What's New at Cadalyst.com Now Tell Us the Truth
Cadalyst wants to find out
just how young (or not) CAD users are these days, so we're taking a
poll. CAD users, go to any Cadalyst Web site and scroll down
the page to find our latest Quick Poll. (Click
here to link directly to the CAD Management site.) We'll publish
the results in Cadfidential in the September 2006 edition of Cadalyst magazine.
By the way, we'll never ask your weight -- we promise. 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. Check Out Cadalyst's
Job Search!
Our job search tool offers a state-by-state list of CAD-related
job openings, or you can customize a search to find your own list of
U.S. job openings based on the keywords and locations you specify.
Use the Job Search button on Cadalyst's Management, Manufacturing,
AEC or GIS Web site or click
here for a direct link. |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Resources Report Forecasts
14% Growth for PLM Over the Next Five Years
ARC Advisory Group reported last week
that it expects the worldwide market for PLM
software and services to grow at a compounded
annual growth rate of 14.2% over the next five
years. In its report, Product Lifecycle Management
Solutions: Worldwide Outlook Market Analysis
and Forecast Through 2010 ($4,900), the
firm indicates that the market was $6.9 billion
in 2005 and will grow to more than $13.3 billion
in 2010. Click
here for Cadalyst's full story. Report Gauges Importance
of Collaboration Among Product Developers
Seemage, a developer of technology for
presenting interactive product data, announced
the release of a research report by leading analyst
firm AberdeenGroup, Product Lifecycle Collaboration
Benchmark Report: The Product Profitability "X
Factor"? The Seemage-sponsored report
revealed that companies are pursuing collaboration
to reduce time to market and increase product
innovation to achieve corporate goals for profitable
growth. It is available free for download to
users who register an e-mail address. Click
here for Cadalyst's full story. New Report Reviews
Mechatronics Use in Auto Development
In its new report, Electro-Mechanical Product Development:
The Mechatronics Requirement for Automotive Competitiveness, market
researcher CIMdata reviews new product-development advances that employ
mechatronics in the automotive industry. Mechatronics, which CIMdata
reports is rapidly becoming critical to this industry, is the blending
of designs using a combination of mechanical components along with
new software-driven electronics. The report presents the business reasons
for implementing mechatronics and provides examples to illustrate the
impact of mechatronics solutions today and what should be expected
in the near future. It also highlights the unique problems with mechatronics
and the risks associated with its implementation in a company's product-design
process. Click
here for Cadalyst's full story. Research Finds Trend
Toward Industry-Focused Electro-Technical CAD Applications
Cambashi, an engineering IT industry
analysis and market research consultancy, reports
that it recently completed a study of the market
for ET (electro-technical) design software in
Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The results
of the study indicate an overall software sales
market valued in 2005 at 97 million euros (approximately
US$120 million), representing a growth of some
7% over the previous year. A similar rate of
growth is expected for 2006, the company reports. Click
here for Cadalyst's full story. |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This Week's Software Tips Follow-up: Explorer Redux
(But, Not Again)
In reference the Explorer
Debate on how best to open Explorer when in AutoCAD, Kelly
Perison offers this additional option: "If there's a
particular folder I’m going to browse a lot, such as the Drawings
folder for a project, I make a shortcut of that folder on the Desktop.
From there, I right-click and open its properties. In the Shortcut
Tab on the Shortcut Key box, I enter a keystroke (usually a letter
or number, something vaguely related to the project). It automatically
becomes a CTRL + ALT + keystroke shortcut that's available anytime.
I use these as well as the Explorer command, with the DWG prefix for
the target, as a toolbar button to navigate to my DWG directories." Follow-up: Two Leader Line
Tips
In regards to this tip in the July
17 edition, numerous CAD users wrote in with additional notes and
solutions. Randy Herter states that "there
is another way to get multiple leaders with multiple arrowheads
from one note. First, select the Dimension Leader and select the
grip at the arrow end of the leader. Next, right-click and select
Copy and then pick where you want to place the arrowhead. You can
also use your Shift + right-click osnap overrides to place the
arrowhead exactly where you want them. As for as I know, this has
been around since AutoCAD 2002." - Don Lorenzi says that if you want
to add more versatility to copying dimension leaders, or any other
line or object remember to simply right-click. "Select your dimension
line (or other object), select the arrow grip and start to move it
and right-click. Choose whether you want to move, mirror, rotate, stretch,
scale or copy. Take the action and press Enter twice or ESC to exit.
People often forget about how usefulness the right-click is."
- "While the ability to copy objects during
grip editing has been around for several releases now," says Michael
Grutter, "when used with leaders, the newly created objects
are not attached to the Mtext annotation of the original leader. This
causes the leaders to be left behind if the annotation is moved. That's
why I wrote this
simple routine that creates additional leader objects and attaches
them to annotations." Further details about its operation are
included in the file.
