Lynn Allen's Blog

An AutoCAD Hip Tip on Killing Four Birds with One (MOCORO)

Well it is indeed stormy and gloomy in Northern California and I'm happy to be on the ground this week!  Today is a perfect day for blogging inside a nice cozy home office (rather than trying to drive through the flooded streets).  I'd like to throw in another plug for the all day Virtual event next week for you manufacturing folks.

Here you'll find webcasts and chats with Autodesk folks on the top manufacturing software products. You'll hear about AutoCAD Electrical and AutoCAD Mechanical as well (so it isn't all 3D).  I hear you also stand a chance to win an iPod Touch!

An AutoCAD Hip Tip on Killing Four Birds with One Stone (MOCORO)

I don't really like any phrase that have to do with killing birds but I do believe it relates to the following Express Tool MOCORO.  Move/Copy/Rotate (and it also Scales) is the perfect means of performing four of the most popular editing functions with one command.  I suspect the Express Tool Wizards decided the name MOCOROSC just didn't sound catchy enough! 

Think about the many times you've wanted to Copy AND Rotate an object.  You get the esteemed privilege of using two separate commands (not to mention reselecting the object) to complete this task.  With MOCORO you can perform multiple functions on the same set of objects (no reselecting needed!).

Let's take a look:

Command: MOCORO
Select objects: 1 found
Select objects:
Base point: select the base point on the option you wish to edit
[Move/Copy/Rotate/Scale/Base/Undo]<eXit>:

As you can see - this command makes it very easy to perform multiple operations on one or more objects without ever leaving the command.  And you can modify the basepoint along the way if needed.

Give MOCORO a try and you'll be saving time in no time!

An AutoCAD Hip Tip on Attributes

I hope 2010 is treating you well and that it is off and running in a positive direction!  January is such a fun month - American Idol begins (Paula is out - Ellen is in!), the NFL playoffs are here (Go Colts!) and since it has been so very chilly it's good we have some decent TV to watch!  Cadalyst has started up my Tips and Tricks Tuesday videos again - yet one more thing you can watch in the toasty indoors!

An AutoCAD Hip Tip on Attributes

Adding Attributes to your blocks can be a bit tricky - and certainly not meant for the novice AutoCAD user.  When you do decide to tackle attributes (text information that can vary within a block) there are a couple of tricks that will serve you well if you know them! 

Depending on the block, the order that the attributes are requested from the user can be very important.  For example, if you are creating a title block with attributes - you probably want the attribute values to appear in the same order that they appear in the title block.

The trick here is easy...the order that you select the attributes when creating the block definition - is the order they will be prompted when the block is inserted.  Sounds simple - but with most of us being window selection junkies - it's all too easy to create a block with attributes in some random order.  You are going to want to individually select the attributes in the proper order - and then you can window the remainder of the objects you want in your final block.

If you've already created your blocks and would like to rearrange the order of the attributes - no problem - BATTMAN to the rescue!  the Block Attribute Manager allows you to easily reorder existing attributes.

Check out my Cadalyst video for some other attribute tips (I got rained on so it was a curly hair day.)  In fact - you can find all sorts of tips posted in the Cadalyst video gallery without ever leaving your desk.

Go Beyond 3D to Digital Prototyping Virtual Event

I've been working this week on an AutoCAD Mechanical and AutoCAD Electrical presentation I'll be giving during the "Go Beyond 3D to Digital Prototyping virtual event".  There is quite an impressive line up of presenters and topics so check it out!  It isn't an entirely 3D/Digital Prototyping event since my topics are primarily 2D.

When is the event? Here are the details:

Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Time: 8am PST - 3:00pm PST (11am EST - 6:00pm EST)

You certainly don't need to attend all day (who has time for that?) but you can pick and choose those topics that sound the most valuable to you.  That said - I'm sure you'll want to sign up for MY presentation!  Right?   (lie to me if needed)

I'm on for a short webcast in the morning (well - morning in California) but plan on tuning in for a few of the chats and other webcasts.

Rumor has it they will be giving away 10 iPod Touches!  You're going to want to throw your hat in the ring for one of those!  The more presentations you attend, the more points you get.  The more points you get the more entries you'll have in the final drawing.  Check it out!
 
 

Happy New Year and Welcome to 2010!

Since I've been writing and speaking about the Autodesk 2010 products for quite some time - this new 2010 year doesn't feel quite so new to me after all!  Happy New Year to all ye readers out there and thanks for joining me for my first post of 2010.  One of my friends recently mentioned that 2009 wasn't the best year for herself and many of her friends - and I also concur.  2009 definitely could have been better and I am convinced that 2010 will be a fabulous year! 

 I bought Twitter Tshirts to give away at AU but they arrived late (one day late - can you believe it?) - so I ended up sending them to a few of our most prolific Tweeps.  They were kind enough to send me a photo of themselves in their new shirts! 

Joseph Wurcher - #ADSKUNV

Joseph is one of the key masterminds behind AU Online and AU Virtual!  If you missed Autodesk University be sure to check out the online classes that are there to watch free of charge!

Donnie Gladfelter - #THECADGEEK

Donnie was just voted onto the AUGI Board of Directors - Congratulations Donnie!  He also writes a very popular blog called The CAD Geek. 

and last - but not least:

Shaan Hurley - #MRCADMAN

Shaan and I are on the same team at Autodesk now and I look forward to working with him over the coming year.  Rumor has it that tomorrow he is celebrating his 12th year at Autodesk! 

I recently celebrated my 1000th follower on Twitter and have one Tshirt left for the person who was #1000 (now if only I can figure that out).

Happy New Year Everyone!  Let's make 2010 the best ever!