JTB FlexReport graphic license reports for applications using FlexNet/FLEXlm,IBM LUM, 12D, SLM/Sentinel or LM-X SmartPurger Batch script DWG SSMPropEditor edit Sheet Set Properties on multiple sheets at a time. Works both with AutoCAD's Sheet Set Manager (SSM) and AutoCAD Architecture's Project Navigator (PN) AutoCAD Automation Tools Batch create and update drawings ACAD_db Sync AutoCAD block attributes with database ACA_db Sync Property Sets with a database DwgNotes add and edit notes in drawings DimNotes Automate dimension notes in AutoCAD XClipClean Delete excessive xclipped objects in AutoCAD TimberTool For timber/structural shapes in ADT/ACA DwgInfoTip Infotip (tooltip) for DWG files DWG Columns Show DWG properties in Explorer Columns HTools AutoCAD productivity tools HVACPAC AutoCAD plug-in for HVAC and Piping work UnitCAD for AutoCAD AutoCAD plug-in for automation with parameters. and more...
AutoCAD WS has been renamed to AutoCAD 360 and is from now on formally a member of the Autodesk 360 cloud based family. AutoCAD 360 offers viewing, editing, and sharing of CAD drawings (DWG), simplifying on-site redlining, as-built documentation, and design review and approval. But it has not only a new name…
A new mobile app update available at iTunes App Store or Google Play. In the mobile app the new “Smart Pen” will make it much easier to sketch with. If you sketch a circle it will be able to turn the rough circle into a real circle for example.
There are new AutoCAD 360 Pro mobile app plans and here are the top 12 reasons to get a Pro plan.
Create New Drawings - Easily create new drawings from scratch; perfect for initial layout sketching in the field.
Large File Support - Open and work on larger drawings with support for files up to 30MB with a Pro plan, or up to 40MB with a Pro Plus plan.
Third-Party Storage - Easily view, mark up, and edit drawings directly from popular cloud storage solutions, including Dropbox, Box, Egnyte, Buzzsaw, and custom WebDAV connections.
Advanced Layer Management - Advanced layer-management tools provide more control over your drawing. Quickly add, rename, isolate, invert, and lock layers for easier viewing and editing.
Properties and Attributes - Easily view object properties such as layer, length, and area. Also view, edit, and add block attributes data while you're in the field.
Block Libraries - Easily drag and place blocks onto a drawing directly from the drawing's block collection.
Drawing Coordinates - View the coordinates of points in a drawing, and use them to draw with more accuracy.
Added Drawing Tools - Added Arc and Arrow drawing tools help you draw and call out notes in drawings.
Faster, More Accurate Editing - More editing tools such as Extend Vertex, Offset, and Mirror help you edit drawings faster and with more accuracy.
More Measuring & Dimension Tools - Accurately measure lines, radius, and angles in your drawing. Also, additional dimension tools help you document drawings using line, radius, diameter, and angle dimensions.
Priority Support - Receive top-priority support and get quick problem resolution and fast answers to your questions.
Increased Storage Space - Take all of your drawings with you! AutoCAD 360 Pro plans afford you plenty of added storage space—up to 25GB with a Pro plan, and up to 100GB with a Pro Plus plan.
Finally there is a new, free AutoCAD 360 web app beta. It’s a ground-up redesign of Autodesk’s AutoCAD WS web app that was based on Flash but now is based on HTML 5.
This is what the web app looks like right now with drawing, editing and annotate tools.
AutoCAD Automation Tools 4.1 is now publicly released and makes it possible to update text found at a location by defining a rectangle with two coordinates. This is for example useful if a title block contains mtext or text objects not being part of an AutoCAD block object. The installers have also been updated to support AutoCAD 2014.
With AutoCAD Automation Tools multiple drawings can be automatically created from a typical drawing or updated based on a control file that can be created with an Excel template. Make the changes in Excel and let the program do all the work for you. This is a real time saver if you need to make adjustments on hundreds or thousands of drawings.
Existing customers can contact us for a free upgrade.
