Two days ago, Product Manager, Patrick Aragon, celebrated Project Dragonfly's one year anniversary with the following message.

On March 9th, 2009, the Project Dragonfly web application was “born” on Autodesk Labs, weighing in at a lean 70 saved designs, 33 registered users, and only a few hundred visits. Since then, Project Dragonfly has maintained a healthy lifestyle and diet that has included four major application releases, two major content updates, and eleven critical system patches.

Although still only a toddler, Project Dragonfly has grown like a weed over the past 12 months, now tipping the scales at close to 45,000 saved designs, over 43,000 registered users, and has seen over 1,000,000 visits!

Recent health check-ups have been positive, so the Project is looking forward to moving on to the next stages in life, which happily includes having a real name!

Please join our team in wishing Project Dragonfly a very happy birthday!

Thanks Patrick.

So see for yourself why our baby has grown:

Do It Yourself Project Dragonfly Floor Planning Using Just Your Browser

Blowing out the candles is alive in the lab. (Or should I say candle?)

Inspired by the success of Avatar and the role Autodesk MotionBuilder software played in that success, I visited the avatarizeyourself.com site and saw what I would have looked like had I been a part of the movie. Thinking back on the AutoCAD Elves post I did one holiday season (and Shaan's reply), I thought I would give it another try.

Having a wee bit of fun is alive in the lab.

One of the most requested items for Project Cooper was better DWG compatibility with other Autodesk applications. This latest release, which also renamed Project Cooper to AutoCAD Freestyle Technology Preview, made strides in this area. Technical Product Manager, Lisa Crounse, provided me with information on Freestyle's DWG abilities.

1. 
   

   When a DWG file from another application is opened in the AutoCAD Freestyle Technology Preview, the original objects cannot be edited. That is, all geometry and text are on a locked layer. This preserves the integrity of the original drawing when it is opened in the original application after it has been edited in the AutoCAD Freestyle Technology Preview.

   
   
2. 
   

   The AutoCAD Freestyle Technology Preview only opens one paper space layout at a time. If a DWG file created in another application contains multiple paper space layouts, the user can select a single layout to use. The other layouts are retained in the file and can be opened later in other applications as well as in the AutoCAD Freestyle Technology Preview.

   
   
3. 
   

   If the DWG file from another application contains only model space information, the AutoCAD Freestyle Technology Preview displays all model space objects in its workspace.

   
   
4. 
   

   All text, geometry, and fill elements added using the AutoCAD Freestyle Technology Preview are automatically placed on a new, AutoCAD Freestyle Technology Preview-specific, layer.

Thanks Lisa.

Spelling out the possibilities is alive in the lab.

The latest issue of AUGIWorld is available for download.

This month's issue features a cover story article from our own Kean Walmsley who talked about the ADN Plugin of the Month available for download from the Autodesk labs site. Previous months' plugins are still available on th updates page.

Check it out.

The Feature Recognition for Inventor team has updated the technology preview for Inventor 2011. Recall that you can use Feature Recognition to convert neutral 3D CAD models, such as STEP, SAT, or IGES solids, into full-featured Autodesk Inventor models. Feature mapping can be executed automatically or interactively as needed to maintain your design intent. So now when Inventor 2011 becomes available, you can visit:

Free Download of Feature Recognition for Inventor via Autodesk Labs

and download a compatible version of the technology preview. This includes both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. We're ready when you're ready. Thanks for all those who continue to provide feedback to labs.iv.feature.recog@autodesk.com.

Getting a technology preview on deck so it will be there when you need it is alive in the lab.

The Feature Recognition for Inventor team has updated the technology preview for Inventor 2011. Recall that you can use Feature Recognition to convert neutral 3D CAD models, such as STEP, SAT, or IGES solids, into full-featured Autodesk Inventor models. Feature mapping can be executed automatically or interactively as needed to maintain your design intent. So now when Inventor 2011 becomes available, you can visit:

Free Download of Feature Recognition for Inventor via Autodesk Labs

and download a compatible version of the technology preview. This includes both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. We're ready when you're ready. Thanks for all those who continue to provide feedback to labs.iv.feature.recog@autodesk.com.

