DBUG> VoloView Express

[Dick Eades <deades@cox-internet.com>]

I tried installing VoloView Express the other day in order to check it
out for installation in another office that needs to view Acad files
of a new hotel prototype.

When I tried to open the Hilton Garden Inn cover sheet file, I got a
message about needing an AutoCAD Object Enabler to view a certain
object contained in the file.  So, I d/l'd an Object Enabler (v3) from
the AutoDesk site, but it didn't work.  So, I d/l'd another Object
Enabler (v2).  It didn't work either.  Then I decided that their
rendering probably wasn't worth spending that much time trying to
load.

I went on to other files but found that, with VoloView Express, you
could neither scale nor print the file you were viewing.  How are you
supposed to know how big something is?

I gave up and recommended they install IntelliCAD instead.

An example of the confusion from the AutoDesk site:

**********************************************************************
*******************
The Arch 3.02 OE cannot be installed on a system that has AutoCAD
Architectural Desktop R2.0 or AutoCAD Land Development Desktop R2.0
installed, as the Arch 3.02 OE will cause functionality problems with
these applications.

1. If you are installing the Arch 3.02 OE on AutoCAD 2000 or Map R4,
you must have Internet Explorer 5 or greater also installed.

2. In order to install the Arch 3.02 OE on AutoCAD Land Development
Desktop R2i you must have previously installed the Land Development
Desktop R2i SP2.

3. In order to install the Arch 3.02 OE on AutoCAD Architectural
Desktop R2i you must have previously installed Architectural Desktop
R2i SP1. Then the Arch 3.02 OE can be installed on AutoCAD
Architectural Desktop R2i and will create a separate shortcut titled
"AEC 3.0 Enabled Version of AutoCAD Architectural Desktop 2i". If you
launch an Architectural Desktop session from the original R2i
shortcut, the dbx files associated with this release will load and you
will only have access to existing R2i objects. If you launch an
Architectural Desktop session from the "AEC 3.0 Enabled Version of
AutoCAD Architectural Desktop 2i" shortcut, the dbx files associated
with R3 will load and you will have access to all new R3 objects.

Customers using AutoCAD Architectural Desktop R2i can then open files
from R3 without the potential for data loss. This will allow these
customers to share files with customers using Autodesk Architectural
Desktop R3.

4. The default installation of 3D Studio VIZ R3 and R3i includes
Object Enabler 2.0. This version of the Object Enabler must be
uninstalled before Arch 3.02 OE can be installed on that machine.

5. If a drawing includes Arch objects from a previous release of
AutoCAD Architectural Desktop and is saved from an AutoCAD 2000i-based
application with Arch 3.02 OE installed, the Arch objects will be
converted to the newer versions specific to Autodesk Architectural
Desktop R3. This will affect the interoperability of these drawings
with previous releases of AutoCAD Architectural Desktop.
I can't believe AutoCAD users put up with this kind of abuse from
their program.

Dick Eades - Architect
Jonesboro, AR - USA


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