Road Dogs - Autodesk

Road Dogs: Taking your CAD office on the go with
Apple’s iPad
Jim LaPier – Chesapeake Design Group, Architects Inc
AC3213
As mobile computing becomes more commonplace, we will take a look at the place
tablets, namely Apple’s iPad, can occupy in your briefcase. In this lecture we will discuss both Autodesk
apps like AutoCAD WS, Buzzsaw, and Inventor Publisher, and other 3rd Party apps like PDF readers,
word processors and sketching programs. We will also touch on some cloud based storage solutions,
like Egnyte and DropBox, as well as web based apps like Google Docs. This lecture will cover the basics
of the different models, as well as basic operations like mail, web browsing and app management.
Learning(Objectives
At the end of this class, you will be able to:
•
Make an informed decision whether iPads have a place in your workflow
•
Choose apps and accessories based on best practices and preferences
•
Make use of cloud storage to easily access and share files for collaboration
•
View and interact with native CAD files and other office documents
About(the(Speaker
Jim is a CAD designer at Chesapeake Design Group Architects, Inc. Jim has worked with
AutoCAD for 13 years in varying disciplines, including commercial and residential architectural
design, mechanical engineering, materials handling, and telecommunications. He is skilled in
customization, efficiency and speed, as well as being adept in information technology. He also
worked as a genius at an Apple Retail Store, becoming a certified Apple technician. Jim
combines paper and pencil drafting knowledge with his love of cutting edge technology, both
Mac® and PC-based.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @jimlapier
Web: www.macncad.com
Road Dogs: Taking your CAD Office on the Go with Apple iPad
Using a tablet is quite different than using a standard desktop or even a laptop.
Tablets have become much more commonplace, but are still considered by some a fad
or a frivolous device. Still others see the tablet as a wonderful device for consuming
media, but not creating or work related activities. With some apps, some accessories
and some know how we will see nothing could be farther from the truth.
We will be focusing on the Apple iPad in this class, but most tablets are similar in
essential function. They vary somewhat in size, but most use between 7” and 10” high
quality touchscreens. Most have cameras and GPS, as well as bluetooth and wifi or
cellular connectivity. The major areas of difference are in the software and apps
available. As I said, we will be focusing on the iPad in this class, so the software is the
same for all models (though some hardware limitations, like lack of GPS on Wifi only
equipped iPads do effect certain features of programs.) Other tablets can run any
number of other operating systems, the most popular being the new Windows 8 or a
version of Android. Right now, Windows 8 is fairly new, so tablet specific apps are a bit
lacking (but progressing somewhat quickly) and Android is very fragmented, with
software versions varying pretty wildly across models so research the specific model
you which to purchase in regards to software versions and update-ability.
So, since we are concentrating on iPads, the first obvious question is which one
to purchase. As of this class, there are 2 models of iPad, the full size 4th generation
iPad and the newer iPad mini. Both currently run the same versions of software, and
have sub-models with the same capacities and connectivity. Both have a base model
which all prices are from. The base model is 16GB with Wifi connectivity only, and
doubles in storage capacity to 32GB for $100, and over again to 64GB for another
$100. All models also have the option of contract-free (month to month service) cellular
connectivity for an additional $129 and cellular-capable models also have GPS.
Cellular connectivity is based on carrier availability for your location, but current models
support 4G LTE on certain carriers in certain locations. Every carrier offers different
plans for different locations so look into which one will best serve your location the
best. Also look for features like tethering support, as certain carriers (Verizon in the US)
will allow you to use your iPad as a mobile hotspot and connect up to 5 devices to the
internet.
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Road Dogs: Taking your CAD Office on the Go with Apple iPad
So which do you choose? Is 16GB enough space? Is cellular connectivity really
necessary? Well, it depends on what you will be doing. Are you going to be marking up
plans in the field, standing on the roof of an unfinished building, sending corrected
HVAC unit locations to your vendor? Well, an unfinished building is unlikely to have
wifi, so cellular connectivity would be for the best. Or are you an engineer, checking
over the work of your draftsman in your paperless office, and just need to redline the
detail of the support bracket for the new shelf? Connectivity in the field is a huge boost,
and I typically recommend it whole-heartily. Being able to take a picture of a truss
connection in the field, throw some dimensions on it and upload it to the server in
another state without having to drive to a coffee shop to get online is a wonderful time
saver. Imagine being able to receive a PDF contract, review it, sign it and email it back,
all while sitting in your hammock in the yard (or in a waiting room at the county office.)
