From: Michael’s Corner #67
Originally published: July 2008
Free AutoCAD
One question I am always asked by AutoCAD beginners is: "how can I get hold of my own copy of AutoCAD so that I can practice at home?" In the past, there wasn't a great deal of choice and the sheer cost of AutoCAD caused many to seek illegal solutions to their problem. Fortunately, things have changed recently and there are now two potential routes a beginner can take to facilitate their learning. If you're a student or an employee working with AutoCAD at work, there's a pretty good chance you can install a legitimate copy of AutoCAD at home for free.
Students
Students have a great choice of free Autodesk software at the Autodesk Student Community. Any college or university student can sign up and download whatever they want from the extensive list that includes 4 AutoCAD vertical products. The only limitation is the usual educational product overprint and the 13 month licence. Other than that, these are fully functioning products and are provided in the latest versions.
Subscribers
With the release of AutoCAD 2009, Autodesk improved some of the benefits to those with a subscription. The big headline change was the opportunity for subscribers to install and use any previous version of AutoCAD, even if we never owned it in the first place. While this may be useful for some, the most useful benefit of subscription for beginners is the opportunity to install a second copy of AutoCAD at home. So, if you use AutoCAD at work and your company has a subscription, ask your subscription manager to request a copy for home use. Take a look at the Home Use FAQ for more details.
Both the student and subscriber home use versions of AutoCAD are available for free so if you are entitled to either of these, what are you waiting for?
AutoCAD e-learning
Subscription brings further benefits to beginners in the form of some excellent e-learning materials. These are essentially self-paced slide-show tutorials with simple quizzes at the end of each section. I have to admit that I found them incredibly useful for getting to grips with the new interface.
Autodesk Impression
And finally, as an added incentive to subscribe, Autodesk have made Impression a free download for subscribers. As you may know, Impression can be used to transform your AutoCAD drawings into rich presentation images like the one on the right (see the Impression Design Gallery for more). Again, if you're a subscriber, it's free so why not give it a go?
Oh, and while we're on the subject of free stuff, don't forget that you can discuss any of the topics in this month's Corner (and/or other stuff) over at our forums.
See all the articles published in July 2008
See this article in the July 2008 Corner
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Note from Michael: I want to thank all of my customers for continuing to retain my training services (some for over two decades!) and let you know your donations do not go to me personally, but to the ongoing maintenance of the CADTutor ship as a whole and to support the yeoman efforts of my friend and CADTutor captain, David Watson, to whom I am grateful for this monthly opportunity to share a few AutoCAD insights.
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