Tips & Tools Weekly (Vol. 11, No. 21)
11 Jun, 2006What's New at Cadalyst.com
Exclusive Cadalyst Content at Your Fingertips
You might already know that all the content from each issue
of Cadalyst magazine can also be found on Cadalyst.com.
But did you realize that Cadalyst posts Web-exclusive
articles online nearly every day? Plus, each month we post
new tutorials for all your favorite CAD software -- and
so much more! Now you can find this online-only content
more easily than ever. Just visit the home page of your
favorite Cadalyst Web site (Management, AEC, Manufacturing or GIS)
and look under the Web Exclusives heading for all the latest
feature articles, hardware and software reviews, tutorials
and much more that you can't find anywhere but on Cadalyst.com.
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Resources
Enhanced Web Site for Industrial Sellers
ThomasNet has launched an enhanced online library of
industrial marketing and other information. Visitors can
access white papers such as Industrial Marketing Online:
Getting Industrial Buyers and Sellers on the Same Page. Other
features include Industrial Market Trends, a daily blog with
a biweekly newsletter. ThomasNet is designed to help industrial
sellers reach qualified industrial buyers online.
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This Week's Software Tips
Follow-Up to “Shortcut to Windows Explorer from AutoCAD”
Charles S. Parnell wrote
regarding the tip “Shortcut to Windows
Explorer from AutoCAD,” which
ran in last
week's edition:
(defun c:we () (startapp "explorer" (strcat "/n,/e," (getvar "dwgprefix"))) (princ) )
"This LISP routine does not work when the file path includes "," -- so, I found this one in the A2K6 Help files, then changed it to the one that follows, which works with my file paths that include several commas."
(defun c:custfiles ()
(command "shell"
(strcat "explorer \"" (getvar "roamablerootprefix") "\"")
)
(princ)
)
Modified version:
(defun c:EP ()
(command "shell"
(strcat "explorer \"" (getvar "DWGPREFIX") "\"")
)
(princ)
)
Robert A. Somppi tells Tips & Tools Weekly readers that you can cut to the chase simply using the AutoCAD command Explore.
Zooming for Multiview Solids Drawings in AutoCAD
Art Houghton writes
with several tips regarding zooming in and out of multiview
solids drawings: "Do use
the double-click on the Viewport window frame when in paper
space. It was a new feature in AutoCAD 2006, and it doesn't
affect the viewport scaling regardless of any zooming or
panning.
"Before that came along, I created icons for the following and placed them in the View toolbar. I've been using these for several versions now and still continue to use them. These do not affect the zoom scale in each viewport.
Zooming in. I create an icon, "Zw." This macro creates a zoom window, then an ability to zoom back out when picked a second time and hitting the Esc button to terminate the macro.
The macro is PS;Z;E;Z;W;\\MS;
Zooming in even further. I create an icon, "Zww." This macro allows deeper windows within the viewport. Escape by clicking on the above icon and Esc.
The macro is PS;Z;\\MS;
Zoom extents only. I create an icon, "Ze."
The macro is PS;Z;E;
Osnaps. I create an icon, "39" (or any number you like). This gives me endpoint,midpoint,center and intersection -- the ones I like to run with. Keep in mind the osnap values are coded using binary. Look it up under Help and the Osmode command.
The macro is OSMODE;39;
This Week's SolidWorks Tips
SolidWorks training developer SolidProfessor sends
the following tips this week for Tips & Tools Weekly readers:
- Width Mate: Shows how to center a component using the
width mate.
- Physical Simulation: Shows changes to Simulation in SolidWorks 2006
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
Caligari Announces TruePlay Promotion
3D software producer Caligari announced that, throughout
June, anyone who downloads truePlay, its free Web player
for sharing interactive 3D objects, will be entitled to a $200
discount on the regular purchase price of the company's
suite of collaborative design tools. The suite includes trueSpace7.1,
a 3D authoring program, and Conversion Pak 2.1, which reportedly
simplifies the import and export of CAD/CAM drawings to and
from trueSpace7 without losing any of the drawings' details
or specifications.
Ashlar-Vellum Announces Software Rental Program
Last week Ashlar-Vellum announced
the availability of yearly and monthly rental pricing for
its precision drafting and 3D modeling software programs.
The latest releases of Cobalt, Xenon, Argon and Graphite
are all available under both programs, according to the company.
One-year rentals are available with or without physical materials,
and major upgrades are included via electronic download.
Free Utility Saves Time and Tedium
Reader Vaclav Novotny e-mailed Tips & Tools
Weekly about
an application he uses to place raster images in AutoCAD
drawings. His German-Czech company draws plans and maps on
top of aerial images, which often come with a georeference
World file. "It was a tedious job to align the images
to a proper place in the map," reported Vaclav. Then
he discovered Xanadu's GeoRefImg on the CAD
Forum Web site. The small, free utility "aligns
all georeferenced images for us automatically, which save
us lots of time," he says.