Getting a technology preview on deck so it will be there when you need it is alive in the lab.

The technology preview of the Multi-Threaded Solver for Robot Structural Analysis has ended. The functionality no longer operates as of March 1. This preview leveraged modern Intel CPU architectures to analyze designs more quickly. Thanks to everyone who downloaded the preview and provided feedback.

Quite honestly this was not our most popular preview. Regardless, we value the lessons we learn from all Autodesk Labs technology previews. For those interested in continuing with this functionality, please contact us at labs.revit.rsa@autodesk.com.

As Autodesk MotionBuilder software was integral to the success of Avatar, I felt compelled to try avatarizeyourself.com. I think I'll stick with being human.

Since today is a Friday, I typically shy away from technical blog posts, So here is something intended to be humorous. I was searching for a relative I have not been in contact so I typed in her name on Facebook. I found a few people with the same name but not her. I was amused at how many people had the same name. So I decided to try my own name. Here's what I found on the other Scott Sheppards:

• 
  

  National Scott Sheppard Day is November 8
  
  This is a tribute to a sophomore at Eisenhower High School from years gone by. Apparently current students dress like this Scott Sheppard on this day every year. Attire includes khaki pants. By pure coincidence my wife, Sheryl, and I celebrate this day as our first date was on 11/08/1975.

  
  
• 
  

  The Scott Sheppard Appreciation Society
  
  Here's a guy who makes unhappy people feel better. He has a fan club of 50 members.

  
  
• 
  

  Dr. Scott Sheppard
  
  In the 80's when I was working on my masters thesis in computer science, I would run across these publications by an astronomer named Scott Sheppard. He has made some great discoveries. Oh to be an astronomer.

  
  

  The night is clear.
  
  When the stars appear,
  
  I recite their names.
  
  The farthest lights
  
  Only now arrive
  
  Wonder how they've changed
  
     Freedy Johnston, "Farthest Lights," Blue Days Black Nights.

So then I tried Autodesk Labs Software Architect Ben Cochran. Here's what I found on other Ben Cochrans:

• 
  

  Elect Ben Cochran mayor of Worthington
  
  This group has 104 members that would like to see this Ben Cochran become mayor of a city in Ohio.

  
  
• 
  

  I like the IDEA of ben cochran
  
  This is a very exclusive group of 11 members who "were there that faithful night when I say things without thinking, and ben cochran finds them funny."

  
  
• 
  

  Ben Cochran and Abby Kitchener are the Best Parents Ever!
  
  "This is for all the cool kids of family 11 who think that Ben and Abby are the best parents!" Though this is a different Ben Cochran, this one might actually apply to our own Ben.

You should try this with your own name. You might be surprised.

Keeping the topic light on a Friday is alive in the lab.

Q: What do cookies and design publishing have in common?

A: I like them in batches.

The March ADN plugin of the month is the DWF/PDF Batch Publish for AutoCAD utility. You can download it including source code at:

Free Download of DWF/PDF Batch Publish for AutoCAD via Autodesk Labs

It seems that a Mr. Richard Feder from Fort Lee, New Jersey wrote in:

I am testing your Batch Publish add-on, and when I run it I get this error.

In response this update includes support for file path characters that are reserved in XML (like &, %, etc.). While they were at it, the developers changed the code to stop terminating when certain innocuous exceptions are thrown during PUBLISH of certain drawings and to more reliably add demand-loading entries on certain AutoCAD verticals such as AutoCAD Electrical.

Honing our sample source code and functionality based on user feedback is alive in the lab.

Last year (FY10) was another banner year for downloads from the Autodesk Labs site:

This download thing is really catching on. Senior PR manager, Noah Cole, let all of us Autodesk bloggers know about a shift towards downloads at Autdoesk overall.

Starting this month, software download will replace CDs and DVDs as the default method of delivering software upgrades to most Autodesk® Subscription customers worldwide.

