Protect your investment in CAD - Realtime International Newsletter July 2008 - Read on-line as a webpage here - Unsubscribe here

July 2008  |  Web: www.realtimeinternational.com.au  |  Email: info@realtimeinternational.com.au

Autodesk Building Solutions Value Added Reseller for NQ and PNG   AutoCAD and Revit Sales, Support and Training   Hewlett Packard Large Format Printers   3D Computer Modelling and Rendering   AutoCAD Add-Ons   Autodesk Developer   Microsoft Developer   Custom Business Software   Database Applications   State of QLD GITC Accredited Supplier No Q-3167   Graphics Hardware   13 Networked Computer Training Centre In this issue: AutoCAD and Revit News AutoCAD / AutoCAD Architecture Revit The New Ribbon - Good or Evil? Autodesk Annual Subscription AUGI Promo of the Month Training Courses Realtime International Computer Training Centre Other Good Stuff Joke of the Month Your Space Above: Why Men Die Younger Happy New Financial Year! This month is the beginning of another financial year, and just like every year, is full of unknowns. Recent discussions with several of our customers highlighted they have just had the best financial year of business for a decade. Cairns continues to attract people to this region and as new people bring new ideas, innovation and fresh energy to the region, its vigorous multicultural and international focus will continue to develop and prosper. Having a plan and setting goals WILL put you on the path to financial security and success. Focusing on day-to-day finances and management, planning future opportunities, whilst keeping a level head in good and not so good times - are the keys. When economic tides turn, one measure more than any other separates the business survivors from those that fall by the way - cash-flow. Some tips to level out your cash-flow: *  Have your CAD software covered by an Autodesk annual subscription contract - always have the latest software and write your subscription fee off as an operational expense. *  If you need new software, have you considered leasing? This spreads the cost and frees your capital for other purposes such growth or investments. *  Get your customers to pay you on time and always check the credentials of new customers. *  Accurately forecast cash-flow in times of rapid expansion. *  Use less petrol/diesel - legs are the cheap alternative! AutoCAD / AutoCAD Architecture Several support requests received over the past months relate to Xref open/load performance problems. Although covered in an earlier newsletter (February 2008), the matter deserves some discussion. It stems from the Scale List used in Xrefs. As you know, Xrefs create unique identifiers for all "named objects" such as layers, text styles etc. In the case of the Scale List object, the scales are appended with "_XREF" and not cleared properly, so will ultimately become "1:100_XREF_XREF_XREF" etc until the ScaleListEdit dialogue box will fail. Service Patches for 2008/2009 resolve the problem for new drawings, but you will need to use the following utilities to clean existing files. This document details the instructions for use of the utility Download CleanupScales.html. * Download Scale_List_Cleanup_Utility_32bit.exe * Download Scale_List_Cleanup_Utility_64bit.exe Since AutoCAD 2008, the Scale List is stored in each drawing, rather than globally in the registry so if you want some custom scales to be available in new drawings, click here. Revit Many Revit users have struggled with spiral stairs which require an overlapping run (i.e. > 360˚) to reach the next level, and have "stacked" stairs as a workaround. Revit 2009 has an undocumented feature that allows the Sketch Mode to draw an arc past 360˚, and will then create overlapping stair runs. This tip is courtesy of the AUGI forums - click here. The New Ribbon - Good or Evil? The new face of AutoCAD 2009 represents the biggest user interface overhaul since Release 13. The ribbon is the most prominent of many interface changes, and for some users it's the most controversial. We think, give the ribbon a chance, as it will be a common Windows application User Interface for most applications and will help unify Autodesk applications to look similar with each application. In AutoCAD if you're not comfortable yet with the ribbon you can change to the AutoCAD Classic Workspace to see a non ribbon AutoCAD 2009, but challenge yourself and reap the benefits. The man responsible for making the ribbon work in AutoCAD is senior product designer Matt Stein. In Cadalyst's two-part series, contributing editor Steve Johnson talks with Stein about how the ribbon and other new user interface elements made their way into AutoCAD. Click here. Autodesk Annual Subscription Why would you consider purchasing your Autodesk software on Subscription? Read here. AUGI For those of you who are not yet a member of AUGI (Autodesk User Group International), it is worth having a look at the web site www.augi.com. Membership is free and the forums alone are an invaluable source of information. AUGIWorld is the official magazine, available free of charge to all AUGI members. It is published bi-monthly, a printed version is available to members in North America, Canada, India, and Asia/Pacific regions. Past copies are available for download. Back to Top Buy Revit Architecture or Revit Architecture Suite and get an HP quad core Workstation FREE! HP WorkStation Specifications: * HP xw4600 80+ Workstation Base Unit * Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz CPU * 8M L2 Cache * 1066 Front Side Bus * 2x1GB DDR2-800 ECC Memory * NVIDIA QuadroFX570 256MB graphics card * 2 x 160GB SATA 3Gb/s NCQ @ 7200rpm hard drives * 16X DVD +/- RW SuperMulti SATA * Microsoft Vista Business (32-Bit) downgradeable to XP Professional (32-bit) * 10/100/1000 Ethernet * HP USB Standard Keyboard * HP USB Optical Scroll Mouse * Mini Tower case * Standard HP Workstation warranty VALUED AT $2,383 Conditions apply Offer only available until the end of this month or whilst stocks last. And remember, LEASE if you want to even out cash-flow. Ask for details. Back to Top Realtime International provides industry standard training in AutoCAD, Revit and more. Revit Fundamentals - 4, 5, 6 August AutoCAD Intermediate - 14, 15 August Creating 3D Models in AutoCAD - 30, 31 July AutoCAD Fundamentals - 8,9,10 September Schedule of Courses   REVIT FAMILIES AND TEMPLATES Coming soon is specialised training in family creation, filing and usage, plus working with and setting up templates. We know you need the training, so please contact us and we'll collaborate to provide what you need. Register your interest at training@realtimeinternational.com.au.   Back to Top Make life easy by hiring our fully equipped computer training centre in the Cairns CBD. No more messy cables and wasted time connecting computers, our friendly staff and great facilities will make your training session a breeze. View brochure Back to Top Computer Stuff We write software for a living. It takes a long time. It's tricky. It's expensive. OpenSource=Communism. We know you won't be tempted... 10 great software programs for FREE Science We have had many calls requesting details of the finalists in the inaugural "The Cassini Mission to Saturn Favourite Image Contest" Click Here. The winner, "In Saturn's Shadow" Saturn Image is a work of extraordinary technical and artistic merit. Taken when Cassini was approx 2.2 million kilometers from Saturn during a full solar eclipse, Earth is over a billion kilometers distant and visible as a small speck at the edge of the rings on the left. Earthlings are capable of so much, both great and terrible. Right: Do you know what happens to your computer when the tech takes it back to his "office"? Back to Top A blonde woman Architect was speeding down the road in her little red sports car and was pulled over by a woman police officer who was also a blonde. The blonde cop asked to see the Architect's driver's license. She dug through her purse and was getting progressively more agitated. 'What does it look like?' the driver finally asked. The policewoman replied, 'It's square and it has your picture on it.' The driver finally found a square mirror in her purse, looked at it and handed it to the policewoman. 'Here it is', she said. The blonde officer looked at the mirror, then handed it back saying, 'Okay, you can go. I didn't realise you were a cop'. (You can't go past a good blonde joke!) Back to Top Is there a topic you'd like us to cover in your newsletters? If you liked or disliked something, let us know! What interests you in the CAD world will probably interest others… Send us your ideas or questions and we'll do our best to accommodate your request. Thanks to all those who have written in to date. Back to Top

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