Creating PDF's From AutoCAD - Method 1: Using Sheet Set Manager

With the advent of AutoCAD 2011, we have changed how we make PDF's. No longer will we use 3rd Party programs such as Bluebeam and Adobe to make PDF's from AutoCAD. Instead Autodesk has provided a PDF maker built into AutoCAD that has proven to be more reliable than the 3rd party applications. There are now 4 different ways to make PDF's of your AutoCAD drawings.

Method 1 - Sheet Set

1. From the Sheet Set Manager, find the publish button in the upper right corner. Click the down arrow to show the publish options for the sheet set. Select "Sheet Set Publish Options" from the drop down menu

From TBG Two Minute Training

2. In the "Publish Options" dialog find the "File Format" option and set that to "PDF"

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3. While in the properties dialog, scroll down to "Layer Information" and set to "Do Not Include" and click "Ok". The reason for turning off the layer information,  is that if the person you are sending it to does not have an up-to-date print driver it may not print the layers correctly and also may cause confusion if a client or consultant accidentally turns some layers off.

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4. Once those settings are set for the Sheet Set, find the PDF icon in the upper right portion of the Sheet Set palette. This will print the selected sheets to PDF. (Optional: right-click on the selected files and select Publish->Publish to PDF.)

From TBG Two Minute Training

How To Use Print Screen

Have you ever pressed the "PrtScn" or "Print Screen" key on your Windows keyboard and wondered what it does, since it never seems to do anything? Not so long ago, it used to send whatever was on the screen to the printer. The "Print Screen" button actually sends the printable image to the "clipboard" to paste into any graphics program. Not only is this extremely useful, but there are three variations of "Print Screen"

1. Pushing the "Print Screen" button alone will take a snapshot of all the active programs on your screen(s). This means if you have 2 monitors it will copy both screens to the clipboard. This is important because if you paste this into an email, more than likely the recipient will not be able to read it. It will look like the image below.

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2. Using "CTRL+Print Screen" will copy entire contents of the active screen to the clipboard, or in other words, the last screen you clicked on (assuming you have two screens). An example of this is shown below.

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3. Use "ALT+Print Screen" to copy the active dialog box to the clipboard. You can make a dialog box active by clicking on the box (or window) you would like to make active.

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CAD Cartoon

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Outlook .PST Files - Where Are They Kept?

THE DEFAULT LOCATION FOR .PST FILES IN WINDOWS XP:  
"c:\documents and settings\(username)\Local Settings\Application data\Microsoft\Outlook"
However they can be kept anywhere.

It is recommended that the .pst files be kept in this default location until archived. If they are ready to be archived, it is recommended that they be kept on an external hard drive or burned to CD/DVD. Just remember that DVDs have a capacity of 4.7gb, so keeping .pst files no larger than 4gb is a good idea.

TO FIND OUT WHERE A CURRENTLY LOADED .PST FILE RESIDES:
1. Right-click on the pst file
2. Left-click on "Properties for (personal folder name)"

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3. Click the "Advanced" button

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4.This is the path where you can find the .pst file. Simply highlight the path, then copy and paste this path (minus the .pst file) into windows explorer to find the .pst file.

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TO SEARCH FOR .PST FILES ON YOUR MACHINE:
1. Right-click on the "C" drive (or other drive letter if stored on an external drive)
2. Click on the "Search" option

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3. In the search dialog under the "All or part of the file name" option, type "*.pst" (do not include the quotes). This will search your hard drive for all of the .pst files on your drive.

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4. Scroll down to the "More advanced Options" Be sure to place checks in the boxes for "Search system folders", "Search hidden files and folders", and "Search sub folders".
5. Click "Search" and the results should appear on the right side of the dialog in just a few minutes.

From TBG Two Minute Training

Outlook .PST Files - How To Open And Close Them

TO OPEN A PERSONAL FOLDER (or .PST):

1. Go to the menu bar at the top of Outlook and find "File-Open-Outlook Data" file (why it doesn't say personal folder is a good question)

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2. Browse to the location of the .pst file. The default location is "c:\documents and settings\"username"\Local Settings\Application data\Microsoft\Outlook", but it could be in any folder you have specified at an earlier time. If you don't know the location of the .pst files, you can do a search for *.pst on your C drive, external hard drive, or other drive location to find all the .pst files on your machine. 
3. Select the desired .pst file to open.
4.Click "Ok".

**Note** Once opened, the .pst file name may not have the same folder name in Outlook.

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TO CLOSE A PERSONAL FOLDER (or .PST):

1. Right-click on the personal folder you would like to close.
2. Highlight and click "Close".

**Note** The main mailbox folder cannot be closed. 

From Two Minute Training

Outlook .PST Files - Find the Size

HOW DO I FIND THE FILE SIZE OF MY .PST FILE IN OUTLOOK?

1. Find the personal folder you would like to find the size of and right-click on that personal folder.
2. Click on "Properties for "Your ,pst Name""
3. Click on "Folder Size"
4. Total folder size (including sub folders) will be listed in kilobytes (kb)
5. In general, kilobytes to megabytes to gigabytes looks like this:
- 1,000kb = 1mb (i.e. 16,500kb = 16.5mb)
- 100,000kb = 100mb
- 1,000,000kb = 1gb (i.e. 2,500,000kb = 2.5gb)
- A .pst file should be about 2gb to 4gb for better performance (4gb being the maximum size).
- Outlook will perform better when there are fewer .pst files open. The total open should be 2 to 3 .pst files at a time for maximum performance (assuming they follow the 2 to 4gb size above).

From Two Minute Training

Creating A Signature In Bluebeam

1. Sign a blank piece of paper. A dull sign pen works best to give you a lush, dark signature.

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2. Scan the signature on the paper by using one of the copier/scanners in the office.

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3. Open the scanned document (pdf, jpg, or .tif) in Bluebeam. Using the "Snapshot" tool (i.e. the camera icon on the toolbar, keyboard shortcut "G", or Edit->Snapshot) drag and draw a selection box around your signature.

Or...

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4. Paste (Ctrl + V) your signature snapshot into the same document (you should see a dashed box w/ yellow dots around it, this means it's Highlighted)

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5. While the new signature is highlighted, right-click and select properties. The properties dialog will usually appear on the right side of Bluebeam window.

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6. Under the Appearance section change your "Blend Mode" from "Normal" to "Multiply"

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7. Then while your signature is highlighted, the background will blend into the document.

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8. Right-click on the selection and go to the bottom to "Add to Tool Chest" and select "My Tools"
.

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9. Now you should be able to see your signature in your "Tool Chest" (usually located on the left side of the Bluebeam window under the tab that looks like a tool chest). Drag that sucker from your "Tool Chest" and BOOM!, your digital signature is ready to use in any document that needs your signature.

From Two Minute Training

Courtesy of Kyle Grist