Message to Autodesk regarding SDI mode

[dougmcalexander]

Dear Autodesk,

I know the Electrical development team doesn't make this decision but please try to influence the AutoCAD drafting engine team NOT to remove SDI mode.  I know there was discussion about abandoning SDI mode a few years ago, after Multiple Document Interface was introduced.  I also know that it has complicated your life as you must make the database manager aware of the potential for many drawings from one project to be opened, all at the same time on the same PC, and yet not saved. So the database manager must reconcile the version in RAM against the saved version, for all open drawings and for all possible saved state scenarios.  This is a monumental task and my hat is off to you for managing it as well as you have.  I never saw an AcePmComServer.exe error until MDI, and I have used this Electrical add-in software for AutoCAD since 1997. 

The reality is that life is much easier for us and the database manager if we operate in SDI mode.  It forces us to think about the changes we just made before moving to another drawing, plus we gain so processing speed in SDI mode.

The competitors of AutoCAD Electrical recognize the importance of data integrity and database stability and thus limit us to having only one drawing per user open at a time.  This helps keep the database intact but also keeps one or more users on a network from having multiple drawings from the same project open, thus locking out their comrades from editing those drawings.  Especially in a network deployment of AutoCAD Electrical SDI mode is the preferred choice.  First of all, the software executes page changes and project-wide functions must faster in SDI mode, and we need this speed to offset the latency caused by the network switch.  Secondly, as I mentioned before, if multiple designers are working on the same project, it is best if each designer can only have one page open and locked out at a time.

Please do not allow the AutoCAD drafting engine team to disable the ability to operate in SDI mode.

[John]

Seconded!

I worry that AutoCAD Electrical is but a small pimple on the side of the vast Autodesk giant and that us electrical users are forgotten in the drive for more "usabillity" and gizmos for the majority.

The recent 2012 "snap" change is a typical example.

I think the motto is: If its not broken then don't fix it!

John

[Icemanau]

I think the motto of all developers and accountants is

If it's broken, Don't fix. If it works, Break it.

I've seen to many good programs that actually end up like that. The developers seem to worry about adding in these extras and not about fixing what these extras break. They then take things that work fine and bend them all out of shape so they don't do what they used to.

Then the accountants wonder why their market share goes down, and hassle the developers to add more useless features.

Regards Brad