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These notes (last updated in December 2008) have been prepared to aid in the installation of IntelliCAD
software purchased from Design Cad Pty Ltd. Design Cad is the
authorized distributor of the SIACAD version of IntelliCAD in
Australia and New Zealand.
 These notes should
be read in conjunction with the 'screen grab' sheets which come
IntelliCAD pack.
Please email
info@designcad.com.au if
further assistance is required. |
These notes will lead you though the following steps to
install SIACAD IntelliCAD 6. There are five main steps:
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Step 1 - backing up any CAD drawing files you
may already have.
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Step 2 - removing any early copies of
IntelliCAD (uninstalling previous versions of the program) and
removing any legacy IntelliCAD files and folders. Clearly, if your
computer does not have a copy of an earlier version of IntelliCAD,
you can skip the preliminary step and move straight to step 3 - the
initial
installation.
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Step 3 - the initial installation of IntelliCAD.
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Step 4 - 'second pass' installation of
IntelliCAD to authorize the product and install SIACAD's bonus tools.
There are a number of bonus tools for this version of IntelliCAD which
must be installed after the initial installation of the program. These provide a
so-called SIACAD toolbar with access to tools such as simple
dimensioning, hold clouds and image manipulation etc.
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Step 5 - setting IntelliCAD preferences for
maximum efficiency.
If you have been running a previous version of
IntelliCAD, e.g. IntelliCAD 98, IntelliCAD 2001, IntelliCAD 2002,
IntelliCAD 4, IntelliCAD 5 or trial versions of IntelliCAD
or AutoCAD, back up your data files
(your drawings). You do not need to remove these files, prior to
installation but we think that it
is good practice to back them up at this stage before installing new
software.
CAD drawings created with IntelliCAD or AutoCAD have the
extension (end with) .DWG. You can use your computer's search facility to
find these files.
If you have a previous copy of IntelliCAD, shift to the
Windows desktop (Windows key and D shortcut). If there is a shortcut on
the desktop, left click on the IntelliCAD shortcut to highlight it, then
right click and select properties. The 'Target' line in the dialog box
will display the name of the directory (and path) in which the previous
(currently installed) copy of IntelliCAD is located. Make a note of this directory name and location. If you
have more than one shortcut to different versions of IntelliCAD on the
desk top, repeat the above. If you have a
copy of AutoCAD on your computer, it will do no harm to leave it there,
but it is a good idea to remove early copies of IntelliCAD before
installing this new one (IntelliCAD 6).
If a menu item for IntelliCAD (reached via the Start
button) includes an option for the removal of IntelliCAD exists, select
it and use it to un-install your previous IntelliCAD version (reach this menu item via Start>Programs as
shown in the figure below).
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Uninstall IntelliCAD via Start menu item. |
If a menu option to remove IntelliCAD is not available,
click Start>Settings>Control Panel and double click on
the Add/Remove programs icon. Select IntelliCAD, select the Add/Remove button and
follow the prompts on the uninstall wizard to remove the program. Repeat
this process if you have previously installed other versions of IntelliCAD.
It is a good idea to re-boot the computer at this point.
After the wizard has completed the removal of previous
versions of IntelliCAD, start Windows Explorer again and look for any folders/directory names
you noted previously and delete them.
For example, one trial version
of IntelliCAD creates a folder called
'Program Files\IntelliCAD 2001 Trial' and another 'Program Files\CADian
Trial'. It is a good idea to 'manually'
remove these folder and any sub folders under it using Windows Explorer
after the removal wizard has run.
Once this has been done, close Windows Explorer and any other programs running prior
to installing your new copy of IntelliCAD.
If for any
reason you need to un-install this copy of SIACAD 6 IntelliCAD in the
future, use the un-install option
reached via the Start Button rather than through Control Panel. You may
still need to remove a folder called ITC under Program Files and a folder
called SIACAD under the root of C: drive.
Open the SIACAD IntelliCAD pack.
The serial number of your software is recorded on a card along with an
activation code - 8 characters long.
Write this serial number and code down on a separate sheet and keep it in a safe place.
The pack contains a CD-ROM containing the IntelliCAD program
itself and a 'Dear User' sheet from SIACAD.
