AutoCAD 360 formerly known as AutoCAD WS

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.

1. Create New Drawings - Easily create new drawings from scratch; perfect for initial layout sketching in the field.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Block Libraries - Easily drag and place blocks onto a drawing directly from the drawing's block collection.
7. Drawing Coordinates - View the coordinates of points in a drawing, and use them to draw with more accuracy.
8. Added Drawing Tools - Added Arc and Arrow drawing tools help you draw and call out notes in drawings.
9. Faster, More Accurate Editing - More editing tools such as Extend Vertex, Offset, and Mirror help you edit drawings faster and with more accuracy.
10. 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.
11. Priority Support - Receive top-priority support and get quick problem resolution and fast answers to your questions.
12. 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.

And here, you can compare the AutoCAD 360 Pro mobile app plans. The Pro plan is at $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year while the pro plus is at $99.99 per year.

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 HTML5 and JavaScript.

This is what the web app looks like right now with drawing, editing and annotate tools.

Here’s the Welcome to AutoCAD 360 video.

More info on the subject:

• Autodesk 360 for BIM
• Autodesk 360 for PLM
• AutoCAD for iPad, iPod and iPhone - AutoCAD WS
• AutoCAD WS Mobile in Apple App store for free
• AutoCAD WS plugin for AutoCAD and more subscription packs
• Free DWG to PDF conversion with AutoCAD WS
• AutoCAD WS with 3D, GPS and Print functionality
• Autodesk 360 in AutoCAD 2014

AutoCAD 2013 Service Pack 2

AutoCAD 2013 SP2 is now available to download here. You don’t need to install earlier SP before installing SP2. If you have AutoCAD LT 2013 the download is here.

I and other beta testers have used SP2 for some time but if you don’t want to be the first to run into any unexpected problems you might want to wait a few weeks. (remember SP1 that quickly was replaced by SP1.1) Other than that there are a lot of fixes in SP2 making it worth installing.

This Service Pack can be applied to AutoCAD 2013 installed as a standalone application as well as AutoCAD 2013 installed from the following Autodesk Design Suites.

• AutoCAD Design Suite 2013
• Autodesk Building Design Suite 2013
• Autodesk Factory Design Suite 2013
• Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2013
• Autodesk Plant Design Suite 2013
• Autodesk Product Design Suite 2013

The following operating systems are also now officially supported for 32-bit and 64-bit AutoCAD 2013 with Service Pack 2.

• Windows 8 Standard edition
• Windows 8 Enterprise edition
• Windows 8 Professional edition

_VERNUM (product version) details:
AutoCAD 2013 SP2: G.204.0.0 (UNICODE)
AutoCAD 2013 SP1.1: G.114.0.0 (UNICODE)
AutoCAD 2013 SP1: G.112.0.0 (UNICODE)
AutoCAD 2013: G.55.0.0 (UNICODE)

As a result of detailed information from customers who used the Customer Error Reporting Utility, a number of problems were identified and fixed. Updates have been made in the following commands and features:

3D Navigation Tools

• Occasional crash related to navigation tools.

Autodesk 360

• Crash with long file path in the Autodesk 360 folder.
• Occasional crash when opening AutoCAD with the InfoCenter off.

Block

• Occasional crash when clicking a block table grip with only one row of values available.

Command Line

• Crash when switching Input Method Editor (IME) after canceling a command when DYNMODE is set to 0 and the command window is docked.

DGN Support

• Fatal error when scrolling the DGN linetype in the Properties Palette.

Dimensions

• Occasional crash when grip-editing annotative dimensions.

External Reference (XREF)

• An OLE Object in an xref was not correctly set before the xref was detached. This crash issue has been resolved by opening the xref before erasing it.

MLEADER

• Occasional crash when using MATCHPROP with multileaders.

OLE

• Occasional crash when closing the application with a drawing that contains an OLE object.

OPTIONS

• Occasional crash when changing or switching profiles in Options.

Plot

• Occasional crash when plotting with a wipeout in the drawing.

PDF Underlay

• Crash when specifying other PDF file from Saved Path field in External Reference palette.

General

• Occasional crash when opening AutoCAD drawings in Windows 8.
• Occasional crash due to using Intersection object snaps on lightweight polylines.
• Some corrupt drawings crash when opened or saved and are not fixed automatically.
• Exiting the Text Editor while previewing text style causes a crash.

The following defects have been fixed:

3D Navigation Tools

• Zoom speed varies with 3Dconnexion device in perspective view.

3D Modeling

• Issue with the MASSPROP command with sliced 3D solids.

Block

• Issue with the display of the Block Property Table cascading menu.

