Top 10 Reasons Why Autodesk Subscription is a Smart Investment

Get the benefits of increased productivity, predictable budgeting, and simplified license management with Autodesk® Subscription.

1. Cost-Effectiveness
If you typically upgrade your Autodesk products, you can save money with Autodesk Subscription. It does not matter when you upgrade; every year, every two years, or every three years. Subscription is a cost-effective way to keep Autodesk software up-to-date, and represents great value over time.

2. Predictable Budgeting
Autodesk Subscription offers a way to make software costs predictable. Whether you opt for a one-year subscription or a multi-year subscription contract, your costs are known for the entire term of the subscription contract. This means improved cash forecasting, and the possibility to include subscription fees in project estimates and billing.

3. Technology Upgrades
Autodesk Subscription helps make sure that you always have fast access to the latest release of the software made available during the term of your contract; this includes major releases and feature extensions. Features extensions, exclusive to subscription members, can provide new functionality and/or feature enhancements between major releases.

4. Web Support
Web support, direct from Autodesk, provides fast, complete answers to technical questions to help you get more from your investment in Autodesk software. Direct, one-on-one interaction with Autodesk support technicians right at the desktop can improve productivity and help avoid expensive downtime. You also have the option to keep your reseller automatically informed of your support requests and resolutions that were provided to you by Autodesk.

5. e-Learning
e-Learning consists of self-paced, interactive lessons for many Autodesk products. Each lesson is 15–30 minutes in length, and lessons are organized into product catalogs. The lessons feature hands-on exercises, with an option to use a simulation instead of the software application. You can also use the built-in assessments to identify skills gaps and the lessons that will help you the most.

6. Technical Knowledgebase
The Autodesk Knowledgebase is a comprehensive online resource that enables Subscription members to search at any time for crucial information and learning materials that can help them get the most out of their production environments. Advanced search filters and personalized search capabilities give you fast access to the most relevant solutions in the knowledgebase—making it easier to find the information you want.

7. Flexible Licensing Terms
Never miss a beat in your production! Only subscription members are entitled to use previous versions of the software concurrently with the upgrades, in order to access new functionality in the upgrade (for evaluation or production use) without disrupting ongoing projects. In addition, you have the flexibility to use Autodesk software license in the office or at home.

8. Autodesk Subscription Center
The password-protected Autodesk Subscription Center, gives members an online portal, where you can quickly access the many features of Autodesk Subscription, up-to-date software, learning resources, extensive knowledgebase, as well as administer your subscription contract and view and manage your software licenses

9. Simplified License Management Tools
Autodesk Subscription makes managing your software licenses and your subscription contract easy with administration tools via the Autodesk Subscription Center. You can view coverage and renewal reports, provide users access to included services, update your contact information and learn about exclusive members –only offers.

10. Exclusive Community Access
Autodesk Subscription members get access to a wealth of community resources and exclusive, subscriber-only privileges designed to keep you connected to Autodesk executives, technical experts, and developers. From early access to new technology to invitation-only webcasts to preferred subscriber status at Autodesk events, Autodesk Subscription members receive the red carpet treatment.

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Autodesk Inventor 2010 Tips and Tricks

Autodesk Inventor 2010 Code Named : Hopper, has several enhancements. The features and tools are developed in order to increase productivity for every design engineer. This post features a tip to easily access the Application Menu, Quick Access toolbar, and ribbon bar. Lets see this with an example.,

Example: Using Key Board access the Application Options :

With the sketch window open in Inventor 2010

Press the Alt key or F10 to display shortcut keys for common tools in the application window. Keytips allow you to perform tasks without using your mouse.

When you select a keytip, more keytips are displayed for that tool. Keytips appear as underlined characters to indicate which key or combination of keys on the keyboard must be pressed to activate a command.
Keytips allow you to navigate in the Application Menu and in the ribbon using only the keyboard. Use the keyboard arrows to navigate to commands on the ribbon and Application Menu
Now, press T to activate tools

Now press L to access the application options

Linking Excel and AutoCAD with Data Links

The introduction of OLE objects, and more recently AutoCAD Tables were noble attempts to synchronize AutoCAD with Excel, but still fell short for many real-world needs. What engineers wanted and needed was bidirectional synchronization between AutoCAD and Excel. Among the new features packed within AutoCAD 2008 is just that capability through use of Data Links.

To Setup Data Links

1. Launch the TABLE command.
2. Click “From a data link“, and launch the “Data Link Manager” by clicking the button (illustrated).

