Now that it has been out for a while...comments on AutoCAD2007?

[Hazdaz]

Oh geez, I thought that AutoCAD FINALLY had a really good upgrade. I was quite excited to FINALLY being able to work in a perspective view. The Visual Style tools seemed quite interesting, as did the highlight selection tool, the stretching of objects by using their grips and a few other tools.

 

Boy was I wrong. I finally was able to upgrade to 2007 and have had a little bit of time to work with it, and I have to say I am highly disappointed. The Highlight Selection tool (where it hightlights any objects as you move the crosshairs over them) is a total pain, and needlessly slow. They decided to change some of my most commonly used tools - like something as simple as the Slice command now is more cumbersome. The fact that distances and angles and such are shown on screen (instead of at the bottom of the window) sounded like a cool idea - that is until you have tons of objects on-screen at once and all that data is covering up the objects. Then the whole grip thing is a huge let down - I was expecting to be able to do some really great solid manipulations with this new tool. Well you can do some cool stuff with it - that is until you apply any type of other modifying tool to that solid - once you slice or extrude or shell or anything like that to the solid, out goes the option to manipulate it. Lame and quite unexpected. And I am still not sure why when drawing a PLINE earlier today, the UCS kicked out at some wacky angle. I know I was starting the PLINE over some existing geometry and I am assuming that 2007 was enabling some kind of AutoUCS command, but that is totaly unneeded for anyone that knows what they are doing.

 

Oh, and the most inexcusable change of all - why change the color and shape of icons that have been around for years now? Why is the Orbit icon white when it's been green since it first appeared? I automatically relate some colors to certain commands simply because of the number of times that I have used them over the years.

 

Now I do realize that many of these new tools can be turned off, but if ya do that, what's the point of the upgrade then? Also things like the icons I believe are not changeable back to the old ones (or atleast not easily changed).

 

I do plan on giving 2007 more time for me to get used to it, but wow was I surprised. Simply put, it appears to me that AutoDesk has tried to dumb-down the program to make it supposedly 'easier' for new users, but for old-school people like me that already knew all the commands and sub-commands and options within the commands by heart, it is very disconcerting to have to slow down for the program when we already know what to do.

 

Right now, I give 2007 a thumbs-down. I hope that working with it more will make me appreciate some of the new tools - like working in perspective view is actually cool - and long overdue, but I don't think that things like that are going to compensate for the other negative things that I see.

 

 

What say you CGachitects? (and yes, I know that there have been other AutoCAD threads, but I specifically wanted a new one since many people have probably now logged in hundreds of hours on it)

[Antisthenes]

it's sad really like watching a dieing animal.

 

the 3d they did put doesn't even come close to the product i think they were trying to come coser to Rhinoceros and Rhinoceros it self surpassed all the 2d things about autocad that people stayed dependent on it for.

 

then they make attack ads like this...

 

studio tools maya revit generic cad , don't let them buy you is all i can say to anybody autodesk aproaches.

 

not to mention there CEO of autodesk took a job working for Bush's "Science" stuff no wonder they get such a cozy cronyish relationship / contracts...

[Hazdaz]

I really don't see that much improvement in the 3D modling. Yea, sure you can now work in a Perspective view, and you can grab grips and stretch things (but after you modify the object you can't grab the same grips anymore), and there a few other tweaks here and there. But most of the other 3D modling tools/techniques have been there for years now... trust me, I draw exclusively in 3D and have been an AutoCAD user for like 15 years now.

 

Concerning the renderer, I use MAX for all my renderings, so AutoCAD improving it's renderer is really a non-issue for me.

 

I will give it a change, but as I work on it more, I see more things that irritate me, rather than new things that are useful. Like it blows my mind that AutoDesk decided to add lines between the commands in the Text Window - before if you listed an object or ran a distance, you could still see the important numbers while you had another command running (assuming you have 3 command lines visible). Now you have to flip to the Text Window with F2 to see what the results of the previous command were. Really dumb move.

 

And I still haven't found a way to turn off Dynamic UCS yet.

 

We don't use ADT, simply because we are not an architectural company.

