. I encourage every CM to develop their ability to communicate via memo, e-mail, newsletter, etc.
Let’s say you were writing to management on a tech issues that outlines a problem and needs approval for you to correct it. Here are a few tips:
- Don’t make the document is too long and too in depth?. They are not going to have time to read it and may not understand it.
- If the document is long, you should provide an executive summary. It would be one or two paragraphs that encapsulate the focus of the document. If they are interested they can keep reading. If they agree, you may get approval from just the summary.
- Keep the focus on the document in a non judgmental mode. Don’t ridiculing the existing situation or the people who developed it. You never know who might read your words, so choose them carefully.
- Avoid the use of profanity, derogative remarks and such as it is unprofessional.
- Avoid calling something “bad” unless you know that everyone agrees that it is bad. You may step on some toes if the people who love it are still around. Define the difficulties but don’t draw conclusions, even if they are obvious. It may stink, but let them decide it stinks.
- You need to quantify any problems in dollars and time. Money talks louder than CAD Managers.
- Don’t take on an “US and THEM” kind of attitude. You are all in this together. You just want to suggest a way of doing it better.
- Think it through and reread your work. If you are writing something when you are mad or fed up, wait at least one day to send it. Read it again to see if you want to reword anything.
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