Autodesk DWG TrueView 2014 is now available in English, Japanese and French. This software is built on the same viewing engine as AutoCAD 2014 but with much less functionality but enough to view, measure on and print drawings or DXF files with. DWG TrueConvert software is also included making it possible to batch convert drawings between different versions.
If you don’t want to install and use the Akamai NetSession Interface download manager click on “click here” at the bottom of this dialog box and then in the next dialog box click OK and you’ll be able to download through the browser instead.
System Requirements 32 Bit Service Pack 3 (SP3) or later of the following: • Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional • Microsoft® Windows® XP Home The following operating systems: • Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise • Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate • Microsoft Windows 7 Professional • Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium • Microsoft Windows 8 • Microsoft Windows 8 Pro • Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise
64 Bit Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later of the following: • Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional The following operating systems: • Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise • Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate • Microsoft Windows 7 Professional • Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium • Microsoft Windows 8 • Microsoft Windows 8 Pro • Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise
Windows Vista is not supported.
DWG TrueView 2014 requires Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 and .NET Framework 4.0 Update 1.
If necessary, install the following .NET Framework versions on your system.
When I downloaded I got the file SetupDWGTrueView2014_ENU_64bit.sfx.exe (334 MB, and SetupDWGTrueView2014_ENU_32bit.sfx.exe is 252 MB) that runs the new Autodesk Self Extract and when ready the actual setup started.
Cleanup after installation
After you have installed you may delete both SetupDWGTrueView2014_ENU_32bit.sfx.exe or SetupDWGTrueView2014_ENU_64bit.sfx.exe and SetupDWGTrueView2014_ENU_64bit or SetupDWGTrueView2014_ENU_32bit folder that the files were extracted to.
If you want to deploy DWG TrueView silently here is how, just make sure the .NET Framework prerequisites are already installed first and you will be able to script this or deploy using SMS or SCCM.
Here is how to install it the easiest way: Setup.exe /q /w
alternatively specifying the ini file: Setup.exe /q /w /i setup.ini
Optionally you can look at the setup.ini to just install what you want to install alternatively edit the ini and remove what you don’t want to include or for example change the installation path by editing INSTALL_PATH=%ProgramFiles%\Autodesk or remove the desktop shortcut by editing CREATE_DESKTOP_SHORTCUT=YES.
To uninstall DWG TrueView locate the GUID for the software. Look up this key in regedit.exe and then search for TrueView: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
Below is what I found for DWG TrueView 2014 64-bit: {5783F2D7-D028-0409-0100-0060B0CE6BBA}
So either of these works fine, Passive display option. The installer displays a progress bar to the user that indicates that an installation is in progress but no prompts or error messages are displayed to the user. MsiExec.exe /x {5783F2D7-D028-0409-0100-0060B0CE6BBA} /passive
Quiet display option. The installer runs an installation without displaying a user interface. No prompts, messages, or dialog boxes are displayed to the user. Never restart option. The installer never restarts the computer after the installation. MsiExec.exe /x {5783F2D7-D028-0409-0100-0060B0CE6BBA} /quiet /norestart
This readme contains the latest information for Autodesk® DWG TrueView 2014. For reference, save or print this document. It is strongly recommended that you read this entire document before you install this product.
Install
Recommended: Install all Windows Updates before installing the product.
Product Help
The product Help, the Driver and Peripheral Guide, and the Readme are available in the Install directory Help folder after the installation. You can launch the Installation Help, System Requirements, or the Readme during installation or after the product is installed.
Point Cloud
You cannot view certain point cloud files in DWG TrueView if your graphics card does not support OpenGL® 3.3 or later. In addition, you cannot view these files in a Windows remote desktop session.
Platform
Installing the 32-bit version of Autodesk® DWG TrueView 2014 on a 64-bit platform is not supported.
DWG Convert EXE's and ZIP's Fail
When you use DWG Convert to create an EXE or ZIP file, the file is not created. This usually occurs if you are using multiple languages. The names of the files generated by AutoCAD-based products use Unicode standards and can be shared internationally. However, WinZip and EXE use a technology that is currently not Unicode-compliant.
