Mike

First open your Task Manager… switch to Processes and sort by Mem Usage.Then open a large drawing in AutoCAD 2009 (any flavor).. choosing one with several viewports make it even more interesting.

Once opened.. Minimize the complete AutoCAD session window (not just the drawing).
ACAD Memory Usage drops almost 90% once the window is minimized.
Now Reopen the minimized AutoCAD window and the memory returns to a workable level.
The ACAD memory still does a serious memory ramp up during any saving function which is still a problem for us.

This technique seems useful in reclaiming or resetting AutoCAD’s memory usage without restarting.

From here: http://discussion.autodesk.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=702176&tstart=0

I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled the Vault client a couple times, and done numerous Google searches for a solution and could find nothing. Today I figured it out.

What worked for me was to go into the CUI and edit the current Workspace. Drill down into toolbars and select the one for Vault (which was already checked on). On the lower right, you’ll see a box where you can change the location in which the toolbar is docked. Mine was set to floating, and I changed it to simply Top. Apply and OK and once I was back at the crosshairs the toolbar was there!

Hope this works for you as well.

Oh yeah, we’ve added 3 new authors to the lineup, so maybe the pace of new content will pick up somewhat. I’ll let them introduce themselves.

- Mike

1. I’d lilke to be able to toggle on/off seeing the list of layouts in the Page Setup Manager. About 95% of the time I KNOW what setup my layouts have, because they’re set in my template, but when I want to print using a different setup (e.g. half-size, pdf, etc.), I hate having to scroll past 25 layout items to get to the loaded setups. Having toggle there to quickly hide those would be swell.

2. Whenever I do need to mass change all of the layouts in my drawing, I think it would be really helpful to have an item in the right-click menu for the layout tabs that basically works as a match properties from the last page setup of the previous layout changed. Call it “Match Previous Layout” and only have it selectable when a previous layout has been recently set. I have a bunch of page setups, and when I need to change all of my layout tabs to something other than what is default, it becomes quite a tedious chore. It’d be nice if I could set one, and then right-click on each tab and choose “Match Previous Layout” and have it set that page setup accordingly. Or better yet, select ALL of the layouts and match them.

If you have a better combination for a certain command, leave me a comment and let me know about it!

; Command alias format:
;   <Alias>,*<Full command name>

;  The following are guidelines for creating new command aliases.
;  1. An alias should reduce a command by at least two characters.
;      Commands with a control key equivalent, status bar button,
;      or function key do not require a command alias.
;      Examples: Control N, O, P, and S for New, Open, Print, Save.
;  2. Try the first character of the command, then try the first two,
;      then the first three.
;  3. Once an alias is defined, add suffixes for related aliases:
;      Examples: R for Redraw, RA for Redrawall, L for Line, LT for
;      Linetype.
;  4. Use a hyphen to differentiate between command line and dialog
;      box commands.
;      Example: B for Block, -B for -Block.
;
; Exceptions to the rules include AA for Area, T for Mtext, X for Explode.

;  — Sample aliases for AutoCAD commands –
;  These examples include most frequently used commands.  NOTE: It is recommended
;  that you not make any changes to this section of the PGP file to ensure the
;  proper migration of your customizations when you upgrade to the next version of
;  AutoCAD.  The aliases listed in this section are repeated in the User Custom
;  Settings section at the end of this file, which can safely be edited while
;  ensuring your changes will successfully migrate.

