AU2015 Las Vegas: Day Two

Breakfast. Again. Same as yesterday.

GEN10227 - AutoCAD Secrets Exposed

Learning objectives: Learn tips and tricks from other AutoCAD users, Learn to use the newer tools for greater productivity, learn about hidden tips that might take you years to discover, Get exposed to tips that apply to many versions of AutoCAD ranging from 2012 to 2016.

The actual experience - Jeanne Aarhus is a wonderful presenter/instructor and this is the second class in AU that I attended with her. She makes the class quite enjoyable, and even manages to make revealing tips I knew sound most interesting.

What I got out of it - I was reminded of two tips I had forgotten: you can control the spacing between MTEXT columns by dragging the ruler double arrows on the far right, and when you need to select a 1/3 of the distance between two points this command line entry works best 'Cal;Dist(end.end)/3

GEN13037 - Peer into the Future of AutoCAD

Michael Mizuno - Senior Product Manager, Autodesk, Inc.

This class will give you an overview of the future of AutoCAD® . The AutoCAD team will present new technologies, features, workflows, and tools that are designed to improve product knowledge, productivity, and efficiency of AutoCAD users across all industries.

The actual experience - New features of a future AutoCAD version were revealed and they are amazing. Sadly I can't tell you as everyone in the class was required to sign an NDA agreement.

What I got out of it - well, I can't tell you, but it's amazing.

Expert Elite Recognition Lunch

This is an opportunity for Autodesk to thank Autodesk Expert Elite unpaid volunteers for their continuous and valued contributions at the Autodesk public Product Support Forums. Want to know more about the Expert elites Program? Read all about it HERE.

The actual experience - at our table the AutoCAD program director sat with five of us and was a very interesting man to talk with about the future, the past, and the current state of all the software under his umbrella.

What I got out of it - that fuzzy feeling you get when you hang out with peers that are just amazing and the great Autodesk staff that support the program.

GEN11412 - 60 AutoCAD Tips in 60 Minutes

Presented by Lynn Allen - Evangelist, Autodesk

Learning Objective: If you want a plethora of power-user tips, be sure join Cadalyst Columnist and Autodesk Technical Evangelist Lynn Allen as she takes you through a whirlwind of productivity techniques that are certain to improve your everyday drawing life. At a tip a minute, you’ll be sure to discover some top-secret AutoCAD software features that will remove tedium and boost your ability to meet project deadlines. She switches up the tips every year.

The actual experience - Lynn is simply the most amazing presenter Autodesk has, and simply turned this talk into a joyful show to watch and participate in.

What I got out of it - I learnt a tip I did not know: you can get a table to auto-populate and auto-number other cells easily by selecting two cells with numbers in sequence then selecting all the others below them.

IT11008 - Networking Autodesk Products Beyond Z

Learning objectives: Develop a sustainable licensing maintenance plan, Learn how to recognize early symptoms of problems and have action plans ready Learn how to manage license access and borrowing to realize maximum utilization efficiency Evaluate utilization reporting options

The actual experience - OMG, this was way over my head. Way over. What?

What I got out of it - (crickets noise)

IT10856 - AutoCAD Tool Palettes Master Class (Planning and Preparation, Not Perspiration)

Learning objectives: Learn how to create a completely fresh tool palette in a network location, Learn how to create, edit, and save tools onto your networked palettes, Learn how to boost productivity with scripts and macros hosted on your palettes, Learn how to hack your tool palettes without opening AutoCAD.

The actual experience - my fellow EE Paul Munford is an amazing presenter and showed us how he likes to manage, share and develop/innovate with Palettes to control office standards.

What I got out of it - I learnt about a tip: resorting the content of a palette by selecting all, CTRL+X to cut to the clipboard, then CTRL+V to paste.

11905: AUGI Annual Meeting
Objective (yes I am a memeber of AUGI, are you?): This session features the year in review and a look ahead for members of Autodesk User Group International (AUGI). Open to AUGI members and non-members alike, this session culminates in the presentation of the AUGI Wish List - the 10 top product improvement wishes for key Autodesk products. Attendees will hear about AUGI's accomplishments in 2015 and get a sneak peek of the organization's plans for the coming year. And there's a chance to win awesome prizes and Premier and Professional memberships. And of course, everybody leaves with an AUGI Beer mug for the annual AUGI Reception which follows immediately.

The actual experience - Continuing more modestly with the Star Wars theme, the AUGI president and other board members presented AUGI to those that don't know about this user organization, and with some fanfare presented Autodesk with the latest list of use wishlists for AutoCAD.

What I got out of it - a free beer glass.

