Humor for a Thursday Afternoon

This has been passed around since 1995, but I only got it a week ago. It made me laugh, and since today is a slow last-day-before-a-long-weekend, it seems like a good time to pass it along.

What if Dr. Seuss did Technical Writing?
By Gene Ziegler 1995.

Here's an easy game to play.
Here's an easy thing to say:

If a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port,
And the bus is interrupted as a very last resort,
And the address of the memory makes your floppy disk abort,
Then the socket packet pocket has an error to report!

If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash,
And the double-clicking icon puts your window in the trash,
And your data is corrupted 'cause the index doesn't hash,
Then your situation's hopeless, and your system's gonna crash!

You can't say this?
What a shame sir!
We'll find you
Another game sir.

If the label on the cable on the table at your house,
Says the network is connected to the button on your mouse,
But your packets want to tunnel on another protocol,
That's repeatedly rejected by the printer down the hall,

And your screen is all distorted by the side effects of gauss
So your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse,
Then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang,
'Cause as sure as I'm a poet, the sucker's gonna hang!

When the copy of your floppy's getting sloppy on the disk,
And the microcode instructions cause unnecessary risk,
Then you have to flash your memory and you'll want to RAM your ROM.
Quickly turn off the computer and be sure to tell your mom!


This was sent to me in an email, and I found the author information on the page :
http://www.annexed.net/box/drseuss/drmanuals1.html
There are a lot of other “if Dr. Seuss wrote…” parodies on this site that are really well done!
http://www.annexed.net/box/drseuss/index.html
And please, if anyone knows whether the author I attributed this to is not the right one, please let me know and I'll change it. (Dr. Seuss books were my favorites when I was learning to read)

Layer Properties Manager in 2009

Hello fellow CAD users!
I have a few minutes free on this Friday afternoon, so I thought I'd take the time to talk to you all. I want to tell you about a couple cool new things that the Layers Property Manager does in AutoCAD 2009. In my last post, I mentioned that the Layers Property Manager now will behave just like the other palettes, once you turn it on you can dock it on the side, or anchor it so it pops out only when you hover over it. However, that is not the only improvement.

Another new thing you'll notice is that when you change something in Layer Properties, it is immediately applied to your drawing. You don't have to worry about accidently hitting escape and undoing all your layer changes!

Honestly, one of my pet peeves has always been that when you maximize the columns, you can never read what the column heading is. They fixed that in 2009. If you right-click on any column header in Layer Properties, and choose "Maximize all columns"from the flyout, you will be able to read all the headings. It's wonderful! However, if you don't want to read the headings, choose "Optimize all columns", and they'll only be as wide as the longest word in the column.

If you're not using Layer Filters, there's now a double chevron (arrow) that will let you hide and unhide them. I love that too.
As in 2008, you can still right-click and uncheck any columns that you don't use, to hide them, and rearrange their order by dragging them. Happily, that didn't go away.

In this picture, I've expanded the Layer filters. Do you notice that vertical line after the layer names? Now in 2009, by right-clicking on any column heading, if you choose "freeze column" you can make every column to the left of where you clicked stay locked on the left side, so you can still see them when you slide over to view the columns on the right. Another new feature I really like!

By the way, If you use layer filters a lot, you'll notice now if you expand the Layers panel you can access the layer filters (and named layer states) from there, instead of opening the Layer Properties Manager. I labeled it in my previous post, but that picture did end up to be pretty busy, so I bet most people didn't even bother trying to figure it out.

Last of all, I want to tell you that if you hate this new function of the Layers Manager being able to stay open, and fly out when you need it, you can change it back to the old way. On your command line, type in LAYERDLGMODE and change it from a 1 to a 0 (zero). I have a picture of it here, so you can be assured that it works! You'll still have all the other new features I've described, except you can't anchor or dock the Layer Manager and leave it open.
Some people just like things the way they are, and don't like it when someone fixes something that's not broken. I completely sympathize. It's for those people that I added this last tip!
Ta-ta for now, I hope to write again soon!