CUI (Customize User Interface)

• Missing checkboxes in the Customize User Interface (CUI) dialog box when NET 4.5 is installed.

DGN Support

• Issues with exporting files to DGN, even after exploding contents of file.
• Import of a DGN arc as an Ellipse.

Dimensions

• Radial dimensions for regions can become associated to wrong arc.
• Dimension text background fill cannot be reset in Properties.
• Jogged radial dimensions in paper space may reflect the wrong value of an extruded cylinder in model space.

Image

• MONOCHROME BITMAP attached in DWG file is not shown correctly.

INQUIRY

• MASSPROP reports an incorrect mass and centroid for a solid swept along a planar spline.

MLeader

• Multileader scale is not always updated when multileader style is changed.

Model Documentation - Detail View

• Changing the Hatch property of a Detail view derived from a Section view sometimes causes AutoCAD to hang.

Modify

• Ellipse is sometimes distorted during stretching.

MTEXT

• The font doesn't match the setting in -STYLE command in Windows 8.

Plot

• There is a black stripe when plotting some drawings with a clipped image.
• A printer cannot be added after adding multiple driver folders in the Options dialog box.
• Drawings cannot be plotted with the oversized paper size and transparency on.

Selection

• Grips for attributes of blocks are not automatically made hot upon sub-selection.
• Selection preview is reset to off when IntelliMouse^® zooming is ended.

Visual Lisp

• DCL files whose code page matches the system but not the product are not recognized and loaded properly.

General

• Saving some DWG files that contain 3D solids is slow.
• A UCS other than the World UCS results in an incorrect location for the wipeout frame.
• Prompts to save are not displayed when closing a hyperlink drawing that has been changed.
• Performance is slow when saving the drawing created with Release 2010 and earlier.

Fixes in the previous AutoCAD 2013 Service Pack 1.1 are included.

See also more details in the posts AutoCAD 2013 SP1 & AutoCAD LT 2013 SP1 and AutoLISP and VBA Security Controls in AutoCAD 2013 SP1.

Live Update 1 for Autodesk 360 desktop companion

If you have any Autodesk 2014 product installed like for example AutoCAD 2014 this might be for you.

This update applies to Autodesk 360 desktop companion if your version is 4.0.27.1 to 4.0.32.100.

To see your version of your 360 desktop companion, right-click on the system tray icon and select preferences (the version is listed in this dialog).

Fixes in this live update include but are not limited to:

• Better Inventor file and folder structure support
• Customer Error Reporting Support
• Performance fixes
• Stability Improvements

Download found here.

What is Autodesk Sync? Many Autodesk 2013 products include a desktop software component called Autodesk Sync. It enables you to open documents from and save documents to Autodesk 360 online storage from within the product.
If you don’t want Autodesk 360 installed you can “hack” an ini file before installation of the Autodesk product where it is included or you can uninstall it after as there is no option to deselect it during installation of for example AutoCAD 2014. See details about 2014 deployments.

HTools Menu for AutoCAD

HTools Menu for AutoCAD is a plugin for AutoCAD that adds several useful functions.

Drawing...

• Save Session.
• Load Last Session.
• Purge Folder including Sub Folders.
• Convert Folder Dwg to Dxf.
• Convert Folder Dxf to Dwg.
• Convert Folder Dgn to Dwg (only for 2012,2013).
• Save & Close All Without confirmation.

Text...

• Rotate Texts ByLayer By Angle.
• Replace in Tolerence.
• Strech Text By 2 Point.
• Change Letter Case.
• Count in Texts and wiche Layers.
• Joint 2 Text in one.
• Put Text Index.

Miscellaneous...

• Unit LTS for Type.
• Hatch PolyLines in Layer.
• Dimension To PolyLine on Layer.
• Scale XY-Polyline-Line-Dimension.
• Correct Coordinate z=0 For 2D.
• Calculate Layer Total Length.
• Calculate Layer Total Area.

Object...

• Replace Text in Layers Name.
• Move Object-Color to Layer.
• Move Object-Layer to Color.
• Delete Object by Type-Layer-Color.
• Delete Object by Type-Color.
• Delete ALL OLE Object.

Blocks/Layouts

• Explode All Blocks By Selection.
• Delete All Blocks By Selection.
• Zoom Extents All Layouts.
• Delete Folder All Layouts.
• Bind All External Reference.

More features will be added upon request.

Visit HTools Menu for AutoCAD for more info.

Autodesk DWG TrueView 2014 tips and tricks

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.

You find the download here.

Tip

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.

• .NET Framework 3.5*
• .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
• .NET Framework 4.0
• .NET Framework 4.0 Update 1

* The .NET 3.5 installer includes .NET 2.0.

