We have many ViaCAD users who also include Adobe Illustrator in their tool chest. One common use is to create text in Adobe Illustrator using their advanced text tools (kerning/tracking) and then importing into ViaCAD. Once in ViaCAD you can extrude into 3D and perform operations such as blending and chamfering. This video shows how you can share data between the two applications.
The Trim tool is used to re-limit curves to other objects. Located in the Curve Utilities palette this tool is one of the most frequently used tools to modify curve extents. 
Several useful tips related to the Trim tool are:
Another useful tip when using the Trim tool is using it in conjunction with Select All. Selected objects not only serve as a trim boundary, but can be trimmed as well depending on where you click with the mouse. Check out the video below demonstrating the Trim tool.
I’m occasionally asked by new users why some smooth objects appear to have straight edges. For example, if they zoom in on a circle they may see a collection of straight line segments making up the circle. This is because internally the circle is represented as a collection of line segments for the purpose of display. In our CAD applications, all objects are displayed as vectors or facets through hardware accelerated OpenGL drivers. Note this is only for display purposes. Everywhere else the exact equation of a circle is used such as in trimming, breaking, or LogiCursor references.
There are several ways to modify spline points with ViaCAD and Shark. This video shows two methods using the arrow key and the gripper.
Here is a tip for those of you creating custom decals for Shark FX’s photo rendering tools. In this video, Nick Johnson shows the steps to create the image and mask using PhotoShop and how to assign these images to a body within Shark FX.
Check out this tip from Nick Johnson regarding creating glowing lights with Shark FX. This tip shows you how to set the light attribute to cast volumetric shadows and to turn on fog for an atmospheric condition.
Attributes can be assigned to objects which can be gathered up to make a Bill of Material (BOM) table. In this tip, we show how to add an atribute, make a BOM, and to later change your mind to remove the attribute and update the table.
One of the best ways to get up to speed with ViaCAD is to check out the training videos that are included with the product. For example, ViaCAD includes over 90 minutes of video training free with the product! In this blog entry, we provide a bit of a guide into the videos that are provided. These are excellent videos and well worth the time to review. Check out the example below describing the text and dimension tools available in ViaCAD.
I had an interesting question from a customer last week. The customer designs putting greens using 12×12 interlocking tiles. They wanted to know if ViaCAD could tabulate the full or partial areas of tiles trimmed to a outline.
Below is a movie showing how you could use ViaCAD Pro to accomplish the task. The primary tools used in the demo include:
–Split Surface to Curve
–Area attributes with Bill of Materials
Below is an excellent three part tutorial on how to use an image as a starting point to create a 3D model.
In this example, Nick Johnson of CADSoft Solutions Limited in the UK uses a jpeg as the basis to recreate the 3D frame of a mountain bike.
The movies are high definition so feel free to enlarge when you play.