topic Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not? in AutoCAD Forum

Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

АлексЮстасу — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 00:22:22 GMT

I was surprised to find out that 70-80% of AutoCAD users have no need of its upgrade – they take it as it is. For about 10% of the rest it is also not necessary – these are experienced users and developers. They make money developing AutoCAD addons. Other 5-10% also do not need it – these are the most experienced users and they are no longer interested in AutoCAD capabilities. Instead, they are interested in BIM, information modeling.

Given that AutoCAD is more than 30 years old.

Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

john.vellek — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 00:37:19 GMT

Hi @АлексЮстасу,

I am not sure where your numbers are coming from but the decision to upgrade will likely be based upon how you use AutoCAD.

While it is not uncommon for some users to complain about features that they don't think are useful or don't work the way they want, it is surprising to find the same users many years later wondering why those features are no longer available. <Chuckle>

But back to your decision. If your work does not involve extensive collaboration of complex information and you do not take advantage of the featureset of BIM, then CAD is likely a better choice.

Why don't you share on your post what you use AutoCAD for in your work and how you share and design with it. I am share that Community users will jump in with opinions (be careful what you ask for). Perhaps they can help you decide if an upgrade path over time makes more sense than staying a bit more static.

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

АлексЮстасу — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 01:44:42 GMT

Hi, john.vellek

In great opportunities AutoCAD there are no doubts.
It is interesting to consider development of AutoCAD in general, in the long term.

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

TheCADnoob — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 14:02:01 GMT

If there were no need for upgrades i dont think there would be a wish list https://www.augi.com/wishlist

Many dont "need" upgrades but there are things which are added for efficiency's. I listened to an autodesk employ speak at a road show about how they work to reduce the number of clicks for a given task. It sounds silly to think that changing from 4 click to 1 click is really that big of a deal but if you scale that up across companies and across industries you are looking at a marketable advantage.

I dont "need" the ability to import PDFs directly into CAD but the time my company is now saving on tracing is making it worth an upgrade.

It really depends on your accepted level of functionality.

There is something to be said about its longevity, but the fact that fax machines are still in use in offices around the world despite email indicates to me that businesses and thier demands for old technology will be slow to change well after the next phase of design evolution is here.

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

pendean — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 14:22:29 GMT

>>>...Instead, they are interested in BIM, information modeling...<<<
If we were all of one mind and one task, we all would do what you claim: but we are not, diversity is a human trait and you're not going to find one single answer that suits whatever goal you wish to achieve with your post.

Good luck with your search.

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

wispoxy — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 19:21:51 GMT

Hello @АлексЮстасу, yes upgrade. Just see all the changes from the past.

AutoCAD 2010/2011/2012/2013/2014/2015/2016

Hope this isn't too much to handle.
Everything in-between counts as a difference.

2010

2D parametrics - Geometric and Dimensional Constraints
Super commands - Attach, Adjust, Clip, MeasureGeom, Ulayers, TextEdit
MeasureGeom
segment editing - hold down Ctrl during scale, rotate, move
SECTIONPLANE, SECTIONPLANEJOG, SECTIONPLANETOBLOCK, SECTIONPLANESETTINGS
Parameters Manager
mtext grips added triangle grips for editing

2011

Grid - lines in 2D
Ribbon updates, added 3D Basic WS
Grip added to polyline
Selection cycling enhancement - SC toggle at bottom of screen
Multifunctional grips
SelectSimilar command added, HideObjects, Unhide,
AddSelected command added
HideObjects command added
IsolateObjects, UnisolateObjects
3D object snaps

2012

Autocomplete command
VpControl viewport controls - navigation, views and visual styles on screen
Ribbon sizing - three minimized settings
mtext background remembers last used fill color and offset
grip with lengthen option
grips are multi-functional for more objects - arcs, assoc arrays, dims, elliptical arcs, lines, mleaders, 3d faces edges vertices
Associative Arrays, grips editing
Blend - connects two objects using a spline
Extend works with Splines, Fillet works with Splines
Support for multiple paths for PMP, PC3, CTB, STB files
Snap can be set to work only while in a command, SnapMode sysvar
Drawing Views - 2D drawing views from 3D model and 1st or 3rd angle projection Base View
3D editing - ChamferEdge and FilletEdge added Loop option
3D editing - OffsetEdge
MeshCap has options added
Point Clouds enhanced

2013

drawing views additions, create details and sections
Properties - shows realtime previews for colors, lineweights, lintypes, transparency, layers
Array - displays contextual tab, uses default values to show instant previews
Offset has preview before picking
Polylines - reversed plines with varying widths handled with new sysvar PlineReverseWidths

2014

command line - spell checking, synonyms, block names, layer names, hatch name, visual styles, dim style
autocorrect - after three misspellings the word is added
autocorrect - after three misspellings the word is added
type at command line to change layer, text style, dim style, visual style
type at command line with hatch name to start hatch command
type at the command line with a block name and the insert command will start
mid string search at command line
Drawing Tabs - tabs displayed for each drawing
Chamfer command closes polylines
Filleting polylines will close polylines
Layers - merge selected layers in layer manager (LAYERDLGMODE must equal 1)
Xref layer names are not shown in the properties palette
Xrefs can be selected in quantities and the path or xref type changed in-mass