ZIP files with non-ASCII characters cannot be exchanged and unzipped between systems with different code pages. That should not prevent using accented or Asian characters that match or are included on the current code page (German characters on English or German operating systems should work. Japanese characters on Japanese operating systems - or where the code page is set to Japanese - should also work).
Opening Damaged Drawings
When opening a damaged drawing, a dialog box appears asking the user to fix the file with the Recover command. This command is not implemented in TrueView. Instead, use the Check and fix errors option as follows.
Click the DWG Convert button.
Select the damaged file.
Click Conversion Setups.
Select "Standard" and click New.
Name the new setup (for example, Recover).
In the Modify Conversion Setup dialog box, set the Conversion packaged type to Folder (set of files).
Note: Do not select in-place (overwrite files), as this may cause conversion errors.
In the Action area, select Check and fix errors, and click OK.
Autodesk Design Review 2014 is still not available.
UnitCAD for AutoCAD is a unique 2D CAD automation solution. UnitCAD automates the creation of drawings by defining reusable unit components stored inside a database and controlled through parameters.
You define components for each CAD unit and the driving parameters which control its shape.
Scale List Cleanup Utility has been updated so it now works for both AutoCAD 2013 and AutoCAD 2014.
When a file contains excess scales, performance may be negatively affected. Eventually, the file may become unusable. To use the file, some scales must be removed. This utility repairs affected files by removing excess scales.
Nested external references (xrefs) may produce excess scales. To correct this problem, install AutoCAD 2008 Service Pack 1 or corresponding service packs for AutoCAD-based products. The Scale List Cleanup Utility repairs files affected before the necessary service pack was installed.
You can also clean affected files unattended from the Command prompt.
This utility works even without full AutoCAD. DWG TrueView 2013 can also be used.
Notes:
1. The Scale List Cleanup Utility repairs files affected before AutoCAD 2008 Service Pack 1 or corresponding service packs for AutoCAD-based products.
2. Drawings created by AutoCAD based vertical applications may have one scale that will not be removed by this utility.
The free utility is available here among Autodesk’s Updates & Service Packs.
Regapp ID Cleanup Utility has been updated so it now works for both AutoCAD 2013 and AutoCAD 2014.
When you delete an object with Extended Entity Data (xdata), a regapp ID remains in the application ID (APPID) symbol table. When a file contains excess unreferenced regapp IDs, performance and file size may be negatively affected.
This utility removes excess unreferenced registered application (regapp) IDs from multiple files simultaneously.
You can also clean affected files unattended from the Command prompt.
This utility works even without full AutoCAD. DWG TrueView 2013 can also be used.
The free utility is available here among Autodesk’s Updates & Service Packs.
Yes, the command line does not go away soon, but rather has been improved quite a lot with AutoCorrect, AutoComplete, Adaptive Suggestions, Synonym Suggestions, Internet Search and more. Unfortunately not everything is yet included if you prefer to use the dynamic input only.
Design Feed, accessible from the Autodesk 360 ribbon tab, displays a palette in which you can enter text messages and attach images to be shared online with colleagues, clients, and consultants through Autodesk 360. Posts appear with related drawings on the desktop, on the web, and across mobile devices.
Support for Geographic locations has been significantly enhanced. It includes the same Coordinate System Library as AutoCAD Map 3D and new Autodesk Live Maps.
Reality Capture enables you to take a 3D laser scan of an object, topography, a building or even an entire town and attach it to an AutoCAD drawing as point cloud data. You can then use it as a real‐world reference for your design work. This point cloud data is stored as thousands, even millions, of points in 3D space.
Point cloud functionality is enhanced in AutoCAD 2014 to support inserting of Point Cloud Project (RCP) and Scan (RCS) files produced by Autodesk ReCap.
Autodesk has announced their 2014 portfolio of tools for design, engineering and entertainment and they invite you to join for a special webcast on March 26, 2013 at 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern, 3pm UK and 4pm Europe to learn more. Via In the Fold.
BTW. Check out the new look on Autodesk’s website.
Autodesk focuses a lot on suites so some products are only available as part of a suite like for example Revit.
