Without A Net

Tutorial videos: Subscription Advantage Pack for AutoCAD 2011

To accompany today's release of the Subscription Advantage Pack for AutoCAD 2011, I posted a new set of tutorial videos to the Autodesk knowledge base:

Subscription Advantage Pack for AutoCAD 2011

This is a collection of short videos that provide an overview of the new features and functionality provided in the Subscription Advantage Pack for AutoCAD 2011. The Subscription Advantage Pack is a benefit to Subscription customers and provides early access to new features in AutoCAD.

The Subscription Advantage Pack for AutoCAD 2011 can also be installed on the following AutoCAD 2011-based products:

• AutoCAD® Architecture 2011
• AutoCAD® Civil 3D® 2011
• AutoCAD® Electrical 2011
• AutoCAD® Map 3D 2011
• AutoCAD® Mechanical 2011
• AutoCAD® MEP 2011
• AutoCAD® P&ID 2011
• AutoCAD® Plant 3D 2011
• AutoCAD® Structural Detailing 2011

Some of these Autodesk products also have their own Subscription Advantage Pack that provides additional new features, separate from what is included in the Subscription Advantage Pack for AutoCAD 2011.

The Subscription Advantage Pack for AutoCAD 2011 has no dependency on AutoCAD 2011 Update 1.1, so it can be installed on either the original shipping version or a version that has been upgraded to Update 1.1. Please check the update requirements for the Subscription Advantage Packs for other products.

AutoCAD for Mac Product Trial

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System Requirements:

• Apple® Mac® Pro 4,1 or later; MacBook® Pro 5,1 or later (MacBook Pro 6,1 or later recommended); iMac® 8,1 or later (iMac 11,1 or later recommended); Mac® mini 3,1 or later (Mac mini 4,1 or later recommended); MacBook Air® 2,1 or later; MacBook® 5,1 or later (MacBook 7,1 or later recommended)
• Mac OS® X v10.6.4 or later; Mac OS X v10.5.8 or later
• 64-bit Intel® processor
• 2 GB of RAM (4 GB recommended)
• 1 GB free disk space for installation
• All graphics cards on supported hardware
• 1,024 x 768 display with true color (1,600 x 1,200 with true color recommended)
• U.S., U.K., or France keyboard layout
• Apple® Mouse, Apple Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad, MacBook® Pro trackpad, or Microsoft®-compliant mouse
• Mac OS X-compliant printer
    
  

AutoCAD crashing when using the HP Universal Printer Driver?

We have seen a number of instances where users with various LaserJet printers have experienced hangs and crashes when plotting to 11 x 17 paper from a 64 bit machine.

If you use the Universal Driver from HP and are experiencing issues with your printers you should download and install the latest version of the driver from HP:

Download the HP Universal Print Driver Here

Selecting Annotative Objects

If you use annotative objects in your drawings, you may find that when you select them it can be difficult to see your selection clearly because all the hidden scales are displayed and obscure the current entity.

 

To switch off the display of the "non current" annotation scales you need to set the system variable SELECTIONANNODISPLAY to 0.

  

Online Help Languages

This is a useful tip for users of localized versions of AutoCAD.

With the AutoCAD 2011 product documentation being online, you can find a help item in the language you want by simply changing the language ID in the link.

For example, if you search something in a localized help file, changing the ID to ENU displays the correspondent topic in the English help.

This can be useful for translating AutoCAD commands and variables from English language knowledge base solutions to the language of your installed product.

For example, by changing the language definition (ENU, ESP, ITA, FRA, DEU) the same Help file document can be viewed in English, Spanish, Italian French and German:

English

http://docs.autodesk.com/ACD/2011/ENU/filesAUG/WS1a9193826455f5ffa23ce210c4a30acaf-6e8a.htm

Spanish

http://docs.autodesk.com/ACD/2011/ESP/filesAUG/WS1a9193826455f5ffa23ce210c4a30acaf-6e8a.htm

Italian

http://docs.autodesk.com/ACD/2011/ITA/filesAUG/WS1a9193826455f5ffa23ce210c4a30acaf-6e8a.htm

French

http://docs.autodesk.com/ACD/2011/FRA/filesAUG/WS1a9193826455f5ffa23ce210c4a30acaf-6e8a.htm

German

http://docs.autodesk.com/ACD/2011/DEU/filesAUG/WS1a9193826455f5ffa23ce210c4a30acaf-6e8a.htm

Please be aware that the language ID (ENU, ESP, ITA, FRA, DEU) is case sensitive and must be typed in capitals.

Thanks goes to Antonio Barroca, an Autodesk support specialist, for this useful tip.

Update to Autodesk Graphics Hardware List (18.1.0.6)

The Autodesk video card certification database has recently been updated. The current version is now 18.1.0.6. To see the current supported cards check out the Graphics Hardware List.

To update to the latest certified hardware database, follow the instructions at the following location:

Certified Hardware XML Database Update

The changes from the previous version include new certification results for the drivers below:

Nvidia®

• Adds support for the new Nvidia® Quadro 4000, and 5000 graphics card driver version 259.12 for XP, XP64, Vista, Vista 64, Win7, Win7 64 operating systems
• Adds support for Nvidia® Quadro FX graphics cards driver version 259.12 for XP, XP64, Vista, Vista 64, Win7, Win7 64 operating systems
• Adds support for Nvidia® Geforce graphics card driver version 258.96 for XP, XP64, Vista, Vista 64, Win7, Win7 64 operating systems
• Adds support for Nvidia® FX2800 in the Dell M6500 graphics card driver version 189.21 for XP, XP64, Vista, Vista 64, Win7, Win7 64 operating systems

For more information about certified, supported, and nonsupported graphics hardware, check the AutoCAD certified hardware FAQ.

AutoCAD Update 1 Redux

Two weeks ago today, Autodesk released Update 1 for AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011. Within a couple days of its release an issue surfaced with Update 1 that prompted Autodesk to remove the Update for download until the problem could be fixed and the Update re-released. In the interim, the AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Layer Manager Hotfix was released to correct the issue for those customers that had already downloaded and installed Update 1 before it was removed.

Today, Autodesk has re-released the update as Update 1.1 for AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011. Update 1.1 replaces Update 1 and includes the fix that was released in the aforementioned hotfix. 32-bit and 64-bit versions of this update can be found at the following links:

AutoCAD 2011 Update 1
AutoCAD LT 2011 Update 1

This update is only for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT and cannot be applied to vertical products that are based on AutoCAD 2011 (I expect that when Update 1 is released for the vertical products it will be based on Update 1.1 for AutoCAD and, thus, will include the necessary fix; I'll let you know if I discover differently).

So, what do you need to do to be current?

Between the initial release (and subsequent removal) of Update 1, the release of the hotfix for Update 1, and now the release of Update 1.1, there may be some confusion about what you do or do not need to download and install. The following instructions apply to both AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011:

If you have not already installed Update 1:
You should now install Update 1.1. You do not need the hotfix as it is included in Update 1.1.

If you previously installed Update 1 and have installed the hotfix:
You do not need to install Update 1.1 as you are already current.
Update 1 + Hotfix = Update 1.1.

If you previously installed Update 1 and you have not installed the hotfix:
You have two choices: you can either install the hotfix onto Update 1 or you can choose to uninstall Update 1 and then install Update 1.1. Both options will bring your AutoCAD up-to-date.

As always, before installing any Update, I strongly recommend you review the associated readme file.