Clicking links in Outlook 2007 generates "This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this computer."

For doing the things that I do and visiting the webpages that I routinely go to, I have recently come to the conclusion that Firefox and IE, for all intents and purposes, really aren't all that different. At this point in my career (and life), I simply don't have the time or desire to be devoted to a cause (Firefox) or to a brand (Apple). I simply use my computer as a tool to complete tasks. That's it. At any rate, since Firefox 3.0 was having some well documented trouble with Flickr on my system, I decided to save the space and abandon it completely in favor of IE7.

After uninstalling Firefox, I noticed that links no longer worked within Outlook 2007. Clicking on any link produced an error which stated, "This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator." As with any error, I turned to Google. I was able to find numerous blogs and pages which simply restated Microsoft's solution of respecifying IE as the default browser. For every time somebody posted that procedure, there were dozens of, "Thanks, that worked." replies, so I figured that it would work for me as well.

I followed the instructions in Microsoft's help document Q310049 while logged in as myself (user permissions), but my links still produced the warning. I then tried making the same changes while logged in as administrator, but I still had no luck. Eventually, I solved the problem by making a SWAG: All I had to do was temporarily add my normal account to the administrators group, follow Microsoft's instructions from Q310049, and then remove myself from administrators.

I'm not sure which registry keys are directly manipulated by the steps outlined in Q310049. If you are indeed required to have administrative privelages to edit them, then it's scary to think of how many people run as admin 100% of the time. (Judging by the volume of "Thanks, that worked" responses I encountered when reading blogs which rehashed Q310049).

Norton Antivirus 2009 (finally) delivers

I first began using Norton products in the early 90s, with Norton Advanced Utilities version 4.5, and I was a huge fan of their products for a number of years. For well over a decade, though, Symantec's Norton line of products has been extremely bloated and every one of them that I have run has added a very noticable system lag. I've always found it a little ironic since many of their products are supposed to enhance or monitor system performance. For many years, running Norton System Monitor was analagous to adding a 500 pound fuel guage, a 1000 pound spedometer, and a 1500 pound odometer to your car. The last version of NAV that I ran, which was either 2004 or 2005, was about the same. After installing NAV, even doing something as simple as opening notepad was executed with a bit of hesitation and a lot of grinding. (Note: I've never had problems with Symantec's corporate line of products, such as SAV.)

With that said, now that I have a newer notebook, I had to find an Antivirus program which would run on Vista x64. Over the years, Norton, despite its bloated footprint, has consistently scored at or near the top in all of the virus scanner reviews that I've read. Since they offer a version which will run on x64, I decided to give it a shot. I'm extremely pleased with my system performance since installing it - which is to say that I don't notice that it's there. Without being able to quantify it, I can simply state that there is no noticable difference in overall system performance with NAV 2009 installed or without it.

Since the license allows me to install it on up to three home computers, I installed it on my older XP Pro (32) system, and I'm happy to report that the results are about the same: NAV 2009 is installed but there is no noticable lag.

This is exactly how system utilities such as antivirus software should work. Since the work that we all do is predominantly productive work (right?), then we shouldn't know any utilities are there until we need them.

Disclaimers:

• Yes, I'm aware that there are free versions of Avast and AVG. I've used them before on some systems and I'm likely to use them again in the future.
• Yes, I'm aware that as of this post, MacOS and Linux are less susceptible to viruses. I also can't run any of my applications on them so it's a moot point.

Hacking the Nvidia performance driver (powerdraft) into Civil 3D

Several months ago, Nvidia released a performance driver for AutoCAD 2009. Unfortunately, using the included installer, this driver can only be installed on AutoCAD. When you only have Civil 3D installed, you get an error which reads, "Setup was unable to find an installed version of AutoCAD 2009."



I was able to hack the driver in to my Civil 3D 2009 installation on an XP (32) system by doing the following:

1. Download Powerdraft2009_XP_Vista_32_64.exe from nvidia's website.


2. Run the install program and let it error out as noted above.


3. At this point the install program has actually unpacked the archive to a directory called C:\04-28-2008-0710\ navigate to C:\04-28-2008-0710\Disk1\win32 and copy all of the files from that location to C:\Program Files\AutoCAD Civil 3D 2009\Drv


4. Finally, back in Civil 3D, run 3DCONFIG and select the new Nvidia specific driver for either Direct3D or OpenGL.
   

Unfortunately, since I don't have a supported video card on my notebook, I haven't had the opportunity to test this workaround with Civil 3D 2009 (a 32 bit application) on Vista x64.

