Since I know most of those within the Autodesk hive responsible for many Autodesk products, I thought it might be a good idea for a blog post.
So what would you ask an AutoCAD Team member? It could be a question to a product manager, developer, QA tester, marketing, or other hive resident. Ask your question in the comments and I will chase down an answer. Please understand that some questions cannot be answered such as confidential details, future products, pricing or delivery timing of products or we would end up in trouble as a publicly traded company.
So go ahead ask bee the first to ask a question for me to get an answer from the hive. Post the question in the comments to this post.
Cheers, Shaan
45 comments
Hello, what are the new features of AutoCad 2011?
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What’s the strangest/funniest/oddest error report via the Customer Error Reporting that has ever been sent in?
I know you’ve mentioned in previous blog posts that a lot of them are blank but surely some of them must be strange. Examples?
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hi Shaan! got a goodie for you that i’ve been asked a lot since AU… can we expect to see a 64-bit version of ScriptPro? this is an extremely useful Autodesk utility.
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Why does it take so long to get bug fixes? There are bugs in AutoCAD that have been around a long time, why no fixes!
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Brano,
Thanks for the question, but this is one of the future product types I am unable answer, yet. Questions have to be related to existing shipping products.
Shaan
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What’s the best way a user can get a bug fixed in the software, if subscription support requests confirm the bug but it is never squashed?
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dave ea,
This is a great question and agree on it being a great tool. I will see what I can dig up. My opinion is that based on the dying VB technology of this tool being deprecated it would most likely take a completely new tool based on newer technology.
Cheers,
Shaan
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Why the bug that causes loss of GUI elements and has to be fixed using filedia command has never been fixed.
Also I would beg on hand and knee for 64 bit Civil 3D.
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Evan,
What a sweet question. I have seen some real gems over the years in the comments section of the error reports. I will compile some and of course remove any trace to the original authors. I will also sanitise some, as people including myself can be a little coarse in language after a crash event. There are also the ones that leave you scratching your head on the comment.
Cheers,
Shaan
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Shaan,
I have always wondered why Express Tools are still separate from the rest of the tools. I realize many of them have graduated to full blown AutoCAD commands, but some of them have been in there for many years. What’s the deal? Are they not good enough? Are they unsupported?
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Is there any way to bring up a drawing i accidentally close up without saving it?.
The .bak file is not created if I don´t save, and the Automatic save file .sv$ disappears when I close whitout saving…
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Hi Shaan! I’ve been enjoying your blog for a while now…thank you for keeping it up.
I’ve been looking all over and can’t find out what permissions AutoCAD expects for shared network resources. Is there a better install guide other than “This is what I’ve found works best for my office…” (which isn’t bad…it’s just hard to distill what actually would work for me with my limited time and resource constraints and it seems like all the guides tell me something completely different)
Thank you!
PS – Could you guys bring AutoCAD to Linux? Please? At least with WINE?
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Shaan, perhaps a difficult one?
AutoCad Architecture development has slowed down to a minium pace (although the subscription rate remains unchanged :-(). How should we plan our CAD futures if this package forms the backbone of our workflow?
Cheers, Cam
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can i draw shape in 2 vanishing point perspective on autocad 2009
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why was the explode block icon changed from an exploding firecracker (it was like that forever) to an blown out looking box? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…..
User since version 2.5,
Laurie Ribitzki
Oklahoma
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Is there something better?
I was not around for the time of CAD when there were two dials that controled where the crosshairs moved, I’ve only used the mouse. What new input devices is Autodesk looking into? Is there somegthing better than the mouse? With the invent of 3D, is there something that possibly is able to move around in space and select points?
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Is Autodesk planing add to AutoCAD dynamic blocks possibilities to add 2 lookup actions to 1 lookup parameter and more that 1 visibility parameter in block?
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I have a question, we use programs compiled in arx and these programs will not updated to new versions of Autocad in 32bit or 64bit. So is it planned to create a Module to make that compatible with old versions arx?
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Is it true that the CUI editor was designed that way on purpose in order to make the rest of AutoCAD look that much better?
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Mark,
This is great question. Things are being updated, changed, removed and fixed all the time. In the large view there is a lot going on but if you are focused on one item it may seem like it takes forever to get that one changed to what you want.
Sometimes it is a case of the bug not being a bug or we are not aware of it or there is no solution, yet. It can also be a case of us not knowing what is occurring or it may be specific to their DWG, customization, 3rd party, or system/network environment. This is one reason why we developed the CER to allow users to report crashes which includes data about the crash so we can research. If you notice in all of the updates we do address many customer and CER reported issues.
