AutoCAD Going Strong

By Nick Harris

I am fortunate to work with some highly experienced and capable people, not least the team that train the thousands of delegates that come through our doors every year. A surprising number of them have been training Autodesk products for more than a couple of decades and it is this time of year that whenever I bump into them the conversation turns to the new features in the new release of AutoCAD, and then we reminisce about our favourite versions from the past.

For as long as I can remember Autodesk has released the new version of AutoCAD in late March. At times the new release was eagerly anticipated and each new feature analysed in detail. This year it seems to have been barely acknowledged, even the social media channels have been quiet on the subject. It has come to be viewed in the same way as Microsoft Office, how many different ways are there to write a document? Actually, as I type, my recently upgraded version of Microsoft Word not only reprimands me on my spelling and grammar but has decided to draw my attention to my writing style. It is very concerned that I am not using the active voice nearly enough. This feature has the potential to be incredibly useful for me but without some training on it I don’t really know if I am using it correctly or it is setup properly.

This is exactly the same situation with AutoCAD. It continues to play an essential role in almost all of our customers’ workflow and remains an incredibly capable piece of software. To train it is actually more challenging than some of the more industry specific modelling software like Revit and Inventor. Some predicted that these products would replace AutoCAD completely but in most cases, they have been integrated alongside it. I become frustrated when AutoCAD training is dismissed as entry level and somehow less valuable than other courses. Those highly experienced people I spoke about earlier need to know about many more features and commands in AutoCAD than they do in other packages. Often, during a customer engagement, their biggest challenge is to harness the incredible flexibility that AutoCAD offers to fit at a specific point in a workflow. It can be used at the concept stage of the design process, at the documentation stage or at any point in-between. All disciplines, in all industries use it and it is frequently used alongside non-Autodesk software because there is no better software for producing technical drawings.

My advice is not to take AutoCAD for granted. Every year some great new features have been added that have gone unnoticed by the majority of users. Not everyone that uses AutoCAD has had some formal training on the software. Some had some training so long ago that they have forgotten most of what they learnt apart from the aspects they use every day. Take a step back and review whether you are using AutoCAD as productively as you could be. Start by reviewing the huge amount of information about AutoCAD available on the Cadline Community. Then consider if some training with those experienced people will introduce you to all the powerful features of AutoCAD that could make a big difference to the way that you work.

If you would like to know more about the new features in AutoCAD 2018 go here: -

https://www.cadlinecommunity.co.uk/hc/en-us/articles/115002271045-AutoCAD-2018-New-Features-Tested