Professional Industrial Strength CAD with Advanced Functionality to Optimise your Productivity

User-Friendly Design with Superior Drawing Techniques

Newsletter - 11 Aug 2006

Company News

----------------------------------------------------------

AllyCAD IN MUNICIPALITY DRIVE

Knowledge Base have donated student copies of AllyCAD to assist with a large capacity development project in local government.

In this initiative, 83 students, 37 graduates and 39 retired engineers have been placed in more than 50 municipalities to address service delivery. Many municipalities have no technical software and limited records, which makes planning, design and decisions on operations and maintenance particularly difficult.

This will allow students and graduates to become CAD proficient while at the same time helping municipalities to improve their records. Knowledge Base's donation forms part of a broader initiative to try and address skills shortages in the Civil Engineering sector.

AllyCAD FOR THE KZN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

It is proposed that 600 educators be trained in the use of CAD software for these subjects as part of the DOE's skills development programme for educators. As a result, Knowledge Base has agreed to support the programme by making their AllyCAD software available for this purpose.
Knowledge Base will be presenting a series of training demonstrations at the KZN Department of Education head office on Monday 14 August.

Product News & Information

----------------------------------------------------------

TEXT DIMENSIONS IN ALLYCAD

Moving dimension text is easy in AllyCAD. Simply select the dimension by dragging a selection box around it with your cursor, or by using the ‘Edit – Select by Polygon’ function. Once the dimension has been selected, you may switch into ‘Node Mode’ by clicking on the Nodes icon in the Toolbar.

Three nodes will appear on the dimension, one at each of the dimensioned points and one at the dimension text position. The dimension text position will become black or highlighted when you clock on the node at the dimension text position.

DIMENSIONS Click to enlarge

The highlighted node will allow you to nudge it accurately to a new position by simply pressing the arrow key pointing in the direction you would like to move the node to.

The program will now prompt you to specify how far you would like to move the text. Type a distance and press ‘Enter’. The dimension text will be moved up by the amount specified and the witness lines will be adjusted accordingly. You can also move the text by dragging the highlighted node to a new position.

Dimension text may not be centred due to trailing blanks and dimensions that are centred on a tolerance sign. To remove trailing blanks, use the ‘Edit Dimension Properties’ command in the ‘Annotate – Edit Dimensions’ menu to edit the dimension text. Once the text appears in the Control Bar you can ensure that there are no blanks before or after it.

Mechanical dimensions such as 34 +/-2 are centred on the tolerance sign (plus or minus). This may make the dimension appear off centre in certain cases. To correct this, use the ‘Modify – Stretch’ function to move the dimension text for quick and easy adjusting.

This along with many other options allow you to maximise your use of dimensions and provide the versatility you require.

AllyCAD Support & Development

----------------------------------------------------------

ANNUAL UPGRADE AND SUPPORT AGREEMENTS

Support Contracts are charged at 13% of the product purchase price and guarantee cutting edge software functionality, the availability of our Support Centre and the provision of a free marketing and publicity service where your project success stories are showcased in top trade journals. Support agreements therefore give you more choice and best of all, you will have immediate access to our upcoming AllyCAD 3.5 version with the latest functionality.

LATEST UPDATES FROM THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Here are the latest downloads available on the updates page:

• AllyCAD v3.4 PRO & SME
  Build 29 (11/07/2006)

• AllyCAD v3.4 Micro
  Build 29 (11/07/2006)

• AllyCAD v3.4 Freeware
  Build 29 (11/07/2006)

• AllyCAD v3.4 Help file Update
  (14/05/2004)

• AllyCAD v3.4 HASP Driver Update
  (18/08/2005)

Training & Visits

----------------------------------------------------------

Training is often regarded as the cornerstone to achieving optimal results and enhanced productivity. The value of good quality training cannot be emphasized enough.

“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” - Nelson Mandela

If you are interested in training, please contact your regional office to make your booking as the courses are extremely popular.

 

CURRENT VISITS & TRAINING ACTIVITIES

Our Customer Consultants will be involved in the following visits and training activities over the next couple of weeks. Please feel free to give us a call on (021) 701-1850. We would be happy to meet up with you to discuss your training or product needs.

Customer Showcase

WALTER MERCUUR Western Cape Education Department

STARTING AT GRASSROOTS LEVEL

One of the subjects that lie very close to the heart of Walter Mercuur is the level of education that will ultimately affect the quality of tomorrow's engineers. With the change in the Curriculum Statement some two years ago, the subject components for Civil Technology and Engineering Graphics & Design have undergone a major transformation which has led to some extensive curriculum planning in the Western Cape. read more

Click here to view Detailed Customer Showcases from our clients.

Bureau Service

Bureau assists companies to complete specialised projects on time.

Recruitment Service

RECRUITMENT

Knowledge Base Recruitment has gained the support of civil engineering firms nationwide through its efforts to address the massive skills shortages affecting the industry and as a result of its integrity-centered conduct.

UK INTERVIEWS SOON For one day only Knowledge Base Recruitment will be conducting interviews in the UK in order to fast track the entry of foreign professionals into South Africa. Interviews will be conducted on 01 September 2006.

We are currently looking to place a selection of highly competent civil engineers in a limited number of top contractual positions.

If you are interested in an exciting career move, then please e-mail yvonne@knowbase.co.za or call us on 021-701 1850 for further details.

This is a random selection of our candidates for permanent placement. Send an email to the above address quoting the relevant Candidate Number for further information:

Buy On-line

Improve your CAD technique. Buy the superior AllyCAD Professional online today.

For more information contact Brett Pureveen on (021) 701 1850 or visit www.knowbase.co.za/bureau/.

ALLYCAD - WORKS LIKE YOU DO

Buy your Plotter from the People who know how to use & Install them

Visit www.knowbase.co.za to view detailed specifications. All prices  include VAT and may change without prior notice.

Knowledge Base Software
Developers of Professional Civil Engineering and CAD Design Solutions

If you do not wish to receive future copies of this newsletter unsubscribe here.