Lynn Allen's Blog

An AutoCAD Tip from New Zealand

I'm currently in the beautiful garden city of Christchurch, New Zealand on the South Island.  I just finished my second stop on the "Making the Move from AutoCAD to Autodesk Inventor" tour.  I managed to completely lose my voice from a nasty cold so the poor audiences have had to listen very closely as I whispered and squeeked into a microphone for my presentations.  The audiences have been very understanding of my plight (everyone is so very nice out here!).  I have had a fabulous time showing off the awesome power of Inventor (5 more cities in Australia to go to next week). 

Since I've had both feet in the Autodesk Inventor world for the past week, I thought I would take one foot out temporarily to sling you a tip from the land of Kiwis.

Editing your Aliases

To add or edit the AutoCAD aliases we edit the ACAD.PGP file.  When AutoCAD became Microsoft complient, the PGP file ended up being stashed away in one of those buried directories:  C:\Documents and Settings\LOGIN NAME\Application Data\autodesk\AutoCAD 2006\R16.2\enu\Support\acad.pgp.  Yikes!  So many of us turned to the friendly Express Tool "ALIASEDIT" (under Tools=>Command Alias Editor) to edit the PGP file (besides it was friendlier). 

But BEWARE oh ye AutoCAD 2004 users!  The Express Tool alias editor does not map to the correct path in AutoCAD 2004.

Solution:  Use the Program Parameter editor in the Tools pull-down menu (Tools=>Customize=>Edit Program Parameters).  This will find the ACAD.PGP file for you so you don't have to hunt through that painful directory structure to find it and you will live happily AutoCAD ever after. It's not as user friendly as the Express Tool - but it gets the job done.

I'm off to find a Kiwi!

Helping the Survivors of Hurricane Katrina

Even half way around the world, Hurricane Katrina is the top news story.  The devastation is overwhelming and the pain of the survivors is something few of us can even begin to comprehend.  Imagine losing everything.  Imagine having no idea where you will live, what lies ahead, where your next meal will come from.  Imagine not knowing where your loved ones are or if they've survived...imagine leaving your beloved pet behind or having it taken away to a shelter.  All of this is beyond our ability to comprehend for most of us and realities we hope we never have to face ourselves.

I have spoken twice in Biloxi and spent many weekends in beautiful historic New Orleans.  It breaks my heart to know the full-of-life city that has survived so much over the years has finally succumbed.  The looks on the faces of the survivors tells it all...they cannot hide their pain.

Now is the time to reach out and help those in need...we can all afford some level of a donation to help our own.  Whether it be $5 or $5000.00 - if we all contribute, we can make a difference...no donation is too small. Think of the children without toys,  pets without shelter, countless people without a home...there's something we can all live without this week - take that money and donate it - I implore you.

Donate to the Red Cross at Hurricane Katrina Donations. 

I have a special place in my heart for all the animals who are suffering through this (and would drive down to Houston and bring them all home with me if I could).  If you feel the same way I do, then you might prefer to donate to the Houston SPCA which has received countless pets that are not allowed to remain with their owners at the refugee shelters:  Houston SPCA

The amazing animal organization Best Friends in Kanab, Utah is also doing what they can to help with the stranded animals.  I know this organization has a heart of gold and will do the right thing with your money at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. 

Let's all do our part to help those in need...

In Search of Kangas and Koalas...

My son and I are having a great time in Aussieland...we did manage to track down a koala (in a wild life sanctuary if that counts) and many kangaroos in the wild.  The kangaroos were so docile we managed to pet a couple (very cool).  Here are a couple of pics...

So for those of you who thought my son was little...you'll see that's not the case! - I had him when I was five...  : )    This is our first meal in Sydney (do we look tired?)

Our hotel has a beautiful view of the Sydney Opera House...

 

Me and my new pet Koala (I wish!).  He was adorable.

And here is one of the kangaroos we came across in the bush...(can you see the Joey in her pouch?).   

Both my son and I are big animal fans so the kangaroos were the highlight of our day. 

G'Day to you all from Down Under!