The Fate of Autodesk Design Review Revealed

When Autodesk released AutoCAD 2014 it did not come with Design Review.  None of the 2014 line of products came with Design Review in it did in the past.  That left many of us asking why?  Then when we found out that Autodesk was not updating Design Review 2013 we became fearful that this was the last version we would ever see.  Autodesk 360 was getting pushed hard and many of us that use Design Review feared the worst.  Then one day in a user asked the Autodesk Discussion groups if Design Review was dead.  Here is the link to the discussion that is now nine pages long.

Many users discussed it, the evidence (as mentioned above) and speculated on what might be happening to this great tool.  Then somewhere on page four an Autodesk Program Manager made this statement, “Thank you for the question. I am not here to delude anyone. If you want an electronic review process, given the current state of Autodesk 360, Autodesk Design Review is still the way to go. But the original question was is Design Review being discontinued, and the answer is yes, it will eventually be replaced by Autodesk 360. Until that time, the 2013 version is available for download from the Autodesk site and works with the 2014 product line since the DWF format did not change.”

Needless to say many of us responded in an excited manner and the discussion continued.

AutoCAD WS Changes its name to AutoCAD 360 and goes PRO!

Autodesk has released a new version of AutoCAD WS and has implemented several changes to their mobile CAD product.  First off, AutoCAD WS has a new name.  From henceforth it shall be called “AUTOCAD 360”!!  That makes sense.  It goes along with the rest of Autodesk’s cloud based 360 branding.  The WS, according to Autodesk, never actually stood for anything anyway.  (I always suspected it either stood for Web Service or that the URL was available so they went with it.)  The other big change is that there are now three versions of AutoCAD 360; free, Pro, and Pro Plus.  The free version will essentially look and feel like what we have been using these past few years.  The Pro and Pro Plus versions will require a monthly subscription but provide more storage space, more tools and better support.

AutoCAD WS now Supports AutoCAD Civil 3D Drawings!

According to the AutoCAD WS Blog (http://www.autocadws.com/blog), Autodesk’s mobile CAD program, AutoCAD WS, now supports Civil3D drawings.  According to the blog, all AutoCAD WS platforms, web, mobile, and mac, support Civil3D drawings.

The AutoCAD WS web platform doesn't seem to be handling my Civil3D drawings yet.

I’m waiting to hear back from Autodesk with more information.  I will let you know when I hear more.

UPDATE:
Everything seems to be working after further testing.  I had to upload all reference files and data source files first.  User error there on my part. If you have any more difficulty viewing the files make sure the setting PROXYGRAPHICS is set to "1" which turns it on.  In the mobile app platforms of AutoCAD WS you can change your viewing settings to 3D solids.  This displays the Civil3D objects quite well.  Especially any surfaces that you may have.

AutoCAD 2013: The Welcome Screen

This is the first post in a series at looking at the newest release of AutoCAD; AutoCAD 2013.  This article will take a look at the Welcome Screen.

Autodesk changed the welcome screen in AutoCAD 2013.  No surprise there; it seems to change every release.  The welcome screen is the first thing you see when AutoCAD starts up.  I don’t mean the splash screen I mean the screen that pops up (some would say intrusively) and has lots of buttons for you to click on.  I wanted to take a moment and talk about it.

The welcome screen has three main columns: Work, Learn, and Extend.  Each column contains bits of information and links that will take you away to magical places.  Ok, not really, but sort of.

Autodesk Announces New Cloud Service – Autodesk BIM 360

Autodesk announced and released a new Cloud Based service today called Autodesk BIM 360. Autodesk BIM 360 includes a set of services that provide cloud based access to BIM project information throughout the project’s lifecycle. Autodesk BIM 360 will work with several of Autodesk’s BIM solutions including Autodesk Building Design Suite and Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite.

"Cloud-connected workflows are giving our customers worldwide a better way to work with colleagues across their organizations and with business partners, clients and stakeholders,” said Amar Hanspal, Autodesk senior vice president, information modeling products.

Autodesk’s Acquisition of Vela Systems Means Nothing

Autodesk announced today that they have acquired Vela Systems.  (See the press release here.) Vela Systems provides field management software for construction.  They have partnered with Autodesk for some time now and, like many other software providers, they are now a part of the Autodesk family (see the history of Revit.)  This acquisition is a great one for Autodesk.  Vela’s software is a fantastic fit with what Autodesk has been trying to do this past year.  Autodesk has created Autodesk 360, a cloud sharing and setting syncing service, Autodesk PLM 360, http://www.autodeskplm360.com , a cloud based Project Lifecycle Management system, and their integration of these services in their 2013 product release.  Vela is all about BIM (Building Information Modeling) and can be applied, or made to be applicable, to most any construction project.

Autodesk releases Hotfix for Autodesk 360 Sync Error

Autodesk released a Hotfix for those that are having constant Autodesk 360 Sync errors.  If you are using (or have used) Autodesk 360 (Autodesk’s cloud storage and settings syncing service) then you are probably getting an annoying error.  All of the time.  I am.