Memory usage high, features limited

[Anonymous]

This is a great program for creating 2D schematics. What I've noticed is that this program is essentially MS Paint with the exception of not drawing in bitmap, and the ability to output to PDF.

With that said, this program can essentially draw lines, squares, circles and arcs. I don't understand how it needs over 300 MB of ram to operate. I've been using SketchUp before trying Cooper. SketchUp's shortcomings for my needs is drawing in 2D mode (can be done but not designed for that purpose), and no control over the line thickness.

I've created massive 3D buildings in SketchUp with intricate detail, and only then did my computer begin to slow down. With Cooper, I've spent over an hour trying to resize 20 sets of text objects.

Based on the end output that Cooper can generate, I see this program as a marginal advancement in comparison to MS Paint. Given that SketchUp is free and uses much less memory resources for much more complex designs, I honestly don't see a future for Cooper in its current state. I would consider using a free version of this software package if its memory requirements can be brought down to 100 MB or less.

A paid version of this program would need a significant increase in the number of features and tools if it is to remain strictly as a 2D program.

It seems that this program was built not from the ground up, but from AutoCAD down. Being able to partially open DWG files in Cooper gave me that impression.

I would sincerely ask that the Cooper designers make a serious comparison between the capabilities of Cooper and MS Paint to see what advances have really been made, while taking into consideration MS Paint's age.

Seemingly spiteful but honestly sincere,
Henry

[melissadawe]

Hi Henry,

Thanks for giving Project Cooper a try! We appreciate the detailed feedback. The team is aware of the memory usage issue and is working on it right now. This should improve in upcoming updates of the technology preview.

In addition to creating vector geometry and creating PDFs, Project Cooper provides a way to create scaled drawings - so that as you draw you see dimensions and distances in a real-world scale. It also provides symbol libraries so you don't to start from scratch when drawing common symbols like furniture, plants, electrical symbols, etc.

We are adding and prioritizing new features based on feedback from the community. It would be great to hear your suggestions for features that would make Project Cooper more useful. You can email the team directly at labs.cooper@autodesk.com.

Thanks again,
Melissa
Project Cooper Design & Usability Team

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure I would compare it to MS Paint ... maybe a light weight
corelDraw or Illustrator that produces fully compatible DWG files. Although
I agree, right now it is too light weight. Autodesk has a kind of strange
target to hit of somewhere between AutoSketch and where Cooper currently is.
They don't want a competitor to AS, but they don't want a useless program
either.

Personally, I would love to see this take on the robustness of AutoSketch
while maintaining the simplicity of Cooper and replace AutoSketch, but
that's just me.

[ipselute]

You're so right about the memory footprint. High memory usage it' a common thing in all autodesk products, but this prj. cooper it's (yet) freeware, so i think this high memory usage is a shame (ruining the whole concept of freeware). P.S. for Autodesk: Free software is not for the rich people with top-notch computers, it's rather for 'not-so-rich' people with 'not-so-powerfull' computers.

[nvanlaar]

The only reason this is currently free is because it is a "technology preview." Think public beta. It is not intended to always be free. On the other hand that is no excuse for poor coding (if that's the case). I think the problem is that Cooper is built on the (looks like) ACAD core (I see the ACAD frame on first open), so there is alot of stuff that has not been cut and alot of stuff that cannot be cut.

Memory footprint... meh, haven't really noticed
Performance... slow. Too slow.