Tips & Tools Weekly (Vol. 11, No. 16)
30 Apr, 2006What's New at Cadalyst.com
Cadalyst Daily Update
For all the latest news and new products, subscribe to Cadalyst Daily e-newsletter. Plus, every issue includes a feature you won’t find anywhere else -- hardware and CAD software reviews, success stories, AutoCAD tips and much more! Here’s a sample of what you missed in the past week:
- Google Launches Free Version of SketchUp: As predicted by some, the Internet giant makes the 3D modeling tool available to all, but says it “has no intention of getting into the CAD space.”
- Q&A: Design Turns Green, Part I: In anticipation of an upcoming PBS series, Autodesk's Phil Bernstein talks about sustainable architecture.
- PTC Acquires Mathsoft: Company also announces new Windchill/Arbortext integration that extends PLM to include technical documentation.
- First Look Review: ViewSonic VP2330wb: 23" color LCD monitor offers excellent display at a reasonable price.
- HP Launches Four Intel-based Workstations: Two are dual-core Xeon-processor desktop models, two are mobile.
Harry's Hot Tip Challenge 2006 Just Got Better
Cadalyst readers whose Hot
Tip Harry tips are selected for publication
in 2006 will each receive a Cadalyst t-shirt,
and the author of the best tip each month will
receive $100. Now sponsored by Autodesk, the
Hot Tip Harry Challenge 2006 is offering even
bigger prizes. All authors of published
tips this year will be entered into random drawings
for a copy of AutoCAD
2007 and a trip to Autodesk University
2006 in Las Vegas! So send Harry your
favorite routines for AutoCAD and related products
(AutoLISP, VBA and more) and you could be taking
home a hot prize! Visit
Harry on Cadalyst.com for details.
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Resources
New Report Concludes Paper Persists in AEC
Cyon Research last week released a white paper discussing
the management of reprographics in architectural and
engineering firms. According to Managing
AEC Print Workflow -- A Look at Oce Repro Desk Professional,
the architectural industry still relies on paper documents
for delivery to construction or production sites. Despite
extensive IT resources committed to file management in
the design process, the authors point out, careful tracking
of the designs ends when the plots go out the door. The
paper presents solutions and discusses other logistical
and interoperability issues involved with design document
printing and delivery.
Nemetschek Adds Spanish-Language Telephone Numbers
Nemetschek North America recently made available two telephone
numbers for Spanish-speaking VectorWorks customers.
From the United States, call 877.202.8937; from outside
the United States, the number is 443.542.0730.
Vegetable Garden Design Application Takes Root on Web
For green-thumbed CAD aficionados, Plangarden introduced
what is reportedly the first vegetable garden design application
that runs on the Web, requiring no software to download or
install. Vegetable gardeners can easily and quickly create
a visual layout of their garden and populate it with vegetables.
And because the application is Web-based, users can choose
to make their virtual gardens viewable to others in the Plangarden
community and to exchange gardening advice. During its three-month
beta period, more than 800 home gardeners, small farmers,
and educators signed up and tested the new application. New
features and capabilities are reportedly added almost weekly
to accommodate subscriber requests. Users can sign up for
a free 45-day trial. A one-year subscription is available
for $20.
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This Week's Software Tips
Another Approach to Quick-load LISP
Routines
Wayne Terry writes in follow-up to last
week's tip about quickly loading seldom-used LISP
code.
"I prefer to load seldom-used LISP routines from the keyboard. Using the following routine, I can easily load any routine simply by typing its name. The drag-and-drop approach in the original tip has its benefits if you already have the LISP routines in a location that can be "seen" by AutoCAD, but it's far easier just to type the name of a routine and rock."
(defun C:LO ()
(setvar "CMDECHO" 0)
(setq TXTa (getstring "\nENTER NAME OF LISP ROUTINE TO LOAD: "))
(LOAD TXTa)
(setq TXTp (strcat "\n" TXTa " HAS BEEN LOADED...... "))
(setvar "CMDECHO" 1)
(prompt TXTp)
(princ)
)
Printing with Multiple Page Setups and Sheet Set Manager
Brian Strandberg sends us this tip for AutoCAD users that
offers an easier way to use page setups with Sheet Set
Manager.
"Sheet Set Manager makes it easier to print multiple sheets, but it can be troublesome to use with created page setups on multiple sheets. Most of my page setups are created to print Window. I make this easier to use by creating an xref of the border I am using for the set. By inserting the xref’d border at 0,0 on all sheets, I can be sure that my window can be used for all page setups." Click here to download instructions.
Insert Blocks Automatically
Sandberg also sends these quick
tips for inserting blocks. This routine takes the last
block name to be inserted and lets you insert copy after
copy at a given scale without error trapping. Press Escape
to quit.