AutoCAD Design Suite Standard 2014
Building Design Suite 2014
Entertainment Creation Suite 2014
Factory Design Suite 2014
Infrastructure Design Suite 2014
Plant Design Suite 2014
Product Design Suite 2014
Press release below:
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The new Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) Design and Creation Suites offer unprecedented access to the Autodesk 2014 software portfolio spanning the desktop and cloud and allow building, product, plant, and factory design; engineering, construction and infrastructure; and entertainment creation professionals to innovate more. For the first time, the 2014 Design and Creation Suites include new reality capture software and services that more easily incorporate both laser scans and digital photographs of the physical world into the 3D design and engineering process.
“Autodesk’s commitment to making our 3D design, engineering and entertainment software portfolio accessible to customers through suites workflows that connect to value added services in the cloud is unwavering.”
The flexible, economical software access provided by Autodesk Suites means designers and engineers have a broader palette of tools to choose from — they can choose the best tool for the job at hand and better respond to changing business requirements. Suites customers on Autodesk Subscription will also have access to select Autodesk 360 cloud services that extend designers and engineers’ workflows to explore more design alternatives, collaborate more effectively and experience greater mobility. Subscription customers now can purchase additional cloud capacity as well.
“With our 2014 portfolio, organizations large and small across every industry can simply innovate more,” said Andrew Anagnost, senior vice president of Industry Strategy and Marketing at Autodesk. “Autodesk’s commitment to making our 3D design, engineering and entertainment software portfolio accessible to customers through suites workflows that connect to value added services in the cloud is unwavering.”
The 2014 family of Autodesk Design and Creation Suites includes:
Comprehensive Industry Workflows Include Reality Capture
A key addition to the 2014 portfolio of suites is Autodesk ReCap, a family of new reality capture software and cloud services that simplify the process of creating intelligent 3D data of physical objects and environments using laser scans and photos, allowing customers to bring the actual job site or physical objects into their design and engineering process.
Rather than beginning with a blank screen, designers and engineers can add, modify, validate and document their design process in context. For example, a civil engineer can bypass an existing bridge or expand the road underneath digitally and test feasibility with accurate survey data. At construction phase, builders can run digital clash detection to truly understand if existing utilities will be in the way. Urban planners can get answers to specific design questions about large areas, such as how much building roof surface is covered by shadow or vegetation.
The 2014 suites’ industry specific workflows address specific user needs and strengthen compatibility between products. For example, suites containing Autodesk Revit products and Autodesk AutoCAD software enjoy tighter interoperability so when it is time to import forms from AutoCAD into Revit products, the forms retain much greater integrity, or when it is time to output drawings in AutoCAD, users can generate 2D documentation within Revit products. Suites containing Autodesk Revit and Autodesk Inventor software will benefit from tighter interoperability that allows customers, such as building product manufacturers, to simplify and export an Inventor model into a Revit file format for the construction environment without exposing any sensitive intellectual property.
Better Together: Desktop and Cloud
Autodesk 360 extends the suites workflow advantage by connecting the desktop to secure and virtually infinite computing power in the cloud, helping subscribers rapidly design, visualize, simulate, and share their ideas anywhere, anytime.
Illustrating the power of a combining the cloud and desktop, Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2014 and Autodesk Building Design Suite 2014 introduce Autodesk InfraWorks software and Autodesk InfraWorks 360 cloud services. These new tools help accelerate the adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and cloud-based workflows for the planning, design, construction and management of civil infrastructure projects. Helping improve the civil infrastructure design process by engineering in 3D from the start, the software and services allow collaboration with a broad set of stakeholders on mobile and desktop platforms, and enables communication in new and visually compelling ways. Autodesk InfraWorks allows civil engineers and planners to design within the context of the real-world environment, helping to deliver projects, both large and small, by more efficiently managing even large-scale infrastructure models.
Economical Access
Finally, each suite offers an economical way for customers to access their primary design software—plus the complementary software and cloud services needed to more effectively complete design, engineering, or entertainment creation tasks. The 2014 Suites, which come in Standard, Premium or Ultimate editions, offer greater value than ever before:
Standard editions of all suites containing AutoCAD have added AutoCAD Raster Design software.