Setup

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.

DWG TrueView 2014

And here is DWG TrueView 2014 with the budweiser2013.dwg opened.

Notice the new File Tabs 

and Layer sorting that are among the news that came in AutoCAD 2014.

Deploying DWG TrueView

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

DWG TrueView 2014 does not support 3:rd party apps but both Regapp ID Cleanup Utility for AutoCAD 2013/2014 and Scale List Cleanup Utility for AutoCAD 2013/2014 from Autodesk works with DWG TrueView 2014.

Autodesk DWG TrueView 2014 Readme

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.
  1. Click the DWG Convert button.
  2. Select the damaged file.
  3. Click Conversion Setups.
  4. Select "Standard" and click New.
  5. Name the new setup (for example, Recover).
  6. 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.

  7. In the Action area, select Check and fix errors, and click OK.

Autodesk Design Review 2014 is still not available.

See also the post Autodesk DWG TrueView 2013 Download and Install Tips.

SSMPropEditor 5.0 as AutoCAD app

SSMPropEditor 5.0 is now available as an AutoCAD app. SSMPropEditor is the Sheet Set Manager Properties Editor for AutoCAD based products.

SSMPropEditor 5.0 can now be downloaded and installed as an app from the Autodesk Exchange Apps site. Purchase is also available through this site as well as from JTB World’s SSMPropEditor site.

Right now I noticed that it was featured on AutoCAD 2014’s welcome page.

In AutoCAD 2014 there is also a Featured Apps tab where I found it showing up.

When installed, SSMPropEditor will show up on the Plug-ins tab.

For details about the release of SSMPropEditor 5.0 see this post here.

Visit the SSMPropEditor page for all about the product and give the free trial a try.

AutoCAD 2014 learning resources

Have you or will you start using AutoCAD 2014? If so you may find these learning resources useful.

AutoCAD 2014 New Features & Enhancements Revealed is an interactive and free eBook with video, text, and images throughout 33 lessons. Tip via Autodesk’s Shaan Hurley’s blog. Take a look at and read the eBook here, it’s free.

Ralph Grabowski has put together “What's Inside? AutoCAD 2014”. Order your copy for $8 from http://www.upfrontezine.com/wia14

Learning AutoCAD Electrical 2014 is a Training Video consisting of 9 hours of learning by Shaun Bryant.

See also:

• Advanced AutoCAD 2014 Training Video
• Beginners AutoCAD 2014 Training Video
• AutoCAD 2014 Training Bundle Video
• AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014 Training Video

More Books, Training Videos and eBooks.

AutoCAD’s undocumented language and product command line switches

AutoCAD 2014 is available in 10 languages: English, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Spanish and Traditional Chinese. Japanese is also available but not as part of the AutoCAD 2014 Language Pack. Compared to AutoCAD 2013 this means that Russian, Czech, Hungarian and Polish are missing so far but according to Vladimir Michl at CAD Studio there will be CZ, HU, PL, RU localization of most 2014 products, as usual.

AutoCAD 2013 introduced a new New Language Packs functionality, rather than installing a full version of AutoCAD for each language, you install one full product and then add subsequent languages via Language Packs, resulting in smaller download and install time and space for the secondary languages. The same installation feature works also for AutoCAD Architecture, MEP, Mechanical, AutoCAD Structural Detailing where all are installed in for example C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2013 or C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2014 with for example AutoCAD Architecture in the subfolder ACA. Registry wise you can find the installed products and their locale in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.0\InstalledProducts

Here is what it look like for the 2014 products where I have AutoCAD 2014 and AutoCAD Architecture 2014 both installed.
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.1\InstalledProducts]
@="C:\\Program Files\\Autodesk\\AutoCAD 2014\\"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.1\InstalledProducts\ACA]
"en-US"="en-US"
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.1\InstalledProducts\ACAD]
"en-US"="en-US"

With the functionality introduced in the 2013 versions two new command line switches /product and /language were added for acad.exe even though undocumented.

To start AutoCAD Architecture this command line is used:
"C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2013\acad.exe" /ld "C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2013\AecBase.dbx" /p "" /product "ACA" /language "en-US"

The text for the switch is "ACAD" (AutoCAD), "ACA" (AutoCAD Architecture), "MEP", "ACADM" (Mechanical) or "ASD" (AutoCAD Structural Detailing). Other vertical products like AutoCAD Map 3D installs into their own folder.

Install the language package that you like to use.

On the shortcut to start the other language note that the /language switch has been changed but the installation folder is still the same.

