Take Stock of Your Software 2

Back in October I blogged about a free downloadable utility to help you locate where your licenses are installed.  Well Autodesk is releasing the new version of this software asset management utility. This simple utility searches for Autodesk products installed on a network and identifies their location(s). Formerly known as Autodesk Product Manager (APM), this tool has been renamed Autodesk Asset Locator (AAL) and updated with many new features and enhancements, including:

• Support for 32-bit Windows 7 operating system
• Remote registry search for Windows 7
• 64-bit machines now supported
• Searches now include subnets

Autodesk Asset Locator will be included free of charge on the product media of many upcoming Autodesk products. Note: This product is subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies download of this software.

Action: The utility is available now for download from the following Autodesk License Compliance web page:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=10243574

Announcing Rev It Up for Green Renovation Energy Performance Promotion

From November 30, 2009, through April 18, 2010, customers will have the option of purchasing a license of Autodesk Ecotect Analysis 2010 software for US$995 when purchased with a qualifying AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite or AutoCAD Revit MEP Suite new license, crossgrade, or Subscription renewal.

Subscription for Autodesk Ecotect Analysis software is required to be eligible for promotional pricing. Autodesk Ecotect Analysis Subscription includes the Autodesk Green Building Studio web service, which helps architects and designers to conduct whole building energy analysis, optimize performance and efficiency, and achieve carbon neutrality earlier in the design process.

Online License Transfer in Autodesk 2010 Products

This video provides an overview of the Online License Transfer (OLT) feature that is available in the 2010 product releases.  This is useful when your are transferring your license from an old computer to a new computer.  By using the OLT, it eliminates the need to request a new activation from Autodesk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGoslbHh9n8 

Revit MEP - New US Content available via Subcription Center

New US content is now available for Revit MEP Subscription customers via the Subscription Center Website. The download is "US Content Extension for Autodesk Revit MEP 2010"

The US Content Extension for Autodesk Revit MEP 2010 software provides new content to help electrical engineers, drafters, and contractors create electrical designs and layouts for projects in the US and elsewhere. Contents include electrical devices for nurse call systems, fire safety, communications, security, and power.  Content is available in both imperial and metric units.

Webcast: Renovating for an Energy-Efficient Future

On Tuesday, December 8, at 1:00 PM EST, Autodesk is hosting a webcast on “Renovating for an Energy-Efficient Future.” This session focuses on Building Information Modeling (BIM) for renovation and building performance, and will show how BIM solutions can help in the creation and analysis of energy models that can determine the best designs for sustainability and efficiency – from all stakeholder perspectives.

This webcast is part of the Sustainable Design Webcast Series, and is registered with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for Continuing education credits. It qualifies for one Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW) and Sustainable Design (SD) credit.

Action: Register at www.autodesk.com/sustainable-webcasts. 

AutoCAD $500 New Seat Rebate Promotion

From November 2, 2009, through January 15, 2010, customers in the United States and Canada who purchase qualifying new commercial licenses of AutoCAD 2010 software may be eligible for a rebate of up to US$500 for each new license purchased after submitting an online request and providing proof of license purchase documentation. This offer is limited to a maximum of five seats total per customer invoice address.

Customers may review terms and conditions, answers to frequently asked questions, and submit their rebate information by visiting www.autodesk.com/autocadrebate.

Windows 7 Support for Autodesk products

The following products are supported on Microsoft Windows 7:

• AutoCAD 2010
• AutoCAD LT 2010
• AutoCAD Architecture 2010
• Autodesk Inventor 2010
• Autodesk Inventor LT 2010
• AutoCAD Electrical 2010
• AutoCAD Mechanical 2010
• AutoCAD MEP 2010
• Autodesk Algor Simulation 2010

Autodesk will support Windows 7 for most of its other products as updated versions of Autodesk products are released.

You may be able to use Windows 7 with an Autodesk product that is not listed above, however, Autodesk may not be able to resolve every issue encountered at this time.