12449 - AUGI Reception

Objective (yes, I am a member, are you?): Join thousands of members of AUGI (Autodesk User Group International)—the largest Autodesk community—whose motto is “Users Helping Users.” At this reception, you’ll enjoy making connections, comparing notes,  and checking out the latest technology exhibits and activities over a cold beer. Open to everyone, not just AUGI members.

Autodesk University 2015 Blogger Social Meetup Sign Up

Objective: The Autodesk University Blogger Social started ~12 years ago and morphed into a more formal AU Blogger and Social Media Meetup event is now in it’s 8th year will be held jointly with the Autodesk PR, Social Media Team, and Office of the CTO to show our appreciation for active bloggers and influential social media who cover Autodesk products and customers. In past years in addition to beverages and good conversation and networking we have had surprises such as having a Zero G 3D printer to be used in space from Made in Space and the Megabot team and I am working on some surprises this year as well. We might also get a few special VIP seats like we did last year to give away for the closing keynote.

     

The actual experience - a fun meet and greet experience were I got to meet some of the best bloggers out there.

FitBit Count for the day: 9,248 steps (4.22 miles).

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AU2015 Las Vegas: Day Two

AU2015 Las Vegas: Day One

Breakfast
So how do you feed +/-10,000 attendees? in a very big hall. From 6:30-8:00, I joined the others for what is a very basic hotel breakfast that is there to kick start your day.

GEN10224 - AutoCAD Jeopardy (my first class)

Learning objectives: Learn to capitalize on AutoCAD knowledge to help others learn in a whole new way, Extend the knowledge of AutoCAD software’s capabilities.

The actual experience - This was as much fun as I hoped it would be. Set up like the game show Jeopardy, a very long list of quick fire questions and answers were needed for a very comprehensive list of AutoCAD commands, features, variables and functions that the whole class participated in. And there were prizes for correct answers too.

What I got out of it - I actually learned two things that never occurred to me before: "nudge" command works with SNAP distances, plus a good example of when SPACESWITCH command might come in handy.

11906 - Autodesk University Opening General Session

Join Autodesk CEO Carl Bass and CTO Jeff Kowalski as we kick off Autodesk University 2015.

The actual experience - Wow! sensory overload.

What I got out of it - It was fun to attend.

11917 - AU Lunch and Volunteer Opportunity Tuesday

The actual experience - food stations located between exhibitors at the exhibit hall.

What I got out of it - lunch and staring at exhibits.

GEN9638 - Forensic Cadology: When Good DWG files Go Bad

Learning objectives: Learn how to diagnose the cause of a corrupt DWG file, repair a corrupt DWG file, how to find (use) the most current backup file and learn best practices to avoid file corruption

The actual experience - This was an excellent class that offered very detailed instructions and guidelines for file recover methods, ways to try and avoid file corruption, and so much more.

What I got out of it - The methods I already use are still valid, but I was exposed to a better systematic approach that I will use in teh future.

GEN11005-L - The Power of Fields and Attributes in AutoCAD

Learning objectives: Learn how to create attributes and redefine existing attributes, insert fields, insert field with text/mtext, or use with attributes, Learn to use fields for complex calculation using elements property combining with formulas, Learn how to extract attribute/fields from the design data and output as AutoCAD Table or export as Excel or database file.

The actual experience - With AutoCAD loaded on computers for all of us class attendees to use, the instructor's intent was to present a hands on experience in creating attributes, fields, and links to external Excel files and Tables inside AutoCAD. Sadly he was ill prepared, seemed challenged by his own material and overall did little to provide anything warranting an "intermediate-advanced" class.

What I got out of it - Not much. Can I get a refund?

GEN11607-L - Exploring the 2016 Dimension Tools (in AutoCAD)

Learning objectives: Discover core concepts for AutoCAD dimensioning, new dimension tools in AutoCAD 2016, use all options within the new dimension tools, and Learn how to identify the best ways to edit existing dimensions.

The actual experience - This happened to take place in the exact same room as the class I attended before, but with a much better experience. The instructor had three test DWG files ready on each computer, walk us through the new DIM command features in AutoCAD 2016, and was very engaging and was not afraid to answer difficult questions.

What I got out of it - While I did not discover any new features I did not know about, I did learn how to fix a glaring AutoCAD 2016 problem when using Annotative Dimensions and Baseline Dimensions. Now I can go back to drawing these again. What's that fix? I'll blog about it later this month.

12448 - AU Community Reception

Objectives: lasses end the party begins. Join everyone in the Exhibit Hall for the AU Community Reception as they close out day 1 of AU. Take in a bite, a sip, a boogie, and lots of networking with thousands of like-minded professionals from around the world. Chat with AU exhibitors and see the latest technologies at work in the world.

