I am hosting my own site and blog now.  It has been my desire to create a site that has better content, news, information and benefit to the Autodesk Design and Manufacturing community.  More storage and flexibility was required.  This site will be discontinued over time.

The new Blog “Design and Motion” can be found here:

http://designandmotion.net/blog

The main site will be developed as time progresses

Please follow me on the new twitter address: 

http://twitter.com/johnevansdesign

Editing a style by selection through a Right Click Context menu is such a cool, convenient option, right. So much so, that faced with a large amount of style tuning, I’ll pick it anyhow.  JUST STOP!!  Break the habit.

Why?

Here’s the thing.  It all revolves around this magic button.

When making changes, we can apply them to a style and visually inspect the changes in our design.  This is nice, and I like to use it, especially when I need to make multiple passes at a complex style to get it just right.

Such changes will only update the object if your Style Composer Dialog is in direct line (interface wise) with the object.  When we go through another modal window, like this Edit Current Selection method, the apply never makes it back to the object.  It stops cold at the modal dialog.

So we hit OK, and then OK again.  Look at the changes, and go back through the context menu.  Up the ladder, and down the ladder.  Why, sheer laziness.

Recommendations

Use the context menu to determine the precise name of the style, then head for the Settings Tab of the Prospector to make the tedious changes.  This will allow much faster overhauls.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still edit through the context menu, especially to copy a style quickly, or change a drag state, but when it comes to any lengthy changes, I’ll perform them through the Settings Tab.

Sukii tte ikkai yattara yamitsuki ni naru

Once you try skiing, You’re hooked.

スキーって一回やったら病みつきになる

Today’s focus will be on ‘yamitsuki ni naru’

Yamitsuki means hooked; ni naru means to become.

Repeat this over and over all day.  My boys will work with it until they can repeat it on queue.  Remember these are such a useful supplement.  They helped me a lot.

Bonus study.  Can anyone figure out what this kana word is?  Can you replace it in out study sentence?

インベンター Inbentaa

• Laser scanning technologies available
• industry perceptions
• various point cloud topics

Register Now   

I found that everyone seems to have converters for Google Map to Google Earth, Excel to GE, ESRI SHP to GE, you name it.  I bet my wife has something that will export one of her Facebook games to GE.

I figured there were numerous options when my VP asked for something to export a KML file to ascii LAT/LON, or even to UTM/SP Grid.  I think he’ll take it any way he can get it.  I know he’s looking at ME to write it in .NET, but my working with Tekni takes all my personal time, so I need to head this off quickly.

“You know it will cost you more for me to code and debug it, than if we outsourced it. “ I said, “But I know a guy  who’ll do it for next to nothing”.  Yeah… the look I was getting said he wasn’t too hip on paying anything beyond my salary.   “Ok ok, let me go online and try to find something, then we’ll talk about outsourcing”.

After searching the wrong keywords (google and Excel) for half an hour, I found this under “KML to CSV”: 

http://freegeographytools.com/2009/online-kml-to-shapefile-converter

These folks have a slough of data outputs.  You can Import the file, or paste the KML string.  It’s online PHP, and convenient.  The output formatting is a bit caste,  but very little rework will be needed.  It’s free, and there are many options, as well as other programs. 

It got me off the hook, and it might help you.

As for using GE with Civil, I still have not seen the scaling fix yet.

http://www.civil3d.com/2010/02/a-quick-fix-with-label-expressions/

We always (at least I hope always) work from the larger parcel inward to a smaller division.  I have gone so far as to create a huge overall parcel in the background to help me when I knew the developer would add some land to the design later.  I have a few of those that would guarantee that nothing will change later.  It always changes.

Say for example you have a small Parcel isolated within a big Parcel.  Erase one of the sides to the smaller Parcel, and the contents bleed out to the larger one.  No problem. However the remaining sides (Parcel Segments) of the isolated parcel are still there.

The important thing to remember is that these belong to a Site.  If you check the Segments, they are tagged accordingly.

I was cleaning up my design, and needed 2 things:

1. to get rid of empty sites
2. to remove land from the design and send it to the plat to the East.

This Site was empty, so I erased it.  Subsequently I erased the Parcel Segment I planned to work with. Undo!!

The solution was to move the segment to the appropriate site.

