The 2012 release of AutoCAD based products has a new Autodesk Exchange “start screen” when the program opens.

This screen contains

  • Product Announcements
  • Featured Videos
  • Featured Topics
  • An announcement of Product Updates & Service Packs.
  • Information on Autodesk Subscription.
  • A link to the Autodesk Forums for additional on-line product support.

In short: it’s a nice resource for you to learn about the latest developments in the software and it also contains another important check box as well:

Show this window at startup (which shuts it off!)

When you get a moment I highly recommend the video in AutoCAD 2012 ” Convert 2D Objects to 3D Objects “.  Even if you don’t use this feature it’s a fascinating (and short) video to understand the capabilities AutoCAD now has to do 3D work.  I’ve used AutoCAD for 22 years, this feature (along with Associative Arrays) really made me smile when I viewed it.