Compare PDF, DWF, DWFx, DOC, DOCx files

Further on the topic of the previous post but more on to manual compare. DWF Version Compare was introduced in Autodesk Design Review 2008. You find it on the Tools menu. This can be useful when comparing two DWF files. But be aware that it has its limitations like it cannot find differences on raster objects and the DWF files must be the same sheet size and use the same units.

If you want to compare PDF files Adobe Acrobat Professional have that functionality and works great with large multipage documents. Found on the Advanced menu. It’s a real time saver when you get PDF files like specifications from a customer, client or colleague and don’t want to read through everything a second time just to find the changes. Below you can see some of the result from Acrobat compare.

Microsoft Word also have this functionality to compare two versions of a document. I have found not many are aware of it. In Word 2007 it is on the Review tab.

Automate testing and examination of PDF generation

This can also be applied to other formats like DWF (DWFx). Think about the costs if the PDF or DWF is incorrect, missing some important text for example. Say you have automated plotting and even if you make spot checks of the resulting files there is a chance you miss something. We all know that the PDF creation for example is tricky and because of bugs in the software the result might not always be what you expect.

The solution is to create a test automation. Say you produce the files from AutoCAD or Revit. What you could do it to produce two different outputs like plotting to both PDF and to TIFF and then automatically compare the result by first rasterizing the PDF file.

A software that can be automated to compare images is ImageMagick.

Another usage for this is version compare. You can automate a compare of two versions and have that available to the reviewer.

Via Adobe Reader Blog with more to read about this topic.

Videos introducing AutoCAD Subscription Bonus Packs

Via BIM & BEAM I learned that there are three videos available describing the AutoCAD Subscription Bonus Packs that have been released for AutoCAD 2009.

• Subscription Bonus Packs – An Overview with Lynn Allen and Eric Stover
• Subscription Bonus Pack 2: PDF Enhancements with Kathy O’Connell and Eric Stover
• Subscription Bonus Pack 3: 3D Printing with Kathy O’Connell and Eric Stover

On the subscription topic I suggest you also check out this post on Stoeckel on Subs (subscription needed) that includes the AutoLISP routine ssinside.lsp with three new commands―ssincp, ssinwp, and ssinf―that allow you to create an inside selection using Crossing Polygon, Window Polygon, or Fence, respectively.

Illusion science

Don’t always believe what your eyes see. Below shows the Illusion of shifted gradations.

The gray line is horizontal but appears to tilt down to the left.

Much more at the Akiyoshi Kitaoka’s illusion pages where some of the hundred illusions are explained in a scientific way like the Explanation (the peripheral drift illusion) (PDF file) for the Rotating Snakes.

DWG TrueView object snaps available on the command line

Autodesk’s DWG TrueView have some inquiry object snaps available with you want to measure a distance or area. TT (Temporary Track Point), FROM, M2P (Mid Between 2 Points), EXT (Extension),  and point filters .X, .Y, .Z, .XY, .XZ, .YZ are only available on the command line and not so obvious unless you know about them.

Image below is from DWG TrueView 2009 with the object snaps available on the Ribbon.

Microsoft Softwear

Want a MS DOS t-shirt or some other “softwear”?

Softwear by Microsoft

Disable the AutoCAD InfoCenter

You might want to disable AutoCAD’s InfoCenter with its Help and documentation Search, Communication Center, Autodesk Channels, Balloon Notifications, RSS Feeds and Favorites. One reason is that it can speed up the AutoCAD startup or you just want to hide it. Otherwise it can be quite useful to have there. Here is the solution.

Before

and after

One way is using the CAD Manager Control Utility to control it to some extent or you can use Regedit.exe (or VBScript or a BAT or CMD file) and disable it completely. Just set the LoadCtrls key to 0 in the registry at:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R17.2\ACAD-7001:409\Applications\InfoCenterAcConn

(default value for LoadCtrls is 4c as Hexadecimal or 76 as Decimal value in case you want to enable it again)

R17.2\ACAD-7001:409 is for AutoCAD 2009 English version and needs to be changed depending on what AutoCAD product you use. It works with AutoCAD LT as well but then the registry location will start with: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT.
For more about the productID and locateID.

Using Visual LISP here is how:

(vl-registry-write (strcat "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\" (vlax-product-key) "\\Applications\\InfoCenterAcConn" ) "LOADCTRLS" 0)

AutoCAD needs to be restarted to see the effect.

Tekla Structures 14 review

Tekla Structures, one of the best BIM products for structural engineering and steel fabrication got a new release some time ago. Read the review at AECbytes. The new release should be easier to learn and use and if you’re evaluating structural application you should definitely consider Tekla Structures as it is covering everything from design to detailing, fabrication and construction using any material like concrete, steel, precast concrete, and timber.

