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How to Export Tables From AutoCAD to Excel Format?

Part 1 of 13 in our How To Use AutoCAD series

When working with AutoCAD, you never work completely in isolation. AutoCAD workflows are always about collaboration, review and approval. As such, AutoCAD projects and designs will always be connected and work in conjunction with other formats.

More often than not, the detailed tables of information of a design will need to be either recorded, edited or entered into Excel spreadsheets. That being said, you’ll need to know how to get that table into Excel.

To export a table from AutoCAD and edit it in Microsoft Excel simply select the table, then right click and choose “Export”. The table will be exported in .CSV file format.

Next, right click on the exported .CSV file and from the options menu choose Open with Excel.

Opening CSV In Excel

Once the table has been opened in the Microsoft Excel, save it as an .xlsx file and you can instantly start editing the spreadsheet.

AutoCAD Q&A Guide: Top Answers to 11 FAQs About AutoCAD

AutoCAD FAQ

Although AutoCAD is a complex program that brings to mind computer experts and technical precision, it’s an application that, despite its intimidating nature, can be very rewarding once you learn about it.

If you’re interested in AutoCAD, you’re probably full of questions. Well, we’ve scoured the web for the most common FAQs about AutoCAD usage and best industry practices and found the answers to them. Whether you’re a newbie, a hobbyist or an existing AutoCAD user,  you’ll get one super AutoCAD knowledge source right at your fingertips.

Check it out.  After all, if someone had a question about the program, chances are you have the same one too! 

What Projects Can Be Done In AutoCAD?

Autodesk AutoCAD is a general purpose CAD software application. As such, it can be used for drafting and design projects that involve creation, editing, viewing or printing various types of geometric 2D and 3D entities. Basically, this includes various projects in areas of architectural, civil, mechanical or electrical engineering drawing and design.

Do Civil Engineers Need To Learn AutoCAD?

The general consensus among experts online is that civil engineers do need to know their way around CAD software.  According to many structural engineers, like Norbert Pozsonyi at Quora, AutoDesk’s AutoCAD is an essential CAD software tool to learn and know. Learning AutoCAD will at least help you to read drawings, which is of vital importance for civil engineers.

Whether and how much you will really need it in practice, depends on where you are (in which part of the world) and what software is used at the company you work for.

What CAD Software Does A Civil Engineer Need To Know To Land A Job?

Autodesk’s AutoCAD is an industry standard used by the vast majority of civil engineers and construction firms, but there are still many others that use different CAD software. So, if you have to pick one CAD software to learn, choose AutoCAD. But, to improve your prospects of landing a job as a civil engineer, you may want to learn a few other CAD software applications. Some of the most commonly used ones that will add extra strings to any civil engineer’s bow include MicroStation, Revit and Tekla.  A comprehensive list of CAD editors and a comparison of computer-aided design solutions is available at Wikipedia. 

What Is The Difference Between AutoCAD And AutoCAD 360?

AutoCAD is a commercial computer-aided design (CAD) desktop software application for 2D and 3D design and drafting. It’s used for creating blueprints and other engineering plans. AutoCAD is mostly used by drafters in architectural drafting, civil drafting, mechanical drafting, electrical drafting, electronics, aeronautical drafting, and beyond.  

AutoCAD is available for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X.

AutoCAD 360, on the other hand, is a web and mobile drawing and drafting application that allows registered users to view, edit and share AutoCAD drawings via web and mobile devices. AutoCAD 360 is used by general contractors, project managers and tradesman with little to no experience with CAD and is commonly used across a wide range of industries: architecture, engineering and construction, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and more.

AutoCAD 360 is available for download as a mobile app for Android and iOS devices.

What Is The Difference Between AutoCAD And Solidworks?

A CAD analyst Sandeep Kumar summed it up on Quora: Autodesk’s AutoCAD was initially designed for 2D drafting and subsequently extended with some 3D features. SolidWorks, on the other hand, is a full featured 3D modelling CAD software.

Solidworks Resource Homepage

When it comes to 3D modelling, SolidWorks is for the advanced users and tasks, while AutoCAD is mainly for intermediate 3D modelling.

However, while AutoCAD is available for both Microsoft Windows and Mac OS, Solidworks runs exclusively on Microsoft Windows OS.  

Autodesk’s Inventor is actually Solidworks’ counterpart, rather than the often compared AutoCAD

What Are The Differences Between AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture, 3DS Max And Revit?