• 
  

  If a customer would prefer to receive their software upgrade via CD/DVD instead of via download, customers can set their delivery preference to “box” by signing in to Subscription Center and updating their profile prior to March 12, 2010. (Date does not apply to Media and Entertainment customers.) [Your Subscription Center login is the same as your Autodesk Labs login.]

  
  
• 
  

  After March 12, 2010 customers in countries affected by this policy change can still request a CD/DVD by submitting a request in Subscription Center and Autodesk will ship a CD/DVD at no additional cost.

Software download gives Subscription customers immediate access to the latest Autodesk software. It’s more convenient than installing upgrades from a CD or DVD. And, it’s a more sustainable choice. Autodesk will continue to ship CDs/DVDs to Subscription customers in some countries as the default delivery method; however, these customers will also have the option to download their Autodesk software upgrades.

Questions Additional information and a Customer FAQ can be found on the Subscription Software Download page. Or email subscription-team@autodesk.com.

Thanks Noah.

Last year (FY10) was another banner year for downloads from the Autodesk Labs site:

This download thing is really catching on. Senior PR manager, Noah Cole, let all of us Autodesk bloggers know about a shift towards downloads at Autdoesk overall.

Starting this month, software download will replace CDs and DVDs as the default method of delivering software upgrades to most Autodesk® Subscription customers worldwide.

• 
  

  If a customer would prefer to receive their software upgrade via CD/DVD instead of via download, customers can set their delivery preference to “box” by signing in to Subscription Center and updating their profile prior to March 12, 2010. (Date does not apply to Media and Entertainment customers.) [Your Subscription Center login is the same as your Autodesk Labs login.]

  
  
• 
  

  After March 12, 2010 customers in countries affected by this policy change can still request a CD/DVD by submitting a request in Subscription Center and Autodesk will ship a CD/DVD at no additional cost.

Software download gives Subscription customers immediate access to the latest Autodesk software. It’s more convenient than installing upgrades from a CD or DVD. And, it’s a more sustainable choice. Autodesk will continue to ship CDs/DVDs to Subscription customers in some countries as the default delivery method; however, these customers will also have the option to download their Autodesk software upgrades.

Questions Additional information and a Customer FAQ can be found on the Subscription Software Download page. Or email subscription-team@autodesk.com.

Thanks Noah.

Q: What do cookies and design publishing have in common?
A: I like them in batches.

The March ADN plugin of the month is the DWF/PDF Batch Publish for AutoCAD utility. You can download it including source code at:

Free Download of DWF/PDF Batch Publish for AutoCAD via Autodesk Labs

It seems that a Mr. Richard Feder from Fort Lee, New Jersey wrote in:

I am testing your Batch Publish add-on, and when I run it I get this error.

In response this update includes support for file path characters that are reserved in XML (like &, %, etc.). While they were at it, the developers changed the code to stop terminating when certain innocuous exceptions are thrown during PUBLISH of certain drawings and to more reliably add demand-loading entries on certain AutoCAD verticals such as AutoCAD Electrical.

Honing our sample source code and functionality based on user feedback is alive in the lab.

Since today is a Friday, I typically shy away from technical blog posts, So here is something intended to be humorous. I was searching for a relative I have not been in contact so I typed in her name on Facebook. I found a few people with the same name but not her. I was amused at how many people had the same name. So I decided to try my own name. Here's what I found on the other Scott Sheppards:

• 
  

  National Scott Sheppard Day is November 8
  This is a tribute to a sophomore at Eisenhower High School from years gone by. Apparently current students dress like this Scott Sheppard on this day every year. Attire includes khaki pants. By pure coincidence my wife, Sheryl, and I celebrate this day as our first date was on 11/08/1975.

  
  
• 
  

  The Scott Sheppard Appreciation Society
  Here's a guy who makes unhappy people feel better. He has a fan club of 50 members.

  
  
• 
  

  Dr. Scott Sheppard
  In the 80's when I was working on my masters thesis in computer science, I would run across these publications by an astronomer named Scott Sheppard. He has made some great discoveries. Oh to be an astronomer.

  
  

  The night is clear.
  When the stars appear,
  I recite their names.
  The farthest lights
  Only now arrive
  Wonder how they've changed
     Freedy Johnston, "Farthest Lights," Blue Days Black Nights.