Sometimes it is a case of low priority as we have to prioritize everything just like any business and do this based on severity, number affected, technical solution as sometimes you can break more trying to fix something deep down in the code.
There are many logical reasons but believe me we on the team would like to just have a 100% product. One thing I have learned is we can change or fix something and make some people happy, while upsetting another group of people.
If there is an issue that is bothering you make sure to report it even to me at shaan@autodesk.com, and perhaps consider beta testing future releases and Updates at http://beta.autodesk.com.
We do want to make a perfect product, but need your help and patience.
Thank you,
Shaan
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You should see my reply to Mark as well.
Sometimes it is a case of low priority as we have to prioritize everything just like any business and do this based on severity, number affected, technical solution as sometimes you can break more trying to fix something deep down in the code.
Best Regards,
Shaan
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Can you be more specific, do you have a support or defect ID?
If this is the FILEDIA sysvar just not being reset after someone runs a LISP or breaks in so,me customization then it may be an API or customization that is the problem, not the FILEDIA.
Many times in customization you want to disable the GUI so you use FILEDIA but if you cancels or break or forget to reset the sysvar in the code or error handling you leave the user without dialogs GUI. This is usually a case of something working just as it should, but somethings not written or behaving properly in custom code.
Best Regards,
Shaan
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Most of the Express Tools functionality have been made into new features or incorporated into the product. I believe it is around 80% now.
The reason the original Express Tools were not just ported were for a few reasons. One example is they were English only and not localized. The Express/Bonus Tools in many cases use LISP instead of C++ and methods were not standard to our core code standards for including into the core platform product or rolling into the other products and potential impacts.
I love Express Tools and if you have one that has not been included, please let me know.
Cheers,
Shaan
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Shaan,
Thanks for all your support recently.
It’s February so my question would be:
What are Lynn Allen’s favorite flowers?…..cough…
..I meant to say..
How soon should we look forward to the Inventor/Fusion metamorphysis?
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Mark,
That’s a funny one. Do you remember the MNU,MNS,MNR in Notepad, that was pretty ugly looking, difficult, and scary to work with.
Cheers,
Shaan
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When an ObjectARX library is changed you must recompile the source and in some cases make changes to the code to account for new objects or methods. There is no method too migrate ObjectARX versions. If you own the original source code you could get someone to port it and recompile it for you or contact Autodesk consulting.
Sincerely,
Shaan Hurley
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John,
There is only one of your two questions I can answer at this time.
Lynn Allen’s favorite flower are the Gerber Daises.
Cheers,
Shaan
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Hi Shaan,
Could you, at least roughly, compare number of people in Autodesk involved in development (developers, software architects, product managers, …) to number of those in sales and marketing? Is that ratio different for different products and product divisions (building, geospatial, mechanical, etc.) or it’s more or less same?
Are those figures known for the other major software companies or they prefer to keep them for themselves?
Thanks for your time and for interesting blog.
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Why is it that when I use the motion path animation the walls do not show up but the piping and foundation does.
Using AutoCAD MEP 2009.
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No worries, I will get through all the questions. Some answers are easy, some not-so-much. 🙂
Shaan
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Here are some G-rated CER comments after a crash:
“I did not do anything wrong, you did”
“I NEED A DRINK”
“I was having a good day. Then it turned bad.”
“Day got worse.”
“CRAP!!!!”
Here is a really helpful explanation:
“sdffgsdfgdfg”
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I’m wondering if AutoDesk is seriously considering a Mac Native AutoCad. I remember taking part in a survey a while ago about the subject and it gave me hope! I currently use Vectorworks, but AutoCad is the preferred program for my field, Set Design for Theatre, and I feel like I should learn both. Only problem is my unnatural dislike for Windows. I’ve tried, and I just can’t do it. Is the Mac too niche of a market for AutoDesk?
Thanks!
John.
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John,
I cannot comment specifically to future development or product plans. I can only say that we are not just a Windows software developer as we have products on most major Operating Systems such as Linux, Mac, and iPhone. we currently support AutoCAD on Parallels on OSX but not a native option.
If an AutoCAD is offered on the Mac platform it would be announced by a press release and also on the page http://www.autodesk.com/mac. As well as on my blog naturally.
Will you be attending the USITT event in Kansas City this year?
Best Regards,
Shaan
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Hallo Shan,
Now beeing retired I like to drill my old skills in AutoCAD. But 30 years back in time is different compared to AutoCAD 2010. So it´s interesting working around in the software doing small sketches.
