Tips & Tools Weekly (Vol. 14, No. 16)

26 Apr, 2009

This Week's Software Tips

Groups for Titleblocks and Borders
Cadalyst Tip Patrol member Don Boyer shares his method for using groups to control and edit titleblocks and borders instead of the more traditional blocks in AutoCAD. "I have used Border sheets from a variety of companies. Most seem to prefer that it be a block with multiple Attributes. This can be a bit awkward to edit since you must scroll scads of Attributes to find the one you want." View the complete tip and post your feedback.

Two-Handed CAD
Steve Rodgers sent us his method of input when using AutoCAD with both hands. "The single greatest tip that I ever received over the 21 years that I have been using AutoCAD is this: Know your commands, and then create left-hand keyboard shortcuts (two or three letters) for those commands using either the PGP file (Alias editor) or simple LISP routines." View the complete tip and post your feedback.

Delete Duplicate Vertices in a Polyline
Douglas Lerner sent us this routine that will help you edit polyline vertices. "DelDupVertex.fas deletes duplicate polyline vertices. It is intended to eliminate vertices that are so close they are indistinguishable." View the complete tip and post your feedback.

Export Linetypes
Douglas Lerner sent us another routine, ExportLinetypes, that will get the linetypes from a file so you can use them later. "ExportLinetypes exports linetypes contained in the current drawing to a .lin file. All linetypes from the current drawing, together with any contained in external xrefs, are exported." View the complete tip and post your feedback.

And More Tips!
Following are this week's reminders, tidbits, and miscellaneous updates from the Cadalyst Tip Patrol.

File Support Path. From time to time you need AutoCAD to look at specific folders for files, blocks, references, etc. To make sure this happens, open the Options window, go to the Files tab, and add the folder to the Support File Search Path.

Submit Your Tip for your favorite CAD software. If we publish your tip, we'll send you a Cadalyst T-shirt, and each month Cadalyst editors will randomly select one published tip and send a $100 gift card to its author. Please remember:

Submit only code and other tips that are your original work (or provide the original source so we can include proper credit).
Tell us which software version you use.

By submitting code, you grant Cadalyst the right to print and distribute your code in print, digitally, and by other means. Cadalyst and individual authors retain all rights to the code; published code is not to be used for commercial purposes.

Tips & Tools Weekly software tips for AutoCAD are reviewed by Cadalyst staff and the Tip Patrol before publication. Use all tips at your own discretion, please. To share feedback about one of today's tips, locate the tip using the link provided, then click Comment. The Comment tool is available to registered users of Cadalyst'sCAD Tips site. We're sorry, but editors and Tip Patrol members cannot provide assistance with technical problems; please refer to Cadalyst's Hot Tip Harry-Help discussion forum.

Sincere thanks to our volunteer Tip Patrol members: Brian Benton, Don Boyer,
Mitchell Hirschklau, R.K. McSwain, Kevin Sawyer, and Billy Wooten.

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Resources

New Social Network for CAD Techs, Managers, Architects, and Engineers
CADVisors.com is a new social networking site for the AEC and CAD community. Chat rooms are set up for members to discuss issues. The site also includes a forum for long-term topics and even a place to display projects and work. Users can upload CAD-related videos and audios as well.

First Trace Releases New White Paper and Podcast
First Trace’s Engineering vs. the Office is available as a white paper or podcast covering the nine fundamental differences between engineering and office document management solutions. The resource is designed to serve as a first step in understanding these crucial differences.

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Deals & Freebies

HP Teams with Adobe and NVIDIA to Offer Value Bundles
HP, Adobe, and NVIDIA plan to begin offering value bundles featuring a choice of HP Z workstations with built-in NVIDIA Quadro GPU and a license of Adobe Creative Suite 4. The value bundles will be available beginning May 4, 2009 from HP and authorized resellers starting at a U.S. list price of $2,899.

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Opportunities & Honors

Call for Entries: Mobile Phone Design Competition
Got the creativity and skills it takes to design a next generation mobile phone? LG, crowdSPRING, and Autodesk announced Design the Future, a competition for designers to create an LG phone design using Autodesk SketchBook Pro or any other digital or hand-rendered format. The first place winner will be awarded $20,000.

FIATECH Honors Six of it Members with STAR Awards
Capital projects industry consortium FIATECH announced it has honored six individuals with Superior Technical Achievement Awards (STAR) for providing critical support and valuable contributions to FIATECH in 2008: Gary Barnes, Rob DeCarlo, Darius Kanga, Steve Makredes, Thomas Phillips, Todd Sutton, and Bob Wible.

Author Seeks Artwork to Feature in Xara Xtreme Guide
Xara, makers of Xara Xtreme graphics software, has announced a new Xara Xtreme artwork contest. Six winners will have their work published in Xara Xtreme: The Official Guide by Gary David Bouton. Six full-color pages will be devoted to showcasing and celebrating the talent of Xara artists.

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Books & Training

I Get It Training Releases New SolidWorks, NX Courses
New from I Get It, the SolidWorks 2009 Surface Design course is intended to teach users how to generate and edit complex surfaces in SolidWorks 2009. The NX 6 Sheet Metal course is intended to teach users about the useful tools, features, and options available in the application. Users will also learn how to set up preferences and defaults.

CADCIM Technologies Releases Autodesk Maya 2009 Textbook
CADCIM Technologies released Autodesk Maya 2009: A Comprehensive Guide textbook by Sham Tickoo. The textbook aims to harness the power of Autodesk Maya 2009 for 3D artists and designers. It first introduces the basic features of Maya 2009 and gradually progresses to cover advanced 3D models and animations.

CAPINC Participates in SolidWorks Engineering Stimulus Package
As part of its ongoing CAP University training program for SolidWorks engineers, CAPINC is offering additional resources to unemployed individuals who want to learn new career skills in 3D CAD. Any resident of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont is eligible for the CAPINC program, which includes the basic SolidWorks Engineering Stimulus Package.

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Mark Your Calendar

Plan-Build-Operate Technology Summit
May 4-6, 2009
Nashville, TN
This event brings together project-based organizations to share best practices, customer case studies, and technology demonstrations for Meridian's Plan-Build-Operate solutions. Read more

Rapid 2009 Conference and Exposition
May 12-14, 2009
Schaumburg, IL
The event brings buyers, sellers, and end-users of design, prototyping, tooling, and direct-manufacturing technologies together in an environment that facilitates networking and business interaction. Read more

Autodesk Imagine Virtual Event
May 19, 2009
Without having to leave the office, attendees of Autodesk Imagine Virtual Event will learn how Autodesk 2010 software enables them to visualize, simulate, and analyze ideas to the fullest extent. Read more

For a complete list of CAD meetings, conferences, training sessions, and more, check out our calendar of events on Cadalyst.com.

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What's New at Cadalyst.com

CAD Manager's Journey into 3D, Part 3
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Training Not a Priority? (CAD Manager's Toolbox)
Contrary to what you might think, you really can maintain a training program during hard times. Read more

Get Lean with Automated 3D Data Transformation
With tough economic times forcing manufacturers to trim expenses, companies can find help from tools such as Anark Core.Read more

AutoCAD 2010 Makes Everyday Drawing Easier (Circles and Lines AutoCAD Tutorial)
Updates to layer colors, hatching, line conversions, purge, and more will help speed up common tasks. Read more