Letter from the President - March 2019
We are cruising through 2019! The March issue of AUGIWORLD is here and this issue has always been one of my favorites—the Tips and Tricks issue. Let me tell you why!
I enjoy driving. Well, for the most part. My GPS and I have a love-hate relationship. You see, I always think there is a better way to get somewhere than what my GPS is telling me. If I have to drive somewhere new, I will study maps for days beforehand trying to fig-ure out the best way to get to my destination. I try to avoid traffic at all costs. Sometimes it works, and sometimes not so much! My GPS has stopped saying “Recalculating” and now says, “Whatever, Lady, you’re on your own!”
One not-so-fond memory is when I was right out of high school, working for a car dealership, and driving cars to other dealers. This was in the days before GPS. One such trek took us to Egg Harbor City, New Jersey. We found a pretty decent route that took us from south central Pennsylvania through Maryland and Delaware, avoiding Phila-delphia, and getting us to NJ in less than three hours. When we got there, the dealer thought we were crazy for going that way, and told us to “just pick up Atlantic City Expressway to the PA turnpike” to get home. Guess what? We ended up in downtown Philadelphia at rush hour! As an 18-year-old who had just gotten my driver’s license a few months before, it was a driving experience I will never forget. After that, I made sure I knew the directions I wanted to follow, and always looked for shortcuts! (And never trust a car dealer? Maybe!)
In design software, shortcuts are not always a bad thing, either. In fact, we look for short-cuts to help make our jobs easier. I learned AutoCAD a long time ago, and still use shortcut keys and LISP routines to make my job easier. In Revit, there are a few shortcut keys that I have learned, but the tips and tricks I have learned with Revit are more about the process, and “how Revit thinks”. I am continually learning from others who may have found any easier way to do something that just didn’t cross my mind. I have taken Steven Shell’s rendering class at Autodesk University at least three times, and I always learn something new! That is why I am always thankful for this issue of AUGIWORLD.
Sometimes it’s hard taking advice from other people, especially when we want to be perceived as being confident in our own skill set. But it is also important to continue to improve that skill set, not just for ourselves, but so we become a more valuable asset to our employers and clients. Sometimes it is those little tips and tricks we pick up along the way that improve our productivity a notch, or make a process just a little easier. The experience we gain as we continue to learn can be helpful to others. It is like passing along a piece of advice that your grandmother gave you! So, please feel free to share your own tips and tricks on our AUGI forums.
Safe travels!
