Austin, Texas is the place to be... for CAD training!

Austin Community College offers an incredible line-up of programs for multi-discipline CAD Training. They report that their students are in high demand.



"GET TRAINED IN CAD at Austin Community College. AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit, LDD, Pro/E Microstation, Cadence Virtuoso, 3DS Max [& ESRI]. New Certified CAD Drafter Program! Register today! Call 512.223-4900. Email: autocad@austincc.edu, or visit http://www.austincc.edu/autocad"

Advice on Spyware

"Spyware is a growing problem with computers. Spyware comes from the internet and resides on your computer causing excessive popups and other problems with Windows based computers.

We recommend two proven spy ware killers....Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition (free)http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/ad-aware_se_personal.php

Spy Bot Search and Destroy (free but donation is appreciated)http://www.spybot.info/en/spybotsd/index.html

After downloading and installing these programs, you should run them once a week to offest any problems from the internet."

This posting is compliments of Alameda Business Machines excerpted from their hand-out
"Advice on Spyware, Viruses and Shared Internet History".
http://www.abmpc.com/cgi-bin/abm.pl

ClearLogicGroup recommends downloading, installing and testing these programs one at a time on your machine unless you are already familiar with them.

AutoCAD 2005 Error Message - class associated with CLISD...not registered.

Question submitted to TechRx - AutoCAD 2005 error message

I work with jpg images in CAD drawings and they frequently need modification. In the past I could click on the image, go to Properties and adjust the image under "Image Adjust". But now when I do that I get the following error message.

"Unable to bring up dialog because class associated with CLSID {E68312A2-580C-4F22-BCD9-2E0CE58CB135} is not registered."

I get this error message for the last several days. Any ideas?


CLISD is in reference to a COM object that cannot find a class it is looking for. The cause of the error message is a corrupted registry. The corruption can be caused by uninstalling or installing software. A trojan or worm can also write into the registry.

In this case our user told us that the error message only happened when they invoked the "Image Adjust" command. We recommended re-installing AutoCAD.

Take a Constructive Coffee Break - Visit YouTube - Autodesk!

Take a constructive break and check out the Autodesk related videos posted on YouTube. They range from informative software tutorials to hilarious commercials.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=autodesk&search=Search

Quick Fix - ArxError eDuplicateKey Nightmare

An annoying Dialog Box appears when user is trying to insert a block. Unfortunately, this dialog box cannot be closed!! It is an unwelcome reminder that you are working with incompatable versions of AutoDesk software.

To fix - download and install the appropriate Autodesk Hotfix.

Note: Updated Links on July 1, 2007 Provided by JTB World (http://www.jtbworld.com/)

For AutoCAD® 2004 or 2004 based products:

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=DL7047389

For AutoCAD® 2005 or 2005 based products:

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=DL7047376

For AutoCAD® 2006 or 2006 based products:

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=DL7047371

Addendum 7/24/07: Helpful Link - Cad Forum

http://www.cadforum.cz/cadforum_en/qaID.asp?tip=4922

Just when you thought you knew all about virus signatures. . .

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2034680,00.asp?kc=EWEWKEMLP102006BOE1




Courtesy of:
Marvin Tanner
Silicon Networks

VectorWorks 12 Export Options - Export to AutoCAD - Part II

If you are working back and forth between Vectorworks and AutoCAD, drawing conversion can be tricky. These VW12 settings are recommended for successful export to DWG or DXF format.

Screen Shot - Courtesy of Larry Mortimer, AIA

DwgSee Pro now available for AutoCAD 2007

We recommend DwgSee Pro for viewing AutoCAD files and converting DWG files to GIF, JPG, TIF or PDF format.

DWG files pull up fast in the viewer which makes using it a welcome relief for anyone who has to deal with large AutoCAD files and a slow computer.

Some features may seem clunky to AutoCAD users. For example, the Pan command draws a line to show where the user has panned. Getting the best resolution in converting DWG files to GIF, JPEG or TIFF is something we have not yet mastered.

Still, overall, DwgSeePro is a useful application, intended for professionals who need to review and markup drawings, quickly and don't want to hassle with AutoCAD.

For more information – read Cadalyst’s review:

http://management.cadalyst.com/cadman/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=325011&pageID=3

Download and Test Drive a Demo from http://www.autodwg.com/.