AutoCAD 2009- Changes Vol. 1

Today is the first post I'm writing about the new features of AutoCAD 2009, but it certainly won't be the last! I've been so busy with training and other things, I keep getting sidetracked from preparing a blog entry. SO my goal is to make them shorter and more frequent... but I think I've said that before. Sorry folks!
First of all, when you open AutoCAD 2009, you know immediately that things have changed. "YIKES! Where did they move my stuff to now?" So, before panic sets in, let's look at how some of you (maybe like someone who would spend a whole day chasing down his/her red stapler, if someone borrowed it), can get things back to the comfortable, familiar interface you know so well.

In the lower right corner, there are now a whole lot of buttons that didn't used to be there. One of them will give you access to your Workspaces. Click that button, highlight "AutoCAD Classic", and you will have the same toolbars as before. The icons on your buttons have changed, some for the better, and some maybe not so much. Perhaps this isn't as comfortable and familiar as we'd like! I truly was attached to the red dynamite on the "Explode" button, it made me feel like Wile E. Coyote from Warner Brothers...now it looks like a box that's flying apart. But we all have to adjust as time goes on. We get older, our hair turns grey, our bodies wear out, and our AutoCAD buttons don't look the same. Life is all about adjusting...

For the more adventurous, the new user interface has some really terrific features. As ever, at first it slows you down when they move tools around, then once you get used to it, you're faster. Seriously, they've done some good rearranging here, and once we get used to it, I think we'll like it.
First of all, there is a big red A in the upper left corner. The flyout right next to that -I circled it in yellow - contains all your pulldown menus, so you can still get to those. Good thing, too, it's the only place I've found "save as".
Each tab across the top has different panels, arranged by task. So, the Home tab has the most-used ommands, the Blocks and References tab has everything you could do with or to a block or an xref, the Annotation tab has every kind of annotation (text, dimensions, tables, etc), the tools tab has stuff for customizing and the new cool Action Recorder, and so on. I'll talk about all of them in future posts.
Let me show you a few things that might help you want to put forth the effort to use the new Ribbon interface. For one thing, they've really put together tools that you use together. I have a picture of all of the ribbons, if you want to look through them and see where your buttons went.

One great thing about the ribbons is that someone finally decided to put things together that went together. I used to always make a custom toolbar that had Define Attribute, Make Block, Block Attribute Manager, etc, all together. All those things are together now, in the Blocks and References tab. You'll find a lot of things like that in the ribbons. Try it, you'll like it. Also, you don't have to drill down through the Pulldowns anymore, commands like Measure, Area, and Circle - Tan, tan, tan are now easy to find on the ribbons.

Take a look at this picture, I cut and pasted a few examples onto one picture to show you different panels extended all the way.

A really good example of the way they've put everything together is the Layers Panel. My picture is pretty busy, I labeled everything there is on that panel. It's got it all!

Hopefully you all can read it.

When you're not drowning in deadlines, give the new 2D Drafting & Annotation Workspace in 2009 a try. You just might like it. I'll be writing to you all again soon with more info, as often as I can in between classes.

Autodesk Online Tech Support

Customers with Subscription! Have you been utilizing your Autodesk Online Tech Support Service? If not here’s how!
Ask the Contract Manager in your firm to add your name to users that may post online questions.
If your Contract Manager (the one who gets the Autodesk products) has not set up the Subscription service yet, in North America they should call Autodesk customer service at 800-538-6401 and ask to be sent the “Welcome to Subscription" email, that will explain how they can get set up. Once that is done, visit http://pointa.autodesk.com/local/enu/portal/signin.jsp and you’re ready! We have had great reports that the Autodesk online tech service is prompt and knowledgeable.
For our local customers, you are always welcome to call your sales rep at CommTech too, to log a call for you. The reason we want to pass along this information is that often times our techs are in class training, or at a customer site, and they can't respond to you very quickly. We know what it's like to be having computer problems and a deadline looming overhead, and then you can't get hold of anyone to help you!

In other areas of the world, you'll need to ask your local reseller if this service is available from the local language Autodesk website. Your local Autodesk reseller will be able to help you find it. They also can walk you through these steps, to get yourself signed up with Autodesk Online Tech support.

This blog entry was the idea of one of the most wonderful salespeople you ever could have the privilege to meet, our own Lorri Williams. She wrote most of the text, so I want to make sure to give credit where credit is due!

FATAL ERROR: Unhandled e0434f4dh Exception

Hello everyone,
I sincerely hope you're all having a good day. If you found this blog entry by a search for the error message above, your day might be on its way to improving...

