Lynn Allen's Blog

Project Photofly is Alive in the Autodesk Lab!

So do you regularly check out the Autodesk Labs for great free software?  Here you'll find all types of great programs to help make your design life easier (or at least more fun!). Just recently the Autodesk Lab posted Project Photofly - a great means of creating 3D models from photographs using the web.  It's simply a process of stitching the photos together - absolutely amazing!

Imagine taking pictures with your digital camera around all the sides of a building and then using Project Photofly to put them all together and turn them into a 3D model!  What a great tool this is (of course you may have to rent a helicopter to get the roof).  This is all done in the proverbial "cloud" with only a small application being downloaded to your computer.

Should you choose to jump on the Project Photofly bandwagon - then you might want to participate in a new Photo Scene Contest for Buildings that just launched.  Found in the It's Alive in the Lab blog by (the wonderful) Scott Sheppard.

Here's your chance to put those creative juices to use!   As you can see above - the winner gets an autographed copy of 3DS Max (or 3DS Max Design) - signed by Autodesk CEO Carl Bass.  They also get an iPad!  So take out your digital camera and start snapping some pictures of buildings (preferably one where you won't need to rent a helicopter to get the roof).

I can't wait to see what you all come up with!
 

Creating DGN Files out of AutoCAD Drawings

Ahhhhh - can't we all just get along?  So many offices work with multiple CAD packages and any steps we can take in helping our users work seemlessly with other CAD packages is a good thing (imho).  I have been delighted as I've seen steps being made inside of AutoCAD to work with Microstation drawings as I have run into many users who need to work in both CAD programs (whether they like it or not).

My latest Cadalyst video explores the process of exporting AutoCAD drawings to DGN.  Be sure to have a look if you have ever found yourself in the multi-CAD situation!

One of the important things to do if you find yourself going back and forth between DGN and DWG is to save a mapping file to make things so much easier.  Here you can map layers to levels, linetypes, colors, etc.  You can map for exporting or for importing. These mapping files can easily be done in the DGNMAPPING command in AutoCAD.

The two buttons in the upper right hand corner of the dialog allows you to import level properties from DGN files as well as layer properties from AutoCAD drawings.  Once you do the work of the original mapping you can use them over and over again (it would be pretty terrible to have to remap each time!)

 A popular local coffee company, Thanksgiving Coffee in Fort Bragg, was burned down by arsons.  Rather than gloat over the misfortune of the competition, another local coffee company, Taylor Maid Farms, offered up their roasters to help them out until they got back on their feet.  I absolutely love this story - and I wish all business would act accordingly - making it a better CAD life for all!

An AutoCAD Hip Tip on Viewing Multiple Layouts

I had the good fortune to spend a week working with the Large Format Printer division of HPlast week and it was just such a great pleasure!  I really appreciated their hospitality and a glimpse into the great HP things to come.  I must admit I was very, very impressed with their team, the office, everything! HP and Autodesk work very closely together to ensure our products work well with their workstations and printers.  I am sure I sound like a commercial - but I was seriously impressed!

This particular HP office was in Barcelona - one of the most beautiful cities in Europe - which made the trip even that much more enjoyable!  The flight home was a nightmare though...we were on the tarmac for four hours trying to fix a mechanical issue - everyone missed their connections in Chicago and I ended spending the night in a local airport hotel.  The next day my flight to San Francisco was also delayed due to mechanical issues - am I a jinx or what?  All in all - it took me 36 hours to get home - unbelievable!

My latest Cadalyst Tip was released while I was gone (I'm a bit behind) but if you missed it below is another link to a video tip on the QVLAYOUTS command.

 

An AutoCAD Hip Tip on Viewing Many Layouts

I have run into many AutoCAD users who, for whatever reason, have dozens of layouts in their drawings (don't send me nasty grams telling me why you have so many layouts please).  If you fall under this category - then you should check out the QVLAYOUT (for Quick View Layout) command as it might make your life a little easier. 

Here you can view a thumbprint of all your layouts for speedy access (this especially comes in handy when working with someone else's drawing where you might not know how they named their layouts). 

Tip:  use the Control key combined with the wheel on your mouse to make layout images larger or smaller (so more can fit on the screen).

QVLAYOUT is pretty self explanatory and easy to work with.  I have to chuckle that you might want to pin it on your display - I'm thinking it is definitely going to get in your way!

There's a similar command called QVDRAWING for viewing all of your open drawings at once - you might want to give that one a try as well!  Both are located on the status bar at the bottom of the AutoCAD window.

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Check them out!