LT Unlimited

Sheet Set Manager Video Series

I hope you're finding the Sheet Set Manager videos helpful -- in today's segment, we move past creating sheet sets and on to putting them to work.

Enjoy!

Use a Sheet Set to Plot Drawings

In the Bay Area? Come to Happy Hour!

Ever wanted to give your feedback to the AutoCAD product team in person? Now's your chance!

The AutoCAD product team is organizing a happy hour for Bay Area customers at The Gallery (at One Market) on Tuesday, Oct 4^th. If you're in or near San Francisco, this will be a great opportunity to chat with the team--they'd love to hear about the work you do with AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, and your ideas/wishlist for the AutoCAD products. It's also a chance to get a tour of the Gallery (always a great place to visit) and network with fellow users in the area.

Sadly I won't be there (although I'm making up for it with my travels this week--more on that later), but there'll be other times. In the meantim, spots are filling up fast, so reserve yours today: http://autocadatthegallery.eventbrite.com

 

New Cloud Services Available

Earlier today, Autodesk launched several new cloud services—some for everyone, some for all Subscription customers, and some for Suites Subscription customers.

What’s in it for you, an AutoCAD LT user? Glad you asked.

Autodesk^® Cloud Documents

Formerly known as Project Nitrous on Autodesk Labs, Autodesk Cloud documents let you store design documents in the cloud, so you can access them anytime, anywhere. View 2D and 3D DWF™ files with a web browser without the need for desktop software. Easily share files and invite others to comment on designs.

Anyone can register for this service and get 1 GB of storage space; if you’re on Subscription you get 3 GB.

Autodesk^® Design Review mobile app

The new Autodesk Design Review mobile app lets you review the 2D and 3D DWF™ files you’ve stored in Autodesk Cloud on your mobile device. Redline and annotate 2D drawings while in the field or out of the office.

AutoCAD^® WS

For the most part this is still the same AutoCAD WS web & mobile editor you’ve seen and used for over a year. What’s new is the integration with Autodesk Cloud documents and the increased storage for Subscription customers.

Sheet Set Manager Video Series

I know you're all anxiously awaiting each installment of the AutoCAD LT Sheet Set Manager Videos -- right? Right?? :-)

Whether you are or not, here it is:

Organize and Display Sheet Lists

Another random system variable

A couple weeks ago I got an IM from a colleague with an AutoCAD puzzle: Hatches refused to show up in a drawing. The command looked like it worked just fine, but the end result was nothing. All layers were on & thawed. Hmm…

I finally landed on the answer: FILLMODE. It had been set to 0, causing hatches, polylines, and 2D solids to appear empty. It took me a few minutes to figure it out, mainly because I forgot that FILLMODE can affect hatches—I thought it was only for polylines.

But I eventually remembered, and hopefully now you will too.

Sheet Set Manager Video Series

Here's the next installment in the Sheet Set Manager tutorial series. Included: Taking existing drawings and putting them into a sheet set.

Creating Sheet Sets from Existing Drawings

Stay tuned for more!

(And as always, feedback is welcome.)

Need some more opinions

The AutoCAD LT team would like to talk to people who are interested in or have thoughts on web-hosted CAD programs, where you run the program over the internet instead of on your desktop.

If you’ve got an opinion, or would like more information, drop me an email at [email protected]

Thanks!

Sheet Set Manager Video Series

I mentioned a bit ago that I was working on a video series for the Sheet Set Manager. Here’s the first entry:

Introduction to the Sheet Set Manager

Many more videos will be coming soon, but if you can’t wait, there’s a whole bunch of recorded classes on the AU website.

And in the meantime, if you have tips or tricks on making the most of the Sheet Set Manager, send ‘em on in. They just might be featured in a video!

Get a Sneak Peek at Upcoming AutoCAD Features!

<Passing along an invitation from another team – although the events are geared around AutoCAD, you don’t have to be an AutoCAD user specifically, especially for the first Sneak Peek>

The AutoCAD User Experience Team is hosting its annual AutoCAD Sneak Peek events in late September. These are free half-day events held in a few different locations, and they’re a great way to get hands-on experience with in-progress features and give your suggestions and feedback directly to the team designing those features. This year the team is running two events that focus on different functionality. To sign up, click one of the survey links below.

Web & Mobile Sneak Peek

This sneak peek highlights features for people who work on AutoCAD from multiple computers or different locations -- such as using different workstations, or switching between the office, home, or working out in the field. CAD Managers and day-to-day AutoCAD users of all levels are welcome to attend.

Locations & Dates: San Francisco (Sept 22), San Jose, CA (Sept 28), and Denver (Oct 4-5)

Sign Up for the Web & Mobile Sneak Peek Here

Model Documentation Sneak Peek

This sneak peek is geared toward people in the Mechanical/Manufacturing industry who use AutoCAD, AutoCAD Mechanical, and/or Inventor, and who create and annotate model views (such as section, detail, and projected  views) of 3D models (mechanical parts, components).

Locations: San Francisco (Sept 23), Portland/Lake Oswego (Sept 29-30), and Fullerton, CA (Sept 29-30)

Sign Up for the Model Documentation Sneak Peek Here

If you have questions or want to learn more about the events before signing up, contact Shari Nemerovski, [email protected].

Dimension Across Viewports

For those of you who dimension & annotate in paper space, you might sometimes run into the scenario where the object you need to dimension crosses multiple viewports.

As an example, I’ve got a simple bar here, 1'”x20”. I’m showing one end in each of two viewports to condense the display.

When I try to add dimensions, snapping to the corners of the bar, the short end works great but the long dimension displays the paper space distance instead of the actual length.

How to fix this? I actually got the tip from somebody who attended Wednesday’s See the Suite Advantage virtual event. (Recordings are now available on-demand.)

The suggestion is to replace the default dimension text with a field referencing the length of the object instead. Now, normally I don’t advocate overriding dimension text, but when you’re replacing it with intelligent text, I’ll make an exception.

Here’s how it works:

1. Double-click the dimension text to edit it, right-click, and select Insert Field.

2. In the Field dialog, set the Category to Objects and select Object under “Field names.”

3. Next to “Object type” in the dialog, click the “Select Object” button.

4. Here’s where it gets a little sneaky—and I can’t show it in a screenshot. You’ll just have to trust me (or better yet, try it yourself).

Click on the object you want to dimension, even though its viewport isn’t active. I know, it’s weird. But it works, just like it does when you’re selecting objects to dimension from paper space.

5. Back in the Field dialog, pick the property you want to reference (probably Length) and set the format and precision.

6. Click OK, and that’s it! You’re back in the drawing with an intelligent dimension that still knows what it’s attached to.

Admittedly this takes a little more effort than regular old associative dimensions, but once you’re used to placing fields, I think you’ll find it goes pretty quickly.