AutoCAD r2002

MicroStation v8

Licensing 

List Price

£3,448.50 (inc. VAT)

£5,400 (inc. VAT)

Pool/Network Licensing

Available at a 15% premium

Available free on SELECT subscription programme only

License Check Out

Requires conversion of licenses to stand-alone copies

Full check out and management utilities

Reporting Tools

• Only lists users currently logged on

• No reporting output

• No License revoking

• Full user management

• Usage analysis and reports

• License revoking

• Archiving ability to maintain legacy usage records

Licensing over a WAN

Licensing restricted to Local Area Network only (i.e. same building)

License covers country of purchase only.

Software will only allow 90 minutes time difference between server and workstations.

Subscription Programme

Autodesk Subscription Programme

• Cost: £250 per seat per year

SELECT

• Cost: £600 per seat per year

Subscription Benefits Summary

• Free upgrades via Extensions

• On-line resources, including knowledge base, macros, hints & tips, block libraries 

• Free upgrades via WebDownloads or MySELECT CD

• On-line resources including knowledge base, macros, hints & tips, licensing utilities, visualisation resources, cell libraries

• 24-hour support

• “Free” TriForma licensing

Installations

Installation size

~135MB

~360MB

Network/Local

Local Installation: Yes

Network Deployment: Yes

Problems running across domains (e.g. Laptops)

Local Installation: Yes

Network Deployment: Yes, but with severe operational problems running from a full network installation

Speed decrease communicating with network

Maintenance

Local install: high overhead

Network install: minimal

Local Install: medium overhead

Network install: minimal

Customisation

Interface: Clumsy

Format: Text-based - sometimes beneficial; can be easy to produce incorrect hierarchical results

Ease: Restrictive - not designed for “messers”

Management: Not designed for workgroup management. Custom items located alongside system files; in many cases it is required to customise system files - overwritten at upgrade.

Not possible in LT

Interface: Very simple

Format: Graphical - what you see is what you get. Prone to crashes.

Ease: Very open

Management: Separate directory structure for System/Standards (won’t overwrite customisation when upgrading)

 Customisation possible in all cut-down versions

Programming Languages

• Text Scripts

• VBA

• LSP

• VisualLiSP

• Text Scripts, UCMs

• VBA

• MSBasic

• MDL

• JMDL/Java

Standards Management

• Checking facilities: CAD Standards DWS files

• Correction tools: Layer translator

• Functionality Control: No immediate removal of functions without programming

• Corporate Standards: Network install allows good control of office requirements. Search paths system allows easy bypasses.

• Templates: DWT files used to define settings.

•  User Preferences: Profiles - clumsy and difficult to network/manage

• Automated interface loading: Can be achieved through profiles or programming

• Checking facilities: None

• Correction tools: Batch Conversion utility

• Functionality Control: Disabled via text-based configuration files or interface customisation.

• Corporate Standards: Designed for system/application/office/project/user-based standards management. Full suite of configuration tools.

• Templates: DGNlibs, Config Vars, Seed files all manage settings.

• User Preferences: UPFs easy to network/manage

•  Automated interface loading: Simple through text-based site/project/user configuration files or programming.

Minimum Specification

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0 (SP5 or higher)

Other:
- 200MB Free disk space or more
- VGA Display 1024x768 or higher
- Mouse or other pointing device
- CD-ROM drive

ntel® Pentium®-based or AMD Athlon^TM -based PC or workstation

Operating System:
Windows® 2000, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows NT® 4 (SP6 recommended), Windows Me, or Windows 98 (Second Edition recommended)

Other:
- 200MB minimum free disk space
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or greater
- Supported graphics card. Dual screen graphics supported with vendor-supplied drivers for Windows NT 4. Multi-monitor configurations supported with Windows 98 and Windows 2000.
- Mouse or other pointing device
- CD-ROM drive
- 128MB (more memory typically results in better performance)

System Registry

Configuration based on system registry.

Limited control tools.

Limited use of registry. UPF/CFG files control use. Flexible.

Configuration 

User-based

• Individual localised preferences based on System Registry. Dependant on domain.

• Distributed via Profiles. Require complex set-up to auto-load across network.

• Custom menus, settings, keyboard shortcuts, etc. need to be carefully managed. AutoCAD will only load certain config files once. No hierarchy.

• Individual preferences based on PCF file.

