The newly formed AVAware media team, in cooperation with the training and support group have launched a new product training initiative combining online documentation with produced instructional videos.
In 2019, AVAware launched a new video production initiative which released a series of monthly "tip" videos focusing on particularly useful and perhaps less known features of the AVAproject detailing and estimating system. This year, AVAware will build upon that with a series of in-depth instructional videos and accompanying documentation.
The new video series, branded as "AVAware Academy", will assist new and existing users alike to gain a better understanding of the nuances offered by features throughout the software. The initial releases will consist of tutorials of approximately ten minutes in length, each specifically focused on different aspects of the AVAproject, AVAcad and AVAprojectFusion software packages.
The eventual goal is to combine them into a comprehensive training series that users of AVAware software can turn to for product training at their own pace and on their schedules. The ability to pause, review and watch videos at one's convenience offers a tremendous advantage over live training alone. Users can focus on features for which they require additional clarification, or refresh themselves on those that are perhaps used less frequently.
This month's newsletter features the first AVAware Academy release. This one is centered on the installation, updating and maintenance of AVAware product catalogs though the online catalog distribution system. Detailed instructions on everything from initial downloads to updating are provided, as well as information on managing multiple editions and maintaining one's catalog library.
AVAware Academy and AVAware "Tips" videos are all available on the AVAware YouTube channel and can be accessed via the link below:
It's a new year and the AVAware development team is hard at work putting the finishing touches on the latest edition of AVAproject.
Months of product development have gone into preparing AVAproject 2020 for its upcoming release. We would be remiss if we did not express our sincere appreciation to our many users for their feedback and suggestions for additional features. Those valuable insights were instrumental in guiding our development efforts and ultimately led to the creation of several major new additions to the software.
After 10 long years, one of Microsoft's most popular versions of their Windows operating system has reached its end of days.
January 14, 2020 marks what Microsoft refers to as "End of Life" for the beloved Windows 7 operating system; a life that began more than ten years ago.
On July 22, 2009 Microsoft released what was to become one of its most popular and successful versions of its Windows operating system. Windows 7 was released on the heels of the very divisive Windows Vista, and generally considered to be the most stable and well-designed version of the OS to date. Even following the release of the much anticipated Windows 8 in 2012, many users opted to remain with Windows 7. Even those who purchased new computers with Windows 8 pre-installed, often chose to "downgrade" back to Windows 7.
The "end of life" designation does not mean that Windows 7 will stop functioning any time soon. Existing users are perfectly free to continue using the familiar platform, they simply won't be receiving any technical support or updates (security or otherwise) from Microsoft any longer.
AVAware will continue to support all products including AVAproject, AVAcad and AVAprojectFusion on Windows 7, and will continue to do so as long as it's technically feasible to do so. For the time being, users are encouraged to consider upgrading to Windows 10 if they haven't already done so. All AVAware software products are fully supported on that platform as well, as they have been since the operating systems initial release in 2015.
Windows 10
It wasn't until July 29, 2015 and the release of Windows 10 with its ground-up redesign, that users gradually began to let go of Windows 7 in favor of the newer version. Marketed in the form of "software as a service" ("SaaS"), Windows 10 was referred to by Microsoft as the "last" version of Windows. They essentially meant that future enhancements will be continually provided at the component level rather than in the form of a major version releases as before.
This new version of Windows also brought with it a major change to Microsoft's position on software updates - they are now mandatory. It will no longer be possible to decline updates nor opt to remain with an existing version of Windows 10. Not surprisingly, this change in policy was met with a certain amount of trepidation from users. Windows updates are infamous for occasionally introducing "bugs" into a previously stable build. Issues with certain Windows 10 updates in 2019 clearly demonstrated this concern to be justified. In response, Microsoft has made it possible for users of "enterprise" versions of Windows 10 to defer updates for a short period of time in order to facilitate testing.
Architectural product catalogs and the data they provide are at the heart of the estimating and detailing process, and an invaluable benefit to AVAproject users. The distribution of the catalogs in the AVAware library is facilitated by a cloud-based server and accessed via tools built right into the software.
This inaugural tutorial video from AVAware Academy will highlight all aspects of catalog management in AVAproject, from initial installation to updating.
Introduction to the Catalog Explorer
The video begins with a brief overview of the AVAware Catalog Explorer. This tool is common to all AVAware software applications that utilize catalogs from the AVAware library, including AVAproject, AVAcad and AVAproject Desktop.
This section provides an overview of both the 'Catalogs' and 'Subscription' tabs (pictured below):
Downloading Catalogs for the First Time
The next section of the video details the process of downloading catalogs, following the initial installation of AVAproject. This includes such items as subscription files, logging into the system using an 'AVAware User Account', and related tools within the software.
The Catalog Download dialog provides convenient access to the catalog library. Users are given an overview of how catalogs are organized and how to download them.
Detailed Overview of the Catalog Explorer
With the catalogs downloaded and installed, users are given a more comprehensive overview of the Catalog Explorer. This section focusses on viewing and sorting options as well as the ability to examine any given catalog in greater detail. Specific features of the catalogs, including revision logs and catalog cuts are demonstrated.
This section of the tutorial covers all aspects of the process surrounding catalog updates. Users are taken through each step from receiving update notifications to downloading new editions of the various catalogs.
Managing Multiple Catalog Editions using 'Catalog Mounting Priority'
Over time and as newer editions of catalogs are released and downloaded, one's catalog collection will continue to grow. When ongoing projects require the use of previous catalog editions, AVAproject allows users to select specific older editions to be used instead of the most recent.
This section provides a detailed overview of the process of establishing catalog "mounting priority" to easily switch between multiple versions of a given catalog.
Deleting Catalogs
The final section of the tutorial covers the simply process of deleting old version of catalogs that are no longer required.
AVAwareAcademy articles include accompanying training videos courtesy of the AVAware production team.
Click below to view this month's video!
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In addition to the embedded links found on the AVAware website and with our newsletters, all our videos can be directly accessed through our YouTube channel. Our subscribers will have the opportunity to preview videos prior to their official release. Please don't forget to subscribe in order to be automatically notified as new content becomes available.
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We welcome any questions, comments or suggestions about any topic mentioned in this edition of AVAwire. Please visit our website for more information, or contact us directly at (416) 239-9099.
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