Autodesk Building Design Suite subscribers gain access to Autodesk Green Building Studio and energy analysis cloud services in the standard edition, as well as InfraWorks 2014 and the Optimization for Inventor cloud service in the Ultimate edition.
Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suite customers will benefit from new workflows like the ability to easily generate moving or idle crowds with populate, improved viewport display and shading, and the ability to create production-quality meshes with the new retopologizing options.
Autodesk Factory Design Suite includes more than 300 new factory assets.
Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite Premium now includes Autodesk InfraWorks 2014, Autodesk Roads and Highways Module for InfraWorks, Autodesk AutoCAD Utility Design software and for the first time, a single, comprehensive version of Autodesk Revit products that combines tools for architectural design, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) engineering and structural engineering.
Autodesk Plant Design Suite Ultimate adds Autodesk Inventor with Routed Systems, and the Plant Design Suite Premium edition now includes Autodesk 3ds Max Design software.
Autodesk Product Design Suite Premium now includes Autodesk Inventor Professional, and Autodesk Navisworks Manage has been added to the Product Design Suite Ultimate edition for clash detection. Both Product Design Suite Ultimate and Premium customers on Autodesk Subscription now have access to the Optimization for Inventor cloud service.
Availability
Availability varies by country. Suites customers on Subscription have access to select Autodesk 360 capabilities, and subscribers can purchase 100 additional cloud credits for only $100. See details and purchasing options at http://www.autodesk.com/purchaseoptions.
About Autodesk
Autodesk helps people imagine, design and create a better world. Everyone—from design professionals, engineers and architects to digital artists, students and hobbyists—uses Autodesk software to unlock their creativity and solve important challenges. For more information visit autodesk.com or follow @autodesk.
SSMPropEditor is the Sheet Set Manager Properties Editor for AutoCAD based products and SSMPropEditor 5.0 is now available and comes with the addition of localization for Italian, direct export and import to and from Excel and more.
The upgrade is free for customers that purchased an earlier version. Get the downloads here.
SSMPropEditor as AutoCAD app will be available later this month.
In this AutoCAD Sheet Sets training course, Autodesk CAD expert Brian Benton will show you how to create and manage Sheet Sets for your CAD projects, making you more efficient and organized. This tutorial is for users that already have a working knowledge of AutoCAD and want to get more organized and efficient. Sheet Sets are a way for you to organize your CAD sheets from one or more sets drawings. Brian will show you to how create Sheet Sets, and how to manage them in a way that will make organizing your projects much easier. You will learn how to automate data and info exchange with powerful properties, apply Sheet Sets to manage your projects, print and publish your Sheet Sets, and finally how to archive and submit your Sheet Sets. By the conclusion of this computer based training video for AutoCAD Sheet Sets, you will have a greater understanding of how to use Sheet Sets to effectively organize your projects and CAD drawings. Working files are included, allowing you to follow along with the author throughout the lessons. 3.25 hours and 37 lessons.
00. Free Videos From This Course
What You Will LearnAbout The AuthorTypical Uses And AdvantagesGetting Sheet Set Properties Into Your DrawingsThe Single Most Advantage To Using Sheet Sets Is PrintingWhat To Do With Your Electronic Files?
