Memorial Day 2009

I won’t bother you with the did you go to a memorial, or the beach song and dance, and simply describe my memorial.

Memorial day is a day set aside to remember those that took their last breath in some other place, in miserable circumstances, so that everyone her in this country could have LIBERTY.  All they know was they were asked to step up and do something and they might not come home again.

…some knew what they were asked to do would be the last thing they would ever do…and they stepped up anyway.

Saturday, my boys and I showed up to place flags on the graves of fallen soldiers.  Apparently it was called off due to the rain (I didn’t get the memo that everyone else did).  I’m happy I didn’t know, because my boys and I got out of the car, flagless, and had our own 15 minute ceremony for those soldiers before us. Some died in the rain, I don’t see why we can’t stand up for them in it.

Civil 3D – Accessible Object Properties

As soon as I got into Civil 3D 2010, I noticed the civil ribbon did not have easily accessible object properties.  You remember the standard toolbar, with the Layer, Linetype, Color, etc.  Well it aint there no more.

Object Properties and the Ribbon

So we need to create a simple ribbon to get me that information.  We will just find the respective ribbon component that has those.

Nope.  There isn’t one.

So well drop back and use the old toolbar components.

Not so fast buddy.  Those were controls.  Those controls will not transfer to the Ribbon Panels.  I’m not joking.  They won’t go. 

The WORK AROUND.  Drag the old toolbar (it’s in there) under the Ribbon.  Hoaky? Maybe. Not what I had envisioned, but it does give me real-time control of Object Properties.

*WISH LIST ITEM 1* – We need the object controls back in a ribbon tab.   Someone had to decide that we don’t need that anymore.

The less visibility you have over the object properties, the more hosed up the layers get.  Regardless of what Autodesk thinks SHOULD be the appropriate workflow, those of us who have merged the old with the new, to create a far more powerful application lack the tools the need to be competent. 

So you went ahead and created SOME kind of panel to get you by, and copied it to ALL the application tabs.  Good Job.  One problem though.  When you select an object to see the layer, the Ribbon goes contextual.  You know…Green.  

Contextual ribbons are Great! This is a good thing, but your new panel is not there.  Get ready to copy that panel to ALL those contextual ribbons.  Wheeeeee!

The WORK AROUND.  Drag the panel you want off the ribbon, and set it in a convenient spot (good luck).  It will be there as the contexts change. 

When you want it to go back, reset it.  All will be as configured. Alternately you can drag it back to the ribbon as well.

*WISH LIST ITEM 2* – We need a temporary override on all tabs to allow an appended panel, no matter the tab or context.  This way we can assign a custom panel for a special workflow, without having to hack up the context panels etc.  Switch it off, and the thing goes back like it was configured.

Quick Properties

The folks and the Imagine Event did remind me about the Quick Properties dialog.  Type “QuickProperties” on the command line to toggle its appearance on of off.  Once on, the dialog will appear as you select items.  It customizable, and I must say, they did a nice job on it.

*WISH LIST ITEM 3* – put check box button on it that says “send to Context Ribbon”.  When you select an item and the ribbon goes contextual, the Quick Properties is THERE, and not in the way of what you are doing.  I think this one is my favorite idea.

I do like that dialog, I just hate the popping up and gone, up and gone effect I’m left with.

*BUG* The quick properties does not come up when Alignment Geometry Point Label Groups are selected.

Layer Pulldown Color Control

Lynn Allen showed us this one at the Imagine Event.  Pull down on the Layer control (the ribbon one) and hit the color square.

Go ahead, hit it.

The color control dialog appears.   Nice!

Thanks Lynn!

Autodesk Networking

Ok, I’m a networking newby.  I’ve been involved in the practice for years, but I really am not an expert at it.  I have been a bit more tuned into it lately, and that has brought up a few thoughts.

Weird Networking Criteria

Recently, at the Imagine Virtual Event, I noticed a ‘Networking’ page.  It contained search criteria that allowed you to get some contacts together.  There was no way I was going to get anything mounted in less than 6 hours with various chats and presentations, but I wanted to give everything a go.

The criteria were all things that you already knew, and things that were very specific to the contact. I can’t remember them all, but  think  Name, Company, etc. Searching for some known information would be useful, but it seems like looking in the phone book.  You have to know half the puzzle first. 

