zwcad

[RIMARES]

I just dowloaded zwcad. It was faster and easier to install than auocad, what are the differences and can i use the for my autocad 2007 course. i tried the autocad 2009 free d/l and when i tried to install it gave me a dll error. why does this happen?

[f700es]

It is very close to older CAD versions. I have tried it and it seems to be a very good Chinese clone of AutoCAD using the Intellicad engine. Not sure if all of the 3D items are in there but you can check that. Good luck :)

[ReMark]

If you are taking an AutoCAD course then wouldn't the instructor expect you to actually be using AutoCAD? If the instructor wanted you to use zwCAD then that would have been an option, right?

Bonafide students can download free-for-use AutoCAD-related vertical products (not plain vanilla AutoCAD) directly from AutoDesk.

Bonafide students, who can show proof of a college email account, can buy student versions of AutoCAD at greatly reduced prices from a number of reputable sources.

I do not have zwCAD so I went to the website and looked at the features. I was amazed to see how similar it "appears" to be but without actually downloading a trial copy I cannot say for sure how "similar" it might be.

For anyone interested the webiste is:

http://www.ctech.com/index.php?page=zwcad

I see that ctech offers a Standard and a Pro version of zwCAD 2009 and the prices are $399 and $499 (U.S.) respectively. That is very much under what AutoCAD LT and full AutoCAD sell for.

My concern would be that when teaching a specific aspect of AutoCAD you may run into a situation where the command names may be different, the prompts at the command line may be different and the way in which the command actually works may be different. Just because cwCAD "emulates" AutoCAD doesn't mean it is an exact duplicate.

.dll errors are common in many programs. Windows itself can even have .dll errors.

[RIMARES]

Yes i have the student version of autocad2007 but it expired. the school suggested to reenrol me in 2009 but i would have to pay $300. I don't heve much left so I thought of finishing out with this free version and see where it goes, i don't kno anyone around here i could use their version at least till i finish.

[ReMark]

Most colleges that have AutoCAD courses make the software available to their students in the computer lab. Don't you have this option?

[RIMARES]

It Is A Distance Learning Course Online.

[ReMark]

When I did a distance learning course (the CADIstitute at Murray state College) the school had a procedure in place for assisting students with securing a reduced price, full working version, of AutoCAD. Maybe you should check with your school for something similar.

[RIMARES]

i could do that.