August Developments

The past few weeks have been heavy on travel and on-site consulting; with a two week gig in Texas focusing on AutoCAD/ADT Modeling techniques, a presentation explaining BIM; Past, Present and Future ,and a bit of Revit Building thrown in for good measure. During this trip I bumped into quite a few people (Jay Moore from VisionREZ and Chip Foose from OverHaulin TV Fame complete with rendering in hand).

This week I am working in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg area) working with a great group of folks using ADT. If you are an Autodesk product user in the Machanicsburg/Harrisburg/York area and interested in getting together for a "Geek Dinner and Chat" drop me an e-mail.

There are plenty of new things under development (from communities, websites and more) that I can share over the next month, stay tuned... =)

AU 2005

While driving back from South Carolina the other day I saw the greatest license plate "I Love AU" but unfortunately my camera was in the back of the car so no photos showing it... :( That being said you have a chance to see if you agree with the woman driving the "I Love AU" car.

The upcoming AU 2005 will be held at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida from November 28 - December 1, 2005. This year you can expect 375 classes and hands-on labes in addition to the ADN conference and the 3ds Max Developers Conference. This will be my fifth year at AU and each one just keeps getting better and better!

For those looking to get approval from your company the "Justifying AU" section of the website may be of some help.

This year I have two classes I will be teaching:

Cutting Your Way Through the Collaboration Process with Autodesk® Buzzsaw®
Tuesday Nov 29, 2005
5:00 PM to 6:30 PM
Session Code: CD22-1

A Manager's Guide to Centralizing Autodesk® Architectural Desktop Content on Your Network
Wednesday Nov 30, 2005
1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
Session Code: BD33-3

I look forward to seeing you there...

ADT Project Navigator - Defined

One of the most useful items within Architectural Desktop is the Project Navigator. Unfortunately this is also one of the more difficult item to understand and one that I get the most questions from new users/companies moving to using this. Whether this stems from having a traditional cad background, program terminology or other reasons the bottom line is that with a little understanding you can successfully start using this for you next project.

This post will attempt to explain the workflow and terminology for use with the project navigator to help get you started.

In traditional cad we have always worked with multiple files that related in some way to our project. What Project Navigator attempts to do is to manage that "flow" of information. This "flow" is what I like to call the "Information Life Cycle".

Information Life Cycle - The 4 Step Program

Step 1 - Creation

Step 2 - Organization/Management

Step 3 - Publication

Step 4 - Changes

More on the Information Life Cycle later...

To better understand the Project Navigator we need to examine the typical project workflow. This is typically where most companies/users have instituted some type of external reference structure (how xrefs should go together). The use of the PN can be summed up as a three tier external reference system.

For us this begins with our first tier or base drawing. This is typically where geometry is drawn such as Walls, Doors, Windows, etc... It is quite common that this base drawing is what is shared with other members of the design team (consultant) as a background reference.

Once we have the base geometry defined we move into the second tier or annotation. This is typically where annotation is generated such as: text, leaders, dimensions, symbols, schedules, etc... When working in the annotation drawings this is usually when you start to consider the particular view/region that will be showing when plotted and of course the intended output drawing scale of the "view" becomes important in this tier.

Moving to the third and final tier or plotting. This is typically where you will find the base drawing and annotation brought together to load onto the sheet for plotting.

Project Workflow Summary

First Tier - Base Drawing

Second Tier - Annotation

Third Tier - Plotting

Project Navigator

The Project Navigator Palette is divided into 4 tabs; Project, Constructs, Views & Sheets. Each of these tabs has a specific role to play in your project. Let's define some terminology starting with the Project tab.

Project Tab - This is where non-graphical project data is entered.

Within here we have two areas that need some clarification; Levels and Divisions.

A "Level" separates the building in a horizontal plane with a physical separation. Typical uses include Grade Levels, Footings, Floors (partial & full), Roofs, etc…

A "Division" separates the building in a vertical plane and can be either a physical/virtual separation. More on what the physical/virtual is shortly. Typical uses include Building Wings/Extensions, Project Phasing (Phase I, Phase II), Construction Options (Demo, Existing, New, Temporary, Future), Design Options of differing configurations, Disciplines (Arch, Struc, PME,) etc… Essentially this gives you a controlled way to break up the building model.

