Training Highlight: AutoCAD, AutoCAD Civil 3D

By now you know that Ideate is the Autodesk Revit expert on the West Coast, with classes ranging from fundamental to advanced, taught in our classroom, online or at your location.

However, did you know that we're also experts in AutoCAD and AutoCAD Civil 3D? Upcoming training courses include:

AutoCAD Fundamentals, Portland, July 26-28

This course provides beginning AutoCAD users with the skills needed to work productively in AutoCAD. Students learn the basic concepts of AutoCAD: navigation, menu commands, entity creation and modification, annotation, layer manipulation, text creation and editing, as well as the use of symbols, dimensioning and plotting.
Class outline and registration link.

Civil 3D Quickstart: AutoCAD Civil 3D for Beginners, eLearning (your desktop!), August 2, 4

Eliminate travel expenses and costly hours away from the office by taking our eLearning Civil 3D for Beginners class. Our virtual classroom provides you with “live” access to our civil engineers, who will teach the power and efficiency of Autodesk Civil 3D. Learn how to navigate the new Autodesk Civil 3D interface; adjust drawing, feature, and command settings; incorporate Autodesk Civil 3D styles into CAD standards; and exchange design data between Autodesk Land Desktop and Autodesk Civil 3D. All this in two 2-hour sessions, for only $199.00!
Class outline and registration link.

AutoCAD Civil 3D Fundamentals, Portland, August 16-18

This hands-on foundation-level course covers the essentials of AutoCAD Civil 3D. Learn how to work with point data in AutoCAD Civil 3D, how to create and analyze surfaces, how to develop a site, how to model roads, corridors and pipe networks, how to work with survey data and how to import and export data. Hands-on exercises throughout the course explore creation of 2D and 3D production drawings.
Class outline and registration link.

The instructor for these selected classes will be Matt Miyamoto, P.E., Infrastructure Solutions Application Specialist. Matt is a licensed Civil Engineer in the state of Hawaii. He obtained a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and has more than 7 years of private sector design experience. His project experience includes residential and commercial site development, private and public sewer, water and drainage systems, harbors improvements, and roadway improvements. While in Hawaii, Matt was involved in multidisciplinary projects for City and County agencies, State Departments, the Army COE and private developers.

To learn more about all the AutoCAD and AutoCAD Civil 3D courses offered by Ideate, visit www.ideateinc.com/educate.

Get It. Know It. Use It.

Client Profile: Mead & Hunt

Founded more than a century ago, Ideate client Mead & Hunt now specializes in planning, design, and construction management services, with a team of professionals well-versed in a multitude of engineering, architecture, and related disciplines. Named by CE News as one of the top 10 engineering companies to work for in the nation, the employee–owned company has more than 425 people in offices nationwide.

The Mead & Hunt team uses, among other technology tools, AutoCAD Civil 3D, Autodesk Revit Architecture, Autodesk Revit MEP, AutoCAD, Autodesk 3ds Max Design and the Ideate Explorer for Revit. Ideate is pleased to provide training and support to the professionals at Mead & Hunt.

Everyone at Mead & Hunt is very, very pleased with the support provided by Ideate. We appreciate the efforts of the team, especially since Mead & Hunt’s Autodesk users are based in offices in several different states. We also appreciate the Ideate Explorer for Revit and use it extensively to manage our Revit models. The search tool is so critical to our processes, that we have actually created internal training documents featuring the Ideate Explorer for Revit.

- Dan Dankert, CAD Manager, Mead & Hunt

Get It. Know It. Use It.

Autodesk Revit Structure 2011 - Web Update 1

Autodesk Revit Structure Users...

If you are a Revit Structure 2011 Subscription customer, take advantage of an updated Extension which assists with analysis and design of composite floor systems. For a description & screencaps, check the BIM & BEAM blog.

Did you know that Web Update 1 is available? You can download via Live Update in the product or on Autodesk.com at http://www.autodesk.com/revitstructure-downloads

For a list of the enhancements, check the download page or click here.


