Happy Independance Day

Alright, heading out for an extra-long weekend. I'm looking forward to good times with some great friends in sunny California (God, do I miss mountains!).

I'll be getting 'reconnected' at home soon, so hopefully I can remedy being so neglectful of my postings here.

I wish you American's a happy 4th celebration, and I wish you in the rest of the world a lovely time as well.

Happy CADding and don't forget there is a meeting of the Gateway AUG tonight at Hagerman's facility, so if you're in the area, don't forget to drop by for some good food and great presentations.

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Very Valuable Variables: LWDISPLAY / FILLMODE

Very Valuable Variable 1: LWDISPLAY

Ridiculously thick lines even when they have no width?

Controls whether the lineweight is displayed. The setting is saved with each tab in the drawing.
0 Lineweight is not displayed
1 Lineweight is displayed

Very Valuable Variable 2: FILLMODE

Specifies whether hatches and fills, two-dimensional solids, and wide polylines are filled in.
0 Objects are not filled
1 Objects are filled

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Mtext Line Spacing

From AutoCAD Help:

If you enter ‑mtext (precede with hyphen) at the Command prompt, MTEXT bypasses the In-Place Text Editor and displays additional prompts on the command line.
Current text style: current Text height: current
Specify first corner:
Specify opposite corner or [Height/Justify/Line spacing/Rotation/Style/Width]:

Line Spacing
Specifies line spacing for the multiline text object.
Line spacing is the vertical distance between the bottom (or baseline) of one line of text and the bottom of the next line of text.
Note Exact spacing is recommended when you use MTEXT to create a table. Use a smaller text height than the specified line spacing to ensure that text does not overlap.

Enter line spacing type [At least/Exactly] :

At Least
Adjusts lines of text automatically based on the height of the largest character in the line. When At Least is selected, lines of text with taller characters have added space between lines.
Enter line spacing factor or distance :
Spacing Factor: Sets the line spacing to a multiple of single-line spacing.
Single spacing is 1.66 times the height of the text characters. You enter the spacing increment as a number followed by x to indicate a multiple of single spacing. For example, specify single spacing by entering 1x, or specify double spacing by entering 2x.
Distance: Sets the line spacing to an absolute value measured in drawing units. Valid values must be between 0.0833 (0.25x) and 1.3333 (4x).

Exactly
Forces the line spacing to be the same for all lines of text in the multiline text object. Spacing is based on the text height of the object or text style.
Enter line spacing factor or distance :
Spacing Factor: Sets the line spacing to a multiple of single-line spacing.
Single spacing is 1.66 times the height of the text characters. You can enter a spacing factor as a number followed by x to indicate a multiple of single spacing. For example, specify single spacing by entering 1x, or specify double spacing by entering 2x.
Distance: Sets the line spacing to an absolute value measured in drawing units. Valid values must be between 0.0833 (0.25x) and 1.3333 (4x).

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Facilities Management - Asset Management? What's the difference?

Alright, I've been meaning to make a post about this for a while, but, a question on FMforum.org prompted me to finally get around to it.

So many people that I speak with assume that since I work in 'Facilities Management' that I am an asset manager... or a space manager... but, I'm not. I'm a systems manager more than anything, but, as far as I know, that's not a commonly used term... or a term used at all. As a matter of fact, I think I might have just made it up.

Our lease management is done in conjunction with our space management, which is outsourced. Asset management is handled within each respective department as it best suits them.

I don't pline spaces, I don't run usage reports... I'm all MEPFP, baby. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one. In my experience, this sort of thing is usually handled (if at all), by sending an in-house engineer or project manager to 2 day training course at a local software reseller. I'm not dissing the training that those places provide, it's simply an observation that they are learning differently than a person like myself who has obtained a multi-year degree.

What's the ideal way to manage facilities or spaces? Depends on your facility... but, that's not the topic for today.

I am going to define: facilities management, asset management & property management
not from my own perceptions, actually defining the words themselves, no matter how our postitions are forced to interpret them... I have italicized the definitions that I believe are most apt.