Use the context sensitive Ribbon Panel.  I do love the Ribbon.

Once moved the Parcel automatically joins in with the others, and we change the style to match the adjacent plat. 

This could not have gone better.  One of the keys to making Civil 3D fun is effective organization of your Sites and styles. Amazingly cool.

Unable to Initialize ADLM – Internal Error Message Error Code <21>

After some research I came up empty, except that some other folks had similar issues, but no one commented.  So I suggested the “reinstall option” and checking the user rights. 

User rights was the ticket.  Make sure your user account has sufficient rights to ADLM, file and template structures, and any the Program Data file locations.

http://vdssolutions.wordpress.com/

Wasim wrote the book “Up and Running with Autodesk Inventor Simulation”, and has proven to be an informative look at numerous points throughout the simulation process.  I plan to promote the book with some chapter reviews and a book giveaway as well.

The site is brand new so go check him out.  If we can extend some attention his way, perhaps he’ll keep the simulation tips coming.

If I can’t have it, I usually won’t go play with it.  This keeps my marriage in tact as well.

Price  – I believe that at least 50% of the users out there know something about these devices, and know they are fairly expensive.  Well, this is partially true.  If you get in at sale time, you can pickup a notebook model for 80 USD.  I don’t think there are any buttons, just view mobility.  That’s still a nice item for 80 bucks.  The new deluxe model comes in at 500 USD.  That’s pricey.

Uneasiness – Mostly my innate lack of desire to change something that works; namely the way I have been doing it.   The 3 button mouse and an ALT key covers a lot of ground.  I watched some field experts navigate quite well with a 3 button mouse, and there was no lack of speed.  Which brings us to the last item.

Dependency – Ever since Vibrant Graphics dumped us old people, I have been very jaded about dependency on non-OEM functionality.  I still wrote C++/C# code, but usually this was to cover things that were reasonably impossible with other methods.  No odd command aliases, no large menu configurations, mostly out of the box.  This way I would never be bent over the way I was in 2000, when I had to relearn the interface.

AU2009

These 3D mice have always been super-popular at AU. So I decided to do a few 3D Connexion promotions for the upcoming Tekni Creative Inventor training, and the powers that be agreed to pay for the mice.  I however was not one of the lucky ones that will get said mice.

The curiosity was killing me.  While I’d like to try it in Inventor, my question is how will it work in Civil?

So my associates introduced me to some people at 3D Connexion, and Walt and Company, and they kindly agreed to let me play with one of the new toys.  During the last discussion, they asked what I intended to do with it, and I told them I intended to review the product in different environments, and then publish the results.  A few days later a new Space Pilot Pro ended up on my door step.  Like a kid in a candy shop.

The Box

I told my boys, “That’s Daddy’s, get away!” I threw in the universally understood word: “Mine!”.  They reluctantly backed off.  I told my youngest, “It’s not food, go away”. 

What came in the box was a folder from the company, containing some fact sheets, Company Rep contact info, the driver CD, and the Space Pilot Pro….and a note that said basically “If you need any assistance, please call.” 

The Unit

The Space Pilot Pro is smaller than an AOTC guide, and a bit lighter too.  I’ll guess at 2.5 pounds.  27 buttons, 1 6-DOF puck, and a LCD.  Just plug it into the USB port, and away you go.  The driver install allows for numerous applications to be supported, including AutoCAD, Inventor, 3DS Max, and Maya.  Once the applications are selected, the install downloads any updates and eventually completes the task.

Anyone can check out the specs and details online, so I’ll just mention the things that get me hot and bothered:

• Symmetrical layout permits ambidextrous use
• application and mode detection
• 2 sets of multi-touch quadrant buttons
• COMPLETE programmability on the fly
• the 6 DOF puck
• the built in RSS reader
• on the fly sensitivity control

There are 2 sets of quadrant button arrangements (function and view) that are multi-touch activated, meaning that a short press activates one option, and a long touch activates a different function.  While the default arrangement is set as command and view, anything can be programmed in.

The drivers watch which application is in focus, and subsequently where you are in the application.  The configurations change as the user moves from one part of the application to another.  This turns the mouse into a completely configurable power house.

The sensitivity and configuration menu can be accessed through buttons on the unit at any time.  Like I mentioned in my AU article recently, I had one of these reconfigured during a Lab I was attending.  It really is quite simple to configure.

