Autodesk Infographics

If you are a fan of Infographics there are a few from Autodesk. Some a bit old and some newer but still interesting to review. Click on the images for a larger version.

The first one is about Autodesk Brand & Business Transformation. Not long ago Autodesk’s new logo was launched.

Via Autodesk Labs.

And about 30 years of AutoCAD from 1982 to 2012.

30 Years of AutoCAD

The next about Building Information Modeling for Infrastructure.

The Business Case for BIM for Infrastructure

And Improving Healthcare Buildings with BIM.

Improving Healthcare Buildings with BIM

And finally about Lost Opportunities Without 3D Product Design Software.

Lost Opportunities Without 3D Product Design Software

List of all the released Autodesk 2014 products

Is my Autodesk 2014 product available?

You find the list of all the released Autodesk 2014 products here as well as the product keys.

Here are the first in the list:

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. UPDATE: Autodesk Design Review 2013 can still be used for DWF’s created with AutoCAD 2014 as the format is the same. Autodesk intends to replace the Design Review application with cloud-based services so Autodesk Design Review 2013 might be the last release.

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.

UnitCAD for AutoCAD

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.

Read more and get a trial at UnitCAD for AutoCAD.

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.