Happy Friday!!
Here's some fun trivia to get your weekend off to a happy start!
What was Autodesk's "dancing baby" affectionately named? And what 1990's sitcom propelled it to international fame? What song did it dance to?
Follow me on twitter and reply with your answers!
Lynn Allen’s AutoCAD Tips and Tricks books have been a hot item for more than a decade! Lynn’s blog includes links to many of her books. And RK McSwain has an even more compressive list on his CADPanacea blog covering every year from 2005 to 2018. Was there anything before 2005?
I was digging through some storage boxes and came across these early AutoCAD Tips and Tricks books… These are the very first versions… if I remember correctly.
But 2003 is missing. Who knows why? Follow me on twitter to learn the answer!
Ha! I like the theme of this post, it combines ch-ch-ch-changes (aka revisions) with clouds!
Revision clouds are a quick and easy way for you to indicate changes on a drawing.
Access the Revision Cloud tool from the Annotate ribbon tab (REVCLOUD command). You can draw a revision cloud using any of the methods listed in the menu (Rectangular, Polygonal, or Freehand). Or, if you already have geometry (such as a circle) drawn around the area you want to include in the revision cloud, you can use the Object option from within any of these three methods and then select the geometry to convert it to a revision cloud.
The REVCLOUD commands includes additional options for you to control the Arc length, style, and to modify the boundaries.
Check out this video to see revision clouds in action!
Tip: This works in AutoCAD LT too
AutoCAD is a HUGE application allowing you to draw nearly anything you can image. But it can be overwhelming, especially if you’ve never used it before. Fortunately there are many resources available to help you learn what it’s capable of and, even more importantly, learn how to use it!
If you’re completely new to AutoCAD, maybe just starting to research CAD programs, here a few resources to get you started.
The AutoCAD Overview page on Autodesk.com offers a high-level overview of AutoCAD with links to other valuable resources including the free trial and system requirements.
For a more comprehensive understanding of AutoCAD’s capabilities, visit the Features page. Here you’ll find a long list of AutoCAD functionality. The top of the page describes the newest additions to AutoCAD while the rest of the page displays a long list of core functionality such as object grips, dimensions, etc. If you select the Learn More link for any of those features, you can quickly link to relevant topics in the AutoCAD Online Help system.
There are many other pages and links from the AutoCAD product page on Autodesk.com but the last ones I’ll mention here are the Compare Products and Compare Releases pages. These can be especially helpful if you’re trying to decide which AutoCAD to buy (AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, or AutoCAD for Mac) or if you want to see what functionality has been added in the more recent releases of AutoCAD.
There are many, MANY more resources to help you learn AutoCAD. I’ll introduce you to some of my favorites in future posts.
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No, this post isn’t a about remodeling homes or swapping wives. We’re focusing on AutoCAD, remember???
In honor of Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes, this post introduces you to the Change Space tool (CHSPACE command). It allows you to easily change objects between paperspace and modelspace while maintaining their appearance. For example, maybe you created notes, a table, or other annotative type objects in modelspace… because that’s how you (or someone you work with) has always done it. But, in most cases, it makes more sense for those kinds of objects to be on the layout (paper space).
In the example above, you simply click into the viewport from the layout and then launch the Change Space tool from the Modify flyout or by typing CHSPACE at the Command line.
Select the objects in that viewport that you want to change to paperspace and press enter. The result looks exactly the same but the objects are removed from modelspace and added to paperspace.
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Happy Friday!
If you’re an AutoCAD fan and a history buff, this post is for you!
In 1987 John Walker (Autodesk Founder) published The Autodesk File, a book about the early history of Autodesk (which, at the time was almost entirely about AutoCAD). I still have the copy I was given in 1992 as a new employee and I refer to it every so often (mostly for fun historic facts). Geez… don’t I have anything better to do with my time?
You can download a PDF file from John Walker’s site. Or, if you prefer a hardcopy, I noticed it’s available on Amazon.
Happy Reading... and Happy Weekend!
I first launched my "AutoCAD Insider" blog more than 12 years ago enabling me to combine my passion for AutoCAD with my passion for education. However, as you may have read in my last post, my blog has been silent for nearly two years while I’ve been posting on the official AutoCAD Blog.
But, times are changing…
After more than 26 years at Autodesk, today is my last day as an “AutoCAD Insider”. I’m venturing out of the box (sphere? cylinder? torus?) to become an AutoCAD consultant as well as pursue my increasing interest in real estate and property management.
Today I’m excited to relaunch my blog under a new name: Above the Clouds. As savvy AutoCAD users you may have caught the AutoCAD reference in the banner image. Point clouds? Revision clouds? Yes and yes. But, more subtly, it refers to the location from which I’m blogging. My Colorado mountain home is in the “City above the Clouds."
While the majority of my posts may focus on AutoCAD, don’t be surprised to see an occasional Fun Friday post about hiking, camping, or wildlife in the Colorado Rockies!
Thanks for visiting Above the Clouds and I hope to see you back here again soon!
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Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Time to face the strange
Autodesk Product Support 1992, 10 year anniversary party invite, CAD Camp 1992 (before AU existed!)
Autodesk just announced the release of AutoCAD 2017! Woo hoo!
Want to learn more? You won’t find it here.
Visit the new and only official AutoCAD Blog for the most current information on AutoCAD! That’s where I’m blogging from now on!
We’ve already migrated some of my favorite content, such as the AutoCAD preview guides and demo videos from the AutoCAD Insider to the AutoCAD Blog. You’ll find them and many more resources on the AutoCAD Resources page. If there’s any other content you’d like to see migrated from the AutoCAD Insider to the official AutoCAD Blog, please reach out to us via the Contact page. And, we’re always looking for guest authors so if you have a favorite topic you’d like to write about, let us know! Again, you can do that through the Contact page.
Thank you for your loyalty to the AutoCAD Insider over the years. I’m excited about the opportunity to focus on the new and OFFICIAL AutoCAD Blog. So many exciting things to come!
Come visit us on the AutoCAD Blog!
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Heidi Hewett
AutoCAD Technical Marketing Manager/Social Media Lead
Autodesk recently announced a settlement in their dispute with ZWCAD Software. In a subsequent blog post, Autodesk Vice President of AutoCAD Products, Amy Bunszel, emphasizes the continued innovation of AutoCAD software and its “100% compatibility with the vast network of 3rd party applications and Trusted DWG files.”
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