HELP with .cad file?!

[ReMark]

People who continue to use cad file formats that are not widely supported open themselves up to these kinds of problems. AutoDesk, for one, cannot be expected to incorporate import options for every CAD program that comes along even if it was one of the earlier ones.

[SLW210]

Those on this forum who have slammed the users of these older programs are probably to young to know the history of that era. Bad mouthing others hardly solves the problems or creates understanding.

 

I do not see where users of older programs are being "slammed".

 

Some are simply pointing out (and IMHO correctly) that some using these programs have little knowledge of what they are doing when it comes to exporting in an appropriate format for sharing the file.

 

As I already explained, all .cad are not the same depending on the software used to create them, but AFAIK all those software platforms can export or save as .dxf and/or .dwg.

 

Any professional should know what format(s) he needs to provide.

[PreserveThe2nd]

Hi Nathan, others,

 

My name is Mark and I use DrafixCAD. Ok, that is kind of like the alcoholics anonymous intro - but I still use DrafixCAD. And it is a .cad format. It fits my needs and actually was bumping up against AutoCad if you look back a ways.

 

Back when we were leaving DOS and entering windows, Softdesk was driving forward with ole and mouse actions ahead of AutoCAD's type in the command function.

 

The version I have, DrafixCAD Pro 4.1 is extremely user friendly. You could learn the important stuff in a couple hours and producing semi-complex floorplans right away. I can lay it down for a year and come back and in a half hour be up and running again. I drew the floor plan to my 2 story with walkout basement house and my contractor said he could build off that drawing. I've mapped my 121 acres, 4 miles of road system, underground electrical/gas supply lines, and a couple thousand feet of water/irrigation pipe I've put in. I'm no architect like you guys, just a user of a tool.

 

Autodesk must have thought enough of DrafixCAD that it bought the rights to the product --- then killed it. Autodesk did play with it awhile turning it into QuickCAD (still .cad). But after QuickCAD v8, they made the decision to absorb the program into AutoSketch 9 (.skf). But that program seems to be almost dead with AutoSketch 10 being their last version. I read on line where one user could change a file's .cad to .skf and Autosketch could read the file because both were in the same format, just different endings.

 

Anyway I came to this forum because I did have a concern with new windows programs and my Drafix program. While designed for win95, it still installed on my windows 7 machine. I don't know if an old AutoCAD could do that. But my Drafix would not install on my win 8.1 machine. With so much info tied up in .cad files I did start to have a concern. So not knowing what else to do I copied the Drafix files off my win7 machine and pasted them into the win8.1. Drafix works nearly perfectly yet! There is one error message in writing to the registry but it is a fully working program otherwise.

 

While I didn't find the answer I was looking for in this forum, I did find out enough information on line to run a test. Drafix 4.1 can export files in .dwg. I have a trial copy of Autocad LT that will work 30 days. I will install that and run an exported .dwg file from Drafix and see how it converts. If it works OK, I can not expect perfect, then I will keep using Drafix. I picked it up at an estate sale many many years ago so I got my moneys worth out of it and I can't afford AutoCAD, never could.

 

Mark

[BIGAL]

Look at the clones and the free software out their will read current dwg's etc. Then convert all and use a current version and win 8 probs will go away.

[ReMark]

At this point the history of DrafixCAD is of little or no importance. Time marches on even if the program is stuck in a time warp.

 

What does matter however is the fact that you have so much valuable information tied up in the .CAD files that you don't want to lose. I can't blame you there.

 

Since it appears all your work is in 2D I would first look at downloading the FREE CAD program called Draftsight and it's companion Getting Started Guide from the website of Dassault Systemes the makers of Solidworks. Draftsight is marketed as an AutoCAD-clone and will open and save to the DWG file format as established by AutoDesk. I wouldn't waste my money on buying AutoCAD LT (somewhere between $875 to $1,000 U.S.). If Draftsight does not have enough functionality to suit your needs then I'd look at buying a low cost AutoCAD clone such as Bricscad. It is a very stable, well supported, highly regarded CAD program that will open and save to the DWG file format as well.

 

BTW...some people (a small minority) have been known to get old copies of AutoCAD (about the same age as your Drafix program) to run under both Win7 and Win8 (and 8.1 too).

[Dana W]

I am leasing AutoCad LT for $45.00 month direct from AutoDesk. The purchase price is over $1000.00.

[PreserveThe2nd]

ReMark and BigAl have good points.

 

I would only use the AutoCad Lt in the trial version just to verify how well Drafix exports to .dwg. Not interested in buying into it.

 

I want a capable drawing program that can do as well as DrafixCad. It was a $600 product at that time long ago so not a freebe level tool.