Not to mention the only required cost is the initial investment. If you don’t turn on the
cellular radio for 6 minutes or 6 months after purchase, it doesn’t cost any money, no
contracts to sign, no monthly fees.
Another benefit of the cellular model is the built in GPS. Turn it on, and every
photo you take is tagged with the coordinates or where it was taken. Using programs
like Aperture or iPhoto, you can easily look up all photos taken at a specific location,
regardless of date or if you forgot when you took the photos. Aside from internet
connectivity for emails and internet browsing, server connectivity is also a big plus.
We’ll go into specific apps later on, but using a server capable app on your iPad means
you can upload and download photos, documents or CAD files anywhere you are.
Imagine being in a meeting with a client in Dallas and being able to pull up the photos
of the completed circuit boards (the ones you didn’t bring because you thought they’d
only be interested in enclosure pics) that are on the FTP server in Baltimore, then
swiping through them, zooming and panning to every resistor and processor, to the
point you could read the part numbers off the capacitors.
Now even if all of your data is on your servers (or in the cloud) you will need to
download them locally (in some cases) to edit them, so consider this when choosing
your size. None of the iPads have the ability to add more storage space or cellular
connectivity after the fact, so the model you buy is they model you will be stuck with. I
believe 32GB to be sufficient if you like to keep some files locally (for editing in flight.)
This leaves you to choose the most important feature of all: Which color? Black or
white.
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Road Dogs: Taking your CAD Office on the Go with Apple iPad
Accessories
I’m going to start with accessories over apps to start with, as certain accessories
tie directly into apps later on. I’ve broken accessories down into some broad categories
for the purposes of this class:
•
•
•
•
Cases / Stands
Input
Power
App Enabled Accessories (Appcessories)
Cases / Stands
There are myriad of cases available on the market,
so I’m going to speak as generally as possible about the
different types. Obviously there are some very specific
cases out there for very specific needs. Many cases can
flip open or around to become stands as well, some allowing for multiple angles. Most
concentrate on 4 positions: closed or covered, open and flat, open and upright for
viewing (around 60 to 80 degrees), open and angled for typing (closer to 15 degrees.)
Many of these cases are meant for the boardroom or classroom, typically coming in
leather or similar materials. Apple themselves make a “Smartcase” that encloses the
iPad and allows for the cover to fold back on itself, creating the 4 positions. A feature
some folio cases offer is a bluetooth keyboard, allowing faster and more accurate
typing than the on-screen keyboard. The next type are more portable and rugged
cases. Where the first group of cases are more akin to folios and briefcases, these are
more like the cases you would use on your phone; more form fitting and made for more
rigorous use. These come in a combination of plastic and rubber, some including both
for extreme protection in tech-unfriendly environments. Otterbox is one of the more
popular brands, using a hard plastic inner lining and a
rubber outer shell for drop resilience. Many also use a
plastic screen protector which is thicker than a normal film
screen protector. While some are simple shell cases,
some offer features like nylon hand grips on the back for
easy one handed use, or carabiner attachments for easy
of carrying. Companies like Modulr have created a simple
hard plastic case, and build a line of accessories that
allow you to purchase hand straps, desk / undercabinet /
wall mounts, or pouches that are interchangeable for use
with the base case.
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Road Dogs: Taking your CAD Office on the Go with Apple iPad
While some cases also fold back or flip out to act as a stand, there are standalone units that are made just to hold the iPad in one of the aforementioned positions,
either viewing or typing. Stands are a bit more straightforward are broken down into
powered and un-powered.
Powered stands for older generation iPads are fairly common (older iPads used
the same 30 pin connector iPhones and iPods used until recently) but new iPads use
the new Lightning connector, and powered stands are nearly as common yet. Most
powered stands offered either simple power only
and some included speakers for better audio.
Non-powered stands are obviously a bit more
universal and most work for any iPad and most
even accommodate other tablets. Some are
simple and portable (like the Twelve South’s
Compass) while others are designed for specific
circumstances. The under-cabinet stand shown
is great for the kitchen, but I would challenge it
would be just as home in the shop under a shelf,
keeping the worktable clear.