AutoCAD is, as already mentioned above, primarily a 2D drafting software with moderate 3D modelling capabilities. It uses lines to graphically represent objects.

AutoCAD Architecture is a specialized version of AutoCAD with additional tools designed specifically for architects to enhance their workflow, aiding in tasks such as architectural planning and construction documentation.

Revit is a 4D BIM modeling software with tools for planning and tracking various stages in a building’s lifecycle, from concept to construction and eventual demolition. Simply said,  Revit is used for building computer models of physical structures. It allows users to create actual objects with attached parameters and data like material, as opposed to just creating lines that graphically represent objects. It should be noted that Revit is a building modelling tool, and isn’t used for generic modelling purposes.

Autodesk 3ds Max is a 3D modelling, animation and rendering software. It’s mostly used for making 3D animations, games, images, movie effects and movie-pre-visualization. Its most common users are video game developers, TV studios and architectural visualization studios. While AutoCAD is primarily used for drafting, 3ds Max is mostly used for presentation. These two are both are geometric modellers, while AutoCAD Architecture and Revit are classified as BIM modellers.

Despite the differences between them, these programs primarily handle design and its implementation into usable construction and presentation documents.

What Are The Limitations Of AutoCAD Supported .DXF File Format?

To identify limitations or advantages of the .DXF file format, it is necessary to compare it to AutoCAD’s native .DWG format.  What can these formats do and which should you use?

Although both file formats are developed by Autodesk and supported by AutoCAD, there are some differences between the two vector image file types. The main one is that DWG (which stands for DraWinG) files only work with Autodesk’s AutoCAD, while .DXF (meaning drawing exchange/interchange format) was developed to allow other CAD programs to open and use information from the drawing file.

Furthermore, some CAD programs can’t import .DWG files, but they can import .DXF. That being said, if you’re a CAD user who doesn’t use AutoCAD, the ability to open and use the .DXF file in other CAD programs is its obvious advantage over the DWG.     

Possible limitations of .DXF in comparison to DWG are:

  • DWG files retain all drawing layers, colors, lines weights and x-references, while DXF files retain lines, dimension and text only.
  • While DXF is ACSII text, DWG is a binary file. This means that .DXF is more bloated in size than DWG.  

Despite these potential drawbacks, the ability to work with all vector-based programs has made the .DXF the most pervasive vector file type in the CAD industry.

Is It Possible To Convert TIFF To AutoCAD File?

It isn’t possible to directly convert TIFF image to DWG/DXF, but there’s a workaround you can try if you need to reuse a TIFF image in AutoCAD. Use the IMAGEATTACH command to insert TIFF as a raster image, then use the image as reference. It’s possible to trace the image.

Is It Possible To Convert PDF To CAD File?

Yes, it’s possible to convert PDF to CAD file. All you need is a PDF to CAD conversion solution. There are a number of available PDF to CAD converters, including Investintech’s Able2Extract, which converts PDF to DWG and DXF formats. Able2Extract PDF Converter is a desktop software, which is free to try for 7 days. There are also some free online PDF to AutoCAD converters, like this one.

Able2Extract Autocad Conversion

If the PDF file was generated from a CAD application, such as AutoCAD, the vector data should be embedded in it, which allows for an easy and accurate conversion.

Do Software Packages That Convert PDF To CAD Files Really Work?

In short: yes, they work. According to a BIM expert and educator, Stefan Boeykens, there are a number of things to keep in mind when converting and evaluating results of a PDF to CAD conversion. Firstly, note that a PDF file is a visual representation of a CAD drawing.  It contains lines, color and text. Thus, when it comes to the conversion output of such files, know that:

  • Lines are, by rule, converted accurately, with an exception to line weights which convert with less accuracy.  
  • Hatches are turned into blocks or groups of lines.
  • With text and dimensions,  the conversion output largely depends on the source. Thus, text can be turned into curves resembling the text, and dimensions become grouped text and lines. There can’t be dimension entity in the conversion output simply because there is no such thing in the PDF.

Note that when converting PDF to CAD drawings, your resulting content will end up as a graphical output containing line-properties, colors, curves, etc.

What Is The Best Format To Transfer CAD Files To Non-CAD Recipients?

The default and usually the best format for non-CAD recipients is the PDF (Portable Document format) as anyone can open and view PDFs on any device. PDFs are non-editable and an obvious choice when the owner or sender doesn’t want the recipient to edit the document.