Facilities Management -

The co-ordination of many specialist disciplines to create the optimum working environment for staff. narains.com/glossary.htm

the outsourcing of utilities management, waste services and maintenance operations by industrial customers to a single supplier. The service provided may include operating technical installations, delegated management of maintenance operations, building upkeep, security and services. www.suez.com/metiers/english/energie/lexique_energie.php

Management of the organisation in operating and maintaining a completed project. www.ecbp.org/glossary.htm

The management of facilities provided in a PFI project, eg cleaning, maintenance, security, catering. https://www.marketplace.lloydstsb.com/doc/glossary/pfi.html


Asset Management -

Process of deferring the day to day management of assets to a professional money management team, similar to a mutual fund however assets are not pooled with those of other investors. www.retirement-solutions.net/term.html

Asset management systems have evolved from maintenance management systems. Maintenance management systems use work orders for preventive and predictive maintenance, equipment recording and tracking, replacement parts inventory, and maintenance labor scheduling. The goal of asset management is to optimize asset use and manage all maintenance efforts involved in making assets as reliable, accurate, and efficient as possible. ... www.leanmean-manufacturing.com/glossary2.html

The timely and proper maintenance, location tracking and disposal of leased assets. www.leasingworld.co.uk/html/body_leasing_glossary.php

The process of managing demand and guiding acquisition, use and disposal of assets to make the most of their service delivery potential, and manage risks and costs over their entire life. www.deh.gov.au/parks/best-practice/reports/asset/glossary.html

Inventory tracking and record-keeping for all transactions related to furniture and equipment assets. www.heritagecalgary.com/architects_designers/resources/glossary.cfm

The term Asset Management has many industry-specific definitions. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_management


Property Management -

The range of functions concerned with looking after buildings, including collection of rents, payment of outgoings, maintenance including repair, provision of services, insurance and supervision of staff employed for services, together with negotiations with tenants or prospective tenants. The extent of and responsibility for management between landlord and tenant depend on terms of the lease(s). The landlord may delegate some or all of these functions to managing agents. narains.com/glossary.htm

The function of managing land and working, storage or living space within premises, and of acquiring a new facility or carrying out constructing, alterations, refurbishment and fit outs in order to fulfil an accommodation need. It also includes the functions of managing, maintaining, protecting and disposing of property. Includes buildings and land allotments either owned, rented or leased by the organisation, such as office blocks, repositories, and workshops. ... metadata.curtin.edu.au/manual/classification.html

The management of real estate, including collection of rents, maintenance of the property and upkeep of all accounting for another for compensation. www.hersheyhomes.com/FindAHome/Glossary.htm

A branch of the real estate business involving the marketing, operation, maintenance and day-to-day financing of rental properties. www.sanderco.com/Glossary%20Pages/P.htm

The operation of property as a business, including rental, rent collection, maintenance, etc. www.peakagents.ca/glossary/p21.htm

the act of looking after a property on behalf of its owner. www.apm.com.au/osbuyers/glossary.htm

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Autocad 2007/2000 Format Copy/Paste bug Fix Released!

I know this has been a hot topic on the discussion groups, and a frustrating one for users who are ready to pull their hair out... well, pull no more, the fix has been posted!

ID: DL7450124
Autodesk.com under Updates and Service Packs

This hotfix will correct a problem where cut and paste operations fail in drawings that are saved in AutoCAD® 2000 file formats.

If you open or create a file in AutoCAD 2007 and save it in AutoCAD 2000 file format and then open the drawing in AutoCAD 2000, 2000i, or 2002 and attempt to cut, copy, and paste objects within the drawing, then the cut, copy, and paste operations will fail. This Hotfix resolves this issue.

Edit: ID: DL7450124 new URL.

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Very Valuable Variable: REMEMBERFOLDERS

From the autocad help files:

REMEMBERFOLDERS - Controls the default path displayed in standard file selection dialog boxes.