1. What You Will Learn
0101 What You Will Learn
2. Introducing AutoCAD Sheet Sets
0201 Introducing Sheet Sets
0202 Typical Uses And Advantages
0203 The Sheet Set Manager
0204 Sheets
0205 Subsets
0206 Publishing And Exporting
0207 Properties
3. Creating A Sheet Set
0301 Where To Start
0302 Starting With A Blank Sheet Set - Inserting Layouts
0303 Create A Sheet Set From A Template
0304 Advantages To Both Methods And My Recommendations
4. Automating Data/Info Exchange
0401 The Power Of Sheet Sets Is In Properties
0402 Getting Sheet Set Properties Into Your Drawings
0403 Default Properties
0404 Custom Properties
0405 The Differences And Uses Of Sheet Properties
And Set Properties
0406 Sheet Views
0407 Using Sheet Views And Their Benefits
0408 Sheet List Table
5. Project Management
0501 Use A Sheet Set Template And A Drawing Template
0502 Prepare You Title Block For Sheet Sets
0503 Put Page Setups In Your Template File
0504 Put Project Data In Custom Sheet Set Properties
0505 Creating New Files With The SSM
0506 Folders
6. Plot/Print Publish
0601 The Single Most Advantage To Using
Sheet Sets Is Printing
0602 Print To DWF, PDF, Plotter
0603 Publishing
0604 Miscellaneous Printing/Publishing Options
0605 Sheet Set Publish Options And Subset Publishing
0606 Page Setup Overrides
7. Submitting And/Or Archiving Files/Drawings
0701 What To Do With Your Electronic Files?
0702 eTransmit
0703 Archiving With The Sheet Set Manager
0704 Transmittal Setups
8. About The Author
0801 About The Author
Almost two months ago BricsCAD Sheet Set functionality was added and I was not impressed. BricsCAD v13.1.11 is the most recent version but in BricsCAD v13.1.10 there were some improvements in this area:
SHEET SETS:
New Sheet dialog:
added browse buttons for folder path and layout template.
new number is entered automatically, based on current number of sheets and using the new 'SheetNumberLeadingZeroes' preference
import from existing drawings: new sheets are automatically numbered, the sheet title can now be the drawing name, layout name or both.
when creating new sheets, custom sheet properties are now copied into the new sheet(s).
Edit Custom properties: adding, editing and removing sheetset and sheet custom properties.
when a sheet is opened, paths are now being resolved (dst: NewSheetLocation, DefDwtLayout; dwg: AcSheetSetData).
a sheet can now be associated with another layout, when it is opened and the drawing is not found.
when creating a new subset, the parent subset's properties are now copied into the new subset.
Sheetset fields sometimes failed to update correctly.
when changing a property in a subset that contains nested subsets, the user is asked if he wants to apply the same change to the nested subsets.
Explorer: removed "Prompt for Template" property from sheetset/subset property view.
Explorer: added "New Subset" to the sheet context menu for inserting a new subset between existing sheets.
added automatic backup of DST files upon opening, controlled by the 'SheetSetAutoBackup' preference.
added sheetset XML import/export.
Version 13.1.6 included this fix:
SHEET SETS: fields failed to update.
Version 13.1.7 included these fixes:
SR37041 - Sheet Sets:
When a sheetset was modified 'Save changes?' dialog now appears before the Drawing Explorer closes; a Cancel button was added; when 'No' is chosen, the sheetset tree branch is restored to its original contents.
Improved finding the dst for for drawings coming from another location.
Version 13.1.8 included these fixes:
SR37058 - SHEET SETS:
Sheet sets coming from another location (or older application version) can contain paths that do not exist on the current system. These paths are now resolved as much as possible upon opening of the sheetset.
New Sheet Set dialog:
reorganized pages
display nested subsets
display subsets also when creating sheetset from existing drawings
added context menu to layout list for selecting none/all/first of drawing
Field dialog: sheetset fields value was not displayed unless one of the format types was selected.
Added 'total number of sheets' to sheetset properties and sheetset fields: SheetSet.SheetCount and Subset.SheetCount (BricsCAD-only field types).
Here are some AutoLISP commands that can be useful if you want to rotate or twist the view. Change 90 to any other angle if you like. For counterclockwise change to –90. If you have a recent version of AutoCAD and just want 90 degrees relative rotation use the built in ViewCube functionality and the two arrows at the top right.
The DVIEW command can be used to also manually to twist the view using the twist option that twists or tilts the view around the line of sight. The twist angle is measured counterclockwise, with 0 degrees to the right.
The AutoCAD system variable VIEWTWIST stores the view rotation angle for the current viewport measured relative to the WCS and is also named as “Roll angle” (Displays the rotation angle of the view within your viewing plane, which is a plane parallel to your monitor's screen.) in the View Manager. This is being used for rotating the view relative the current rotation.