The actual experience - food, networking, hanging out with exhibitors, and overall just a great way to wind down after a long and busy day.

FitBit Count for the day: 14,249 steps (6.52 miles).

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AU2015 Las Vegas: Day One

LT2016: New, Changed and dropped commands

New AutoCAD LT 2016 Commands and System Variables List:

• CLOSEALLOTHER command: Closes all other open drawings, except the current active drawing.
• DIGITALSIGN command: Provides a separate command to add a digital signature to a drawing. Removes the Digital Signature tab from the SECURITYOPTIONS command.
• GOTOSTART command: Switches from the current active drawing to the Start tab.
• SCRIPTCALL command: Executes a sequence of commands the same as the SCRIPT command, with the additional capability of also executing nested scripts.
• SYSVARMONITOR command: Displays the System Variable Monitor dialog box.
• DIMLAYER variable: Specifies a default layer for new dimensions.
• DIMPICKBOX variable: Sets the object selection target height, in pixels within the DIM command.
• DIMTXTRULER variable: Controls the display of ruler when editing a dimension text.
• GALLERYVIEW variable: Controls the type of preview in the ribbon drop-down galleries.
• LINEFADING variable: Controls whether line displays are faded when hardware acceleration is on and you have exceeded the line density limits.
• LINEFADINGLEVEL variable: When hardware acceleration is on, controls the intensity of the line fading effect.
• REVCLOUDCREATEMODE variable: Specifies the default input for creating revision clouds.
• REVCLOUDGRIPS variable: Controls the number of grips displayed on a revision cloud.
• SELECTIONEFFECTCOLOR variable: Sets the color of the glowing highlighting effect on object selection.
• STARTINFOLDER variable: Stores the drive and folder path from where the product was started.
• SYSMON variable: Specifies whether changes to system variables values are monitored.
• WORKINGFOLDER variable: Stores the drive and folder path of the operating system's working folder or current directory for the process.
• XREFOVERRIDE variable: Controls the display of object properties on referenced layers.

Updated AutoCAD LT 2016 Commands and System Variables LIST:

• DIM command: Creates multiple types of dimensions within a single command session.
• OPTIONS command's Online Tab: Automatic saving to your A360 Drive has been removed. Instead, save or copy the drawing files that you want to upload to your A360 account directly to your local A360 Drive folder.
• PAGESETUP and PLOT commands: now display fully expanded and add PDF options button.
• REVCLOUD command: Creates a revision cloud. New options for modifying an existing revision cloud and creating rectangular and polygonal revision cloud have been added. Rectangular is the new default revision cloud creation method.
• UCS, VIEW and -VPORTS commands have been updated to include new features outlined above.

Obsolete AutoCAD LT 2016 Commands and System Variables List:

• DIM1 command: Obsolete but still included in the product to maintain legacy script compatibility
• NEWTAB command: Replaced by the Start tab. Use STARTMODE to control the display of the Start tab. Use GOTOSTART or Ctrl+Home to switch focus from the current drawing to the Start tab
• WELCOMESCREEN variable: Removed.

Watch the AutoCAD LT 2016 New Features Overview Video here http://bit.ly/1FUq0Cl
Tour the AutoCAD LT 2016 User Interface http://bit.ly/18PLrHU

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LT2016: New, Changed and dropped commands

LT2016: Zoom to infinity... and Beyond.

Autodesk announced the release of the 2016 versions of their AutoCAD line on Thursday March 19, 2015. If you are on subscription, and in the correct time-zone with stars aligned in your favor, you might, just might, see a download link as soon as today.  Autodesk's official announcement, as well as website update and the availability of the free 30-day trial downloads, will start Monday March 23, 2015.

There many good updates and additions in this version of AutoCAD/LT 2016, and in this blog, we will highlight the many features we found worth exploring and hope you get excited enough to try them soon.

• No file format change: bucking a trend they set many years ago, LT2016 will be the fourth version of AutoCAD to still default to the 2013DWG format, just like LT2013, LT2014 and LT2015. For one more year at least you can freely exchange files with those AutoCAD users without having to 'save down'.
• ZOOM is finally fixed: ever zoom in or out with your mouse' scroll wheel and notice that LT2015 and older would simply stop, forcing you to use REGEN command just to be able to continue? Well, no more my friend: starting in LT2016 you can scroll-zoom so far in or out that you will move your drawing into oblivion. Luckily for us, a ZOOM Extents will snap it all back.
• Revision Clouds are now object types: no longer are they aimless Pline arcs that are impossible to reuse once created. These now behave like real objects, similar to closed Polygons: make larger or smaller just like you would a closed Pline shape, even add and drop nodes. LT2016 even offers predefined shapes (like Rectangular revision clouds) that you can place around objects in two clicks. Click HERE to see a video of this new feature in action.

