Content area
Full Text
Autodesk's flagship product benefits from attention to detail.
After sitting through a preview of AutoCAD 2004 at Autodesk University, I worried that this new release wouldn't deliver enough significant new stuff to warrant much excitement. AutoCAD already has pretty much every function and feature you need, right? During the following two months, as I evaluated a beta copy, I realized that there is indeed a lot less in this release. The good news is that this translates into much more for the typical user figure 1). At the time of this writing, Autodesk was on track for a March 17 release date for AutoCAD 2004, with other associated products to follow (see p. 43 for details).
SIZE MATTERS
The big news in AutoCAD 2004 is the small news, Autodesk completely redesigned the DWG file format. Files are now about one-third to one-half thE size they were in AutoCAD 2002. Smaller file size means more drawings fit on your disk drive.
Smaller file size also means more time to edit. The new files typically open in about one-third to one-half the time. This can be significant when you open huge files from a busy file server. Larger files seem to benefit proportionally more from this change.
To maintain compatibility with other users, the new release saves back to an AutoCAD or LT 2000 version of the DWG format. You can also use DXF to save back to Release 12. Obviously, the file size increases. Some newer types of drawing objects may get lost or translate incorrectly, especially when sent back to Release 12. A bonus feature is that AutoCAD 2004 installs and runs concurrently with earlier releases, making it easy to coordinate the changeover with vendors, clients, and other users.
Small details make a difference. Once you save a file in AutoCAD 2004 format, Windows Explorer can display a thumbnail preview so you can find and quickly preview a drawing without AutoCAD running.
FACE THE INTERFACE
Autodesk did a lot of work on the user interface for AutoCAD 2004. At first glance it appears to be almost identical to that in AutoCAD 2002. A second glance reveals that most of the toolbar icons are revised to have a softer, gentler look. The top half of...