How about an overhaul on this highly used software?

[Ethan.sibio]

Hi, 
I am an Automation Engineer, and have been using AutoCAD for roughly 5 years. Hands down, it is the LEAST INTUITIVE, MOST PROBLEMATIC, MOST DIFFICULT TO USE, Software suite in existance. It is absolutely disrespectful to continue allowing engineers to use this software, and had I made this product myself I would never in a million years be proud to say "I built this" 

The disgusting thing is, you dominate the market for wiring diagrams and panel design, and you have overcomplicated, and under-delivered on this software in a way that not only frustrates me but makes me sick to my stomach every time I open it. 

Why is it, that when you change the name of a drawing inside of a project, you have to click "refresh" for it to take effect? How could you make it any more complicated to make a block, than to draw an item, move to the insert tab, select "create block", then select a point on the block as the insertion point. but wait, if you want that block to have an annotated name above it, you need to reopen the block in the block editor and insert a Tag, and click save. but wait, the tag isn't actually there, you need to know to type in the "battman" command, find your block, and sync it. 

Is this product a joke to Autodesk developers? 

Want to add cells to an excel table you've imported? Sorry... you just can't do that. if you set it up with 4 cells, you get four cells. and if you want to make it five, you need to create a new table. 

Let's edit the title block, if you have never done it before, break out the instruction manual because we are going for a ride, right-click your project, and select descriptions. change whatever you want it to say, then click ok. Then you'll need to right-click the project again and click "title block update" but wait, it doesn't just update the title block to what you changed it to, because maybe you only wanted that on one page of your project. When, in history, did you not want all the title blocks the same? OK, well you need to select what you want to update. Once you have selected that you want to update everything so the drawing is consistent and professional, let's go ahead and click "OK, Project-wide" but wait... none of the title blocks updated other than the one that you had open. 

Oh yeah, you forget to check "Activate each drawing to process" well ****, now we have to go reselect that we want everything updated and do it again. My favorite part, waiting for each drawing in the project to open, and process. 

If you have a legend table on the front page, why does it not Auto-Update when you add or remove drawings from the project. It's not even a huge thing to ask for, but forget it. Its another 5-10 minute task to just make the legend match the drawings.

This software is a joke that we are forced to endure. Why not pre-set a block database with all the CAD files from Pheonix, Automation Direct, Allen Bradley, Siemens Etc? Just click import block, select a manufacturer category, etc and import it. Even a link like fusion360 has to import Dwg files from their website would be better than nothing.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE for every electrical engineer that had to google how to do something that should be simple this week, PLEASE fix this Dumpster fire of software. 

Sincerely, 
Every Engineer born after 1990

[ccad2509]

dont waste your time nobody from autodesk reads or actions any of these posts

[dougmcalexander]

Hi!  The title block update allows you to choose which drawings to update because some companies use a different document number, drawn by, date, etc. for schematic, panel layout, reports, etc.  But it isn’t a long process.  Change the document number, drawn by, and date, in the Descriptions fields, then click Title Block Update>Project-wide, and select which drawings to process.  In your case, since you want all title blocks to contain the same data, you can click Do All and OK.

The check box you referred to, “Activate each drawing to process” can be left unchecked (the default state).  You only check that box if you want to watch each drawing get updated.  It is faster to leave that box unchecked, and let the update run in the background.

I have designed thousands of systems with this software.  It is quite good and very flexible.  But good training is the key, as with any software of this type.

[coup2792DZ7]

@dougmcalexander 

"You only check that box if you want to watch each drawing get updated.  It is faster to leave that box unchecked, and let the update run in the background."

I don't think that is entirely accurate Doug. I was given a title block once and unless I ticked activate each drawing to process specific values would not get updated. I think I traced the problem to whoever created the title block had used "user defined" attributes as well as the standard ones. It was the user defined ones which would not update unless activated.

I agree with the overriding sentiment though. Regardless of training to better utilise features,  the software is over-complicated and full of bugs which there seems to be no appetite from Autodesk to fix. A new version comes out each year with a few extra bells and whistles to justify the continued subscription payments when what is really needed is a major overhaul.

[mrackAUZYE]

I'm not thrilled w/ Autodesk's predatory subscription practice or the lackluster software evolution it necessitates, and it for sure is a complicated program, but to expect a fully-functional CAD package, capable of serving the needs of small businesses to large corporations, in every industry the world has, to be "intuitive" is just flat-out unrealistic.

Try making all your tech drawings on paper for a month... you may realize that having to click 10 or even 20 times to make a block is much easier, and maybe you just need to take a class or two.  Or, pursue some software expressly made for your specific purpose, that probably won't be capable of everything AutoCAD can do, and won't be as universally shared, but might be more intuitive.

25 years in Autodesk products... and still learning.

[ccad2509]

mrackAUZYE

Participant

but to expect a fully-functional CAD package, capable of serving the needs of small businesses to large corporations, in every industry the world has, to be "intuitive" is just flat-out unrealistic.

absolutley disagree with this statement once you actually admit that ACADE is not the only product you find

smaller and larger software vendores can do exactley what you say

push comes to shove the only reason ACADE is purchased is by mangagers that dont have to use it

when users are exposed to competing products then they will choose the alternatives everytime

[Controlls_eng]

I'm going to have to disagree with the "Why not pre-set a block database with all the CAD files from (various manufacturers)" suggestion.

I've been responsible for installing and maintaining ACADE at three different companies.  ACADE installs an absolutely unwieldly amount of part number entries into the Catalog_db. Do I really need a selection of 500,000+ pushbuttons? No, I do not. That's why one of my favorite parts of an installation is the deletion of every entry in every table of the Catalog. And yes: I laugh maniacally like a mad scientist while doing it.

I can only imagine the PITA of having to filter through a huge number of dwg files to separate what will actually be used versus what was just added as part of a bundle.

[rhesusminus]

@Controlls_eng And that is exactly why more and more users go for EPLAN and other competitors. Where you start with a blank database, and download what you need and use from web-based portals.

Let me know if you want to have a look.