But how long will it last? Yes, I have 14 days left of my 30 days unregistered version. That is sad because it will not be possible for me to by a registered version. So I was hoping it would be possible in some way for me to have the opportunity to have access to AutoCAD 2010 after the next 14 days too – – – ?
Regards,
Ivar
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My name is yahia Salman. I am student of Civil engineering from Afghanistan. I have done one of my college projects by Auto Cad 2009 but sadly when it come to print i can not better to say the program can not print. every thing is ok just at the end one error occurs, that the plotting attempt to cancel… please help me
thanks
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I like the first one: you did! LoL
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i have using autocad 2010 i want to modify block property.
when i create a block & curser go over there its not showing block name in block letters with special windows now i have using happerlink command for that but it is not correct way ,for that application any lisp file added give the solutions.
Loading...
Why doesn’t AutoCAD save the settings for the open file dialog box (and others)? I like my files sorted by type and I have to reset it every single time I open AutoCAD.
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I know that the 3dsout command was removed with introduction of AutoCAD 2007. Since then AutoDesk has offered an “add-on” exe file that would bring back the command. Will that also be offered with 2010?
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Miguel,
Thank you for the question. The 3DS format is an old format, and one that we are no longer supporting. Moving forward we are supporting newer formats as well as DWG for exchange.
Best Regards,
Shaan
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As now Autocad 2010 supports parallels virtualization in mac, I think they should post a detailed explanation of what configuration you need for best performance.
In my case Macbook pro 3’06 processor 4 gigs ram autocad runs ok with light work, but becomes slow as complexity increases.
Thanks,
Miguel
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Thank you for this forum. One of the most annoying things about AutoCAD is the numerous toggles that “automatically” switch on/off. I recently had an annoying(minor to some perhaps) problem/bug when my delete key stopped working for no apparent reason. After going through a series of web forums i came across a suggestion to switch on my verb/noun selection. I am quite confident i never switched it off, so who did?
Cheers
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Do you know of any Ergonomic models for Inventor 2010. Something in a male or female figure that can be configured in both a standing and sitting position. I saw something on the Web called iMike, but I wasn’t able to download it. Thanks
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i cant open my property table even i point my cursor to object to change property but table wont appear.
Loading...
At the moment i can create a linetype with text inside. such as GAS or HW, but i’d like to know how i create a linetype where the text isn’t influenced by the lineweight or linetypescale.
Second question: How do I change thet textstyle of the text inside these linetypes.
Hope to hear from you soon..
Since I know most of those within the Autodesk hive responsible for many Autodesk products, I thought it might be a good idea for a blog post. 
Hello, what are the new features of AutoCad 2011?
What’s the strangest/funniest/oddest error report via the Customer Error Reporting that has ever been sent in?
I know you’ve mentioned in previous blog posts that a lot of them are blank but surely some of them must be strange. Examples?
hi Shaan! got a goodie for you that i’ve been asked a lot since AU… can we expect to see a 64-bit version of ScriptPro? this is an extremely useful Autodesk utility.
Why does it take so long to get bug fixes? There are bugs in AutoCAD that have been around a long time, why no fixes!
Brano,
Thanks for the question, but this is one of the future product types I am unable answer, yet. Questions have to be related to existing shipping products.
Shaan
What’s the best way a user can get a bug fixed in the software, if subscription support requests confirm the bug but it is never squashed?
dave ea,
This is a great question and agree on it being a great tool. I will see what I can dig up. My opinion is that based on the dying VB technology of this tool being deprecated it would most likely take a completely new tool based on newer technology.
Cheers,
Shaan
Why the bug that causes loss of GUI elements and has to be fixed using filedia command has never been fixed.
Also I would beg on hand and knee for 64 bit Civil 3D.
Evan,
What a sweet question. I have seen some real gems over the years in the comments section of the error reports. I will compile some and of course remove any trace to the original authors. I will also sanitise some, as people including myself can be a little coarse in language after a crash event. There are also the ones that leave you scratching your head on the comment.
Cheers,
Shaan
Shaan,
I have always wondered why Express Tools are still separate from the rest of the tools. I realize many of them have graduated to full blown AutoCAD commands, but some of them have been in there for many years. What’s the deal? Are they not good enough? Are they unsupported?
Is there any way to bring up a drawing i accidentally close up without saving it?.
The .bak file is not created if I don´t save, and the Automatic save file .sv$ disappears when I close whitout saving…
Hi Shaan! I’ve been enjoying your blog for a while now…thank you for keeping it up.