3A,        *3DARRAY
3DMIRROR,  *MIRROR3D
3DNavigate,*3DWALK
3DO,       *3DORBIT
3DW,       *3DWALK
3F,        *3DFACE
3M,        *3DMOVE
3P,        *3DPOLY
3R,        *3DROTATE
A,         *ARC
AC,        *BACTION
ADC,       *ADCENTER
AECTOACAD, *-ExportToAutoCAD
AA,        *AREA
AL,        *ALIGN
3AL,       *3DALIGN
AP,        *APPLOAD
AR,        *ARRAY
-AR,       *-ARRAY
ATI,       *ATTIPEDIT
ATT,       *ATTDEF
-ATT,      *-ATTDEF
ATE,       *ATTEDIT
-ATE,      *-ATTEDIT
ATTE,      *-ATTEDIT
B,         *BLOCK
-B,        *-BLOCK
BC,        *BCLOSE
BE,        *BEDIT
BH,        *HATCH
BO,        *BOUNDARY
-BO,       *-BOUNDARY
BR,        *BREAK
BS,        *BSAVE
BVS,       *BVSTATE
C,         *CIRCLE
CAM,       *CAMERA
CH,        *PROPERTIES
-CH,       *CHANGE
CHA,       *CHAMFER
CHK,       *CHECKSTANDARDS
CLI,       *COMMANDLINE
COL,       *COLOR
COLOUR,    *COLOR
CO,        *COPY
CP,        *COPY
CT,        *CTABLESTYLE
CYL,       *CYLINDER
D,         *DIMSTYLE
DAL,       *DIMALIGNED
DAN,       *DIMANGULAR
DAR,       *DIMARC
JOG,       *DIMJOGGED
DBA,       *DIMBASELINE
DBC,       *DBCONNECT
DC,        *ADCENTER
DCE,       *DIMCENTER
DCENTER,   *ADCENTER
DCO,       *DIMCONTINUE
DDA,       *DIMDISASSOCIATE
DDI,       *DIMDIAMETER
DED,       *DIMEDIT
DI,        *DIST
DIV,       *DIVIDE
DJL,       *DIMJOGLINE
DJO,       *DIMJOGGED
DL,        *DATALINK
DLI,       *DIMLINEAR
DLU,       *DATALINKUPDATE
DO,        *DONUT
DOR,       *DIMORDINATE
DOV,       *DIMOVERRIDE
DR,        *DRAWORDER
DRA,       *DIMRADIUS
DRE,       *DIMREASSOCIATE
DRM,       *DRAWINGRECOVERY
DS,        *DSETTINGS
DST,       *DIMSTYLE
DT,        *TEXT
DV,        *DVIEW
DX,        *DATAEXTRACTION
E,         *ERASE
ED,        *DDEDIT
EL,        *ELLIPSE
ER,        *EXTERNALREFERENCES
EX,        *EXTEND
EXIT,      *QUIT
EXP,       *EXPORT
EXT,       *EXTRUDE
F,         *FILLET
FI,        *FILTER
FREEPOINT, *POINTLIGHT
FSHOT,     *FLATSHOT
G,         *GROUP
-G,        *-GROUP
GD,        *GRADIENT
GEO,       *GEOGRAPHICLOCATION
GR,        *DDGRIPS
H,         *HATCH
-H,        *-HATCH
HE,        *HATCHEDIT
HI,        *HIDE
I,         *INSERT
-I,        *-INSERT
IAD,       *IMAGEADJUST
IAT,       *IMAGEATTACH
ICL,       *IMAGECLIP
IM,        *IMAGE
-IM,       *-IMAGE
IMP,       *IMPORT
IN,        *INTERSECT
INF,       *INTERFERE
IO,        *INSERTOBJ
J,         *JOIN
L,         *LINE
LA,        *LAYER
-LA,       *-LAYER
LAS,       *LAYERSTATE
LE,        *QLEADER
LEN,       *LENGTHEN
LI,        *LIST
