Blogger Blog list reviewed and added

Head over to the blog if you are in an RSS reader and look at the new "My Blog List" that is on the right side a bit down. This is available via Blogger in draft but I was not able to Import subscriptions from Google Reader using IE7 as it just hanged, but when using FireFox it worked even though the import was really slow.

The new Blog List gadget is right now only available if you log in to Blogger in draft.

Here are settings available and how to add from Google Reader.

               

I just wish it was updated in real-time if a Google Reader tag is selected so any changes you make in Google Reader is directly reflected in Blogger.

Head over to the blog and look at it.

See also Blogger in Draft blog

ACA_db 2 released for AutoCAD Architecture 2009

With ACA_db you can use AutoCAD Architecture or MEP more fully in your BIM process.

Property Set values can automatically be updated or populated with values that you have available and updated in an external database.

The ACA_db program finds database connection on selected objects in the active drawing and property set(s) that has definition(s) with specific database links and updates them accordingly.

ACA_db will improve the BIM process and experience and will improve quality of your data and remove redundancy and conflicts of data. ACA_db is easy to setup and use.

AutoCAD 2007, WDS and Deduplication - What is the truth?

See the new comment by Bob Gilbert in this previous post for latest news.

Riverbed recently completed a set of tests of AutoCAD 2007 and AutoCAD 2004 with four vendors' WDS appliances: Riverbed, Cisco WAAS, Silver Peak and Blue Coat....

• All products that use de-duplication are affected by the new file format
• Customers can still see significant time savings by using WDS appliances, even with the new file format
• Vendors who use de-duplication and claim to be unaffected by this are not providing complete or accurate information
...

http://blocksandfiles.com/article/5013

Future-dated posts to Blogger with Live Writer

Blogger now schedules future-dated posts is no longer beta. Now I just wish Windows Live Writer (WLW) add support for this. It warns me about not supporting this but it sure does work if you just click on Yes. This is great news.

JTB FlexReport 4.1.2 released

JTB FlexReport 4.1.2 is now available to help you report on your network license usage. Check the revision history for details.

Autodesk's new prior usage and Package license file introduced with AutoCAD 2009 and other 2009 products is fully supported.

Fully functional trial is available upon request.

PS. This information has been emailed to all customers and trial users and if you have not received any email it might be that your email filter has stopped it so please contact me one way or the other.

You're Not as Backed Up as You Think

Ziff Davis Enterprise has a white paper about online backup, SaaS backup, cloud backup or whatever you want to call it. I've used Mozy for quite a while and think it's really convenient. My Outlook PST files, Visual Studio projects, AutoCAD drawings, everything is backuped and I don't need to think about closing Outlook or AutoCAD to have the backup working in the background several times a day.

IT departments typically configure user PCs so all work files are stored on network drives. But most users circumvent this approach, storing files on their hard drives. Additionally, laptops users often work outside the office and offline, synchronizing only sporadically and keeping their current work on the local drive. As a result, data on local drives doesn’t get backed up.

I know by experience how true that is with users having the bad habit to save all their CAD work on the desktop instead of in the correct location on the network for example.

You can find the white paper here after registering.

If you want to just try Mozy you can do it for free as long as you don't need to backup more than 2 GB. If you need more there are affordable plans for unlimited space.

Why was not this simple thing fixed or added to AutoCAD 2009?

Don't underestimate the work needed to implement something new for a large company like Autodesk.

Now that AutoCAD 2009 is on your desktop or installed you might wonder why didn't Autodesk fix this or that or add this simple thing that would save my day. Take a look at the newsgroups and you'll see proof of that.

I looked at the list of people behind AutoCAD 2008 that is showing in the hidden easter egg and found the following:

118 Software Development
59 Test Development
7 Integration and Build
18 User Assistance
16 Product Design
15 Product Management & Marketing
9 Project Management
38 World Wide Localization
3 Beta Team
11 Interns
7 Special Helpers
9 Senior Management

The AutoCAD 2009 team is probably in the same size.

So here is one small wish I have listed on my AutoCAD 2009 page:
"Saveall command should respect the Options setting to save in another version."