"C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2014\acad.exe"  /product ACAD /language "de-DE"

Autodesk Content Service Language Pack Hotfix note! “After installing a new language of AutoCAD 2014, Autodesk Content Explorer may fail to work. Download the multi-lingual Autodesk Content Service installer below to address this issue”

But here is a problem.

Autodesk Content Service version 3.0.84.0 is what comes with AutoCAD 2013.

After installing the “hotfix” the version is 3.0.84.1

But the version of Autodesk Content Service that comes with AutoCAD 2014 is 3.1.3.0

So on a system with only AutoCAD 2014 installed the hotfix will not be possible to install.

Hat tip to AutoCAD DevBlog

Scale List Cleanup Utility for AutoCAD 2013/2014

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 for AutoCAD 2013/2014

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.

ObjectARX 2014 and AutoCAD 2014 .NET Training

Autodesk has posted the ObjectARX 2014 and AutoCAD 2014 .NET Training materials to AutoCAD developer page under Learning section.
Visit http://www.autodesk.com/developautocad for downloading the Training materials.

The following new or changed features are now exposed through the API:

• Connected Desktop - Design Feed
• Geolocation
• Point Cloud

There are also quite a few other useful news for developers. For example for .NET these are some examples: MLeader.Scale Property that gets or sets the scale for the MLeader or RegionAreaProperties with properties to get area, centroid point, extents, moments of inertia, perimeter, principal moments, product of inertia and radii of gyration.

See also AutoCAD 2014 API for more.

How to fix error: ActiveX Server returned an error: Error loading type library/DLL

I just got this error running some AutoLISP code in AutoCAD 2014 that I know there is no error in.

; error: ActiveX Server returned an error: Error loading type library/DLL

I tried to repair the AutoCAD installation but it did not help so I tried a reinstall instead and that solved the issue.

I think this problem happened because I also have AutoCAD 2013 installed and applied the service pack to it after AutoCAD 2014 was installed.

Autodesk 2014 products and Windows 8 Support

According to this update KB we can see what Autodesk says about if Autodesk products are supported on Microsoft Windows 8.

Please check the system requirements for your product to verify compatibility and specific details (for example, some products are supported on the 64-bit version of Windows 8 but not the 32-bit version).

Unless noted otherwise in the system requirements for an individual product, Autodesk 2014 products are supported on the Windows 8 operating system.

For example I found that for example Revit Architecture for Citrix 2014, Autodesk Navisworks 2014, Simulation Moldflow 2014, Autodesk Maya 2014, Autodesk Inventor 2014, Autodesk Alias 2014, 3ds Max 2014, AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014, AutoCAD Plant 3D only mentions Windows 8 64-bit. But who would really use Windows 8 32-bit anyway?

Microsoft Windows Vista: Here’s what Autodesk says: Beginning January 1, 2012, Autodesk will have formally ceased support of the Microsoft Windows Vista Operating System for all new (and upgraded versions) of its products and services released in 2012.

Microsoft Windows XP: Why are you ending support for Windows Vista when XP, an older operating system, is still supported? Through Autodesk’s research and customer engagement, there is still a large population of customers utilizing this Operating System in their work environments. We will work with our customers in the coming 12-24 months to understand their transition plans and make a support decision about Windows XP when it is appropriate to do so.

See also: Autodesk’s Official support for Windows 8

Autodesk Network License Manager downloads for 2014 product line

Autodesk IPv4 Network License Manager for Windows is found here and Autodesk IPv6 Network License Manager for Windows is found here. Supported operating systems are:
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 32-bit and 64-bit
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 32-bit and 64-bit
Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit
Windows 8 32-bit and 64-bit

FlexNet version and version of all .exe files is 11.11.

Autodesk IPv6 Network License Manager for Windows supports mixed IPv4/IPv6 and IPv6-only environments. It does not support network license checkouts in an IPv4-only environment.

If you have multiple servers you can install on one of them and then grab lmtools.exe, lmutil.exe, lmgrd.exe, and adskflex.exe and copy to the others, just stop and start the FlexNet services in between.

Upgrade your license servers if you plan to support Autodesk’s 2014 products.

JTB FlexReport fully supports Autodesk Network License Manager and usage monitoring of all products licensed with FlexNet including version FlexNet 11.11.

For the FlexNet (FLEXlm) executables there is a newer version available FlexNet 11.11.1.

How to pin any document to the Start screen in Windows 8

Windows 8 comes with a completely new Start screen that replaces the start menu. After having tried some freeware that try to mimic the old start menu (that I were not that satisfied with) I have instead started to use the Start Screen and even though I don’t have a touch screen I find it quick and easy to use.

