Why I hate AUTOCAD

[Anonymous]

Autocad has aged very poorly,

we really need many Quality of life improvements.

feels like its a path full of traps on can fall into. for everything you do there are many ways to go about, many of them not ideal and one less worse. I admit not being the most experienced but come on! Many of the ridiculos things it does should not exist in 2021 especially with all the yearly subs we pay. It feels like an old factory that has had expansions grafted over the years...sure it can work but its way more tedious then it should be. 

here is a small  non-exhaustive list of irritants.

LTS, why is that even a thing, one LTS to show dotted lines on screen and another to print the lines dotted... because you know I selected dotted line and all but Autocad is (not) thinking...hey maybe he wants it to print as a plain line.

Xref, attachments, copy pasta: sometimes works well sometimes not. especially with a network of files and all...and then sometimes it forgets the path, loads uncorrectly... so we have to hold autocad by the hand and show it where to look...feels very 1990 ish.

printing in general...so many settings to set...does not seem to have any common sense and the process is slow when using a network.

texts, annotations, dimensions: everything has to be set manualy.... would be really nice to have ACAD give us something reasonable in terms of sizes on the first go. seems like the out of the box version should have more templates to use. id like a prompt/menu on a new drawing where you select what you want to do (size of the drawing ie civil vs small mechanical parts large/small, what units, what paper to print ect...and ajust all the things automatically. fix spacing automatically, ajust positioning automatically ---basically some common sense.

hey bro your about to print some huge letters..are you making an airplane sign to be draged in the sky?

of  course there are many more

overall I enjoy the core of the software, the whole presentation part is way too tedious.

I understand long time users have gotten around all these pitfalls and will praise the software. This mentallity can be tricky, because they get used to it and beleive it does not need to be changed. picture the new softwares, especially mobile apps, they are all made with ease of use in mind. Autocad needs more of this.

[pendean · Accepted solution]

Hire an experienced CAD Manager (even part-time) to get you over these very basic end-user pitfalls, and help create those robust custom-to-you template files and workflows so you are not always recreating everything from scratch as you've written above.

Automation comes from pre-planning; there are no shortcuts.

It can be done. Whip out a credit card to find such a person or team here if you don't know anyone https://servicesmarketplace.autodesk.com/

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the response.

I understand many configs can be built in to a template. I also understand many things could be done differently on my end. My point was more that this should not be.

When you buy a new car, do you have to take it to the garage so they can review all the parameters to make sure everything fits? No, you just take it and go. 

(add similar example for many other procucts in our lives, other software, any electronic device, ect.)

Most of the products in our lives are designed to be as user-friendly as possible. 

If a software takes many years to master, something is wrong. The work environment is fast paced with deadlines always looming nearby... we dont have time for all the small details.

Maybe this software need to be rebuilt from the ground up with 2021 technology? I'm sure Autodesk has the resources to do so.

Come on Autodesk, dont settle for mediocrity, you have the market already, dont sit on your achievments and pretend everything is ok. Look at all the questions on this forum, at least half of those are about irritants.

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> If a software takes many years to master, something is wrong

It depends on the type of software. A general statement like "if I need to learn the software, something is wrong" should not be made like that.

Think about programming languages ... you need to learn the language, you need to learn the development user interface ... all before you can start to write great applications. Nothing here will work without first learning.

Also CAD-software, you can have a software that has all prepared and knows all answers while you start constructing things, but then it is very limited in flexibility and knows one branch like e.g. Inventor for mechanical or Revit for architectural designs, but these systems can't create drawings for other branches or it is at least very complicated.

AutoCAD is a CAD-software that has no knowledge about anything, not about mechanical, not about architectural, not about civil engineering, ... but you as the designer have a powerful set of basic drawing functions useful to create a lot of drawings for very different branches. Here it is up to you to learn how to use these basic functions to make the best for your type of drawings.

This high flexibility AutoCAD means it's more up to the user to prepare the software environment to fit to the user's needs ... and with AutoCAD you can do that.

With other CAD-systems, e.g. something that is specialized for mechanical engineering, you have screws, you have bearings, you might have calculations like finite elements so the system can help you to use the correct dimensions of girders and all this stuff, best for doing this type of drawings ... however, this does not know anything about doors, windows, roofs, bridges, sun shadow calculation, geographic coordinate systems ... and if you need this, you could have real troubles to get this other jobs done.

And here we are back with AutoCAD, it does not know anything, but it is so flexible that with the knowledge of the user about this product's functionality you can do a lot of stuff for very different types of designs. It's just a different point of view.

For you this means you need to take the time to prepare your environment to fit best to your needs. If you take this time you have the chance to get more efficient with your projects then.

