Beyond the Paper

Stop the Pop Up Windows!

Using Autodesk Design Review 2009, you notice that a Markup Properties window opens up and obscures the viewing area once you have created a text markup and click to finish.

Can this be turned off? Absolutely!

You can prevent the properties window (or any other windows) from popping up automatically, by adding a registry key:

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor (regedit.exe)
2. Navigate to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\Design Review\Preferences\User Interface" (or "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\AppDataLow\Software\Autodesk\Design Review\Preferences\User Interface" if you are on Vista)
3. Go to menu Edit > New > DWORD value.
4. Name it  "Disable Auto Open Palettes".
5. Double click on it and set the value to be 1.

Note: If you need the properties window to come back, you can delete this key or click Window > Properties > Markup in Autodesk Design Review 2009.

The key can, at this point, not be set selectively and it is "all or nothing". You need to manually hide/show the palettes that you require, once the registry key is set.

Another way to change the behavior without modifying the registry settings (and to change the behavior of all palettes), is to undock the palettes that auto-display.

For example, if your users are applying markups to 2D sheets, suggest they undock the grouped Properties palettes and the Markups palette and place them either on the desktop on another monitor or below the main Design Review window.

To undock a palette, click the palette title bar and drag the palette to the desired location.

The caveat, for embedded mode users, is that undocked palette placement isn't 'sticky' like it is for stand-alone ADR users. In embedded mode, your users would need to create a custom workspace that had the offending palettes moved away... and they'd have to activate that workspace each time a DWF file is opened in the embedded viewer.

--Volker

Rotate Sheet DWF fails to open correctly

Many users take advantage of the newly introduced "page rotate" feature in Autodesk Design Review 2009.

However, some noticed that the same file, once rotated in Autodesk Design Review 2009 and saved, does not open correct when attempting to open it using Autodesk Design Review 2008 instead.

First and foremost, this feature is - at this point - not backward compatible, and files can only be expected to display correctly once the user sticks with Autodesk Design Review 2009.

That said, one would expect that the earlier version, Autodesk Design Review 2008, shows a message of some form or another. I believe that our design team is now working on the same.

Here are steps for those of you that are interested to duplicate the issue:

1. Open a 2D DWF file (or image) in Autodesk Design Review 2009.
2. Rotate the 2D sheet clockwise or counter clockwise.
3. Save and close.
4. Open this saved file using Autodesk Design Review 2008.

Result: Autodesk Design Review 2008 opens the rotated sheet without message, and the view is not correct, with contents separated by a sheet page.

--Volker

Quick Switching Causes Crash with embedded ADR

We have identified an issue whereas customers of Autodesk® Productstream® Professional 2008, Autodesk® Productstream® 2008 or Autodesk® Vault 2008 experience a problem with the embedded viewer, currently being Autodesk Design Review 2008. The problem occurs when previewing files or when switching quickly between different views in the embedded viewer.

This matter arises no matter whether customer have applied the SP1 to Autodesk Design Review 2008 or not.

Our development teams have created a HotFix to address the issue and it can be downloaded here.

--Volker

Save custom views in DWF using Autodesk Design Review

Ever wondered how you could switch off selected layers and save the DWF file in that state? For instance, you want to send on the file to somebody else, with specific layers turned off.

You can create a custom view and save the DWF with the custom view.  Setup your layers, open the views palette and through the right-click menu on My Views, you can create a view.  Ask the recipient of the files to open the custom view and they will see the layer states you intended.

Here is how it works step by step:

1. Arrange the items on the canvas and set the view the way you want it to be saved.
   Important: Saving to My Views is the only way to save Layer, Move and Rotate, and Cross Section views.
2. On the Views palette title bar, click the Palette Options button   and choose Save View.
   The selected view will be saved under My Views as My View 1. Additional views will be saved as My View 2, My View 3, and so on.

You can rename saved views as desired.

--Volker

Admin versus non-Admin installs for Autodesk Design Review

The Extended Design Group is investigating as to whether we should continue to offer non-Admin and Admin installs for the Autodesk Design Review application in the future or whether we should offer it with Admin install only.

Many organizations have moved away from non-Admin installs but we are well aware that there are users out there who would prefer it if we continue to offer it the way we have been.

We would greatly appreciate it if you could find a few minutes and share your thoughts and/or concerns on the subject by replying to this post or by emailing me directly at volker.joseph@autodesk.com, should you prefer to remain anonymous.

Thank you.
Volker Joseph
EDG Beta Manager

3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit - one click DWF sharing

In my It's Alive in the Lab article on the 3D/2D Share Now Add-in for AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit, I depicted how a design can be easily published to Project Freewheel from AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit.

This is as simple as one click. With the traditional method of using Project Freewheel, first you need to publish your design to DWF, select a file name, and save it to your local hard drive. Then you invoke your browser, navigate to the Project Freewheel site, click on Freewheel File->Open, and select your local file. With 3D/2D ShareNow: you don’t need to export to a local file; you don’t need to come up with a file name; you don’t need to figure out how to get a published file on a web site. Instead you share designs without emailing big PDF or DWF files. Since the design is stored once on the Project Freewheel web server, only a URL needs to be emailed and shared. Everything about the process is much more efficient.

Once you have uploaded your design to Project Freewheel, it is time to collaborate.

