This is a 're-reprint' due to the fact that this now seems to be an issue:
How do you authorize a seat of AutoCAD that has moved from one machine to another?
Autodesk has an FAQ on this: License Transfer Utility
This can be done with the License Transfer Utility found by picking Start, Programs, Autodesk, [Autodesk Product Name], Portable License Utility.
You can then remove the license from one computer and put it on another.
Here at Hydratec we support users on all versions of AutoCAD, but primarily on AutoCAD 2007 or newer. When a user sends me a drawing I don't want to have to worry about whether I should open it in V50 or in V51 (both work the same for all usual support purposes). But, I don't want to send it back to them in a newer drawing format that they cannot read, either. So I have configured both 2010 and 2011 to automatically save all drawings in the 2007 format. You can do this in the AutoCAD OPTIONS dialog box:
Pick the Open and Save tab and set the Save As: to the AutoCAD 2007 format
Autodesk has announce the release of Update 1.1 for AutoCAD 2011. Or rather a re-release, as they say below:
"Note: This is a re-release of Update 1 for AutoCAD 2011. After Update 1 was originally released, we discovered an issue when conducting certain operations that may cause AutoCAD to shut down. Update 1 was subsequently removed to correct the issue and a hotfix was released for those customers who had already applied Update 1. This release of Update 1.1 includes that fix."
Click here for the update: Update for AutoCAD 2011
The website includes a Readme.Doc for all the changes addressed in this update.
Version 51.07 has two new hanger features – Create 3D Hangers and Create 3D Seismic Bracing.
How to use these commands?
Create 3D Hangers takes your 2D hangers (inserted the same way as forever) and converts them to 3D. This requires two things: That the piping has been elevated at least once (to generate elevation information) and that the piping is sized (to create hanger rings). It can be use din either 2D mode or 3D mode.
The Create 3D Seismic Bracing will create these braces from scratch. It also requires that the piping has been elevated at least once. You add these braces while in 2D mode.
A complete help document for both commands can be found by picking the Help button in the dialog box for the Create 3D Seismic Bracing command.
What is a Proxy Object? From AutoCAD Help:
"A proxy object is a
substitute for a custom object when the ObjectARX application that created the
custom object is not available to AutoCAD or other host applications. Later,
when the application is available, the proxy object is replaced by the custom
object."
What does Show Proxy Objects mean?
"When you open a drawing,
you might see a Proxy Information dialog box. The dialog box tells you the total
number of proxy objects in the drawing (both graphical and non graphical) and the
name of the missing application and provides additional information about the
proxy object type and display state. You can use the dialog box to control the
display of proxy objects."
Applications such as AutoCAD MEP create proxy objects. HydraCAD also creates Proxy Objects by its use of Visual Lisp (VL), a standard AutoCAD programming language. It has long been our opinion that AutoCAD's own tools should at least be understood by AutoCAD itself and no proxy notice displayed because of them. We have reported the issue to Autodesk. They have acknowledged the problem but not fixed it.
That being said, you can turn off all proxy notifications by setting the PROXYNOTICE setvar to 0 (zero). Type in PROXYNOTICE and then type in 0 at the ensuing prompt. The downside? you won't be notified that proxy objects exists, instead they will be displayed anyways (the default even if the proxy notice is shown), so no real downside as far as I am concerned.
i found this while hunting around the internets for a solution to an unrelated customer problem. The website this is from is really helpful and has a lot of topics I find useful. It is written by Lee Ambrosius, the guy who wrote the AutoCAD for Dummies books. The site is: Hyperpics
By default, when you pick Help in 2011 you are redirected to the online help on AutoCAD website. This was done so that they can update the help files and you can see the updated content. The problem is that this is a bit slower than offline help. If you want to set it back:
Most times, a pump is going to be used for more than one remote area. Both HydraCALC and HydraCAD/AutoCalc use the same pump input screen, and that input can be saved and recalled.
Once you have your pump set up, pick the File pull down and pick Save Graph. Then, later, you can pick Open Graph to recall that saved pump
Need a list in a hurry? Don't care about assembly or weld-instructions or sorting? Then try these two:
CPVC List (CPVC)- Yeah, I know you aren't using plastic, but so what? CPVC list will give you a complete listing of fittings, piping and heads in a simple text document. Just do a Replace and change the CPVC to Steel or whatever and use that. Be sure to set the Diameter setting (CDL) high enough to include your main size. Find CPVC List on the Listing toolbar. The Set Diameter command is on the same flyout as CPVC List.
Dry Volume (DV) – Dry Volume will give you a list of the total length of each pipe size. Fittings and heads are not included, but some people use this to order pipe. Find it on the HydraTools pull down menu, under the Tools-> sub menu.
Setting a hanger up to hang from bottom of steel is fairly straightforward. What is not straightforward, however, is what happens next.
Setting it up simply consists of checking the Bottom option in the Hang From area. This turns on the Steel Depth option where you can enter that value.
Hangers using a Steel Depth value are colored differently in the drawing. In the drawing below, the hanger on the left is hanging from Bottom of steel. The one on the right is not:
Ok, so say a week goes by and you don't remember the steel depth stored in the hanger. To check it, you need to look at the XDATA of the hanger since this depth is not stored as an attribute. To check the XDATA, pick the Express pull down menu. then pick Tools->List Object Xdata
Then pick the hanger text and press enter. This will write the Xdata to the text screen. If you cannot see the lines below, press (F2) to display the text screen:
The Code 1010 field has the left (minus 1 foot) in it. This is the Steel Depth.
Now say you have a bunch if different steel depths and want to use the same five or six lengths over and over again. What I would do is draw a pipe off to the side and insert a hanger for each depth. I would label them for easy reference and then copy them as needed to the pipes they fit:
Our friends in New York asked us for a tool to cut piping up into a given length (usually 7') so that it can fit in a jobsite lift.
The command for this is Cut Into Pieces (CIP). It is on the coupling toolbar on a fly-out with Custom Coupling:
The dialog box is:
The tolerance is there so that you do not end up with a 1" piece of pipe because a piece 7'1 was sliced up.You will then be asked to select which pipes should be cut.
The H-Factor 