Heidi Hewett's Blog

Good Question: Zoom transitions

Today’s good question comes from Don. He asked how to change the zoom behavior in AutoCAD so that it immediately displays the new zoom area instead of “flying” into it.

The “flying” zoom was added to AutoCAD in AutoCAD 2006. It helps you visually maintain your orientation within a drawing as you zoom. However, it can sometimes slow you down because it takes time as it transitions from the original view to the new view. You can control the behavior of these flying zooms, officially called View Transitions, using the VTOPTIONS command, which displays the View Transitions dialog box. Specify the transition speed and performance or disable view transitions completely.

Thanks to Don for the good question!

Autodesk University Podcasts

To help you get geared up for Autodesk University 2007, a podcast series of short interviews from various AU presenters has been posted to the AU website. Check out these podcasts on the AU Beat!

Good question: Object visibility when dragging

Today’s good question comes from Todd. He asked how to control the visibility of objects as they are dragged during a Move- or Copy-type of operation.

By default AutoCAD displays geometry as you drag. However, you can change this behavior using the DRAGMODE command.  It has three modes:

OFF (0) - Ignores all drag requests including those within menu items.
ON (1) - Allows dragging but you must enter the word drag within the operation if you want to see the geometry drag.
AUTO (2) - Enables automatic dragging for any operation that supports it. This is the default mode.

Thanks to Todd for the good question and to Lynn Allen for refreshing my memory regarding the answer!

Free AutoCAD 2008 Training Webcasts

If you missed the live AutoCAD 2008 Webcasts last month, no worries! They were recorded and posted for you to view at your convenience! To view a list of these, and other, Webcasts, visit: www.autodesk.com/autocadwebcasts

Best Practices for Annotation Scaling, with Heidi Hewett
One of the most powerful new features in AutoCAD 2008 is the Annotation Scaling feature. You no longer need to do the math to get your text, dimensions, hatches and blocks to display at the correct scale in paper space. Technical product manager Heidi Hewett will show you how AutoCAD 2008 will do the work for you.
Watch the webcast

AutoCAD Tips & Tricks, with Heidi Hewett
AutoCAD Technical product manager Heidi Hewett will help you hone your AutoCAD skills and show you how the latest release of AutoCAD can make you more productive than ever! You're sure to learn some powerful techniques to shorten your design time.
Watch the webcast

You can also view the following AutoCAD 2007 Webcasts:

Best Practices for Rendering and Visualization with Heidi Hewett
Do you ever have to present your design ideas to a non-technical audience? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could create compelling images within your familiar AutoCAD environment? Well now you can.
Watch the webcast

Best Practices for Conceptual Design with Heidi Hewett
If you have tried working with solids and surfaces in AutoCAD in the past, but it was just too difficult, then it’s time to try AutoCAD® 2007 software.
Watch the webcast

Lynn Allen’s Tips & Tricks for Success
Learn from the expert how to get the most out of AutoCAD 2007.
Watch the webcast

In addition, here are links to some "hidden" AutoCAD 2006 Webcasts:

Creating Dynamic Blocks in AutoCAD 2006

Migrating menus and customizing the AutoCAD 2006 user interface

Tour of AutoCAD 2006

Working with tables in AutoCAD 2006

Most of the material in the AutoCAD 2006 and AutoCAD 2007 Webcasts is also valid in AutoCAD 2008.

Good Question: Sun Properties

Today's good question comes from Ivana, who asked why she could no longer edit the Sun Properties Color in AutoCAD 2008. The color is displayed in the Properties window but it is greyed out.

A new variable, LIGHTINGUNITS, was added in AutoCAD 2008 to support photometric lighting. When that variable is enabled, the Sun color can not be edited. If you change the value of LIGHTINGUNITS to 0, photometric lighting is disabled and you can specify the Sun color as you did in the past.

Here is more information from the AutoCAD 2008 Help system:

LIGHTINGUNITS

Controls whether generic or photometric lights are used, and indicates the current lighting units
When this system variable is set to 1 or 2, photometric lighting is enabled; otherwise standard (generic) lighting is used.

0  No lighting units are used and standard (generic) lighting is enabled
1  International lighting units are used and photometric lighting is enabled
2  American lighting units are used and photometric lighting is enabled

Thanks to Ivana for the good question and Lance (from the AutoCAD team) for helping find the answer.

Another opportunity to help guide the direction of AutoCAD

Play the part of the AutoCAD Product Manager! Every year, we post a survey to the AutoCAD user community seeking your thoughts on future product directions, enhancements, and how to improve the product line. The results of this survey are one very important component of how our roadmap is developed. We oftentimes contact respondents about their answers.

If you're interested in helping to guide the next generation of AutoCAD products and technology, please take about 15 minutes and take the following survey:

http://myfeedback.autodesk.com/adsksurvey/TakeSurvey.aspx?SurveyID=720Hm92

Got Content?

The alpha version of a new content search tool is available for preview on the Autodesk Labs site. This new content web service enables you to search and find generic or manufacturer-specific building products or components and associated design content.  Content could include 3D models, 2D drawings, specifications, and descriptions for that product or component.  You can provide specific search criteria to narrow down the results. For example, searching on the word “chair”, I can quickly locate 182 entries from a variety of sources including Revit MEP, McGraw Hill Sweets, and more!

If you are only interested in content from a particular source, by a certain manufacturer, or of a specific file type, you can filter the results of the content search. For example, I might only be interested in DWG content. I can quickly narrow down the results to 41 entries by selecting the DWG toggle.

To narrow down the results even more, I selected three specific manufactures.

Once you find the item you need, you can click on it for more information including download links for the available file types.

 

But why am I explaining this? Try it for yourself! It’s easy!

As you work with this new technology, don't hesitate to provide feedback to the development team. You can help make this tool even better!

AUGI Salary Survey

See how your salary compares to other AUGI members in your region. AUGI has updated this year's survey to include more job titles and industries.

"You'll get results that you can show to the boss, and maybe even take to the bank. But first you have to complete the 2007 CAD Salary Survey!"

The more AUGI members that respond, the more accurate the results! Visit www.augi.com and take the 2007 CAD Salary Survey today! The deadline for participating in the survey is October 31, 2007.

Not an AUGI member? Why not? Membership is free!