An alternative to PDF would be DWF as another non-editable file format. However, to open it, the recipient needs to have DWF viewer installed. Compared to the widely used PDF format and the number of freely available PDF readers, chances are that most non-CAD users won’t have the necessary DWF viewers installed on their devices. They may even be unaware of such software, or even if they are, finding and installing would take up extra time.

If you want to transfer the editable CAD file to a client, project manager, tradesman, contractor or any other project stakeholder, the best formats are .DWG or .DXF. If they don’t generally use desktop AutoCAD, they can open the DWG or the DXF files in AutoCAD 360 even with a free plan and make edits to it.

Top Excel Tips For Data Analysts

Top Excel Tips For Data Analysts

It’s an obvious, well-known fact that data and business go hand in hand. You can’t manage one without affecting the other. And whether you’re analyzing a client’s data or using your company’s data to make executive decisions, your tools have to be able to handle the tasks you perform with that information.

For instance, if you’re a data analyst, most of the time you go through these stages of data analysis:

  1. Data Cleaning: Transform and rearrange the data in a way suitable for data analysis
  2. Data Analysis: Perform the necessary calculations to extract useful information
  3. Data Visualization: Use graphs or other type of visualization technique to show your results

While these may be impossible to handle manually, they’re perfectly manageable with Microsoft Excel. The application is advanced yet user friendly enough for the average user.

However, the tricky part you probably struggle with is knowing how to access and apply the right functionalities to your data. Well, it’s time to stop the struggle.

In this post, I’ll show you some Excel tips you can use at each of the data analysis stages.  Click through to jump to a specific section or tip.

Continue reading →

How To Stay Focused And Energized At Work When You Don’t Feel Like It

How long can you last a typical work day? When you work 8 hour days at a computer, it can be easy to lose focus. The 9-5 grind can have you exhausted before your day is even over. With eye-strain, constant distraction and long periods of sitting, it’s no wonder the current work force is obsessed with improving the concept of the ideal work life.

From the 4-day work week to setting up a work-from-home day, the perfect work-life balance is the holy grail of working professionals and productivity gurus. While you can find tips on the most popular productivity tools, the best mobile apps or productivity tips to help in that area, sometimes what you need is guidance on improving more than just your workflow.

In fact, such tips can typically miss out on one common problem. People call it many things—zoning out, mentally fading, the afternoon slump, spacing out, whatever you call it, you’ve undoubtedly felt it multiple times during the week.  It’s not exactly what you’d call being distracted, but the results usually amount to the same thing: low productivity, higher risk of errors, and time wasted.

Though going for a cup of coffee is usually the number one solution, it’s time to get creative. There are other things that can help you get energized and back on track.

Play Mentally Challenging Games

One good way to keep your mental wheels oiled is to keep yourself intellectually challenged. Try going for popular brain teaser games and training apps or programs like Lumosity. There’s some debate about whether or not these scientifically work to raise your IQ, but what can’t be denied is that they can keep you mentally active.

A short session here and there on your lunch break can help you switch your frame of mind. Other similar services include Congnifit and Fitbrains.  If you prefer to do so on your mobile, you can also try brain teaser games like Sudoku, 2048 or Can You Escape.

Perform Rote Work And Unchallenging Tasks

This may sound counter-intuitive, but this tip will actually give you that much needed momentum during your low energy times. These tasks can be anything–deleting your junk mail, cleaning off your desk or organizing your filing cabinet (or washing dishes if you work from home).

Messy Desk Clutter

A short study has shown that shifting focus to unchallenging work can actually help to boost your mood. The psychology behind this is that when you complete a task, you gain a sense of accomplishment. This can give you the drive needed to build yourself up to a more focused state going into another task.

Create a to-do list on the side of necessary rote tasks you can turn to when needed. This way you’re still taking care of something that needs to get done and not wasting time.

Use Notifications, To-Do Lists, and Timers

There’s nothing like having deadlines to keep you on your toes. Holding yourself accountable when things get slow and sluggish at work can be an effective method to try on yourself. When we’re working against the elements, be it time or resources, we tend to work with more focus to get the job done.

Creating To Do List

For this, set up notifications, create short yet manageable to-do lists and even use the trusted go-to timer strategy (think Pomodoro technique). Lighting a fire under a task will push you to work with more energy, giving you a second wind.

Schedule In De-Stressing Time Online

Unwinding is a huge part of staying alert and keeping your mind fresh. If you find yourself getting stressed out or tired from long periods of intense focus, take a mental break. As little as 15 minutes can mean a world of difference to your productivity.