Power
We’ve already mentioned powered stands (more often referred to as docks) but
there are other accessories to make sure you always have juice for your iPad. Aside
from wall chargers and cords, a car charger is also very handy to have on the road, just
make sure the one you choose is made for the iPad, as the iPad uses a higher wattage
than most chargers. Another very handy power accessory is a portable battery pack.
Again, make sure yours says it is made for the iPad specifically, but some have enough
storage to charge your iPad twice over.
Input
Unlike a desktop or laptop, the iPad is a bit more limiting in how it accepts
information from you directly. Obviously the touchscreen itself, but using bluetooth you
can connect some very useful devices, the most obvious is a bluetooth keyboard. As I
stated previously, you can find folio style cases which offer bluetooth keyboards built in.
Another handy tool on the new iPads is dictation, which will allow you to speak a letter
or email body without the need for typing.
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Road Dogs: Taking your CAD Office on the Go with Apple iPad
Obviously the touchscreen itself is the most direct way to
interface with your iPad, but there is a whole market of
accessories to help with that as well. First and foremost is the
stylus. Unlike the styli of the Palm Pilots of old which used
pressure to detect input, the iPad is a capacitive touchscreen,
meaning it knows the difference between your finger and a piece
of plastic. Therefore iPad styli are capacitive as well. These
come in a myriad of shapes, sizes and materials, but most use a
rubber or plastic tip (called a nib) in place of your finger. Now because the iPad display
is looking for your finger to interact with, there is a minimum size it can detect,
necessitating styli to stay within certain parameters to be effective. For the more
artistically inclined, styli are essential and better ones are coming out all the time.
Innovative tools like the Jot series which actually have a small capactive disc at the
end of what looks like a normal ballpoint pen provide wonderful accuracy. New styli are
being released which actually register the amount of pressure applied (pressure
sensitive styli) to increase line width or opacity, measuring 256 levels of pressure.
There are even capacitive brushes available if you want to be very creative. Another
handy tool when using your iPad in colder climates are capacitive gloves which have
small conductive nibs on the finger tips, allowing you to pinch and zoom while keeping
your digits toasty.
Appcessories
Ok, the name is corny but this is another huge market which is wonderful for us
as consumers as it provides more choices and exciting opportunities. While most of
these are better used in our personal lives (like a bluetooth grilling thermometer,
wirelessly controlled lightbulbs and outlets, or bluetooth pedometers like the Nike Fuel
or Fitbit) others can have very practical business use. The Apple store sells a number
of wireless cameras which allow for monitoring job sites or offices, microphones for
recording meetings and GPS devices for monitoring your company vehicles.
The best appcessory in my opinion is the AppleTV. A wireless media receiver, it
provides a wonderfully easy way of sharing information and is a must for every
conference room. Plug it in to your conference room TV or projector, and now everyone
can graphically share their ideas without running over to the whiteboard or taking over
the presenters computer. Pull out your iPad (or iPhone, or Apple computer running Mac
OS X 10.8) and you can not only wirelessly stream your photos of the site or video of
your new sorting machine in action, but mirror your display completely, reviewing
documents and emails or marking up PDF’s with everyone pitching in.
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Road Dogs: Taking your CAD Office on the Go with Apple iPad
Software
This is the biggest difference between the iPad and other tablets, so please do
your research before buying whatever tablet you choose, to make sure the software
you want to use runs on the device you want to buy.
Autodesk Apps
Lets start by reviewing Autodesk’s own apps for the iPad. These come in two
categories, CAD specific productivity apps and Other.
• CAD / Productivity
• AutoCAD WS
• Autodesk 360 Mobile App
• Sketchbook Express / Mobile / Pro
• 123D Catch
• Autodesk BIM 360 Glue
• Inventor Publisher
• Bluestreak Mobile
• Buzzsaw
• ForceEffect
• Other
• Pixlr-O-Matic
• 123D Sculpt
• Fluid FX
• Time FX
• Tinkerbox
AutoCAD WS is the most relevant for most of us, as it allows you to open and
edit dwg files right on your iPad, then save them and share them as dwg files, no
conversion needed. You can add rev clouds, text, lines, polylines and other objects
directly to your dwg file. Use object snaps and units to place items exactly, and use
modify tools like scale, move and rotate to edit objects. This is all done in realtime,
while your colleagues back at the office interact with the same file, or email it to them
for review later.
