Monthly Archives: July 2018

A & B Tip 1 – clean slate

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In this series of posts, I’ll be providing tips that show how to do something in both AutoCAD and BricsCAD, hence A & B.

The Series

The idea behind this series is to provide useful information for several sorts of reader:

  1. AutoCAD users.
  2. BricsCAD users.
  3. People in the process of transitioning from AutoCAD to BricsCAD and who need to know what to do differently (if anything).
  4. People considering transitioning from AutoCAD to BricsCAD and who want to know about the differences and similarities.

Clean Slate

This first post explains how to convince your CAD application how to start in a ‘clean slate’ state – i.e. bypassing all interruptions and starting with your default template drawing, all fired up and ready to go. But first, some history. If you just want to get to the meaty bit, skip down to Summary at the bottom.

History

Once upon a time, long, long ago, when you started AutoCAD you would be presented with a Main Menu like this:

Before you could start drawing or have access to any interface elements, customization or programming, you had to pass this virtual gatekeeper. This persisted long after most applications had discarded this approach, and it made AutoCAD look rather old-fashioned. Then, in 1992, Release 12 arrived, which discarded this menu. It just threw you into the drawing editor at startup. You could do what you wanted from there, no gatekeeper required. The masses rejoiced, because this made perfect sense.

Later, in AutoCAD 2000i, Autodesk had apparently forgotten what a terrible idea it was to have a gatekeeper and reintroduced one. A pretty awful one. Slow, ugly, obstructive, unconfigurable and programmed using entirely the wrong tools, it was an excellent example of how not to do an interface. Despite many complaints, it remained in place until AutoCAD 2004, when Autodesk regained its senses and discarded it again, to near-universal applause.

In order to prove that Autodesk’s corporate amnesia on this matter was a permanent condition, Autodesk would flip-flop several times over AutoCAD startup screens. Every time, the new workus-interruptus device was introduced with a fanfare, until a bit later when it was unceremoniously discarded. In some cases, the unlamented former best-thing-ever was replaced immediately by another, without even a single unobstucted release inbetween. I won’t bore you with the whole saga, but will instead take you forward in time to one step before what we have now.

AutoCAD 2015

AutoCAD 2015 introduced a thing called the New Tab. Start up AutoCAD and you would be presented with something like this.

To convince AutoCAD that you don’t want to see this, set the system variable STARTUP to 0 (the default is 3). (Note: the STARTUP system variable dates back to AutoCAD 2004, but its function has changed over the years). Assuming you have specified a default template file, the next time you start AutoCAD you will be placed straight into the drawing editor, ready to work.

If you decide you want to see the New Tab after all, you can always use the NEWTAB command to invoke it directly.

But wait! That’s not the end of the story. If you close the last drawing tab without closing AutoCAD, the New Tab will appear again. If you don’t want the delay associated with this (and in some environments that delay can be 30 seconds or more), you may wish to disable it altogether. To do this, set the NEWTABMODE system variable to 0 (the default is 1). Once you do this, not only will you not see the New Tab accidentally, you’ll also not be able to get to it intentionally, because the NEWTAB command will be disabled.

With NEWTABMODE=0, if you close the last drawing tab, you will be placed in a blank grey screen with very limited functionality, as in previous releases. If your menu bar is turned on (MENUBAR=1), a set of three pull-down menus (File/Window/Help) is visible.

AutoCAD 2016 to 2019

In AutoCAD 2016, the New Tab was tweaked and renamed. It became the Start tab. This was pretty much the same thing, but of course the commands and system variables changed. One thing that didn’t change was the STARTUP system variable, which you still set to 0 to go straight into a drawing.

One difference is that the Start tab is still displayed in the list of tabs even with STARTUP=0. Unlike AutoCAD 2015’s New Tab, the Start tab does not include an X to allow you to close it. Instead of the NEWTAB command, you use the GOTOSTART command to switch to the tab that’s already there.

To make to Start tab go away completely, you need to set the STARTMODE system variable to 0. With this done, you have the same situation as AutoCAD 2015 with STARTUP=0 and NEWTABMODE=0. You still need to configure your desired default template, of course.

