AutoCAD 2015: User Interface Updates

With 2015 Autodesk products now available AutoCAD users are starting to download and install the latest version to get a peek at what’s new in the latest and greatest release. Here are some of the more noticeable changes that Autodesk has made to overall appearance of AutoCAD 2015.

New Start Screen
Instead of the Welcome Screen that we’ve all gotten used to over the past few years, AutoCAD 2015 now has a new Start Screen that opens when the application is launched. The new Start Screen looks like a blank drawing tab, and is divided into two sections.

Create Page
The Create page is set up for all things drawing related. From the Create page, you can start a new drawing, select from a list of template files (DWT) to create drawings, open existing drawings, sign-in to your Autodesk 360 account, and see Program Notifications for updates and performance related information.

Learn Page
The Learn page contains links and videos to references and resources related to AutoCAD 2015. Here you can find videos on Getting Started with AutoCAD, New Features, Tips, and Online Resources.

Switching from page to page is as easy as clicking on the links at the bottom of the screen.

New Dark Themed Ribbon and Customizable Status Bar
The Ribbon in AutoCAD 2015 has been updated to support a dark gray theme. In past releases, the Ribbon was a consistent lighter color regardless of the dark or light theme selected. The new darker theme provides a more consistent appearance when used with a dark Model Space background color.

The old format Status bar with icons lined along the bottom of the drawing area has also been updated in the 2015 release. We now have control over which status options are displayed at the bottom of the screen via the customize pop up list in the bottom right corner. The list includes all status options from Coordinate display to Clean Screen options. This pop up does not control the on/off functionality of the particular feature; just the display of the icon.

Check marks indicate which icons will appear on the Status bar for easy one-click on/off control. Common hotkey shortcuts also work, regardless of the icon being visible or not. This can make it somewhat confusing, so it is a good idea to keep the icons you intend to use visible on the status bar. Unfortunately, the option of displaying Text versions of the Status Icons is no longer available in 2015 through the right-click “Use Icons” option that was there in the past.  

The standard blue/gray color scheme still indicates the on/off status of the icons, and they are displayed based on which items you check in the customization pop up.

So what do you think about the new dark theme and customizable status bar? 

When you’re getting started with AutoCAD 2015, spend some time digging through the new user interface and see what other cool updates you can find. 
 
Check out the video: AutoCAD 2015: User Interface Updates

Also, for information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2015 releases for AutoCAD, Navisworks, Civil 3D, Revit Architecture, and more: ideateinc.com/2015

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Matt Miyamoto, P.E.
Ideate AEC Application Specialist
Matt is a licensed Civil Engineer in the state of Hawaii. Matt obtained a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and has 7 years of private sector design experience which he applies in his role as an application specialist with Ideate, Inc. 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. @MattM_PE

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Accessing the Enhanced Geolocation Features in Civil 3D

For those of you who have been following our blog over the recent weeks, you may have already read about the enhanced Geolocation Feature in AutoCAD 2015 that allows you to automatically connect and download aerial map information from Microsoft Bing Maps.

Since Civil 3D is built on top of the AutoCAD platform, the Geolocation feature is accessible in Civil 3D 2015. However, it’s not part of the default Civil 3D Workspace that is loaded with the out-of-box installation. To add the Geolocation Tab and access the new features through the Ribbon, we’ll need to do a little bit of CUI customization.

Start out by launching Civil 3D 2015 and opening a drawing file. The Civil 3D Workspace should load by default, with a similar setup to what you’ve seen in the past. Take note of the Ribbon Tabs listed at the top of the Application Window. The Geolocation tab that shows up in AutoCAD 2015 is missing from the default Civil 3D Ribbon.

To load the Geolocation Tab, launch the CUI (Customize User Interface) dialog box (Commandline: CUI).

