Installing AutoCAD 2013 / Installer AutoCAD 2013

Last week, I assisted a customer to install the Revit Architecture 2013 Suite. There were some problems while creating network and standalone deployments. The errors related to files that could not be copied to the server. As a test, I installed AutoCAD 2013 on my laptop and had not problems with a standalone deployment. Finally, things started to go right and everything was installed.

With some trial and error, we discovered that an old AutoCAD problem has resurfaced. Revit Architecture 2013 does NOT like having an active antivirus program running during the installation. My laptop has Microsoft Security Essentials but my customer uses AVG and AVAST. I have seen this problem with Norton and McAffee as well in the past.

So, please be careful when installing your products.

La semaine dernière, j'ai aidé un client à installer le Revit Architecture 2013 Suite. Il y a eu problèmes pendant la création des déploiements réseau et autonome. Les errors étaient reliés à des fichiers qui ne pouvaient pas être copiés sur le serveur. Pour valider le problème, j'ai installé AutoCAD 2013 sur mon portable à partir d'un déploiement autonome sans problèmes. Finalement, nous avons réussi à tout installer correctement.

Avec un peu d'essais et erreurs, nous avons trouvés qu'un vieux problème d'AutoCAD est réapparue. Revit architecture 2013 n'aime PAS avoir un antivirus active sur le poste pendant l'installation du logiciel. Mon portable possède Microsoft Security Essentials mais mon client utilise AVG et AVAST. J'ai déja vu ce problème avec Norton et McAffee aussi dans le passé.

Donc, faites attention lors de l'installation de vos produits.

Upgrading Firefox 12 to 13

I accidentally upgraded my Firefox today. All seems OK including my RealPlayer plugin that I have mentioned multiple times on this blog. Maybe Mozilla and Real Networks are starting to get the picture.

I still hate the 6-week dev cycle. I would lean towards a 12 -week cycle with background updates.

Ubuntu 12.04 First Look

In a virtual machine, I installed Ubuntu 12.04 this morning. The installation took 5 minutes and the result looks pretty good. I will install it physically on my test computer at home to see if all the good reviews about the Unity HUD are correct. So far, I think it might be a winner.

Firefox 12

Today, my Firefox 11 was upgraded to version 12. I held my breath waiting to see if the usual problem of having my RealPlayer Addon be deactivated. Well, it did not this time. Going from FF 9 to FF 10 was good, but I had the problem going to FF 11. I think the version of the Addon makes a difference. So if you have not upgraded to FF 12, please upgrade to RealPlayer 15.0.2 beforehand.

If you have been having problems as well, mention it to Real Networks when uninstalling RealPlayer (a comments form will appear at the end of the uninstallation).

It's Ubuntu Day!

A whole month after AutoCAD Day, today we celebrate Ubuntu Day with the release of Ubuntu 12.04. I recently had to fix several Windows computers that were going haywire. Download Ubuntu or any other LIVE version Linux, burn it to CD/DVD/USB and boot your Windows system from the disc to get access to your saved files and stuff. No malware. No viruses. No need to spend a dime. Great fun for all!

Un mois après le Jour d'AutoCAD, aujourd'hui nous célébrons le Jour d'Ubuntu avec le lancement de la version 12.04 d'Ubuntu. J'ai récemment reparé plusieurs postes Windows qui ne fonctionnaient plus. Téléchargez Ubuntu ou autre version LIVE de Linux, gravez le sur CD/DVD/USB et démarrez votre poste Windows sur le media pour accédez à vos fichiers. Plus de virus. Plus de logiciels malveillants. Pas de coûts. Amusant, n'est-ce pas!

VBA Modules for AutoCAD 2010+ / Module VBA pour AutoCAD 2010 et +

This week, I have to convert some AutoCAD VBA code to .NET. I needed to test something and noticed that my AutoCAD Map 3D 2010 does not have the VBA module installed. Never got around to doing before I guess... 

Anyway, here is the link to find your version of VBA for the 2010-2013 products.

Cette semaine, je dois convertir du code VBA d'AutoCAD vers du .NET. J'ai besoin de valider quelque chose et je me suis aperçu que mon Map 3D 2010 n'a pas le module VBA d'installé. J'imagine que je n'ai jamais eu besoin de le faire dans le passé...

De toute façon, voici le lien pour télécharger votre module VBA pour les produits 2010-2013.

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.