(progn (setq is (getreal "Insertion Scale: "))
(while (/= a nil)
(command "insert" (getvar "insname") "Pscale" is pause is is pause ))))
If you want every block inserted at the same rotation angle, just prompt for an angle and replace the last pause:
(progn
(defun rtod (x) (* x (/ 180.0 pi)))
(setq is (getreal "Insertion Scale: "))
(setq ra (rtod (getangle "Rotation angle: ")))
(while (/= a nil)
(command "insert" (getvar "insname") "Pscale" is "Pr" ra pause is is ra))
)
Different Takes on Xrefing Title Blocks
Take 1. Ivanhoe
Tejeda writes in follow-up to last
week's advice for improving plots and layouts in
AutoCAD.
"Christopher C. Centers wrote, 'It's never a good idea to work up your borders and title blocks in your model space.' I agree with this statement. However, now that we can create layers that will not plot, you need not use the Defpoint layer as a crutch. Also, instead of deleting the viewport, use the Tools pull-down menu and select Options to make changes to the display. I believe it is best to check off all of the layout elements except Display Layout and Model Tab, which should remain on.
"Now when you switch to the Layout tab, AutoCAD will not create the viewport automatically, and you will not see a paper background. It's then common practice to xref the border at x=0, y=0, create a new layer, name it viewport (or similar), set the layer to Do Not Plot, make it current and proceed to create floating model space viewports."
Take 2. Matthew Samario has some strong feelings about xrefing titleblocks because of problems it presents during file updates. Having just made his way through 162,000 drawing updates, he recommends an approach that allows automated titleblock changes using a LISP or VBA routine.
"I never understood why drafters want to xref borders and title blocks. If you xref a border or titleblock so it's the same for all your drawings, the titleblock text is not xrefed because it's unique to each drawing -- it is individual text placed in each drawing. Anyone who has ever done automatic updating using Visual LISP, VBA, etc. will tell you it's not so easy to find this individual text on each drawing. As a programmer, you have to hope the drafter used some unique layer for this text and was consistent about it so you can accurately find this text by relative location and/or layer.
"Another problem is the xrefing itself. If you xref objects so they automatically update when a change is made, then if a titleblock ever needs to change, there is a good chance it will change in size or format. In this case, the individual text usually has to be adjusted to line up with the new titleblock. The xref concept is now useless, because you still must go through every drawing to adjust the individual text to line up with the new titleblock.
Instead, place a titleblock block reference in each drawing. This titleblock block will use attributes to contain what was the individual text data. If you need to update the titleblock, you will have to update all the drawings, yes, but there is a plus side. If you know Visual LISP or VBA, it takes next to no effort to write a short program to find the old titleblock and read all the attribute data and then transfer the data to the new titleblock with attributes."
Samario sends a simplified LISP routine (no error trapping, just straight to the point, he says) that replaces one titleblock with attributes with another titleblock. The new titleblock and old titleblock can have the same block name or use different names. The LISP may seem a little lengthy but, he notes, this approach is still far easier than trying to process individual text objects by layer and/or relative location. Click here to download.Send us your tip or shortcut for your favorite CAD software. If we publish it, we'll send you a “Cadalyst: CAD the Way You Want It” t-shirt.

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Deals & Freebies
Freeware Tools for AutoCAD
A developer of CAD software is offering free tools for use
with AutoCAD. According to KitoX.com, its KitoX
Toolset application consists of command sets that make
drafting work faster and easier.
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Opportunities & Honors
Designs on a Better World
The Shahneshin Foundation is accepting poster entries for
its Shrinkage
Worldwide Awards, which are intended to reward designers
who promote a sustainable future. Submissions are welcome
from all disciplines, including architecture, industrial
design, digital design, and urban planning. The entry fee
is $40 ($25 for students), and the deadline for submissions
is September 15, 2006. The Shahneshin Foundation, based
in Zurich, Switzerland, is a nonprofit, international,
independent center for design, education, research, and
promotion of future-thinking through educational and promotional
events.
Gemvision Software Wins Award
Gemvision’s
Rhino-based Matrix 3D Jewelry Design Software has received
the 2006
Business Product of the Year award from the Technology
Association of Iowa. The association announced the winners
of its 2006 Prometheus Technology Awards on March 7. Gemvision
was also a finalist in the category of Technology Company of
the Year. Gemvision provides technology products for the jewelry
industry worldwide.
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Books & Training
Visual
Basic 2005 Book
A new Visual Basic book promises to help less-experienced
developers quickly learn to use VB 2005 effectively and to
assist seasoned VB developers who have yet to make the jump
to .NET in transitioning seamlessly without wasting time covering
familiar ground. The
Book of Visual Basic 2005: .NET Insight for Classic VB Developers(528
pages, $39.95), by Matthew MacDonald, is published
by No Starch Press. It is available by preorder directly from
the publisher as well as from Amazon.com and
other booksellers. A PDF version is available now from the
publisher.