0
Restores the behavior of AutoCAD 2000 and previous releases. When you start the program by double-clicking a shortcut icon, if a Start In path is specified in the icon properties, that path is used as the default for all standard file selection dialog boxes.
1
Uses standard Microsoft behavior. When you first start the program after installation, the default path in each standard file selection dialog box is My Documents. When you open or save a file to another folder, that folder is remembered for future file selection. The Start In folder specified for the shortcut icon is not used)

To change the default drawing folder
On the command line, enter rememberfolders, and then enter 0.
On the Windows desktop, right-click the AutoCAD icon. Click Properties.
Click the Shortcut tab.
In the Start In box, enter the path of the folder that should be the default when you open or save drawing files.
Click OK.

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VTENABLE and my new Scanner (mfp) is here!

VTENABLE system variable (from autocad help)

Controls when smooth view transitions are used. Smooth view transitions can be on or off for panning and zooming, for changes of view angle, or for scripts. The valid range is 0 to 7.
Setting
For pan/zoom
For rotation
For scripts
0
Off
Off
Off
1
On
Off
Off
2
Off
On
Off
3
On
On
Off
4
Off
Off
On
5
On
Off
On
6
Off
On
On
7
On
On
On

And some good news is that I just took delivery of my new HP820mfp. A large-format printer/scanner/copier. I have to unpack it and set it up. Just had the network drop put in last week, so I should be up and running in no time. I'll make a report on how easy it is to work with when I get a few.

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MAP tool of the day - ADERSHEET (rubbersheet)

from MAP3D 2006 help:

ADERSHEET (Rubber Sheet command)
Performs rubber sheeting on selected objects
Rubber sheeting is a nonuniform adjustment of a data set based on the movement of known control points to new locations. For example, data collected by aerial survey may be inaccurate because of flight alignment and camera inaccuracies. By comparing this data with accurate ground survey data, the aerial data can be stretched or rubber sheeted over the accurate data using control points and monuments common to both data sets.
Use rubber sheeting when you want two or more different data sets from different sources to align geographically: for example, when stretching a new subdivision map into a preexisting parcel map.

Note that objects that have a given shape, such as circles, arcs, and ellipses, retain their original shape.

Warning
Use rubber sheeting only when it is absolutely necessary, because it can severely compromise the accuracy of your data.
Because rubber sheeting is not a linear transformation, it is difficult to reverse the effects of the transformation and return a drawing to its original state. You should save a copy of your original drawing before you perform a rubber sheeting operation.

Changing Scale
Do not rubber sheet two maps drawn at different scales. If you do, the command matches objects and changes the original scaling of text and blocks to match the new scaling, which can change data significantly. You should use rubber sheeting as a last resort after exhausting other methods of object editing and coordinate adjustment.

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Upcoming Gateway AUG meeting in St. Louis area

Well, this will be the first GAUG meeting that I will have missed since the group's founding, as I'll be out of town, but, don't let that stop you... Hagerman has sponsored one of our prior meetings, and the facility and refreshments were top notch. Mark the date on your calendar now. :)

If you have any suggestions for locations and/or topics, or think you could present some useful tips a future meeting, let me know... (for the uninformed, don't think that means you come in an give a free sales pitch, that isn't allowed at our meetings, they're for educational purposes only)

Gateway Autodesk Users Group Meeting

Thursday June 29th, 2006
6pm – 8pm

Sponsored by:
Hagerman & Company, Inc
www.hagerman.com

CityPlace Cafe

CityPlace III

Three CityPlace Drive

St. Louis, MO

Hagerman will present on:
AutoCAD 2007
&
Revit Systems

Food and Drink will be provided
Come network with industry experts
and fellow users from the St. Louis area

Autodesk Software door prizes!!!

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Nifty Command - ALIGN

Just to highlight a nifty command that is sometimes forgotten...

ALIGN (from 'Help')

You can move, rotate, or tilt an object so that it aligns with another object.
To align two objects
Click Modify menu 3D Operation Align.
Select the objects you want to align.
Specify the first source point and then the first destination point.
If you press ENTER now, the objects are moved from the source point to the destination point.
Specify the second source point, and then the second destination point.
Specify the third source point, or press ENTER to continue.
Specify whether you want to scale objects to the alignment points.
The objects are aligned (moved and rotated into position), and then scaled. The first destination point is the base point of the scale, the distance between the first and second source points is the reference length, and the distance between the first and second destination points is the new reference length.
Command line: ALIGN

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What's the Difference? (drawing changes and drawing release icons)

Alright, what's the difference?