Constructs Tab - This is where the base drawings begin.

A "Construct" is a unique portion of the building on a particular level in a particular division. Typical uses include Floor Plans & Roof Plans.

An "Element" while similar to the Construct in that your base geometry is drawn has a fundamentally different definition as it is a portion of the building WITHOUT a specific location, level or division within the building model. This is most often a repeatable type of element such as a bathroom layout, Unit Based Design, Titleblocks, etc…

Views Tab - This is where the annotation drawings begin.

A "View" is a report of the building model. By using the project navigator the needed base drawings (Constructs and/or Elements) are brought together to create the required view. Typical items within the views include Text, Dimensions, Leaders, Symbols for floor plans, elevations, sections, details, schedules, composite building models, etc…

Sheets Tab - This is just for plotting

A "Sheet" is a "Ready to Plot" report of the building model. Typically this involves the created view defined in the Views tab loaded onto the sheet for printing. Typical items you find in the sheets are the titleblock (can be an element) with fields referencing your project information.

Workflow Summary

We mentioned the Information Life Cycle Four Step Program above, so how does this apply to using the Project Navigator? Great question lets look at this one step at the time:

Step 1 - Creation. The creation of your project begins with the project browser. Once the project is started the creation of all new files associated can be done within the project navigator. Within the Constructs, Views, or Sheets tab you can right click to create a new working file. Depending on which one is chosen you will be presented with a dialogue box indicating which files will be referenced together to document your building model as required.

Step 2 - Organization/Management. With all the working files in one location anyone working on the project can see the files that make up the building model. From those working in/out of drawings on an hourly/daily basis or those less frequently you can find and work on the needed drawings at any time in one easy to manage location without going outside of your ADT session.

Step 3 - Publication. The sharing of this information whether digital (2d/3d) or hardcopy prints is a necessary part of the documentation. From sharing with Consultants to print shops to building owners; with all the design submittals along the way the most time consuming part (besides design time) is plotting. The project navigator alleviates this by giving you a simple right click on single or multiple drawings (without opening, printing and closing each manually) and deliver in any of several methods (e-transmit, printing to file, printing to plotter, etc…).

Step 4 - Changes. During the design process changes happen constantly. By having your project drawings in one easy to access interface (once you learn the basics) you can get in/out of your working drawings and make changes as needed. For those using ADT 2006 and higher the introduction of "Project Standards" allow you to make style/display changes and have these updated to the multiple files that make up your building model either manually, semi-automatically or automatically.

The ILC and PN concept is a repeating cycle as you create design data, organize and manage this data, publish/share and then continue to refine your designs through numerous changes all managed in one central location for your entire project.

There are plenty of additional items that the Project Browser and Project Navigator offer including migrating legacy projects (pre-PN days) that we have not covered. I would encourage you to explore this further once you begin your journey into using the Project Navigator. Now that you have the concepts understood the actual implementation of putting this into action should go much easier!

Happy BIM'ing…

Tech Call - PDF vs. DWF

Ran across this tech support call over at Lee's site, pretty funny. User having an issue with PDF vs. DWF. Source unknown.

Note: Flash player needs to be installed on your machine to use.

EVAUG Extravaganza - Thursday, July 21, 2005

The Eastern Virginia AutoCAD Users Group is hosting the yearly "EVAUG Extravaganza" on Thursday, July 21, 2005.

This meeting is a great chance to network with other AutoCAD professionals in the Tidewater/Hampton Roads area, and I hope you’ll be able to join us.
Our keynote speaker on Thursday is H. Edward Goldberg, AIA. He is a practicing licensed architect, industrial designer, technical writer, and educator, and you may have seen his articles in Cadalyst. He’s a wonderful speaker and we’re honored to welcome him. You don’t want to miss meeting him!

