Draftsight as a stopgap for limited needs users??

[mmanning]

All,

We are really getting tight on available licenses of AutoCAD and either need to buy 4 more ($$$) or come up with an alternative for those users who only require limited functionality. 

Everything we do is 2D and limited detail, though users do rely on a library of dynamic blocks.

TrueView won't cut it unfortunately since users can't edit.

So then there is Dessault Draftsight. While it obviously isn't an AutoCAD replacement, it is free and does provide basic functionality. My understanding is that it does not support dynamic blocks, but if a limited needs users really only needs to move an object or edit an label, this shouldn't pose a problem, correct?

Any other input on Draftsight?

Thanks

[skintsubby]

mmanning

Have you thought about AutoCAD LT?

It's lot cheaper than full licenses.

Mark

[JDMather]

You might check out this https://www.autocad360.com/

in relation to your needs.  (I don't really know anything about it - so I could be sending you off on a tangent.)

[mmanning]

Hello Mark,

Thanks for responding. We intend to look into LT versus full licenses.

We used LT many years ago for some users while associates who were primarily tasked as draftsmen used a full license. We eventually converted all licenses up to full licenses because LT did not offer Express Tool and IIRC at the time no NLM support. I think that the network licensing issue may still pose a problem.

[mmanning]

I think A360 is for iOS and Android, no?

[ampster401]

In the past, something known as AutoCAD WS could be used to work on files over the web and was free.

I just did a search on Acad WS and most hits come up as AutoCAD 360 so it might have rolled into 360 by now.

[mmanning]

Ah, yeah, I forgot about the Web beta for 360.

I probably should add that my users frequently don't have good access to the internet when they are at a client site, either because the client provides none or very limited access, or their cellular hotspot can't get a good signal deep inside a warehouse. That could be kind of problematic regarding the web version. Otherwise might be an option.

[mmanning]

OK, considered what has been suggested and here is where I am so far

1) AutoCAD LT is not suitable unfortunately because these is no NLM support. If there was I'd want to look into 'downgrading' everything to LT. But as it stands we currently share 16 licenses of AutoCAD among 40 users, so NLM is a must.

2) AutoCAD 360 is pretty limited features-wise, and the fact that it is a web application doesn't lend itself to how we work. By that I mean that my travelling associates, when they are onsite at a customer facility frequently are without internet access.

3) DraftSight is pretty limited as well, and if dynamic blocks are an issue, then that could be a problem for us. May be the next best thing compared to DWG TrueView, but only for users who need really limited editing capabilites. I do have a user 'stress testing' DS, so we will know for sure what it's limitation are shortly.

In any case, I think we wind up purchasing more licenses.

I'm not going to mark this solved yet in case somebody else comes up with something

[pendean]

1) so draftsight does offer NLM support for free, with the free software?
2) you have to buy the full version of AutoCAD360, the freeware is very limited.
3) DS is "good enough", AutoCAD R12 (not 2012) all the way, clunky but at the right price. What out fo AutoCAD squaking your files came from outside the AutoCAD universe, your other users will curse you for it 🙂

[mmanning]

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@pendean wrote:
1) so draftsight does offer NLM support for free, with the free software?

What? I didn't say anything about DS supporting NLM. Mark recommended checking into AutoCAD LT and I responded that LT does not support NLM. I'd prefer to not have to tie a license to a specific computer, which is why we prefer to have the network license option. The significant reduction in price is tempting however.

2) you have to buy the full version of AutoCAD360, the freeware is very limited.

Pro is very inexpensive, but is still web based. That isn't an acceptable solution.

3) DS is "good enough", AutoCAD R12 (not 2012) all the way, clunky but at the right price. What out fo AutoCAD squaking your files came from outside the AutoCAD universe, your other users will curse you for it 🙂

DS is not 'good enough' if you can't use dynamic blocks or LISP routines. It may be acceptable for worst case scenarios but only when the users require limited functionality.

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[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@pendean wrote:
1) so draftsight does offer NLM support for free, with the free software?

What? I didn't say anything about DS supporting NLM. Mark recommended checking into AutoCAD LT and I responded that LT does not support NLM. I'd prefer to not have to tie a license to a specific computer, which is why we prefer to have the network license option. The significant reduction in price is tempting however.

2) you have to buy the full version of AutoCAD360, the freeware is very limited.

Pro is very inexpensive, but is still web based. That isn't an acceptable solution.

3) DS is "good enough", AutoCAD R12 (not 2012) all the way, clunky but at the right price. What out fo AutoCAD squaking your files came from outside the AutoCAD universe, your other users will curse you for it 🙂

DS is not 'good enough' if you can't use dynamic blocks or LISP routines. It may be acceptable for worst case scenarios but only when the users require limited functionality.

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You'll find that Dean's responses make more sense if you understand that he skips every fourth word.  His responses have been off for several months now.  He used to be spot on all the time; now, not so much.  And the typo's... sheesh, he's really falling off.  

[skintsubby]

mmanning

I'm not 100% certain as I don't use LT, (Dean will know for sure) but I don;t think LT can do LISP's either.

Mark

[mmanning]

I believe you are correct. Lack of NLM is the biggest killer for me, but lack of LISP is another nail in the coffin. I'd bet there are third party solutions, but I'd rather avoid that route.

[Anonymous]

Actually Draftsight does offer both Lisp and network licensing, but that is in the pro version that costs about $250... a lot cheaper than LT. Autodesk will never release network licences for LT, it would blow their full Autocad away

[sdepelchin]

Hi mmanning

I'm a little late to the party given that this thread is over 6 months old but I wanted to see if you had made a decision in regards to DraftSight? What were the limitations you encountered (dynamic blocks?) and what did you ultimately choose between LT and DS (or something else)?

Thanks

[mmanning]

We fluctuate up in down in our use, so this kind of fell to the side.

We do have some users who really only need a viewer, and maybe edit some text and in those cases I've just browbeat them to use DTV2013 and if text editing is needed have one of the other consultants take care of it for them. That said we are getting busy again and tight on available licenses so it may be an issue again soon.

[sdepelchin]

Thanks for the response - I'm about to take DS for a spin too so I'll let you know what I find.