Reviews
Safe Keeping — Backup Software Secures Your Designs
By Ron LaFon
Backup applications from Acronis, Genie-soft, NovaStor, Symantec, and UltraBac Software help you protect the time, money, and energy you?ve invested in your designs.

AMD’s ATI FireGL Graphics Cards
By Ron LaFon
Graphics cards designed for workstation-level use keep getting faster. They can do more work — and more complex modeling — in less time.

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008 — Surveying, Civil Engineering, and Land Development Software
By Jerry Laiserin
Software requires civil engineers to rethink and reorganize their processes and workflows.

Cadalyst Labs Review: Mathematica 6
By Mike Hudspeth, IDSA
Powerful computation software can assist with functions as diverse as GIS graphics and 3D printing.

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cadmanager
Cool Software Utilities for Your Job
By Robert Green
A host of software programs lets CAD managers tackle any task.

mcadmodeling
History, Nonhistory, or Both?
By Mike Hudspeth, IDSA
Modeling choices come in history, nonhistory, and hybrid flavors.

plmstrategies
In the Eye of the Storm
By Kenneth Wong
Developments in standards, SOA, and middleware meet to advance PLM.

aecinsight
Builders' Information Modeling
By Jerry Laiserin
Contractors have their own take on BIM; they call it virtual construction.

hottipharry
CAD from the Streets
By Bill Kramer
Harry's Top Tip helps you simplify drawing pipe and columns by automating AutoCAD's Extrusion command.

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Industry News
Breaking stories from around the industry.

Product Showcase
Latest hardware and software releases.

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Talk about CAD-related issues.

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Conferences, classes, trade shows and more.

Book Reviews
Latest publications about CAD.

All About Autocad
Circles and Lines
By Lynn Allen
Customize AutoCAD by creating your own commands.

AutoLISP Solutions
By Tony Hotchkiss
Convert lines and text to an AutoCAD table object that replaces the original data.

Learning Curve
By Bill Fane
Self-scaling annotations are changing the way AutoCAD drawings are created.

Bug Watch
By Steve Johnson
Make sure your toolbar bitmaps always look their best.

CAD Clinic: Civil 3D
By Mike Choquette
Design visualization is Civil 3D's greatest untapped strength.

From the Trenches
By Danny Comsa
Step-by-step instructions show you how to draw nice-looking bolts and nuts.

AEC Tools
1-2-3 Revit
By Rick Rundell
The combination of an API with BIM can access building data for specialized applications.

Solutions From Synergis
By Bill Frederick
Discover the power of Vault for sharing data in Civil 3D.

ArchiCAD Insights
By Laszlo Nagy
ArchiCAD's Reference Levels feature can display elevation values relative to sea level.

Bringing Literacy into Broad Daylight
By Kenneth Wong
Energy analysis software helps usher light into the classroom.

3D Modeling
On the Edge
By Russell Brook
Include PMI dimensions from 3D models on 2D drawings.

Solid Thinking
By Richard Doyle
RealView Graphics supports advanced shading of models in real time.

Avatech Tricks
By Greg Shaffer
When the Adaptivity tool is not enough, a derived component may be the solution.

Alibre Design Tips
By Aaron Arnold
Create dynamic spline curves by using reference points.

On the Cover:
Cover concept developed by Cadalyst Art Director Annie Leung.