AutoCAD Insider

Good Question: AutoCAD/Excel Data Linking

Today’s good question comes from Gerald. He asked how he can write the changes he made in a linked AutoCAD table back to the Excel file.

In order to write data from the AutoCAD table back to the source Excel file, you must enable the "write" option within the data link.

1. Access the Data Link Manager (DATALINK command).
2. Right-click on the datalink that is being used by the table you modified and choose Edit.
   
3. If the Modify Excel Link dialog box is not already expanded, click on the black arrow in the lower right corner to expand it.
   
4. In the expanded dialog box, enable the option to Allow Writing to Source File and choose OK.
   
5. After you’ve edited the table cell contents, select the table, right-click and choose Write Data Links to External Source.
   

The answer I provided for this Good Question assumes you already know how to create a data link. You can learn more about data links in one of my previous posts and I tried to post even more detailed information in future posts.

Workspaces in AutoCAD 2008

One of the first things you might notice when you launch AutoCAD 2008 is the new 2D Drafting and Annotation workspace… This is in addition to the existing 3D Modeling and AutoCAD Classic workspaces that were included in AutoCAD 2007.

If you select the 2D Drafting and Annotation workspace, AutoCAD automatically turns on and off various toolbars and palettes including the Dashboard. You can customize the 2D Drafting and Annotation workspace (or any other workspace) to create an AutoCAD environment that enables you to maximize your drawing area while maintaining easy access to the tools you need most.  For example, I configured my workspace so that the Command window and most toolbars are turned off. It’s okay! Don’t panic! I use Dynamic Input to read and respond to command prompts and if I need to see information from the Command window, I use the F2 (Function 2) key. I have all of the palette windows (Properties, Sheet Set Manager, etc) anchored on the left side with Auto-hide enabled. Those palettes provide all the tools I need… and look how much drawing space I have!!!

To create your own workspace, start with an existing workspace that most closely matches the environment you want. Then simply turn additional toolbars and palettes (including Dashboard panels) on and off. If you want certain palettes to be rolled up and/or anchored, apply those options by selecting them from the right-click menu.

Ensure that you include the Workspaces toolbar in your environment because you will need it to change workspaces. After you set up your environment the way you want, open the Workspaces menu and select Save Current As.

You can select a workspace from the drop-down list to override an existing one or enter a name to create a new workspace. Although you can override the default AutoCAD workspaces, I suggest you save your custom workspaces to different names so that you can restore the default AutoCAD workspaces if necessary. The Workspace Settings option in the right-click menu enables you to control the appearance and behavior of workspaces.

In a future post, I’ll show you how to customize the Dashboard in AutoCAD 2008. By combining the powerful functionality of a customized Dashboard with custom workspaces, you can create an efficient working environment with plenty of drawing area!

AutoCAD 2008 Customer Involvement Program

With the release of the Autodesk 2008 family of products, Autodesk offers a new Customer Involvement Program (CIP). The CIP enables you to help guide the direction of Autodesk design software by automatically sending Autodesk information about how you use the software. This sounds a little scary and, if you’re like me, you probably dismissed the CIP dialog box (which displays automatically when you first run AutoCAD 2008), without even reading the information. No worries! Here is some of the information you missed:

The Customer Involvement Program (CIP) is a program that dramatically improves the way Autodesk designs software and measures performance and quality. It lets customers be involved in helping make Autodesk products better meet their needs and the needs of the larger community of users.
Included in nearly all of Autodesk’s latest product releases, CIP automatically collects information about software features usage, system configuration and software errors from those customers that choose to participate. About once a day, a small file containing CIP information is sent to Autodesk’s servers.

Autodesk software designers and developers use this information to:

• Identify typical usage patterns
• Learn how new and experienced customers discover and use new features
• Learn how customers use multiple Autodesk products in concert to accomplish tasks
• Understand how features behave in complex, real-world configurations
• Learn more about error conditions that may be caused by software defects or configuration issues

The Customer Involvement Program collects the following types of information:

• Autodesk product commands used
• Name and version of your Autodesk products
• Operating system name and version
• System configuration information like processor, memory, and graphics card
• Errors conditions
• Format of data imported or exported from your Autodesk product
• IP address (used to estimate your country of origin)

The CIP program DOES NOT send actual design information to Autodesk so it is not possible for Autodesk to replicate your actual drawings or design information using the CIP information.

So what do you think? Are you ready to help define the future of AutoCAD? You can start or stop your participation in this program at any time.

To join the Customer Involvement Program:

1. Select Customer Involvement Program from the Help menu.
   


2. In the CIP dialog box, simply select Yes and choose OK. To discontinue participation in the CIP program, access the CIP dialog box again, and select No.
   

That's it! If you participate in the Customer Involvement Program, AutoCAD automatically sends the specified information to Autodesk. You don't have to do a thing!

Multiline Attributes in AutoCAD 2008… Yeah!