AutoCAD WS allows you to open dwg files emailed to you or loaded on your
server (go to autocadws.com, log in and go to drawings, then connect to add your own
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Road Dogs: Taking your CAD Office on the Go with Apple iPad
buzzsaw, box.com, DropBox, Egnyte or other webdav server.) You an also save
drawings to pdf or dwf, or plot to an HP ePrint account. Simply go to share and plot,
then choosing your options like grayscale, which layout to print, paper size and scale.
Unfortunately you cannot print to local Airprint printers directly from the app, but a work
around is to “plot” to PDF and email the file back to yourself, then plot from the mail
app. The app itself is always being updated, adding layer and GPS support in past
updates.
The next most useful app in my opinion is Autodesk
Sketchbook, but we’ll get into the specific reasons why later on.
Suffice to say it is for way more than sketching daisies. Another
wonderful app is 123D Catch which allows you to take a series
pictures of an object (or room) and convert them into an shareable 3D model. This is another app which is helped by
appcessories, like an iOS controllable copter which has a
camera. It may sound like a toy, but with 123D Catch, imagine flying this over a
structure to make a 3D model of existing conditions. Many of the other apps are more
specific for different programs offered by Autodesk, like Buzzsaw, Bluestreak, Inventor
Publisher, etc. Other slightly less practical apps include Pixlr-o-matic, which allows you
to apply filters to your photos to create wonderfully artistic results with little effort, and
Fluid FX which allows you warp images like they were made of oil.
Another wonderful tool that most people overlook is the camera itself and the
apps available for use with the camera. Data is pretty cheap, yet I still get people sent
out for surveys who don’t take nearly enough photos for my liking. The miss the angle I
need on the rear of the building where the existing electrical panel is or where the curb
meets the sidewalk in a funky transition. Aside from taking photos, have your people
on-site take a quick video walk-through. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video
is priceless. And thanks to the 1080p HD video recording of the iPad, you can pause
and see all the detail you’ll ever need. As for camera apps, the built in apps suffice fro
most of my needs, but panorama apps like Occipital 360 Panorama are indispensable.
This particular app has you stand in the center of a space, and start taking
photos of your entire surroundings. Using gridlines it helps you stitch
together a complete capture both 360 degrees around, but also straight up
and down for a completely immersive result. The final product can be
uploaded to their site (privately or publicly available) and shared, allowing
anyone with a web browser to feel like they are in the space, panning
around, picking up every detail and angle. This is perfect for as-built
conditions.
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Road Dogs: Taking your CAD Office on the Go with Apple iPad
Sketching / Markup Apps
This is where the iPad really shines for me. I can take a myriad of files including
images and pdf’s and redline them easily on my iPad. I mentioned earlier about taking
photos in the field, marking them up and sending them back to vendors, or redlining
pdf’s and sending them to drafters. But what programs are going to help me do this
easily? I’ve done a lot of trial and error and I’m going to first describe my criteria for
locating and evaluating apps for these purposes.This way you can see why I made my
choices and know what features to consider when evaluating on your own new apps
coming down the line. So here is my feature list:
• Underlay
• What kinds of files can I draw on? Can I use PDF’s or only images?
• Can I layer multiple images or files in the same sketch?
• Freehand Sketch
• Rendering Engine
• Responsive & Fluid
• Ability to draw with finger / stylus (Bonus: Does it support Pressure sensitive
devices?)
• Basic Shapes
• Rectangles
• Lines
• Circles
• Opacity Control
• Can I highlight objects, or just draw solid lines?
• Multiple Colors
• Need at least black & red, would like green, yellow & blue
• Share Formats
• Email
• PDF
• JPG
• Save to Camera Roll
• Upload to server
• Airprint
• File Management
• Can I store files in folders or projects? Can I easily move files from place to place,
be it on the device or to my servers?
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Road Dogs: Taking your CAD Office on the Go with Apple iPad
Based on these criteria, there are apps that are more all encompassing, and
apps that do singular things better than others. For file management, server access,
and basic PDF editing, GoodReader is my favorite. I can open all kinds of files (pdf’s,
images, videos, audio files, office files) from all my sources including DropBox,
Skydrive, Google Drive, Sugarsync, Box.net, FTP, Webdav, SFTP, AFP and SMB, and I
can also add my mail server (pop & imap) and pull attachments from emails directly.