Agenda: 2006 Autodesk Products and Workflow Building Information Modeling explained Food, Fun, and Prizes!
Date: Thursday, July 21, 2005
Time: 6:30pm-9:00pm
Location: Advanced Technology Center (ATC) Theatre / Auditorium
Find directions and more information about this location here: http://www.vbatc.com/a-directions.html
You can RSVP via email to info@avat.com.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I hope to see you there!

ADT - Mass Tool Palette Generation

In past releases of ADT (2004/5) the creation of tool palettes containing ADT styles was always one of the most time consuming tasks. Fortunately in ADT 2006 this process has become much easier, unfortunately little has been mentioned about this useful topic.

Brief Overview:

To create a new tool catalog from styles located in one or more drawings try using the Tool Catalog Generator found in the Cad Manager pulldown (if the Cad Manager pulldown is not visible in the menu bar, click the Window pulldown and choose the Pulldowns>>Cad Manager pulldown).

The Tool Catalog Generator has numerous options which are subdivided into three main categories: Catalog, Content Source, Tool Organization and then finally a listing of 22 object types within ADT. The following will help to clarify what each section/option does.

Catalog:

In this location you have two radio buttons; the first allows you to create a new catalog by first providing a Catalog name then browsing to define the location of this catalog (with the opportunity to provide the Catalog name) the second to add to an existing catalog with the option to append an existing catalog (optional choice to ignore duplicate style) or overwrite the existing catalog.

Content Source:

In this location you have two radio buttons which allow you to specify whether you want the new catalog to be created from multiple drawings located in a folder or from a single drawing and enter a path to the respective folder or file location. When choosing the Create from drawings in folder option, any sub-folders are included in the new catalog.

Tool Organization:

In this location you have 2 check boxes and 2 radio buttons that allow you to organize your soon to be created tools. If the "Group tools by source drawing" is selected your tools will be organized by the source drawing (quite useful when used in combination with the drawings in folder option of the Content Source section). If the "Group tools by object type" is selected your tools will be organized by the object type (ex. useful for organizing your content from among multiple drawings to keep them grouped similar to the following: Doors, Windows, Walls, etc...).

From the help file:
1. If both options above are enabled, the catalog is first grouped by the drawings and then by the object type, generating categories from the drawings, and palettes from the object types. This is implemented because palettes cannot be nested. In this case the radio buttons for categories and palettes are disabled, and the Create tools in palettes option is selected for the catalog.

2. If neither of the two options is enabled, all new tools will be generated in the top category of the catalog.

3. To organize the new tools in categories, select Create Tools in Categories. If you selected Group tools by source drawing, a category will be created for each source drawing. If you selected Group tools by object type, a category will be created for each object type.

4. To organize the new tools in palettes, select Create Tools in Palettes. If you selected Group tools by source drawing, a palette will be created for each source drawing. If you selected Group tools by object type, a palette will be created for each object type.

The next step is to specify the object styles you would like to appear as tools in the new catalog. Using a combination of the Select All/Clear All, one at a time selection or windowing across multiple objects and selecting the check boxes to get the right mix of object styles as needed.

Finally choose the OK button and a progress bar in the status bar area informs you of the progress of the catalog generation. NOTE: For large catalogs this may take time to generate.

This process is much easier than dragging your styles one at a time and provides a quick way for you to generate standard palettes for use in your office.

happy cadding...

RB - Door Insertion

When working on a project it is quite often the little tips/tricks that make us even faster in production:

When placing a door in Revit Building you can easily choose the side of the wall you wish to place a door either before or after insertion. If you find yourself changing the door swing using the arrow indicators after insertion; you may find it a bit easier to use the space bar while placing the door. Doing this will allow you to flip the instance of this door swing left/right for single door families before placement.

For those looking for a video example the following clip shows 3 doors being placed:
Door 1 is placed and flipped after placement
Door 3 is flipped before placement using the *space bar

*This is also a tip shown in the status bar (bottom left of screen), if you have been ignoring this section pay attention as it gives valuable information depending on the object/family.

happy BIM'ing...

Independance

Happy Independance Day!

Please keep those in the military stationed around the world in your thoughts.

For those that have their own fireworks and children, a cool tip just learned (courtesy of Jim) is to draw a circle using chalk and have the kids stay within it to watch.

