Mike Twining

Tom- If you are looking for a 1-shot opportunity you can do that, however once you enter in data into one of the fields, you can't then change your mind and enter static values into the other field. For example, try turning on the "Iterative Calculation" option in Excel, then you can replace the "Annual" static value of 12000 with "=B3*12" (while B3 still says "=A3/12") and the sheet won't blow up. You can't have an Excel cell be both a driving and a driven value (i.e. you can't do what you are asking with just the 2 cells). If you want to expand out and add some intermediate cells (for interface), you can add some usability to it.

If any of you out there are looking for some sort of benchmark / comparison between the big 2 video card manufacturers, Toms Hardware has posted a review between the AMD FirePro V8800 and the Nvidia Quadro 5000. The article is somewhat short on useful benchmarking data, but it is one of the few "Workstation" class video card benchmarks that I have run across. Here you go: Workstation Graphics Car Benchmark ====SPOILER ALERT====== The new Quadros are faster than the FirePros. (Not so) Shocking conclusion: AMD has crappy drivers.

Add some bailing wire and a bottle opener to the list, and you have a complete inventory of my garage "repair kit".

...see. That only took like 5 minutes. I also have some ideas on how to fix some of the lingering IC bugs. You can call me if you want. I think my work speaks for itself.

Clearly then you haven't tried Duct Tape yet. "Nothing is ever really broken. It just lacks Duct Tape."

*(cough)* Fix the poll function here! *(cough)*. Yeah, thanks for posting the results guys.

Tom- The "error message" was a bit of a problem for me. This version here will generate an error if the sum of any manually entered pie sizes exceed 360, but it uses Macros to do it. This version will also automatically enter the "M" or "A" depending on if there is an entry in the specified pie size. In reviewing my own post, it makes no sense, so I suggest you just try this new one and see how you like it. You will need to enable macros to use it though (I promise the macro won't format your hard drive!). By the way, MS Excel is the greatest piece of software ever written (sorry IC guys). Pie_Size_v2.xls

Tom- Check this out... I believe it does what you are looking for. Let me know if it does not. Pie_Size.xls

I checked about 100 times, and I still can't believe its true. Cool trick!

As usual, with IronCAD, there are several ways to skin a cat. For the slot dimensioning, another option would be to hold the shift key when smart dimensioning the slot. If you hold shift, and you pick both the arcs, then if you Right-Click on the resulting dimension, and goto Properties, you are presented with the "Arc Option" section. In the case of a slot, you want both to be set at "Maximum" (where the default is center). This arc dimensioning can be helpful in other areas as well.

Was there ever any resolution to this issue? One of my co-workers appears to be having this same problem. Is there a particular 3dx driver that will resolve this, or is the current resolution to ditch the space(thingy) for a while?

.... I would like to make 1 clarification on those recommendations. When it comes to memory, the new "best" is DDR3. In this case, the "3" is for "triple channel", which means that where before I recommended just blindly filling all your memory slots, if you are ordering a system with DDR3 memory, you will want things to be matched up in triplets as opposed to pairs. So, for this instance, (qty=3 1-Gig DDR3) > (qty=4 1-Gig DDR3). I suggest either a 3x2Gig or a 6x1Gig RAM configuration (or a 6x2Gig if you are REALLY looking for horsepower). 64-Bit OS I would consider mandatory (and implied in these numbers). For those excel/engineering types: MOD([Mem Size],3)==0

Nevermind.... I found the command I needed in Gimp. For anyone who cares, I have attached a small chain link fence section (properly cut to tile nicely) image. If you have downloaded Gimp (free Photoshop like program), the command to tile an image is: Filters->Map->Tile...

I see what is going on there. I've attached an image. In here, the sphere is behind the block. The block (at a part level) is red. The front surface of the block (that you are looking at) has a texture applied that contains an alpha channel, and the only visible portion of the image is the black chain-link fence. Is there a way to control the color that IronCAD is rendering in the alpha channel (it appears to the the default part color, NOT the color applied to the part)? Ideally, I would like to see a similar effect in the IronCAD application as one gets from rendering the same thing with the image applied as a decal rather than a texture.... (I guess I want the best of both worlds...I am too lazy to make a custom decal for every length of fence that I need).

