As the GSA and other government agencies pursue BIM to support and even revolutionize project delivery from early planning through design, construction and facility management, how do you know you’re getting your money’s worth?

Being an Arizona native, I really like this new LASSO selection method for a quick round up of those stray little doggies, (or entities in this case).

If you regularly use Dropbox or Google Drive, then you’ll appreciate the benefits of storing and sharing your files from the cloud.

But my CAD files are too big you say? True, free instances of commercially available cloud storage software will limit the amount of storage space you can use. But now there’s an alternative – and its custom designed for design files.

Just over five years ago, very few transportation engineers had even heard of Autodesk, but today more and more DOT agencies are adopting its software. But why are they making the change now? Cost savings, better workflows, and more have a lot to do with it.

The latest state to adopt Autodesk technologies is New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT)

Do you have training budget that you need to spend before the end of your fiscal year (June 30 for state agencies and September 30 for the feds)? Then you might want to consider locking down an advance pass for Autodesk University 2014 (AU).

That’s right, if you sign up between now and August 19 you could save up to $600 on a three day pass to AU 2014. Each pass comes with a code that you can use between August 20-26 to pick your preferred classes, events and accommodation at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas – before registration opens to the masses.

What are the most common complaints of a CAD draftsman? What prompts a DOT to switch to Autodesk?

These and other stories are featured in this week’s CAD News & Tips for Govies -  a weekly feature on Acronym that scans thousands of industry articles to present you with a regular source of CAD and GIS news, tips, events, and ideas that impact the public sector:

Common Workplace Complaints of a Draftsman (and solutions to fix them)

When you're responsible for managing transportation infrastructure, field personnel and vehicles, having up-to-date information about locations and status is mission critical. To optimize resource coordination, central operations must be able to pinpoint infrastructure, assets, and employees. And communication channels must be strong to keep field workers and headquarters staff on the same page.

Here’s just a few ways that transportation agencies are using Google Solutions:

Want to be more efficient? Lynn Allen’s 60 AutoCAD Tips in 60 Minutes Will Help!

If you want gain insight to help you become more efficient on the job, then be sure to join long-time Cadalyst contributing editor and Autodesk Technical Evangelist, Lynn Allen, as she guides you through features in the newest version of AutoCAD. Lynn will be a special guest at the upcoming government breakfast event, hosted by Acronym sponsor, DLT Solutions and CADD Microsystems, on June 26 in the Washington. D.C. Metro area.

Key new enhancements to Navisworks 2015 will enable the construction professional to generate takeoffs of both 2D and 3D objects in Quantification, for the development of cost estimates and bill of materials. New settings in Autodesk Rendering improve performance with creating photorealistic images.

Select 2D and 3D Views from an Integrated Project Browser