At a convenient
time, Please register your copy of SIACAD
IntelliCAD online at
http://www.siacad.com/register/icad.
The CD has the IntelliCAD program
and several other useful applications on it. The most useful is a PDF file
which provides a tutorial on how to use IntelliCAD. The complete manual
in PDF form is also there. We encourage you to use this manual; it is
very well written.
We
are adopting a carbon neutral policy and will try an avoid producing
large numbers of paper manuals.
Remove the CD-ROM from its pouch and put the CD-ROM in your computer. Once inserted, the IntelliCAD setup
(installation) program should automatically run and display a menu on the
screen similar to that shown in the figure below.
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This screen image above comes from the
installation routine for IntelliCAD 6. The install program loads a Setup Options menu
program which cycles though the various options. You need to
choose (click on) the first option. |
If
for some reason, the automatic installer
does not start, use Windows Explorer or the My Computer tool and browse to the CD-ROM.
Select 'IntelliCAD' on the CD drive and double click the Setup.exe to
bring up the above menu.
Note that the setup options dialog box scrolls
automatically through a number of options. Under Setup Options,
double click on the first option - 'Install ICAD Software'. A second
small (orange coloured) box will appear when you do this.
Double
click on the word 'Standard' in this box to proceed with the installation.
Follow the instructions including accepting the licence restrictions.
Most
users accept the defaults offered during the install process. Doing this
will install the program into a folder called ITC/IntelliCAD 6.
After the install program has run, we recommend accepting the 'Yes,
restart the computer now' option, then clicking 'Finish'. IntelliCAD in
its most basic form is now installed on your computer.
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The result of the initial installation of
IntelliCAD 6. |
It is now time to activate your license and add some bonus tools to the
IntelliCAD environment.
Close down and re-boot your computer after the initial installation of
IntelliCAD.
After the computer re-starts, either re-insert the CD-ROM to activate the
install dialog box again, or start Windows Explorer again
and browse to the IntelliCAD CD-ROM. Select 'IntelliCAD' on the CD
drive and double click on the file Setup.exe to bring up the setup options menu
again.
This time
double click
on the second item - 'Activate License'. Respond yes to a (further) install. We again recommend that you accept
any defaults offered. You will be asked to type in the authorization
code password (from your printed sheet inside the
shrink wrapped manual) as shown in the figure below. Use UPPER case only
to enter the code.
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The password is shown on your user license and is
in BLOCK LETTERS - note that only alphabetic characters are used. |
Please keep the
original CD-ROM disk, serial numbers and password in a safe place.
We believe that it is a good idea to keep the path
statement the same as the defaults. Type in your user name and organization and click the <Next>
option. IntelliCAD should start
and you will enter the drawing editor. Some users have reported that they
need need to shut down and re-start their computer at this point.
At the end of this 'Activate License' phase, you may be
given some additional instructions on how to activate some of the bonus
tools supplied with IntelliCAD. These instructions are shown in the figure below
and may appear in a window on the screen.
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Sometimes this set of instructions is hidden
behind a Window. This is not a problem as we will show (below) how
to work through the installation of the script file. |
Select Next to continue, then on completion, exit the Setup
Options menu. A desk top short cut to IntelliCAD is created at the end of
the installation (and activation) process.
Start IntelliCAD from the desk top shortcut. The screen
should look similar to that shown below. The important point to note is
the appearance of the SIACAD toolbar with its orange coloured tools -
you now have the ability to draw a hold cloud, operate a sophisticated LAYER manager etc.
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IntelliCAD 6 with bonus tools installed. |
We like to re-arrange the screen as shown below. This
gets a balance between maximizing area for the drawing and provides a
convenient arrangement of toolbars.
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Note the SIACAD drop down menu with the bonus
tools. |
The bonus tools menu enables
you to set a sequential series of backups. It pays to investigate this
tool. It is started by selecting the option enables a numbered series of copies
of the drawing that you are currently working on to be saved in sequence.
Start IntelliCAD from
the desk top shortcut. When the program loads, use the
PREFERENCES command (type PR in the Command: area at
the bottom of the screen) and adjust the save time from 7 minutes
to 15 minutes. This just makes us feel confident that you know about, and
can set the autosave feature.
