If you want to create some quick and easy drawings in a super simple program then you need to check out Autodesk Freestyle. This new software program is perfect for someone who doesn't know AutoCAD (and maybe doesn't want to take the time to learn) and yet needs to create some type of design.  You can easily create DWG files - to scale even!  Take advantage of this technology preview now.

Check out the video as well!  This is the perfect program for those of you who want a low stress means of drawing.  By the way - this program was originally called Cooper - so you'll hear Freestyle referred to as Cooper in the video.

 

I am looking forward to seeing what any of you create with this great new design program - feel free to share! 

If you want to create some quick and easy drawings in a super simple program then you need to check out Autodesk Freestyle. This new software program is perfect for someone who doesn't know AutoCAD (and maybe doesn't want to... Lynn Allen

Let the AutoCAD User Community make suggestions to you based on the commands you are already using!  This new technology spends a few weeks analyzing the commands you use on a regular basis and based on the user community makes alternative suggestions that might just save you some time!  I think this technology sounds pretty interesting - especially since we often get in a rut and use the same commands over and over - even when there might be a faster route to get from A to B.

Check out this new tool in the Autodesk Labs!  I also think this tool would be great for CAD Managers to understand the commands being used the most by members on the team.  Perhaps the CAD Manager would decide to do some auxiliary training based on the results - who knows!

The CustomerCommands video is very helpful and explains qutie a bit about how it works - I highly recommend watching it for more info.

Check it out!

Let the AutoCAD User Community make suggestions to you based on the commands you are already using! This new technology spends a few weeks analyzing the commands you use on a regular basis and based on the user community makes... Lynn Allen

I had one remaining Twitter Shirt which I sent to the person who told me I'd passed the 1000 followers mark on Twitter - John Evans (thanks for pointing that out John!). Below is the final pic to complete my... Lynn Allen

I had one remaining Twitter Shirt which I sent to the person who told me I'd passed the 1000 followers mark on Twitter - John Evans (thanks for pointing that out John!).  Below is the final pic to complete my Twitter Tshirt collection (I'm afraid they are all gone now - even I don't have one!)

 
  
Cadalyst posted another of my Tips and Tricks Tuesdayvideos today.  This tip is going to help you deal with those boundaries that AutoCAD won't let you hatch because there is a gap somewhere.  You end up zooming all over trying to find that pesky gap - sometimes to no avail.  No worries - AutoCAD does have a remedy - you just have to know where to find it!

You'll find a little arrow in the lower right corner of the Hatch dialog box that sends you over to many top secret Hatch options!   You're going to notice a fabulous option called Gap Tolerance that is going to make your life 100% better! 

Now more than likely there is a small hole in your hatch boundary.  You just need to set the Gap Tolerance value to a size larger than that hole and you'll find that AutoCAD will just pretend that pesky little gap doesn't exist - Voila!  All the stress just disappears (wouldn't it be nice if it was just that easy?)

Be sure to watch the video as it takes you through all of the steps...

Now AutoCAD can help you create the perfect date! Watch this super cool video and you’ll see what I mean - http://bit.ly/bXdjMu . This incredible sketch was created in AutoCAD. It references an AutoCAD solid model of a martini glass... Lynn Allen

Now AutoCAD can help you create the perfect date! Watch this super cool video and you’ll see what I mean - http://bit.ly/bXdjMu . This incredible sketch was created in AutoCAD. It references an AutoCAD solid model of a martini glass and uses the new free sketching add-in for AutoCAD based on the alias sketching technology.

 

 

 

Remember when you were in grade school and your favorite thing in the world was drawing? Of course you do, that’s why you use AutoCAD today. Chances are though you may have some creative juices which are not quite making their way to the page(at least not before happy hour!) Well, with this awesome new tool you can now create sketches inside AutoCAD. There is a lot of incredible power in the tool, but just think how many creative twists and variations you could impress your friends, family, and bosses with if you could start to sketch inside AutoCAD.

 

I guarantee this is going to be huge, check it out here and please send me any of the sketches you create, I’d love to post the wonderful things you all come up with - http://bit.ly/6pbEaF

Well it is indeed stormy and gloomy in Northern California and I'm happy to be on the ground this week!  Today is a perfect day for blogging inside a nice cozy home office (rather than trying to drive through the flooded streets).  I'd like to throw in another plug for the all day Virtual event next week for you manufacturing folks.

Here you'll find webcasts and chats with Autodesk folks on the top manufacturing software products. You'll hear about AutoCAD Electrical and AutoCAD Mechanical as well (so it isn't all 3D).  I hear you also stand a chance to win an iPod Touch!

