It is Alive in the Lab

Updated 3D/2D ShareNow Now Available

Autodesk Labs is happy to announce an update to our free ShareNow add-in. ShareNow lets you share your designs with others who only have a browser. This includes teammates who may be on a Macintosh, Linux, or a cell phone. With this add-in installed, all it takes is the click of an icon.

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/ShareNow/

With this update, the 3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for AutoCAD, Inventor, Revit, and Design Review is available for:

Application	Supported Release	Version
AutoCAD	English 2008 or English 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
AutoCAD Architecture	English 2008 or English 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
AutoCAD Civil 3D	English 2008 or English 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
AutoCAD Electrical	English 2008 or English 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
AutoCAD Land Desktop	English 2008 or English 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
AutoCAD MEP	English 2008 or English 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
AutoCAD Mechanical	English 2008 or English 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
AutoCAD P&ID	English 2008 or English 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
Design Review	2009	32-bit
Inventor Suite	2008 or 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
Inventor Routed Systems Suite	2008 or 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
Inventor Simulation Suite	2008 or 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
Inventor Professional	2008 or 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
Inventor LT Technology Preview	2008 or 2009	32-bit and 64-bit
Revit Architecture	2008 or 2009	32-bit
Revit Structure	2008 or 2009	32-bit
Revit MEP	2008 or 2009	32-bit

This update also corrects the problem with Content Center for our Inventor users. Sorry about that. So please give ShareNow a try and let us know what you think: labs.freewheel@autodesk.com. Allowing people to share their designs without requiring others to install additional software is alive in the lab.

Coming soon: Autodesk Design Review users can more easily collaborate with non-Autodesk Design Review users

Soon you will be able to share designs you are reviewing with Autodesk Design Review with others who do not yet have Autodesk Design Review. This includes platforms where Autodesk Design Review is not available such as the Macintosh, Linux, and the cell phone. The free 3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for AutoCAD, Inventor, Inventor LT, and Revit is being extended to include support for Autodesk Design Review.

Many of you currently use the ShareNow add-in to share designs with others using Project Freewheel. The ShareNow add-in lets you publish designs from AutoCAD, Inventor, Inventor LT, or Revit to Project Freewheel in one easy step. Soon Autodesk Design Review 2009 users will be able to do the same.

An announcement will be made on this blog and the Autodesk Labs web site will be updated when the updated ShareNow add-in is available. The first step will be to download the add-in and install it:

After doing so, a Freewheel item is available from the File menu:

Using Autodesk Design Review 2009, you will be able to publish your current DWF file to Project Freewheel by accepting the terms of use and logging into the Autodesk Labs community:

You will have all of the 3D models and 2D sheets in your current DWF available on Project Freewheel - juts like what you had in Autodesk Design Review:

You can then zoom in to see additional detail without loss of fidelity using just your browser:

You can then start a collaboration session. You no longer have to email the DWF and wait to receive a marked up DWF. You can collaborate with others in real time using the web. This includes Windows user who have yet to install Autodesk Design Review or users on other platforms such as the Macintosh, Linux, or cell phones.

Sharing designs is easier than ever. Autodesk customers can collaborate in a variety of ways including easily publishing to Freewheel from a variety of applications. Making it easy to collaborate with others is alive in the lab.

Please test fix[es] for Inventor Content Center and ShareNow issue

WARNING: Feedback from some of our Inventor users indicates that there was an issue related to ShareNow and Content Center. Product support started to see cases on both Windows XP and Windows Vista machines with Inventor Service pack 2 applied. When the combination of ShareNow and Content Center are on one system, and users tried to create/publish a part to Content Center, they encountered an "unable to create part" error.

WORKAROUND: As an immediate remedy, removing the ShareNow add-in corrects the problem.

DEFECT CORRECTION: We believe we have a correction. We actually have two versions of it - one smaller than the other. We tested these in the Lab. These work for us. Do they work for you? If you would like to try our smaller fix, see:

Download 726InventorShareNow.zip (1881.5K)

If you can confirm or deny that this fixes the Content Center problem and allows you to publish to Project Freewheel, please let us know at labs.freewheel@autodesk.com. We would appreciate it.

In the event that the small fix fails, please try the larger fix and let us know your results:

Download 42InventorShareNow.zip (1418.5K)

We are sorry for the inconvenience our original ShareNow caused for Content Center users.

3D/2D ShareNow supports AutoCAD flavors - both 2008 and 2009

The free 3D/2D ShareNow add-in has been updated to work with AutoCAD-based vertical solutions. This applies to the 2008 product line that is available now and the 2009 product line that will be available soon. At this time, this applies to the English versions of our applications. Support for localized versions can be considered for an upcoming Labs release.

