AutoSketch or QuickCAD, which should I buy?

[cd_smith]

I currently use QuickCAD Millenium edition on Windows XP. I think no'w the time to upgrade. QuickCAD is cheaper now than when I bought the last version. AutoSketch also looks like it has some good "bang for the buck" value Anyone have any opinions on which I should buy?

About 90% of my drawings will be roof plans and minor details for our roofing crews. I've always considered QuickCAD as "CAD for dummies". I'm not an architect & don't need the power of AutoCAD and don't have the time to learn it.

I found I learned QuickCAD just by playing around with it for the last couple of years. It has some nuances I'm not particularly fond of, but have learned to deal with.

Is AutoSketch worth the extra $20? Easier to use, more poewerful, geared to precise drawings? I guess I'm just looking for opinions and differences between the two products from real world users.


Thanks

Chris

[cd_smith]

As a quick addendum to above - more and more I get ACAD roof plans from architects. QuickCAD won't import these "big" drawings too well, crashes a lot. Does AutoSketch handle importing .dwg's any better?

Thanks

Chris

[Anonymous]

QuickCAD and AutoSketch share the same platform. AutoSketch has a few
extra features like fake 3D. It used to have a few extra file
improt/export options but I do not know if that is true now.

If you can use QuickCAD, you use AutoSKetch.

Since I used Drafix Pro long ago, I ended up upgrading to AutoSketch
rather than QuickCAD. If I were to choose now, I may go with QuickCAD
and save a few bucks.

--
Len Rafuse
Vision Engineering
cd_smith wrote:

> I currently use QuickCAD Millenium edition on Windows XP. I think no'w
> the time to upgrade. QuickCAD is cheaper now than when I bought the
> last version. AutoSketch also looks like it has some good "bang for
> the buck" value Anyone have any opinions on which I should buy?
>
> About 90% of my drawings will be roof plans and minor details for our
> roofing crews. I've always considered QuickCAD as "CAD for dummies".
> I'm not an architect & don't need the power of AutoCAD and don't have
> the time to learn it.
>
> I found I learned QuickCAD just by playing around with it for the last
> couple of years. It has some nuances I'm not particularly fond of, but
> have learned to deal with.
>
> Is AutoSketch worth the extra $20? Easier to use, more poewerful,
> geared to precise drawings? I guess I'm just looking for opinions and
> differences between the two products from real world users.
>
> Thanks
>
> Chris

[Anonymous]

Now this is a different question.

I receive lots AutoCad files. Neither QuickCAD nor AutoSketch will
handle them well all the time. Neither will do 3D.

What I have done is purchase a copy of AutoCAD LT to use as a filter. I
will read the DWG files into LT and Explode, Purge and Audit. This will
generate a file that can be opened by AutoSketch 99.9999% of the time.
It also allows me to check the DWG that AutoSketch generates so I know
they will open and read in AutoCAD.

So I would suggest AutoSketch (approx. $100) and AutoCAD LT (approx.
$600). I know for a small outfit it may seem like alot but it is worth
it.

--
Len Rafuse
Vision Engineering


cd_smith wrote:

> As a quick addendum to above - more and more I get ACAD roof plans
> from architects. QuickCAD won't import these "big" drawings too well,
> crashes a lot. Does AutoSketch handle importing .dwg's any better?
>
> Thanks
>
> Chris

[cd_smith]

Thanks Len, especially for letting me know the process you use to get ACAD files to open

-Chris

[Anonymous]

You may want to ask the question in the QuickCAd group also.


--
Len Rafuse
Vision Engineering

cd_smith wrote:

> I currently use QuickCAD Millenium edition on Windows XP. I think no'w
> the time to upgrade. QuickCAD is cheaper now than when I bought the
> last version. AutoSketch also looks like it has some good "bang for
> the buck" value Anyone have any opinions on which I should buy?
>
> About 90% of my drawings will be roof plans and minor details for our
> roofing crews. I've always considered QuickCAD as "CAD for dummies".
> I'm not an architect & don't need the power of AutoCAD and don't have
> the time to learn it.
>
> I found I learned QuickCAD just by playing around with it for the last
> couple of years. It has some nuances I'm not particularly fond of, but
> have learned to deal with.
>
> Is AutoSketch worth the extra $20? Easier to use, more poewerful,
> geared to precise drawings? I guess I'm just looking for opinions and
> differences between the two products from real world users.
>
> Thanks
>
> Chris

[Anonymous]

AutoDesk (in Australia at least) has just had a lovely little upgrade offer,
swinging LT users to ADT3.3. Thrown in at the same time was also an equally
impressive offer to obtain VIZ4......$14000 worth of software for $5000. I
for one, grabbled it up.

I personally feel that in the next 12 months, we will see more complex
drawings using the higher-end software. Both QuickCAD & AutoSketch will
start falling apart at the seams because they simply won't be able to cope
with it....particularly around Feb-Apr next year when a new version of ADT
(incl. REVIT) is rumoured to be released. The abovementioned deal also
included a free upgrade to this.

It will be an interesting time for QC & AS users....there will be a lot of
frustration when dealing with complex drawings created from the likes of
ADT. I will be one to shed tears, as I still have to support the 240 or so
QuickCAD V7 seats I support nationally.

All food for thought.

Ric Norris.
http://users.bigpond.net.au/cavedrawings



"L. Rafuse" wrote in message
news:3DBD688A.90327E38@wn.net...
> You may want to ask the question in the QuickCAd group also.
>
>
> --
> Len Rafuse
> Vision Engineering
>
> cd_smith wrote:
>
> > I currently use QuickCAD Millenium edition on Windows XP. I think no'w
> > the time to upgrade. QuickCAD is cheaper now than when I bought the
> > last version. AutoSketch also looks like it has some good "bang for
> > the buck" value Anyone have any opinions on which I should buy?
> >
> > About 90% of my drawings will be roof plans and minor details for our
> > roofing crews. I've always considered QuickCAD as "CAD for dummies".
> > I'm not an architect & don't need the power of AutoCAD and don't have
> > the time to learn it.
> >
> > I found I learned QuickCAD just by playing around with it for the last
> > couple of years. It has some nuances I'm not particularly fond of, but
> > have learned to deal with.
> >
> > Is AutoSketch worth the extra $20? Easier to use, more poewerful,
> > geared to precise drawings? I guess I'm just looking for opinions and
> > differences between the two products from real world users.
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > Chris
>
>

[Anonymous]

Ric Norris wrote:

> It will be an interesting time for QC & AS users....there will be a lot of
> frustration when dealing with complex drawings created from the likes of
> ADT.

One of the architects I deal with uses some advanced AutoCAD Add-on (I don't
recall what it is) that makes walls that are not regular entities. I wasted
half a day trying to explode them in AutoCAD but they just wouldn't budge. They
would not transfer to AutoSketch so I did not have anything to work with.

After a few tries, they were able to send me a file with "regular" walls.

This may be the beginning of the problem you foresee.

Which is why AS version 9 needs to add real features and address some of these
issues...

--
Len Rafuse
Vision Engineering