An AutoCAD Hip Tip on Killing Four Birds with One Stone (MOCORO)

I don't really like any phrase that have to do with killing birds but I do believe it relates to the following Express Tool MOCORO.  Move/Copy/Rotate (and it also Scales) is the perfect means of performing four of the most popular editing functions with one command.  I suspect the Express Tool Wizards decided the name MOCOROSC just didn't sound catchy enough! 

Think about the many times you've wanted to Copy AND Rotate an object.  You get the esteemed privilege of using two separate commands (not to mention reselecting the object) to complete this task.  With MOCORO you can perform multiple functions on the same set of objects (no reselecting needed!).

Let's take a look:

Command: MOCORO
Select objects: 1 found
Select objects:
Base point: select the base point on the option you wish to edit
[Move/Copy/Rotate/Scale/Base/Undo]<eXit>:

As you can see - this command makes it very easy to perform multiple operations on one or more objects without ever leaving the command.  And you can modify the basepoint along the way if needed.

Give MOCORO a try and you'll be saving time in no time!

Well it is indeed stormy and gloomy in Northern California and I'm happy to be on the ground this week! Today is a perfect day for blogging inside a nice cozy home office (rather than trying to drive through the... Lynn Allen

I hope 2010 is treating you well and that it is off and running in a positive direction!  January is such a fun month - American Idol begins (Paula is out - Ellen is in!), the NFL playoffs are here (Go Colts!) and since it has been so very chilly it's good we have some decent TV to watch!  Cadalyst has started up my Tips and Tricks Tuesday videos again - yet one more thing you can watch in the toasty indoors!

An AutoCAD Hip Tip on Attributes

Adding Attributes to your blocks can be a bit tricky - and certainly not meant for the novice AutoCAD user.  When you do decide to tackle attributes (text information that can vary within a block) there are a couple of tricks that will serve you well if you know them! 

Depending on the block, the order that the attributes are requested from the user can be very important.  For example, if you are creating a title block with attributes - you probably want the attribute values to appear in the same order that they appear in the title block.

The trick here is easy...the order that you select the attributes when creating the block definition - is the order they will be prompted when the block is inserted.  Sounds simple - but with most of us being window selection junkies - it's all too easy to create a block with attributes in some random order.  You are going to want to individually select the attributes in the proper order - and then you can window the remainder of the objects you want in your final block.

If you've already created your blocks and would like to rearrange the order of the attributes - no problem - BATTMAN to the rescue!  the Block Attribute Manager allows you to easily reorder existing attributes.

Check out my Cadalyst video for some other attribute tips (I got rained on so it was a curly hair day.)  In fact - you can find all sorts of tips posted in the Cadalyst video gallery without ever leaving your desk.

I hope 2010 is treating you well and that it is off and running in a positive direction! January is such a fun month - American Idol begins (Paula is out - Ellen is in!), the NFL playoffs are here... Lynn Allen

I've been working this week on an AutoCAD Mechanical and AutoCAD Electrical presentation I'll be giving during the "Go Beyond 3D to Digital Prototyping virtual event". There is quite an impressive line up of presenters and topics so check it... Lynn Allen

I've been working this week on an AutoCAD Mechanical and AutoCAD Electrical presentation I'll be giving during the "Go Beyond 3D to Digital Prototyping virtual event".  There is quite an impressive line up of presenters and topics so check it out!  It isn't an entirely 3D/Digital Prototyping event since my topics are primarily 2D.

When is the event? Here are the details:

Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Time: 8am PST - 3:00pm PST (11am EST - 6:00pm EST)

You certainly don't need to attend all day (who has time for that?) but you can pick and choose those topics that sound the most valuable to you.  That said - I'm sure you'll want to sign up for MY presentation!  Right?   (lie to me if needed)

I'm on for a short webcast in the morning (well - morning in California) but plan on tuning in for a few of the chats and other webcasts.

Rumor has it they will be giving away 10 iPod Touches!  You're going to want to throw your hat in the ring for one of those!  The more presentations you attend, the more points you get.  The more points you get the more entries you'll have in the final drawing.  Check it out!
 
 

Since I've been writing and speaking about the Autodesk 2010 products for quite some time - this new 2010 year doesn't feel quite so new to me after all!  Happy New Year to all ye readers out there and thanks for joining me for my first post of 2010.  One of my friends recently mentioned that 2009 wasn't the best year for herself and many of her friends - and I also concur.  2009 definitely could have been better and I am convinced that 2010 will be a fabulous year! 

 I bought Twitter Tshirts to give away at AU but they arrived late (one day late - can you believe it?) - so I ended up sending them to a few of our most prolific Tweeps.  They were kind enough to send me a photo of themselves in their new shirts! 

Joseph Wurcher - #ADSKUNV

Joseph is one of the key masterminds behind AU Online and AU Virtual!  If you missed Autodesk University be sure to check out the online classes that are there to watch free of charge!