The 3D/2D ShareNow add-in allows you to share your design with others with one easy click. While in AutoCAD, Inventor (or Inventor LT), or Revit, you click on a ShareNow icon and see your design in Project Freewheel. I created some YouTube videos that show ShareNow in action:

1. INVENTOR: Publish to Project Freewheel from Inventor video (2:05 minutes)
2. AUTOCAD: Publish to Project Freewheel from AutoCAD video (0:49 minutes)
3. REVIT: Publish to Project Freewheel from Revit video (2:20 minutes)

For users who do not have YouTube access, I also have the videos posted on the blog server itself:

1. INVENTOR: Watch the Inventor video
2. AUTOCAD: Watch the AutoCAD video
3. REVIT: Watch the Revit video

With this update of the ShareNow add-in, we have done two things in terms of AutoCAD:

1. Whereas we originally only supported vanilla AutoCAD, we now support AutoCAD vertical solutions. The list of supported AutoCAD-based products now includes:
   • AutoCAD 2008 / 2009,
   • AutoCAD Architecture 2008 / 2009,
   • AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008 / 2009,
   • AutoCAD Electrical 2008 / 2009,
   • AutoCAD Land Desktop 2008 / 2009,
   • AutoCAD MEP 2008 / 2009,
   • AutoCAD Map 3D 2008 / 2009,
   • AutoCAD Mechanical 2008 / 2009, and
   • AutoCAD P&ID 2008 / 2009.
2. Whereas the original ShareNow menu was placed on the toolbar, ShareNow is now a floating toolbar. You can move and dock it where you would like it.

Revit 2008, Inventor 2008, and the Inventor LT Technology Preview continue to be supported. So download ShareNow, give it a try, and let us know what you think: labs.freewheel@autodesk.com. Is it easy to use or what? A special "thanks" goes out to Tim Catalano. Earlier in the week Tim sent us an email inquiring if ShareNow worked with AutoCAD P&ID. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. We had been meaning to do this, so we just did it. See - that feedback thing really works! Tim even helped us test this update. Expanding our ability to get critical feedback from a larger user base is alive in the lab.

ShareNow in the works for AutoCAD 2009

The free ShareNow utility allows you to publish your design to Project Freewheel with one click. The utility publishes a DWF from your design, uploads it to the Project Freewheel server, and invokes your browser so you can see your design in all its glory. With one more click you can start a sharing session, pick a unique session name, and invite your teammates to collaborate on your design. You can email your teammates a link or simply provide them with the session name over the telephone.

The ShareNow utility works with AutoCAD 2008, Inventor 2008, Revit 2008. Right now I am testing it with a pre-release candidate of AutoCAD 2009. When our ShareNow utility is used with AutoCAD 2009, the user interface looks like:

We are planning to release an updated ShareNow utility in the near future. We are anxious to get feedback from AutoCAD 2009 users on the ease of use regarding this utility: labs.freewheel@autodesk.com.

How to use Publish To Web with Project Freewheel

One of the frequently asked questions I get is "How can I use the AutoCAD 'Publish to Web' capability with Project Freewheel?" I am no Lynn Allen (a.k.a. the original Melanie Stone Perry) or Shaan Hurley, but I decided to give this a try myself and see what I could find out.

1. The first thing I did was create a sample drawing. I called it publish_to_web_test.dwg. Okay, I am not very original. It looked like this:
   
   
   
   I deleted the extraneous Layout2 and used the Page Setup command to set my device as the DWF6 ePlot pc3 file.

2. I then used the AutoCAD Publish to Web capability which was located on the file menu.
   
   
   
   This is not the PUBLISH command that I use all the time to create DWF files. The Publish To Web capability has a Wizard type interface where you navigate through a set of simple dialogs to complete the process. It allowed me to select files, model space and/or layouts, color schemes, etc. It was easy for me even on my first try.

3. Publish To Web is different from PUBLISH in that in addition to creating a DWF file, it also creates an HTML page that references your DWF file. After completing the steps, I had a set of files in my designated folder:
   
   

4. The file IM1.htm (for image one) is the key. Had I specified multiple layouts or used multiple DWG files, I would have had a set of these files - one per DWF file. This file looks like:
   
   <!-- saved from url=(0014)about:internet -->
   <html>
   <body leftmargin="0" rightmargin="0" topmargin="0">
   <object id="ADV" classid="clsid:A662DA7E-CCB7-4743-B71A-D817F6D575DF" width="100%" height="100%">
   <param name="Src" value="IM1.dwf">
   </object>
   </body>
   </html>
   
   You can see that it has an HTML <object> tag which is what tells Internet Explorer to invoke Autodesk Design Review when it is encountered. That long string of hexadecimal numbers is a unique class ID for Autodesk Design Review. This is what Project Freewheel users do not want. They want visitors to their page to be able to see their design as a DWF without having to install additional software. So we need to change this file to reference Freewheel instead of using the <object> tag.

5. The Project Freewheel server needs to be able to load your design from a location on the web. So this location needs to be specified as part of the HTML. For my example, I will be using the http://labs.blogs.com/files/ADR2FW location so I will include this in my processing. For your purposes, you will need to have a web destination in mind when you set up your own process.