That Display

The display is is broken down into Function Keys, Microsoft Outlook tools, Picture Viewer, and RSS feed reader.  The colors and clarity are really good. 

The Outlook functions include previews of mail, calendar, and task items.  Mail and tasks are straight forward, scrolling through the Inbox and task list using the up and down arrows.  Calendar lets you access events a day at a time by scrolling left and right; up and down arrows lets you move from item to item.  Clicking anything will open the item in outlook, and bring it active on the computer.  You don’t actually get to read it on the LCD.

The picture viewer cycles through images in a folder.

The RSS feed reader is a nice touch.  Since I don’t get twitter past my router here in the office, I can subscribe to them through RSS, and read them on the LCD.  Each feed is separated, and can be scrolled through, giving a time and preview of the item.  Clicking again will allow you to read the feed, and another click will open the item in the registered internet browser.

Configuration of all these is minimal.  There is a LCD manager applet that can be accessed through the menu button.  You can turn on or off the items from the LCD display, and subscribe to desired RSS feeds here as well.  The scrolling timer is adjusted through this interface.  No other programs can be added.

The Function Keys display feature is VERY NICE.  2 pages are setup for the Left and the Right multitouch quadrant buttons, and a page for the remaining function buttons is available.  Left and Right arrow buttons take you quickly from page to page.  These are all very easy to read, even at a distance.  As soon as any configuration is done, it shows up in the display.

Configuration

Configuration is very easy to get through.  Any thing that is keystroke accessible, or command line capable can be keyed into the script builder, named, and added to any key.  The script builder watches any keystoke made, so everything gets picked up, making odd key assignments easy.

I wish that it would….

support more applications directly, like say PDF.  DWF is supported, but not directly.  I’m often moving from Autodesk applications into these, and have found myself trying to zoom using the 3D mouse.  Someone with imagination can figure out button assignments, but for now zoom and pan would be great.

A basic modeless application detection that would allow the user to create scripts.  I envision these to be ‘ALT+’ kinds of scripts.  The biggest thing here is to be able to store things for applications that are not covered by driver interaction.  When a particular shell that is named ‘X’ comes into focus, the button configuration would change to accommodate.

Modal sensitivities – in 3D, the sensitivity needed is usually less than in a 2D environment.  We usually need to get from one side of a border to another fairly quick in 2D.  3D work is treated a bit more delicate.

TWITTER feed – Currently you can read twitter through the RSS feature.  This works great, but perhaps a direct twitter feed would be cool.

I think more use for the LCD would be good.  That’s a lot of money or that gizzie, and we would want to get every ounce out of it that we could.  A text reader would be nice, so that we could read specs, task orders. revisions.  I’m just winging it, but I think we could put an ASCII and HTML reader to work.

A shock resistant case – I went out and bought this case.  I haul it back and forth, and letting it flop around in the laptop bag is not going to get it.  Something formed to protect the puck action would be preferred.  A firm foam/neoprene that would put a few mm of air around the puck so that books and laptops would not jerk he puck action around in transport.

You laugh, but my stuff lasts a long time. 

I don’t like…

The RSS feed layout preview area.  The All Feeds header is nice, but give it to me chronologically, not grouped.  I want to see the ALL FEEDS, as a big collection, as each comes in.  They are already grouped individually.  Also the feeds cycle around and around with no apparent end.  You have to stare and read each date to figure where the firs/last item seam is.  Make it ‘last on top’, with a dead end at top and bottom.  This way I always know where the latest posts are.

My overall impression

This unit is great, and I think that a portable unit would be better to tote back and forth.  I love the quadrant keys, and the function display.  The 6 DOF motion still takes a bit of getting used to, but it is so nice.  I can definitely recommend the unit. 

I wish that I would have had the opportunity to review the other units, which represent other price ranges, so I cannot say where I think the cost vs. benefit curve lies, but I can say I find myself reaching for the 3D puck more and more.

Coming Application reviews

I’ll go through the use in Inventor and Civil 3D in separate articles.  Inventor is a well covered subject so the article will be fairly simple.  Civil 3D on the other hand is a whole separate matter.  Check back for these in during the following week, I have some more things I’d wish for.