IN THIS ISSUE

Community

- Registrations for AU 2009 Now Open!
- Singapore Revit User Group Members Get-together

Focus On

- The World According to BIM
- Design Visualisation: Explore. Validate. Communicate.

Tips & Techniques

- AutoCAD® 2010: A PDF Wish Comes True!
- AutoCAD® Architecture: User Interface Cheat Sheet
- AutoCAD® Civil 3D 2010: Making changes to the Label section within Edit Label Style Defaults

What's New?

- Autodesk Simplified Upgrade Pricing Begins March 16, 2010

Subscription News

- Getting Started & Managing Autodesk® Subscription
- Do You Know Autodesk Subscription Entitles You to Autodesk® Impression?

Customer Success

- Revit® BIM Experience Award Winner: Cannon Design
- Adolfson & Peterson Construction Reduces Construction Waste, Rework, and Delays using Autodesk Navisworks

Technology Partner News

- Unleash Serious Performance

It all starts here  

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Dear [customer first name],

Hello and welcome to the August 2009 issue of Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) News.

In this issue, learn about some important considerations in transiting to BIM; get a heads up on Autodesk Simplified Upgrade Pricing and we highlight how visualisation plays a critical role at every stage of your architectural design process. For new Autodesk Subscription cusotmers, read the FAQs to help you get started and manage your Autodesk Subscription.

As always, we'll share our dose of tips and tricks and in our customer showcase, we're featuring Cannon Design, a Revit BIM Experience Award winner and Adolfson & Peterson Construction on how Autodesk® Navisworks® helps them reduce construction waste, rework, and delays in their construction projects.

If you would like to share your comments on how we can improve this newsletter, please send them to keepintouch@autodesk.com.

The AEC News Editorial Team

Registrations for AU 2009 Now Open!

Join us for the 17th Annual Autodesk University. Network with peers and industry veterans, update your skills, engage with Autodesk employees, and enjoy Subscription exclusive Red Carpet treatment. Plan now to be part of this once-a-year opportunity at The Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, 1-3 December 2009. Visit www.autodesk.com/au for more details.

Singapore Revit User Group Members Get-together

Mark your calendar for the following series of events where members will come together to learn, network and have fun:

Venue details will be announced nearer to the event date. Please visit www.revit.com.sg for updates.

Not a member yet? Sign up today: Singaporerug@gmail.com .

The World According to BIM

Careful assessment and planning can position your firm for a fool-resistant transition to building information modeling. Some of the important considerations you'll need to address as you work with an implementation consultant to prepare for the process are:

• Step 1: Define goals
• Step 2: Assess your current situation
• Step 3: Choose a pilot project
• Step 4: Make a plan

Read the article.

Design Visualisation: Explore. Validate. Communicate.

Visualisation plays a role at every stage of the architectural design process, including exploring complex organic forms, studying how light interacts with a design, validating a design for planning and public outreach, and marketing a building before breaking ground. Find out more.

Tip 1: AutoCAD 2010: A PDF Wish Comes True!

We have been able to create PDF files from our AutoCAD drawings in the past two releases, but the ability to bring PDF files into AutoCAD has eluded us. AutoCAD 2010 not only allows us to print slimmer and smarter PDF files, but now we also can bring those PDF files into AutoCAD. Find out how.
By Lynn Allen, Autodesk Evangelist and Cadalsyst Columnist

Tip 2: AutoCAD Architecture: User Interface Cheat Sheet

Discover a hidden gem in the AutoCAD Architecture 2010 documents "The User Interface Overview". Mark has posted the handy PDF file which is located like a hidden Easter egg on the CHM Help file located at: C:\Program Files\AutoCAD Architecture 2010\Help\aca_ui_overview.chm.

The CHM is an interactive based Flash overview of User Interface components or at the bottom left there is an icon for the PDF. Read more.
By Mark Kiker, CADDManager Blog

Tip 3: AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 - Making changes to the Label section within Edit Label Style Defaults

Like Edit Drawing Settings, Edit Label Style Defaults quickly sets a drawing's important values. Where you make changes to the Label Style Defaults sets the change's scope. Changing Edit Label Style Defaults at the drawing level sets the values for all drawing labels. Making the changes at the feature level changes all labels for that feature. Making changes for a label type changes the values only for that label type. Learn more.
By Phillip Zimmerman, Senior Applications Engineer, Imaginit

Autodesk Simplified Upgrade Pricing Begins March 16, 2010

Autodesk is making important changes to the way we'll be pricing future upgrades on many of our software products, including products for the architecture, engineering and construction industry.

Under our current upgrade pricing model, the price of your upgrade depends on which product release you own. After March 15, 2010, your upgrade from any of the three previous software releases will cost 50 percent of the price of a new licence, no matter which release you own. Each new release of our software is designed to help you work smarter and faster. That's why we always encourage our customers to upgrade. The best way to get current and stay current is to upgrade your Autodesk® 2007, 2008, and 2009 software with Autodesk® Subscription before March 16, 2010.

For a limited time, Autodesk will provide discounted pricing on upgrades and retroactive Subscription fees for selected products* from 2007, 2008, and 2009 products. Upgrade with Autodesk Subscription* on or before 16 Oct, 2009 and save 20%. For more information, contact your reseller today!

*Terms and conditions apply

Getting Started & Managing Autodesk Subscription

New to Autodesk Subscription? Getting started, accessing the Subscription Center, and understanding administrative roles are easy with Autodesk Subscription. Find out more.

Do You Know Autodesk Subscription Entitles You to Autodesk Impression?

Exclusively for Autodesk® Subscription customers, Autodesk Impression can help you create compelling presentation graphics right from your CAD files. Valid for selected Autodesk products. Check it out today.

Revit BIM Experience Award Winner: Cannon Design

Cannon Design is an ideas-based practice ranked among the world's leading international design firms. With projects in 25 countries, the firm employs a staff of 850 located in 17 offices throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as Shanghai, China, and Mumbai, India.

Since adopting BIM with the help of Autodesk Revit -based software in 2007, the firm has used BIM on more than 150 projects. Read more.

Adolfson & Peterson Construction Reduces Construction Waste, Rework, and Delays using Autodesk Navisworks

Thanks to Navisworks, Adolfson & Peterson is completing construction projects more efficiently and cost-effectively. "We are proactively solving problems before construction begins so teams aren't waiting for answers or solutions to issues during construction," explains Cameron Donegan, virtual construction manager at A&P. "The bottom line is Navisworks helps save us from doing rework, minimises construction schedules, and supports better communication." Read more.

Unleash Serious Performance

On a complex building project, architects, engineers and their construction colleagues share a variety of opinions to accomplish their goal; but one detail remains constant - they can't afford to take chances when their livelihood, and the safety of others is involved.

They need to know that they can depend on their advanced applications and workstations to work together reliably to help them get designs done on schedule and without compromise.

Dell PrecisionTM workstations are stress-tested and certified by industry leading software partners to help AEC customers accomplish their key objectives and find the right balance between performance and precise. Learn more.