Donnie Gladfelter - #THECADGEEK

Donnie was just voted onto the AUGI Board of Directors - Congratulations Donnie!  He also writes a very popular blog called The CAD Geek. 

and last - but not least:

Shaan Hurley - #MRCADMAN

Shaan and I are on the same team at Autodesk now and I look forward to working with him over the coming year.  Rumor has it that tomorrow he is celebrating his 12th year at Autodesk! 

I recently celebrated my 1000th follower on Twitter and have one Tshirt left for the person who was #1000 (now if only I can figure that out).

Happy New Year Everyone!  Let's make 2010 the best ever!

  

Since I've been writing and speaking about the Autodesk 2010 products for quite some time - this new 2010 year doesn't feel quite so new to me after all! Happy New Year to all ye readers out there and thanks... Lynn Allen

The holidays are certainly getting closer as I can tell companies are winding down little by little.  At Autodesk we only have one week left before we take a two week break (I can hardly wait!).  Of course I have all of these grandiose plans as to what I will accomplish during those two weeks - I am sure when it is all said and done I'll find only a few items actually checked off of the list! 

A couple of weeks ago Cadalyst Magazine released one of my video tips on the PURGE command.  Here you'll find some good nuggets of information on why you should keep your AutoCAD drawings clean and exactly how to go about doing it!  You can even see my kitchen peeking through in the background of my picture in picture (it's not a very big kitchen - sadly). 

AutoCAD 2010 added a nice option to the PURGE dialog for cleaning up the excess garbage in your drawing files.  I'm referring to empty text objects and zero length geometry (translated - garbage!)/  If you find yourself working with drawing files from other programs (such as Microstation) or lots of external references then you will love this new addition!

There is also a top secret option that exists in the PURGE command that is only accessible from the command line version of the command.  That means you need to put a dash in front of PURGE to get to it (-PURGE).

That option is Regapps (for Registered Applications).  Cleaning these space eating mongrels out of your drawing can reduce the file size by half (depending on what you have going on!).  You won't miss these apps - and AutoCAD will just load them again if it needs them!

Enter type of unused objects to purge:
[Blocks/Dimstyles/LAyers/LTypes/MAterials/MUltileaderstyles/Plotstyles/SHapes/te
xtSTyles/Mlinestyles/Tablestyles/Visualstyles/Regapps/Zero-length
geometry/Empty text objects/All]:

Take a look at the video - and then start purging your drawing files!  Keep them nice and clean and they'll run better and faster (and who doesn't want that?)

For entertainment purposes - I'm throwing in a picture of my dog dressed in her Santa outfit...just trying to spread a little cheer!  Happy Holidays to you all!

(doesn't it drive you crazy when people dress up their dogs?) 
 

The holidays are certainly getting closer as I can tell companies are winding down little by little. At Autodesk we only have one week left before we take a two week break (I can hardly wait!). Of course I have... Lynn Allen

Autodesk University China and Autodesk University Las Vegas are officially over (for this year anyway!).  And I do believe - I am officially exhausted!  With so much going on I have once again pushed my poor blog to the bottom of my priority list and focused on those more demanding tasks at hand.

While at AU China I had the privilege of meeting an amazing young lady - Sunny Liu - who passed 7 Certification Exams in two days!  Absolutely amazing!  Below is a picture of Sunny, myself and Richard Lane (of Autodesk).

While at Autodesk University in Las Vegas - I threw the gauntlet down during the General Session and said that anyone who could match Sunny's record would receive a free pass to AU 2010.  Well one individual did exactly that - in fact he one upped her record for a total of 8 Certifications!  Below is a picture of Zoltán Ferenczy who will be joining us next year free of charge!

Both of these individuals are truly amazing.  There were over 1600 Certification Exams taken during Autodesk University.  My good friend Barbara Bowen was running the Certification Lab and there were so many people taking exams I never saw her once during my entire time at AU.  I'm sure Barbara was grateful to finally see the light of day!

I truly enjoyed meeting so many great users at AU and appreciate all the people who came up to me and introduced themselves.  Though I was pretty exhausted after it was all over - it was worth every second of it!

I met a very nice attendee all the way from Poland who has attended all the AUs since Florida.  He kindly sent me some pictures he took so I thought I'd leave off with one of me saying my official AU Good bye at the final party.  Thank you Bohdan Lisowski for sending me the pictures!

  

I hope to see all of you readers at next year's Autodesk University - start saving your pennies now! 

 

Autodesk University China and Autodesk University Las Vegas are officially over (for this year anyway!). And I do believe - I am officially exhausted! With so much going on I have once again pushed my poor blog to the bottom... Lynn Allen