While we’re still on AutoCAD, I should mention that there’s a command-line switch (i.e. it can be used in your startup shortcut) called /nologo, which prevents AutoCAD showing its logo on startup. I haven’t discerned any performance benefit in doing so, so I don’t bother. (Edit: YMMV – see comment below). You can also specify your startup template using the /t command-line switch.

Edit: I have covered /nologo’s effect on performance in more detail in the post A & B Tip 3 – benchmarking – /nologo or no?

BricsCAD

What about BricsCAD? Well, it has its own startup screen, but it’s not part of the drawing tab interface.

Like most things in BricsCAD, its faster than AutoCAD’s. It’s simpler, smaller and yet provides more functionality. For a brief overview on how it works, see Heidi Hewett’s post BricsCAD Journey – Part 3: Welcome to BricsCAD.

While I still prefer to work ‘raw’, I find the BricsCAD startup the least offensive of any I’ve used. I actually have a use for some of its features, particularly when setting up profiles, and so don’t turn it off until I get into real production mode with a new release. Then I make it go away.

It’s easy enough to turn off, using the Don’t show this window again toggle at bottom right. This is equivalent to setting the system variable GETSTARTED to 0 (the default is 1). That’s it. If you change your mind later, just set GETSTARTED back to 1.

What happens with GETSTARTED=0 is determined by the STARTUP system variable. If STARTUP=1 then the Create New Drawing wizard is launched:

You probably don’t want this either, so set STARTUP to 0. As in AutoCAD, you’ll want to ensure your default template drawing is specified so you go straight into a blank drawing. If you don’t do this, BricsCAD displays the Select Template dialog which you probably also want to avoid.

The default template drawing is defined by the BASEFILE system variable. You can set this system variable directly, or through SETTINGS > Program Options > Files > Templates > Template.

Summary

AutoCAD 2015

STARTUP = 0
NEWTABMODE = 0
OPTIONS > Files > Template settings > Default template filename for QNEW > [your template]

AutoCAD 2016 to 2019

STARTUP = 0
STARTMODE = 0
OPTIONS > Files > Template settings > Default template filename for QNEW > [your template]

BricsCAD

GETSTARTED = 0 or SETTINGS > Program Options > User preferences > Get Started
STARTUP = 0 or SETTINGS > Program Options > User preferences > Startup
BASEFILE=[your template] or SETTINGS > Program Options > Files > Templates > Template > [your template]

Adding Express Tools to BricsCAD

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If you’re evaluating BricsCAD to replace AutoCAD, you might be put off by the apparent absence of the Express Tools. Don’t be.

First, some express tool commands have been added to BricsCAD as native commands, such as OVERKILL and TXTEXP.

Next, the Express Tools menu can be added, thanks to a free add-on by Martin Drese (CADwiesel). Here’s the step-by-step process:

  1. Go to the Bricsys Applications page.
  2. Start typing “EXPRESS” into the search box. You should be pleasantly surprised to discover that by the time you’ve typed four characters, what you are chasing will already be displayed for you:
     
  3. Click on the Express Tools box, turn on the checkbox and then pick Download.
  4. If you’re not already signed in with your Bricsys ID at this time, you’ll be prompted to do so. You should have created this ID when you downloaded the main product.
  5. The download (a straightforward one; no nasty download managers involved) is a 3.6 MB zip file. Unzip this to a location of your choice.
  6. As described in the file Install Notes Express Tools for Bricscad V18.pdf, copy the Express folder to the BricsCAD installation folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\Bricsys\BricsCAD V18 en_US). You’ll need admin access for this step.
  7. Add that location (e.g. C:\Program Files\Bricsys\BricsCAD V18 en_US\Express)to the BricsCAD search path (Settings > Program Options > Files > Support files search path).
  8. If you already have a file called on_doc_load.lsp in your search path (this is the equivalent of acaddoc.lsp), then add this line to it:

    (load “Acetutil.des”)

    If that file doesn’t already exist, you can just copy the one from the unzipped location to anywhere in your search path (e.g. the path you just added – C:\Program Files\Bricsys\BricsCAD V18 en_US\Express).

  9. Close and restart BricsCAD.

This is more involved than your typical AutoCAD app store installation, but as a CAD Manager I do like the fact that these are straightforward steps that I can automate in a custom environment such that the users have no need to get involved.

