It's AutoCAD Day!

I logged into my subscription account this morning and saw that the 2013 products have started to roll in. HOODY HOO!!!

I will wait a few weeks before installing anything but it's still cool!

Line numbers in Visual Studio project - Part 2

Well, after working with Visual Studio 2008 on a few projects, I have realized that I did not have the line numbers showing up on the left side of the editor. To make them appear, go to Tools > Options > Text Editor > All Languages and make sure that the Line Numbers option is checked.

System requirements for 2013 products

I heard from a colleague today that the 2013 version of the Revit family of products will require SERIOUS computer power. If this is the case (we should find out in April), then AutoCAD-based products might require stronger, faster, bigger computers to run as well. I noticed a huge drop in performance on my laptop between AutoCAD 2011 and 2012. My desktop systems run AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD Map 3D 2012 fairly well even if they are 2 and 4 years old respectively.

Are Autodesk, Microsoft and other companies' product offerings getting too big and too demanding for the ROI (Return On Investment)? I am not in a production environment but if new hardware is needed to run these various packages, then budgeting for these needs will be very important during the migration period.

With the fall 2012 arrival of Windows 8, I suspect many companies will wait until the year 2013 and migrate to Windows 8 and Autodesk 2014 products and skip the 2013 products altogether.

Line numbers in Visual Studio project

Hello again,

Well, it's a new year and it's back to work time. Today's post is a small one. I needed to know the current line number in a C# AutoCAD Plug-In project. In Visual Studio, to activate the status bar, go to Tools -> Options -> Environment -> General and check the Show Status Bar option (as shown):


Now the line and column position of the cursor is shown. Pretty handy when looking for errors and warnings!

Uninstalling FLEXnet Manager

I have been working with Flexera's FLEXnet Manager for a while now. It is the workable version of SAM-Report Lite that you can install to analyze your network license usage. Installing is quite the chore but not impossible if you have an experienced IT department. Uninstalling it is not so easy of you have a 64-bit server.

On a 64-bit server (ex. Windows Server 2008), there is no official uninstall tool so it has to be done manually if you intend on keeping the server. Here's what I did to remove it from our lab server (the production version is staying for obvious reasons...).

1- Stop all related services from the management console.
2- Backup all related folders.
3- Open a command prompt with administrative privileges (Windows Server 2008 only).
4- Navigate to the folder that contains the FLEXNET.BAT file for the Admin, Reporting or Agent module.
5- Type the following command: flexnet service uninstall
6- Repeat step 5 for each module.
7- Use an uninstaller such as RevoUninstaller to uninstall each program module (a WIN64 error will appear for Admin and Reporting. Just skip it).

There you go. Worked for me. A little bit of a pain but not impossible. Good luck!

LISP programming primer

I received a request from a client asking me to look at a LISP program he wrote that did not work correctly. I said yes and received the following code:

(COMMAND "osnap" "End,Mid,Cen,Node,Quad,Int,Ins,Perp")

LISP and all programming languages require a certain syntax when writing code for it to work. The above code did not conform to the needed syntax. Here is the corrected version:

(defun C:MYOS (/)
(setvar "OSMODE" 255)
; CODE FOR END, MID, CEN, NOD, QUAD,
; INT, INS, PERP OSNAPS
)

The first rule of LISP, everything HAS to be in parentheses. The second rule is that each set of parentheses gets evaluated individually. The third rule is that all LISP functions must be defined with a DEFUN command.

The C:MYOS defines a function that can be launched from the command line by typing MYOS and then ENTER. The (/) indicates that no arguments or local variables are being used. The SETVAR command is used to modify AutoCAD variables like OSMODE which is responsible for the active OSNAPS in your AutoCAD session. Each combination of OSNAPS will have a unique code. The AutoCAD documentation explains this variable very clearly. The text following the semicolon is a LISP comment which is ignored by AutoCAD when running the function.

An alternative to this simple little function is to script the operation is a file like MYOS.SCR. In Notepad, type the following text with NO spaces at the end of each line and press ENTER at the end of each line as well.



Scripting is handy for some operations but can be tricky at times. The underscore + dash before the OSNAP command are used to internationalize the script (any non-english AutoCAD will recognize it) and to deactivate the dialog box so that the answers are sent as plain text.

In both scenarios, write your code in Notepad and then drag and drop the file into your AutoCAD session to load it. The LISP function must be launched on the command line but the script will run automatically if no command is already active.

