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I'm on a crazy travel schedule today but I wanted to quickly remind all ye readers out there that I'm doing a webcast tomorrow called " See the Difference with AutoCAD 2010".
(Do I look a little confused in that picture?)
During the webcast I will be talking about some of my favorite features in the last few releases of AutoCAD - tune in to see what you are missing!
I'm just hoping the white fluffy dog won't bark during the webcast. :-)
First up - I hope that those of you who intend on going to Autodesk University took advantage of Priority Registration and signed up yesterday! Apparently a bug caused my class to be full from the very beginning which makes me a little sad since many tried to get in but couldn't. The bug is fixed now, so if you were one of the ones who couldn't get in - please give it another try! Over 1000 people signed up yesterday - which is a staggering statistic! It looks like it is going to be a great year for AU.
And now an AutoCAD pet peeve. Did you know that if you hit the big red "A" in the upper corner of AutoCAD twice it assumes you want to shut down AutoCAD?
I suppose that's a speedy way to exit out of AutoCAD but with AutoCAD 2010 I have on several occasions hit the red A to get to the Menu Browser...had no response (the Menu Browser seems to be a little slow) and then hit it again only to find myself out of the AutoCAD program all together! Ugh! That drives me crazy! Anyone else out there have the same problem?
Alright...on to something a little more positive...
I was thrilled to find an Express Tools tab was added into AutoCAD 2010. How could we possibly live without it?
In this tab the first tool you'll see is labeled "Explode Attributes". This executes a powerful Express Tool called BURST!
When you explode a block with attributes, The attributes go back to the original attribute tags.
Block Desk with attributes before exploding
Block Desk after exploding.
If you'd like to explode a block with attributes and have them retain the assigned attribute value, then you'll need to use the BURST command.
Burst will explode the block back into individual objects and keep the attribute values! Give it a try - you're going to love it.
Over and Out...
Soooo many of you have sent me emails asking about my step-son's wedding (go figure!) that I thought I'd post a link to a short video (less than 5 minutes long) for those of you with spare time on your hands. Or for those of you who have plenty to do but don't want to do it - feel free to use this as an excuse! Or if you just want to feel sentimental. You can see me crying behind the bride and groom at about 3:11 - I think I cried every time I saw the lovely bride! Click HERE to watch a wedding video of two people you don't even know! :-)
It's getting close to Autodesk University Registration time! Are you getting ready? Have you already perused the class list so you know which ones you want to sign up for? Click here to peruse a draft of the class list (which is about 99% accurate).
Early registration for Autodesk University starts on August 12, General registration starts a week later on August 19. Who gets to register early? Subscription members and AUGI members. Who else gets to register early? AU Online members! Since it's free to become an AU Online member - why not sign up and get that head start on registration! More information on all of this is available at AU Online.
Nearly all of the hands-on labs fill up within that first week of registration - so make sure you are one of the lucky ones to register early!
There are a couple of big changes this year with Autodesk University. First off - we've moved to a different venue - Mandalay Bay. This is a beautiful hotel and I look forward to a change in scenery! I'm not going to miss the escalator congestion in the Venetian - that's for sure! Every year I am surprised that someone hasn't been hurt on those escalators. (too many people, too few escalators)
If it's warm enough to hit the pool scene - Mandalay Bay has the best pools ever! They have a sand beach, tidal wave pool, lazy river for leisurely floating - you name it! (personally, the wave pool is my favorite).
And you'll want to check out the Shark Reef Aquarium...I haven't visited this yet but it looks VERY cool!
Secondly - we've removed the last half day of classes. Now that may sound like a great big negative to you - but realistically speaking - that last day is usually so poorly attended. Speakers beg me not to schedule them on the last day because so few people show up for class. If you live on the East Coast you have to leave early on Friday (hence missing classes) or catch a red-eye that night. And the check-out is such a nightmare! Everyone needing to check out early in the morning before classes begin - all at the same time - then storing their luggage - Ugh! I get a headache just thinking about it. I can't tell you how many bags I've stored in my own room to help people out. All of this nightmare...gone!
That also means that the last part of AU is going to be the AU Party! What a great way to end the conference (if you ask me).
So we're going to give the 3 day conference a good old college try and see what the attendees think. If we get too many unhappy users - then we can always switch it back the next year. The same number of hotel days are covered in the conference pass - we just think this will help you leave on a much happier note (and we like our attendees happy!).
There are some other changes in store for you at AU2009 - but you'll just have to wait to see for yourself! The most important thing to do right now is...
This past weekend was a blur as my oldest step-son was married to his long time girlfriend. Every time I saw the bride I just couldn't help crying - she was so stunning. It was all just so beautiful - just exactly the way a wedding should be! We had been working up to this wedding for over a year, so it was quite a drop when it was all over...I think I'm just now starting to ramp back into full-fledged work mode!
As a Tweeter, I have enjoyed getting to know my fellow bloggers better (they all tweet as well). I came across a nice tip on Robin Capper's blog that I thought I'd share with you. I tried his tip - and I really like it!
When you enter a dialog box in AutoCAD (or any other program for that matter) your mouse doesn't'r really know where to go (in most cases). Why not give your mouse a mission! Send him to the default option in the dialog.
This can be done easily by going to the Control Panel and selecting Mouse from the many options.
That will take you into the Mouse Properties dialog - you'll need to go into the Pointer Options tab. Here you will find the very cool option that will automatically move your pointer to the default button in a dialog box! Be sure to check that...
Let's face it - you need to move your mouse to the dialog box anyway - why not let Windows move it there for you? Think of all the miles of movement this will save? Believe me - It's better than not moving at all, and will no doubt bring you closer to your intended goal anyway! And on those rare times you actually do want to use the default - you are already there! Think of the time saved and the calories not spent.
How will this affect you? Take a look at an AutoCAD command that drives a dialog box (such as INSERT) and see where the arrow appears - at the default!
Thank you so much Robin for the great tip (so it took me a couple of years to find it) - I really like it!
Check out RobiNZ CAD Blog for more great CAD Tips!
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