Programming the Work out of CAD Management

In Praise of Laziness!

I've always told my fellow users that I am lazy. I don't mean that I don't work hard and admire those who do. Rather, I work hard at not working hard! I'm productively lazy. :-) And with technology like AutoCAD, it can help take the hard out of work.

I have over 25 years of experience in CAD Management. From very small firms (3 CAD users!) all the way up to global firms with offices around the world and hundreds of CAD users. Regardless of the company's size, working smarter is always, well, just smarter! 

In the realm of CAD Management, there are plenty of programming tricks to help a CAD Manager:

• Create a stable, predictable, self-healing CAD environment.

• Create simple time-saving tools to automate (or eliminate!) the redundant, monotonous, or tedious tasks.

• Create standards that are adaptable, intelligent, and relevant. (yes, it's possible!)

Programming Fundamentals

The AutoLISP programming is intimidating at first but very learnable. And very powerful! If you're getting started, here's a few places to get you on your way: 

• https://jtbworld.com/acad-lsp

• afralisp.net – great AutoLISP and Visual LISP tutorials

Related Autodesk University Classes

Here are some previous Autodesk University classes that I've attended that were valuable in helping my fulfill out my CAD management duties: 

• AutoLISP Strategies for CAD Managers by Robert Green (2014)

• Mastering the VLIDE by Robert Bell (2014)

• Deployments and AutoLISP by R. K. McSwain (2015)

• The AutoCAD Hacker's Handbook by Randy Kintzley (2012)

• Deploy and Support AutoLISP Programs Like a Pro by Lee Ambrosius (2016)

• Leveraging ActiveX Libraries with AutoLISP by Lee Ambrosius (2011)

• Advance yourself Beyond a Casual Programmer by Darren Young (2008)

• Advanced AutoLISP Strategies for CAD Managers by Robert Green (2017)

• Using the Visual LISP Extension with AutoLISP by Lee Ambrosius (2018)

AutoLISP-related Forums

It's always good to have access to those in the know! Forums offer a great way to interact with others with similar ideas, interests, and issues.

• Autodesk's Visual LISP and AutoLISP forums

• AUGI's Programming forum - Don't forget that an  AUGI Professional membership includes a deep discount to the Autodesk Developer Network (a $1400 value!) giving you access to Autodesk products, developers, sample code, and support!

• The Swamp

Code sources

My dad used to say "none of us are truly original". You can accomplish a lot utilizing code that's available (either 'as is' or with a few tweaks) and you can also  learn a lot by see how other programmers tackle certain tasks. Here are a few: 

• DOSLib – this is a must have, as far as I'm concerned! This library of AutoLISP-callable functions provides a variety of missing AutoLISP tools and Windows operating system capabilities to AutoCAD.

• Lee Mac Programming – excellent source of tutorials and super-clean, open-source AutoLISP code.

• JTB World - great reference with some nice free code.

• Menzi Engineerinng - another site for some great free code to use or learn from.

• OpenDCL - if you're planning to do anything with dialog boxes, this is much more powerful and easier (once you learn it) than using AutoCAD's dialog box code.

Additional Links

And a few more useful sites I've used:

• Reactors-Making Aware Programs by Bill Kramer.

• System variables list (dated but thorough)

• Environment variable list