Next make sure that the background display is set to black.
Experience has shown that drawings are much easier to work with when the background of the drawing
editor is set to black.
It is
a good idea to check the graphic card in your computer is running at
32 bits - millions of colours. Some users have reported that the screen
cursor has some difficulty keeping up with 'flyover' indicators if this
is not done.
Setting the IntelliCAD search and support path(s) so that the program
works smoothly for you can be a great time saver.
To set paths, again type PR (for preferences) again and
hit the enter key. You should see
a dialog box similar to that shown below.
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The options dialog box
prior to setting preferences |
Select the PATHS/FILES tab on the options dialog
box. The top half of the dialog box shows a list of USER PATHS
and LOCATION as shown in the figure above. IntelliCAD uses these path settings to search for or store
data, and for greater productivity, they need to be carefully
'customized' to suit your own preferences. The list below offers our
suggestions.
Use the home key to position the insertion point for a new path
at the beginning of each line. More than one location can be used in a USER PATH,
but a semicolon must be used as a separator between each path location. When
searching for data, IntelliCAD will check for the requested file
in each location in the sequence
listed.
DRAWINGS - make the first location on
this path the normal place where
you store your drawings This could be
C:\DWG:, but any valid sub-directory (or folder) can be used. Some other
examples are S:\Data\Jobs or G:\MyCompanyData. For a company GJC
who are involved in electrical CAD drafting, the path was S:\;C:\aset\blocks\elect
FONTS - if you have a collection of fonts other
than those used by IntelliCAD (AutoCAD fonts for example), create a
folder for those fonts and add the path to that folder. For example, we
routinely create a folder called Aset and put a folder under it for
fonts so we use Windows Explorer to add a folder C:\Aset\fonts, copy all
of our SHX font files to it and make that folder the first
location on the fonts path. In this way, any drawing that we open
containing AutoCAD fonts will be able to find the appropriate font
rather than asking IntelliCAD to make a font substitution. For GJC, this
was also C:\Aset\fonts.
If you do use
more than one location in a path statement, make
sure you remember to follow each path location with a semicolon.
HELP - the location does not need to be changed.
XREFS - show the same location as for DRAWINGS.
MENUS - if you use additional menus, add
the path to the folder containing your menu file(s). We store our menus in a folder
called Aset and so use C:\Aset; as the first location [make sure you follow the
path with a semicolon when adding others].
These
partial menus (.mns) files can be used with
great effect. These simply graft onto the end of the standard
IntelliCAD menu file.
HATCH PATTERNS - again, we add C:\Aset; as the first
location because we have our own hatch pattern file (which we call Aset.PAT), but you
may like to use several different pattern files for different jobs.
Again, remember to make sure that you follow the path location with a
semicolon when adding several locations for hatch pattern files to the path.
BLOCKS - we find that it is better to add
the path to your block library to the drawings path rather than
here. In our hands, the block path seems unreliable. However, for
GJC, we put the path at C:\aset\blocks\elect. When we are
convinced that this path statement 'holds', we will remove that
part from the drawings path.
TEMPORARY FILE - IntelliCAD can place the
temporary drawing files wherever you nominate. It is a good idea to make
sure that this is a local directory (folder), especially when your
drawings are stored on a server. We create and use a folder called IcadTemp on the
C: drive for this purpose. For GJC, this was left at the default
location for the user - drafters working for GJC always log on with a
unique user name.
The bottom half of the dialog box shows a list of
SYSTEM FILES and their FILE NAMES.
LOG FILE - leave the file name as icad.log.
TEMPLATE - set the path and file suitable for
your discipline (e.g. for mechanical drawings this might be C:\Aset\Aset_Mech.dwg, for electrical
disciplines C:\Aset\Aset_Elect.dwg), for landscape CL:\Aset\Aset_Land.dwg.
ALTERNATE FONT - We like to change the file name to C:\Aset\Fonts\iso3098b.shx
so that the font specified for the Australian Standard for technical
drafting (iso3098b) is applied. Of course, this means that we have
copied iso3098b.shx to the fonts folder under the Aset folder. Copies of
this shape file can be downloaded from the support section of our web
site.