In Windows 8 you can by default pin only some things like programs (.exe) to the Start screen using Windows Explorer. But what if you want to pin a document? It can be done with a simple registry hack. Here is how I right-click on an Excel document and have the Pin to Start option.

When ready you will find the document or file as a tile on the Start screen.

Copy the text in the box below into Notepad and save it as pintostart.reg. Then double click on pintostart.reg and accept the dialog boxes.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\pintostartscreen]
"MUIVerb"="@shell32.dll,-51201"
"NeverDefault"=""
"Description"="@shell32.dll,-51202"
"MultiSelectModel"="Single"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\*\shell\pintostartscreen\command]
"DelegateExecute"="{470C0EBD-5D73-4d58-9CED-E91E22E23282}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shell\pintostartscreen]
"MUIVerb"="@shell32.dll,-51201"
"NeverDefault"=""
"Description"="@shell32.dll,-51202"
"MultiSelectModel"="Single"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shell\pintostartscreen\command]
"DelegateExecute"="{470C0EBD-5D73-4d58-9CED-E91E22E23282}"

Another alternative is Pin to 8 that is a nice freeware with more features:

With our Pin to 8 you will able:

• to pin ANY file regardless of its type;
• to pin ANY folder;
• to pin drive;
• to pin Control Panel items, all them including some hidden like God Mode/All Tasks, Network Connections;
• to pin Libraries;
• to pin Shell Objects like Run command, "Show Desktop", Window Switcher;
• to pin any folders or files with drag and drop. Drop them on application window.

There is also a manual way by adding a shortcut in this folder:

%appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

When expanded it may look like this except jtb would be your login name: C:\Users\jtb\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

Only thing is that you need to also pin it. Say you create a shortcut named “Windows 8 manual test” and put it in the folder above. Now press the Windows button and start writing the name of the shortcut and it should show up in the search result.

Right-click on the shortcut and select Pin to Start at the bottom of the screen and the tile should show up on the Start Screen.

App to measure and draw floor plans

I have not tested this app but it looks like it’s pretty easy to use and could be useful if you want drawings of existing buildings.

MagicPlan measures the size of the room, draws the floor plan and creates a
DXF file, PDF document, JPEG images and a web site with an interactive floor plan. MagicPlan requires gyroscopes available only with iPhone 4, 4S, the new iPod Touch, the iPad 2 and the new iPad.

If you have tried it please comment below what you think about it.

SSMPropEditor 5.0 released

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.

Contact us to get a time limited license file for free.

See also SSMPropEditor 4.6 released and SSMPropEditor as AutoCAD app.

FlexNet 11.11.1 downloads available

The updated FlexNet (FLEXlm) version (based on Flexera Software’s FlexNet Publisher Licensing Toolkit 11.11.1) was released in February 2013 and is now available as a public download as well as the updated License Administration Guide.

Here are the news in Version 11.11.1
• Support for server-side ASRs
• New lmadmin command line options to add, delete, or manage roles
• Support for lmadmin console installer on Windows

No words about if there are any bug fixes but if you experienced unknown problems with the license manager it can be worth trying to update.

lmgrd.exe, lmutil.exe and lmtools.exe are all 11.11.1 now.

Previous FlexNet Version 11.11 described.

JTB FlexReport license monitoring tool has been tested with and supports this new version.

Learning To Use AutoCAD Sheet Sets Training Video

Sheet Set Manager in AutoCAD can be really useful to manage sets of drawings or sheets.

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.

The video is available here as download or DVD.

Sample Movie Links and Table of Contents:

00. Free Videos From This Course
	What You Will Learn
	About The Author
	Typical Uses And Advantages
	Getting Sheet Set Properties Into Your Drawings
	The Single Most Advantage To Using Sheet Sets Is Printing
	What 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

And there are more Learning Resources Books Training Videos eBooks available.

To further help with the usage of Sheet Set Manager try our SSMPropEditor for free.

Hotfix - Autodesk Revit 2013 - Stability, Productivity and Server

This hotfix for Revit addresses issues in the following areas so you surely want to install it:
Revit Stability and Productivity:

• Prevents data loss during upgrade of families containing specific material parameters.
• Improves stability and memory usage within graphics display.
• Improves vector print output of transparent elements and masking regions.
• Prevents accidental data loss during cancellation of the in-place family editor.

Revit Server:

• Revit would occasionally report that an operation could not be completed when attempting a worksharing operation after a period of inactivity, if Riverbed devices were used in conjunction with Revit Server. A subsequent retry of the operation would then succeed. When this hotfix is applied to Revit, this behavior is eliminated. No changes to Revit Server are required.

Get it here: DL21147820

See also Autodesk Revit 2013 Update Release 2