Acad - Fields, Attributes and Objects

If you are using AutoCAD 2005 or higher and need to input square footage information (spaces, planning, etc...) the use of Fields can make the tedious manual process much easier by giving you the ability to update automatically as your area changes.

This can be accomplished through the use of a closed pline object and Fields. To do this insert any text (single, multi-line or attribute) in your drawing, right click and choose Insert Field. From here set your Field category to Objects and the Field names to Object. From here simply select your pline using the Select Object button next to the Object type area. Final item is to select your formatting and in 2006 set your precision.

This tip courtesy of Mark Couture and that's not all. Watch the video example showing how to accomplish this with attributes and fields then putting this information into a table and use the formulas feature in 2006 to total the areas here.

**Note**
To view this video you will need the camtasia codec available from Techsmith.

Visualization - Blocking and Staging

Whether you are shooting your own movie or animation; one of the most important steps you can take is to do a quick storyboard to work out the details of items you need vs. those you do not. When pre-visualizing what you plan to show you may also find that a particular camera angle/effect works better than another alternative.

The alternative camera angles and motion chosen may seem hit or miss, if you feel this way you may want to review a DVD collection called: Hollywood Camera Work. I purchased this recently and have been reviewing the 9 hours of animated examples. Since reviewing this collection the way I have been looking at the camera work within the TV, movies, commercials and animation has been an interesting progression and opened up many new items never noticed.

Check out the site above for some of the sample clips and of course the more animation and camera work you do the more these principals apply to help make your work look even better.

happy rendering...

Revit Structure

Revit Structure (v1.0) has just been added as a 30 day trial download from the following link:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/autoindex?siteID=123112&id=2470966&linkID=5495519

Revit Structure is a new release of software based on the Revit platform that is designed for engineering and documentation software. This allows you do have bi-directional linking to analysis software and link to architectural models (both ADT and Revit Building) while using the parametric change management of Revit.

If you are using a third party structural analysis design program (ETABS, RISA-3D and ROBOT Millennium are currently supported with more coming) your model will stay linked and any analysis changes that need to occur will automatically update your model which are then updated throughout your project views and construction documents.

Another large item (eluded to above) includes the ability to use 3D object based model files created within Architectural Desktop and will export as 3D structural native objects back to Architectural Desktop after analysis. For any objects that are not supported within ADT (structural walls, etc...) will come into ADT as a mass element. With the ability to export structural elements, you can also send this file to Autodesk Building Systems for interference checking between ducts, pipes and structural members. If you are using Revit Building you can continue to use the interference check for any possible issues (Tools>>Interference Check).

Of course for those working with others on vanilla AutoCAD you can still import or link DWG files directly as either reference geometry or as a starting point for your design. Revit Structure supports importing and exporting DWG, DWF and DXF format files that will allow you work easily with most cad packages on the market.

happy BIM'ing...

ADT 2006 - Add Project

When using the Project Navigator in ADT/ABS 2006 when you create a new project within the Project Browser you have the opportunity to enter the Project Number, Name and Description. You also have the opportunity to use a "Template Project" (see graphic below).



If you choose the browse button (with the 3 dots) this will allow you to choose an alternate project template. By default the last path you browsed to will be stored in this location.

*(Note to self, check to find out how/where this value is actually stored).* Update: This value is stored in the registry: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R16.2\ACAD-4004:409\Profiles\insert profile name here\Preferences\AecProject40] in the Key: "Project Template" Thanks to David Kurtz for passing this information along! :)

When creating a project using this method all the details, categories and sub-categories for Constructs, Elements, View and Sheets (we had the ability to do this for Sheets in the past but not the others) will be pre-created for you.

If you uncheck the "Create from template project:" box; the values stored in the Options>>AEC Project Defaults will be used.

**********
ADT BIM Guru Note
**********
If you are taking the time to centralize your files to a network location and create templates, take an extra moment to create a single (or multiple) Template Projects with all the details and categories you will commonly need.

happy BIM'ing...

Revenge of the Sith

If you ventured out recently to watch the latest Star Wars release you may have been impressed with all the visual effects (including great digital environments and background action).

