Upgrade AutoCAD. Or not?

[АлексЮстасу]

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?

[john.vellek]

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.

[АлексЮстасу]

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.

[TheCADnoob]

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. 

[pendean]

>>>...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.

[wispoxy]

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.

[wispoxy]

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

[АлексЮстасу]

Hi, wisp

Thanks! Very explicitly!

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

[АлексЮстасу]

---

@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.

[АлексЮстасу]

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 ... - popular presentation.

It is not advertizing, it is idea.

[pendean]

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.

[TheCADnoob]

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. 

[АлексЮстасу]

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.

[АлексЮстасу]

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:

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 program analysis.

[RobDraw]

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@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.

[АлексЮстасу]

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...