Novedge Pulse™ of Heidi Hewett

The AutoCAD Test Developement team frequently answers questions from AutoCAD users via email. They've offered to share some of their common questions and answers via blog postings. Here's a good one from Dan Kuhmann, AutoCAD Test Development! Issue: How do [more...]

AutoCAD 2014 simplifies the display of linetypes and layers when using externally referenced drawings making it easier to find relevant linetypes. Xref linetypes are no longer displayed in the linetype list of the ribbon or in the Properties palette. Here [more...]

Check out The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AutoCAD Basics online resource. It provides a great introduction to AutoCAD and has been recently updated for AutoCAD 2014. You can access it directly from here as well as from the AutoCAD 2014 Help [more...]

Chris Miller from the AutoCAD Test Development team shares this tip for messed up multileaders. Issue: After switching from AutoCAD 2012 to AutoCAD 2013, my multileaders are messed up. Is there a quick solution to this problem? Solution: Install the [more...]

Here's another great tip from Dan Kuhmann on the AutoCAD Test Development team. Issue: I have downloaded and installed the offline help, but AutoCAD cannot find it. What else do I need to do? Solution: After installing offline help, you [more...]

AutoCAD WS is now AutoCAD 360! The new AutoCAD 360 includes an updated mobile app, a new web app (beta), and brand new Pro plans to help you work even better! Tomorrow, Wednesday May 29 the AutoCAD 360 product managers [more...]

Today Autodesk is excited to reveal Line//Shape//Space, a blog dedicated to helping small businesses in the design and drafting space. We know that owning or working for a small firm can be very rewarding, but there are also plenty of [more...]

Here's another valuable AutoCAD tip from Cliff Young, AutoCAD Test Development Issue: When I hatch an area with a pattern that’s too large to display, the hatch displays as a solid. How do I change this back so that it [more...]

In AutoCAD 2014 the number of layers displayed on the ribbon has been increased. And, layers are now displayed using natural ordered sort. For example, the layer names 1, 4, 25, 6, 21, 2, 10 are sorted as 1, 2 [more...]

AutoCAD 2014 offers file tabs as a fast and visual way to switch between open drawings or to create new ones. You can turn the file tabs bar on or off using the File Tabs control on the View ribbon [more...]

Calling all green-minded designers and makers! The Green Design Contest with TreeHugger is now open! Submit projects using minimal waste and energy to win great prizes. Learn more now [more...]

In AutoCAD 2014 you can customize the behavior of the command line using controls in the Input Settings menu when you right-click on the command line. In addition to the previous options to enable AutoComplete and search for system variables [more...]

To make the suggestion list easier to navigate in AutoCAD 2014, system variables and other content are organized into expandable categories. You can click the plus symbol at the right end of the item to expand a category or press [more...]

In AutoCAD 2014, you can use the command line to access layers, blocks, hatch patterns/gradients, text styles, dimension styles, and visual styles. For example, if you enter Door at the command line and the current drawing has a block definition [more...]

If so, we want to hear from you! Autodesk is conducting research about how CAD designers and engineers use mathematical software or tools in their design workflows. We are especially interested in hearing from people who use tools like Mathematica [more...]

In AutoCAD 2014, you can quickly search for more information on a command or system variable right from the suggestion list. Move the cursor over the command or system variable in the list and choose the Help or Internet icons [more...]

The Command line in AutoCAD 2014 has a built-in synonym list. Enter a word at the Command line and it will return a command if a match is found in the synonym list. For example, if you enter SYMBOL, AutoCAD [more...]

Commands in the suggestion list are initially displayed in the order of their usage based on general customer data. As you continue to use AutoCAD 2014, the order of commands in the suggestion list will adapt to your own usage [more...]

AutoComplete command entry is enhanced in AutoCAD 2014 to support mid-string search. This is one of my favorite command line enhancements because you no longer have to remember exactly how the name of a command or system variable begins. You [more...]

The Command Line has been removed in AutoCAD 2014. Ha! April Fools! You’ll find just the opposite in AutoCAD 2014! The command line has been significantly enhanced to provide smarter, more efficient access to commands and system variables. You can [more...]

To help you get up to speed with AutoCAD 2014, the Help system offers valuable enhancements. New search filters enable you to narrow your search results based on the type of user. For example, if you choose User, you can [more...]

This morning Autodesk announced its 2014 portfolio of products including AutoCAD 2014! AutoCAD continues its transformation into a connected design application accessing the power of cloud, social, and mobile. With AutoCAD 2014 you can work smoothly across platforms, collaborate with [more...]

In Mission 5 of the Apocalypse Trigger you’ll use Autodesk Showcase to visualize an AutoCAD model of an ancient artifact. You begin by sending the model from AutoCAD to Showcase using the Suite Workflows. After familiarizing yourself with some simple [more...]

In Mission 4 of the Apocalypse Trigger you use parametric constraints in AutoCAD 2013 to accurately and efficiently create the doors and windows for an elevation of a bell tower. After creating a vertical line down the center of the [more...]

In Mission 3 of the Apocalypse Trigger you’ll use Raster tools to convert data from an old map of Fort Laramie to real AutoCAD objects. The first step is to convert the color map to a bitonal image using the [more...]

In Mission 2 of the Apocalypse Trigger, you begin with a 3D model of a simple wood platform for the mission bell and two polylines that were drawn on the XY plane. Using 3D gizmos and tracking you reorient the [more...]

In Mission 1 of the Apocalypse Trigger, you use AutoCAD 2013 to create model documentation. Begin with an existing drawing that has a 3D model of the temple in model space. On a layout tab, you create a traditional layout [more...]

You still have time to save the world and take home the prize. Download the free trial of AutoCAD Design Suite, play and learn with the Apocalypse Trigger… before it’s too late! The Apocalypse Trigger includes a series of 6 [more...]

The holidays are over and it's 2013. For many of us, a new year means a number of new resolutions for the year ahead. For some of us, we choose to focus on how we can be more productive at [more...]

It's that time of year again. As you may have seen in Lynn Allen and Shaan Hurley's recent blog posts - Autodesk University 2012 is this week and those of us on the AutoCAD team are very excited for another [more...]

A major milestone was recently reached, the Autodesk Exchange store surpassed 100,000 app downloads! To celebrate we are hosting a Facecast on Friday @ 10:30 am Pacific! Tune in to hear from Charlie Crocker and Micah Dickerson talk about some [more...]

Do you work for a small business and live in the US, Canada, France, Germany or the UK? If so, we want to hear from you. Autodesk is in the process of creating an online community comprised of curious, active [more...]