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President’s Column – Paul Backus
Go Public… Stay Private The last VAUS
meeting was an eye opener for members that are beginning to explore the
working relationship of the Internet and AutoCAD. David Cohn’s
demonstration of the many uses of .DWF files on websites was most
excellent. A visitor could drop into the webpage and view the file without
having AutoCAD on their system. The drawing could be viewed, layers could
be turned on/off, Hyperlinks could be activated, and a plot could be made.
All sorts of information on the drawing and it’s plotting
characteristics can be passed on for display purposes yet the vector
information of the file is protected. Such would not be the case with a
.DWG file where blocks, .shx fonts, and the integral intelligence of the
whole drawing are accessible. David mentioned the two plotting
configuration files that are also helpful for working with .DWG files.
Check out ePlot.pc3 for white background with a paper boundary in the
layout. Need a black background? No problem, the Classic.pc3 will fit the
mould. Among David’s hot tips of the night was the suggestion that users
visit the Autodesk website to pick up these FREE tools; the Whip driver (www.autodesk.com/whip)
and Express Tools 2000 (http://www.autodesk.com/products/acadtool/index.htm).
I recommend users have a look at David Cohn’s R14 and R2000 books for a
thorough examination of the mysteries of AutoCAD. Its a must-buy for the
power user.
Solid Works – A Contender After David’s
demo and a quick coffee break, the attention shifted to Bart Baranco’s
demonstration of Solid Works. Impressive, disciplined, beautiful, and
several other complimentary adjectives would best describe the session and
the product. Solid Works will easily work with imported .DWG files from
ACAD. This is a four thousand dollar piece of parametric modelling
software that integrates with Excel for superb number crunching
capabilities. For a look at the future of mechanical design visit their
website at; http://www.pwi.com or call up
the Vancouver Sales Manager, David Currie at 604-241-4CAD. A further
thanks was expressed at the meeting for some of the book giveaways. Carmen
Batsford very kindly sent a copy of AutoCAD 2000 Basics, Sykes to us for a
door prize. Copies of printed media can be order through her email address
at; carmen_batsford@Prenhall.com. This is the second freebie sent to the
membership by her company.
Items of Interest
Visit the following website for information on
batch plotting written from the desk of Bill Fane (http://www.cadonline.com/solutions/lc/1299lc/1299lc.htm).
Its an interesting read on a topic that concerns time savings in a big way.
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News
- Tip
For those of you who hate that annoying Proxy
warning messagedialouge box:
Typing this sysvar:
PROXYNOTICE
Displays a notice when you open a drawing containing custom objects
created by an
application that is not present
Type: Integer
Saved in: Registry
Initial value: 1
Displays a notice when a proxy is created. A proxy is created when you
open a drawing
containing custom objects created by an application that is not present. A
proxy is also
created when you issue a command that unloads a custom object's parent
application.
0 No proxy warning is displayed
1 Proxy warning is displayed
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AutoCAD
2000 Updates
AutoCAD
2000 plotter update!
The AutoCAD 2000 plotter update adds support for 30 new CalComp plotters
and AutoCAD DXB file format.
Mechanical
Desktop Service Pack 2
Description
This service pack will update the English, Spanish, Italian, and
German version of Mechanical Desktop R4 (and Power Pack), AutoCAD
Mechanical 2000 (and Power Pack) and any of the translators included on
the Autodesk Data Exchange 2000; such as the AutoCAD STEP 2000, AutoCAD
IGES 2000 and AutoCAD VDA-FS 2000 translators.
Please refer to the readme (MCAD-SP2.TXT) document for additional
information and instructions.
-----------
Volo
View Express
Extend your AutoCAD design data. Download the free viewer for DWG, DXF™,
and DWF files.
.
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AutoCAD
2000 Technical Information
|
ePlot
All Layouts option produces invalid DWF files
The following errors are displayed in the
Autodesk WHIP! Errors dialog box when you try to open a DWF file in a Web
browser:
* Error: Not a DWF file.
* The file given to WHIP! is not a DWF file.
* Check the file extension or recreate the file.
The following error is then displayed when you choose OK:
* DWF Stream terminated unexpectedly!
This problem occurs only with DWF files that were created using the All
Layouts option in the Plot dialog box, and when the DWF format was set to
Compressed Binary.
To create DWF files using the All Layouts option, make sure the DWF file
format is set to either ASCII, or Uncompressed Binary.
To set the DWF file format either to ASCII or Uncompressed Binary
1. In the Plot dialog box, select the Plot Device tab
and choose Properties.
2. In the Plotter Configuration Editor, select the
Device and Document Settings tab and choose the Custom Properties item
from the tree view of configuration options.
3. Under Access Custom Dialog, choose the Custom
Properties button.
4. In the Format section of the DWF Properties dialog
box, select either Uncompressed Binary or ASCII.
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Using
the diameter symbol as a suffix instead of a prefix
Diameter dimensions by default have the diameter
symbol as a prefix to the dimension value. That is, the diameter symbol is
placed before the dimension value. You can change this behavior, so there
is no prefix and the diameter symbol is a suffix. That is, the diameter
symbol is placed after the dimension value.
Use the following procedure to create a dimension style that draws
diameter dimension with the diameter symbol as a suffix, instead of a
prefix:
1. From the Format menu, choose Dimension Style.
2. In the Dimension Style Manager, select a dimension
style from the Styles list, and then choose New.
3. In the Create New Dimension Style dialog box, select
Diameter dimensions from the Use for list, and then choose Continue.
4. In the New Dimension Style dialog box, choose the
Primary Units tab and enter a space in the Prefix field, and %%c in the
Suffix field.
5. Choose OK to return to the Dimension Style Manager,
then Close to return to the drawing
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EVERY
SILVER LINING HAS A CLOUD
If plotting in Windows 95/98 takes a lot longer after you install the
AutoCAD 2000 Plotting Update, Autodesk suggests you uncheck the Show a
Preview check box on the Layout View tab of the printer driver, which you
access through the Plotter Manager entry in the File menu.
|
| [../../meeting/2000/january2000.htm]
|
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[../../executive/executive1999-2000.htm]
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