Once I have access to these sources, I can move, copy and even zip files and upload
them back to the source. I can edit pdf’s including all my required features, freehand &
shapes, text, colors with opacity controls and then I can send the pdf with annotations
or flattened. As far as drawbacks, the interface is a bit technical, you can not edit
images and you cannot convert files to pdf.
Next up is PDF Expert. It has the same file capabilities (though without the
preview option) including managing files and sharing as flattened or annotated pdfs. It
also has the same limitations, including not being able to save other file types as pdf’s.
It does have a slightly more user friendly interface as far as colors and icons, and does
add a very nice way of handling signatures. You can actually store your signature and
simply tap the screen where the signature should go and insert it. You can also bring
up a dialog box for other signatures for customers. While it adds native support for
Huddle, Oxygen Cloud and Office 365 Sharepoint, it does not have built in support for
mail accounts.
As for editing images, which neither of these otherwise wonderful apps do, the
winner for me is Sketchbook Pro. While I find other sketching apps like Penultimate
and Bamboo Paper to have smoother rendering engines for freehand input,
Sketchbook Pro has more features than any other in my opinion. I can start with a
blank canvas or an image from my camera roll, DropBox, or take a new picture. Once
editing, I have a myriad of brushes and pens, along with almost unlimited colors and
opacity control. I can even use an eye dropper to choose a color directly from
anywhere on the canvas, including from an imported image. I can import additional
images, move, rotate, flip and scale them, and control them through layering. I can
freehand draw or use circles, rectangles and lines, zoom and pan around my canvas to
make small adjustments, and then send the canvas to my photo library, Flickr,
Facebook, DropBox, Twitter, Email or Airprint. Where this app is lacking is file
management.
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Road Dogs: Taking your CAD Office on the Go with Apple iPad
If you’ve noticed the one consistent thread through all these apps, from AutoCAD
WS, GoodReader, PDF Expert, Sketchbook Pro, even Pixlr-O-Matic, all work with
DropBox. I find this both limiting and wonderful at the same time. I like DropBox, I really
do. It’s convenient, it’s obviously nearly ubiquitous, can be accessed from Macs, PC’s,
iPads, iPhones and Droids, and allows for emailing links to files that would be
otherwise too large to send directly in an email. I just find the size a bit . . . limiting. I
have terabytes of room on my servers at the office, which I have my own access
pathways to and my own control over. So how do I reconcile these two storage
solutions? I go back to GoodReader. I find PDF Experts navigation a little dis-orienting
personally, but its really nothing more than personal preference. Using GoodReader or
PDF Expert, I can take my files from all my other servers and put them easily in
DropBox, which I can then access from all my other apps. Then, when I’m done, I can
put them right back into DropBox, and then move them wherever I need with
GoodReader or PDF Expert.
Lastly, after editing my PDF’s and images, we can tackle office documents. Word
files, spreadsheets and presentations. As of this writing, Microsoft does not make a
version of Office for the iPad, so we need a substitute. Since I work on Mac’s anyway, I
use Pages (Word), Numbers (Excel) and Keynote (Powerpoint) for my document
needs. In conjunction with iCloud, my documents are easily accessible and shareable
from my desktop, iPad or even iPhone, all from the same essential apps. I can start a
Pages document on my desktop, save it to the cloud, then pick it up on my iPad in the
waiting room at the clients, my colleague can open the same file at the office, make a
few changes and then I can review his changes on my iPhone at the terminal. From all
of these apps, I can upload my files to a webdav server, or email them in their native
format, export a copy to a Microsoft format, or email them as a pdf. Other Office
replacements include suites like Smart Office 2, Quickoffice Pro HD and Documents to
Go Premium. Each of these has their drawbacks as far as features but are pretty
similar in most respects. I would encourage you to look at the interfaces for personal
preference and look at the support sites for specific features which may be important to
you, like support for named cells in spreadsheets.
So, you have your new iPad, your ballistic carrying case with pressure sensitive
stylus and now all the apps you need to get going. Keep an eye out on the tech blogs
for new products coming down the line, if there is a specific function you need there is
probably one in development somewhere. And if there isn’t, you could implement it
yourself and probably make a fortune!
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