How much work can it be?

It might look like this in no specific list order:

One developer to spend five minutes implementing the change.

Activate the Beta Team so some guinea pigs can give it a try outside the walls of Autodesk.

One program manager to write the specification.

One localization expert to review the specification for localizability issues.

One usability expert to review the specification for accessibility and usability issues.

At least one dev, tester and PM to brainstorm security vulnerabilities.

One PM to add the security model to the specification.

One tester to write the test plan.

One test lead to update the test schedule.

One tester to write the test cases and add them to the nightly automation.

Three or four testers to participate in an ad hoc bug bash.

One technical writer to write the documentation.

One technical reviewer to proofread the documentation.

One copy editor to proofread the documentation.

One documentation manager to integrate the new documentation into the existing body of text, update tables of contents, indexes, etc.

Eleven translators to translate the documentation and error messages into all the languages supported by AutoCAD.The managers for the translators probably live in in other countries like China and Europe, which are both severely time-shifted from the HQ, so dealing with them can be a fairly complex logistical problem.

A team of senior managers to coordinate all these people, write the cheques, and justify the costs to their Vice President.

Still wondering? Hopefully not that much now.

I was thinking about the post Is Eeyore Designing Your Software? when I wrote this.

Solve uninstall problems with Windows Installer CleanUp Utility

If you fail to install any program this utility can come handy. It is one of the tools you should know about and use in emergency situations. It can be used even with Autodesk products like AutoCAD.

Once you have removed the application using the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility, it is strongly recommended that you follow the steps in solution TS45252 to remove other Autodesk applications and clean up any folders or registry keys left behind.

Download and instructions on Microsoft.com and Autodesk Knowledge Base document: Product uninstall from the Control Panel fails

Silver Peak still significant performance gains with DWG 2007

Head over to the blog post "Riverbed and DWG 2007 file format workaround" and read the comment by Silver Peak on the DWG file format changes and WAN accelerators issue.

"Riverbed is affected by the AutoCAD file format/ISP setting issue more so than rival Silver Peak, and Silver Peak would like the world to know. To be clear, Riverbed will still accelerate AutoCAD DWG files over the WAN, even on a full save, but the data reduction is less than what Silver Peak is able to accomplish." - Infoworld

I'm still wondering how it is with AutoCAD 2009 and verticals like AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009 and there were no word on verticals in the article.

Understanding Floating Point Precision in AutoCAD, Excel, etc.

AutoCAD has had 64-bit accuracy in the 32-bit platform for many years but still with 64-bit accuracy things can go wrong with with "unexpected" result.

Why is 1.320 - 1.3190 not equal to 0.001 when it really is 0.001?

Be careful when you make comparisons like this.

Both AutoCAD, Excel and many other applications are designed in accordance to the IEEE Standard for Binary Floating-Point Arithmetic (IEEE 754). The standard defines how floating-point numbers are stored and calculated.

A floating-point number is stored in binary in three parts within a 65-bit range: the sign, the exponent, and the mantissa.

1 Sign Bit
11 Bit Exponent
1 Implied Bit
52 Bit Mantissa

A detailed article that describes this thoroughly is Understanding Floating Point Precision, aka “Why does Excel Give Me Seemingly Wrong Answers?”

Solution to Outlook.exe keep running after exit

For some time I've run into the problem that Outlook 2007 is not closed fully. The application is no longer visible but the process keeps running as can be seen in Task Manager. It is normal that it can take a few seconds up to some minutes but now it never stops running. And if an email comes during this time I got notified about it and can open that email. If I try to start Outlook it shows the application using the same Outlook.exe process. This happens on Vista SP1 and might happen on other Windows versions as well.

The solution in my case was that I found Skype (version 3.6) locking up Outlook because it was set to "Show Outlook Contacts" in the View menu. When I disabled that option Outlook closed as it should.

 

One symptom I have seen is that I get the notification that "A data file did not close properly the last time it was used as is being checked for problems. Performance might be affected while the check is in progress."