LINEWEIGHT, *LWEIGHT
LMAN,      *LAYERSTATE
LO,        *-LAYOUT
LS,        *LIST
LT,        *LINETYPE
-LT,       *-LINETYPE
LTYPE,     *LINETYPE
-LTYPE,    *-LINETYPE
LTS,       *LTSCALE
LW,        *LWEIGHT
M,         *MOVE
MA,        *MATCHPROP
MAT,       *MATERIALS
ME,        *MEASURE
MI,        *MIRROR
ML,        *MLINE
MLA,       *MLEADERALIGN
MLC,       *MLEADERCOLLECT
MLD,       *MLEADER
MLE,       *MLEADEREDIT
MLS,       *MLEADERSTYLE
MO,        *PROPERTIES
MS,        *MSPACE
MSM,       *MARKUP
MT,        *MTEXT
MV,        *MVIEW
NORTH,     *GEOGRAPHICLOCATION
NORTHDIR,  *GEOGRAPHICLOCATION
O,         *OFFSET
OP,        *OPTIONS
ORBIT,     *3DORBIT
OS,        *OSNAP
-OS,       *-OSNAP
P,         *PAN
-P,        *-PAN
PA,        *PASTESPEC
PARAM,     *BPARAMETER
PARTIALOPEN, *-PARTIALOPEN
PE,        *PEDIT
PL,        *PLINE
PO,        *POINT
POL,       *POLYGON
PR,        *PROPERTIES
PRCLOSE,   *PROPERTIESCLOSE
PROPS,     *PROPERTIES
PRE,       *PREVIEW
PRINT,     *PLOT
PS,        *PSPACE
PSOLID,    *POLYSOLID
PTW,       *PUBLISHTOWEB
PU,        *PURGE
-PU,       *-PURGE
PYR,       *PYRAMID
QC,        *QUICKCALC
QCUI,      *QUICKCUI
R,         *REDRAW
RA,        *REDRAWALL
RC,        *RENDERCROP
RE,        *REGEN
REA,       *REGENALL
REC,       *RECTANG
REG,       *REGION
REN,       *RENAME
-REN,      *-RENAME
REV,       *REVOLVE
RO,        *ROTATE
RP,        *RENDERPRESETS
RPR,       *RPREF
RR,        *RENDER
RW,        *RENDERWIN
S,         *STRETCH
SC,        *SCALE
SCR,       *SCRIPT
SE,        *DSETTINGS
SEC,       *SECTION
SET,       *SETVAR
SHA,       *SHADEMODE
SL,        *SLICE
SN,        *SNAP
SO,        *SOLID
SP,        *SPELL
SPL,       *SPLINE
SPLANE,    *SECTIONPLANE
SPE,       *SPLINEDIT
SSM,       *SHEETSET
ST,        *STYLE
STA,       *STANDARDS
SU,        *SUBTRACT
T,         *MTEXT
-T,        *-MTEXT
TA,        *TABLET
TB,        *TABLE
TH,        *THICKNESS
TI,        *TILEMODE
TO,        *TOOLBAR
TOL,       *TOLERANCE
TOR,       *TORUS
TP,        *TOOLPALETTES
TR,        *TRIM
TS,        *TABLESTYLE
UC,        *UCSMAN
UN,        *UNITS
-UN,       *-UNITS
UNI,       *UNION
V,         *VIEW
-V,        *-VIEW
VP,        *DDVPOINT
-VP,       *VPOINT
VS,       *VSCURRENT
VSM,       *VISUALSTYLES
-VSM,      *-VISUALSTYLES
W,         *WBLOCK
-W,        *-WBLOCK
WE,        *WEDGE
X,         *EXPLODE
XA,        *XATTACH
XB,        *XBIND
-XB,       *-XBIND
XC,        *XCLIP
XL,        *XLINE
XR,        *XREF
-XR,       *-XREF
Z,         *ZOOM