JTB FlexReport can be used to make assessments of license usage of Tekla Structures 14 (or newer when available) as FLEXnet is now used for the network licenses.

Related post on a lmutil.exe problem and Tekla Structures.

Gwanggyo City Centre competition winner

The Daewoo Consortium and the municipality of Gwanggyo announced the MVRDV concept design for a dense city centre winner of the developer’s competition for the future new town of Gwanggyo, located 35km south of the Korean capital Seoul. The plan consists of a series of overgrown hill shaped buildings with great programmatic diversity, aiming for high urban density and encouragement of further developments around this so-called ‘Power Centre’, one of the envisioned two centre’s of the future new town.

Talk about green buildings.

Via designboom and MVRDV

System.IO.IOException: The file exists and GetTempFileName solution and explanation

I was researching a problem in JTB FlexReport that a couple of customers had and the error log gave this error message.

System.IO.IOException: The file exists. 
   at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
   at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError()
   at System.IO.Path.GetTempFileName()

It was pretty obvious that the file did not exist as the message said and thanks to this post I got the explanation as there also where “many” empty temp files (0 KB) in the c:\windows\temp folder.

The GetTempFileName method will raise an IOException if it is used to create more than 65535 files without deleting previous temporary files.

The GetTempFileName method will raise an IOException if no unique temporary file name is available. To resolve this error, delete all unneeded temporary files.

Eventually I found the problem and the solution will be included in the next release. It seems to affect very few customers but a hotfix is available in the meantime.

JTB FlexReport 5 beta 2 is available to test drive

JTB FlexReport 5 is getting closer to be released. Between Beta 1 and Beta 2 at least 20 bugs has been fixed and 10 features have been added based on feedback. So feel free to take a look at this new beta release.

The new documentation for beta 2 is here: JTBFlexReport5B2.pdf (3 MB).

One new thing is that you can toggle between showing and hiding data labels and markers.

Another thing is the axis controller that allows you to make adjustments on the X and Y axis text orientation, ticks and span.

Here the X time span has been changed as well as the Y numeric span.

 

You can request a fully functional trial of JTB FlexReport including this new functionality.

See also the previous post on Beta 1

Integrated Project Delivery – IPD project in New England

Via Gregory Arkin’s blog post on IPD (Integrated Project Delivery) I found that the (bim)x blog has much more about the Autodesk IPD project I wrote about in a previous post.

Two network license manager hotfixes from Autodesk

This hotfix repairs a problem with the configuration of the redundant license server causing servers to stop when the master server has been changed twice. This hotfix applies to any 2009 or earlier products that use network licensing.

The version of lmgrd.exe is 11.5.0.5.

Knowledge Base document and download: Hotfix - Redundant License Server

…

This update enables the Autodesk Network License Manager to support IPv6 networks using Microsoft® Windows® Server 2008, Windows Vista® 32-bit and Windows Vista® 64-bit.

Important:

• This version of the Autodesk Network License Manager does not support early return of borrowed licenses.
• This implementation only supports a mixed IPv4 and IPv6 environment. This implementation does not support network license checkouts in an IPv6-only environment.

The version of lmgrd.exe, lmtools.exe, lmutil.exe and adskflex.exe is 11.5.

Knowledge Base document and download: Hotfix - Autodesk Network License Manager IPv6 Support

Autodesk to Acquire BIMWorld will improve Autodesk Seek

BIMWorld is planned to be combined with Autodesk Seek.

“The vision for Autodesk Seek is to be a leading online destination and one-stop-shop for high quality building product information and design files,” said Jeff Wright, Autodesk senior director of Content Solutions. “By joining forces with the BIMWorld team, we will strengthen the leadership of Autodesk Seek as a powerful marketing solution for building product manufacturers, and by further leveraging our strategic content partners, accelerate designers’ access to a breadth of rich product information and design files for use during the design process.”

See Press release for all details.

Another BIM (Building Information Modeling) related news from Autodesk is that Autodesk Expands BIM Software Offering for Structural Analysis.

"The new Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis Professional 2009 delivers a great value to structural engineers worldwide by incorporating BIM in the structural analysis and design of building, civil and other specialty structures," said Nicolas Mangon, structural engineering business line manager, Autodesk AEC Solutions. It is designed to be collaborative, faster and more versatile. This in turn will help to provide structural engineers with the ability to do analysis and design better by creating digital models that visualize, simulate and analyze their work.

See Press release for all details

See also Autodesk’s BIM site that has a nice intro video.

On the BIM topic I would also like to mention the new BIM Manager blog