What happened to more common criteria?  When I say ‘Common Criteria’, I mean those items that actually make up your common interests.  Hell, I searched for a few associates, and left.  I was more interested in who was there that I did not know….Yet.

What happened???

At AU 2006…Yes, I’m back on 2006.  I missed last year, so I cannot speak with complete accuracy, but based on what I DID witness, 2006 was the ‘be all get all’ AU experience.  Even though some of it is still a blur.

When you logged in to the AU online pre-registration, there was a page that was intended for networking.  It had search criteria, etc, but it also had the coolest visual reference I have ever seen in networking.

Does anyone remember the BIG CIRCLE?

  People were stickpins (sort of), and the more common their goals and interests, the closer they got to the center.  That’s the interests THEY consider important.  Autodesk provides a handy list for you to choose from their interests, which are industry oriented.  Just a hint, but the FIRST thing I go after is people in Parametric Design, that speak Japanese.  So Language exchange is a big one for me.  God help us all if Parametric Design, Japanese, Vodka, and BlackJack all come up.

I thought the guy that came up with that circle stickpin concept should have received a raise and a promotion.  It reminds me of my 80/20 circle that I use to illustrate and reinforce communication and misunderstanding between people of different visions, aptitudes and environments, and how people rarely use feedback correctly.

What happened to the circle. This shows you how out of touch I must be.  Why don’t you see it used everywhere?  Even now on AU online, before the registration for AU.  Seriously, I’d like to know.  LinkedIn etc.?

Anyhow, networking online is just a bit static, and lacks something that I thought the industry recognized. 

Bring Back the Circle!

Autodesk Imagine Virtual Event – the Day After

Ok, so who attended the event?

I’d like to say I did, but that’s not entirely true.  I mean I was there, and I got to see some of the webcasts, etc., but I did not get to put into it what I wanted to. 

My responsibilities exploded during the day.  I had (let me boil this down) construction crews and contractors wanting 2 week old, ignored solutions; Proposal mockups that got last minute realignments; No cad data delivered for tomorrow’s crews….until 4 PM; and the handy Crash feature was popping up now and then too. – I got the contractor happy, the crews with something to do, the president settled for his meeting…..and when the dust settled, Where in the %&*$ did the Autodesk Event go?  “It’s good to have a job.  It’s good to have a job.”

Ok, so here’s the scoop. It was a cool mock up of AU, sort of:

Lobby

The place where you move from one thing to the next, a central hub, like the runway at the Venetian. 

The Autodesk Imagine Virtual Event – Today

The event is today.  I have no idea what to expect, but I registered, so I’ll be there.

The exhibit hall and communications center will be open from 10:00am – 5:00pm EDT.

A few things to check out are:

• the Attendee Guide – Download now
• the System Test – http://vshow.on24.com/view/vts/tys/tys.htm

I actually had something to be resolved on the test list.  Links were available to help with my real player update issue.

The event lobby url is www.autodeskimagineevent.com

(if that one doesn’t work, try this) http://vshow.on24.com/vshow/autodesk#home

Stop by and say hello.

Autodesk 2010 Certification Beta Update

This came in late Friday.  Oops.

All you Revit and Civil folks out there, your time is running out! The Certification Beta testing is almost over. 

You only have until Friday, May 22nd, Registered and Completed! I wouldn’t wait till Friday to register.

Autodesk Professional Certification Take the 2010 Beta Exam and Upgrade your Certification The Autodesk Professional Certification program is pleased to announce the release of the 2010 beta exams. The release of the final 2010 exams depends on your support! We need Revit Architecture 2010 and Civil 3D 2010 test takers. Take advantage of these benefits of participating in Beta testing Exams are FREE for Autodesk Authorized Certification Center staff Low cost exams for customers -  $25 per test by using the consumer shopping cart Gain a competitive edge by getting Certified on the latest releases We encourage you to take advantage of this period so that you can update any existing certification or earn your first certification at no or a low cost.  Don’t delay!  How can you participate? 1. Schedule your test before May 22. (Call your local Authorized Certification Center.) 2. Check out the preparation material available. (See detail to the right) 3. Make sure that they are delivered and completed by the end dates of the betas, May 22 (to be valid for 2010 certification status.) Note: To gain Certified Associate status you only need to pass the Associate exam. To become A Certified professional you must pass both exams. Why do we beta test our exams? Whenever a new exam is created, the exam items need to be calibrated and tried out within a testing situation. In order to do this, exams are made available in a Beta format.   After the items are tested within the Beta setting, each item is analyzed statistically and reanalyzed for technical accuracy, appropriateness, and readability. What you should expect when participating in Beta testing? · The exam may contain small errors (this beta is to catch and correct these any errors.) · Exam questions may or may not be the same ones that appear on the final exam (this is why your feedback is important.) · Scoring may not be immediate, but will most often take place 6 weeks after taking the exam (score reports will only be delivered directly to the test takers.) · You will be asked to provide feedback on a short survey at the end of the test (thank you in advance.) · Test takers will be notified via email when their score is ready so valid email addresses are important. · The exams are free to your staff and very low cost to your customers. · You have the chance to provide feedback via a survey at the end of the test to help influence a better test. If you have any questions about the Beta testing program, contact us at certification@autodesk.com. Best regards, Autodesk Learning Team

