AutoCAD 2009? Already?!

That's right! AutoCAD 2009 will be shipping soon. To see a couple of the features reviewed go to Donnie Gladfelter's "The CAD Geek Blog", at the URL address below:

http://thecadgeek.com/blog/

To see a complete list of the new features go Shaan Hurley's "Between the Lines" blog. You can also download the AutoCAD 2009 Preview Guide from his blog. His URL is:

http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_lines/2008/02/the-2009-produc.html

One of the new features I really like is the new "Ribbon" menu GUI. This is similar to the Dashboard menu in 2008 and 2007. There's great flexibility and customization in a very intuitive menu interface.

Peace - Kevin

AutoCAD Tip of the Week

If you use Paperspace in AutoCAD, there is a feature that has been available for the last few releases that is a big time saver! I use this feature all the time to Lock and Unlock Paperspace viewports. It is also a great way to change the scale factor of your viewports very quickly.


In the lower section of your screen menu at the very bottom you will find the Status bar. Typically, you use it to set your Ortho, Polar, and Osnap settings, etc. If you look a little further to the right there is a little Lock icon.

If you pick on this lock while you are in Paperspace viewport, it will Lock and Unlock the viewport view so you can zoom and pan around. This feature is so much faster than having to right-click the viewport border and then select Display Locked on the right-click menu.

Just to the right of the Lock icon is popdown menu that lets you select any scale factor you would like to set in the viewport. If you're a veteran of the earlier versions of AutoCAD, you will remember that you had to know and type in the zoom scale factor such as 1/48xp. That would give you a 1/4"=1'-0" scaled viewport. Is that old technique nuts, or what?!

So now you set your viewport scale and lock and unlock your viewports very quickly. Simple time saving features like this make upgrading your AutoCAD well with the money.

Have a great day! Kevin

OC Metro Business Magazine Article

My new website ArchBlocks.com was featured in the OC Metro Business ~ E-Commerce section of the January 31st, 2008 edition. The OC Metro Business Magzine publishes articles on the current business events in Orange County, California.

The E-Commerce section features new, and innovative businesses that offer products over the internet.

This was an exciting event for my new website http://www.archblocks.com/ that offers upscale libraries to CAD designers.

If you would like to see the article follow the link below to:
http://www.ocmetro.com/NEW_SITE/metro013108/e_commerce.php
If you would like to view the libraries offered on the ArchBlocks.com Products page, please follow the link below:
http://www.archblocks.com/products.htm

Please stay tuned to this blog for tips and tricks, AutoCAD tutorials, and industry news.

Take care, Kevin