The end result is a Pull-down menu (if you have that turned on – MENUBAR 1 if you don’t) that will be familiar to you:

There are also four toolbar menus:

If you’re using a ribbon and don’t want to see toolbars, substantial manual effort is required to add Express Tools to the ribbon interface. If you are interested in me doing a further post explaining how this is done, please add your comments to this post.

Most of these tools will work with all BricsCAD variants. Some of them require OpenDCL support which is not available in the Classic version, so you’ll need a minimum of BricsCAD Pro (that’s the second level) for complete functionality.

It’s worth noting that the various API LISP functions (acet-xxxx) that are added to AutoCAD by the Express Tools are also there in BricsCAD. Unlike AutoCAD, they are native functions; they can be relied on to be there in BricsCAD, regardless of whether or not the Express Tools add-on is installed as described in this post.

Also unlike AutoCAD, the functions are supported. If there are any problems, you can report them (with, in my experience, a reasonable expectation of them being fixed in a short timeframe by Torsten Moses), rather than being fobbed off by an uninterested Autodesk.

If you go back to step 2 above, see the box that says LISP Developer Support Package (LDSP)? If you code in LISP (with or without BricsCAD), I suggest you download that package. Among many other things, it documents the acet-xxx functions.

Edit: I should point out that R.K. McSwain covered much of this ground earlier this year.

Autodesk is hiring again

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We’ve been here before, so this shouldn’t shock anyone. Autodesk is red hot to employ lots of shiny new people to replace at least some of the old ones that were discarded a while back.

As a free service to Autodesk, I offer this work-for-us video for your enjoyment:

An example of the sort of attitude required from employees who want to stay around can be found at 0:37. Nice!

Has Autodesk broken your old licenses?

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I’m seeing multiple recent complaints from people stating that their older but perfectly legal perpetual license AutoCADs are being broken. They’re also reporting that Autodesk is being less than helpful about fixing the problem in any reasonable kind of timeframe. Whether this is a deliberate act or yet another “this won’t happen again” screw-up is difficult to determine, but either way it’s pretty obnoxious. People paid a lot of money for this software and they deserve to have it working.

Original Red A figure copyright Autodesk, Inc. This derivative image was created from scratch using BricsCAD V18 and falls under fair use (commentary, criticism).

If you have an old release lying around for whatever reason, maybe you’d better check to make sure it’s not broken.

Autodesk, if you can’t get your licensing act together, I hope you’ve budgeted enough to provide full refunds to everyone with an old license. Millions of them. Thousands of dollars each. That’s quite a few billion dollars. No? Don’t have that in the piggy bank? Better get cracking, then.

To those people stuck without a working AutoCAD who need to get work done while fighting Autodesk, regular readers of this blog will be able to tell you know where to go to get 30 days’ relief. File under told you so.

Has this happened to you? Please comment and provide the details.

Importing SketchUp files into AutoCAD

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Do you have a SketchUp (SKP) file you need to import into a DWG? Need to know how to do it? Tried it but it didn’t work? This tip is for you.

If you’re using AutoCAD 2016 to 2019 for Windows, you can download and install the SketchUp Import plug-in from the Autodesk App Store. If that goes according to plan, this will add the command IMPORTSKP to AutoCAD. You may need to restart your AutoCAD first. It’s straightforward enough; select a file to import and it becomes a block in your drawing.

Reading the reviews for this add-on, it’s clear that it’s not working for many people. If it does work, it only imports SketchUp files up to 2017 format (2016 on 32-bit AutoCAD).

What if it doesn’t work? What if it does work but you have an unsupported 2018 version SKP file? Well, this post could arguably fit into the Why every AutoCAD CAD Manager should have a copy of BricsCAD series, because this is an example of BricsCAD acting as a workaround for AutoCAD limitations. SketchUp files are supported in BricsCAD’s native Import command, no add-ins required. If you have BricsCAD V18.2.10 or later, 2018 version SKP files are supported. If you have an earlier version of BricsCAD you can download the latest here.

Importing SKP files is also supported in the free BricsCAD Shape application, but at the time of writing the version is V18.2.06, which only supports SKP files up to 2017 format.

