Tip 2271: CAD Manager's Log
Harry's Top Tip of the month is CAD Manager's Log by Richard Grainer. CAD Manager's Log is a tool for recording your daily activities, whether for personal tracking purposes, client billing, or reporting to management. This program will create a CSV file based on your selection of the activities you want to record. It does not record elapsed time; instead it compiles and organizes your notes and comments so you can retrieve them later using a spreadsheet program. This tip is designed for the busy CAD manager who attends a lot of meetings and multitasks to the maximum -- in other words, your average CAD manager.

To use this tip, load the LISP code into AutoCAD's Visual LISP editor (VLIDE) and edit it to match your output preferences. Toward the end of the source code, you will find the full name and folder of the file this program creates. (Search for the string CSV to locate it quickly.) Change this name and save the program so you don't have to repeat this step. Now just load the code as a normal LISP program and type DLog to activate. The associated dialog box file (DCL) should reside in a folder searched by AutoCAD. After you get DLog running, you will want to use it over and over to record your activities for later review. Thanks, Richard -- you are the top tipster of the month!