VectorWorks 12 Training Books
Several new training
workbooks for VectorWorks 12 are available from Nemetschek
North America. The workbooks include VectorWorks Fundamentals,
VectorWorks 3D Modeling and Rendering, VectorWorks Architect,
VectorWorks Landmark and VectorWorks Fundamentals
Teacher’s Edition. The company reports that each
training guide offers a mixture of step-by-step instruction
and real-world context and comes with a CD containing exercise
files and tutorial projects.
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The Week's New CAD and Related Products
For all the latest new products, delivered daily to your desktop, subscribe to Cadalyst Daily e-newsletter. Here are last week’s highlights:
General Software: Brava! Enterprise
Informative Graphics software centralizes content viewing
for hundreds of file formats. Read
more
General Software: 3Data Expert v7.1
DeskArtes updates software for 3D printing, rapid prototyping
and simulation software data transfer and manipulation. Read
more
General Software: MagicTracer v1.5
Elgorithms releases raster-to-vector conversion program
for Windows. Read
more
General Software: ProgeCAD 2006 Professional v6.1.8
Update from ProgeSOFT includes more than 50 improvements. Read
more
Visualization: trueSpace v7.1 and V-Ray v1
Caligari pairs two new products to offer high-end graphics
and rendering. Read
more
Visualization: Shade v8.5
Software from e frontier supports new Intel-based Macs
and 64-bit Windows computers. Read
more
AEC: Archicad v10
Graphisoft launches updated version of its BIM solution. Read
more
AEC: SPECTEXT v6.1
CSRF’s software includes updates to ICC International
Building Code. Read
more
AEC: GEOPAK Drainage Library
Axiom’s latest e-learning tool comprises three courses
on designing a drainage system. Read
more
GIS: Spatial Express
LizardTech software enables storage of MrSID and JPEG 2000
images natively in Oracle spatial database. Read
more
GIS: H2OMAP SWMM Designer
MWH Soft releases software for simulation, analysis, design
and optimization of sanitary, storm and combined sewer
systems. Read
more
MCAD: Automation Studio
Updated version from Famic Technologies includes extended
symbol libraries with manufacturers' components. Read
more
MCAD: MAGMAfrontier
MAGMA introduces a module to enable autonomous process
and casting optimization. Read
more
MCAD: Rhino v3.5
McNeel releases free updated version of its NURBS modeling
software for Windows. Read
more
MCAD: FARO PowerGAGE
FARO Technologies
releases measurement device for CAD-to-part analysis. Read
more
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Mark Your Calendar
Cadalyst'scomplete list of upcoming industry events is always available on our Web site.
The Fast Track to PLM
Various dates through May 2006
UGS’ Fast
Track to PLM seminar series addresses the need for midsize
companies to understand and participate in innovation. Read
more
Autodesk 2007 Technology Tour
Various dates through June 2006
Various locations
Avatech Solutions invites existing and prospective Autodesk
product users to participate in free half-day introductory
workshops. Read
more
Cimmetry Certified Road Show
May 9, 2006, Montreal, Canada
June 6, 2006, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
June 8, 2006, London, United Kingdom
Cimmetry Certified is a VAR certification program focused
on improving the level of Cimmetry partners’ technical
and business expertise to sell, service and support AutoVue
collaborative visualization software. Read
more
San Diego ESRI ArcGIS
User Meeting
May 9, 2006
San Diego, California
Join ESRI and the greater San Diego GIS community at a
regional user meeting. The format includes concurrent
sessions and user presentations. Get your questions answered. Read
more
FISHER/UNITECH Open Houses
May 10-30, 2006
Various locations
FISHER/UNITECH will hold a series of open houses scheduled
throughout the month of May that will showcase the company’s
Dimension 1200 3D printers. Read
more
Autodesk 2007 Engineering Software Solutions Seminar
May 11, 2006
Atlanta, Georgia
The seminar is hosted by Applied Software and will be broken
into three engineering fields including building solutions,
infrastructure solutions and manufacturing solutions. Read
more
Managing a Versioned Geodatabase
May 31-June 2, 2006
Redlands, California
ESRI’s instructor-led classes help you stay current
on software and learn new skills that will optimize your
GIS workflow. Read
more
ICEM User Conferences
June 1-2, 2006, Berlin, Germany
June 14-15, 2006, Dearborn, Michigan
July 4-5, 2006, Tokyo, Japan
ICEM conferences will feature the latest developments
in both ICEM Surf and the new ICEM Shape Design software
suites, as well as the software’s real-world applications. Read
more