Scott's blog, Paving the Way, is still active, same name with a different address. Check it out, and best wishes Scott.
Labels: Autodesk University, Civil 3D, New Blogs, Notices
PermaLink Posted 11/18/2008 06:30:00 AM Comments (0)
16 November 2008
AutoCAD 2009 - Bonus Pack 2 - PDF enhancements
If you have not already heard by now, Autodesk has released "Bonus Pack 2" for AutoCAD 2009. This update includes two PDF enhancements. The first gives you the ability to attach PDF files as underlays. The second includes enhancements to PDF output.
The download is only available for AutoCAD 2009, AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite 2009, and AutoCAD Revit Structure Suite 2009. Of course it is also only available to subscription customers.
To get this "Bonus Pack", log in to the subscription center and a link should be listed on the front page.
PDF Attach
The new command for attaching a PDF is named PDFATTACH. You can also use the right-click menu in the External References palette. If you attach a vector PDF, you can use object snaps to snap to geometry in the PDF file. This is controlled by the PDFOSNAP system variable. If the PDF contains layer information, use the PDFLAYERS command for on/off control.
You can use the PDFCLIP command to perform clipping operations on the PDF. The frame outline on an attached PDF is controlled by the PDFFRAME system variable. You can adjust the visible properties of the PDF including fade and contrast by using the PDFADJUST command.
PDF Output
A new PC3 file named DWG to PDF Bonus Pack.PC3 is created that includes the enhancements. These enhancements include increased resolution. The readme file recommends a setting of at least 600dpi. TrueType fonts are now embedded instead of converted to graphics. This should reduce file sizes of the PDF files.
Merge control settings are also available in this new driver. This is the "Lines Merge" vs. "Lines Overwrite" setting. You can include layer information in the output PDF now, and automatically display the finished PDF in your PDF viewer when the plot command is finished.
Summary
These are two welcome additions. A quick run through of each feature produced positive results.
It's a shame that this "Bonus Pack" is only for subscription customers. The enhancements to the PDF plot driver should have been included in the initial release in AutoCAD 2007 since these are basic requirements. The PDF attachment feature has been at or near the top of the AUGI wish list for a long time now. Unfortunately, non-subscription users will have to keep wishing for now.
PermaLink Posted 11/16/2008 06:53:00 AM Comments (2)
The download is only available for AutoCAD 2009, AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite 2009, and AutoCAD Revit Structure Suite 2009. Of course it is also only available to subscription customers.
To get this "Bonus Pack", log in to the subscription center and a link should be listed on the front page.
PDF Attach
The new command for attaching a PDF is named PDFATTACH. You can also use the right-click menu in the External References palette. If you attach a vector PDF, you can use object snaps to snap to geometry in the PDF file. This is controlled by the PDFOSNAP system variable. If the PDF contains layer information, use the PDFLAYERS command for on/off control.
You can use the PDFCLIP command to perform clipping operations on the PDF. The frame outline on an attached PDF is controlled by the PDFFRAME system variable. You can adjust the visible properties of the PDF including fade and contrast by using the PDFADJUST command.
PDF Output
A new PC3 file named DWG to PDF Bonus Pack.PC3 is created that includes the enhancements. These enhancements include increased resolution. The readme file recommends a setting of at least 600dpi. TrueType fonts are now embedded instead of converted to graphics. This should reduce file sizes of the PDF files.
Merge control settings are also available in this new driver. This is the "Lines Merge" vs. "Lines Overwrite" setting. You can include layer information in the output PDF now, and automatically display the finished PDF in your PDF viewer when the plot command is finished.
Summary
These are two welcome additions. A quick run through of each feature produced positive results.
It's a shame that this "Bonus Pack" is only for subscription customers. The enhancements to the PDF plot driver should have been included in the initial release in AutoCAD 2007 since these are basic requirements. The PDF attachment feature has been at or near the top of the AUGI wish list for a long time now. Unfortunately, non-subscription users will have to keep wishing for now.
Labels: AutoCAD 2009, Bonus Pack, New Features, pdf, Tips, Utilities, Wishlist
PermaLink Posted 11/16/2008 06:53:00 AM Comments (2)
14 November 2008
Availability of DWG Trueconvert
The capabilities of DWG TrueConvert were added to DWG TrueView starting with DTV2008. However, I have seen a few people still wanting to download the the old standalone DWG TrueConvert
In a previous post from April 2008, I had a link to DWG TrueConvert 2007. That URL actually pointed to DWG Trueconvert 2004. I don't know if Autodesk changed the target of that URL or what. Here are the current links as of today:
PermaLink Posted 11/14/2008 06:16:00 AM Comments (0)
In a previous post from April 2008, I had a link to DWG TrueConvert 2007. That URL actually pointed to DWG Trueconvert 2004. I don't know if Autodesk changed the target of that URL or what. Here are the current links as of today:
- DWG Trueconvert 2007 (33.1MB)
- DWG Trueconvert 2004 (18.9MB)
Labels: Add-on utilities, DWG Trueconvert, DWG Trueview, Notices, Tips
PermaLink Posted 11/14/2008 06:16:00 AM Comments (0)
11 November 2008
HTML and Images
No, this is not CAD related, but I know a lot of CAD users dabble in other things like website creation and maintenance, specifically HTML code.
