Monday, October 16, 2006

Michael Z's Next Big Tip?

Ever wanted to print out the CTB file? From the Autodesk Web Site:

CTB and STB Printing Tool for AutoCAD 2007

This tool provides a way to export CTB and STB plot style tables to a comma-delimited text file. The comma-delimited text files can be imported into a spreadsheet program (e.g.Microsoft Excel) and be printed or compared with another. The text files can also be printed out directly.

This works only with 2007 products - follow the yellowbrick hyperlink:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=8083957&linkID=2475161

If the link above is truncated, cut and paste the pieces together into your address bar, or search Autodesk's support side for "CTB Printing Tool" to find the executable.

Have Fun! - Michael Z.

New Add-ons for Architectural Desktop

If you're a subscription client of Architectural Desktop, there are a couple of items you can download that may be helpful. Here are some notes from the subscription center for Autodesk (if you don't know how to login, check with your account manager or local application engineer).

Spaces and Drawing Compare Subscription Module -

Download The Subscription Module: Spaces and Drawing Compare is available exclusively for Autodesk® Architectural Desktop 2007 customers participating in the Autodesk® Subscription program.

Download this module now to get the enhanced Spaces feature and the new Drawing Compare feature. The Architectural Desktop Spaces feature is used to track the area and other data associated rooms or other spaces in the building design. With the enhancements in this Subscription module, Spaces can now update automatically if the bounding elements are changed, saving you time and making documentation more accurate. And Space definitions can now also include offsets from bounding elements based on pre-set or user-defined rules, enabling area calculations based on various industry standards, including BOMA, DIN, or SIS. The new Drawing Compare feature enhances collaboration by using color-coded displays to show items on a drawing that have been changed, added, or deleted by other members of the design team. Changes to items such as styles, fire ratings, or other non-graphical properties are also tracked. Combined with redlining features, such as revision clouds, the Spaces and Drawing Compare features help make communication across the design team clearer than ever.

Important Note: Service Pack 1 must be installed before the Spaces and Drawing Compare Module.

VREZAudit?

VREZAudit is a command that will audit an entire folder of drawings and properly handle external references. It will also optionally purge the drawings resulting in a significant drawing size reduction. VREZAudit can save a lot of time for Architectural Desktop and Building Systems Project Navigator drawings and can also be used on AutoCAD Sheet set drawings in AutoCAD Revit Series—Building and AutoCAD Revit Series—Structure .

This product can be downloaded through your subscription center login under Building Solutions Applet of the month.

There are also Nordic Content libraries available for ADT and ABS users available through the subscription center - I don't need these as I'm not doing any work in a Nordic country, but someone will....

thanks - David B.