MULTIPLE
When entered preceeding another command, will repeat the command until you cancel out of it.

CIRCULAR ARRAY
At the command line enter -array, pick the object(s), and when you are presented with the Rectangular or Polar options, enter C for Circular instead.

TCIRCLE
creates a circle, slot or rectangular object around selected text, mtext or attdef entities.

CHSPACE
changes objects from model space to paper space and vice versa.

XLINE
use it to create a never-ending construction line in both directions.

RAY
use it to create a never-ending construction line in one direction.

TFRAMES
toggles wipeout frame visibility.

WHOHAS
when you try to open a file that is already in-use, this command will tell you who is using it (this is a default trigger in version 2007 and up).

PEDITACCEPT
set this to “1″, and it won’t ask you “do you want to convert this line to a pline”. It just does it automatically.

WP or CP (selection)
when used with a command that prompts you for a selection, this will let you use a polygon window/crossing instead of a rectangular one.

._DBLIST
lists all entities in the drawing.

MOCORO
move, copy, rotate in one command and from the same basepoint.

‘(command)
run another command transparently inside of the original command.

Credit and thanks for not only the idea for this thread, but also for many of the included commands, goes out to the guys and gals on the AUGI forums, specifically this thread.

Have an obscure command that you want to share? Use the comment form to post it up.

I guess the most talked-about new feature is the new “ribbon” GUI. It’s similiar to the one used in Office 2007 and is highly customizable, but there are many more improvements in the offering.

Autodesk 2009 Product Manager Doug Cochran gives us the skinny on what to expect this time around:

User Interface

Menu Browser

• Perform a real-time search for menus and menu actions in the menu browser
• Create search tags for any menu command to make searches more effective
• Access the menus through the menu browser or the classic menu bar
• Specify menus to display in the menu browser by customizing a CUI file
• View a list of the most recent saved files
• Pin files in the most recent list to keep then listed regardless of files saved later
• Recent documents show thumbnails, date modified, version info, last saved by, and currently opened by
• You can group recent files by date or type
• Recent Actions show recently performed actions such as file > open, tools>options for playback.

Ribbon

• Provides a single, compact placement for operations that are relevant to the current workspace.
• The ribbon is composed of a series of tabs, which are organized into panels labeled by task
• Can be oriented horizontally or vertically
• Fully customizable using the CUI editor
• The Ribbon helps you to organize commands that you use frequently on panels that are similar to toolbars

User Assistance

• Level 2 enhanced tool tips provide additional information when hovering over items
• Customizable Dynamic Help to quickly access and link help documentation for commands
• Show Me animations are embedded into Help file
• Enhanced Task Dialogs provide clear and concise information for the task at hand
• InfoCenter Search Bar connects searches directly into Autodesk knowledge base and forums
• With dynamic tool tips, you can select F1 to go directly into the help context for that item.

Quick View

• Quickly flip between multiple open drawings
• Quickly flip between multiple drawing layouts
• Resizable drawing thumbnails provide visual drawing identification

Quick Properties

• The Quick Properties panel lists the most commonly used properties for each object type or a set of objects that are selected
• Easily find and customize the desired object properties in your drawing
• The Quick Properties panel can be customized to display properties depending on your needs by using the Customize User Interface (CUI) editor

Navigation

View Cube

• 3D navigation tool that appears when the 3D graphics system is enabled
• Allows you to switch between standard and isometric views
• Displays the current viewpoint of the model based on the current UCS and the North direction defined by the WCS of the model
• You can switch to one of the available preset views, roll the current view, or change to the Home view of the model

Steering Wheel

• SteeringWheels are tracking menus that are divided into different sections known as wedges. Each wedge on a wheel represents a single navigation tool. You can pan, zoom, or manipulate the current view of a model in different ways.
• Can save you time and clicks by combining many of the common navigation tools into a single interface. Wheels are specific to the context that a model is being viewed in.
• The appearance of the wheels can be controlled by changing the current mode, or adjusting the size and opacity level of the wheels

ShowMotion

• ShowMotion improves the design process by providing designers with superior review capability
• Use Authoring Mode to create animations and transitions
• Use Presentation Mode to play back Shots and Sequences
• Shots are captured camera positions to which cinematic movements may be added to create motion and transitions like those seen in television commercials

Productivity

Action Recorder

• Increase productivity by recording common day to day repetitive tasks and commands with action recorder
• Action macros can record most commands that can be used from the command line and some of the user interfaces that you are already familiar with.
• Use the Action Recorder to record commands and input values for an action macro
• Share action macro files with others
• Create custom user prompts in the macro
• Modify macros via the action recorder tree view
• Create easy customization without any programming experience