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The Week's New CAD and Related Products
Hardware: Dimension 1200 Series
Dimension
unveils a new series of large-format 3D printers. Read
more
Hardware: EUROCOM M570U Divine
Notebook
is powered by an Intel Core Duo processor and an ATi Mobility
Radeon X1800XT graphics card. Read
more
Hardware: Colortrac SmartLF Cx 40
GEI
Wide Format is distributing a new Colortrac wide-format
scanner in North America. Read
more
General Software: Pushbutton Plus and Bluebeam
Lit v4.5
Bluebeam Software's PDF software now
supports tablet PCs. Read
more
General Software: DwgCompare
DotSoft's
AutoCAD utility enables users to compare the differences
in drawings. Read
more
General Software: ThinPrint .print v7
Print
management solution is designed for businesses to track
print volume. Read
more
General Software: Strata Live 3D
Software
creates real-time and photorealistic 3D content for Flash,
PDF and Web. Read
more
General Software: Document3D series
QuadriSpace
announces enhancements to its series of 3D publishing applications. Read
more
General Software: form.Z v6
Solids/surface
modeling software from auto-des-sys is updated to offer
object animation, 3D color printing. Read
more
General Software: FlowTools v7
Code Zebra
releases an upgrade of its intelligent diagramming application
for AutoCAD 2007. Read
more
General Software: LivingLegend v7
Legend
creation software from Code Zebra now supports AutoCAD
2007. Read
more
General Software: AutoVue v19.1
Cimmetry
releases software upgrade for 2D and 3D file viewing and
collaboration. Read
more
Visualization: VizUp v2.1.7
Upgrade improves
visualization speed for optimizing 3D models. Read
more
Visualization: Strata Foto 3D
New software
helps create professional-quality 3D content from still
images. Read
more
AEC: e-SPECS
InterSpec's specification
software now supports Autodesk Revit Systems and Autodesk
Revit Structure. Read
more
GIS: MRFCleaner
MRF Geosystems adds its
map data cleaner technology to Safe Software's FME. Read
more
MCAD: thinkiD DesignXpressions, thinkPLM 2006
think3
upgrades applications for industrial design and product
development. Read
more
CAE: STAR-Pro/E
CD-adapco releases flow-simulation
software that integrates within Pro/ENGINEER Wildfire v3. Read
more
CAM: VERICUT v6
CGTech ships upgrade that
enables manufacturing engineers to analyze the entire CNC
machining process. Read
more
CAM: Kineo Path Planner v2.03
New release
from Kineo C.A.M. includes a path editor for creating,
modifying and enriching a path. Read
more
CAM: FeatureCAM 2007
Delcam releases CAM
software upgrade that includes toolpath editing. Read
more
Training: i.get.it Professional
iKnowledge
release provides engineering knowledge for CATIA, NX, SolidWorks,
Teamcenter and Autodesk. Read
more
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Mark Your Calendar
Cadalyst'scomplete list of upcoming industry events is always available on our Web site.
Webinars: Large-Format Scanning and Document Management
Tuesdays and Thursdays in June
IDEAL is offering Web presentations
to discuss topics, introduce technology and provide suggestions
to help with large-format scanning and document management
problems. Read
more
ARC Advisory Group Sessions at the ARC 14th Annual
Forum
June 26-28, 2006
Dedham, Massachusetts
ARC Advisory Group will hold several
special sessions during its 14th Annual Forum, “Driving
Enterprise Performance through Next Generation Manufacturing
Concepts.”
Read
more
Agile 2006 Conference
July 23-28, 2006
Minneapolis, Minnesota
For those interested in learning
how to successfully implement and scale Agile methodologies. Read
more
15th Annual GIS for Oil & Gas
Conference
September 18-20, 2006
Houston, Texas
Conference is devoted exclusively to GIS
applications and technologies for both the upstream and
downstream aspects of the oil and gas industry. Read
more
2006 Design-Build Conference & Expo
October 18-20, 2006
Nashville, Tennessee
Annual conference for DBIA (Design-Build
Institute of America) members and partners. Read
more
Fall International IAI Meeting for Building Smart
October 30-November 4, 2006
Washington, D.C.
IAI (International Alliance for Interoperability)
is promoting effective means of exchanging information
among all software platforms and applications serving the
AEC/FM community. Read
more
Trimble Dimensions 2006
November 6-8, 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada
Trimble’s International User Conference
on Building Your Connected Site emphasizes how process
integration and intelligent positioning technologies enable
surveying, engineering and construction professionals to
reduce rework, utilize assets more efficiently, accelerate
design updates as well as improve the bidding, planning
and billing cycles. Read
more
COFES 2007
April 12-15, 2007
Scottsdale, Arizona
COFES 2007 brings together executives
from technology, engineering, design, development and architectural
companies to explore new engineering technology and discuss
its effects on the future of business.