2015

User interaction - Start, Help Find tool, Dark theme, Ribbon gallery, Improved graphics, Lasso selection, Command preview, Resizable modelspace viewports
Design - Point cloud manager, Cropping, and object snaps, 3D Orbit Target
Documentation - Autobullets and numbering, Mtext match properties, Mtext superscript and sibscript tools, Caps lock detection
Connectivity - Design feed with local drawing storage, Autodesk translation framework
Customization - BIM 360 add-in, Autodesk Application Manager, Performance reporting

2016

User interaction - Move/copy performance boost
Design - Center of polygon object snap, High-fidelity lines and curves, Coordination model, Point cloud dynamics UCS, Point cloud geometry extraction
Documentation - Many text and PDF enchancements including but not limited to smart tools, alignment, searching, and properties
Customization - Selection effect customization, Sysvar monitor

As listed in my blog.

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

wispoxy — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 19:25:35 GMT

I'll be updating my version differences soon after I finish reviewing AutoCAD 2017.

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

АлексЮстасу — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 23:20:45 GMT

Hi, wisp

Thanks! Very explicitly!

But agree, it generally adding of conveniences and extension of already existing opportunities.

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

АлексЮстасу — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 23:57:55 GMT

@TheCADnoob wrote:

...to reduce the number of clicks...

...fax machines are still in use in offices around the world despite email...

To improve the speed and convenience - I always for it! But happens that it isn't enough...

On fax machines progress didn't stop, and were developed servers. Perhaps, they are done by the same companies.

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

АлексЮстасу — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 00:14:01 GMT

I for the universal solutions! Within the task, of course.

I see the main opposition so: graphic modelling - information modelling.
In graphic modelling (which generally provides AutoCAD) opposition: manual handling and the visual analysis - program handling and the analysis.

For example, as option of possible upgrade of graphic modelling:
- Object Drawing/Data Base-technologies (OD/DB) in CAD - the most general presentation,
- Speed up drawing 20% to 50-100%, improve drawings quality by times, significantly simplify drawings analysis, turn drawings to not only graphical but also descriptive databases - popular presentation.

It is not advertizing, it is idea.

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

pendean — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 12:39:18 GMT

Honestly most companies buy or upgrade software for new features: new features imply faster speedier drafting if fully adopted.
No one, no one, will upgrade software only because the program opens and closes files faster or if the program itself opens or closes faster, or the "database" has been improved. No one really cares in the end, they may say it but the reality shows no one really cares about no-new-features upgrades.

Good topic.

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

TheCADnoob — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 15:32:30 GMT

I'd say I care about those things, but good sense has seen that some one else makes the final call on those financial decisions haha.

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

АлексЮстасу — Fri, 10 Jun 2016 19:07:02 GMT

I am a technologist. My decision (OD/DB) technological.

It doesn't demand any hipness and difficult novelties from Autodesk of development. No proxy-objects, etc.
Everything that needs to be eaten already in AutoCAD, and nothing that hindered to work in AutoCAD and with dwg normally.
Even the decision (OD/DB) isn't new too very at all. To realize OD/DB completely and fully is new.

And then users receive the speed, quality. A lot of things that becomes manually, there is a kind of "self."
Also drawing strategy changes - it is necessary to think not of what primitives, a layer, color and so forth to draw, and about what to draw.
Also there are not graphic object identification, an opportunity to directly define characteristics of objects. Respectively - to do explications and so forth.

All this explicitly is described in articles about OD/DB in 10:
- Object Drawing/Data Base-technologies (OD/DB) in CAD - the most general presentation,
- Speed up drawing 20% to 50-100%, improve drawings quality by times, significantly simplify drawings ... - popular presentation.

It is difficult to me to understand that it is necessary for the company. But it seems to me, I know, than it is possible to help users.

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

АлексЮстасу — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 13:47:27 GMT

I, probably, too hurried to offer the specific option with OD/DB.
I understand that it is only one option, disputable, not for everything.
But I wanted to set some example that discussion could be not the absolutely abstract.

In general I would repeat:

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

RobDraw — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 11:05:16 GMT

@pendean wrote:
No one, no one, will upgrade software only because the program opens and closes files faster or if the program itself opens or closes faster, or the "database" has been improved.

Usually that is done with hardware but when a program offers mostly performance enhancements at an upgrade, my ears perk up. At times, I have to deal with hundreds of .dwg files at a time or or large models that could take minutes to open. The company I work for has decided to upgrade for performance even when additional features did not appear to have any real value for what we do.

You may want to rethink that statement. Just saying.

Re: Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

АлексЮстасу — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 22:54:10 GMT

Itself asked a question, itself I offer option::

An alternative approach to CAD building or upgrading

The assumption about how it would be possible to upgrade CAD or what approach it would be possible to build CAD on. Given that this hypothetical CAD will have both higher speed, better results and greater feature range as compared to the existing CAD and maximum compatibility with the existing CAD.

The assumption of CAD as full-fledged information system.

Of course, it is the best of all to implement in AutoCAD, but Autodesk have own reasons...