Modeless Layer Manager

• Changes made to layer settings can be viewed without exiting the layer manager
• Columns can be frozen to aid scrolling across many columns in the layer list.
• Layer manager can now be set to dock, autohide, and anchor just like tool palettes
• Layer manager can always remain open during your drawing session for instant access

Export Layout to Model Space

• Export all visible objects from the current layout to the model space of a new drawing
• With the capability to export layout objects to model space, you do not have to limit the use of layouts in order to exchange drawings with other CAD systems
• Provides the capability to take a snapshot of a drawing layout to create a ready-to-use model space drawing

Geographic Location

• Create a single marker that defines the geographic location of the entire drawing
• When location information is embedded in a drawing, a geographic marker — visual representation of location information — is created

Dynamic Xclip

• Xclips boundary frames can now be dynamically adjusted without having to re-create the xclip boundary

eTransmit

• Can now Purge drawings before packing
• Have the option to Not save the drawing before packing

Materials

• Option to fit Gizmo to Object
• Can now Fit Mapping to Gizmo for material map scale
• Gradient Ramp procedural map

Mtext

• Pressing Escape key during Mtext now prompts for option to save mtext input
• New variable to control mtext table toolbar to display as fixed, floating, or in the ribbon

Find and Replace

• Find and Replace text in blocks
• Replace text in Xrefs
• Ability to use wild cards

Blocks

• Selecting a block or dynamic block and then typing “W” will invoke the Wblock command and the selected block’s name will be listed in the source text box

Array

• When Previewing an Array, the current view is no longer locked and will permit zooming in panning while previewing the array result

Non-rectangular viewports

• Non-rectangular viewports now display properties in the property palette and can also input scale and specify lock or unlocked settings from the property palette.

Plotting

• In the Plot dialog, If a plotter device is missing, the indication of the word “Missing” is now prefixed in the plotter device name instead of being suffixed. This avoids the possibility of not knowing the device is missing since the plotter name may get truncated in the Plotter Name text box especially if the Plotter name is long.

Purge

• Shortcut key for Close is now implemented in the Purge command

Workflow

DWFx

• The future of DWF — is based on the XML Paper Specification (XPS) format from Microsoft.
• Create DWFx files by publishing or plotting your drawing files
• DWFx can be used as an underlay

DGN

• DGN V7 and V8 support
• DGN and DWG translation mapping support for levels, lineweight, linetype and color
• DGN files can be used as an underlay
• Import and Export to DGN file format

Technology

Windows Logo Certification

• Windows XP x32 and x64
• Windows Vista x32 and x64
• Native 64-bit OS support

You can download the full Autocad 2009 Preview Guide here.

With AutoCAD Civil 3D and Vault, Autodesk introduces what it describes as “a dynamic engineering model that delivers proven power to complete projects up to 75% faster.” The software is designed so that “surfaces, cross-sections, profiles, production drafting … are dynamically linked and updated automatically,” the company states. Some users see it as a possible solution to an age-old problem: sharing work across offices to make the most of organizational resources. But with this benefit, they also face new challenges.

In Part 1 of this article, we follow the progress of two firms, Bowman Consulting Group and David Evans and Associates (DEA), to understand the work involved in migrating from Autodesk Land Desktop to Civil 3D. In doing so, we follow their decision-making processes and their workflow considerations.

You can find the article over at cadalyst GIS Tech News.

Now we have our own dedicated domain: http://www.cadmonkeys.net

We did this in order to provide a more company neutral URL in the hopes of drawing regular subscribers and contributors. Anyone reading this blog, who uses or is interested in Autodesk products, is invited to register an account and help provide content on the blog. If you wish to become a content contributor, please let us know via comment to this post.

Afterall, the reason the blog was created is to provide a place where fellow CAD Monkeys can share tips, tricks, tutorials, personal experiences and so forth with other CAD Monkeys.

So if you’ve previously bookmarked the site, please update your bookmark with the new URL. I’m not sure how the new address will affect subscriptions, but it might not hurt to re-subscribe, just to be safe.

Mike