FONT MAPPING - leave this path as is.
PRINT STYLES - set the path to your stored print
table definitions. The default is
C:\Program Files\ITC\IntelliCAD 6\Print Styles
PRINT OUTPUT PATH
- this location is now under your control.
COLOUR BOOK -
- this
location is now under your control.
When you have completed these adjustments, click OK to close the Options box.
Once these path statements have been set (thankfully, a once only
task), IntelliCAD should work quite smoothly. When you click
the open files button, you should be positioned at your drawing store,
it should be possible to insert blocks from your block library simply by
typing the name of the block on the command line (try the -INSERT command rather than menu pick for
this [put a minus sign in front of the command: prompt]) and as you add to your fonts library over time, the problem of
drawings reporting missing fonts and font substitution should go away.
Many users have their own custom menus. If you need to
load a custom menu, use the MENULOAD
command to activate the customize box. Make sure that you have the
append to current menu licked before adding your own menu. Details on
how to do this are provided in our
CAD workshop series.
Don't forget that Design Cad provides
support
and
training for IntelliCAD users. Our broadband
learning site
http://www.softwaretutor.net offers a range of courses at
competitive rates.
Register your copy of IntelliCAD on the web at:
http://www.siacad.com
Click on the icon to play a movie showing how to install the bonus
tools.
Start IntelliCAD again from the desktop shortcut. Check the drop
down menu area to see if a new menu called SIACAD has been installed (see figure below).
If not, run a script file called ALL_ICAD.SCR. {These steps are reproduced below}.
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Select the Tools drop down menu and then Scripts. A dialog box appears.
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Navigate to the SIACAD folder on your local C: drive. Click on the file
ALL_CAD.SCR. This folder will still be on the C: drive, even if you
install IntelliCAD on (Say) the D: drive.
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Click OK to run this file.
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Check in the drop down menu area that the bonus tools have now been
installed.
The new SIACAD drop down menu should now appear as shown in
the figure below.
Install the latest IntelliCAD
patch
From time to time during the life of a particular release of IntelliCAD,
so-called 'intermediate' patches or updates to the program are
released. Your dealer may supply a patch with your copy of IntelliCAD.
These patches take the form of small executable programs which when run
on your computer, make some relatively small changes and additions to
the IntelliCAD program itself.
Start IntelliCAD and click on the Help drop down menu and
then on the option About IntelliCAD.
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Determining the IntelliCAD
version number - in this case 6.0.12.0. |
Write down the version number,
including the full sequence of numbers and not just 6.0.( write 6.0.12 in this
example).
In May 2007, the most up to date
version of IntelliCAD is 6.3.70
MAKE SURE THAT YOU CLOSE INTELLICAD
AT THIS POINT and reboot the computer!
If you need to add a patch, the
instructions are given below.
Start Windows Explorer and double
click on the patch file (the .EXE file).
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Keep your IntelliCAD patches in named
folders. Double click on the file name to start the patch
process. |
You will almost certainly be
faced with a security warning at this point. Provided you have run a
virus check on the program, you can click the run option.
The Setup program dialog box will
pop up. Check that the upgrade number is greater that the current
number for your copy of IntelliCAD. In this example, the original
number was 6.0.12.0 and the new number 6.1.19, so we are on
track to move to a later version of IntelliCAD 6. Thus you can click
Yes with confidence.
The install program proper then
begins to run. Click Next.
Accept the license agreement and
move to the next screen. The next step is very important. You need
to make sure that the patch is applied to the same folder that you
originally installed IntelliCAD.
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Click on
the folder in which IntelliCAD is to be found. |
The patch is installed.
Step 3. Re-boot
your computer.
Start IntelliCAD and again click Help>About
IntelliCAD to confirm that the patch has been correctly applied. IntelliCAD is now fully installed and you can begin to work
with it.
Step 4. Register
your copy of IntelliCAD with our principlas (SiaCAD)
Use the information on your
registration card and register your license. You will then be
included in the database. This will enable you to receive upgrades.
Most importantly, SIACAD needs a valid email address to send the
upgrade link to.
At present, upgrades within the 6.xx range are
free.
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