RegappID cleanup utility

It just came to my attention that Autodesk quietly released their own RegApp cleaner a couple of months ago. This still doesn't do anything to prevent Registered Application IDs from propagating through xrefs and inserts so unless you clean everything that your file might come into contact with, you can count on getting infected with AppIDs over and over again. Still, along with the -purge R option that was reintroduced in 2005 or 2006 (after a very long absense), it's a step in the right direction.

Autodesk's CleanupRegApp tool isn't any more or less effective than cadthinking's PurgeIDs, and in fact, its interface is lacking compared to PurgeIDs. Still, it's nice to know that this is an Autodesk developed (and, presumably, Autodesk supported) tool to address a problem that has been swept under the rug for far too long.

Importing color images from Google Earth into Civil 3D

Ever since Civil 3D added the ability to import georeferenced imagery from Google Earth, I regularly get comments from users who would prefer the image to appear in color. While it doesn't appear to be a feature, with a little hacking this is actually very easy to do.

First, open your Civil 3D drawing file and make sure to set the coordinate system properly.

Then open Google Earth and navigate to the area that you'd like to import. Once you've centered on your project area, go back to Civil 3D and go to File -> Import -> Google Earth Image. When prompted, specify coordinate system for the image location. At this point, the georeferenced image is dropped in at the appropriate northing and easting coordinates. Unfortunately, it is in black and white.

To create a color image file, go back to Google Earth, and being careful not to reorient the display, hit CTRL-ALT-S to save the image. Save this jpg to your relevant project location.

Back in Civil 3D, open the xref palette and find the Google Earth image. Hit the "found at" button to respecify the image file location.

Point the image reference to the color jpg by selecting the file that you saved earlier. Finally, perform a regen and the color image will appear in the proper location.

Things that should have been better in Vista

I've been working with Vista x64 for about a month now and while my experience has been surprisingly positive, there are a few very simple things that could have and should have been much better.

1. Since Windows '95, Microsoft has earned a lot of bad publicity by making it way too easy for grandma to double click on things like README.txt.vbs when file extensions are hidden (which I believe was the default in 95,98,ME, NT4, 2k, and XP). With security supposedly being a top priority of Vista, this would have been such an easy change to make, but, by default, extensions are still hidden.
2. There are now dozens of available columns in windows explorer, but there still isn't a column for "extension." If I want to sort by extension to find *.PAT in a particular directory, I naturally look for *.PAT, not "AutoCAD Hatch Pattern Definition."
3. The smallest unit in Windows Explorer is still a kilobyte. I don't care how large hard drive capacities are now or how large they will be in the future - there should always be an option to show file sizes in bytes.
4. It's incredibly difficult to make "Remember Folder Settings" work. I like details view. For everything. Really. Don't try to outsmart me. Luckily, this article seems to have a fix which actually works.
5. Shift-RightClick / "Open Command Window Here" only works in explorer's right pane.
6. Windows Explorer's status bar no longer shows the total size of files in the current folder. It used to in 95,98,ME,NT4,2k and XP. Now it doesn't. To get the total file size, you have to ctrl-a to select all and then the status bar shows you the cumulative total size of the files.
7. In previous versions of windows you could log out with just the keyboard. CTRL-ALT-DEL followed by "L" would log you off. Vista has removed this functionality. CTRL-ALT-DEL gets you to a purely point and click page where you must then use your mouse to hit "log off."
   

Running history of new features in AutoCAD which failed to deliver

Ever since AutoCAD went to the one year releases, I've been pretty critical of how rushed all of the new features have been. This is a running list of all of the new heavily touted "bullet list" features which failed to deliver.

2005:

• New Feature: Hatch Gap Tolerances (HPGAPTOL)
  Incomplete implementation: Works in simple figures where users wouldn't need it to work, but simply doesn't work on figures where most users we would need such a feature to work. As of 2009, it is no better than it was in 2005.
  Result: Most customers can't use it which makes them revert to 2004 techniques.
  