We had a customer who was having terrible problems with his 2008 AutoCAD software, Civil 3D. He kept getting this fatal error:

FATAL ERROR: Unhandled e0434f4dh Exception at 7c812a5bh

When we talked to Autodesk, we found out that this error was caused by a Windows Update.
This being the case, I thought I ought to pass along the fix that worked for our client, in case anyone out there has had the same problem. If you're one of the 'little guys' working from home, and you don't have a place to go for help, problems like this one can really ruin your day.

Now, let me preface this with a warning: Use this fix at your own risk. If your company has an IT person, they would want you to get their help on this. If you are on Subscription with your AutoCAD software, you can log onto the Autodesk website and create your own Support Request.

Since this problem was caused by a Windows update, you can't fix it inside of AutoCAD. It has to be a Microsoft Windows fix. (You may be able to get help from them, I don't know.) The fix that I'm passing along is from Aaron Stebner's blog. He is currently a program manager on the XNA team at Microsoft and has been working there since 1999. He has his own caveat posted on the page, too, so please remember you are using this at your own risk.

With all that said, here are the steps you can try if you are running into this Fatal Error (at your own risk!)

1. Download and run the/any .NET cleanup utility (the one our client used is found at: http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2006/05/30/611355.aspx )
   
2. Reinstall .NET using the DOTNETFX.exe on the AutoCAD software installation CD/DVD (found in the \Support folder)
   
3. Using Add/Remove programs, run a Repair on AutoCAD before opening it.

I hope that by passing along this information, I'll give someone a place to start.

.NET Framework problems can also cause other weird things to happen. Here is a list of things that might be symptoms of .NET Framework problems. If you've tried everything to fix these, running the .NET cleanup might help with the following problems:

• Some (but not all) variations of FATAL ERROR: Unhandled e0434f4dh Exception at 7c81eb33h/7c812A5bh


• “AutoCAD was not installed properly. Please reinstall immediately” or “The application has failed to start because its side by side configuration is incorrect…” errors on startup


• JIT (Just-in-Time) Debugger errors


• 1935/HRESULT 0x80070002 errors during AutoCAD install or deployment


• “NGEN failed to exit” errors during installation


• “Class Not Registered” errors


• Exception errors in acmgd.arx or acmgd.dll during startup


• “Cannot load assembly. Error details: System.Security.SecurityException” errors at the AutoCAD command line


• “Autodesk ACT libraries were not properly registered” starting 3DS Max or Viz


• Layer manager, tool palette, quick calculator, Style manager, Project navigator and ribbon (2009) issues. (These components depend heavily on .NET Framework)
  
• “Error 25015. Failed to install assembly…” during installation (primarily Inventor)


• Vault installation errors

I hope this might end at least one headache out there in cyberspace. I can't guarantee anything, but I'm hoping this will give you a place to start.
May your computers never crash, and all your upgrades function smoothly.

Tech Camp 2008

I spent last week with more than 900 AutoCAD geeks in Dallas, Texas at the Hilton Anatole Hotel. We were all there for the Americas Tech Camp 2008 to learn about the new 2009 Autodesk products and to improve our presentation skills. I truly had an enjoyable time!





First of all, I'm not at the level of society that frequently stays at Hilton Hotels, I live more on a Hotel 6 budget - so my room was a real treat!
I just love their beds and those soft feather pillows.

They had the best coffee maker in the room, too. You could make one or two servings, in either a big mug or a styrofoam cup with a lid if you wanted to take your coffee with you. What a good idea! Also, there was chamomile tea provided, which was lovely, and helped me unwind so I could sleep at night.

The hotel was a unique, beautiful building. The rooms are built around this giant atrium, with a translucent ceiling (glass I suppose), so the light changed inside depending on the weather and time of day. Inside the atrium was a full Mexican restaurant and a coffee shop, plus in the evenings there was a man playing the piano.

The only downside to the atrium was that from the conference rooms you had to walk all the way across that atrium to the opposite side to get to the elevators, to go up to the rooms. My room, of course, was near the conference rooms so I had to trek all the way back around. Was I ever glad I brought my walking shoes!
Maybe you're thinking all that has nothing to do with AutoCAD or Tech Camp, but it really was part of the whole experience.

