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Whats New in ACADE 2005?

11 REPLIES 11
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Message 1 of 12
Anonymous
292 Views, 11 Replies

Whats New in ACADE 2005?

I just received my upgrade to 2005.
What's new and improved?
I haven't seen a list anywhere - did i miss it?
Message was edited by: fdna49
11 REPLIES 11
Message 2 of 12
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Hi, If you go into the help system by choosing Help-->Electrical Help Topics, you will see a link in the middle of the screen that shows more information on "What's New" in AutoCAD Electrical 2005. If you haven't installed it yet and want to see what's new, please see the AutoCAD Electrical Product Summary document found in the features section of www.autodesk.com\autocadelectrical. We look forward to your feedback on the release. Thanks, Scott Reese Product Manager -------------------------- "fdna49" wrote in message news:18801390.1089221548881.JavaMail.jive@jiveforum1... > I just received my upgrade to 2005. > What's new and improved? > I haven't seen a list anywhere - did i miss it? > > > Message was edited by: fdna49 >
Message 3 of 12
Jay Mackey
in reply to: Anonymous

Scott, is there something that lists all of the specific changes? I have AE2005 now, but I'm in the middle of a project and won't consider upgrading until we're out of the weeds.

Thanks,

- Jay
Message 4 of 12
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Scott,
Thanks for your reply.
I am in the same boat as Jay, I am in the middle of several projects and just wanted to know if there was some "new" feature the would benefit me immediately if i upgraded now, or to wait till the job load lessens.

Thanks
Chad
Message 5 of 12
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Good feedback. It sounds like you may have found the "Product Overview" document that is more of a high level overview that doesn't go into specifics of functionality. The "Product Summary" document is actually an overview of what is new in AutoCAD Electrical 2005. It does include some core functionality but for the most part keys on the new or enhanced features. Sorry for the confusion. If you follow this link, it will pull up the Product Summary document: http://www3.autodesk.com/adsk/files/4271670_AutoCAD_Electrical_PS.pdf If you have more specific questions about any of these new or enhanced features, please post them and we would be happy to answer them for you. As another option, you can install AE 2005 alongside of your AE 2004 without upgrading it. It installs into a clean directory and leaves your 2004 version untouched so that you can continue working on your project. From there, you could review the "What's New" section of the help system which covers the features in detail. Does that help? Thanks, Scott -------------------- "Jay Mackey" wrote in message news:10910697.1089226107701.JavaMail.javamailuser@localhost... > Scott, that is not a very good reference for determining what is new in AE 2005. It's just a brouchure that gives a bird's-eye view of AE 2005. > > I have AE2005 now, but I'm in the middle of a project and won't consider upgrading until we're out of the weeds. I would like to know what is new, as well, and that document just doesn't go into enough detail. > > - Jay
Message 6 of 12
Jay Mackey
in reply to: Anonymous

I might try to get it installed on one of our systems.

Is it possible to use the 2005 Merge Catalog database utility to merge the 2005 Catalog, and any other catalog into our 2004 Catalog and then use it with AE 2004? I want to temporarily gain the benefit of the expanded 2005 Catalog with AE 2004.

Thanks,

Jay
Message 7 of 12
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Scott,
Its great news that 2004 and 2005 can both be run at the same time. That's what I will do, that way I can ramp up to 2005 and still be productive on 2004.

Thanks
Chad
Message 8 of 12
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Jay, Although this is not a scenario that was heavily tested in our QA process, you should be able to merge your ACE2004 database with the ACE2005 database and then use the resulting database in ACE2004. The ACE2005 vendor content database has well over 40,000 new additions. Just make sure that you first back up your ACE2004 database, run the new merge database command, and then copy the resulting database back into the name and path were ACE2004 is looking for it. There are some minor structural differences in the two databases but it should work fine. The only reason you would need to merge the two is if you have made modifications/additions to your ACE2004 database. Otherwise, you should be able to simply copy the ACE2005 database over the ACE2004 database. As always, we would recommend backing up your old database first. Hope that helps. Thanks, Scott --------------- "Jay Mackey" wrote in message news:30900110.1089236020617.JavaMail.jive@jiveforum1.autodesk.com... > I might try to get it installed on one of our systems. > > Is it possible to use the 2005 Merge Catalog database utility to merge the 2005 Catalog, and any other catalog into our 2004 Catalog and then use it with AE 2004? > > Thanks, > > Jay
Message 9 of 12
bandit
in reply to: Anonymous

Is there any improvemnet in the HOW-TO Department in the Help Files from 2004 to 2005..............

just wondering
Message 10 of 12
Jay Mackey
in reply to: Anonymous

The short answer is 'no', unless you believe providing the 2004 online tutorial as a printed document qualifies as an 'improvement'.

