AutoCAD 2009/2010: Quick Tip No.1 - The Ribbon

I have decided to provide you guys with a series of Quick Tips (sorry, Lynn, sounds like yours, I know!) on AutoCAD 2009 and 2010. These will be quick, informative, little snippets of AutoCAD knowledge that will not only brighten your day (yuk!) but may just give that little bit of help that you (or a colleague or friend) may need with the newer versions of AutoCAD! Enjoy!

OK, here is AutoCAD 2009/2010: Quick Tip No.1!

When you open AutoCAD 2009 for the first time, you will notice a very different user interface. At the top of the screen, you now have a ribbon.

The ribbon is divided in to Panels for each appropriate Tab. As shown above, the Home tab is current on the ribbon with the Draw, Modify and Layers panels displayed in the screenshot.

The ribbon is a highly effective user interface but you may think that the icons on each panel are all that you get. Wrong. Each panel with a small black triangle on it can be expanded like the old flyout menus on previous versions of AutoCAD.

If you click on the black triangle, the ribbon panel will expand out to show you the remainder of the icons available on that panel (as shown below). However, when you move away from the panel, the panel will close again back in to the ribbon. If you click on the small pin symbol in the bottom right-hand corner of the expanded panel, the panel will “pin” open. It will only close when you click on the pin symbol again. So if you need a particular command on an expanded panel a number of times, just pin it open when you need it and unpin it when you don’t. Easy and very cool, huh?

Hope you enjoyed my first AutoCAD Quick Tip. There's PLENTY more where that came from!

Happy AutoCAD'ing!

SB

Do you really have to be "certified" to use Autodesk software? - LOL!

OK, only kidding!

You do not have to be certified insane to use Autodesk software (but, just sometimes, it does help! - LOL).

However, on a serious note, you can now obtain some serious professional qualifications from Autodesk themselves. Their Certification Program is pretty cool! Download the PDF that takes you through it all too - that will help!

You can take Certification Exams in the following products (click on the links to go to the appropriate Certification page): -

• AutoCAD
• AutoCAD Architecture
• AutoCAD Civil 3D
• Autodesk Inventor
• Revit Architecture

Certification is an excellent way of proving your worth to your employer. It is also an excellent guide to companies employing CAD staff as to whether the person theya re going to employ has that Autodesk "X factor"!

There are currently two levels of Certification available for ALL of the products listed above and these are as follows: -

Associate Certification:

Requires you to take a one hour, 30 multi-choice questions exam.

Professional Certification:

Requires you to take a two hour exam answering questions whilst using the Autodesk product e.g. AutoCAD 2009

Your level of Certification is version specific, i.e AutoCAD 2009 Associate but you can "upgrade". For example, if you have taken the AutoCAD 2008 Certified User exam, you can then take the AutoCAD 2009 Associate exam to "upgrade" to the AutoCAD 2009 Professional level.

All in all, in my humble opinion, this is a fantastic move by Autodesk to assist in benchmarking levels of user competency so that the users of the products can gauge where they are, but even more importantly, employers can see how GOOD they are!

Check it out and see for yourself!

Enjoy getting "certified" - LOL

SB

Check out Lynn Allen's new layout Hip Tip!

Well, it has been a tough few weeks. My father-in-law passed away recently and life has been (and still is) a bit surreal at the moment. So I haven't been around as much as I would like to be. I have had a large number of kind messages from people so thank you to all concerned.

OK, so yes, I am a Lynn Allen fan, but I also class Lynn as a good friend. She has done a HUGE amount for AUGIuk and nothing is ever too much trouble for her so thanks, Lynn! She also made my new wife and I very comfortable at Autodesk University 2008 in Las Vegas last year. Michelle (my new wife) and I got married in Las Vegas just before AU and Lynn organised a few surprises! Check out my Facebook profile (Shaun Bryant - London - you'll recognise me!) for the wedding photos and the photos from the AU party!

Lynn has come up with a superb Hip Tip that allows you to check out an excellent feature in AutoCAD that allows you to take a layout from one drawing to another....from a DWG not a DWT!...Cool, huh? Bet you never knew it was there! Click here to go to Lynn's blog page for that particular Hip Tip!

Talking of Facebook, join the "Not Just CAD!" Facebook group! Go to www.facebook.com and look for "Not Just CAD!" in the search box. (Please note: you will need to set up a Facebook profile if you are not already an existing Facebook user).

Happy Facebook'ing!

SB

Shaan Hurley of Autodesk becomes an FM guru?

I have always been a follower of Shaan Hurley of Autodesk. Firstly, he is extremely knowledgable and cool. Secondly, though, where does he find the time to blog all the time? Come on Shaan, give it up, how do you do it? LOL

On a serious note, Shaan has come up with a superb method of calculating areas of AutoCAD hatch patterns using fields and then tabulating the areas using the AutoCAD TABLE command.

Check it out by clicking here.

The main reason this caught my eye is that this could have a superb Facilities Management (FM) application for anyone out there not using proprietary FM software with AutoCAD. You could hatch all your spaces and/or rooms using this method and tabulate them and work out your total floor area and so on. Try it!

Of course, you could go down the Autodesk FMDesktop route too but that is my biased opinion!

So, what do you think, can we make Shaan an honorary FM'er? I think so! Thanks, Shaan!

Happy CAD'ing New Year!

SB

Multiple screen captures? A doddle with Techsmith SnagIt 9!

Hello all and here is my first "proper" TypePad post!

I write alot of manuals for my clients and I use a fantastic piece of software called SnagIt. Written by Techsmith (www.techsmith.com), it provides a superb suite of neat little tools that allow you to pretty much "snag" any piece of on-screen information.

It now also has a much more sophisticated SnagIt Editor.

I get their regular tips and tricks email and this one about multiple screen captures really caught my eye as I could see it being useful for me and the way that I work writing AutoCAD manuals and the like!

The URL link is here as the actual URL text is quite long but I do hope that you watch this and utilise it.

Even better still, I hope you decide to use SnagIt!

It is a very cool piece of software!

Have fun!

SB