2015 new interface is not impressing me

[JamesMaeding]

I'm not sure who got the idea to re-invent the menu system ANOTHER time, but I'm not liking it.

On the first model I open, I want to turn shadows off, its a big model.

I start hovering over the orange thing, looking at tooltips. Its all pictures, so you have to hope the tooltip helps you.

The tips were ok, but not obvious for someone coming from 2014.

So I click on an item and this lovely menu swings in slowly.

What the heck?????????? Fade in slowly???????? I am on a fast machine too.

I finally see the menu items along the left side, then see the white pictures.

Did it ever occur to Autodesk that white is hard to see if you have a light model background? Dang it.

The I see visual effects with common settings, but no shadows option.

I tried the High Visual Quality switch and it turned off the shadows.

Am I the only one who hates switches? a check box is clear, but switches all start to look the same.

Then I try to move that Visual Effects dialog to another monitor. No go, must be in the program window.

Whos horrible idea was a cluncky modeless dialog that cannot go off window? I want to know, this is a new low for Autodesk.

I'm going to need a shovel to dig a trench for the bar now, its below ground.

Autodesk blew it on many levels here. Change for the sake of change is stupid. This is so Autodesk too, to take an awesome product and experiment with things that should have been refined, not replaced.

The ribbon was not my favorite interface either, but at least it was available and consistent.

This new thing of clicking to wait 2 seconds to see the buttons I have to discern against the background, is insanity.

I could not have done a worse interface if I tried. Its all fragmented now, and slow, and hard to read. I think I will stick with 2014 its so bad.

You must think we were born yesterday Autodesk, this is a rediculous mess you made.

[Willy_Campbell]

Hi James,

You can have the current Sandbox version side-by-side with the currnent InfraWorks update on the same computer. I currently have versions from 2013R2, all versions of 2014, 2015.2 and the sandbox on my test computer [see image]. They all play well together. Note: I renamed the launch icon for the latest updated version 15.2.

Shoot me an email if you decide to join the sandbox. Yes, it may be too late for the next update release, but what about the next, and next, and next?

[JamesMaeding]

ok, definately good you clarified that.

I think I was recalling IW 360 does not like other versions of IW on same machine, maybe just 2015 though.

Autodesk needs to be super, crystal, diagramed out clear on this whole IW set of versions, including 360.

There should be something saying when the model version changes, what installs do not allow certain other installs, and what is offered in what package.

There may be some customers out there that are so new they just jump on whatever comes along, but it only takes one year of updates and a few accidental model version upgrades to educate those beginners.

I think every time I start on one topic, it bleeds into another that Autodesk is not handling well. Its constructive feedback IMO, but dang, where do I stop?

[tcorey]

Willy, I would love to play in the sandbox with you. tcorey at shasta dot com.

Tim

[JamesMaeding]

Now that brings back memories. I remember ends of my fingers always raw from the digging, could not stop 🙂

[Partenheimer]

I see what James means regarding the menu on the background.

My eyesight is not the best and this actually makes working with InfraWorks physically painful for me.

See my attached snapshot of an actual project.