Hours and hours of fun are possible when you start dipping into automation. Not for the faint of heart!!!

Happy coding!

AutoCAD 2011 Updates

With my preparations for my next AutoCAD class, I realized that my copy of AutoCAD 2011 was not updated. Currently, Update 2 is the most recent patch. To install it, you must install Update 1.1 as a prerequisite. A nice change from previous versions, you do NOT need your installation media to install the patches. Go to http://support.autodesk.com to download them.


Avec mes préparations pour mon prochain cours d'AutoCAD, j'ai découvert que ma copie d'AutoCAD 2011 n'était pas à jour. Update 2 est le correctif le plus récent. Pour l'installer, il y a un prérequis que l'Update 1.1 soit installé au préalable sur votre poste. Il est bien de noter que vous n'avez PAS besoin de votre média d'installation pour appliquer les 2 correctifs. Visitez le http://support.autodesk.com pour les obtenir.

Projects update

Well, it was a busy month of May. My compost bin was fixed by the city. The clover I planted in the backyard is growing nicely. I planted my vegetables and herbs for the summer and I have been giving some AutoCAD courses to a few clients.

Preparing for the courses has soaked up a lot of my free time. My favorite features from the last 3 versions are:

1. Parameters
2. Arrays
3. Splines and Polyline grips
   

I have not tried the 3D improvements yet since my customers are only using the 2D tools. I will try them out this summer for sure.

Project 5: Replacing my compost bin - Follow-up

Well, I did get a response from the city about the bin. They will send someone to repair it. Hopefully, it will be done soon. TBC.

Project 2: AutoCAD 2012 Review

Tonight, I am digging into what has changed in AutoCAD, notably since the 2009 version since that is the version I use on a daily basis. Two things of note:

 

The default support path is as follows on a Windows Vista or Windows 7 computer:

C:\Users\\appdata\roaming\autodesk\autocad 2012 - english\r18.2\enu\support

A nice improvement is the ability to add multiple support paths for printer files. Many users have CTB files in different locations and instead of adding shortcuts in each folder, a new search path can be added. This should also help when using ETransmit.

Project 2: AutoCAD 2012 First Look

I will be giving an AutoCAD 2012 class next week so I finally registered my copy of AutoCAD 2012 and here is a pic of the workspace. I will be blogging this week to share my thoughts on the changes.

Project 5: Replacing my compost bin

This city of Pointe-Claire (QC) instituted a green recycling program a few years ago. A green bin is picked up every week with all your garden trimmings, pizza boxes, kitchen scraps (no meat) and composted. A great way to reduce green waste from landfills. My bin cover was damaged by the collection machine and a small hole was added. Since then, animals have been chewing away at the hole making it bigger so that they can feed on the contents. Last year, I found 2 dead squirrels in the bin (1 died from heat exhaustion during a heatwave and the other drowned when the bin filled up during a heavy rain storm.

I contacted the city twice to replace the bin. My first attempt was for naught. Let's see if the second attempt bears fruit.

Lesson: if at first you don't succeed, try try again.

I will post a picture of the bin this week. 

Project 3: 41st Canadian Federal Election

Well, our 41st election came and went. Voting in the evening went very well. A small lineup that took about 30 minutes. The NDP crushed all opposition in Quebec and the Conservatives got a majority.

It will certainly be an interesting 4 years in Ottawa! Click here for the results.

Project 2: Install and test AutoCAD 2012

My second project is to install and test the new functionality of AutoCAD 2012.

I downloaded the 64-bit version and did a full install on my laptop. I now have AutoCAD 2012, Design Review 2012 and Inventor Fusion 2012 (a patch was available for download during the installation). Everything went well and went fairly fast when installed from a USB hard disk (less than 15 minutes).

I will post some screenshots tonight after I go vote tonight in the Canadian Federal Election (Project 3). The converage should be a hoot to watch this year.

Project 1: Fixing my backyard lawn

I have owned my house for 5 years and have complained about the crappy lawn in the backyard. Well, I finally did something about it. I used our family's 3HP rototiller to tear up half the lawn, added sand and compost and seeded the ground with clover yesterday afternoon.

Why add sand and compost?  Since the soil is very compact and has lots of clay in it, adding sand and compost will loosen the soil to help promote better root growth.

Why plant clover? Clover is a green fertilizer meaning that it will lock nitrogen into the soil, which is essential for root development. In August, I will till the whole yard under and possibly plant some grass at that point or a second batch of clover and seed a new lawn next year. Clover is also very good to get rid of grubs (which eat grass roots for lunch).