We covered a few ways to reduce your stress online before. From customizing your musical mood to playing PacMan online, you’re sure to find one tip that’ll do the trick.

Change Your Location,  Your Workspace Or Your Workstation

Another thing you can try is to change your physical setting. Your surroundings can have an effect on your mental state day after day… after day. This includes disruptive noise from neighbouring cubicles, low lighting, and just being in the same drab, dull setting—factors that can elevate or drop your energy levels significantly.

Mobile Workstation

Try and make the modern day office work for you by rearranging your workspace, working in a different area (if you work on a mobile device), decorating your desk or even trade in your PC for a laptop if you can. Your work space matters and a quick switch can turn things around instantly.

We can’t be on the ball at the computer for 8 hours straight, 7 days in a row, on command. Hopefully, these can help give you that jump start you need when you’re drained, low on energy, and losing focus.  Everyone is different, so let us know what works for you.

9 Handy IFTTT Recipes To Automate Office 365 Tasks

When you have the Internet, your productivity can increase drastically. It all depends on how you use it.

If you constantly work on the Internet, then you probably already know all about IFTTT (If This Then That), the online service that automates your daily tasks by connecting popular web services that you use every day.

And IFTTT recently got Office 365 signed on as a service. Now a few of your favourite Office 365 apps are available as IFTTT channels: OneDrive, Mail, Calendar, and Contacts.

Knowing how often you use Office 365 yourself, you can imagine what kind of automated tasks are possible. In this blog post, you’ll learn how to start up your collection of Office 365 IFTTT recipes for some of the most simplest and common tasks you do on a daily basis.

Remember—if you don’t see a recipe that works for you, you can always create your own when you sign up to IFTTT.

Office 365 Contacts Reminder

Create A Calendar Reminder To Follow Up With Newly Added Contacts In A Week

Networking can be considered an art, which admittedly sometimes, requires help in not only remembering people, but proper networking etiquette, as well. Set a calendar reminder to follow up with new Office 365 contacts when you add them on.

Create A Task Card In Trello For Each Of  Your Meetings

Sometimes your schedule can be too hectic to remember the standard follow up tasks–esecially for meetings. Well, if you’re a Trello user, there’s a recipe that will allow you to create task cards reminding you to follow up with meeting notes.

Weather Office Calendar Reminder

Add A Calendar Reminder To Bring An Umbrella

Hate it when you get caught in the rain? If you aren’t in the habit of checking the weather forecast, this neat little recipe can  check in for you. It can give you an automatic Office 365 Calendar reminder to take your umbrella if rain is predicted for the day. Don’t ever get caught unprepared ever again!

Send Your Team A Note That Food Has Arrived

Who doesn’t love group lunches at the office? In workplaces where everyone is spread out among departments, you can save yourself a trip around the office and instantly inform your co-workers that their food has arrived. This “Do” Button Recipe isn’t your traditional “if this, then that recipe.” Instead of combining two actions, you use a single “Do” button on your phone to send an email to their inboxes.

Get A Notification When You Receive A High Priority Email

If you’re expecting an important email, you don’t have to sit around and wait for it. With this recipe, you can get iPhone notifications when you receive a high priority email in your Office 365 Mail inbox. This is a great way to free up your time and let IFTTT keep an eye out for you.

Save Gmail Attachments IFTTT

Archive Incoming Email Attachments To OneDrive

This recipe can help you save attachments you receive to your OneDrive account, allowing you to create an online database that makes it easy to store and find any important files you receive.

Download Liked Tracks From SoundCloud To OneDrive

Where would your productivity be without your music? If you’re a SoundCloud user, you can collect your favourite music and access it directly from your computer with this recipe that lets you download liked tracks on SoundCloud to OneDrive.

Save Your Instagram Photos To OneDrive

If you love taking pictures or are into photography, then you’re probably posting your shots to Instagram on a regular basis. With this recipe you can automatically save your Instagram photos to OneDrive and create an instant backup of all your photos.

Facebook Photos OneDrive IFTTT

Save the Facebook Photos You’re Tagged In To OneDrive

Can’t keep track of the Facebook photos you’re in? Just connect the Facebook and OneDrive channels to stay on top of it. This recipe lets you save any Facebook pictures that your friends tag you in. It’s a neat and easy way to start your own collection of photos with your friends.

There are a ton of other channel combinations you can use with Office 365. It’s just a matter of making the connections between the services you use on a daily basis.

Got your own suggestions? Help expand on this list by sharing some of your own recipes.