Why every AutoCAD CAD Manager should have a copy of BricsCAD – part 6, future proofing

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This is the sixth and final post in this series where I explain why this statement holds true:

As a CAD Manager looking after AutoCAD users, or a power user looking after yourself, it’s worth your while to have a copy of BricsCAD handy.

This post explains why adding a copy of BricsCAD to your stable of AutoCAD licenses is a good thing for your future and that of your company.

A CAD Management thing I did a few years ago was to examine the options for replacing AutoCAD and other Autodesk products. I was an AutoCAD loyalist (albeit a somewhat critical one) with over a quarter of a century invested in it. I was looking after the deeply entrenched and very heavily customised CAD environment of a major public utility company that had been using AutoCAD as its primary CAD system since the late 1980s. Hundreds of custom commands were in place and providing priceless productivity benefits. Hundreds of thousands of DWG files were on file, with thousands more coming through every month. The inertia behind AutoCAD was very, very strong. Looking outside the cage was a pretty radical step to take. What led me to that point?

  • Autodesk business policy. Autodesk has become increasingly anti-customer over the years in ways that will be familiar to all readers of this blog. I won’t rehash them here. This leads to…
  • Increasing costs. Autodesk software is expensive and getting more so. Autodesk has made no secret of its intention to move to an all-subscription (rental) model. This is an attempt to treble the ongoing income Autodesk receives, in return for doing as little as possible. Which leads to…
  • Lack of progress. It had become clear that the days of AutoCAD seriously improving from release to release were over, never to return. This isn’t because there is no room for improvement, it’s because Autodesk doesn’t want to improve AutoCAD. AutoCAD won’t be permitted to become too capable because that would just eat into sales of Autodesk’s other products. You’re not going to see 3D parametrics or sheet metal capabilities in AutoCAD: buy Inventor instead. You’re not going to see BIM capability: buy Revit. Beyond the internal competition issue, some years ago, Autodesk leadership lost interest in what it perceived to be an old-fashioned dead-end product. The income from AutoCAD customers is being diverted to fund purchase and/or development of more fashionable and interesting products.
  • Frustration with Autodesk’s Beta program. The goings-on within the Autodesk Beta program must remain private, so what I can say here is limited. I can say that I spent many years contributing large numbers of hours to that program in order to attempt to improve the product. As time went on, the positive results that emerged from that effort decreased; that much is no secret because it is apparent in the product. I felt I was fighting against Autodesk to try to improve the product, and losing. There were a few final incidents that persuaded me to stop bashing my head against that particular wall. I wasn’t the only one. I stuck it out for years longer than many very valuable people who had already given up before me.
  • Proxy server issues. Over the years, Autodesk’s habit of attempting to do sneaky things to access the Internet had caused a variety of problems in a secure proxy server environment. This caused several things not to work, and harmed performance severely in some places. As Autodesk’s developers turned over, things that worked in one release would not work in the next. Attempts to get this addressed as a support issue would result in the environment being blamed. These problems increased over the years as Autodesk threw in more and more connectivity-requiring features. There was a non-zero and ever-increasing possibility that one day, Autodesk would screw things up altogether and leave us with non-functioning software. That has already happened for some people, and although the stoppage has generally been temporary, it is important to have redundancy.
  • Poor performance. AutoCAD has been getting bigger and slower. Downloads are huge and Autodesk does its best to make them as difficult as possible. Installations take an age, as do uninstallations. Startup times are terrible and getting worse. My users were complaining – a lot – and there wasn’t much I could do about it.

That’s what moved me to take a very, very serious look at alternatives. Your motives may differ. Just the desire to have a Plan B in case of disaster might be enough.

If you don’t feel moved to investigate, you may eventually be faced with no option. Sooner or later, the person who holds the purse strings at your company may point to this year’s much bigger Autodesk invoice and ask, “What are we getting for this? How can we reduce our costs?” When that happens, you don’t want to be scrabbling round for answers before that invoice needs to be paid. Look into the options in advance. Are you really wedded to AutoCAD or are you actually tied to DWG?