I went to 2 classes to help me become a better instructor, something new that they didn't offer last year. Both of them were excellent! If any of you ever have the opportunity to attend training from DeFinis Communications, go! I learned so much from their "Presentation Skills Essentials" class that I want to hire them here to come to Boulder to train our entire staff.(Or we could go to California, now there's a thought...)

We all had to wear these badges, whenever you saw someone you knew right away whether they were there for AutoCAD training. The best part was there was a little map inside that booklet, I used it nearly every day to find my way around.

The next 3 days were all about learning to use the software. I signed up to learn about AutoCAD Map 3D. That wasn't too bad, I was able to do the exercises. But once we got to Mapguide Enterprise, I just got lost. I tried vainly to keep up with all the facts and methods they were showing me, and all the acronyms! They were throwing around so much alphabet soup I felt like I was drowning in capital letters - SDF and SQL and FDO and SHP and OMG get me out of here! But I am determined to learn it - I'll keep you posted on my progress.
On Monday night they had a picnic, all the free food and drink you wanted, it was delicious, tacos and fajitas and barbequed pork, plus the salads & desserts! It was so weird to be outdoors without a coat on - I had been in Minnesota visiting my parents , and they had just gotten a foot of snow only 2 days before. What a contrast!
Wednesday night they had a Pizza party, with the Autodesk team demonstrating the new features of AutoCAD 2009. It was fun; instead of dry lectures they were using a Jeopardy-type game, with prizes! I didn't get to play, there were too many people, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the party. To tell you the truth, I enjoyed it in my own way; I left early for some much-needed sleep!
One unexpected thing about the Anatole Hotel; there was a piece of the Berlin wall in the courtyard. We took pictures of it to show you all.




Last of all, for dessert - a little taste of the new look of AutoCAD 2009. I pasted together a few screen captures with some explanatory notes on them. My next few blog entrys will be covering the new features in depth - but here's a preview. See you next time!

AutoCAD 2009

Hi everyone!

I've been playing with the new AutoCAD 2009, and I have to admit I really like the new user interface. I'll be doing some posts on all the new features, eventually. I know that all the people who are on Subscription have already received their software in the mail. I thought it might be a good idea to put a few facts out there - just a couple questions I've already heard.

First of all, if you didn't specify differently, your software will come as a DVD. Your reseller can order it as a set of CDs if you don't have a computer on your network with a DVD drive. We all have to move forward with technology, even if some of you have to be dragged along kicking and screaming. I feel your pain.

Another thing you need to know before you try to install it is that AutoCAD 2009 will NOT install on Windows 2000. Microsoft has retired it, so the developers at Autodesk did not work with it.

Here are the system requirements, straight from the horse's mouth, ( so to speak). I got these from the official Autodesk website. Hopefully this will keep you from some of the pitfalls of upgrading, or maybe convince your boss that you really do need a brand new computer!

System Requirements

For 32-bit AutoCAD® 2009:
Intel®
Pentium® 4 processor or AMD Athlon, 2.2 GHz or greater
or
Intel or AMD
Dual Core processor, 1.6 GHz or greater
Microsoft® Windows Vista™, Windows®
XP SP2 operating systems

For Microsoft Windows XP
SP2
· 1 GB RAM
· 750 MB free disk space for
installation
· 1024x768 VGA
with True Color
· Microsoft®
Internet Explorer® 6.0 internet browser (SP1 or higher)

For
Microsoft Windows Vista™ or 3D modeling
· Intel® Pentium® 4
processor or AMD® Athlon, 3.0 GHz or greater
or

Intel or AMD Dual Core processor, 2.0 GHz or
greater
· 2 GB RAM or greater
· 2 GB free hard disk
available not including installation
· 1280 x 1024 32-bit color
video display adapter (True Color) 128 MB or greater, OpenGL®, or Direct3D®
capable workstation class graphics card.
For Windows Vista, a Direct3D
capable workstation class graphics card with 128 MB or greater is
required

For 64-bit AutoCAD® 2009:
Windows XP Professional x64
Edition or Windows Vista 64-bit
AMD® 64 or Intel EM64T processor
2GB RAM
750 MB free disk space for installation
AutoCAD 64-bit cannot be
installed on a 32-bit Windows Operating System

I hope this was helpful. I'll be posting more information about the newest version of AutoCAD as soon as I can. I'll be going to Tech Camp on April 14th, so probably after that. Talk to you soon!