What you may not have known is that for some of the effects; the use of Max and Brazil were used. More on this can be read over at VFXWorld, as they are running a three part series on the VFX of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

happy rendering...

Back to work...

After a great vacation it was off to the Augi CAD Camp in St. Paul. This stop on the tour had 124 attendees who gained a wealth of focused knowledge. It was great getting to meet and chat with so many users; not to mention getting to see several old friends. If you are interested in showing off your cad skills take your try at the AUGI Top DAUG contest, the winner this round was my good friend Lee Ambrosious.

There are several other cities that were just recently added to the list for the fall of 2005:

Orange County, CA USA - August 16th
Salt Lake City, UT USA - August 23rd
Toronto, ON Canada - August 30th
Paramus, NJ USA - September 13th
Cleveland, OH USA - September 15th
Jacksonville, FL USA - September 27th
Boston, MA USA - September 29th
Denver, CO USA - October 25th

If have been looking for a single day of focused industry knowledge on Autodesk software then this is something you should not miss. If you are looking for more than a day, AU 2005 is approaching soon (11/28-12/01 in Orlando, FL.)!

From here it was off to Dallas, TX and now Harrisburg, PA. More to come from the road this week on the BIM front.

Fun With Structural Members - Part I

If you have worked with Structural Members within ADT in past releases for any length of time, like me you have probably wished for the ability to mass fill out the nodes within a column grid. Unfortunately this has only been possible during the creation of the column grid, otherwise you had to place these one-by-one or create and copy to multiple node locations.

Well things have changed for the better in ADT 2006. If you already have a column grid placed you can mass fill out nodes without columns by simply using the ctrl key during placement of the column.

The use of the ctrl key during placement presents us with three options:

1. Add a column to a node
2. Add columns to all nodes
3. Add column at a point

There is a red visual indicator shown on the screen, depending on the option cycled to above, indicating the insertion point(s) you are getting ready to use. Video is often a better medium to show examples, so you may wish to watch the following video example.

The techsmith codec is required to view the file and is available from the techsmith website.

ADT/ABS 2006 - Rename and Renumber Sheets

A common procedure within the Project Navigator is the need to change the name/numbering of the sheet file. In past releases of ADT (2004/5) we had the option of renumbering the sheet by simply selecting the sheet>>right click and choosing the rename and renumber option.

In 2005 the fields feature was introduced allowing you to populate your titleblock with the associated data, which allows for better coordination. Unfortunately when renaming the sheet title this did not rename the associated .dwg file and lead to some confusion.

In 2006 there are two new options when renaming which include Renaming the associated .dwg file to match the sheet title and prefixing the sheet number to the file name.



happy BIM'ing...

Unveiling Max 7.5

Max 7.5 has been released for those on subscription. A few of the notable features include integration of the new features within Viz 2006, Mental Ray 3.4 and Hair and Fur.



Shaan mentions some additional benefits of being subscription including: multiple e-learning tools and of course the previously released Cloth Extension for 3ds Max 7.

All set to install this over the weekend.

Happy rendering...

The road goes on forever...

To quote music artist Robert Earl Keen; "The road goes on forever and the party never ends..." :)

This past week has involved traveling to DC, Virginia Beach and Richmond, VA to speak and of course meet with a variety of people and those interested in the latest releases of software from Autodesk.

With three tracks for attendees to take (BS, MS, IS) there was a lot of information for everyone. Within the Building Solutions track we had an awesome presentation showing AutoCAD 2006, ADT 2006, Revit Building 8, DWF Composer 2 and Buzzsaw within the pre-design, design, construction and post construction phases and how/where each of the new features plays a role within the Building Lifecycle Management curve. If you were not able to make it out we missed you.

There will be some upcoming webcasts for some of the products we did not have time to cover (ABS is one that was requested by several of you).

