Topic: I've been booted.....

[Artisan]

Well, I got a great present for the new year, I had my ADT removed from my machine and replaced with LT. Since I am not in the CAD department anymore, they felt that I didn't need ADT anymore. Nevermind that I am in drawings all day, estimating from drawings, finding errors in the plans, overlaying truss layouts to verify the layouts and a host of other things. It seems that I came across a nice big error 2 weeks ago in one of our plans that the CAD manager took some heat for and now for some odd reason, I have been told that I don't need ADT anymore. Go figure. This is my first go around with LT, so can anyone help me out with this? From my understanding, LT doesn't support LISP or any of the nice things that I have been accustom too with full blown CAD. I also can't view the ADT wall elements now, is there a download that would allow me to see them? Thanks for the help guys.

[Jürg Menzi]

I don't know LT but an object enabler could maybe work...

[Gliderider]

Try here
http://www.lt-extender.com/LT-Extender/englisch/content.htm

[Bob Garner]

LT wont run LISP or Express Tools.  I don't know if there is a third party application that will enable it to do so. 

Best of Luck, though.

Bob

[hyposmurf]

I have some menus that you can have called
LTXpress 2004 v1:

A set of tools for LT that mimic Express Tools for AutoCAD.
Includes: Make Layer Current, Change Layer, Isolate Layer, All Layers On,
Turn Layer Off, Thaw All Layers,
Freeze Layer, Lock Layer, Unlock Layer, Align Objects, Autonumber and Reset
System Variables script.

Bit of an annoying way to start off your new year, hope things improve.

[Dent Cermak]

There are 3rd party packages available to make LT behave as you would like. Only problem is, that when you purchase them all, your cost is back to the same as ADT. What the IT fools do not realize is that these desktop packages are put together for a reason. If you want to do what a Desktop package does YOU DO NOT BUY LT !! Just went through this with our "experts" replacing LDD with LT. They told me I did not know what I was talking about when I tried to warn them. They purchased 4 seats of LT. It arrived. They loaded it. Iasked them to import my field book file. I was met with blank stares and open mouths and drooling. it took them a full week to realize that LT could not do this. We sent the LT back. 

[hyposmurf]

Something was a miss when our software was purchased well before I started, we have ADT but we have no use for it, vanilla CAD would have been fine and about 75% of the CAD department are using LT.I often get asked why wont my AutoCAD do what yours does.I was almost put on LT when I started , but I stressed that I'd worked mainly on the full version and would find it incredibly frustrating to turn to LT.

[hendie]

. I also can't view the ADT wall elements now, is there a download that would allow me to see them? Thanks for the help guys.

I would use that very excuse as my first line of attack in getting a full version back !

just tell them LT doesn't let you see them... END OF STORY

[Dent Cermak]

I'd MAKE the ITwits show me how to do what I need to do. Surely they don't recommend software not knowing if it will do the job or not ?! If they are so friggin' smart, make them SHOW you how to do what you need to do. Here's the problem; in most companies the IT guys do not know how to use any of the software they are pushing. They learn how to load it.......but NOT configure it......and then base their recommendations on price and what the sales guy tells them. Therein lies the problem. The end user is rarely consulted. The BOSS trusts the ITwits and the sales people to advise him. Ever met a software salesman that NEVER lied? Ever met on that says, "My package sucks, but the price is right!" Managers need to learn to function in the real world. BUT they don't know how. Their bad decisions are the reason that your raise is so small at review time......but then they try to blame it on the drafter and slow job turn-around. They NEVER consider that the real reason could be improper software or no training. It's always going to be that YOU are an underachiever and basically lazy. HEY! WHO MOVED MY SOAP BOX ?!! WHERE IS IT?! DANG IT!! 

[Artisan]

I really feel the topics you guys are telling me now. But, I had had enough this time around and made my point to the powers being about this whole mess. After being asked to perform certain tasks that would have required the full blown verison, I turned and informed my super that I could no longer perform those important tasks because someone felt that I no longer needed the tools to perform my job, with a large grin. I am proud to say that today, my ADT software was returned to me for my use. The CAD manager then took it upon himself to change my user settings for the CAD server so that I only have read-only abilities. Well, while I have never altered any drawing on the server, I do have to place truss drawing information on the server to match to project being worked on. Now that I do not have this ability, I guess I will be sending the CAD manager the next 50 or so drawings with no title info like I don't get and let him do it himself. I imagine my user settings will be returned soon.

[Greg B]

Good for you Artisan.

I was going to stat that in seemed in this case that it was not the fault of the IT group.  That it was the CAD manager that had the hissy fit.  Instead of taking away your ADT program because he got some heat for a mistake, he should have been happy that the mistake was caught as soon as it was.  It could have cost the company much more money down the line.

[Artisan]

Good for you Artisan.

I was going to stat that in seemed in this case that it was not the fault of the IT group.  That it was the CAD manager that had the hissy fit.  Instead of taking away your ADT program because he got some heat for a mistake, he should have been happy that the mistake was caught as soon as it was.  It could have cost the company much more money down the line.

Thanks for the comment Greg. I agree with you on the situation and that it could have been costly if the error was not caught. This particular manager has made some real boo-boo's in the past and a few of them have hit us hard in the wallet. But he's coated in teflon, so it seems to never stick to him when it happens. This time around, I didn't even approach him in a manner that was pointing a finger or even making the problem known to others in the company. Instead, I asked if he had time to sit down and look at a problem I had come across to get it worked out before hand. He exploded into a frenzy and started in with a long rant about how he didn't have time to find all of the errors and that his department is rushed and so on so on. I was honestly shocked after he finished. I just sat back and shook my head and said that I only wanted to get it fixed, not expose it as a mistake to the company. Instead, he marched into the big man's office and started in about how our department finds too many errors and don't give him enough time to get his stuff finished. His rant backfired on him then because he took some flack over the stuff being wrong in the first place. After that, he has made it a point to make my job tougher. As if I don't have enough work to do during the day now.......... :realmad:


Sorry to jump off topic on this thread guys. Now that I look over it, it probably now belongs in the Vent section. My apologies once again and thanks for the help with the LT situation for the time being.

[Greg B]

Thick headed idiot!

Go to the big guy and say I don't have time to find all the errors I made.


BWHAHAHHAHHAHHA

[hyposmurf]

Try and keep as much of your dialogue with him via emails or just back up what either of you have said in an email.That way youll have something to fall back on should things start to hit the fan.

[Bob Garner]

Man!  Sorry you're in that situation.  I know how stressful that can be.  Always remember there's a tomorrow and it can be better.

Bo