• DIM command: all new, this is no longer that old DOS-days command that forced you to type every style of dimension needed. This one command can be used to totally replace all other individual dimensioning commands combined. Simply start DIM, click on any item and AutoCAD LT2016 will start the correct tool, or just click on two points to draw the dimension. It's that flexible: select a line, an arc, a circle, and angled object, it just knows what to do next.

• Another great enhancement to dimensioning: if you create a dimension and try to overlap it with another dimension at the same location, a pop-up menu appears that allows you to automatically move (that distance is controlled by the DIMDLI variable), break up that existing dimension, replace it entirely, or just overlap it if you insist on doing so. Click HERE to see these new abilities in action.

• MTEXT enhancements have been added in LT2016: you can now add a frame, or box, around MTEXT objects, plus there is now the ability to Match Text Formatting inside the MTEXT editor (as well as Mleader text, Dimensions and Tables too).

• Geometric Center object snap has been added to LT2016: yes, its now a thing, you no longer need to use convoluted methods to find the center of a shape.

• MOVE and COPY commands have been enhanced in LT2016 to allow you to move a large amount of objects without the hesitation and exceptional slowness now experienced in older versions of LT.
• LT2016 expands on preview abilities first introduced in LT2015 to help you predict an action before you commit to it: Command Previews have been added to ERASE, STRETCH, ROTATE and SCALE commands, and previewing has also been added to Properties as well (for example, you will see object colors change as you hover over colors to select from in Properties).

• If LT2016 is installed on a fully supported system that allows for hardware acceleration to be on, you get the option to change the Selection Effect/Drag Color (helpful if the default color is just too dark to see on your monitor).
• XREF Enhancement: You need to change the display color of objects in your xrefed file to better show off the objects in your top file. So you start LAYER command, change all the layer colors to a dark gray, click Apply, OK out, only to discover the last person to touch the XREF set the object colors to be unique and different from their layer colors. In LT2016, simply turn on the XREFOVERRIDE variable, and your top file will override the display of those objects to match your desired BYLAYER setting without actually changing the referenced file itself. XREF layers also no longer appear inside PROPERTIES Palette since they cannot be selected there (they will remain on display in the Ribbon Layers List but greyed out for quick visual distinction). Click HERE to see a video of these and previous enhancements in AutoCAD/LT2016.

• LT2016 (and Autodesk) are finally embracing PDF file fully: PDF underlays are more nimble inside DWG files. PDF files from LT2016 now are improved as well: you can search text inside these new PDF files regardless of whether you use TTF or SHX fonts, Unicode Characters, and whether you use MTEXT or TEXT to create those words. Plotting to PDF is now faster with built-in optimizations that better handle complex shapes and hatches. You can also include hyperlinks and bookmarks into your PDF files when your PLOT or PUBLISH to that format.
  PDF options (like whether to turn on layers, set LineMerge and more) are readily available from the PLOT or PUBLISH dialog pop-ups, and PLOT command in LT2016 has (4), yes four, preset different output options for PDF files for you to pick from so you don't have to reset when you need higher or lower resolution results.

• Layouts have improved in LT2016: when Publishing to multi-page PDFs, the Layouts Names appear are Page Names. You can Drag and Move or Copy Layout Tabs even in the hidden overflow menu (an inability added with LT2015). You can now also dock the Layouts Tabs above the adjacent status line instead of keeping it inline.

• CLOSEALLOTHER command has been added so you can close all the other open files but keep your current one open.
• With GALLERYVIEW variable turned off, you can finally hide all the Ribbon previews of Blocks, Text Styles, Dim Styles, Mleader Style and others.
• HELP has been enhanced to assist you to find where buttons and icons in the Ribbon or the Status bar are located even if there are not visible when you seek them.
• The new Graphics Engine first introduced in LT2015 has been improved in LT2016 to run better, smoother, and hopefully run better on your system than the previous version. We noticed an improvement on many of our systems.
• SYSVARMONITOR variable has been added: this is a great way to start keeping an eye on those critical variables that seem to create havoc when they change. LT2016 now gives you, the user, a way to store your favorite setting and show you in a pop-up if that variable has changed. You can add or drop variables from this pop-up as you see fit.

If you have not implemented LT2015 in your office yet for whatever reason, you might want to consider skipping it in favor of this AutoCAD LT2016. In testing to date this seems to be a stable version with new features worth using every day. ◦

LT2016: Zoom to infinity... and Beyond.