Beta Program Information May 7 – May 22 Revit Architecture 2010 Associate Revit Architecture 2010 Prof (imperial) Revit Architecture 2010 (metric) Civil 3D 2010 Associate Civil 3D 2010 Professional (imperial) Civil 3D 2010 Professional (metric) Training Guides and Exam Objectives Please contact a Certification Center www.autodesk.com/atc for prep material. Or Purchase the exam ($25) using the consumer shopping cart and download prep material. Learn more about Autodesk Certification

Civil 3D – 2010 Labels

Labels are predominantly the same as in 2009.  No big surprises.  There have however been some interaction enhancements.

Edit style of multiple Labels

We used to have iterate through a selection of Labels, selecting the desired change for each label as the application prompted over and over.  Not any more; select all the labels, hit Edit Label Style on the Ribbon Panel (or context menu), pick desired style, and poof-> they all update.

Leaders

Note the changes of the leader grips.  Leaders can be edited to add segments, as well as moving the Leader location in relation to the label. 

To add a vertex to a leader, simply select the ‘+’ glyph, and drag.

Civil 3D – 2010 Missing Drawing Recovery

Ah yes, Drawing Recovery.

I don’t know how you all feel about Drawing Recovery, but I hate it.  I mean I really hate it.  It’s slow, cumbersome, and annoying.  It’s up when I don’t want it, and gone when I …. Actually, I really don’t want it.  I usually navigate to my autosave location, to find it doesn’t exist.  Then go to the drawing location, and… nope.

If something in Civil just crashed you, how good are your odds that Autosave was functioning properly, Hmm?

Once in awhile I get frustrated, and just use the recovery.

I spent the first day doing this:

Nothing!

It took me a little while to notice something at startup.

AU 2009 – Public Voting Deadline May 8!

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, step right up. Cast your votes for the classes you want to see the most.

It’s your civic duty!

No longer will you be able to slump over in your chair with a hang over, complaining about the class you got stuck with.  Do something about it!  Slump over in a class that you and your hangover CHOOSE to.

I have submitted 3 classes:

• Part Builder in AutoCAD® Civil 3D®
• Passing the AutoCAD® Civil 3D® Certificate Exams
• Derived Components in an Autodesk® Inventor® Assembly

Please take a moment to consideration them.

…..if you vote for my classes, please don’t fall asleep in them.

私の授業を見てかんがえて下さい。おねがいします。AUGIJPの人、わせらないで下さい。さいごの投票日は平成二十一年五月八日です。

Autodesk sent this out

“Last year, for the first time, we asked the AU Community to help us select the best 600-plus sessions for AU 2008, and the response was invaluable. This year we’d like to do it again.

If you are considering attending AU 2009, please take a few minutes to vote for those sessions that you absolutely want to see. Your votes will help us select not only the best sessions, but will also give us some insight into the most popular ones to help us schedule them at the best times and locations.

How to Vote

To vote for sessions, go to the Autodesk University Session Selection page and log in using your AU Online username and password. If you do not have an AU Online account, it only takes 15 seconds to register as an AU Online member .

Topics can be looked up by product, speaker, or industry. You will be able to read the entire submission (unedited) and vote on several criteria. Please limit your votes to approximately 20 sessions.

The voting deadline is Friday, May 8 at midnight PDT.”

Inventor – Hardware resource page

Are you having trouble with your computer while running Inventor?  Check this page out:

http://www.inventor-certified.com/graphics/

There is tested information about various hardware issues, that seems to be updated regularly, including 3GB switch info and Graphics cards.  Check it out.