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!