You can now download a completely functional 30 day trial version of the newly released AutoCAD 2014. Take the 28th AutoCAD release for a test drive no strings attached. Read more →

The AutoCAD 2014 and the AutoCAD LT 2014 Preview Guides in PDF format are a nice highlight of the new releases written by Autodesk’s very own Heidi Hewett. The Preview Guide is like an exceptionally nice cliff notes guide for the new product releases under 30 pages, but not a 700+ page complete how to use the product. Read more →

This list will be updated as I find and am sent more Autodesk 2014 product news posts from the blogosphere. Please feel free to Email Me or post your link in the comments and I will add them to the list. Read more →

So you have just heard about AutoCAD 2014 and looking to purchase or upgrade, one of your first questions are is “does my current system meet the system requirements?” Below are the system requirements for AutoCAD 2014 but like anything it all depends on what type of data you work with. If you do small 2D work then you have less system horsepower. But if you work with large files and especially 3D then the system requirements really should be considered the minimum to get good performance and stability. Read more →

You can watch the recording event that was live from the Autodesk Gallery at One Market in San Francisco just an hour ago. Autodesk’s Amar Hanspal Senior Vice President, Information Modeling & Platform Products Group announced and showed some of the new Autodesk 2014 product & suites. http://youtu.be/w-kxV8C4xro Read more →

Yes its true! Drawing Tabs are now part of the core AutoCAD 2014 product and now named File Tabs. History: Back on Halloween (31 October 2006) I posted on this blog a Bonus Tool named Drawing Tabs also MDITabs. The Bonus Tool was very very popular and when some API versions changed in AutoCAD I would have to make calls encouraging someone to please assign a developer to update it. We re-released it several times for new versions until we added it to the Autodesk App Exchange last year for AutoCAD 2013. But now it is built right into AutoCAD 2014 as File Tabs. Thank you AutoCAD Team for incorporating this. Read more →

Please join us for the special live events on Facebook, LiveStream, and the Autodesk Area. www.facebook.com/autodesk and www.livestream.com/autodesk image“It is often the arrival of a new tool that opens our minds to new opportunities we would have never imagined before. New tools not only make it possible to do new things, they also expand our vision of what could be. We will soon be announcing our 2014 portfolio of tools for design, engineering and entertainment and we invite you to join us for a special webcast on March 26 at 8am Pacific, 11am Eastern, 3pm UK and 4pm Europe to learn more and see the impact that Autodesk software is having across the industries we serve.” - The Role of Tools in Design blog post Also check out the 2 day celebration with the Unfold event featuring Autodesk’s 2014 Animation Software tools. http://area.autodesk.com/2014unfold Read more →

As I mentioned on my Twitter account (@ShaanHurley) Friday, Autodesk’s own digital mad scientist or researcher in the Office of the CTO Brian Pene created a 3D rigged character using the new Project Pinocchio technology preview from Autodesk Labs and stepped it up a few levels. He took the rigged character he created and using a Xbox 360 Kinect & FaceShift was able to control the character in Autodesk Maya live in real-time. What a great way to read a bedtime stories to your young kids and give them deep dark nightmares. Read more →

A colleague of mine has to the eye doctor today, and I sent him the YouTube video link to comedian Brian Regan’s Eye Doctor sketch. I thought I would share it with all of you for laughs so you can spit coffee, soda, tea, or water on your screen this Friday. http://youtu.be/v8GMFkc3iSA Don’t worry it is safe for viewing at work or by kids. Read more →

How can you update and re-path AutoCAD drawing reference files such as other drawing files, fonts, or plot configuration files after a path has changed without launching AutoCAD? Use the stand alone Reference Manager AutoCAD drawings can reference several types of external files including other drawings (XRefs), images, fonts, images, PDF, DWF, DGN underlays, and plot configurations. The paths to these referenced files are saved in each AutoCAD drawing. Read more →

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, today was the first official day of Spring. The vernal equinox apparently occurred (autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere) with the sun’s position, but not necessarily resulting in an instant nice weather... Read more →

If you work in 3D animation you know that character creation and rigging is not easy. Currently in Autodesk Labs we have a new technology that helps you create and rig characters that you can use for free. Read more →

Did you know that if you purchase wither AutoCAD 2013 for Windows or AutoCAD for Mac 2013 you can activate both using the same license? Yes you can use same license to activate both (2 machines in 12 month period). The same goes for AutoCAD Product Suites. Read more →

Many say with the time change to Daylight Savings you should check your fire & smoke detectors, that is a great idea. Equally as important to many with tons of data, documents, design files, photo memories and basically our digital lives is to take the time and make sure you are backing your data up, and reliably. Backup methods fail sometimes faster than a Vegas wedding, so double and triple check your backup methods and I possible don’t reply on just one as that can fail. You should be doing these things more than twice a year with the time change but twice a year is better than never as both can cause memories to go up in flames. Read more →

In this example I am using AutoCAD for Mac 2013 but it is also applicable to AutoCAD for Windows. AutoCAD Drawing with Hatched Area So you have an area of a drawing in AutoCAD that is closed and has a Hatch pattern applied. What you want is an easy updated way to show the area in text even when the area hatched is changed. No problem use an AutoCAD Field. Read more →

The announcement was just made by MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis in Austin Texas speaking at SXSW 2013 and the Autodesk press release just went live announcing Autodesk and MakerBot will be partnering to provide 3D design software and 3D printing hardware to engineers, designers, architects, makers, creators, and artists. Read more →

The reintroduction of Autodesk T-Splines Plug-in for Rhino and discussion on a new version 4 coming was discussed in a recent live webcast. You may remember T-Splines (my friends in nearby Provo Utah) were acquired back in November of 2011 and Autodesk stated at the time they would continue supporting non-Autodesk products which T-Splines was developed for. Since that time updates have been released and a renewed effort for new versions has been announced. image Catch up on T-Splines with the recent webcast by Autodesk T-Splines Product Manager Matt Sederberg and Autodesk CEO Carl Bass. This is another frank and honest discussion by Carl on design software tools and his actual use of the tools. Read more →

Have you ever ended up with two drawings of the same name, just different time stamps on the file or an added suffix on the file name? Perhaps another team member was trying to be helpful (or not) and edited the file and you need to know what changed? Lucky for you there is an Autodesk App for that, and FREE. Read more →

More concrete proof that the Autodesk Labs project feedback you provide feedback on can propel them into a real product, feature, or technology. Autodesk Labs Project Geppetto from last year that was a really huge hit and great to demo is making it into the core 3ds Max product as it is shown in a 3ds Max 2014 sneak peek video. It has evolved even more than the Autodesk Labs project and now named 3ds Max Populate feature. You can create autonomous random characters to populate your 3ds Max animation scene providing much more realism by having natural acting crowds following paths and interacting. Read more →

Autodesk has released a short video on the role of design from the perspective of some visionaries: Mickey McManus - CEO of MAYA design Eve Blossom - Founder Lulan Artisans Christine Furstoss - Global Technology Director, Manufacturing & Materials Technologies.... Read more →

If you develop customization or apps for AutoCAD please take a few minutes and provide your feedback on the AutoCAD Developer Documentation Survey. The team is looking for your feedback to help prioritize topics. Read more →