Digitizing

[jwf]

About ten years ago i use to use a large Digitizer. I was wondering with today technology do you still need a digitizer or do you just need a pionting device other than a mouse?

[Robert.Hall]

All I use a digitizer for "these days" is to trace a scaled drawing into AutoCad when dimensions are not given. I am currently looking into swapping my "giant digitizer" (mounted on the wall) for a desktop sized graphics tablet (8.5 X 11). I am also exploring methods to convert scanned in raster data to cad data.

As for using a tablet for an input device in AutoCad.....those glory days were 15 years ago when I was still using R13. At that time computers were a fraction of the speed they are now and digitzers were great. You could still use a digitizer today, however it is just as easy to setup some hotkeys. Hotkeys can be faster, depends on the user.

[Maverick91]

My first real job as a CAD tech was with a digitizer with a four-button puck. In some ways I think it was a faster input device instead of this two button and wheel mouse.

These days if I need to 'trace' over a hard-copy, I'll scan it and insert it into a dwg.

[Glenn Pope]

I still use a digitizer, but I don't use it to digitize any thing. Use raster to vector tools for that work. Swapped out for a smaller tablet about a year ago. Mainly keep using it because of the 16 button puck that is fully programed.

[Robert.Hall]

I use an 8 button mouse.......easily works just as well as a programmable digitizer.
Is there some other reason to still use a digitizer as an input device????
I was wondering what I could do if I get a desktop sized digitizer....hopefully it doesn't
just have to sit on the end of my desk.

[Coolmo]

I'm kicking it with a Calcomp DrawingBoard III and wouldn't have it any other way! I hate toolbars cluttering my screen so I use the digitizer to similate having toolbars with all of my commands on the digitizer. Every "cell" in the digitizer has been comlpetely remapped to standard AutoCAD commands and a bunch of my own and everything is right within reach. I've been doing it like this for ten years so I can really scream on this thing. I love to hear people sitting behind me say how they can hardly keep up visually with what I'm doing on screen because everything's flashing so fast.

[jim.vipond]

Here it is down to a designers own preference, some have digitizers some don't, but I make sure all our menus still have the tablet section setup. Personally I don't have one at the moment but I am thinking of going back to one. IMHO there is less fatigue on the old wrists when using a digitizer as the screen area set for the puck usually smaller and less movement is required, of course this will also be open to debate.

[bigguy19742000]

This may be off the mark as far as this discussion goes, but I need some input. Back in the early 90's I started off using Autocad R12 with a digitizer. Ever since then I have used a Mouse to do my work. This is mainly because I am not sure what types of digitizers will work with Autocad and the ones that I know for sure will work are fairly expensive. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to which digitizers work with Autocad and are relatively low cost. Any help would greatly be appreciated.
Jaime

[jaberwok]

I could be be way off here but I think the problem is not "work with AutoCAD" but "work with Windows" and that's just down to drivers.
I gave up using a digitiser largely because of problems with NT3.5.1 and NT4.0. With WinTab (and similar?) drivers, there shouldn't be a problem.

[ldavis.23383]

I've been using a 16 button digitizer since rel 9. Last week i was forced to use a mouse,
when the guys upstairs decided i merited an upgrade to 2006.

The CUI dialog looks beautiful but it doesn't work and Autodesk doesn't seem to care. When our support person called to try to get help fixing my problem they told him to buy me a mouse because i was bound to be the only person in the world still using a digitizer.

Looks like 14 years of customization is down the drain. So if you like your digitizer think long and hard before you upgrade.

Jake

[Glenn Pope]

Check out this thread.
Mouse Buttons in 2006 (http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=19060)

This basically shows how to set a command to the key combinations on a keyboard, then going into the digitizer driver and assigning those combinations to the button. This will allow you to use all 16 buttons. The only drawback is if you want more then one command assigned to a button using shift and ctrl. Unfortunately you won't be able to do it using this method. If you don't do that, then this method will get you back up and running.

[kengunn]

Hi All,

Reading all of these posts on using the tablet for everything but digitizing makes me think I'm going backward rather than forward, - however I certainly agree that the stylus is a great improvement over the mouse.

I have recently decided to try out the digitizing function - quicker to digitize curves etc on a sketch design straight in to the drawing - especially for revisions or minor changes, especially where the form of a curve is critical - rather than use the scanner in the office (installed to another machine on the network).

I've run into problems, and hope someone can enlighten me. This occurs on both my home and work machines.

I'm using an Intuos 2. I have the tablet configured to use the 4 acad menus with the supplied template. When I run the CAL option and attempt to use the TABLET function (ie, start to digitize) the 4 menus remain mapped on the tablet, in other words, the tablet menus act as "holes" in the drawing, and the cross-hairs cannot be seen on screen at these locations. The area mapped to the fixed screen, and areas around the edges of the 4 tablet menus allow digitizing, and show the cross-hairs moving over the drawing.

This became very clear at home, where the tablet is a 12 x 18. The areas outside of the mapped menus are available in tablet mode, as is the fixed screen. Have I missed something - or do need to rerun CFG and elect to not use menus prior to running CAL.

Thanks in anticipation.

Ken