Another is this message when starting Outlook could be "Outlook failed to start correctly last time. Starting Outlook in safe mode will help you correct or isolate the startup problem in order to successfully start the program. Some functionality may be disabled in this mode. Do you want to start Outlook in safe mode?"

Then "Data file check in process" can be seen for quite a while.

Some other tips if this happens are to check the consistency of the PST files using SCANPST.EXE. Check also for other applications that might connect to Outlook or access the PST files like Google Desktop. Antivirus programs could also be the cause of the locks.

If nothing else works you can try to select "Perform an automatic sen/receive when exiting." in Options>Send/Receive...

Windows Vista indexing sidebar gadget

and after a while the index is up-to-date

I rely heavily on being able to quickly find information on my computer and among my emails in Outlook so this is a useful gadget.

It's easy to pause the indexing and also force it to index now with the latest Windows Search 4 update for Vista. Previously I used a couple of home made shortcuts for that purpose to a couple of cmd files with:
NET START "Windows Search"
and also
NET STOP "Windows Search"

Thanks Brandon Paddock for making it available. Get it via his blog or directly here.

I got an error that it could not find the adaptive.vbs script file but it was easily solved by adding an "en-us" folder and move the vbs folder there.

Package license file introduced with AutoCAD 2009

One of the new features in Autodesk 2009 products is prior version support.

This knowledge base document describes the details:

Package license files for prior version licensing

Issue

You received a package license file for prior version network licensing and you want to know more about the new license file format.

Solution

The package license file contains a set number of licenses for four different versions of your software. For example, an AutoCAD 2009 package license file will contain a set number of licenses that can be used for AutoCAD 2009, 2008, 2007 or 2006. Note: Running an instance of any one of these versions will consume one license in the package. Running more than one version, even on the same machine, will consume more than one license in the package.

If you have a 2-license package for AutoCAD 2009, the following scenarios can be expected:

• Two machines running AutoCAD 2009 will consume two licenses. No licenses will be available for other users.
• The same machine running AutoCAD 2008 and AutoCAD 2009 will consume two licenses. No licenses will be available for other users.
• The same machine running three instances of AutoCAD 2007 will consume one license. One license will be available for other users.

Important notes regarding package license files:

• Package license files come with the current version and three previous versions of the same product only. It is not possible to configure the products included in the package in any way.
• Package license files may be combined as usual with license files for different products. See the following solution for details on combining license files: Combining Autodesk® license files.
• Do not combine package license files with non-package license files for product versions contained in the package. Doing so will disable the older license INCREMENT for the product and only the package license count will be available. For example, do not combine an AutoCAD 2009 package license file with a regular license file for AutoCAD 2008, 2007 or 2006. 
• Both the PACKAGE and INCREMENT sections of this license file are required for licensing to work correctly. When you combine license files, be sure to include both of these sections along with any PLIST INCREMENTs.
• License borrowing, options files and license cascading work the same for package license files as they do for regular license files. When you configure an options file, use the feature codes of the individual product versions contained within the package. For example, if you want to reserve 5 licenses of AutoCAD in an options file, you will need four separate RESERVE statements, one for the feature code that corresponds to each version.

The following is an example of a package license file for AutoCAD 2009:

