June 17, 2013

Release Notes - Readme file
Autodesk, Inc.

In a continuing effort to provide high quality products, this Service Pack 1 for Autodesk Alias 2014 fixes or addresses a variety of issues. This file highlights how to install the service pack and what has been fixed.

 Note: Autodesk Alias Automotive 2014 Service Pack 1 includes Autodesk Maya 2014 Service Pack 1.

Contents

• Summary of Issues Addressed by this Service Pack

• Installation Instructions

• Legal Notice

Summary of Issues Addressed by this Service Pack

The following list contains descriptions for issues fixed in this Service Pack. For your convenience, the list is separated into distinct feature areas.

Modeling

• Clicking "Reset" for the Tube Flange and Freeform Blend tools does not reset the Modify Range parameter to unchecked.

• When creating a profile surface from multiple closed profiles, the correspondence between the points along each of the profiles is incorrect, resulting in a profile surface that appears twisted.
  The input profiles are now properly matched and the profiles surface is as desired. Open profiles did not have this problem.

• Picking surfaces is slower than in Alias 2013.

• True G1 circular fillets are no longer easily achievable.
  (For G1 Tangent fillets, the form factor default value of 0.5 works well when you want a non-circular fillet. When you want a circular fillet, the form factor value should be 1.0. Having to change two settings, Section Type and Form Factor, to get a circular fillet is less intuitive than using G1 Circular fillets of Alias 2013. In Alias 2014 SP1, we renamed the G1 Circular section type to G1 Tangent. We created a new G1 Circular section type with a Form Factor fixed at 1.0, thus guaranteeing a true circular fillet. Consequently, there is no adjustable form factor value for this new G1 Circular section type.)

• Surface fillet trimming types of Automatic and Curve on Surface for filleted surfaces that have more than one trim region was failing.

• Fillet Flange fails to build surface if sweep angle > 175 degrees, for Circular fillets. Limitation: While this has been addressed in Alias 2014 SP1, this will still fail for G2 fillets, G3 fillets, or G1 fillets with a form factor value that is not 1.0.

• Using Symmetric Fillet, if Flow Control is initially set as 'Default' for Start, and later changed to 'Extend' through Query Edit, Alias will crash.

• Alias may hang on retrieval of a Checkpoint file.

• The Form Factor option disappears when switching Construction Type from Radius to Chord when the Specify option is Both.

• Projection textures don’t appear in the texture list if the user has first opened the information window.

• The Rail Tool will fail to get a result when using one generation curve and implied tangent, and the generation curve is not at the start of the path curve for which you require the tangency.

User Interface

• The About Box version string will now include ‘SP’ followed by the service pack number when a service pack has been applied.

• The Color Picker is unable to select colors in paint layers on Mac OS.

• Alias will ask if you want to save, even if you haven’t done anything or you have just saved.

• Tool control windows that are set to auto-hide may not redraw properly upon reopening of the window.

• The Fit button doesn't work with the Direct Render window. (Direct Render windows should not be resizable, as there is no benefit. The Fit button has been removed.)

• The width of surface and curve hulls is too thick in Alias 2014 when anti-aliasing is turned off, as compared to Alias 2013.

• The new Windows browser doesn’t remember the selected file filter. The desired file filter must be reselected on every open.

• When using a Wacom tablet, Alias may get into a state where windows cannot be moved or the colors cannot be picked.

• The default directory location for File > Open after having set a Project Directory in the Windows file browser should be the wire directory, rather than the Project Home.

• Toggling Pick State using the Pick State icon in the Object Lister causes a performance problem.

• The Draw Style window is clipping its icons on the right side.

• Changes to Transparency are no longer persistent. Transparency reverts to 1.0 frequently.

• Stage editor window doesn't remember it’s saved size from one Alias session to another.

• Transform CV interface layout has usability issues.

• The Toggle Perspective tool becomes disabled when the current camera is in an orthographic view.

• With a large model opened, creating CV curves is slower than Alias 2012.

• The preview icon is not being embedded into saved wire files for Alias Surface and Alias Design on the Mac platform only.

DirectConnect

• Exporting JT files will fail when the Organize First By option is set to Layers.

Painting

• If Near Clipping Plane, in the camera editor under Digital Properties, is greater than 10 you cannot paint in that window any more.

• Sometimes moving the pen away from the tablet can cause all subsequent pencil strokes to draw vertically only.

Render

• The transparency controls for the Curvature evaluation shader (diagnostic shade) will not correctly update the shader by applying the correct transparency value.

Miscellaneous

• The user can’t turn off the warning that is issued when a subsequent session of Alias is launched while another session is running.

• Alias 2014 may crash when launching on machine that does not have BIOS serial number. This affects Windows 32bit and 64bit only. For more information see Autodesk AutoCAD Services & Support Knowledge Base - Windows crash during license authorization of Autodesk 2014 product.

• Wire files saved from Send to Maya, Send to Showcase, Stage Editor, or from plugins built using the OpenAlias API, do not have an embedded preview icon.

• Alias may crash when Diagnostic Shading is applied to Reference Data.

Installation Instructions - Windows

• You must have administrator privileges on your local machine.

• Autodesk Alias 2014 must be installed.

• This Service Pack should be compatible with any or all previous released HotFixes for the Alias 2014 products.

To install the Alias Service Pack 1 on Windows

1.    Download the Service Pack 1 to a temporary directory on the workstation.

2.    Double-click to install the Service Pack 1.

3.    The Windows SP1 Patch installer will "loop" through the install process several times, once for the Alias 2014 Core Software, and once for each of the Alias 2014 (Automotive, Surface, Design) Personalities present on the client system. You will be required to click on "Install" once, for each of those loops, as applicable.

Installation Instructions - Mac

• You must have administrator privileges on your local machine.

• Note: No SP1 patch is available for Mac; it will be a full install.

To install the Alias 2014 with Service Pack 1 on Mac

1.    Uninstall Alias 2014 build if previously installed.

2.    Download the Service Pack 1 build to a temporary directory on the workstation; or insert the Alias installation media into the drive of your computer.

3.    Double-click the Alias 2014 icon with the folder to begin the installation process.

4.    Install the Alias 2014 with Service Pack 1 selecting the relevant options.

Legal Notice

Autodesk, Alias, Maya, and Sketchbook are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other Countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2013 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.