After five weeks of travel and Autodesk University I am happy the Autodesk's annual week of rest has arrived for the holidays. It has been an amazing year and I look forward to an amazing 2014 ahead. Time for me to go out and play in the fresh snow in the mountains. Happy Holidays, Be safe, and Thank You for reading Between the Lines, Shaan Read more →

I have uploaded my photos from last weeks Autodesk University 2013 to the Flickr AU 2013 Group. In addition to seeing what I have uploaded you can see other's photos, and also add your AU2013 images to share with anyone for free. http://www.flickr.com/groups/au2013/ Read more →

It has always been a pleasure to publish a guest post from someone in the Autodesk community. It helps the guest author get more visibility among peers as well as shares some valuable knowledge with the readers of this Between the Lines blog, a win – win for everyone. This guest post is by Jim LaPier - blog www.macncad.com. Jim has been an AutoCAD and AutoCAD for Mac expert with his job using AutoCAD and supporting it. In AutoCAD 2014, a new tab bar was added to the drawing interface. This tab system allows for simple and quick drawing switching and also added the convenience of opening the parent folder of the current AutoCAD for Mac 2014 - Open File Locationdrawing. This may seam like a simple addition but it is one I’ve welcomed with open arms. At one point I even added a lisp routine to my AutoCAD setup that allowed me to accomplish this, so I was quite happy that by simply right-clicking on the tab, you can choose “Open File Location” and an explorer window will open at the files location. Why so happy you might ask? Most firms I’ve worked for use a fairly expansive series of folders to manage their projects. When I’m working in a drawing I often need to look at other files pertaining to the dwg file. pdf’s, images of the site, Excel bill of materials, etc. An option like this makes it so much easier than opening Explorer and navigating from Read more →

At Autodesk University last week the winning team of the Autodesk Design & Make contest was selected by the audience as Autodesk CEO Carl Bass and Autodesk CTO Jeff Kowalski couldn't reach a consensus on the winning team. The Design & Make contest was Autodesk employees using our Autodesk 360 product internally to collaborate and using Autodesk products to design and build a project in a short time. The finalists were shown all week at Autodesk University. Read more →

During last weeks Autodesk University 2013 Closing Session Amar Hanspal Senior VP of IPG Product Group introduced Moon Express and their co-founder and CEO Dr. Bob Richards. Moon Express is building a spacecraft to land on the moon. You should definitely watch the Closing Session to see what Moon express is planning to do, and will do. Read more →

Thought I would share my funny and a bit embarrassing story from last week for everyone to have a midweek laugh at my expense. Last week at Autodesk University in Las Vegas I got caught speechless while getting my shoes shined before a reception. I figured I needed to look my best. I should have done it earlier before a lunch with Carl Bass or sitting on a technology panel in front of a crowd and I will tell you why. I went to AU with two pairs of dress shoes and both were similar in looks. I would have shined them myself but I did not have a shoe shine kit and a very nice guy was in the convention center so it just made sense to sit down for a couple minutes and get a shine and some great conversation. So I sat down and was getting a nice shoeshine done and the nice guy shining my shoes looks to me and said "sir, do you have two pairs of dress shoes". I thought "this is amazing, Vegas is full of magicians and psychics". So I asked him how did he know, he said "well you have one of each on your feet." My brain went Pffffft..... And at just that moment of panic an Autodesk colleague Severin Wille pops in and captures a photo of me. Read more →

While writing your own software or apps, or even coding your own web page is not for everyone it is for some a very enjoyable hobby or career. The Hour of Code for the Computer Science Education Week is designed to expose people to coding or programming in hopes some may find it as their calling. In life we need to be exposed to a little bit of everything especially when we are young to help find our passion, talent, and where we fit in. Those who know me know that I am a huge supporter of getting more young people involved in design, engineering, math, and science. So here is an opportunity to expose someone to computer science which is mainly logic and math but a great career with many opportunities and fun. Read more →

Sign up to participate in the Navisworks beta testing program. You can get a preview of a future release and provide your feedback. Read more →

