Announcing Inventor Fusion - it's on the Mac

Although my work is multidisciplinary (MEPFP), I try to post generic tips and tricks for AutoCAD that anyone can use, but, my writing is always coming from the perspective of someone in the AEC industry. I do love manufacturing, though. At one of my earlier Autodesk Universities, I got to play with Inventor in the AUGI Playpen and fell in love. Later on, I even helped to prepare the presentation of the first Inventor Wishlist at AU2005 in Orlando....

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Do people still feel that way about technology?

This post isn't cad/bim/fm specific, but, I feel the issue encompasses those fields so I'll go ahead and post my little opinion piece here.As I've noted, I have been a student at Saint Louis University since 2008. I'd originally wanted to complete a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but, there were no engineering degrees offered through the night school. Instead I opted for a coursework in computer science and management. Half of my classes came...

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Friday Funny: Most Powerful AutoCAD Ever!!!

Just to end the week with a chuckle, please see the flyers in this ima...

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Finding Modified Dimensions in AutoCAD

It's the dirty little secret we all know about... sometimes... people fudge their dimensions.Today's question is... once they've been modified, how can I easily tell?The quick and dirty way to see is to invoke the DIMREASSOC Express Tool (or DIMREASSOCIATE, if you like typing out even longer words).You can select all of the entities in the drawing, and dimreassoc will create a selection set of only those which have been changed, allowing you to see...

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AUGI Wishlist System - Go Rank Some Wishes!

The new AUGI Wishlist system is now online!In the past, the wishlist system relied upon the validation and sorting of wishes by volunteers, which could sometimes lead to delays. The new system was created to allow wishes to move more quickly through the system. AUGI President Dave Harrington wrote an introduction to the system in October's HotNews.The first thing you need to do is log into AUGI, then go to My Account.Then click on Membership Details,...

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I haven't heard of this command...

I don't think this dialog box exists in AutoCAD, but, based on some deliverables I've gotten, it wouldn't really surprise me...(for anyone who is curious, this is a spoof of the Cleanup Tools available in MAP and Civil3DEdit: here's another blog post describing the tools and how best to use them: BeingCivil)...

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2011 AUGI Salary Survey - Additional Salary Resources

It's that time again... the AUGI Annual Salary Survey.2011 marks the 10th anniversary of the survey! If you would like to see how much drafters, designers, architects, engineers, project managers, bim managers, cad managers and more earn, check out pages 6-13 of the September 2011 issue of AUGIWorld Magazine.Additionally, some of you might want to check out the Revit API column in this month's issue. Elizabeth Connor did some research and conducted...

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AGC's St. Louis BIM Expo

The AGC hosted a BIM Expo at SIUE last week (I found out about it through the STCCC.).Pretty good time, I thought. There was an exhibit hall with over a dozen software and hardware vendors. Some folks I had used, some folks I hadn't heard of. (I appreciate all of the vendors, since this was a great seminar, which was offered for free to the approximately 140 attendees, and the food was decent as well.)I only attended 3 of the 4 sessions I'd intended...

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Sneak Peak Events for AutoCAD

For those who want to keep up with what's going on, and provide some feedback for the usability (User Experience) folks, see the below announcement from Autodesk:Get a Sneak Peek at Upcoming AutoCAD Features! The AutoCAD User Experience Team is hosting its annual AutoCAD Sneak Peek events in late September. These are free half-day events held in a few different locations, and they’re a great way to get hands-on experience with in-progress features...

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We can do better, folks - Salary Survey closes August 19th

http://www.augi.com/surveys/take-the-current-survey/salary-survey-2011/http://www.augi.com/surveys/salary-survey-results/salary-survey-questions-and-faqs/As it stands right now, here are the Salary Survey response numbers for the past 10 years. I realize some participation has probably dropped off due to layoffs, but, with so many AUGI members out there (and people who haven't yet joined), we can surely drum up some more responses before the survey...

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10th Annual AUGI Salary Survey

It's already that time again (and I, for one, cannot believe it). The AUGI Annual Salary Survey... and not just any annual... but, our 10th run!Drafters, Designers, Architects, Engineers, Trainers, Surveyors, etc from all industries can volunteer a little bit of information to give the AUGI community meaningful data for an idea of salaries (pay/wages/rates), benefits, job satisfaction and more. As reported at the top of the survey form, the results...

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Test version of E-Transmit for Revit

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/revit_etransmit/Go get it!This 'technology preview' works with the Revit 2012 platform (Architecture, Structure and, most importantly, MEP).From the Overview Page:With eTransmit for Revit, you can: Copy and detach a Revit model and associated files to a single folder for internet transmission. This removes the typical error messages when you copy central files using the operating system. Locate dependent files...

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AutoCAD 2012 - Command Completion

Hi, my name is Melanie... and I'm a Command Line junkie.In my defense, I started using AutoCAD for classes in high school, release 10, so typing commands in was the fast way to draft then.The problem, of course, is that the human brain can sometimes stall a bit.From release 2006 through 2011, your answer to a little brain stall would be to type the first character(s) of a command name and then hit the TAB key to cycle through them all, until you...

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AutoCAD 2012 - What's missing?

AutoCAD 2012 was released this spring. Most of the talk is, understandably about the features that are new to the program. But, sometimes, we have to talk about the things that are now missing.If you visit the Online Help for AutoCAD 2012, try doing a search for "deprecated". This should take you to the Command and System Variable History, which contains new and updated system commands and variables. However, if you scroll to the bottom of this page...

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AutoCAD Bible Winner - Tips and Tricks

The winner of the AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 2011 Bible is: Nancy Eaton!A photo of the impartial party drawing the winner from the names of the tipsters:Thank you to all who participated! I hope everyone enjoys your tips. Tipster: Nancy EatonProduct: AutoCADFor polylines I change the command string in the tool properties to make the appropriate layer current (command CLAYER) so I don’t have to pick the tool again to draw another polyline. Notice that...

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OT: Lord of the Rings Pickup Lines

Undeniably, the most popular post on my blog is the one entitled Geek Pickup Lines. Strangely enough, one of the top searches that brings people to my little corner of the interwebs is "Lord of the Rings Pick up Lines". Due to my mention of the books in my profile. =>Yes, that is sort of sad, given that this blog is dedicated to the serious and the professional... ~pause~ Okay, maybe not entirely. One reason I take so much pleasure in my work is that my colleagues enjoy a good laugh (see also: "You Might be a CAD Diva if...").So, I think to...

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Recent Random AUGI resources

Alright, you all know I love AUGI and all of it's talented volunteers, right?Well, just in case you're not a big dork, and do not follow me on Twitter, here is a list of resources I recently shared there, just to ensure that everyone gets to see them. Have a scroll through and see if someone has shared some news or tips for the products you use.Hot Forum Topics: Navisworks: setting up object enablers http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=85131CAD Management: CAD vs. Creativity http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=18562 CAD Management:...

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