; By Jimmy Bergmark, www.jtbworld.com ; Rotate 90 degrees relative the current twist rotation (defun c:r90 () (command "._dview" "" "_twist" (+ (* 180.0 (/ (getvar "viewtwist") pi)) 90 ) "") (princ) )
JTBCatenary 1.0 is now released. This Catenary program for AutoCAD makes it easy to create or draw a catenary curve as a polyline by specifying the start and end point and the length and optionally a diameter (width). This can be useful for drawing a freely hanging cable, hose, chain, transmission line, anchor line (anchor rode), cord, rope, string, suspension bridge cable, arch, hawser, wire or the like.
Feel free to visit JTBCatenary and download the trial.
AutoCAD’s Sheet Set Manager (SSM) can be used to just manage Sheets and their title blocks in a Sheet Set but there is also functionality to manage callouts and view labels.
A view on one sheet can refer to a view on another sheet. Hyperlinks of callouts makes it possible to quickly open the sheet that is referenced by the callout zooming into the view. There can be multiple callouts referring to one sheet view and when the sheet view is renamed and renumbered this will be reflected on all callouts.
Sheet Set Manager is now included also in AutoCAD LT since the 2012 version.
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Here is what AutoCAD’s documentation says about Sheet Views:
A view on a sheet, called a sheet view, consists of several coincident entities:
an xref or geometry in model space
a layout viewport on a sheet
a named view in paper space
The Sheet Set Manager automates and enhances the process for adding views to a sheet.
The sheet view can display model space from a different drawing file. In this case, that drawing is attached as an xref in your current drawing. The layers of that drawing file are displayed only in the sheet view that you create.
Note The xref is attached using a relative path. If you need to change the path to a fully specified (absolute) path, use the External References palette.
A layout viewport that displays the model space view is created on your current sheet.
A named view that encompasses the area of the layout viewport is created in paper space.
When you place a sheet view on a sheet, all the layers in the current drawing (including layer 0) are frozen in the new viewport created by the view. The layers are shown as frozen in the VP Freeze column of the Layer Properties Manager.
If you need to remove a sheet view from a sheet, you can delete the layout viewport to remove the view. However, to remove all unused items, you need to detach the xref and delete the named paper space view.
Note! The easiest method for removing a sheet view immediately after placing it is to use UNDO.
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A prerequisite for creating Sheet Views is that there is at least one location added to Model Views tab in SSM.
Then the models need named modelspace views that can be created with the VIEW command. Only sheet views created in AutoCAD 2005 or later are listed on the Sheet Views tab. Then they will show up like this.
Right click on a Model View and select Place on Sheet or drag and drop it into a sheet that you have open. This will create a viewport based on the view boundaries on the layout of the sheet, attach the model as an xref taking layer visibility into account and add a view label with its insertion point at the lower left corner of the viewport.
Before the view is placed you have an option to select the view scale. Just move the mouse over the blank sheet and the preview of the view. Right-click and a list of scale options appears where you you can select a scale.
Having placed a Sheet View on a Sheet you can double click on the View found on the Sheet Views tab in SSM.
One problem with moving the viewport in AutoCAD is that the actual view often get distorted as seen below showing much more than needed.
The Sheet Views are named Layout Views views on steroids. They can be edited and deleted with the View command. Note that Viewport association is Yes. Viewport association displays whether the named view is associated with a viewport on a sheet in a sheet set. It is not possible to create a new view in View Manager to have a viewport association or to change an existing view if Viewport association is set to No as it is greyed out. A limitation is that changing the view on the master drawing after a view has been placed on a sheet will not either update the view as expected.
In SSM right click on the view and you get the options to Display, Rename & Renumber, Set category, Place Callout Block and Place View Label Block.
After using Rename & Renumber the Sheet View name can be different than the name of the view that shows up in View Manager and the other way around.
To delete a sheet view just erase the viewport and its view label block. This will leave the callouts not knowing what sheet view to point on. The xref to the model needs also to be detached manually if not needed longer.
A general warning is to never overwrite fields (text with gray background) like the one seen when double clicking on a sheet view label block. Doing that will break the smart link that the field holds.
What if you want to move the sheet view to another sheet? If you take CUTCLIP and PASTECLIP of the viewport and view label block you will notice that the xref to the model view is not included and the linked callouts will not know where to go and so on. Right now the way to do it is more or less manually recreating the sheet view and its callouts.