 

I truly hope I get used to these changes - I always keep an open mind to software updates, but wow 2007 seems like a massive downgrade in my book so far. It honestly looks like this 'upgrade' was make by people that simply do not use the program in real life. Like individually, I can see many of the new stuff to be useful, but when drawing large and complex things, I see them hindering you.

 

On a positive note, it does seem faster with orbiting around 3D s, but then again, that might be the new PC I am running it on.

[neko]

two things jump out at me with your issues/problems......

 

1.) you are frustrated by editing solids using grips - when you modify a basic solid, you are right that the grips don't work anymore. when the solid has been modified, you need to hold the control key and select edges/intersections of solids. new grips will be created and you can modify from there.

 

2.) dynamic UCS - if you don't like it (i do), then turn off the DUCS button on the system tray at the bottom of the screen (next to dynamic input, which i hate as well)

 

and what about lofting ? the ability to create solid terrain (for example) is a huge improvement.

 

hope that helps

 

paul

[Geoffc]

I've been using Acad since release 10, and love this current version.

 

I do most of my basic modeling in Acad, and filelink to Max. So the solid grips, 3d ucs, arc-rotate hot keys, etc make my work much faster/easier.

And I don't buy into the hype of complex modeling within Acad that Autodesk might try to sell us, so I guess I'm not disappointed to much there. That's what Max is for, right?

 

And, the many small 2d command changes help with each release too.

 

BUT, I will agree that changing the icons each few releases really sucks. Its one thing to enhance the icon pic, but to change the pics completely adds an unneeded learning curve.

[Hazdaz]

I noticed that DynamicUCS button right after I posted, but thanks for the info though. I was never a fan of Object Tracking from previous versions, and so far don't seem to like Dynamic UCS either.

 

Stepping back and trying to see the big picture, I think that AutoDesk is trying to force AutoCAD's workflow into becoming another Inventor... possibly they are planning on combining the programs in the distant future.

 

The problem with that is, however, that AutoCAD's workflow is in many ways the exact opposite of parametric modellers like Inventor and SolidWorks. Both those programs are many times more powerful than AutoCAD, yet are actually easier to use. Yes, easier and more powerful. AutoCAD will never have the same workflow and trying to simplify things by "automating" some things like the UCS cause more problems than they solve in my book. I feel like I am fighting the software, instead of using it.

 

I liken it to those cheapo photo-editing programs that come with printers and scanners. They try to hide the technical details of editing an image by putting on a front-end that is supposed to be easier to use. Usually they end up being way too limiting and I can do the same amount of work - and more - in Photoshop in less time.

 

After getting through some drawings I need to get done, I really need to go through any 'What's New?' tutorial that might be included.

 

GEOFFC - I do have to comment on your statement about modeling in MAX versus AutoCAD. The 2 programs are VERY different in terms of what their underlaying geometry is. AutoCAD can most definitely do complex geometry (and have been able to for years now), but it is all in Solids. Max is Polygons and would be be useful for creating line drawings.

[Macpod]

I love it. you do have to familiarise yourself with the new tool sets and commands though. I never did use autocad that much so i dont have any prior conceptions of what autocad is. this version seems easy to use and powerful enough to generate any drawings you might need.

 

slice tool? why use that when you have a section tool? The dynamic block and line weight functions lets me take edit that 2D section into anything i need.

 

I think once you let go of what 3D modeling was in the old version, this new version will seem less cumbersome.

 

It might not be the be all an end of all of architectural design application but it is one of the more approachable solutions on the market right now. If you combine it with Max, i dont see why you would need anything else, unless you wanted BIM.......Im just not that happy with what using BIM in its current iteration does to your design appproach.

[Hazdaz]

 

slice tool? why use that when you have a section tool? The dynamic block and line weight functions lets me take edit that 2D section into anything i need.

 

SLICE and SECTION are 2 completely different tools, used for different purposes.

[Macpod]

Very true, that was a gross generalistion. Although it'll probably be used less now that a 3d section can be created easily.

 

however, i just thought of a scenario where the slice tool is essential.

 

PS anyone know how to draw a line on a curved surface.