I will post a few pictures of the lawn as it develops. The germination time for the clover is 3-10 days depending on the amount of water the seeds get.

May is Project Month

I am starting a new initiative this month. I want to complete many little projects that have been lying around for a while. I will blog about technical issues on this blog and about fun, cool stuff on my other one. Stay tuned to either one for daily updates.

Fun blog: Fortress of Fun
Technical blog: ConsultSKC

Updating your FLEXlm installation / Mise à jour de votre FLEXlm

Hello all,

With the arrival of the latest AutoCAD comes a new version of FLEXlm. The new 11.9 version replaces the 11.7 version that came with the 2011 products. You can upgrade your server with either of these methods:

Method 1

1- Stop all FLEXlm-based services on your licensing server.
2- Uninstall the current version.
3- Install the new version from the DVD or downloaded media. (You will have to use the appropriate x86 or x64 version for your server).
4- Start your FLEXlm-based  services

Method 2

1- Install the new version from the DVD or downloaded media on a dummy computer. (You will have to use the appropriate x86 or x64 version for your dummy machine).
2- Copy the following files to a shared folder on your server:
        a) C:\Program Files\Autodesk Network License Manager\adskflex.exe
        b) C:\Program Files\Autodesk Network License Manager\lmgrd.exe
        c) C:\Program Files\Autodesk Network License Manager\lmtools.exe
        d) C:\Program Files\Autodesk Network License Manager\lmutil.exe
3- Go to your licensing server and stop all FLEXlm-based services.
4- Make a copy of your Autodesk Network Licensing Manager folder.
5- Copy the new versions of the 4 files over the existing ones.
6- Start the FLEXlm-based services.

Since I had to update 4 different servers, the second method worked best for me. If you have only 1, then method 1 will go fastest. In all cases, you can do this in the middle of the day since the actual updating takes less than 60 seconds. Your users will never notice the difference.

Good luck!

Bonjour à tous,

La procédure ci-haut explique les 2 méthodes à suivre pour mettre à jour vos gestionnaires de licences pour les produits Autodesk. La version actuelle de FLEXlm 11.7 est remplacée par la version 11.9. Si vous des questions sur la procédure en anglais, laissez un commentaire et je vais ajouter de l'info en français pour vous aider.

Bonne chance!

2012 Products Available - Produits 2012 Disponibles

As of the 23rd of March, the following products are available for download for subscription customers:

• AutoCAD 2012 Multilingual
• AutoCAD LT 2012 Multilingual
• AutoCAD Architecture 2012 English
• AutoCAD MEP 2012 English

More should be available in the next few weeks including additional languages.


Depuis le 23 mars, les produits suivants sont disponibles pour les clients avec un contrat de souscription:

• AutoCAD 2012 Multilingual
• AutoCAD LT 2012 Multilingual
  
• AutoCAD Architecture 2012 English
  
• AutoCAD MEP 2012 English

D'autres versions seront disponibles dans les semaines à venir incluant des langues supplémentaires.

Portable Applications - Part 3

Here is another portable app that I am enamored with: GreenShot. For years, I used Gadwin PrintScreen as a screen capture tool. Version 4.3 was great but the 4.4 was buggy and did not work on Vista (for me that is). I then moved on to FastStone Capture with I discussed last year in a post. Thanks to my friend Marc, I have found GreenShot and it is perfect. It is portable or installable, works better than the others combined and it's FREE!!! Check it out here.


Voici un autre logiciel portable que j'adore: GreenShot. Depuis longtemps, j'ai utilisé Gadwin PrintScreen pour faire des captures d'écran. La version 4.3 était fantastique mais la 4.4 un peu moins (bogues et compatibilité). J'ai passé à FastStone Capture l'année dernière (discuté dans mon blogue). Merci à mon ami Marc pour m'avoir dirigé vers Greenshot et ce logiciel est parfait. Il est portable ou installable, fonctionne mieux que les autres ensembles et il est GRATUIT!!! Téléchargez-le ici.

AutoCAD API error when adding text to a drawing Part 2

Well, the answer to yesterday's question was Test2. In order to avoid the layout locking problem (which I don't know why I had it in the first place), AutoCAD must load the form in memory. The downside to this is that I can no longer set my form to appear in the center of the AutoCAD session. I have to find a more elegant way that to move the form into position manually.

On to bigger problems for now...