I've perused the new help file a bit: There's little to like...

The layout/format of the help file has been radically altered. Instead of a Contents tab with a Table of Contents style of layout, there is only a Home page that has a list of thirty-or-so headings under 6-8 main topics, such as Project-related, Wire-related, PLC-related, etc. For example, there are six links to various subjects under the 'Wire' category, but at least two of these links have fly-out lists of sub-topics, so it's a little better than I was afraid of. There is still an Index and Search tab for tracking down info by those means, so the best bet for finding info on the 3-phase bus wiring topic, for example, is to use the Index or Search. However, there is no page-forward or -back buttons for stepping through the entire help file from front to back. It's been changed from a Book/Chapter layout to a random-access reference manual layout. It's going to take a lot of searching, clicking, and reading to determine if it even has all of the information that the 2004 help file had.

There is no linear tutorial for the Electrical part of AE2005 in the help file. There is a printed tutorial for 2005 that appears to be a direct copy of the 2004 online tutorial. It does not cover any of the new features. The info in the specific topics 'may' or may not be an improvement over the previous online manual. Regarding the new features, there is only a basic 'new features' page that does little more than provide a single link from each of the eight-or-so 'new features' to a topic in the help file.

It's even less 'printable' than the 2004 help file. I think you could print out a full chapter or series of topics before. Now it is only page-by-page.

I don't know if there is something else on the CD. I only looked at the printed docs, and the files that were linked from the application.

There is a built-in survey that asks you to rate the current help file and the importance of tutorials and other features, so be sure to send that in if you want changes. The implication is that they know there is a problem and a solution is in the works. It's possible that they ran up against a deadline and simply didn't get it completed in time.

- Jay
Message 11 of 12
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Thank you for your feedback regarding the ACADE 2005 Help. Yes, the layout of the Help has changed radically from ACADE 2004. This is because all of the Autodesk Manufacturing solutions now have the same Help look and feel (this includes Autodesk Inventor, ACADM, Autodesk Vault, and so on). They all have a homepage, index, and search function. If you are accessing the Help from the menu in ACADE, the homepage opens by default. From here you can select the function that you are trying to perform. Since Help is generally accessed when you are in the middle of performing a command, we have designed our Help system to work accordingly. When you press the Help button on a dialog box the Help file for that particular command is displayed. You can then click any of the 'See Also' links or one of the accompanying tabs (Concept, Procedure, Reference). This takes to you more information on that particular command if more information currently exists. Online Help is not meant to be a book, therefore it is not presented as one.

The Getting Started Guide is provided to assist new users as they get started with the software - it is not intended to provide information on all of the functions in ACADE. Being that the new features in ACADE 2005 were not 'basic' they were not included in the Getting Started Guide. If you would like information on new features, visit the 'What's New' link from the ACADE Help homepage. This takes you to a file that lists what is new in ACADE and also provides links to the accompanying Help file for more information on how the new feature works.

Currently you can only print the Help on a page-by-page basis. This issue is known and it is being addressed so please bear with us as we find a solution that benefits everyone.

DSS would love to hear your suggestions and/or concerns regarding the Help or the Getting Started Guide. If anyone has a few moments, please take the online survey (accessible on the Help homepage) so that we can better address your concerns.

Thanks,
Heather Schwartz (ACADE DSS)
Message 12 of 12
Jay Mackey
in reply to: Anonymous

Hi,

I really think that there is a enormous shortcoming in the help system. ACADE 2005 is still new for me, and I am not going to make a sweeping statement that the current help is 'this' or 'that', yet, but I will say that a 'command reference' type of manual or help system is often almost worthless to a new user because he has no context in which to place the information the help system supplies. In a complex, non-intuitive application like ACADE, learning dry, specific bits about a certain dialog box really doesn't help a new user master and correctly utilize the terminal block capabilities of ACADE, just to pick something that can be very complex, but not addressed in the tutorial to any degree. In my opinion, there is not adequate coverage of terminal block issues in the 2004 help system (which is the only one that I can offer a fully informed opinion on at this time). The task of utilizing terminal block symbols in ACADE in a 'smart' way, such that ACADE reports will contain useful and valid information, in such a way that the schematic will be electrically correct for the specific components being used, AND in such a way that the panel and/or terminal strip layout drawings are generated correctly with specific wires coming in and exiting the terminals on the correct sides is not something you can really pick up from the 2004 help system as far as I can tell.

As far as the 2005 help system, I don' t see how you can have (in my opinion, 'funky') HTML topics, and ever create a system that will print in a friendly way. You would have to offer a parallel document in something like .pdf format.

Good luck! You definitely have a challenging job.

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