  
• New Feature: Background mask property
  Incomplete implementation: Doesn't work when printers are set to "lines merge"
  Result: Many customers still have to use wipeouts, which do work with "lines merge." Again, this essentially forces many users to revert to 2004 techniques.
  
  
• New Feature: Sheet Sets
  Incomplete implementation: Publishing can be painfully slow when there are several page setups which refer to several plotters. Often, the publish dialog can take several minutes to appear. Also, DST files on networks are still known to cause performance issues.
  Result: This really is a useful feature, but incomplete aspects noted above weren't improved in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009.
  

2006:

• New Feature: Dynamic input
  Incomplete Implementation: Should have been more useful than it is. There are still issues with overlapping values and sluggish performance. Done right, it could have been as great as autosnap markers.
  Result: With each rollout, I field dozens of calls asking how to turn it off and revert to 2005 behavior.
  
  
• New Feature: CUI/Workspaces
  Incomplete implementation: Simply wasn't thought out very well from a workgroup point of view. The enterprise/main division is very cumbersome, not to mention enterprise partial and main partials, the fact that workspaces are stored in the CUI file, and many other overdesigned aspects. Visit this thread for user complaints on this feature. This wasn't just a case of users being resistant to change. The thread started over two years ago and it's still being posted to.
  
  Main, partial main, enterprise, partial enterprise? Hacked ICON.DLLs? Workspaces in main and enterprise but not partials? LIFO conflics? Can't edit workspaces when "automatically save changes to workspace is on? "Save current as" saves the current space as "start on"? Cumbersome ACLs for enterprise/partial? .. What a convoluted mess! Novice to semiexperienced users simply want this: How can I drag these three buttons from this toolbar to that toolbar like I did in 2005? That's it and that's all.
  
  FWIW, the CUI feature has always reminded me of the Simpsons episode when homer's long lost brother allows him to design a better car that "the people" would buy and they end up with this. (In case you don't remember, the car ended up with a sticker price of over $40,000 and the company went bankrupt).
  

2007:

• New Feature: Built-in PDF driver
  Incomplete Implementation: Didn't work well then and doesn't work well now. Huge margins, poorly translated lineweights, objects in paperspace layouts can appear on the wrong PDF page.
  Result: Many/most users resort to using a 3rd party PDF driver, just as they had to do in 2006.

• New Feature: xref palette
  Incomplete implementation: Simply selecting an image in the list creates excessive "image processing," even when the image is unloaded and/or on a frozen layer. Doesn't work when SDI is turned on (as some verticals still force).
  Result: Many users have to resort to the 2006 method of using CLASSICXREF.
  

2008:

• New feature: PUBLISHCOLLATE variable is supposed to allow users to send one multi-page print job (1) or several one page print jobs (0).
  Incomplete implementation: known to cause fatal errors
  Result: For many users, publishcollate must be left at 0 which completely disables the new feature and reverts to the behavior of the previous version.
  
  
• New Feature: annotative mtext
  Incomplete Implementation: Doesn't work with the lisp function (entmod) which means that many firms either can't use their existing customizations or can't use the new feature. Also, many annotative entities can't be manipulated until a drawing is audited. Many users simply couldn't live with the quirks, didn't have time to invest in developing in-house workarounds and gave up on the feature.
  Result: As stated, for firms who have existing customizations, the new feature can't be used and users must revert to 2007 and earlier techniques.
  
  
• New Feature: annotative scales -
  Incomplete Implementation: Generally caused tons of CAD debris that will have to be fought off for years to come - and that debris was only introduced in the short period between 2008 and 2008SP1.
  
  
• New Feature: mleader
  Incomplete Implementation: Extremely quirky, even in SP1. Sometimes when the text width is modified, its location pops to a random position. Also, you can't use a field within mleader text and have it justify to middle.
  Result: Many users had to pass on this feature until it was more completely implemented, which meant that they had to revert to the 2007 (and earlier) quickleader techniques.
  
  
• New Feature: multiline attributes
  Incomplete implementation: Arbitrary code can bleed through into the displayed value; attribute position can jump anound.
  Result: Many users gave up on the feature and had to revert to using single line attributes as they had to in 2007 and earlier.
  