Next week is the Augi CAD Camp in Omaha, NE on 5/10/05 at:

The Georgetowne Club
2440 South 141st St
Omaha, NE 68144

The day is shaping up with many great courses and instructors including:

AutoCAD 2006
(S1-1) The 12 Hidden Secrets of AutoCAD Productivity Revealed!
Instructor: Matt Murphy
Productivity is a goal of every AutoCAD user. Unfortunately, using AutoCAD every day does not in itself make you more productive. You improve productivity by choosing the shortest, most efficient technique for each specific drawing problem. Learn how to improve your productivity by tapping into AutoCAD’s hidden secrets and eliminating repetitive steps. Wouldn’t you be more productive if you could eliminate half of the clicks and picks you’re making today? See for yourself the 12 hidden productivity secrets that elude most AutoCAD users.

Autodesk Vault & ProductStream
(S1-2) Practical Data Management for Mechanical Design Projects
Instructor: Greg Dohrman
Efficient and effective data management is essential to any CAD project. This course covers the capabilities and applications of Autodesk Vault and Autodesk Productstream for the mechanical CAD area. We will start with a high-level discussion of the reasons companies need effective data management strategies. Then we will look at the useful applications of Autodesk Vault for managing work in process engineering data. Finally, we will move on to the release management and collaboration capabilities of Productstream as we extend engineering data throughout the organization and beyond.

Autodesk Civil 3D 2006
(S1-3) Subdivision Design with Civil 3D
Instructor: Jessica Montoya
With the continuing building boom the need to quickly and accurately develop subdivisions is critical. In this session you will learn how to use the new features in Autodesk Civil 3D for Subdivision Design. Topics covered will include using the parcel layout tools, site grading tool and the corridor model. You will also learn how to use the Civil 3D rendering capability to bring the site to life. This course is designed for civil engineers who want to learn how to get the most out of the subdivision design tools in Civil 3D.

Autodesk Architectural Desktop and Autodesk Building Systems
(S2-1) Building Design and Construction Project Management Made Easy
Instructor: Beau Turner
In today’s world of building design and construction we are continuously hearing the words data management, document management, drawing management and even building lifecycle management. The question is how this applies to the everyday use of CAD. In the past this was simply done by the use of subdirectories and file-naming conventions. Today Autodesk has embedded tools into Autodesk Architectural Desktop and Autodesk Building Systems that manage this for you. In this session we will cover Building Level Management, Constructs, Elements, Views and Sheet Sets in the Project Navigator. Now you can manage your data with a new level of control.

Autodesk Inventor 9
(S2-2) Mastering the use of Styles in Inventor
Instructor: Scott Hale
Inventor Version 9 introduced a new concept of how to manage and control drafting standards, dimension styles, layers, etc. within Inventor’s .idw environment. This session explores how you can take advantage of this technology, and the factors that will influence how to best implement it within your company. The class is designed for the beginning or intermediate user of Inventor who has a good foundational grasp of Inventor drawing environment practices.

Autodesk Civil 3D 2006
(S2-3) Essentials to Integrating Autodesk Civil 3D Styles
Instructor: Jessica Montoya
Autodesk Civil 3D Styles provide an incredible opportunity to integrate your company’s CAD standard into your design process. Through integration, standard layers, colors, text styles, and the multitude of considerations that hinder the design process can be automated, leaving you more time to design. This course uncovers the complex structure and hierarchy of Civil 3D styles, giving you the knowledge to build and integrate them into your design process. So if you’re using Civil 3D or Autodesk Land Desktop, or would simply like to learn the next generation of software for civil engineering, attend this session!

AutoCAD 2006
(S3-1) The CAD Manager’s Handbook 2005
Instructor: Robert Green
This session is designed for the working CAD manager who must juggle CAD technology and management problems on a daily basis. This presentation will cover a combination of best practices, useful utilities, outsourcing problems, learning and training strategies, upper management coordination topics and ideas for keeping your overhead low while advancing your career. A special emphasis will be placed on how to tackle standard problems using low-cost methods that even your accounting manager will love. If you have to manage a corporate CAD department and are under pressure to contain costs and stay productive, this class is for you.

AutoCAD 2006
(S3-2) Rendering Inside AutoCAD
Instructor: David Cohn
Learn how to convert 3D drawings into finished, professional-looking renderings using the tools already built into AutoCAD software. This session covers all AutoCAD lighting, materials, landscaping and other rendering commands. We’ll take a typical architectural model and create finished photorealistic images of the building in both daylight and night settings.

