Topic Title

Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2006 23:30:00 -0500
From: Evan.H.Shu, FAIA <eshu@world.std.com>
Subject: DBUG> November 2006 Agenda at Build Boston

DBUG November 2006 Agenda

DBUG's 19th Anniversary on November 15, 2006

When: Wednesday, November 15, 2006, 6 p.m. (Event Code B81)

Where: Build Boston Trade Show, World Trade Center
Check Event Board for Room Location
Build Boston Trade Show (info & directions) <http://www.buildboston.com>
Commonwealth Pier, Northern Ave.
Boston, MA

(Undocumented "Cheap Trick" -- if you forgot to register in advance and
want to only attend the DBUG meeting and not the trade show, you "may" be able to use the upper level entry at the trolley turnaround and take
escalators down to the lower level directory board -- no guarantees.)

Please take advantage of the free appetizers and cash bar in the
Exhibition Hall Reception (starting at 5 p.m.) Or for more substantial
fare, go to the cafeteria, or brown bag it. At 6 p.m. join DBUGers young and old please check directory board at base of escalators for location for Event #B81 and come and enjoy dessert with some DBUG's 19th Anniversary Cake.

PROGRAM AGENDA

* JUST DESSERTS: Gathering, Greetings, and Gâteau (cake)

* APÉRITIF: Introductions & Announcements

* LIGHT COURSE: DBUG Elimination Quiz by Evan H. Shu, FAIA.
We will all take this fun DataCAD and DBUG Quiz and see who is left standing!

* MAIN COURSE: DataCAD 12 Overview by Mark Madura, DATACAD President & CEO
DataCAD 12 has officially gone BETA and testers from around
the world are getting their first hands-on experience with (what Mark
Madura, DATACAD President/CEO calls) "the most ambitious upgrade since
DataCAD for Windows". This feature-packed presentation will provide you
with a comprehensive overview of "What's New?" for DataCAD 12.

SMART ENTITIES
DataCAD 12 addresses the 2D versus 3D debate by allowing you to "draft" the
way you always have, but get 3D for free. Intelligent walls, doors, and
windows interact with each other and automatically display correctly in
plan, perspective, and rendered view.

3D BOOLEAN EDITING
New 3D editing commands allow you to combine, intersect, or subtract
three-dimensional surfaces.

RENDERING ENHANCEMENTS
Material definitions can be embedded directly in your drawing like line
types and hatch patterns and material assignments can be applied on a
per-entity basis.

OBJECT SNAPPING ENHANCEMENTS
A new dynamic snap indicator displays available snaps before you click and
previous limitations such as snapping to/between symbols, XREFs, and
polylines have been eliminated.

PLOTTING ENHANCEMENTS
You can now save and recall specific printer/plotter settings, and you can
assign unique pen tables to specific scales and/or multi-scale plotting
details. You can also convert Multi-scale Plotting Sheets to DWG. MSP
Details can now be selected directly and a new context menu provides you
with quick access to frequently-used detail options.

XREF ENHANCEMENTS
XREFs can now be highlighted on a per layer basis and you can assign a
custom name to any XREF you insert.

TEXT ENHANCEMENTS
DataCAD 12 includes multi-line text paragraph text (a.k.a. MText) and direct
support for SHX fonts. Other text-related enhancements include a revamped
Font Dialog and the ability to save/load text styles.

SYMBOL ENHANCEMENTS
The Symbol Tools context menu has been expanded even further and you can now
edit symbols directly. Symbols can now be scaled automatically similar to
text and dimensions. You can also enter symbols directly in
three-dimensional view. Symbols can also have their own Clip Cubes.

SKETCHUP FILE IMPORT
DataCAD 12 adds direct support for SketchUp files. Now you can add models
you've created in SketchUp to your DataCAD projects including materials and
bitmap textures. SketchUp models can easily be converted to o2c objects.

EXPANDED LIBRARIES
DataCAD 12 includes hundreds of new "Ready2Render" symbols and rendering
materials, and dozens of new hatch patterns and line types you can use to
enhance your drawings.

Mark's presentation will also cover other enhancements including...

Excel Spreadsheet Import, Entity Properties Editor, Fence Clipping, Rotate
Menu Enhancements, Scale-independent Pen Styles, Multiple Private Clip
books, Dynamic Dragging, AEC File Import, Implied Unselect, Select by Fill,
Copy/Paste Enhancements, and more if there is time.


BON APPÉTIT TO ALL!

*Note: AIA Members can earn 3 CEU credits for attending this DBUG Meeting,
Massachusetts Registered Architects earn 3 continuing education HSW units.

Anyone have info regarding the Preview of Dcad 12?

Love to hear or see video (if there is any video) of the presentation.

Thanks,

G.

Hello Giuseppe,

A video was made of the presentation, but I don't know of when it will be available.

Thanks Neil.

I hope to read or see more on the presentation soon.

Giuseppe

At the end of the overview is mentioned an "AEC File Import". Does this mean DataCAD11 will not be compatable with DataCAD12?

The details are not set in stone, but there will be a translator of sorts to handle the translation of the smart entities back and forth between the versions to keep things "compatible". Datacad always works hard to make sure things work as smooth as possible and that's where it looks like things are heading

[Mark F. Madura]

At the end of the overview is mentioned an "AEC File Import".

AEC File Import is a new feature of DataCAD 12. Essentially, this feature allows you to merge the contents of one drawing into another. During import you can optionally overwrite or merge the contents of layers. You can also optionally update the drawing variables which include Scale Type, Display Settings, and many others.

Like previous versions of DataCAD, you can open any drawing from a prior version. For AEC file compatibility, DataCAD 12 provides you with an option to Save As DataCAD 11 (AEC).

MFM

Thanks for the reply, Josh.

But even with a translator, if DataCAD12 creates files other than AEC (as DataCAD11 does), I see a big problem - one we encountered switching from DC5 to AEC. All our files are stored on a server, and can be accessed by any of our six workstations anytime. Having to ensure that each file is in a format compatable with both versions is counter-productive. And I doubt my boss will upgrade all stations to v12 (we just finished upgrading the last few to v11); one or two, yes, but not all of them. I'm sure there are other firms with the same problem.

Also, on a related note, our consulting-engineer told us the new version of Autocad will support AEC files, so we won't have any problems translating.

I don't believe that their is any change in format, AEC will still be used. But you will need some method, translator perhaps, to go back to v.11 because of the new entities in v.12. In order to go back and forth between v.12 and v.11 we will need some way to handle these new entities, like smart walls, windows and doors. We will need some way for v.11 to interpret these entities and then load them back into v.12. It is my understanding the Datacad is already working on this interpreter for v.11. But I don't know that for sure.

Thanks for the clarification, Paul. That's comforting news. Our office has used DataCAD since it first came out, and hoping to continue to do so.