- alfred -

[pendean]

No one here is Autodesk. If all you want to do is gripe, they can be reached over there https://www.autodesk.com/company/contact-us/product-feedback

AutoCAD is a tool of your trade: you have to learn to use it. Find it too hard? Then consider a simpler tool for your trade or worst case rolling back to paper and pen/pencil. That's still a thing.

AutoCAD is just like a car: you either know how to use it, or you don't. Insurance adjuster (or cop or judge) is not going to be impressed with "I know how to drive, been doing it for years, but this new car with it's extras has me crashing all the time" excuse. Will they really?

Do you need to be a total expert at it? No.
Do you need to take the time to make things that are not working for you easier to master? You bet.

So you asked us fellow end users by posting in this end-user forum, and I was one of many voices you will get to offer you path to what to do next to solve those very solvable problems.

If you only want to rant and never change anything, ever, that's fine. See first sentence up top for where to whine.

In these forums all you will get is advice on how to fix your very simple challenges.

HTH

[BeKirra]

I am with others inputs above.

@Anonymous

You are not the first one has the thought.

AutoCAD is a CAD software that highly flexible for customising as Alfred has already pointed out. Again, AutoCAD can be used for Mechanical, Civil Engineering, Architectural, etc.

You may focus on your needs when using AutoCAD as IMO nobody would not use more than 50% functions that AutoCAD provided. Users don't have to know/learn features for other industries.

For example, a mechanical engineer may rarely use centerline/flowline/ohm symbols that are available in the list for mtext.

And users can even choose AutoCAD LT.

Hope this makes sense.

[RobDraw]

This is a user help forum. Your complaints go no where from here. Try the complaint department, down the hall and to the left.

[pkolarik]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

When you buy a new car, do you have to take it to the garage so they can review all the parameters to make sure everything fits? No, you just take it and go. 

---

Your analogy is highly flawed here. When you buy a new car, the very first thing you do is start making little adjustments to that car to make it fit you and your driving style. You adjust the mirrors, the seats, the (if it's a current vehicle) all kinds of settings on the touch screen. I've literally never bought a car that I didn't make allllllll those little adjustments the very first thing. Ever.

Autocad is no different. If you attempt to use it 100% OOTB I'm 100% certain you're going to be much less efficient and struggle more than if you adjusted the mirrors and the seats first. Not a single thing on your list of issues above is an issue in our office, because we had someone years ago fiddle with the touch-screen settings for everything in our car.

[braudpat]

Hello

+1 with @pendean @RobDraw @pkolarik @BeKirra !

Here is not a Complaint Forum !!

THE HEALTH (Stay Safe, Stay Home, Stay Live), Regards, Patrice (The Retired Old French EE Froggy)

[Anonymous]

thank you @pendean this is the approach I will try to convey to our company, I'm preparing a sales pitch of sorts to get management to invest in robust templates/configurations. 

I understand this is the most rational pro-active solution. I am however a bit disapointed at the general responses to the tune of everything is perfect, you just have to learn to use it. It looks like willful blindness at the shortcomings of the software. /end rant

[RobDraw]

You totally missed the point of those responses. When you have such a powerful tool at your disposal, you need know how to use it to suit your needs. AutoCAD can do many things and therefore needs to be set-up for your required output. 

Good luck!

[TheCADnoob]

I get the angst, there are non intuitive aspects of the software, but usually after use IMO the reasons its non intuitive is because i didn't understand the problems it was built to address. I know i'm repeating some things here

A CAD manager could go a long way to alleviate some of the problems mentioned. 

Also AutoCAD is a very mature tool and as such have a great depth and scope of applications. There is usually a reason why the tools are built this way which only become obvious when you encounter the problem they were tailored to solve. Given the scope of problems that AutoCAD can address, you may never actually find that reason. 

I would also point out that there are several different options when it comes to designing software which might "feel" more modern. Just because AutoCAD can do something doesn't mean that AutoCAD is the best solution for what yall are doing. What is you industry and have you looked into other Autodesk Applications? Check out Revit, Check out Inventor and Fusion, check out Maya. Also there are a lot of AutoCAD toolsets (https://www.autodesk.com/products/autocad/included-toolsets) which make very short work of trade specific items. Make sure that you are using the right software for what you are trying to achieve. Keep in mind im a fanboy of AutoCAD, but AutoCAD is not always the best answer for everyone. Take some time and make sure you are not overlooking a better solution for your company's needs (https://www.autodesk.com/products). 

As for some of your specific gripes, i have actually needed some of those features. See below. 

LTS, why is that even a thing, one LTS to show dotted lines on screen and another to print the lines dotted... because you know I selected dotted line and all but Autocad is (not) thinking...hey maybe he wants it to print as a plain line.

