LT Unlimited

Yes, It’s True: AutoCAD for Mac is Back

You’ve probably heard the rumors, and today they’re rumors no more: AutoCAD has returned to the Mac.

You’ve been able to run “AutoCAD on a Mac” for a while with Parallels and Bootcamp, but AutoCAD for Mac will run natively on Mac OS X. And this wasn’t just porting the code over—it was a complete rewrite to make it a true Mac product. The result is the AutoCAD you know and love (complete with LISP, parametrics, surfaces, solids, meshes, rendering, etc.) with the addition of Mac features like Cover Flow, Multi-Touch gestures, Magic Mouse, and Magic Trackpad. Files are still the genuine DWG format, so you can easily collaborate with AutoCAD users on Windows or Mac.

AutoCAD for Mac won’t be shipping until later this fall, but it’ll be available for pre-order from some of our partners soon. For more details on the product and purchase options, visit www.autodesk.com/autocadformac.

Also announced today is AutoCAD WS for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Previously known as Project Butterfly, AutoCAD WS lets you share and edit AutoCAD files from your mobile device. Look for it soon on the Apple App Store.

Shaan Hurley has a more extensive post on AutoCAD for Mac, and I’m sure by the end of the day you’ll have enough reading material to keep you busy until the product ships. Okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but this is big news! We’re excited – are you?

Hotfix for Update 1 Posted

Last week, Update 1 for AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011 was removed due to an issue with the Layer Manager that affected a small number of users.

A hotfix is now available for those of you who applied Update 1 to your AutoCAD LT installation before it was removed.

If you have not already applied Update 1, no action is necessary. A new Update 1 will be posted as soon as possible.

Update 1 for AutoCAD LT Temporarily Removed

Yet another announcement this week, but lower on the fun scale than some of the others. I’ll let Tom Stoeckel, Global Technical Lead for AutoCAD Product Support and author of Without a Net, do the talking:

An issue has surfaced with the new posting of Update 1 for AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011 that has prompted Autodesk to temporarily remove download access to the update. If you visit the Update download pages you will now see product-specific versions of the following statement:

"On August 23, 2010, Autodesk released Update 1 for AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011. Unfortunately, Update 1 introduced an issue when conducting certain operations that may cause AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT to shut down. This issue affects a small number of users.

We have removed Update 1 and will reintroduce it in the near future when the issue has been resolved. For customers who have already installed Update 1, a hot fix will be posted shortly. Please be assured that Autodesk is wholly committed to the quality of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, and regrets this error."

Autodesk is working on a hotfix for those customers who have already applied Update 1 for AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT 2011. In the meantime, if you have not already downloaded and installed Update 1, please wait until the Update has been re-released.

Stay tuned to your favorite AutoCAD blog or Twitter feed for the announcement of the re-posting. Sorry for any inconvenience any of you may have experienced.

AutoCAD Sneak Peak in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Seattle

Well, the announcements just keep coming this week – here’s one from the AutoCAD team.

AutoCAD Sneak Peek!

If you are located in the San Francisco, Sacramento or Seattle areas, you have a rare opportunity to test drive some new features in AutoCAD and contribute your feedback to future releases.

The AutoCAD User Experience team, in conjunction with Ideate, Inc. would like to invite you to join them for a sneak peek and test drive of a future version of AutoCAD. Members of the AutoCAD team will be there to introduce you to new and enhanced AutoCAD features.

Interested in attending an event in San Francisco, Sacramento or Seattle? Here’s what Autodesk is looking for:

• Day-to-day users of AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT
• Users proficient in 2D drafting
• Users interested in or proficient in 3D modeling
• All levels – beginning to advanced

In a casual focus-group style, the AutoCAD team wants to let you try out some in-progress features and get your input as they solidify their ideas for an upcoming release. They’ll include time at the end of the session for general feedback and they’ll be happy to discuss any issues or wish list items with you at that time. Your input is critical in shaping the future of AutoCAD and the AutoCAD team depends on and values your ideas.

These full-day events are being held between September 15 - September 24, 2010.

To sign up, please take this brief survey. Seats are limited and we can't guarantee a spot to everyone who fills out the survey; we’ll confirm your event registration by email.