I have been trying to post this for the past two days, but the cold freeze in the Western United States has apparently froze Internet tubes preventing it. Actually I have been traveling four weeks ending with Autodesk University last week so I am catching up on email and other items this week before my next trip starts. I hope you have recovered from AU 2013 and all the great things you experienced and learned and will try to implement in your office or teach others, follow up with the people you met, and consider new things you thought about and hopefully provoked by a class, keynote, or an innovation forum. Read more →

Another Autodesk University is over and thousands of attendees are traveling home except some that are staying for the weekend or delayed by weather.I arrived back in my home city to snow and cold weather but I knew it was post AU travel day as there were 3 people discussing AutoCAD Xrefs with dimensions and also how amazing Autodesk InfraWorks is before they realized I was standing behind them. It was cool to eavesdrop and hear how charged up they were about AU and what they had learned. Read more →

It is the morning of the final day of Autodesk University, and it is a cold one at 30 degrees in Las Vegas. The high temperature today is expected to be the record lowest high temperature for Las Vegas at 41 degrees. I bet the palm trees had you fooled that it was tropical weather here. I hope you brought a jacket if you expect to step out of the convention center to see the sun and get some fresh air. AU Thursday at a Glance: Classes & Labs 8am – 11:30pm Autodesk Design & Make Contest Judging by Autodesk CEO Carl Bass and CTO Jeff Kowalski Lunch 11:30am – 1pm Classes & Labs 1pm – 3:45pm Closing Session 4:30pm – 5:30pm Customer Appreciation Party 5:30pm – 8:30pm I hope those attending Autodesk University here are enjoying their final day of excellent classes, networking, and preparing themselves for an amazing finale of the Closing Keynote with Autodesk's Amar Hanspal, Autodesk senior VP of IPG Product Group and a special performance by Penn & Teller and then the AU Customer Appreciation Party. Some advice, pace yourself and don't wear yourself out and go wild since it is the last day and instead savor every last minute. By now you have learned a great deal to take back to your office and made many new connections to use after Autodesk University official closes. We do hope Autodesk University exceeded all your expectations and blew the minds of the 1200 attendees that said it was their first time at AU. Cheers, Read more →

Check out the massive Exhibit Hall at Autodesk University. There are Autodesk booths with product team members available as well a hundreds of Autodesk partners with amazing technology to show you as well as some freebies. Worth a great view... Read more →

Penn & Tellers performance at Autodesk University 2013 was a Smashing Hit (literally) Tuesday! For a full Penn & Teller show be sure to attend or watch online the Closing Session "Lets Get This Party Started." Thursday, 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Start off AU 2013’s fantastic finale with Amar Hanspal, Autodesk senior VP of IPG Product Group. This high-energy session ties together this year's ideas and trends and sends you on your way to an exciting year of creating and innovating. Read more →

Be sure to attend an Innovation Forum at Autodesk University. The Innovation Forums have been a real hit in past years and this year it is no exception. If you are unable to attend due to a class conflict or you are not attending at least watch the online recording of the Innovation Forums. Read more →

Earlier today the Autodesk University Opening Keynote Address "the Answer is Outside" was delivered to over 7000 people in attendance and many more watching over the web. Read more →

I have started uploading some images from this weeks Autodesk University 2013 to a Flickr AU 2013 Group. In addition to seeing what I have uploaded you can see other's photos, and also add your AU2013 images to share with... Read more →

Today is the first day of Autodesk University 2013! It all kicks off off with breakfast with a few thousand of your peers, classes, then the Opening Keynote. We have a seat ready for you for the #AU2013 Opening Keynote... Read more →

Last night the Blogger and Social Media Meetup aka BSM360 was held here at Autodesk University 2013. About 190 people attended the event to network with others and get ready for the first big day of Autodesk University 2013. Read more →

Autodesk University 2013 doesn't officially kick off until tomorrow Tuesday December 3rd, but some pre-conference events and meetings started yesterday. I arrived early yesterday and the CAVE conference held a welcome exhibit and mixer. A few images from the CAVE... Read more →

Here are some helpful tips of Autodesk University attendees this week: Read more →