• Can be local or distributed via network.

• Simple to automated

• Full hierarchical capabilities for all custom menus, settings, keyboard shortcuts, system variables, etc.

Workgroups/Project-based

No workgroup settings by default.

Can be configured with programming experience.

Fully configurable at project/workgroup level

Site

Only on network deployment. All settings are then by default Site settings.

Workspaces designed to be shared at site, project, and user level

Standards

• Pull-down menus (difficult to auto-load without programming)

• Blocks

• Templates

• Line Styles need to be loaded

• LTSCALE set by user

• ByLayer settings (required to re-symbolise reference information)

• No custom colour tables

• No units concept

CAD Standards Manager:

-          Reports non-compliances against DWS file

-          Layer translator

• Pull-down menus (simple to implement through workspaces)

• Cells

• Seed files

• Line Styles automatically loaded

• SCALE FACTOR does not need to be used

• ByLevel settings

•  Fully customisable colour tables

• Interchangeable units

DGNlibs:

-          Layers

-          Text Styles

-          Dim Styles

-          Alternative layer standards

Batch Converter:

-          Layer translator

 Workmode Capability:

-          Restrict many features (layer creation, model creation, reference attachments, text/dimension settings, etc)

File Formats

Current DWG, Older DWG, DXF

Current DGN, Older DGN, DWG, DXF, CGM, RDL (Redline)

Import

RML (Markup)

IGES, STEP, ACIS SAT, Parasolid, STL,

Export

Older DWG, DXF, DWF, Image formats (e.g. JPG, TIF, WMF)

Older DGN, DWG, DXF, IGES, Image formats (e.g. JPG, TIF, WMF), HLN, STEP, ACIS SAT, Parasolid, STL, VRML

Training

Autodesk Certified Training:

Basic introduction

Duration = 2 days

Cost = £600

Bentley Institute Training:

Basic introduction

Duration = 2 days

Cost = £225/day

Tools 

Location techniques

Pros:

• Osnaps - Methods for selecting commonly needed points on an object. (Running Osnaps defines multiple selection points on-the-fly)

• Otrack - A way to locate a point relative to other points on the drawing.

• Point filters - Specifies a single coordinate by extracting the X, Y, and Z values of several points.

Cons:

• Centre snap (only works with certain elements)

Pros:

• AccuSnap - A snapping mode that may be used by itself, or in combination with AccuDraw, to reduce the number of button presses required during a design session. AccuSnap provides graphical assistance — a smart pointer — for snapping to elements.

• AccuDraw - Drafting aid used to apply precision to geometry without affecting the flow of drafting or sacrificing the interactivity afforded by dynamic update.

• Tentative - A graphic input that is used to preview the location of the next data point, define a point of reference, and/or create an association point.

Cons:

• One snap mode at a time

Co-ordinate systems

World - Coordinates expressed in relation to the drawing file origin.

UCS - A user-defined coordinate system that defines the orientation of the X, Y, and Z axes in 3D space. The UCS determines the default placement of geometry in a drawing.

File - Location of a point in the design plane along the X (horizontal), Y (vertical), and Z (depth [3D only]) axes relative to the global origin.

ACS - Location of a point in the design plane along the X (horizontal), Y (vertical), and Z (depth [3D only]) axes relative to the global origin.

Basic Tools

Pros:

• Polyline - An AutoCAD LT object composed of one or more connected line segments or circular arcs treated as a single object.

• Object Properties - Settings that control the appearance and geometric characteristics of AutoCAD LT objects.

• Double-click editing - User-friendly method of editing elements

• MBUTTONPAN - View controls directly from middle mouse button or wheel. Double-click zoom extents especially beneficial.

 
 Cons:

• View Controls: 3d Orbit - clumsy view rotation controls. Can be difficult to achieve desired results quickly.

• Circles - Limited placement controls, esp. tangential.

• Autosave - Needs to be set by user. Creates duplicate files, taking up large amounts of disk space.

• Modelspace/Paperspace - Confusing and often misunderstood.

• Multiple DWG opening - Possible to leave files open without realising.

Pros:

• SmartLine - The tool used to place a line, line string, shape, arc, or circle or a combination thereof.

• PowerSelector - A tool that simplifies the process of defining attribute-based element selection criteria.

• Modify - multifunction tool that works for most element types.