I have clients who want to see the same geometry in several different line styles for different trade applications. Instead of having to maintain an exact copy of the same model, we can leverage one model and have several different outputs. 

Xref, attachments, copy pasta: sometimes works well sometimes not. especially with a network of files and all...and then sometimes it forgets the path, loads uncorrectly... so we have to hold autocad by the hand and show it where to look...feels very 1990 ish.

Not all xrefs are the same (https://www.cad-notes.com/using-xref-attachment-vs-overlay/). In my company we have very little problem with the pathing issue. Are yall using a unified workflow?

printing in general...so many settings to set...does not seem to have any common sense and the process is slow when using a network.

In my experience, internal we all print to 11X17 monochrome, but every one of our clients have different needs and requirements. If AutoCAD was restrictive in this, we would have to find another tool to create our deliverables. it would be fabulous if all our clients would get together and create one standard to rule them all. 

texts, annotations, dimensions: everything has to be set manualy.... would be really nice to have ACAD give us something reasonable in terms of sizes on the first go. seems like the out of the box version should have more templates to use. id like a prompt/menu on a new drawing where you select what you want to do (size of the drawing ie civil vs small mechanical parts large/small, what units, what paper to print ect...and ajust all the things automatically. fix spacing automatically, ajust positioning automatically ---basically some common sense.

hey bro your about to print some huge letters..are you making an airplane sign to be draged in the sky?

Check out text styles (https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2021/ENU/AutoC...) This coupled with proper annotative scale management save a tone of time.

[nikm42Q9N · Accepted solution]

These are not things you need to pay for dude!!!! you guys are just gonna throw away money. 

[Anonymous]

Not the best place to post hate in a place full of people that use the software and know no different. AutoCAD is terrible*, but then so are most of Autodesk's products. it is why they went rental-only because people weren't upgrading every year. For 2D architectural plans it is good at what it does and its performance is much better than the free alternatives (or at least this was the case). However, you could have AutoCAD 2010 and be just fine and dandy today. For 3D it was always painful to use, but then Autodesk has other awful products for that. The main problem with Autodesk is that it is incredibly badly managed and is profit-driven only. Instead of wanting to create the best product or service, with money being a mere by-product, Autodesk is all about the profit and this is a false economy. Autodesk has many software-applications that no one left at the company knows anything about (they fired all the expensive developers for being expensive at the cost of their future). New stuff is just bolted on by a few in house developers or bought from 3rd party companies. Autodesk has a whole list of overlapping software-applications that haven't really changed for over 20 years.

*With respect to the time in existence, cost and where it should be now.

[tramber]

You can set the STARTUP variable to 1 instead of 3.

It will help you to imagine how it was back in the 90's/2000's..... in terms of drawing settings...

Autocad is made for old people like me : 46 y.o. !

IT IS JUST A DRAWING TABLE but we agree that it needs some learning not be in difficulties with Xrefs, for exemple.

(did you ever set the PROJECTNAME variable).

In my point of view, it can stay what it is for years. Because of the new 3D kernel from that time, I would be satisfied with a 2007 version even if I'm pleased of numerous enhancements with the time.....

[RobDraw]

Oh, the woes of frustrated naive users being aired here. If only they could put the same amount of effort into bettering themselves as they do into trying to make themselves sound intelligent. Maybe, just maybe, they wouldn't have to bash something in order to feel better about not knowing how all these people do such amazing things with supposed lousy software.

[Anonymous]

People do relatively "Amazing" things in spite of the lousy software.

[RobDraw]

Yeah, that's it. They choose to use the software because it doesn't easily do what they need it to do and they really like doing tons of extra work in order to make an inadequate program do things it wasn't designed to do. Yeah, that's it.

[RobDraw]

@Anonymous , where did that lengthy response go?

[Anonymous]

I think an Autodesk employee deleted it, but I haven't heard anything from them.
Anyway, at the risk of this also being deleted, most people don't choose what software they use, they just use what their employer uses and their employer can't suddenly change what they use.

People using the same software for a long time don't know any different and "Stockholm syndrome" is possible especially when employees don't have to pay the yearly licence fees.

I was an architectural-visualiser for a bit using 3ds max and that job-sector shouldn't really exist if AutoCAD/Revit weren't so stagnant because the original architects should be able to do it all (although 3ds max has huge deficiencies too). At one time AutoCAD was used in other sectors such as mechanical engineering (how I learned it) but no one touches AutoCAD for mechanical or electrical anymore.

Inventor is one of the few applications that is OK, but most people prefer NX/Solidworks/IronCAD/SolidEdge and even CREO.