RobiNZ CAD Blog
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/
A blog with CAD (AutoCAD), BIM (Revit), Design, IT and related stuff!en-NZdaily22023-12-31T23:59:00+13:002023 Blogging Highlights
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2023/12/2023-blogging-highlights.html
Happy New Year! Another year has flown by, time to look back from a bloggy/social media (not just CAD blog) perspective at the year: @ a new 'me' on the web Twenty three, and a bit, years after starting a blog I finally got around to getting my own domain for it. It's still published with TypePad it can now be found via www.robincapper.net. Back to CAD A new role, new industry, meant catching up with some new software. Fun to learn more about Civil 3D, QGIS and more supporting IT in a Civil Engineering company over the year with...TypePadWeb/TechWeblogsRobiNZ2023-12-31T23:59:00+13:00CAD and car design at Renault
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2023/12/cad-and-car-design-at-renault.html
Patrick le Quément, Renault Design, on how he fostered the use of CAD at Renault... Of Mouse and Men – Driven To Write Amongst the traditional activities to be found in any design department there was one oddity which drew my immediate attention when I perused the organigramme — it was named CAD Design, staffed by 6 and headed by a gentleman named Philippe Gassie...BusinessDesign and ArtRobiNZ2023-12-11T20:08:07+13:00Curing 'phantom screen touches' on an old Surface Book?
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2023/11/curing-phantom-screen-touches-on-an-old-surface-book.html
My Surface Book 2 is old, well out of any warranty, but still performs really well for my own needs. It's a home machine but can still run CAD, Revit, even (just) Microsoft Flight Sim, well enough to not consider a replacement. It was a little tight for storage (only 500GB on board) but a card in the SD slot doubled that for storing Flight Sim (about 450GB on its own)! The then phantom touch arrived... I didn't get a screen shot (below is my reproduction) but the other day on start-up it looked like a phantom finger was permanently...iPhoneMy Perfect ComputerWindowsRobiNZ2023-11-11T18:34:17+13:00Breaking pinned taskbar shortcuts out of Taskbar Overflow Menu jail
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2023/10/breaking-pinned-taskbar-shortcuts-out-of-taskbar-overflow-menu-jail.html
If, like me, you pin a lot of commonly used shortcuts to the Windows 11 Taskbar it will eventually put excess ones into a ...Overflow Menu. How do shortcuts you want end up in there? If an application is updated it will be added to the end of your pinned apps. If a saved browser app update it will unpin from the taskbar, then when you re-pin it will be added to the end. Moving shortcuts out of Overflow confinement If Windows 11 were anywhere near finished you could just drag an icon from overflow to your preferred place on...WindowsRobiNZ2023-10-14T18:59:59+13:00A challenge for Andrew Anagnost, make this using only the advertised product
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2023/09/a-autocadlt-challenge-for-andrew-anagnost.html
Why do Autodesk show things that can't be done with the product being advertised? I recently got this advert on Facebook: The link went to a bundle offer for AutoCAD LT subscription: Look at that image: Can AutoCAD LT do proper 3D? No. Can it render? Not that I'm aware of... AutoCAD LT is fine, for what it is, but imagine you paid out $1888 expecting it to create what is shown? A challenge for Andrew Anagnost, make this using only the advertised product or stop marketing fantasy.AutoCADRobiNZ2023-09-03T18:11:16+12:00A new home for my blogs, Me Dot Net?
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2023/08/at-me-dot-net.html
It must be a procrastination record; start a blog in March 2004 and only now get my own domain? Yes, my typepad.com/rcd blogs are now at www.robincapper.net I must credit this toot from NZ IT Journalist Bill Bennett for prompting me to, finally, do it. His article about owning your content resonated, the reason I still author all the content I really care about on my blogs, CAD or Personal, and link to it from social sites. I don't mind having it on TypePad as it is a portable format that can be moved should the need ever arise. Not...Web/TechWeblogsRobiNZ2023-08-30T23:42:01+12:00Better controlling Word image placement
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2023/08/better-controlling-word-image-placement.html
I saw this meme, on Mastodon, about the fight that is Word images. They hide the anchoring controls in a ribbon fly-out + dialog. Once you set them (per image sadly) to keep with text it becomes much more manageable. With the image selected access it from the flyout Layout Options > See more... link. or the Ribbon Picture Format > Position > More Layout Options > Position (tab) and set the Move with Text or Lock Anchor options. You can also accurately set the X,Y position relative to margins, paragraph, line etcOfficeWordRobiNZ2023-08-26T17:53:33+12:00Fix a MindManager file with XML Processing Illegal XML Character Error
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2023/07/fix-a-mindmanager-file-with-xml-processing-illegal-xml-character-error.html
I recently opened a MindManager file and got this XML Processing error: Followed by this error, even though the file was in the folder, and then the file not opening. After some web searching, found this is a known error with MindManager Files and the recommended fix was to send the file to MindManager Support for them to remove the offending character. I didn't have time for that so tried fixing myself and it worked. DIY Fix NOTE: Everything that follows worked for the error I encountered, there may be other errors of this type it doesn't help. Be sure...MindManagerRobiNZ2023-07-08T14:39:19+12:00End of an era, as Autodesk leaves Shaan Hurley
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2023/04/end-of-an-era-autodesk-leaves-shaan-hurley.html
On Tuesday 30 March 2004, I posted this on TypePad: Getting Started This is the first post to see how it all works. Read other weblogs, thought I'd have a go myself. RobiNZ CAD Blog The reason I chose TypePad, then a new'ish (public launch October 2003) hosted platform, is one of the most influential 'other weblogs' was Shaan Hurley's Between The Lines ~ AutoCAD Blog. I'd been thinking about blogging but had no interest in coding or self-hosting. When Shaan told me his pioneering CAD Blog was hosted, authored, on TypePad it was enough to spur me into action,...AutoCADAutodesk LabsAutodesk UniversityBusinessWeblogsRobiNZ2023-04-14T23:12:11+12:00March 2023 - 19th Anniversary!