One of my favorite little enhancements in AutoCAD 2008 is the ability to create block attributes with multiple lines of text. The Attribute Definition and Edit Attribute dialog boxes include a new Multiple Lines control. When you select Multiple Lines, the Default text box is disabled and you’re provided with access the Multiline Attribute editor.

The Multiline Attribute editor is a simplified version of the MTEXT editor enabling you to enter text, adjust the width for text wrapping, insert fields, underline, and overline. You can use the right-click menu to access additional MTEXT editing options such as Import Text, Background color, and Autocaps. When you define a muiltiline attribute, an additional control in the Attribute Definition dialog box as well as in the Enhanced Attribute Editor, enables you to specify a Boundary Width.

Spell Checking in AutoCAD 2008

Spell checking has been enhanced in AutoCAD 2008 to further automate the spell checking process. When you launch the spell checker, the Check Spelling dialog box is immediately displayed without first requiring you to select objects. The Check Spelling dialog box has a new drop-down list from which you can choose where AutoCAD should check for spelling errors. The default is to check the entire drawing enabling you to simply choose Start to begin checking the entire drawing for spelling errors. Alternatively, you can choose to check only the current space/layout or specific objects that you select.

When AutoCAD detects a spelling error, it automatically highlights and zooms to the word in the drawing.

A new Check Spelling Settings dialog box provides more control over the spell checker behavior. You can specify whether to check dimension text, block attributes, and external references. Furthermore, a list of exclusion options enables you to specify sets of words that should be ignored such as words with numbers or punctuation.

Viewing 3D Block Definitions in AutoCAD 2008

In AutoCAD 2007, you can use many 3D tools within the block editor to edit your 3D blocks. However, you cannot use the 3D Orbit tool to easily view your 3D blocks while editing. Fortunately the block editor has been updated in AutoCAD 2008 so that you can use 3DORBIT. What is the quickest way to access 3DORBIT? Simply hold down the SHIFT key while you press and move the middle mouse wheel!

AutoCAD 2008 Graphics Hardware

AutoCAD 2008 includes support for Microsoft® Direct3D® hardware acceleration providing more flexibility for video cards. You can specify Direct3D or OpenGL® hardware acceleration in the Manual Performance Tuning dialog box which is accessible using the 3DCONFIG command. Regardless of which option you select for hardware acceleration, new texture compression enhancements will require less video memory and improve performance when display images and textures.

You can learn more about the graphics hardware that can take advantage of the new real-time 3D shading, shadows, and smooth-line display features in AutoCAD 2008 based products at http://www.autodesk.com/autocad-graphicscard.

Good Question: AutoCAD 2008 system requirements

Today's good question comes from John. He asked what the system requirements are for AutoCAD 2008.

Here is the complete list of the AutoCAD 2008 system requirements from www.autodesk.com/autocad Features and Specifications. You can find the system requirements for other applications by selecting the Features and Specifications link for specific products www.autodesk.com/products.

System Requirements

The system requirements for 32-bit AutoCAD:

• Intel® Pentium® 4 processor, 2.2 GHz Recommended
• Microsoft® Windows Vista™, Windows® XP Home and Professional (SP2), Windows® 2000 (SP4)
• 512 MB RAM
• 750 MB free disk space for installation
• 1024x768 VGA with True Color
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6.0 (SP1 or higher)

Available on CD (Worldwide) and DVD (select countries and languages)

Additional System Requirements for 64-bit AutoCAD

• Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Vista 64-bit
• AMD64 or Intel EM64T processor
• 1GB RAM, 2GB for Windows Vista 64-bit
• 750 MB free disk space for installation

AutoCAD 64-bit cannot be installed on a 32-bit Windows Operating System.

The System requirements for Windows Vista or 3D modeling (32 and 64-bit AutoCAD)

• Intel® 3.0 GHz or greater
• 2 GB RAM or greater
• 2 GB free hard disk available not including installation
• 1280 x 1024 32-bit color video display adapter (True Color) 128 MB or greater, OpenGL®, or Direct3D® capable workstation class graphics card. 
• For Windows Vista, a Direct3D capable workstation class graphics card with 128 MB or greater is required.

AutoCAD 2008... Come and get it!

AutoCAD 2008 is now available! To learn more about the powerful new functionality that will help increase your day-to-day productivity or to download a free trial, visit www.autodesk.com/autocad

You can also:

• Download the AutoCAD 2008 Preview Guide
• View the AutoCAD 2008 Demo Videos and
• Visit an Authorized Reseller near you

AutoCAD 2008... Check it out!

It won't be long until you can get your hands on AutoCAD 2008! Be prepared to make the most of your AutoCAD investment by learning what's new before you get it!

To learn more about AutoCAD 2008:

• Visit www.autodesk.com/preview2008
• View the Demo Videos (These are the same ones I've been posting over the past few weeks)
• Download the AutoCAD 2008 Preview Guide