3D Instant Website

Here’s something to crow about. This is a bit of functionality which you’ve already got if you have SolidWorks Professional. You don’t hear many people talking about 3DIW

http://www.3diw.com/login.asp?u=c97def5_wiley&f=30175) (defunct)(there is no password for Guest). If you don’t have eDrawings 2007 installed, the website will install it for you.

(Notice the very old SGI workstation in the image.)

This gives you the ability to rotate, disassemble, section, comment, read comments, and several other review type actions. I’ve been using eDrawings with my customers, and it really makes them feel like their part of the process, they get involved in the technology, which can be addictive. I think this is just one step easier and more convenient, plus it offers a public record for collaboration between more than just a pair of people.

During the days of the “internet bubble” when all software for whatever reason had to be connected to the internet, an entire swath of applications from SolidWorks were ridiculed as “instant web noodles”, implying that they weren’t all that useful, but they were there. I think it’s the same deal now with rss – kind of useless for a CAD app to read rss in my opinion, leave that to mail, news and rss reader apps. Anyway, 3D Instant Website has weathered the storm and is still a very useful addition to your collaboration tools.

By the way, I recently have sent inquiries to SolidWorks asking about why my 3DIW wasn’t working. It would get to the publishing screen and just say “An unknown error has occurred”, and quit. Well, SolidWorks never answered, but installing Vista helped me figure it out. Remember in my Vista post that I said that using XP Pro or Home never seemed to make a bit of difference in the function of the software? Well, I’ve had to eat crow on that one. The computer that had the problems is an XP Home computer, and the one where it works is XP Pro. I’ve also tested it from Vista and SolidWorks 2008. The odd thing is that if you don’t have eDrawings 2008 installed, the 3DIW website tells you that the site was created with newer version software, and you have to upgrade. It gives you the option to upgrade from a link, which of course sends you to the eDrawings 2007 site.

I guess they only have so many hands, and can only get so many things done at a time. But if they weren’t going so fast, they could make it look like they were in control of the situation…\n\nAnyway, cool functionality, but if you upgrade, you may want to call someone’s attention to the fact that it does not yet support 2008 (anyone listening?)

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