The following issues have been identified with Windows 7 and are currently being researched for a potential fix in a future release:

AutoCAD and all AutoCAD-based vertical products:

• Infocenter balloons sometimes display blank
• Dragging Ribbon tabs sometimes crashes the product
• Encrypted files fail to open and save on Windows 7
• Open files do not appear on Windows 7 Jumplist
• Export to Impression functionality will not work because Autodesk Impression is not supported on Windows 7

AutoCAD Architectural 2010 and AutoCAD Mechanical 2010:

• Text in the Drafting Settings dialog overlaps radio buttons

Graphics Card Support for Windows 7:

Windows 7 is supported but not certified.  This means that Autodesk has not certified every card but we expect they should work with Windows 7 without issue. The certified driver versions for Vista 32 and Vista 64 should install and work with AutoCAD 2010.  The exception to this are the ATI FireGL and FirePro graphics cards and drivers for those cards should be downloaded from http://www.amd.com/us/Pages/AMDHomePage.aspx. If your NVIDIA drivers on Windows 7 are newer than 191.00, and your ATI drivers are newer than 8.634, hardware acceleration should be on by default.

Where's Waldo for Revit

Okay, okay, I know that a lot of you don't like the new Ribbon interface in Revit Architecture 2010 but I have to tell you, it is not going away anytime soon.  So you might as well stop fighting it and start learning it.  The following might help you fasttrack this learning curve.

If you are still wondering where to find the 2009 command buttons in the 2010 Ribbon style user-interface, care of “Revitize - A Revit Blog” there is a simple online utility that can help you understand where the 2009 commands are located in the 2010 product.  Goto:

Where's my command in Revit 2010

In the 2009 screen image click on a command item/icon that you would like to find in the 2010 user-interface and it will show you the proper Ribbon location in Revit 2010. Then click anywhere afterwards and you are returned the 2009 product screen.

Happy Ribboning.....

A Couple More Reason to be on Subscription

Check out: Uncovering the Revit Subscription Advantage Pack The Revit Update

More info on Subscription Advantage packs can be found at http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?id=14022754&siteID=123112 

And

 

Autodesk University (AU) Virtual allows you to stream select classes and content from AU 2009 directly to your desktop.  Here's how you can experience AU Virtual: AU Virtual Premier Pass – US$99 (Free to Autodesk Subscription customers) Includes full access to 50+ classes, keynotes and other premium content streamed live from AU in Las Vegas. Plus access up to 350 on-demand sessions post-event.

 

Register for AU Virtual

 

See how AU Virtual compares with the AU 2009 Conference in Las Vegas.

Take Stock of Your Software

The Autodesk Product Manager tool will determine the Autodesk software product you have and where it’s installed by locating:

• Product, version, and serial number
• Product language
• Network or stand-alone installation type
• Service pack level
• Installation location

Download the Autodesk Product Manager tool.

For detailed instructions, refer to the Autodesk Product Manager Tool guide.

Autodesk Product Manager Tool: A Step Guide for Conducting a Software Audit (pdf - 407Kb)

Note: Some products may not be located by the Autodesk Product Manager Tool.

Updates Available for Revit-Based Products

Update 2 for English-language versions of Revit 2010 products is now available for download. This update is for Revit Architecture 2010, Revit Structure 2010, and Revit MEP 2010 software.

Updates can be accessed via the downloads from the Services & Support pages on Autodesk.com. 

Revit MEP Sustainable Design Tutorial

Buildings account for the largest source of energy consumption and emissions in the world today. Governments and business are addressing this challenge with a range of new requirements for building systems. With these requirements, MEP designers and engineers need to develop practices that enable them to conform to the new specifications.

Autodesk MEP Engineering Solutions allow you to effectively incorporate sustainable design strategies into your workflow that allow you to more effectively conduct whole building energy analysis for new buildings and energy system retrofits.

In this series of presentations, you will learn how to use Autodesk MEP Engineering Solutions to perform accurate, time-saving operations that will help your team work faster and smarter.