Days of Future Past

Here’s my suggestion. Examine the available alternatives to AutoCAD and the other Autodesk products you use. Do it sooner rather than later so you get the chance to determine the answers to non-trivial questions like these:

  • Capability. Does the alternative product do everything that AutoCAD does, that your users need it to do? Does it do other stuff that AutoCAD doesn’t that you might find useful? What’s the performance like? How does it work on the hardware you have? Does it have user interface elements that don’t just look good but work productively in practice?
  • Compatibility. You will almost certainly demand extremely good DWG compatibility, but this question goes well beyond that. Will your LISP work? How about DCL? ActiveX support? DOSLib? Other programming languages? Can you carry over your customisation files? Can you make the interface look the same? If you have custom toolbars, or ribbon, or even image menus, do they carry across? Can your users carry across their skills without downtime, extensive training and a productivity hit? Can AutoCAD and the potential replacement coexist without issues? Can you use a common set of custom support files pointed at by both products? Will it work well on your hardware?
  • Add-ons. If you’re using third party products on top of AutoCAD, or if you’re using an AutoCAD-based vertical, is that product or an equivalent available? Does it work well? What do the objects they create look like in plain AutoCAD? Can you round-trip through AutoCAD and back and retain your intelligence? You’re probably going to have to test this with evaluation software and your own data.
  • Licensing options. Is perpetual licensing available? Can you stick on a release for a few years and still purchase upgrades later? Has the company committed to providing you with licensing options or has it made noises about going all-rental? Is network licensing available? Does it coexist problem-free with Autodesk’s network licensing software?
  • Costs. Compare the likely costs for all your options over several years. You’re going to have to make some assumptions. It can be difficult to work out what they should be.
  • Track record. Has the company been around for a while? What reputation does it have? Does it treat its customers with respect? How good is the support?
  • Future prospects. Is the company likely to be around long-term? Is it actively developing the product you’re interested in? Is it innovating? Is it merely following AutoCAD at a distance or charging ahead? Is the product going to be limited by Autodesk-like internal competition?

I went through all of these questions and settled on BricsCAD as the best option in my company’s case. In fact, several aspects made it really the only viable option. The product impressed me with high performance, capabilities well beyond AutoCAD in several important areas, a very high degree of compatibility (particularly LISP but also other customisation files), the availability of perpetual licensing and much lower ongoing costs. The company impressed me with its honesty and attitude toward customers.

Most of all, I was won over because I could see that the product had a future. Subsequent improvements have only strengthened that view.

Obviously, you need to make your own judgement based on your own circumstances. I would suggest looking at all the options, including sticking with AutoCAD permanently, with or without subscription or maintenance. Maybe you can use my investigations as a starting point, but I encourage you to start investigating now rather than when you’re under time pressure and don’t have time to do a thorough job.

It will cost you a few minutes to download and install of an evaluation BricsCAD and start preparing for the possibility of a different future. Maybe it won’t turn out to be part of your company’s future, but it could still be part of your future.

Options are good. Learning is good. Best case scenario, your knowledge is going to save your company money and improve its productivity, and you will end up smelling of roses. Worst case scenario, you’re going to spend some very justifiable time doing something new, different and interesting. I recommend it.

Other posts in the Why every AutoCAD CAD Manager should have a copy of BricsCAD series:

Part 1, fixing drawings
Part 2, 3D operations
Part 3, parts on demand
Part 4, efficiency
Part 5, LISP

Tiny tip of the day – ten more Windows shortcuts

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My last tiny tip post (Ctrl+Shift+Esc takes you directly to Task Manager) seemed quite popular so here’s another one.

This post includes ten more keystrokes that I use to save me time with CAD management, development, documentation and support. All of these use the Windows key, which is located between Ctrl and Alt on most keyboards.

These keystrokes apply to Windows 10 but most of them also work with earlier releases.