Click Here to Take the Survey

Update 1 for AutoCAD LT 2011 Now Available

Man, it’s a busy week for blog posts. Lots of things going on that deserved to get posted right away, instead of waiting for the usual schedule.

The latest item in the news flood is that Update 1 for AutoCAD LT 2011 is now available for download. You can get 32-bit and 64-bit versions here, just make sure to get the one that matches your operating system.

Many of the fixes in the update are direct results of input from the Customer Error Reporting utility (that dialog that shows up when AutoCAD LT crashes) – yes, we do read those! Here’s a partial list of features affected by the update:

• 2D Display
• Annotation Scaling
• Attributes
• Customize User Interface (CUI)
• DGN Support
• External References
• File Navigation
• General UI
• Graphic System
• Hatch
• Inquiry
• Image
• Layer
• Open/Save
• Other
• Parametric Drawing
• Partial Open
• PDF Export
• Ribbon
• Selection
• Selection Highlighting

The full Readme is also available if you want more details. But it’s always a good idea to read it before installing anyway.

New Productivity Study out for AutoCAD LT – Big Improvements!

Today Autodesk released the results of a new productivity study by David Cohn, long-time industry expert, author, and blogger. This study compares AutoCAD LT 2011 to AutoCAD LT 2008, and found up to 44% overall time savings when using the new features.

If you want the summary version, check out the press release, or read the entire study over at the AutoCAD Exchange (click on the box image for the PDF report). Then share your thoughts in the comment – what new or improved features make you more productive?

Ask the Expert: Bill Johnson

This week’s expert on the AutoCAD Exchange is Bill Johnson of TEECOM, and guess what? He’s an AutoCAD LT expert! In fact, he’s a CAD/BIM manager, so he knows a lot about AutoCAD, AutoCAD MEP, and Revit too.

Bill even came to our San Francisco office last week to tape a tip series for the Exchange – look for the first video soon!

So this week is your chance to get some AutoCAD LT support – head on over to the Exchange and ask your question. Maybe ask more than one. (I hear Bill knows lots about script files…)

User Community Survey

The Autodesk Research team is conducting a survey on user communities (user groups, professional associations, discussion forums, etc.), and would appreciate your input.

It’s a short survey, and should only take about 5 minutes of your time.

Click here to participate.

Dorm Design Contest!

Calling all US college students! Autodesk Homestyler is sponsoring a dorm design contest this month – use the free, online software to design your dream college space and you could win a back-to-school shopping spree at Target.

Get started today, and share your finished design with the community to get votes. The designs with the most votes & highest ratings will win!

Good luck!

Twitter Tip of the Day: Multi-Functional Grips

This morning on Twitter, Brian Benton (@bcbenton) asked “In #AutoCAD 2011, when selecting a Polyline, can the "Stretch, Add Convert" box be turned off temporarily?”

A few minutes later, he answered his own question (albeit on Facebook): “GRIPMULTIFUNCTIONAL set to 0 or 1.”

Rather than leave it there, though, I thought I’d expand on the other options for this particular system variable.

GRIPMULTIFUNCTIONAL can actually be set to 0, 1, 2, or 3. (The default is 3.)

1. Access to multi-functional grips is disabled. With this setting, you lose any object-specific grip functions, and can only use the standard Stretch/Move/Rotate/Scale/Mirror.
2. Access multi-functional grips with Ctrl-cycling and the Hot Grip shortcut menu. This means that you have to left-click on a grip first, then either press Ctrl to cycle through the options or right-click to pick one from a shortcut menu.
3. Access multi-functional grips with the dynamic menu and the Hot Grip shortcut menu. With this value, you can either hover over a grip before clicking to see the menu and pick an option, or you can left-click on a grip and then right-click to bring up the shortcut menu. Pressing Ctrl with an active grip has no effect.
4. Access multi-functional grips with Ctrl-cycling, the dynamic menu, and the Hot Grip shortcut menu. Provides the most options for accessing multi-functional options. Hover over a grip to pick from the dynamic menu, left-click a grip and press Ctrl to cycle, or left-click a grip and right-click for a shortcut menu.

I’m really not sure why anyone would choose 0 (multi-functional grips are great!) or 2 (leaving Ctrl-cycling on doesn’t really hurt anything, does it?), but you could use 1 if you really don’t like pop-up menus.