1. In the upper-left window, highlight the Workspace you want to modify (Civil 3D Default) 
2. When the Workspace appears in the upper-right window, click Customize Workspace  *Text will turn blue after clicking Customize Workspace
   
   
   
3. Back in the upper-left, expand the Partial Customization Files collection (click +)
   
4. Under Partial Customization Files, expand the ACAD collection (click +)
   
5. Expand Ribbon (click +), the Tabs (click +)
   
6. Under the Tabs section, find the Geolocation item and click the box to add a check mark (it may appear as a green solid box by default)
   
7. Back in the upper-right, click Done to confirm the changes to the Workspace
   
8. Click Apply, then OK at the bottom of the CUI dialog to apply changes and exit.  
   

The Geolocation Ribbon Tab should now appear alongside the original Ribbon Tabs of the Civil 3D Workspace. 

Click on the tab to access the enhanced Geolocation features, and add some Microsoft Bing Map images to your Civil 3D® drawings.  

NOTE: The Geolocation option can also be found under the primary Ribbon Tabs section in the CUI dialog. Based on our initial testing, this option displays a blank Geolocation tab that does not include any of the panels shown above. The option found under Partial Customization Files displayed the full Geolocation Tab and all Panels per the instructions outlined in this blog.

For more information on how the Geolocation features work, check out the blog posts and videos from my fellow ENI Application Specialists - Kate Ming and Gaurav Bagga.

*A link to the video can be found HERE!

Keep up with our blog to find out more on the latest and greatest features of the 2015 Autodesk product line. ideateinc.com/2015

Also, for information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com

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Matt Miyamoto, P.E.
Ideate AEC Application Specialist
Matt is a licensed Civil Engineer in the state of Hawaii. Matt obtained a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and has 7 years of private sector design experience which he applies in his role as an application specialist with Ideate, Inc. 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. @MattM_PE

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Inserting a Bing Map Image - AutoCAD 2015

At Ideate we have been hard at work, rummaging through all of the new software and highlighting the most important new features in the 2015 product line. Last year AutoCAD added a function that allowed you to add map images from Bing to your drawings. This year, that functionality has been enhanced and improved.

Geolocation Map Insert Basics

First, I’d like to review how this function works. On the insert tab of your ribbon, you can access the Set Location > From Map function.  

After you agree to the terms of service, the Geographic Location – Specify Location (Page 1 of 2) box will pop up. Choosing a location is now broken into two pages within the Geographic Location box, as seen below. First, indicate an address in the Specify Location box. After you search and drop a pin at the location, click the next button go to the Set Coordinate System box. In here, only relevant coordinate systems are shown. Also, added to the 2015 release is the ability to search for other coordinate systems.

Once a coordinate system is selected and the center point and north arrow is specified, you will be allowed to zoom in and out on your image.

New Features

In addtion to the location tools and image type options (Map Aerial, Roads, Hybrid, or off) on the Geographic Location tab, you can Capture an Area and Viewport for plotting purposes and to preserve the current map data. This embeds the map into the drawing and allows you to work offline. 

After creating your Captured Area or Viewport, a Map Image tab will appear when the boundary of the area or viewport is selected. This tab has additional editing features, including changing the image resolution, brightness, contrast and fade. Additionally the boundary area can be edited using grips or other AutoCAD commands. Lastly, to ensure that the image is up to date, you can update the image while you are online.

To recap the new additions to the Image Map function, below is a list of the improvements.

1. The Geographic Location box is now broken into two boxes, the first being the location and the second being the coordinate system 
2. The ability to search for a coordinate system
3. The ability to capture and embed an area with a selection box or viewport to be accessed when offline
4. The Map Image tab that has Image Resolution, Image Controls, and Reload Image options for the embedded area
5. The ability to edit the embedded map area grip and boundary using common commands

Keep up with the new and improved features of Autodesk software by regularly checking this blog. Ideate’s technical team is dedicated to sifting through and illuminating new and improved features in the 2015 releases. Also check out this video to learn more about Geolocation Map Insert Basics.

Also, for information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2015 releases for Revit MEP, Revit Structure, Revit Architecture, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2015

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Kate Ming, P.E.
Ideate AEC Application Specialist

Kate is an Application Specialist at Ideate, Inc. and is a Professional Engineer with 6 years of industry experience. At Ideate, Kate provides training, consulting and technical support services for our customers.