Dotsoft has released version one of a utility that will show the difference between two autocad files.
This was a recent topic on the augi forums, and while different methods for determining discrepancies were suggested, all agreed they would appreciate an application allowing this done automatically... looks like Terry has stepped up to the plate to provide it

"This low cost tool runs inside of AutoCAD 2000i or higher andallows users to compare two drawings. The differences betweenthe drawings are displayed in an empty drawing and a detailedreport is generated to document the differences.Details at http://www.dotsoft.com/dwgcompare.htm "

A recent update has been made to the mind-boggling useful utitilty that displays different icons in file open/windows explorer, depending on the autocad version of the .dwg: DWGicon.

" http://www.cushat.co.uk/di/
DWGicon.dll is a Windows shell extension that enables you to identify the version of a drawing just by looking at its icon in explorer. Have a look at the screenshot [on the website] to see what it looks like in a FileOpen dialog ([shown there from within] AutoCAD, but you don't need to have CAD software installed on your machine for it to work.) "

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Class on Autocad 2007 (non 3D) Features

Hey, I just saw this class listed on the ATP (augi training program) page, and signed up for it... I encourage everyone to peruse the course offerings to see what's going on.
here are some snippets from the site...

ATP138 New Features Workshop: 2007
Start Date: Monday, August 14, 2006
We’ve all heard about the incredible new 3D improvements in AutoCAD 2007, but what about everything else that’s changed?
Level: Beginner
Instructor: Jennifer Leamy
Course Start: Monday, August 14, 2006
Status: Open for Registration

Jennifer Leamy and Ken Leary will take you through all the changes that 2007 brings that don’t involve 3D. Come learn what’s improved, what’s broken, and what’s just plain cool in the land of 2D in AutoCAD 2007!

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Autodesk MAP 3D 2007 Service Pack 1 Available

Service Pack 1 has come out for MAP 2007. I must admit that I was waiting for this before I installed. I'll post here like I did last year to relay my install experience. Description from the adesk site pasted below
***SERVICE PACK***Autodesk Infrastructure Solutions Division is pleased to release Autodesk Map 3D 2007 Service Pack 1. This Service Pack contains performance improvements and maintenance fixes. You can install this Service Pack on any Autodesk Map 3D 2007 installation. We recommend that all Autodesk Map 3D 2007 customers download and install this Service Pack to ensure the highest quality experience when working with Autodesk Map 3D 2007.The Readme contains the latest information regarding the installation and use of this service pack. It is strongly recommended that you read this entire document before you apply the service pack to your product.

***There is also a hotfix available, details from the adesk site pasted below
After you activate and then restart your product, you receive error 0.1.0011 or 11.1.6011 and are required to reactivate.This problem can occur for Autodesk's 2006 & 2007-based products on computers with SATA Raid controllers.Note: This update must be applied to all computers that share a license. Therefore, if you apply this update to one computer and then want to use the Portable License Utility to transfer the license to another computer, be sure to install the update on that computer, too.Important: If this update is applied to a computer that does not have a SATA Raid controller, the license on that computer will be broken. You will need to reactivate the product to repair the license.

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ADT & ABS Users have their own club

Well, sort of... AUGI has just launched it's third product community. This one is for users of architectural desktop and building systems (EDIT: later renamed AutoCAD Architecture and AutoCAD MEP). 


In the ADT and ABS Community, you can find quick links to the ADT/ABS forums, an Exchange, a Tips and Tricks page, a Gallery for folks to showcase their impressive work, Related Links, and a Wish List!

And, for those of you who didn't know, the Revit and AutoCAD communities on AUGI showcase these things as well for their products.


Props to the ADT/ABS Community team volunteers, a lot of hard work goes into putting something like this together, and as usual... when AUGI volunteers get together, great things happen!

So, hop up to the website to visit any of those communities... submit a tip or a shot in the gallery and you could earn a mention on the community pages next month!

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