Typically the design application user starts a real time collaboration sharing session. The others join. All see the same view of the design in their browsers. Then the fun begins.

Many of you have used tools like WebEx. Perhaps you have fussed with "who's driving?" with clicking on buttons to transfer session control from one user to another? Project Freewheel is based on a phone conversation model. Both people can talk at the same time but rarely do. People take turns. Such is the case with real-time collaboration sessions with Project Freewheel. Any participant can pan or zoom. Any participant can make a markup. Any participant can delete a markup. We assume people are going to play nice. Is the result chaos? Or ease of use bliss? Please tell us what you think: Labs.Freewheel@autodesk.com.

One click collaboration makes DWF go way beyond the paper.

--Scott

CER or "Customer Error Reporting" Explained

Customer Error Reporting (CER)

Autodesk software products are known for their high quality. But even the best software contains software defects that may occasionally cause your system to close unexpectedly. When a software error occurs, Autodesk’s Customer Error Reporting (CER) makes it easy for you to send the details of the software error to Autodesk for analysis.

CER Workflow Diagram

This diagram provides an overview of how Customer Error Reporting works.

How CER Works

The Customer Error Report dialog box appears whenever the Autodesk product you are using closes unexpectedly. If you choose to send an error report to Autodesk, the CER feature records the portion of program that was in use when the error occurred, the recent command history, and basic system information. In addition, you can include your e-mail address and a step-by-step description in the report. The customer error report is sent to Autodesk over a secure internet connection.

When Autodesk receives the error report, automated systems sort the reports so that Autodesk developers can review them. Reports are then analyzed and errors are prioritized based on their severity and the number of customers affected by a problem.

Once a software error is believed to be fixed, it is included in either a future maintenance update or the next release of the product. Autodesk also notifies those customers who initially reported the error and included their email address in the customer error report.

Why does Autodesk ask for my email address?

Your e-mail address is used by Autodesk to notify you if your error is addressed in a maintenance update. For software errors that require further information, software developers may need to collect additional information from you about your system. Including your e-mail address in the customer error report gives Autodesk a way to directly contact you to ask additional questions. You can view the Autodesk Privacy Policy to see how Autodesk treats your information.

What Information Is Collected

The Customer Error Report feature collects and sends the following information as part of the error reporting process:

• Operating system name and version
• Autodesk product name, version, and serial number
• Graphics configuration driver name and version
• List of applications loaded when an error occurs
• List of recent Autodesk commands
• Portion of Autodesk program in memory when an error occurs

In addition to the above information, you may choose to include the following optional information:

• E-mail address: if provided by the customer in the Customer Error Report dialog box
• Step-by-step description of the error: if provided by the customer in the Customer Error Report dialog box
• Computer name: if enabled with the Deployment wizard or the CAD Manager Control utility

How data is Transmitted & Stored

When you send a customer error report to Autodesk, it is sent in an encrypted form over the internet. When Autodesk receives the information, security technologies and procedures protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure.

Note: If your personal and confidential information is in the system memory when the software error occurs, it may be sent to Autodesk with the error report. If you have read the Autodesk privacy policy and you still have concerns about personal or confidential information being sent to Autodesk, please do not send the customer error report.

--Volker

TeamDWF: McDwiff Means Mac Users get DWF too

Randall Newton has a positive review of McDwiff on the TeamDWF site:

McDwiff Means Mac Users get DWF too

McDwiff uses API calls to Autodesk Freewheel to render design data. You get the smooth user interface of a Macintosh application with Autodesk technology for processing DWF files. So you know the rendering of the design data is accurate. The quote at the end of the TeamDWF article sums it up: "McDwiff is great to use, fast, easy, simple – and it works. Thumbs up."

Check it out. Also see http://www.macdwf.com/.

--Scott

Autodesk Design Review Performance Issues

We are well aware that this particular subject is very high on all user's mind. However, we did make some progress and Autodesk Design Review 2008 overall performance improved significantly when compared to Autodesk Design Review 2007.

That, of course, does only cover a number of possible use cases, files and everything else related to this tricky subject. Our engineering team still has some distance to go and we are working very hard to get it closer aligned to everybody's expectations.

If you wish, you may share any issues you find or even submit your use case to us. That would allow us to include the data into our QA process and make sure that we do improve in the right areas. Please send me a direct email, should you prefer to keep this information away from public view.

I found that switching off the hardware acceleration improved the application's speed and overall performance, especially when it comes to larger files or 3D related viewing. One example being, Autodesk Design Review 2008 fails to open a  complex 89MB file, but opens it just fine, once hardware acceleration has been disabled.

Here are the steps to do so:

• Right click on your desktop and select "Properties"

• Select the "Settings" tab
• Choose the "Advanced" button

• Select the "Troubleshoot" tab
• Adjust the "Hardware Acceleration" slider to your liking

• This method works for all Windows Operating Systems and graphic boards.

I will provide another update when available.

--Volker

Autodesk Design Review Video

Software Solutions Evangelist Brian Pene created this very cool video titled:

"See how Autodesk Design Review goes beyond 2D markup and measure, allowing full connectivity and access to even the most complex 3D CAD models and designs. Collaboration and communication around CAD designs and data has never been easier!"

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3977183848551098237&pr=goog-sl&hl=en

The video is also available as a download through here.

Enjoy the show!

--Volker