If you already own the software, upgrading is free.

Fix Crashing AutoCAD Files which originated from Vectorworks - Part I

To fix crashing AutoCAD files that originated from Vectorworks try this procedure courtesy of CADneophyte from the Autodesk Discussion Group - posted on: Apr/10/06 - 18:11 (GMT)


1. Use the Recover Command not the Open Command to open,
2. Delete any extraneous layouts
3. Global Explode
4. Purge
5. Saveas R12.dxf
6. Recover same
8. Purge again
7. Saveas .dwg

Architects flourish in the Bay Area job market

Sunday, September 10, 2006 (SF Gate)

The Profession is in the Details/Architects flourish in the Bay Area job market
Robert M. Detman

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/g/a/2006/09/10/detman.DTL

What is Pro/E?

What is Pro/E or Pro/Engineer CAD software ?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro/ENGINEER


Pro/Engineer Wildfire 3.0 - Reviewed in Desktop Engineering Magazine
http://www.deskeng.com/Articles/Software-Review/Pro%10Engineer-Wildfire-3.0-200605151020.html

AVI and 3d CAD Animation

AVI (Audio Visual Interleave) is a Microsoft Windows file type for Audio/Visual data. AVI files can be played in Windows Media Player which comes with the Windows Operating System.

The AVI format allows people to easily view 3d CAD animations even if they do not have the CAD software installed on their computer. It is a great way to share work with clients. AVI’s can be created by many different CAD applications including AutoCAD, Architectural Desktop, 3D Studio, ArchiCAD and Solidworks.

AutoCAD Layouts - How to List Layouts in a Drawing - Part I

If you have to work with a drawing which has many layouts and need to quickly verify all of them use LAYOUTLIST.

This LISP function will list the names of all the layouts in your drawing. Type it at the command line inside parenthesis or include it in a LISP routine.

(layoutlist)
returns:
("Layout1" "Layout2" "Layout3" ...etc)


Command For Users not Lispers - Addendum - added July 4, 2007:

"...go into the LAYOUT command and key in a "?". That lists out the layouts - but doesn't give you a final total (you'd have to count them yourself)."

Lynn Allen
Autodesk Technical Evangelist


Useful Macro for Lispers - Addendum - added August 3, 2007:

http://www.cadforum.cz/cadforum_en/qaID.asp?tip=1594

The Virtual Office by Larry Mortimer AIA

Larry Mortimer wrote this helpful article regarding his experiences with a Virtual Office setup for the AIAEB. He has given us permission to publish it here.


The Virtual Office
by Larry Mortimer AIA
http://www.clearlogicgroup.com/blog/virtual.pdf

Microsoft® Windows® Malicious Software Removal Tool

For Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 we recommend:

Back check your Virus Protection with:

Microsoft® Windows® Malicious Software Removal Tool (KB890830)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=AD724AE0-E72D-4F54-9AB3-75B8EB148356&displaylang=en

We recommend a full scan.

Scan during your lunch break or at the end of the day. The application does not allow you to minimize it. The dialog box will stay on top of all other applications. The full scan can take at least an hour. Be sure to check the report afterwards to find out if any files are infected.

AutoCAD 2006 Service Pack 1 and _vernum - Part I

We are running AutoCAD 2006. How do we know if AutoCAD Service Pack 1 has been installed?


Open AutoCAD. At the command line type: _vernum

If the response is: Z.54.1 - You are running AutoCAD 2006 with no Service Pack.

If the response is: Z.77.0 - You are running AutoCAD 2006 with Service Pack 1.

AutoCAD 2006 Service Pack 1 is highly recommended.

Google AdSense Tips - Part I

Adding Google AdSense to your web site is a great way to find out how Google views your web pages.

If you are not familiar with Adsense. Find out more at: www.google.com/adsense.

Adsense reads text on your web page, it does not pick up on images. A web page which contains only pictures will not attract Adsense advertising content.

Adjust your web page text content to control Adsense advertisements. Emphasize the topics that you would like to see picked up by AdSense. For example if you don't want competitors posted in your AdSense, adjust written content to reflect services that are slightly peripheral to yours.


It takes Adsense several days to acclimate to your page. If you want Adsense content to change, modify your page content and meta tags. AdSense will eventually start picking up on the new information.