So then I tried Autodesk Labs Software Architect Ben Cochran. Here's what I found on other Ben Cochrans:

• 
  

  Elect Ben Cochran mayor of Worthington
  This group has 104 members that would like to see this Ben Cochran become mayor of a city in Ohio.

  
  
• 
  

  I like the IDEA of ben cochran
  This is a very exclusive group of 11 members who "were there that faithful night when I say things without thinking, and ben cochran finds them funny."

  
  
• 
  

  Ben Cochran and Abby Kitchener are the Best Parents Ever!
  "This is for all the cool kids of family 11 who think that Ben and Abby are the best parents!" Though this is a different Ben Cochran, this one might actually apply to our own Ben.

You should try this with your own name. You might be surprised.

Keeping the topic light on a Friday is alive in the lab.

As Autodesk MotionBuilder software was integral to the success of Avatar, I felt compelled to try avatarizeyourself.com. I think I'll stick with being human.

The technology preview of the Multi-Threaded Solver for Robot Structural Analysis has ended. The functionality no longer operates as of March 1. This preview leveraged modern Intel CPU architectures to analyze designs more quickly. Thanks to everyone who downloaded the preview and provided feedback.

Quite honestly this was not our most popular preview. Regardless, we value the lessons we learn from all Autodesk Labs technology previews. For those interested in continuing with this functionality, please contact us at labs.revit.rsa@autodesk.com.

DWF and PDF are like electronic plots and more...

March 1 - On this day in:

• 1869: Postage stamps depicting scenes are issued for the first time.
  
• 1912: Albert Berry makes the fist parachute jump from an airplane.
  
• 1937: The first permanent automobile license plates were issued by Connecticut.
  
• 2010: Autodesk Labs releases DWF/PDF Batch Publish for AutoCAD ADN Plugin of the Month.

Yes it's time for another Autodesk Developer Network Plugin of the Month. This month's plugin was written by Developer Consultant, Varadarajan Krishnan, and Manager of DevTech India, Virupaksha Aithal, with help from Senior Manager, Worldwide DevTech, Kean Walmsley.

Free Download of DWF/PDF Batch Publish for AutoCAD (ready to use plus source code)

As a former DWF Technical Evangelist, this one is near and dear to my heart. You can use it to batch publish DWF or PDF. The process monitors AutoCAD and restarts if something goes wrong. The status is stored in a file so it is easy for the process to pick up where it left off. The process can also detect what files have changed and publish only changed files.

I know this utility sounds incredibly useful. It definitely puts the "you" in utility. But please recall the ultimate purpose of the ADN Plug-in of the Month Club. We want you to look at the source, see that developing plugins is not all that hard, and go forth and multiply. So if you are so inclined, give this one a whirl and see how far you can extend it.

So in keeping with the day, publish your drawings depicting your designs and set up a permanent process. You won't need a parachute.

Releasing yet another shining example of AutoCAD extensibility is alive in the lab.

Our systems are currently fighting with us.

We had some site maintenance over the weekend. As an expected result, if you:

1. Navigate to http://labs.autodesk.com.
   
2. Click on "Sign In" on the upper right.
   
3. Supply your Autodesk Single Sign-on user name and password.
   
   
   
   Click Submit.
   
4. You will notice that you are redirected to http://usa.autodesk.com instead of http://labs.autodesk.com.

We are aware of the problem, and IT is looking into it. Thanks to those of you who alerted us to this error. The workaround is to simply navigate back to http://labs.autodesk.com. You will see that you are indeed logged into the Labs community. It's just the page redirection that is in error.

The login problem reported this morning also affects the ability to log in for Project Butterfly, Project Draw, Project Freewheel, Project Twitch, and Autodesk Showroom. If you log into the Labs site first and check Remember My User ID, you can then navigate to and use these applications under your login.

I apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for your continued interest in our Labs technology previews and the feedback you provide.

The login redirection problem has been fixed. Thanks to our IT department for their swift action. Please do let us know at thelabs@autodesk.com should any of you still encounter the problem.