Is there a simple way to render a chain link fence that is modeled as a solid "block" (i.e., is there a texture or surface image that I can apply to a large surface that, when rendered, allows transparency in some areas and not in others?)? I don't really want to model an actual chain link fence, but I sure would like to see one in my model. Thanks for any inputs!

Whats up with the x64 update being twice the filesize as the 32-bit update? I would have assumed they would be similar in size....

I am pretty sure that the ID10T error is directly related to a "PEBKAC" issue. I believe google has a little more on that...

Mike- The part that goes into the File->Properties does not contain the variable info (see image). It appears to be working just fine for you... now you just need to put the VALUE you want "Sheets" to be in the correct place. Start there and lets see what happens. I notice that you are using $PRPSheet vs. $PRPDrawing when referencing the "Sheets" variable. I'm not too sure of the consequences of that, but we use $PRPDrawing to reference the variable. Since the total number of sheets does not change from sheet to sheet, I think the $PRPDrawing is probably a more reliable way to do it. It looks like $PRPSheet method will allow you to apply different values to your variable depending on the sheet you are on (although I have never used it), and I am a little afraid that if you do it that way, any continuation sheets you make might not reference the "Sheets" variable correctly. Edit: Also, here is a copy of the template that we use. That should clear some stuff up for you. You will need to unlock the "Template Text" layer to gain access to the sheet reporting information on the template. 12.0_SH1.icd Sure would be nice if IronCAD could AUTOMATICALLY calculate how many sheets there were in a drawing. Unfortunately, for this to work, you need to manually enter that information into the File->Properties->IronCAD Custom->Sheets property. This has been on my ER list for at least 6 years...

Mike- For the "Total Sheets" item: This is what we do: Goto File->Properties Goto the "IronCAD Custom" tab Create a new Text entry Titled "Sheets" Enter the following into the appropriate textbox: OF $PRPDrawing:"IC-Sheets" Done. Note that the Custom file property you created "Sheets" is what is used in the [name] portion of the $PRPDrawing:"IC-[name]" text. You can use the same approach for any variable that you create... so technically to (partially) answer your first question: the list is unlimited. The built-in list can be found from the "Property Name" dropdown list seen in the attached image. Enjoy. Edit: We have found it easier to separate the current sheet number from the total count (as you can see in the image). This allows us to lock the automatic text, and unlock the current sheet number for easy editing, without the fear that someone will overwrite the variable information in the text box.

I sure would vote for the color reversing option in the IC drawing environment if were to say, appear as an enhancement request (hint hint).

XP64, XG64, SpaceMouse Plus, & 3dx release 3.7.16 (6.7.11 drivers) are working fine for me... if that means anything.

Cary, you guys should update the download page to properly report the accurate file download sizes. Either provide the number in total bytes, or give an ACCURATE report of the size in MB (...remember 1MB = 1024 bytes...).

Definitely re-download. I'm running IC on 64-bit Win 7 just fine. You have an incomplete installation file (should be in the 400MB range for innovate)

I don't know and I am not going to be that guinea pig . I'm more like the "confirm the md5sum matches" dork when it comes to OSs (Ubuntu baby!) or larger downloads. Hell, even Vista and Win7 now have a "checksum" (md5, SHA, etc...) command you can run (sure, you need to download it from MS first...). What is the reported (in windows) file size of the items you posted to the 'net? Is it what is shown on the webpage?

I've downloaded both the 32 and 64-bit version of "XG" off the net, and I became concerned when my filesize downloaded did not match the filezise reported. No matter how many time I do it, I get the following filesizes: 32-Bit: (483+ MB downloaded; 508MB reported on website) 64-Bit: (559+MB downloaded; 587MB reported on website) Both files appear equally (percentage wise) short... Is the website wrong, or do I need a lesson in downloading from the 'net (I thought I was pretty good at it)? Perhaps a english-metric conversion + 1000bytes = MB vs. 1024 bytes = MB issue?