SERVER servername 123456789012
USE_SERVER
VENDOR adskflex port=2080
PACKAGE 64300ACD_F adskflex 1.000 COMPONENTS="57600ACD_2009_0F \
    54600ACD_2008_0F 51200ACD_2007_0F 48800ACD_2006_0F" \
    OPTIONS=SUITE SUPERSEDE ISSUED=09-Apr-2008 SIGN="012E 89A4 \
    36DD 8159 57BA 4F7E 90B7 8D70 F7BB 894D F530 73BD 9F61 CFB5 \
    B219 1F86 83A0 A9B1 6996 6866 B63A D7F2 88B7 0DDB AFB4 C576 \
    90BE 792B 7YT4 2AE1" SIGN2="1150 74B2 6D6C D194 9IT2 0B6E F745 \
    BE18 48A1 D48B B049 0A4A F4B0 7F13 45DE 04E3 BDEA EA5B EE04 \
    806B 4001 C1BB 4826 423A 971D 4349 12AA 6178 724F 4257"
INCREMENT 64300ACD_F adskflex 1.000 permanent 1 \
    VENDOR_STRING=nfr:permanent BORROW=4320 SUPERSEDE DUP_GROUP=UH \
    SUITE_DUP_GROUP=UHV ISSUED=09-Apr-2008 SN=321-12345678 \
    SIGN="016F 83DD FBDE 7D7E 7E53 AD0F 0750 2B2C 04EB A746 B2BB \
    41C0 5986 C1F1 7603 1128 F51B 920C 3CA7 B8FF 6B39 D4C7 6C44 \
    F86B E5C2 683C 0FB2 7904 4393 D8A8" SIGN2="0236 3870 7AC9 B755 \
    123A F111 AFEF HS%$ 4554 3EE6 547E 8DE4 E7D3 26D8 96EA 0398 \
    A696 1A87 2DCE 04B0 E49C 910C B707 459D JD6A 92C3 0120 BCAA \
    961F AC90"
INCREMENT PLIST adskflex 1.000 permanent 1 \
    VENDOR_STRING=A07:51600ACDLAND_2007_0F:52200CIV3D_2007_0F;B07:51900AMECH_PP_2007_0F:51300INVBUN_11_0F:52900INVPRORS_11_0F:53000INVPROSIM_11_0F:51400INVPRO_11_0F;C07:51200ACD_2007_0F:52500REVITS_9_0F:54100REVITS_9_1F:53700REVSU_3_0F:54200REVSU_4_0F;D07:52600REVIT_9_0F:52500REVITS_9_0F;E07:57600ACD_2009_0P:59300INVBUN_2009_0P;F07:51800BLDSYS_2007_0F:53100REVSYP_1_0F:54500REVSYP_2_0F;G07:53400REVITST_3_0F:53700REVSU_3_0F;H07:54300REVIT_9_1F:54100REVITS_9_1F;I07:54400REVITST_4_0F:54200REVSU_4_0F;A08:55500ACDLAND_2008_0F:55400CIV3D_2008_0F;B08:54900AMECH_PP_2008_0F:55000INVBUN_2008_0F:55100INVPRORS_2008_0F:55200INVPROSIM_2008_0F:55300INVPRO_2008_0F;C08:54600ACD_2008_0F:54700REVITS_2008_0F:54800REVSU_2008_0F;D08:57100REVIT_2008_0F:54700REVITS_2008_0F;F08:55600BLDSYS_2008_0F:55700REVSYP_2008_0F;G08:57200REVITST_2008_0F:54800REVSU_2008_0F;A09:59800ACDLAND_2009_0F:59700CIV3D_2009_0F;B09:59200AMECH_PP_2009_0F:59300INVBUN_2009_0F:59400INVPRORS_2009_0F:61700INVMFG_2009_0F:59500INVPROSIM_2009_0F:59600INVPRO_2009_0F;D09:62100REVIT_2009_0F:60900REVITS_2009_0F;C09:57600ACD_2009_0F:60900REVITS_2009_0F:61000REVSU_2009_0F;F09:59900BLDSYS_2009_0F:60000REVSYP_2009_0F;G09:62200REVITST_2009_0F:61000REVSU_2009_0F;J09:67800RVTMPJ_2009_0F:60000REVSYP_2009_0F \
    SUPERSEDE ISSUED=09-Apr-2008 SIGN="1DA3 DE47 4E42 2C8C 6342 \
    E829 9E8D 1C22 3095 5717 63F3 152F 30D6 C903 7726 1B03 7F59 \
    C85D D60D D920 20C7 0E04 88BE BAB6 A55A 0182 EBB9 9B44 12C5 \
    E5AE" SIGN2="10B8 3138 5505 2D5B 3963 D17B 4950 1CF3 EBB9 5782 \
    4085 3A4A D888 9A5E 5371 173D A556 074D 5FBD A93A 5203 1127 \
    13CD 3DE4 6EED ED54 6F33 D840 C4C2 8426"

Knowledge Base document: Package license files for prior version licensing

JTB FlexReport works with these license files and can also report company wide usage on combined usage of multiple versions of one product.