6. I am old school. I use a set of Berkeley utilities that include a stream editing program called sed.exe. Using sed with a script that looks like:
   
   s/%">/%"/
   s/<object id="ADV"classid="clsid:A662DA7E-CCB7-4743-B71A-D817F6D575DF"/<iframe scrolling="no"/
   s/<param name="Src"value="/src="http:\/\/freewheel.labs.autodesk.com\/dwf.aspx?path=http:\/\/labs.blogs.com\/ADR2FW\//
   /<\/object>/d
   
   allows me to convert the IM1.hm file in an automated way. Had I had more than one HTML file, I could have run the same script on each of the files.

7. I ran the script on the IM1.htm file. The resulting file looks like:
   
   <!-- saved from url=(0014)about:internet -->
   <html>
   <body leftmargin="0" rightmargin="0" topmargin="0">
   <iframe scrolling="no" width="100%" height="100%"
   src="http://freewheel.labs.autodesk.com/dwf.aspx?path=http://labs.blogs.com/ADR2FW/IM1.dwf">
   </body>
   </html>
   
   Once you have your processed files, you can post the set to the web location you selected in step 5. I have posted the result to acwebpublish.htm.

So with a little bit of creative editing, which you can do manually or through your own automated process, you can publish your drawings to the web and people can view them without installing additional software. Helping users share design data is alive in the lab.

ShareNow extends collaboration from manufacturers to suppliers

If you are an Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview user in the United States or Canada, and you are not using the collaboration capabilities of Project Freewheel, then you are missing the boat.

Now that we have updated the 3D/2D ShareNow Add-in to support the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview, this opens up a whole new set of possibilities for design collaboration. The relationship between the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview and Autodesk Inventor has been established. It is a common scenario for suppliers to use the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview to model parts and for manufacturers to combine these parts into assemblies using Autodesk Inventor. Now suppliers can use ShareNow to share their "works in progress" via Project Freewheel.

1. The manufacturer publishes a specification using the free Autodesk DWF Writer. Using just their browsers, the manufacturer and supplier participate in a real-time collaboration session via Project Freewheel. The session allows the supplier to mark up the specification, and both parties reach agreement on a final version of the specification.

2. The supplier uses the final specification to model the part using the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview. The supplier publishes his work in progress to Project Freewheel with one click using the ShareNow Add-in. Using just their browsers, the supplier and manufacturer participate in a real-time collaboration session via Project Freewheel. The session allows the manufacturer to mark up the part, and both parties reach agreement on a final version of the part.

3. After incorporating changes from the session to the part using the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview, the supplier delivers the part to the manufacturer. Using Autodesk Inventor, the manufacturer creates an assembly using the part and other parts designed internally or obtained from other suppliers.

We are anxious to hear of your experiences with Project Freewheel and the Autodesk Inventor LT technology Preview. Please try ShareNow and tell us what you think: labs.freewheel@autodesk.com. For those attending Autodesk University, you can also stop by the Design Showcase in the Exhibit Hall and see ShareNow in action. Working to improve collaboration among manufacturers and suppliers is alive in the lab.

3D/2D ShareNow Add-in Available for Inventor LT

The 3D/2D ShareNow Add-in allows you to publish a design from AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit to Project Freewheel. This is possible with just one click. Our most recent update of this add-in now allows it to do the same thing while working in the Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview. It is available on Autodesk Labs now.

Download and install the new ShareNow Add-in for AutoCAD, Inventor, Inventor LT, and Revit

Now Autodesk Inventor LT Technology Preview users can collaborate just as easily as their AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit counterparts. Check it out.

3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit: a night at the movies

First there was the Bourne Identity. Then there was the Bourne Supremacy. The latest movie was the Bourne Ultimatum. I guess movies often come in sets of three.

Such is the case with Autodesk Labs and our movies for the 3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit utility. They are available on :

1. INVENTOR: Publish to Project Freewheel from Inventor video (2:05 minutes)
2. AUTOCAD: Publish to Project Freewheel from AutoCAD video (0:49 minutes)
3. REVIT: Publish to Project Freewheel from Revit video (2:20 minutes)

We received some customer feedback that some corporations block YouTube. I guess they are not interested in employees watching Miss Teen USA South Carolina 2007 answer a question while at work. Can you blame them? So for our users in this situation, we also have the videos posted on the blog server itself:

1. INVENTOR: Watch the Inventor video
2. AUTOCAD: Watch the AutoCAD video
3. REVIT: Watch the Revit video

The YouTube experience allows you to rate or comment on the movies. In general, it's all part of the Web 2.0 "community" fun; however, we'll continue to provide both viewing avenues. In honor of Miss Teen USA South Carolina: I personally believe providing opportunities for customers to consume popcorn is alive in the lab...such as.

One Click Revit to Project Freewheel Publishing

Publishing your design from Revit to Project Freewheel is as easy as one click. I will show you. Here's a short 2 minute YouTube video.

YouTube: Watch the Revit video
Non-YouTube: Watch the Revit video

So give it a try. Download the 3D/2D ShareNow Add-in for AutoCAD, Inventor, and Revit and see for yourself with one click. We'd love your feedback: labs.freewheel@autodesk.com. Once published, you and your team members can view your building information model without installing any additional software.