cadalyst
Management

Tips & Tools Weekly (Vol. 11, No. 21)

11 Jun, 2006


What'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:

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.