• View Controls - Customisable in each Window. Pop-up cursor menu available from mouse buttons or directly using wheel.

• Autosave - Changes saved immediately. Less loss of data through not saving.

• Popset - A feature that prevents the display of the selected tool's settings window when you are finished adjusting its controls. PopSet allows you to reclaim valuable screen real estate and reduce pointer movement.

 Cons:

• Autohighlight - Makes it difficult to select specific elements.

•  Models/Sheet models - Confusing. Difficult for existing MicroStation users to comprehend.

• Single file open only

References

Attachment Modes:

• Attachment - Nested Xrefs to infinite depth

• Overlay - Single Xref attached only.

•   Attachments coincident around 0,0,0 origin

Memory use:

• Loads all reference information into memory. Can be very slow to load and regen.

• References attached as single entity. Individual elements cannot be copied.

• “In-place editing” is possible.

• Clipping: poor and can be difficult to define.

 Alternative Directories:

• Explicit: via Retain Path

• Implicit: Project Search Paths

• Resymbolisation: Limitations if elements not produced ByLayer

Self-Referencing: No

Attachment Modes:

• Live Nesting - Nested References to user-defined depth, maintaining current status of reference information at all times.

• No Nesting - Single reference attached only.

• Copy - Attaches all nested references (to user-defined depth) as non-live nested attachments

• Attachments coincident or by Saved View

Memory use:

• Dynamic memory management only loads elements needed to be viewed. Improves performance with large reference files.

• All individual elements may be copied through from references.

• Editing only allowed when file is opened.

• Clipping: simple to define to anything (shapes esp. good as it becomes dynamic).

Alternative Directories:

• Explicit: via Save Full Path/Relative Path

• Implicit: Config Vars (MS_REF or user-defined)

• Resymbolisation: Flexible control through Level overrides and ByLevel definitions.

Self-referencing: Yes

Symbols

Organisation: Block libraries

Format:

• Internal (file-specific) Blocks

• External Wblocks

• Blocks cannot be referenced

Utilities:

• Design Center

• Publish To Web for drag’n’drop

Organisation: Cell libraries

Format:

• Internal/External Models

• Cells may be attached as references

Utilities:

• Cell Selector (Icon-driven interface for selecting and placing cells)

• HTML Author for drag’n’dop

Internet tools

Internal Browser

Hyperlinks

iDrop

AutoCAD Today/Point A (web-based resources)

Meet Now (on-line meetings)

Publish To Web

Internal Browser

Engineering Links (Hyperlinks)

Drag’n’Drop

MicroStation on the Web (on-line resources)

Viz Centre (on-line resources)

Remote Design Manager (URL-based reference files)

Viecon Plot (Direct printing to web-sites)

HTML Author

VRML Export

Rendering

Limited functionality

Render Types:

• Render

• Photo Real

• Photo Raytrace
  
  
  

No Animation

Materials Definition

Image Formats:

• BMP

• TGA

• TIFF

Full visualisation capabilities

Render Types:

• Smooth

• Constant

• Phong

• Raytracing

• Particle Raytracing

Animation

Materials Definition

Image Formats:

• BMP

• CALS

• JPG

• IMG

• Intergraph (CIT, COT, RGB, RLE)

• PCX

• PICT

• PNG

• Postscript

• Sun Raster

• TGA

• TIFF

• WPG

Text

• Simple Internal Text Editor

• External Text Editor (Word or similar)

• Multi-line text

• All Windows Fonts direct from system

• User-definable Text Styles

• Text/Dim Styles inter-related

• Spellcheck/Find&Replace

• Individual character formatting & case change

• Internal Text Editor (Varying formats)

•  Wordwrap

• Windows Fonts “imported” (automatically)

• User-definable Text Styles

•  Text Masking

• Spellcheck/Find&Replace

• Individual character formatting

Plotting

Confusing - Very difficult to set up

Once achieved, VERY easy to use

Saved Page Setups (to recall parameters)

Plot Styles confusing, but powerful once understood.

Plotter Manager wizard (allows easy configurations)

Network management difficult to control

External Batch Plotting

Full WYSIWYG Preview

User-definable paper sizes through PMP file.

Slow

Illogical dialogue box

Plot Configurations (to recall parameters)

Pen Tables excellent & very powerful

Network management simple

Internal Batch Plotting

Full WYSIWYG Preview

User-definable paper sizes through PLT driver file.