I’ve been looking all over and can’t find out what permissions AutoCAD expects for shared network resources. Is there a better install guide other than “This is what I’ve found works best for my office…” (which isn’t bad…it’s just hard to distill what actually would work for me with my limited time and resource constraints and it seems like all the guides tell me something completely different)
Thank you!
PS – Could you guys bring AutoCAD to Linux? Please? At least with WINE?
Shaan, perhaps a difficult one?
AutoCad Architecture development has slowed down to a minium pace (although the subscription rate remains unchanged :-(). How should we plan our CAD futures if this package forms the backbone of our workflow?
Cheers, Cam
can i draw shape in 2 vanishing point perspective on autocad 2009
why was the explode block icon changed from an exploding firecracker (it was like that forever) to an blown out looking box? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it…..
User since version 2.5,
Laurie Ribitzki
Oklahoma
Is there something better?
I was not around for the time of CAD when there were two dials that controled where the crosshairs moved, I’ve only used the mouse. What new input devices is Autodesk looking into? Is there somegthing better than the mouse? With the invent of 3D, is there something that possibly is able to move around in space and select points?
Is Autodesk planing add to AutoCAD dynamic blocks possibilities to add 2 lookup actions to 1 lookup parameter and more that 1 visibility parameter in block?
I have a question, we use programs compiled in arx and these programs will not updated to new versions of Autocad in 32bit or 64bit. So is it planned to create a Module to make that compatible with old versions arx?
Is it true that the CUI editor was designed that way on purpose in order to make the rest of AutoCAD look that much better?
Mark,
This is great question. Things are being updated, changed, removed and fixed all the time. In the large view there is a lot going on but if you are focused on one item it may seem like it takes forever to get that one changed to what you want.
Sometimes it is a case of the bug not being a bug or we are not aware of it or there is no solution, yet. It can also be a case of us not knowing what is occurring or it may be specific to their DWG, customization, 3rd party, or system/network environment. This is one reason why we developed the CER to allow users to report crashes which includes data about the crash so we can research. If you notice in all of the updates we do address many customer and CER reported issues.
Sometimes it is a case of low priority as we have to prioritize everything just like any business and do this based on severity, number affected, technical solution as sometimes you can break more trying to fix something deep down in the code.
There are many logical reasons but believe me we on the team would like to just have a 100% product. One thing I have learned is we can change or fix something and make some people happy, while upsetting another group of people.
If there is an issue that is bothering you make sure to report it even to me at shaan@autodesk.com, and perhaps consider beta testing future releases and Updates at http://beta.autodesk.com.
We do want to make a perfect product, but need your help and patience.
Thank you,
Shaan
You should see my reply to Mark as well.
Sometimes it is a case of low priority as we have to prioritize everything just like any business and do this based on severity, number affected, technical solution as sometimes you can break more trying to fix something deep down in the code.
Best Regards,
Shaan
Can you be more specific, do you have a support or defect ID?
If this is the FILEDIA sysvar just not being reset after someone runs a LISP or breaks in so,me customization then it may be an API or customization that is the problem, not the FILEDIA.
Many times in customization you want to disable the GUI so you use FILEDIA but if you cancels or break or forget to reset the sysvar in the code or error handling you leave the user without dialogs GUI. This is usually a case of something working just as it should, but somethings not written or behaving properly in custom code.
Best Regards,
Shaan
Most of the Express Tools functionality have been made into new features or incorporated into the product. I believe it is around 80% now.
The reason the original Express Tools were not just ported were for a few reasons. One example is they were English only and not localized. The Express/Bonus Tools in many cases use LISP instead of C++ and methods were not standard to our core code standards for including into the core platform product or rolling into the other products and potential impacts.
I love Express Tools and if you have one that has not been included, please let me know.
Cheers,
Shaan
Shaan,
Thanks for all your support recently.
It’s February so my question would be:
What are Lynn Allen’s favorite flowers?…..cough…
..I meant to say..
How soon should we look forward to the Inventor/Fusion metamorphysis?
Mark,
That’s a funny one. Do you remember the MNU,MNS,MNR in Notepad, that was pretty ugly looking, difficult, and scary to work with.
Cheers,
Shaan
When an ObjectARX library is changed you must recompile the source and in some cases make changes to the code to account for new objects or methods. There is no method too migrate ObjectARX versions. If you own the original source code you could get someone to port it and recompile it for you or contact Autodesk consulting.