Keystroke Action
Win + D Show the desktop (minimize all windows). It’s a toggle, so use it again to put them back how they were. (Win + M also minimizes all windows and Win + Shift + M restores but I find Win + D easier to remember).
Win + E Start an Explorer window.
Win + Plus (+) Magnify (pixel fattener). You can magnify the screen more in steps by repeating Win + Plus. Win + Minus (-) reverses one level of magnification. Win + Esc exits magnification mode.
Win + number Same as picking the <number> item on the taskbar. For example, if you have pinned Notepad to the taskbar and it’s in the 5th position, Win + 5 will start a Notepad session. Win + 5 again will minimize Notepad. Win + 5 again will restore Notepad.
Win + Shift + number As above but always starts a new instance of the application. For example, if you have Notepad running already but want to force a new instance, you can use Win + Shift + 5.
Win + Ctrl + Shift + number As above but runs the instance as an administrator.
Win + Shift + Left or Right Move the current application to the left or right side of the screen. This is particularly handy for CAD people with dual monitors and apps that typically use up a full screen.
Win + I (letter i) Settings (newer version of Control Panel).
Win + Pause System status – very handy when you’re looking at a problem on somebody else’s computer.
Win + R Run a OS command.

Bonus tip: Win + L will lock the computer for when you leave your desk (thanks Robin Capper). You can also use it to switch accounts.

There is a full list of Windows keystrokes on the Microsoft site.

Why every AutoCAD CAD Manager should have a copy of BricsCAD – part 5, LISP

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This is the fifth post in this series where I explain why this statement holds true:

As a CAD Manager looking after AutoCAD users, or a power user looking after yourself, it’s worth your while to have a copy of BricsCAD handy.

This post is about BricsCAD being better than AutoCAD at the one thing that made AutoCAD win the race against its competitors back in the 80s – LISP. That is, AutoLISP (added fully to AutoCAD in Version 2.18) and Visual LISP (fully integrated with AutoCAD 2000).

If you’re a good AutoCAD CAD Manager, you’ll already know the reasons LISP is an extremely important tool, so I won’t cover them here. I may explain those reasons in a later post, but that would distract us from the main point. Why is having a copy of BricsCAD useful to a CAD Manager?

  • BLADE. I’ve covered the BricsCAD LISP Advanced Development Environment in various posts already, and I intend to go into greater detail in future posts. There are enough advantages over VLIDE to warrant an entire series of posts. This is simply the biggest advance for CAD LISP in 20 years; if you’re doing any reasonably complex development in LISP and you’re not BLADE, you’re wasting time and money.
  • Performance. Because BricsCAD’s LISP engine is much more modern than AutoCAD’s, the performance is much greater. In my experience, it’s about three times as fast. Some function calls are as much as 30 times as fast. If you have a user who’s complaining that your routine is taking an age to process in AutoCAD, try it in BricsCAD instead. I once saved a user half an hour in processing time for one polyline by using BricsCAD. Another aspect that will benefit you when programming and testing is BricsCAD’s generally superior performance. Got nothing running and want to get programming in the next 5 seconds? Fire up BricsCAD. Want to do a complex process on a big drawing that makes AutoCAD run out of RAM? Try it in BricsCAD.
  • Licensing. While you’re developing in BricsCAD, you’re not using up an expensive AutoCAD license. You’re using a cheaper (or even free, while you’re evaluating it) BricsCAD license. Also, it’s a perpetual license so if you ever stop paying, you can keep developing as long as you like. Oh, and it’s not going to flake out on you on those days where Autodesk’s subscription licensing server has a meltdown.
  • Extra functionality. BricsCAD’s LISP has the AutoLISP and Visual LISP functions and then some. Some of the DOSLib functions are available without even needing DOSLib, but if you need the full set of DOSLib functions they can be loaded, as per AutoCAD. A range of extended functions are available with the vle- prefix, and the LISP Developer Support Package documents these and provides the source code so you can also use them in AutoCAD.
  • Platform independence. AutoCAD for Mac has severely restricted LISP capabilities, making it unsuitable for use in a professional, efficient custom environment. BricsCAD for Mac and BricsCAD for Linux both provide practically identical functionality to the Windows version. Yes, BricsCAD for Mac really is significantly more AutoCAD-compatible than AutoCAD for Mac.

I do my LISP development in BricsCAD these days, and can attest that it’s well worth the investment in time to get the hang of BLADE.

It will cost you a few minutes to download and install of an evaluation BricsCAD and check out the LISP situation for yourself.

Edit: it’s not just LISP. See James Maeding’s comment below about .NET, too.