AutoCAD evolves to meet customer needs

AutoCAD developed and aligned to the company's core applications to help customers redefine the design process, save costs and support continuous quality improvement

At its Global Press Launch event last week, Autodesk introduced AutoCAD 2008 software - the latest version of the world's most widely used computer-aided design (CAD) software.

The application's innovations continue to respond to customer needs and requests, driving Autodesk product development and alignment of the company's core applications to help customers redefine the design process, save costs and support continuous quality improvement.

"The market success of AutoCAD is a direct result of our effort to respond to customer needs and raise the standard for innovation to take our customers one step further," said Amar Hanspal, vice president, Autodesk Platform and Geospatial Solutions.

"Since creating the design software market with the debut of AutoCAD software, Autodesk has remained focused on making the design process smoother and smarter".

"That's why we continue to integrate our core drafting, visualisation and collaboration technologies in order to accelerate the evolution of design - and ultimately, help our customers become more innovative, productive and competitive".

Together, improvements in AutoCAD and Autodesk Design Review software and the debut of the Autodesk Impression application deliver new tools for customers to solve the increasing complexities of the design process.

Autodesk today also announced updates to its industry-specific portfolio of AutoCAD-based solutions for architecture, engineering and construction.

The latest update to AutoCAD software focuses on improving designers' ability to quickly and easily document their designs, with a level of control that helps ensure that their drawings look as professional as they require.

AutoCAD 2008 focuses on solving common customer problems in a way that respects current workflows, so that little or no retraining is required to obtain significant time savings.

Key enhancements include:.

* Simple, intuitive creation, editing and management of annotation scale, tables, text and leaders, to virtually eliminate duplication of work, minimise errors and time spent on workarounds, and support corporate standards for design.

* Customer-driven improvements in functions ranging from drafting to presentation, including more than 35 enhancements in response to customer visits, Autodesk User Group International (AUGI) top-10 feature wish lists, and feedback forms.

"One of the most powerful aspects of AutoCAD software has been its support for designing and documentation in real-world scale," said Lucio Da Silva, CAD manager, Architectural Land Design.

"But combining those elements with associated annotation has been difficult".

"AutoCAD 2008 makes it transparent for the designer - we think it's a must-have update that builds on the modeling and visualisation enhancements we got in AutoCAD 2007".

Autodesk also launched AutoCAD LT 2008 software, the latest version of the world's number-one-selling 2D drafting application.

While AutoCAD software offers 3D conceptual deign tools, advanced rendering, network licensing and deployments and more, AutoCAD LT is wholly focused on 2D drafting productivity for individual users.

AutoCAD LT 2008 features the improvements to drafting tasks that are found in AutoCAD 2008.

Supporting the design process by enabling even more extensive collaboration on both 2D and model-based information, Autodesk Design Review software is now available free of charge as a download from the Autodesk website.

The software speeds the design review process with viewing, measuring and markup tools that are intuitive and that do not require CAD software or expertise.

Design Review enables all-digital collaboration and communication of design changes between designers and their team members, tracking changes to 2D and 3D designs and allowing easy integration of feedback into Autodesk manufacturing, AEC and geospatial applications, as well as word processing documents and spreadsheets.

New capabilities in Autodesk Design Review 2008 include:.

* New and enhanced design review capabilities for non-CAD users, including improved 3D measure and markup, drawing version comparison and better 3D model navigation.

* Better automation of design information with field data, using geo-referenced maps and connection to GPS devices.

* Increased productivity for viewing, printing, and searching designs, including native viewing and printing support for DWF files within Microsoft Vista XPS viewer; HP Instant Printing support for batch printing on HP Designjet printers; and support for on-demand access to ThomasNet's in depth product and service information from within the design.

Autodesk Impression software is Autodesk's response to thousands of customers who asked for a tool that would let them produce illustrations.

Incorporating feedback from more than 30,000 Autodesk Labs beta testers, Impression is now available for purchase.

The application enables users to create presentation-ready graphics directly from DWG and DWF files, boosting teams' productivity and allowing clients to experience ideas and explore design alternatives while a project is in development.

With Impression, users can quickly produce high-quality illustrations and renderings that have a hand-drawn look, while exploiting the value of their CAD data.

Highlights of Impression 2008 features include:.

* Easy-to-use tools for applying pre-built and custom styles.

Styles are comprised of everything from strokes that look like pencil work, to fills representing markers and watercolours.

Custom styles can be developed to create a "signature style" for a specific project or for use by everyone in a firm.

* Time-saving features such as Style Mapping.

These features let users create multiple images that all have the same look and feel.

* Rapid updating tools such as CAD Geometry Update.

These tools allow users to update and change illustrations as a design develops.

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