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2023/03/march-2023-19th-anniversary.html
March 31st means it is blog’iversary time. Nineteen years since that first tentative post! I really appreciate the connections blogging, and more recently on Mastodon (since I abandoned Twitter) & Facebook, have enabled. @robincapper on Twitter Won't delete this account but I've made it private and migrated most of my social media attention away from Twitter. See you on the other platforms if you are there. 7:06 PM · Nov 22, 2022 While the other platforms have taken over much of the day-to-day activity, I still prefer having the content I really value, in terms of wanting to retain, on...WeblogsRobiNZ2023-03-31T11:47:00+13:00Antarctic memories in QGIS
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2023/01/antarctic-memories-in-qgis.html
I was doing some QGIS training, testing, experimenting and the dataset provided was Antarctica. Had to spend a few minutes mapping where I've been! See; Antarctic memories in QGIS - RobiNZ Personal Blog (typepad.com) Landings and activities plottedGPS and MappingQGISRobiNZ2023-01-28T12:08:11+13:002022 Blogging Highlights
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2022/12/2022-blogging-highlights.html
Happy New Year! I usually begin this post with "Another year has flown by..." but 2022 was a strange mix of COVID-19 impacted lockdown time dilation—where it both flew and dragged simultaneously—and a (temporary) change of lifestyle for me. I spent most of it—January to August—travelling New Zealand and then started a new job (still design software related) in a different industry! Time to look back from a bloggy/social media (not just CAD blog) perspective at year: Best social media related event(s): While riding I've been contributing, in a small way, to a few episodes of Walk The Pod podcast....Web/TechWeblogsRobiNZ2022-12-31T23:59:00+13:00ActiveWords time codes for video notes 0:00:00!
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2022/09/activewords-time-codes-for-video-notes-00000.html
I'm not at Autodesk University, but I am watching the on-line content. I've long added time codes to notes for video, but only today used ActiveWords for the blindingly obvious. Decided 10-minute blocks were enough, changing one digit makes it minute accurate, so made a bunch of "time code" ActiveWords. Now when I type tc0 I get "0:00:00 | ". tc10 0:10:00 | , tc20 0:20:00 | etc. Why didn't I do this before now?ActiveWordsAutodesk UniversityRobiNZ2022-09-28T20:21:50+13:00Autodesk testing my sanity...
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2022/09/autodesk-testing-my-sanity.html
Thought was going mad for a while, but it was just Autodesk playing with my mind... At The Warehouse Group distributed Tool Palettes (in AutoCAD Architecture/MEP) using Content Browser. Tick ‘Link when added to workspace’ on the catalog, drop palettes to users, when they are changed/updated tell the users to refresh, sorted. That's worked seamlessly since the Content Browser/Palette system turned up in... 2004? Now I need to share Civil 3D palettes that will be dynamic as we develop new/updated content. Yay, C3D uses the same system but… Create a Catalog (1), set it to Link items…. (2) all good...AutoCAD ArchitectureAutoCAD Civil 3DAutoCAD MEPRobiNZ2022-09-24T21:24:09+12:00upFront.eZine CAD industry legend Ralph Grabowski retires
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2022/09/ralph-grabowski-retires.html
The final upFront.eZine #1.138 This email, the final upFront.eZine #1,138, marks a significant event in the history of the CAD industry and media. I don't remember when I first read Ralph Grabowski's eZine but it long pre-dates meeting him in 2003. He presented at a CAD Productivity Conference in Auckland NZ and I have stayed connected, as a reader/commenter and meeting occasionally at US cad conferences, ever since. Ralph's in-depth coverage and straight talk about the CAD industry, often deep into the core technologies sitting under the end user products we know so well, is second to none. I was...BusinessCAD and BIM GeneralPersonalWeb/TechWeblogsRobiNZ2022-09-13T22:58:54+12:00Alas Windows Phone, gone but not forgotten
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2022/07/alas-windows-phone-gone-but-not-forgotten.html
I still miss Windows Phone, Niagara Launcher on Android is my current next best, and this is a great look back at most of what went wrong. What I find most annoying is Microsoft had the answer to the fatal 'app gap' with their Android Bridge, which allowed Android apps to run on Windows Phone, but chose not to use it. Ironic that today Windows desktop allows just that...?AndroidWindowsRobiNZ2022-07-02T12:25:03+12:00Windows Quick Assist is now a Store App
https://www.robincapper.net/rcd/2022/05/windows-quick-assist-is-now-a-store-app.html
If you use Windows Quick Assist to support remote users, they will now have to install an app for it from the Windows Store. Once done it behaves the same but will update etc just like other store apps. Not a big deal until you need to support a remote user through that initial store install. Below shows the old app and the new store app (right) once installed. The Open Microsoft Store button on the old app opens the install page in the store. Clicking Get downloads and starts the installer but it requests Administrator permissions to install.WindowsRobiNZ2022-05-27T19:45:20+12:00