The Mad Cadder

Top 3 free apps from Autodesk that every CAD Manager must have.

As a Application Specialist for SolidCAD (www.solidcad.ca) I deal with CAD Managers from many different firms. It has come to my attention that most CAD managers are so engulfed in maintenance and troubleshooting of the CAD systems, they do not take the time to investigate what applications are out there that can help them coup.

There are 3 free applications from Autodesk that a CAD manager will find very handy and resourceful. Below I have listed the must haves:

1 -DWG TrueView

For those employs that want to view and plot only and not make any changes, Autodesk offers a free DWG viewer called DWG TrueView .

2 - Autodesk Design Review

To reduce paper markups, this innovative tool from Autodesk allows a user to import a DWG or DWF, redline the drawing and then produce a DWF file that can imported into any Autodesk software like AutoCAD. The Autodesk Design Review is the old Volo View or DWF Viewer.

3 - DWG TrueConvert

Because there are many firms out there that are still running R14 or 2000 format of AutoCAD, Autodesk has created a DWG batch converter called DWG TrueConvert. This smart little app can be used to determine the current version of any DWG or convert any DWG to previous versions.

ENHANCING CAD DRAWINGS WITH PHOTOSHOP

If anyone is interested in learning how to improve their CAD drawings using Photoshop there is a very intuitive and easy to understand book available on the market. The book is called, "Enhancing CAD Drawings with Photoshop" by Scott Onstott.

The book first takes you through the basic concepts and tools of Photoshop. After, you learn to apply these new skills to your CAD drawings using easy to follow tutorials.

If you are interested in the book and want more information you can visit the following site: http://www.sybex.com/sybexbooks.nsf/booklist/4386

DWF Viewer

Adobe may have PDF, but Autodesk has DWF and it's better...for drawings.

Sharing Autdesk drawings has become simple, just make a DWF (Design Web Format)!

DWF is a file format similar to PDF but specifically used for Autodesk files. You can PUBLISH or PLOT a drawing as a DWF and send it to anyone. You do not need AutoCAD to read a DWF file. All you need is the Autodesk DWF Viewer. The DWF Viewer is a free download from Autodesk.

To download the application click here: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?id=3023925&siteID=123112&GP=IL13872

Batch Drawing Converter

Since the release of AutoCAD 2004, you no longer had the capability to SAVE AS Release 14 AutoCAD format. This was a decision made by Autodesk to persuade legacy users to upgrade their R14 version of the program. Those user who did upgrade were complaining that they could no longer convert drawings for those users that never made the switch.

Therefore, Autodesk has released DWG TrueConvert. This is a free application that can be downloaded directly from the Autodesk Website. It is used to convert AutoCAD drawing files (.DWG) to legacy formats like 2000 or R14. It is a very useful tool if you were to ever receive drawings created in AutoCAD 2004 or 2005 that had not been converted to 2000 format.

The Batch Drawing Converter is a separate program. AutoCAD does not need to be open to use this application. After installation, go to the START menu --> Programs-->Autodesk-->Migration Tools-->Batch Drawing Converter.

Once in the application, ADD all the DWG files you need to convert, choose the appropriate conversion (R14 or 2000) and click on the CONVERT button. That's it!

To download the application click here: DWG TrueConvert