AutoCAD Electrical

[#1]

Hi Pat,

sorry to bring this up in this post but I have tried by sending a new tread on the forum but without any results.

The question I have regards what I would like to call "Intelligent publishing to pdf".

Some competitors to ACADE are offering this feature in various scales. To explain what it involves in a short matter I would say that when publishing project to pdf you also include the surer facilities such that you can surf in the pdf document similar to surfing in ACADE. Do you think that we can expect that this function will be integrated or not?

Thank´s again for all your support, Gary

[#2]

Gary,

AcadE does not currently provide this type of PDF output. For legal reasons I cannot comment on what might be in a future release.

I can tell you that this has been logged as a wish list item for a future release. This means that it is considered along with other items requested.

Sorry I couldn't be more help,

Pat

[#3]

Hi Gary,

Autodesk has two solutions for electrical schematics: AutoCAD Electrical and AutoCAD ecscad.

AutoCAD ecscad has an 'intelligent' PDF publishing; including bookmarks (content list and device list), surf and navigate across crossreferences, text search, embedded data sheets and much more.

I do not know why Autodesk tells only selected customers about it. Like AutoCAD Electrical, Autodesk ecscad is also part of the Product Design Suite Premium and Ultimate.

Regards - Karl

[#4]

I thought ecscad was only sold in Europe....

[#5]

Hi Bob,

as far as I know, yes and no. I know that some customers using AutoCAD ecscad worldwide. I don't understand why not everyone can buy it everywhere. There are no technical reasons; e.g. AutoCAD ecscad supports JIC. It would be interesting to get an explanation. Maybe an interested customer should insist to get it. 

Regards - Karl

[#6]

Hi Karl and thank´s for yor input in this matter.

I´m surpriced... what´s the reason for having two software packages doing the same work.

I thought that Autodesk was trying to increase their marketshare in Europe with Autocad Electrical. I haven´t heard much about ECSCAD but I would appreciate if you could give me some points. Are you stationed in Europe and are you using this software? Is this software something similar to Autocad Electrical?

Thank´s again for sharing your knowledge.

Regards, Gary

[#7]

Hi Gary,

you are right! I am from Europe and I am using AutoCAD ecscad (and from time to time also AutoCAD Electrical). With both products, AutoCAD Electrical and AutoCAD ecscad, you can create schematics (and all the additional stuff). Compared to AutoCAD Electrical, it is a database driven online system. The database contains all logical information and is at any time up-to-date. AutoCAD ecscad has no 'update cross references/sheet numbers' etc. functionality - it is not necessary, everything is always logical correct. There are of course some more differences. Unfortunately, there is no information in English on the Autodesk website. The product itself is fully localized (user interface, manual, ..) - English, French, German, ...

Attached an AutoCAD ecscad brochure.

Maybe someone from Autodesk has more information for you.

Best regards - Karl

[#8]

AutoCAD ecscad is not marketed in North America but companies with home offices in other parts of the world do acquire it and use it in North America.  I support some of these customers and helped implement ecscad with JIC and NFPA design formats for them, including the creation of catalog and article data.

[#9]

Hi agian,

still wondering about Autodesk future plans for these two software platforms. Will both of them get the same attention for promotion on various markets? Are there plans to integrate the two into one or...?

Thx, Gary

[#10]

Autodesk is committed to the electrical engineering business and our customers worldwide. Different regions have unique expectations and our products are positioned to meet those needs. For competitive reasons, we choose not to discuss our future strategy in an open forum, but if you would like to contact me directly at lee.hollingworth@autodesk.com providing your name, contact information and reason for the interest, we can evalute the appropriateness of further discussion under a non-disclosure agreement.

Regards,
Lee