It’s that time of year again, winter is upon us and public works and transportation agencies are looking at ways to keep a close tab on salt supplies. Shortages are a common occurrence. Unexpected storms and unpredictable snowfall amounts can wreak havoc with salt supplies.

Civil 3D users always seem to have the need to batch export drawings for one reason or another. Years ago, there was the Pack n Go routine which would grab all dependent files and such and package everything up into a zip file. Obviously, this has been replaced by the E-Transmit routine. I had discovered issues with E-Transmit that had me looking at other alternatives. Some of the issues included not saving all files back to the format I specified as well as keeping settings and styles in the exported drawings and not stripping them out.

By now, you’ve heard more than you could have imagined about the possibilities of BIM for structural engineering. You might even be convinced of the benefits: intelligent models, auto-generating floor plans and sections, and better collaboration with stakeholders. But how do you actually get started?

Last year, Autodesk announced some major changes that will impact a lot of its software users very soon.

Beginning February 1^st, users will no longer be able to enjoy discounted pricing on new software releases. Instead, if you want to upgrade to the latest releases (coming this spring), you’ll have to pay full price for a new license.

If you are like most people, the first time you opened your AutoCAD 2015 the first thing you probably did is start closing all of the palettes that popped up on your screen, (like everyone did with AutoCAD 2014 and so on) to get it back to the way old way you are used too. That’s typical human behavior. So I figure it is my job to explain what that palette you closed does. From there you can make the decision whether you think that this is something you feel could be useful in your normal everyday workflow to help communication with your Coworkers, Clients, Consultants or Contractors.

Happy 2015! And what better way to kick off the year than with Lynn Allen and her always awesome and useful AutoCAD tips and tricks.

Lucky for us, Lynn is joining forces with our friends at Synergis Engineering Design Solutions to share her tips via a live webinar.

There are several enhancements of longstanding AutoCAD capabilities in the 2014 release. Features such as support for 3D printing and the command line were streamlined and significantly enhanced in AutoCAD 2014, so that they were easier to use and integrated seamlessly into users’ workflow.

Here we are again, another New Year, another opportunity to look back and plan ahead!

We’ve published over 100 articles this year, featuring insights, tips, best practices and commentary on all aspects of public sector digital design. A big thank you goes out to our stable of guest bloggers and partners, including Line//Shape//Space, Synergis Engineering Design Systems, CADD Microsystems and CADSoft Consulting.

With all the 3D products available today, you might think that Autodesk is not investing in AutoCAD any more and that just isn’t true.  AutoCAD is the flagship product that has more users than any other because of its speed and recognizable interface. Today, with Desktop Subscription allowing purchasers to scale up or down their software needs easily, it is a great first step.

We all know that solving problems on our own isn't always practical. Sometimes you need help, or just somebody else to talk it over with. And you’ve probably also experienced the phenomenon that the best way to learn something yourself is to teach it to someone else. Put those two ideas together, and you’ve got a Revit user group. In-house discussions can be a great way to pool your team’s collective knowledge and expand your understanding through teaching.