Autodesk Revit Building
(S3-3) How Revit can Keep Design Options from Breaking Your Budget
Instructor: Beau Turner
Client requests for design options have never been greater than they are today. We even hold classes on how to negotiate with clients to keep the number of option requests as low as possible. Within our industry, we know that each design option can cost large amounts of hours and often puts us over budget or causes us to miss deadlines. We have long wanted a way to quickly look at a design option, find an answer and then continue to design, without destroying the work we have already done. In this session we will look at Autodesk Revit and the design option tools that address so many of the industry needs when it comes to design options.

AutoCAD 2006
(S4-1) The Productivity Power of Palettes Revealed!
Instructor: Matt Murphy
There is more to Tool Palettes than just a quick way to add blocks and hatch patterns to your drawing. Palettes provide the shortest, most efficient way to increase your productivity without programming and customization. In this session you will learn the hidden techniques to migrate existing toolbars, object styles and macros into Palette Content Tools. Youll also learn how to create and manage shared palettes and palette groups. This session is for any user of AutoCAD 2004 to 2006 who wants to gain a comprehensive understanding of and full productivity using AutoCAD Tool Palettes.

Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2006
(S4-2) Everything You Wanted to Know About Display Controls
Instructor: Beau Turner
It is widely agreed that Autodesk Architectural Desktop’s display control system is one of the most powerful tools available to the building design industry. Understanding the display control system is paramount to any successful implementation of Autodesk Architectural Desktop. In this session we will go from the top to the bottom and all the way around the display controls, so that you can make easy work of the system when you get back to your office.

Autodesk Land Desktop and Autodesk Civil 3D 2006
(S4-3) Think Outside the Contour: Grading in 3D
Instructor: Jessica Montoya
To produce accurate and complex grading scenarios, you'll need to understand the concepts and techniques to convert the traditional approach of grading with contours to today's approach of grading in 3D. We will start with the use of the Grading Objects tool, as well as the use of 3D polylines, in both Autodesk Civil Design and Autodesk Civil 3D. We'll then cover Target Regions, Slope Tags and editing Grading Objects as well as many of the tips and techniques, plus things to avoid. This session is designed for users of Autodesk Land Desktop and Civil 3D with a medium to high skill level, who have a basic understanding of terrain.

AutoCAD 2006
(S5-1) Get Going with AutoLISP
Instructor: Robert Green
AutoLISP/Visual LISP is a powerful way to extend AutoCAD’s functionality, but many avoid using it because they think it’s too hard to learn. This course lays out the basics of AutoLISP using a building block approach of practical examples you can use every day to tailor AutoCAD to your specific needs. We’ll cover lists, functions, command definitions, accessing the command line, debugging and how to set up user machines to pull AutoLISP functions from your network. This class assumes intermediate AutoCAD capability and the ability to edit/save files using a text editor such as Notepad. No prior AutoLISP experience is necessary.

AutoCAD and Autodesk DWF Composer
(S5-2) Collaborating with AutoCAD and Autodesk DWF Composer
Instructor: David Cohn
Do you need to exchange drawings and collaborate with others who don’t use Autodesk products like AutoCAD? Learn how to publish AutoCAD drawings as multi-sheet DWF files and then collaborate using Autodesk DWF Composer. This class covers creating DWF files; using DWF Composer to view, measure and mark up those DWF files; and then using AutoCAD’s Markup Set Manager to view and respond to those markups in a seamless collaboration process.

AutoCAD 2006
(S5-3) AUGI Tips and Tricks
Instructor: Donnia Tabor-Hanson
“Did you know you could do that?” is the question you will be asking each other in this class. Short cuts, some basic LISP routines, speed tips, variables and ways of using some AutoCAD commands you might not have thought of...that is what this class is all about. I have been collecting tips and tricks for years and AUGI is my favorite place to find them. Come see some of the latest as well as a few old favorites. You may even have time during class to share some of your own!

Looking forward to being back in Omaha, I hope to see you there!