Get It. Know It. Use It.

You've Taken Revit Fundamentals, What's Next?

You've mastered the fundamentals of Autodesk Revit Architecture and are hungry to learn more. What's next? How about our Revit Architecture - Beyond the Basics course?

In the Beyond the Basics class, we cover a wide range of advanced topics for Revit Architecture. You will learn about site design, advanced rendering techniques, phasing and design options, how to create families of custom components, and how to collaborate on a design. Do you use both imperial and metric? No problem, we'll do hands-on exercises that represent real-world design scenarios in both measurement units.

This particular course is best for students who have experience using Revit Architecture. A background in architectural design and drafting or engineering experience is also important to help you get the most from the class.

You can find a complete class outline here.

Join me in Portland next week or in Seattle in August. Live in the Bay Area? Join my colleague Teresa Martin in San Francisco later in July. For specific dates and to register online, click here.

Get It. Know It. Use It.

- Ron Palma – AEC Solutions Application Specialist

Why is Training Important?

"Training is, quite simply, one of the highest-leverage activities a manager can perform."

I recently came across an interesting article regarding training for start-up technology firms. Many of the points raised address a question we sometimes receive from our customers: is training really important? At Ideate, we believe that training is critical to the success of your business and your employees.

As noted by author Ben Horowitz in Why Start-ups Should Train Their People there are 4 core reasons:

1. Productivity
2. Performance Management
3. Product Quality
4. Employee Retention

- There is no investment that you can make that will do more to improve productivity in your company.

Training does not mean simply knowing the features in your Autodesk software products, but how to use those tools to help you build smarter buildings and make better business decisions.

Get It. Know It. Use It.

- David Haynes, Director of Services

Autodesk Notice: Workaround for Issue with NVidia Graphics Card Version 197.85

From Autodesk Services & Support: Blue Screen on Startup when using Nvidia Graphics Card Version 197.85

Issue
You may experience a "blue screen of death" crash when starting a machine when the 3GB switch is enabled on a Windows XP 32 bit operating system using the NVidia graphics card driver version 197.85

The following graphics cards may be affected:

Quadro FX series:
FX 570, FX 5800, FX 580, FX 370, FX 3500, FX 1800, FX 3800, FX 550, FX 350, FX 560, FX 5500, FX 380, FX 4500 X2, CX, FX 540, FX 4700 X2, FX 4600, FX 4000, FX 1500, FX 3400/4400, FX 370 Low Profile, FX 3450, FX 4500, FX 5600, FX 1400, FX 3700, FX 4800, FX 1700

Quadro NVS series:
NVS 295, NVS 450, NVS 440, NVS 420, NVS 290, NVS 285

Quadro Blade/Embedded Graphics Board series:
Quadro FX 770M, Quadro FX 560M, Quadro FX 370M, Quadro FX 1600M, Quadro FX 3600M, Quadro NVS 120M.

Solution
Disabling the 3GB switch on a Windows XP 32 bit operating system using one of the graphic cards listed above and the NVidia graphics card driver version 197.85 will prevent the crash from occurring.

Applies to:
AutoCAD 2011
AutoCAD Architecture 2011
AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011
AutoCAD Map 3D 2011
AutoCAD Mechanical 2011
Autodesk 3ds Max 2011
Autodesk Alias Design 2011
Autodesk Inventor 2011
Autodesk Maya 2011
Autodesk Moldflow Adviser Advanced 2011
Autodesk Navisworks Manage 2011
Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011
Autodesk Revit MEP 2011
Autodesk Revit Structure 2011
Autodesk Vault 2011

Autodesk Design Suite Tip - Getting Access to All Licenses for Prior Product

AutoCAD Services & Support: Not all licenses for prior product versions are available after activating an Autodesk Design Suite

Issue
You have purchased and activated one of the Autodesk Design Suites or a product that is also available in an Autodesk Design Suite, e.g., AutoCAD 2011, AutoCAD Architecture 2011, etc. Later, you purchase and activate a different Autodesk Design Suite and notice that you do not have access to all the licenses you expect for the prior versions of the products that are common between those suites.