2009:

• New Feature: Extended tooltips
  Incomplete implementation: Undoubtedly cause sluggish performance. There is no way to only turn off said verbose tool tips.
  Result: Tooltips must be turned off completely, which mimics a circa R12 environment.
  
  
• New Feature: Ribbon interface
  Incomplete implementation: The ribbon, its tabs, and panels have to be in the "main" CUI file.
  Result: A step back for people who had been using the dashboard.
  
  
• New feature: DST files are added to most recently used files list
  Incomplete implementation: After 9 sheet sets have been opened, only dst files will show up in the most recently used file list.
  Result: New feature leaves users worse off than with previous version
  
  
• New feature: Layer Manager Palette
  Incomplete implementation: Severe performance issues when leaving palette docked
  Result: Users do not realize any benefits from new feature. Palette must either be closed after each operation, or use classiclayer/LAYERDLGMODE=0. Each of these operations reverts to an environment similar to 2008 and earlier releases.

Office 2007 first impressions

I like to wait for the early adopters to report back on the first service pack before I deploy any major software releases myself. With that said, I'm just now getting my first taste of Office '07.

So far, I don't have much good or bad to say about it. I guess it is what it is - just the next version of Office. I don't mind the ribbon and I imagine it'll be just fine once I get used to it.

I do have one issue with it, which is more of a peeve than anything that truly affects productivity. The color schemes are absolutely useless. It's not that I feel left out because want a green scheme, an orange scheme, or a purple scheme (for the uninitiated, you're given the choice of blue, silver, or black). My issue is this: what good is configuring your OS appearance preferences if applications don't observe them? These "skinned" applications all seem like they were created by someone who just didn't have anything better to do. Unfortunately, almost all applications seem to be going that way. Norton has been doing it for years with their consumer stuff (luckily their corporate stuff still uses normal window appearances). Winamp has never used regular Windows forms. Roxio has recently started using the skinned appearance, and even AutoCAD now restricts users to either a "light" or a "dark" color scheme. To me, applications like this can just be distracting. I much prefer when apps have a consistent look and feel. Wasn't that one of the original selling points of Windows in the first place?

Windows Tip: WindowKey + E starts up Windows Explorer

After years of observing Windows users, I've learned that most users enter windows explorer in the following directory:

c:\documents and settings\username\start menu

This doesn't seem to be a very good starting place, but from what I've seen, most people launch windows explorer by right clicking on the start menu and selecting "explore." Going back to the advent of Windows '95, this method was probably intended to manage the shortcuts in your start menu. Since the explorer shortcut was originally very deep under the start menu, I guess users just found their way to explorer via the start menu editor.

A quicker method of launching Windows explorer in all modern versions of Windows is to hold down the window key and the e key together. It also starts you in the "my documents" folder which is a better starting point.

Vista x64 first impressions

I recently upgraded to Windows Vista x64 on a Dell M6300 with 4GB of RAM. So far I've been blown away by the snappy performance of the system itself and, in particular, all of the Autodesk software that I've run on it so far (Civil 3D 2009, AutoCAD 2009, Map 2009).

I've heard all of the horror stories of Vista and, yes, I've seen the Apple commercials, but since I purchased the system new as a 64 bit workstation, Dell naturally configured it with hardware which is all supported by Vista x64. The only peripheral that I had to worry about was my old Lexmark P4350 printer, which luckily, Lexmark provides a driver for.

I should also point out that I've turned off all of the eye candy which I just don't need. Even in XP, I've always been one to turn off window animations, cursor shadows, smooth scrolling, start menu animation, and all of the rest of the fluff that just doesn't add to productivity. With Vista, I've decided to configure it about the same. After just a few days, things are going extremely well.

It's still way to early to tell, but I think I'm going to be very happy with Vista x64 and this system in general.

I'll post some benchmarks as soon as I can.

(For the Linux trolls, I should also point out that this system is for business apps that Linux simply won't run. I like linux. I get it. I know that it's good and I have ubuntu on my old old laptop. I've used it off an on, when I had a specific use for it, since about 1993 when I used slackware on a '386. So please don't try to convince me that any Linux flavor is superior to Vista. For the apps I run, it's very apparent that Vista x64 was a wise choice).