With regard for the subject, I ran into my #1 pet peeve again today, SCALED DOWN IMAGES. Note: I am not on the fastest broadband connection in the world, but I'm not on the slowest either.
I am not going to mention this particular web site, but on the main page they have a banner image that is displayed at 1038px x 146px, and its file size is 159kb. The actual image is 1920px x 240px. I copied it, scaled it to 1038px x 146px and the image size is now 38K, or about 4X smaller.
Same site, same front page, there is a 374px x 245px, black and white image, and its file size is 51kb. It is also scaled down, to 167px x 125px, and it also happens to be a B/W image (not greyscale) but its color depth is set to 24-bit. If you reduce the color depth to 1-bit, and save it as a .PNG file, the file size is now 1,498 bytes, or about 34X smaller.
One main feature of this particular website is to inform its readers about upcoming events. Do they use a graphical calendar? No. Do they have a paragraph in the middle with a date highlighted in red? No. What do they use? Would you believe MARQUEE text? MARQUEE text was cute in 1995, and it didn't last that long. It is so annoying and worst of all in this case, you have to wait about 45 seconds to read the entire paragraph of information, since it is scrolling by.. Good grief...
So I follow a link on this website and it takes me to another page that contains 54 images. The first one on the top is 798px x 598px, but I notice it is loading REAL slow... I check the properties of this image and of course, its real size is 3264px x 2448px and its file size is a whopping 3.02MB (A scaled down version saved is 145kb). It took 2 minutes and 12 seconds to download and display this page. Nobody is going to wait that long to see your 54 photos.
In summary...
One more thing... When I go to bookmark this page, its title is "HOME PAGE". Won't help you much when you are searching bookmarks later that month...
PermaLink Posted 11/11/2008 09:22:00 PM Comments (1)
With regard for the subject, I ran into my #1 pet peeve again today, SCALED DOWN IMAGES. Note: I am not on the fastest broadband connection in the world, but I'm not on the slowest either.
I am not going to mention this particular web site, but on the main page they have a banner image that is displayed at 1038px x 146px, and its file size is 159kb. The actual image is 1920px x 240px. I copied it, scaled it to 1038px x 146px and the image size is now 38K, or about 4X smaller.
Same site, same front page, there is a 374px x 245px, black and white image, and its file size is 51kb. It is also scaled down, to 167px x 125px, and it also happens to be a B/W image (not greyscale) but its color depth is set to 24-bit. If you reduce the color depth to 1-bit, and save it as a .PNG file, the file size is now 1,498 bytes, or about 34X smaller.
One main feature of this particular website is to inform its readers about upcoming events. Do they use a graphical calendar? No. Do they have a paragraph in the middle with a date highlighted in red? No. What do they use? Would you believe MARQUEE text? MARQUEE text was cute in 1995, and it didn't last that long. It is so annoying and worst of all in this case, you have to wait about 45 seconds to read the entire paragraph of information, since it is scrolling by.. Good grief...
So I follow a link on this website and it takes me to another page that contains 54 images. The first one on the top is 798px x 598px, but I notice it is loading REAL slow... I check the properties of this image and of course, its real size is 3264px x 2448px and its file size is a whopping 3.02MB (A scaled down version saved is 145kb). It took 2 minutes and 12 seconds to download and display this page. Nobody is going to wait that long to see your 54 photos.
In summary...
- Do not use HTML to scale your images down
- If a photo is B/W, save it as such.
- Do not use MARQUEE text
- Do use PNG or JPG depending on the application
- Do test your webpage from various connections after you are done. Just because it loads fast on your Intranet doesn't mean it is good enough for the average Joe out there on a DSL connection.
One more thing... When I go to bookmark this page, its title is "HOME PAGE". Won't help you much when you are searching bookmarks later that month...
PermaLink Posted 11/11/2008 09:22:00 PM Comments (1)
03 November 2008
Knowledge Base question...
Here is a new KB article that appeared today.
I just don't understand how you are going to select the Move option using your arrow keys if you can't see the menu. The solution of course is to press "M" on the keyboard after pressing ALT+Spacebar.
PermaLink Posted 11/03/2008 07:04:00 PM Comments (0)
I just don't understand how you are going to select the Move option using your arrow keys if you can't see the menu. The solution of course is to press "M" on the keyboard after pressing ALT+Spacebar.
Labels: AutoCAD, KB, Notices, Tips
PermaLink Posted 11/03/2008 07:04:00 PM Comments (0)