Solution
To resolve this issue contact Ideate or visit https://registeronce.autodesk.com and regenerate the original product license and the new Suite license so they have the same issue date. The issue date can be determined by inspecting your license file and looking for the ISSUED= section in each increment. For example:

PACKAGE 64300ACD_F adskflex 2.000 COMPONENTS="71200ACD_2010_0F \
57600ACD_2009_0F 54600ACD_2008_0F 51200ACD_2007_0F" \
OPTIONS=SUITE SUPERSEDE ISSUED=25-May-2010 SIGN="1242 937A \

For examples and complete details, click here.

Applies to:
AutoCAD 2010
AutoCAD 2009
AutoCAD 2008
AutoCAD Architecture 2010
AutoCAD Architecture 2009
AutoCAD Architecture 2008
Autodesk Design Suite Advanced 2011
Autodesk Design Suite Premium 2011
Autodesk Design Suite Standard 2011

Ideate Support Scores High

Ideate, Inc. customers rely on us to be their primary technical resource, whether they have a question about a network installation or a new software feature.

The Ideate Support Team includes civil engineers, architects, designers and others with experience in construction, facilities management, process piping, structural, and HVAC design. The team stays on top of today’s issues through their off-site consulting work, classroom training, and continuing education in their respective professional fields.

“Thanks to Teresa Martin for lending us a hand in solving a model issue, helping us avoid a crisis situation before a submittal deadline. We really appreciate Teresa’s quick response at such a short notice. I’m confident we’ll greatly benefit from Teresa teaching our upcoming batch of students at Ideate.”
—Rohit Arora, IT/CAD Manager, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

While the Ideate Tech Experts are able to answer most of your questions, occasionally we will contact Autodesk to find the right solution. I recently had a great meeting with Autodesk, to discuss our Quarterly Support Review (QSR.) The QSR program is designed to give feedback to Autodesk Partners, based on the quality and quantity of Support Requests submitted to Autodesk. Autodesk made a point to acknowledge our "exemplary performance" in all metrics. We scored Best In Class or better for Support Request Count, Avoidable Cases, Closed Loop, How To's, and Defects. Great job to all the Ideate Tech Experts! This is great feedback and really shows off the talent of our technical team.

Receiving the correct answer in a timely manner from someone who knows your business is what Ideate Support is all about. For more information, visit http://www.ideateinc.com/support.

- by Derek Wielkopolski, Technical Support Manager/Application Specialist

Recommended Reading - [BIM] New World

Ideate's own Teresa Martin offers some great Revit tips on her blog a [BIM] New World

Recent entries included:

Turning off those light sources!
An outstanding issue with datasets exported from Revit in the *NWC format is the light source object. Even when you turn it off in Revit before exporting, it stills shows up in Navisworks. This will cause problems if you are running Clash Detective with tight tolerances and keep keeping 'hits' or false positives because of the light source object. So how do you turn it off without having to scroll through the selection tree?

Locking your Global Options
This is one of those smart little tricks that is buried in the help menu in Navisworks. You can lock your global options on local machines to prevent accidental changes to settings such as units, viewpoint defaults and file reader settings.

Find Teresa's solutions and subscribe to her blog here.

To learn more about upcoming Revit classes taught by Teresa, visit www.ideateinc.com/educate.

Hotfix – Autodesk 3ds Max 2011

From Autodesk 3ds Max Services & Support:

The latest Hot Fix from Autodesk for Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2011 software includes fixes for issues with stability and performance. Specific areas addressed are, Autodesk Materials, Autodesk® FBX®, Help, Lights, mental ray®, and Slate Material Editor.

Click here to get the hotfix.