3. Click “Create a new Excel Data Link”

4. Name the Data Link – something intuitive.

5. Browse for your Excel Table

6. The “New Excel Data Link” dialogue can be expanded by clicking the button in the bottom right corner.

7. Under “Cell Contents”, uncheck “Convert data types to text”, and check both “Retain Formulas” and “Allow writing to source file”. Checking those options will make it so your Excel formulas will be preserved, and that you will be able to make edits to the table in AutoCAD, and they be populated to the origional Excel file.

8. Press the [Ok] button 3 times to get out of the command, and insert your linked table.

9. Assuming you checked the “Retain Formulas” option when setting up the Data Link, you’ll notice fields (text with a grey background) for any calculated value.

After inserting your Excel table, any updates made in the source Excel file will be updated in AutoCAD. By default however you will not be able to update data from AutoCAD, and have it update in the source Excel document. To modify a table value in AutoCAD, select a cell, right-click, and navigate down to “Locking”, and select “Unlock”.
After unlocking a cell, you can click into a cell, change a value. As a deliberate checks and balances, to update the Excel file, you must right-click once again, and select “Write Data Links to External Source“.
So there you have it, a quick run-through on how to harness the new Data Links in AutoCAD 2008. Stay tuned for more in AutoCAD 2008.

AutoCAD 2010 - It's Parametric

Parametric* Constraints are not new in CAD but are in AutoCAD 2010. I think their arrival, along with free form modelling, reflects a real change in attitude from Autodesk towards the application that started it all.

AutoCAD is now termed as "the platform which democratises design" and feature sets previously only seen in verticals, or even other platforms, are starting to appear in AutoCAD. It also goes the other way as the Ribbon UX pioneered in AutoCAD is appearing in other Autodesk applications. I'll be writing more on these topics in future posts but it sets the scene for the arrival of a feature I thought "plain" AutoCAD would never have. Before the question is asked: AutoCAD LT 2010 will honour parametric features in existing files (you can view, edit or delete) but not create them.

Currently AutoCAD parametrics apply to 2D objects, although you can fudge limited manipulation of 3D objects. There are Geometric Constraints which control object spatial relationships and Dimensional Constraints to control size. If you are familiar with Inventor the parametric tools in AutoCAD will seem similar. If not, learning AutoCAD Parametrics should make transition easier should you require it in the future.

Parametric Interface:
Parametrics have a dedicated Ribbon Tab which groups the tools and their visibility controls in a logical arrangement. A new Parametrics Manager Palette, launched from the ribbon, allows tabular editing of names, formulas and values once dimensional parameters are applied

Why Parametric?
The applications of Parametrics are limitless but one simple example shows how they can change the behaviour of an AutoCAD object. Below you see two objects created with the veteran Rectangle tool. It's always been a bit of a fib as just creates a simple 4 node closed Polyline in the shape of a rectangle. Move a corner grip, as seen on the left, and you find your "rectangle" rapidly becomes rather un-rectangular! On the right, the same geometry has constraints applied to keep it rectangular as the corners are grip edited.
The combination of parallel, perpendicular and horizontal constraints is indicated by control icons you can toggle on/off or use to edit the constraint. As sharing files with parametrics becomes more common a good first step will be to toggle on the display of these indicators to check the configuration.

Applying Parametric Constraints:
The combination of constraints on the "rectangle" above was added with a simple click of the Auto Constrain Tool. It applies geometric constraints to a selection set of objects based on their relative orientation.
Some, most?, parametric applications require an object to be fully constrained but AutoCAD does not. Below I've added a perpendicular constraint to two lines without any dimensional constraints. These lines remain perpendicular as their length or location changes. This is a very flexible approach to parametrics but one which will require some thought in it's application

Geometric constraints:
These include controls for Coincident (with other object points), Lock (to an absolute location), force Horizontal/Vertical, Parallel/Perpendicular/Colinear, Concentric/Tangent for arcs/circles. Others include Equal to have geometry follow its master (e.g circle diameters which match), Smooth will join splines and Symmetric matches characteristics about an axis. When adding these the first object selected becomes the master,subsequent elections follow it..

Dimensional constraints:
Dimensional constraints allow direct entry distance/angle to alter object geometry or formulas referencing other parameters.

The rectangle below has a direct entered length parameter, d1=7, and a formula, d1/2, for the height. Alter d1 and the height will adjust to follow. The process of adding constraints is very similar to adding the dimensions they resemble. Names d1,2...etc are assigned automatically but can be edited afterwards if you wish. If constrained objects are copied new parameters are created for the new object. A copy of this rectangle would have d3=7 and d4=d3/2.

You can edit dimensional constraints in the Parametrics Palette or drawing editor. This can be done by entering a value or formula into the "control dimension" or by selecting the dimension and using the grip controls to drag.


You can also "relax", temporarily over-ride, constraints by cycling Control while editing. AutoCAD will advise of possible impacts/conflicts with other constraints and options to resolve them before completing the edit.