- John Damman reminds AutoCAD 2006
users that once you select the end arrow grip, type C (for copy) and
then press Enter. You can also copy an unlimited number of arrows to
specific locations (osnaps).
Arc Length
Danny Comsa offers a nonprogramming
routine to make an arc a certain length. This usually requires
a program routine because the Arc command gives chord length, not
arc length. Draw an arc through the points desired. Use the LE
(Lengthen) command and T (Total), then give the length required.
Voila! You have an arc in the shape that you want and the length
you need. NOTES FROM CADALYST TIP PANEL: In
AutoCAD 2006, there's an LE set to the Qleader command and the alias
for Lengthen is LEN. Also, when you type T for total and enter the desired
length, be sure to select toward the end of the arc that you want to
increase. Use Wildcards to Rename
Mitchell Hirschklau shortens xref names by renaming
them because they're easier to read in the toolbar box and it's easier
turn them on, off and freeze via the old Layer command using the
old AutoCAD wildcards. "The old command line Layer (-Layer) command
let you use wildcards in layer control. For example: -LA OFF A-ELEC-*
(Enter, Enter) Or: -LA F A-WALL-*-FILL (Enter, Enter). "As you know,
with attached xref layers, the xref name becomes the prefix for the added
xreferenced layers, such as Baseplan-3499-1F|A-ELEC. The longer the xref
filename, the more typing us old dogs have to do. "I've long since learned to rename xrefs in order
to shorten their names for my convenience. It's often still quicker for
me to type: -LA OFF BASE|A-WALL* then use the toolbar or the pop-up Layer
Properties Manager. We often use a recent project (usually in the same
building) as the basis for the next. Our xrefs are generically named
(i.e., BASE, ROOF, TITLE, etc.) but pointed to a specific project drawing
(i.e., P:\2006\3499-PSA\ConDocs\Rev-1\BasePlan-3499-R1). This lets us
resave the old project as a new one, redirect the xrefs to the new path
(via the xref manager dialog box) of new project's BASE plan and the
like, and thereby cut down on a good deal of layer control housekeeping.
After all, the old project's Reflected Ceiling sheet and viewport are
already Layer controlled for the Reflected Ceiling, aren't they? Why
reattach xrefs and redo the viewport (or general drawing) layer control
again if you don't have to!" What, No Layer Options?
Isak Mishaeli offers this tip for Express Tools
Layer Manager users. "Layer options don't show up in AutoCAD
2007 Express Tools menu. Also, there isn't a Layer toolbar. The Express
Tools: Layers toolbar is now Layers II toolbar and the Layer Manager
icon is not part of the toolbar. But the Layer Manager option still
exists, and it becomes a built-in command. If you use the Lman command,
you get the Express Tools Layer Manager dialog box. To use it easily,
I use the original ET button, with the command line as follows:
^C^C Lman;" NOTES FROM CADALYST TIP PANEL: Technically,
this is true, but Lman is still part of Express Tools and according to
2007 Help, “LMAN, -LMAN, LMANMODE and -LMANMODE are no longer part
of the Express Tools. Use the Layer Properties Manager dialog box in
AutoCAD to achieve the functionality of these commands. For more information
about the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, see the AutoCAD Help system.
This could be a sign that Autodesk is getting ready to remove LMAN in
a future release, so it may be wise to start using Layer States Manager
as described above. File Search Made Simple
If you're constantly searching for files, Don Boyer has
an easier way than Windows' traditional Search capabilities. Within AutoCAD,
go to File/Open and you'll get a dialog box. In the upper right-hand
corner you'll find the Tools button and under that, Find. Specify the
directory or drive you want searched, type in the file name (use a wildcard
if needed) and the relevant file(s) are listed. Select the file you want,
and you are shown to the directory where it's located. This works for
Reference files and the Insert command as well, he says. MicroStation Tip:
Full Path Plots
Axiom's MicroStation Tip Corner offers a question and answer
section for users. A recent tip shows you how to include the full path
of the design file in plots by enabling the Plot Border option in the
Plot Options dialog box. - Open the Plot dialog box by selecting Print/Plot
from the File menu or by pressing Ctrl + P on your keyboard.
- Select Options from the Setup menu.
- Click on the checkbox next to the Plot Border option
and click OK.
This plots the full path and the date and time the
plot was created on the bottom left corner of your paper. 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. Tips & Tools
Weekly software tips for AutoCAD are reviewed
by Cadalyst staff and the Cadalyst Tip Patrol before publication.
Use tips at your own discretion, please, and watch later editions
of this newsletter for updates and corrections. Many thanks to
our volunteer Cadalyst Tip Patrol members: Don Boyer, Mitchell
Hirschklau, R.K. McSwain, Don Reichle, Kevin Sawyer, Ivanhoe Tejeda,
Billy Wooten and Ben Young. |