Access 2007 Runtime SP1 available

I have updated the detailed network license reports in JTB FlexReport that can make use the Access 2007 Runtime SP1. Download details are found in this previous blogpost.

Found out about SP1 via the Access Team Blog.

AutoCAD 2009 on Citrix? Citrix & Autodesk alliance

Do you want to run AutoCAD 2009 on Citrix? AutoCAD 2009 itself is not possible but AutoCAD Map 3D 2009 is Citrix Ready and is of course based on AutoCAD 2009.

Citrix XenApp (new name for Presentation Server) is used for server virtualization that makes this possible.

-Are other AutoCAD 2009 platform–based applications available that are Citrix Ready?
No. AutoCAD Map 3D 2009 is the only AutoCAD 2009–based application that has been designated Citrix Ready.

-Why is AutoCAD Map 3D the only AutoCAD 2009 platform–based application that is Citrix Ready?
In response to requests from customers, AutoCAD Map 3D was selected for the Citrix Ready certification program in 2008. Other Autodesk products may be added to the program at a later date as we evaluate customer satisfaction with AutoCAD Map 3D.

-How does AutoCAD Map 3D performance in a Citrix environment compare to AutoCAD Map 3D installed in a stand-alone environment?
Graphics performance may be affected because most servers are not configured with high-end graphics systems.

-Does JTB FlexReport work with the Citrix Ready AutoCAD Map 3D licensing?
Yes you are able to monitor your license usage with JTB FlexReport.

I really hope other products will be Citrix Ready soon as well. I have long time seen a valid need for that. At an EPC company where I worked before we used Citrix extensively and often had engineers on site or traveling and many times I found that it had been really useful for them if we had been able to install AutoCAD and other verticals including our customizations and other 3:rd party applications on the Citrix server.

Visit www.autodesk.com/citrix for details.

Finally IE Automatic Component Activation Available

I wrote about this problem more than two years ago in the post Problem with embedded DWF Viewer.

Now you will no longer have this problem with "Press SPACEBAR or ENTER to activate and use this control" or "click to activate".

See details on the IEBlog.

Windows Live OneCare Public Beta (v2.5)

OneCare is available now as download directly from Microsoft Connect.

I'm still not sure what the news in this release (2.5.2744.0) are. Nothing clearly visible that is new but hopefully under the hood. Windows Live OneCare Team Blog might come with news soon.

 

Will Komoku Anti-rootkit software be able to be included in the final version of 2.5?

PS. I just found the news that OneCare hit the VB100 100 percent mark.

The latest independent Virus Bulletin tests looked at 37 different Vista-based security programs to see which could manage to reach the level of threat detection required for 'VB100' Certification. Out of 37 tested, 17 failed the tests, including big name products from McAfee, Sophos, and Trend Micro.

doPDF another free PDF printer

This freeware has worked pretty good in my small tests and does not require GhostScript, works on Vista and also 64-bit systems.

If you plot from AutoCAD and use TrueType fonts they will be converted to text if you make that change in in the plotter properties.

You need to change the Properties of the plotter (Plotter Configuration
Editor)>Device and Document Settings>Graphics>TrueType Text to "as text". Save this to a PC3 that you use.

Another thing that is great is that it's free even to print to PDF for commercial usage.

Test of the PDF converter was done using AutoCAD 2009.

http://www.dopdf.com/

Add any good or bad comments on your experience of it below.

Clean up after installing Vista SP1

I will wait a while from doing this in case I want to uninstall Vista SP1. Something I don't expect to need or want and disk space is not an issue so I will leave it there for now.

"Just open your Windows command prompt and type vsp1cln.exe (short for Vista SP1 Cleaner). It takes less than a minute to execute."

Around 800 MB will be made available.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Deployment Guide has all details the IT pro needs.

If you want to automate running the Cleaner here are the command line options.

Via Digital Inspiration