Sincerely,
Shaan Hurley
John,
There is only one of your two questions I can answer at this time.
Lynn Allen’s favorite flower are the Gerber Daises.
Cheers,
Shaan
Hi Shaan,
Could you, at least roughly, compare number of people in Autodesk involved in development (developers, software architects, product managers, …) to number of those in sales and marketing? Is that ratio different for different products and product divisions (building, geospatial, mechanical, etc.) or it’s more or less same?
Are those figures known for the other major software companies or they prefer to keep them for themselves?
Thanks for your time and for interesting blog.
Why is it that when I use the motion path animation the walls do not show up but the piping and foundation does.
Using AutoCAD MEP 2009.
No worries, I will get through all the questions. Some answers are easy, some not-so-much. 🙂
Shaan
Here are some G-rated CER comments after a crash:
“I did not do anything wrong, you did”
“I NEED A DRINK”
“I was having a good day. Then it turned bad.”
“Day got worse.”
“CRAP!!!!”
Here is a really helpful explanation:
“sdffgsdfgdfg”
I’m wondering if AutoDesk is seriously considering a Mac Native AutoCad. I remember taking part in a survey a while ago about the subject and it gave me hope! I currently use Vectorworks, but AutoCad is the preferred program for my field, Set Design for Theatre, and I feel like I should learn both. Only problem is my unnatural dislike for Windows. I’ve tried, and I just can’t do it. Is the Mac too niche of a market for AutoDesk?
Thanks!
John.
John,
I cannot comment specifically to future development or product plans. I can only say that we are not just a Windows software developer as we have products on most major Operating Systems such as Linux, Mac, and iPhone. we currently support AutoCAD on Parallels on OSX but not a native option.
If an AutoCAD is offered on the Mac platform it would be announced by a press release and also on the page http://www.autodesk.com/mac. As well as on my blog naturally.
Will you be attending the USITT event in Kansas City this year?
Best Regards,
Shaan
Hallo Shan,
Now beeing retired I like to drill my old skills in AutoCAD. But 30 years back in time is different compared to AutoCAD 2010. So it´s interesting working around in the software doing small sketches.
But how long will it last? Yes, I have 14 days left of my 30 days unregistered version. That is sad because it will not be possible for me to by a registered version. So I was hoping it would be possible in some way for me to have the opportunity to have access to AutoCAD 2010 after the next 14 days too – – – ?
Regards,
Ivar
My name is yahia Salman. I am student of Civil engineering from Afghanistan. I have done one of my college projects by Auto Cad 2009 but sadly when it come to print i can not better to say the program can not print. every thing is ok just at the end one error occurs, that the plotting attempt to cancel… please help me
thanks
I like the first one: you did! LoL
i have using autocad 2010 i want to modify block property.
when i create a block & curser go over there its not showing block name in block letters with special windows now i have using happerlink command for that but it is not correct way ,for that application any lisp file added give the solutions.
Why doesn’t AutoCAD save the settings for the open file dialog box (and others)? I like my files sorted by type and I have to reset it every single time I open AutoCAD.
I know that the 3dsout command was removed with introduction of AutoCAD 2007. Since then AutoDesk has offered an “add-on” exe file that would bring back the command. Will that also be offered with 2010?
Miguel,
Thank you for the question. The 3DS format is an old format, and one that we are no longer supporting. Moving forward we are supporting newer formats as well as DWG for exchange.
Best Regards,
Shaan
As now Autocad 2010 supports parallels virtualization in mac, I think they should post a detailed explanation of what configuration you need for best performance.
In my case Macbook pro 3’06 processor 4 gigs ram autocad runs ok with light work, but becomes slow as complexity increases.
Thanks,
Miguel
Thank you for this forum. One of the most annoying things about AutoCAD is the numerous toggles that “automatically” switch on/off. I recently had an annoying(minor to some perhaps) problem/bug when my delete key stopped working for no apparent reason. After going through a series of web forums i came across a suggestion to switch on my verb/noun selection. I am quite confident i never switched it off, so who did?
Cheers
Do you know of any Ergonomic models for Inventor 2010. Something in a male or female figure that can be configured in both a standing and sitting position. I saw something on the Web called iMike, but I wasn’t able to download it. Thanks
i cant open my property table even i point my cursor to object to change property but table wont appear.
At the moment i can create a linetype with text inside. such as GAS or HW, but i’d like to know how i create a linetype where the text isn’t influenced by the lineweight or linetypescale.
Second question: How do I change thet textstyle of the text inside these linetypes.
Hope to hear from you soon..