To view the tutorial, go to: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/oc/offer/form?siteID=123112&id=13707515

Deals on NVIDIA Quadro by PNY Graphic Cards

Get up to 50% off a wide range of NVIDIA Quadro by PNY graphic cards

Product NVIDIA MSRP Promo Pricing FX 4800 $1,999 US $999 US FX 3800 $1,199 US $599 US FX 1800 $599 US $299 US FX 580 $199 US $99 US

Go to http://ecommerce.pny.com and enter promo code: 'AUSUBQFX' at checkout. Quantity limited to two (2) per customer. Offer expires on December 31, 2009 and is valid only in North America.

A Complimentary BIM Webcast

Check out this FREE Webcast from Reed Construction Data:

“Lessons in BIM Adoption” September 23, 2009  •  2:00 p.m. EDT  •  online webcast Learn about specific details and developments in adopting Building Information Modeling from any computer. Allow experts and analysts to give you insight on some do’s and don’ts of BIM. You'll hear directly from an architect, engineer and building product manufacturer. Click here to register now

On September 23, please join Dennis Neeley, AIA, Cindy Bremer, and Mark Mergenschroer for a complimentary webcast, moderated by Rex Miller. Topics Include: Why BIM adoption was important to their company The initial approach to BIM Overall results of adopting BIM Recommendations for the industry

3ds Max 2010 and 3ds Max Design 2010 Service Pack 1 Now Available

The latest Service Pack from Autodesk for 3ds Max 2010 and 3ds Max Design 2010 software includes nearly 30 fixes for issues with undo, performance, responsiveness, viewports, material workflow, and mental ray software. Specific areas addressed are Biped, Bitmap Pager, Bitmap Proxies, Containers, Edit Poly, Interoperability, Licensing, Materials, mental ray, Particle Flow, Performance, Photometric Lights, ProOptimizer, Render To Texture (RTT), Rendering, UVW Unwrap, and Viewports.

3ds Max 2010 Service Pack 1:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=13642460&linkID=9241178

3ds Max Design 2010 Service Pack 1:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=13642201&linkID=9241178

AutoCAD LT Cross-grade Promo is Back!

Autodesk usually runs this promotion annual in their second quarter (May to July) but it was missing this year.  As I had predicted, it has surfaced in Q3 (August to October).  Here are the details:

From August 17 to October 16, 2009 eligible AutoCAD LT (2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 registered before August 1) can be cross-graded to AutoCAD 2010, AutoCAD Architecture 2010, or AutoCAD MEP 2010 for US $1995.  For US $ 2495, you can opt to cross-grade to  Revit Architecture 2010,  Revit Architecture Suite 2010, Revit Structure 2010, Revit Structure Suite 2010, or Revit MEP Suite 2010.  Although Subscription is recommended, it is not required to get these promotional prices.

This promotion will continue from October 17 to December 30, 2009 in a phase 2 with US $2495 and US $2995 as the pricing respectively.

On-line Revit Help

Autodesk now provides access via their website, on-line help for all flavours of Revit.  Checkout the following links:

Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 Help

Autodesk Revit Structure 2010 Help

Autodesk Revit MEP 2010 Help

AutoCAD LT US$400 Legacy Rebate Extended

The AutoCAD LT software US$400 Legacy Rebate has been extended until August 31. This rebate promotion is for customers who purchase new licenses of AutoCAD LT 2010 software and currently own legacy versions of AutoCAD LT. Customers who own existing AutoCAD LT licenses version 2000, 2000i, 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006 and who purchase qualifying new, commercial licenses (seats) of AutoCAD LT 2010 software may be eligible for a rebate of up to US$400 for each new license purchased, after submitting an online request and providing proof of license purchase documentation. This offer is limited to a maximum of five seats total per customer invoice address. 

How Revit MEP Calculates Heating & Cooling loads

Do you need to know how Revit MEP calculates it's Heating and Cooling loads?  If you have Revit MEP installed, check your hard drive for the following directory: 

C:\Program Files\Autodesk Revit MEP 2010\Program\ 

where you will find the file: 

Heating_Cooling_Calculation_Methods.pdf

Autodesk MAC support

There is now an official Autodesk public website, where customers who wish to run Autodesk products on a MAC can find the right answers: http://usa.autodesk.com/products/mac-compatible-products