There is still a lot of room for improvements to the Sheet Set Manager within AutoCAD as you will notice if you try to use it to the full. But even with the existing functionalities it can help to ease your AutoCAD life.
JTB World’s SSMPropEditor can be a useful complement to the Sheet Set Manager. At this point there is no support for handling sheet views but if you have this need feel free to let me know and it might be added in a future version. We are also able to do other kind of Sheet Set Manager customizations based on user requests.
The new BricsCAD (Windows) version 13.1.5 has got Sheet Set Manager functionality added.
I downloaded the trial to make a quick test of it.
During the test I got several problems, bugs, crashes and error messages…
and found that it is only a small subset of AutoCAD’s Sheet Set Manager functionality that has been added and not everything has been done correct either.
BricsCAD also hijacked my DST files.
I could not find a way to create custom properties for example. I expect there will be several fixes in upcoming versions to rectify these things. If I were a BricsCAD user I would be very hesitant to start using the Sheet Set functionality until it is more stable.
The good news is that our SSMPropEditor seems to work fine with the Sheet Set DST files BricsCAD creates or edits. Thus any BricsCAD user that want to for example edit properties on multiple sheets at once will find SSMPropEditor beneficial.
Would you like to use AutoCAD together with an external database? With ACAD_db block attribute values can automatically be updated back and forth to one or many external databases. If you make changes to the attribute values they can be synchronized back to the external database or the other way around.
The main news in version 2.0 is support for AutoCAD 2013 based products and support for Oracle database.
Contact us to get a time limited license file for free.
SSMPropEditor is the Sheet Set Manager Properties Editor for AutoCAD based products and SSMPropEditor 4.6 is now available and comes with the addition of localization for Spanish and French as well as some bug fixes.
The upgrade is free for customers that purchased any earlier version. Get the downloads here.
I was looking at some options to convert PDF files to AutoCAD formats like DWG and DXF and here is the result using the free online service www.convertpdftoautocad.com. www.pdftodxf.com from the same company should work if you want the result in DXF format but the PDF files I tried did not work (according to the company due to a temporary glitch). As with all online services you need to consider if you can trust to use them or not, no matter if the privacy policy says it should be 100% safe.
This shows part of the PDF I uploaded as a test.
And here is the resulting DWG file that you get a download link to in an email. Some of the text is correctly converted while some other text could not be converted. Geometries seems to convert quite fine even though the result is not circles or whatever objects you started with but instead mostly polylines and some hatch objects. The text comes in on layer T, polylines on layer P and hatches on layer H.
Other methods are to use Adobe Acrobat (depending on version) may have the copy graphics tool to copy the graphics to the clipboard. Adobe Illustrator that can save a PDF in DWG or DXF format. The free Ghostscript & GSView can export PDF to DXF. There are also specific products to purchase for this specific functionality.
Note that if you have raster PDF files instead of linework PDF files you may not be able to convert them. Some text might be linework and will also be converted to lines instead of text.
Finally there might not be a need to convert the PDF. Attaching it as a reference in AutoCAD might even be the best choice.
With AutoCAD Automation Tools many manual drafting tasks in AutoCAD can be automated. Batch create new drawings (.DWG) based on templates. Add objects, blocks or xrefs to existing drawings. Update text and attribute values and much more.
Support for mtext with more than 250 characters can be searched and replaced.
Search and replace, replaces not only the first found occurrence now
-AutoGen, -AutoInst, -AutoUpd working as command line versions
AutoGen has the option to quit AutoCAD when run as the command line version -AutoGen
AutoUpd now supports what tabs to be affected
More options to determine tabs/layouts to be affected. Thus old Excel or txt templates may not work as expected. AllLayouts* is renamed to LayoutTabs*. "Model space" renamed to ModelTab*. "Paper space" renamed to CurrentLayoutTab*
Miscellaneous bug fixes
Solved a problem to run on some older AutoCAD versions
Existing AutoCAD Automation Tools customers will be emailed the link to the perpetual version.
Trial version is available at the download section of the product web page.
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