 

I will eventually find what I need with more research, I very rarely jump into anything.

 

My bigger point is related to the initial discussion of this thread, the .cad format. No one knew much about the history of when it started and why it died.

 

I have not forgiven AutoCad buying up a qualified competitor just to kill it. Perhaps would .cad wouldn't have disappeared except for the "power of the purse" and ego of AutoCad management. There were limits of .cad in file size, so I read, but it wasn't allowed to improve over time.

 

It reminds me of Quicken. I bought version 1 and was contributing improvement suggestions when they first started out. MS quickly came out with MS Money, a really ****ty copy of Quicken. But Quicken kept improving version after version and Money couldn't cut it. So MS started giving MS Money away free to kill Quicken. That didn't even work it was so bad. So MS decided to buy Quicken out with the power of the purse. Kill the competitor and absorb it in. Thank God the government stopped them becoming a monopoly in the financial software realm. Quicken has moved on and now does Turbotax as well.

 

Who knows what the future would have been if AutoCad had allowed a qualified competitor to compete. Perhaps current AutoCad users would be paying half as much or less for the programs if they had a high level competitor out there.

 

Back to my files. I will be checking out some programs out to see if there is a one that does what I want at a price I can afford. That, or since I have no family to leave anything to, it all just dies out when the time comes it makes no difference what format I use. I just need to keep a win7 machine always on hand and then it is no big deal.

 

Mark

[ReMark]

We could have a discussion about businesses that buy up competitors just to kill them off (absorb their technology) ad infinitum but a lot of good it will do any us.

 

I created a couple of threads a while back listing both free and low cost options to AutoCAD. Look in the Useful Links forum. The threads occupy the 2nd and 3rd position on the list. Good luck finding a program that meets your needs. When you do please consider coming back and telling us what you decided to get and why. I for one would be interested in anything you have to say.

[f700es]

We could have a discussion about businesses that buy up competitors just to kill them off (absorb their technology) ad infinitum but a lot of good it will do any us.

 

Yep, it's called a free market system. It has good points as well as bad. All the big boys do it, Apple, MS, Adobe, Google and AutoDesk.

[f700es]

Who knows what the future would have been if AutoCad had allowed a qualified competitor to compete. Perhaps current AutoCad users would be paying half as much or less for the programs if they had a high level competitor out there.

Mark

 

Well, we see what did happen. The makers of DraftSight have released a free alternative to LT. A few others have as well (NanoCAD). They offer support as a means to generate revenue and additional "Pro" features.

[ReMark]

In my search for further information regarding Drafix CAD I came across a 1994 article about 2D CAD software that appeared in PC Magazine. Below is a list of programs that was either tested or only available in beta form and not tested along with pricing information. How many do you remember?

 

Cadvance for Windows $1195

DesignCAD 2D $349

DrafixCAD Pro $495

Drawbase for Windows Model 4000 $4400

DynaDesigner $399

TrueCAD $295

MicroGDS $3250

Microstation $3790

VisualCAD $495

Cadkey 7 $495

XCAD $495

TurboCAD $149

Ultimate CAD $995

Vellum $2495

 

AutoCAD r12 was already out and r13 was still in beta when the review was published.

[PreserveThe2nd]

ReMark I did find your posts re: freeware/free trial. Thanks for your post to the forum.

 

I am trying the DraftSight free trial for the moment just to see how the Drafix 4.1 exports into .dwg. Later I will work on what program comes closest to Drafix's program functions. A program doesn't need to be free, just not ridiculously expensive.

 

Let you know after I run a trial. Probably this evening. Got to work on the 76 GMC modified 2 ton dump truck I just bought for $1500. Parts and labor in the few hours of warmth we have today.

 

Mark

Mark

[f700es]

Let's see who's left?

 

 

Cadvance for Windows - currently $2,295 (website looks to be from 1999)

DesignCAD 2D - currently $49.99 (owned by IMSI)

DrafixCAD Pro - dead

Drawbase for Windows Model 4000 - dead (bought out by Graphisoft - Archicad)

DynaDesigner - dead it seems

TrueCAD - Now called AllyCAD, currently 1,391 pounds

MicroGDS - currently $1,750 for standard, $3,500 for Pro

Microstation - still alive but no street price given LOL! (if you have to ask you can't afford it I guess)

VisualCAD - currently $3,200 for standard and $4,250 for Pro

Cadkey 7 - still around but same as Microstation for pricing

XCAD - currently 399.00 Eur for light and 3999.00 Eur for Pro

TurboCAD - currently have about 8 versions starting at $69.99 to $1,695 (IMSI)

Ultimate CAD - might be dead

Vellum - Now called Ashlar-Vellum, Graphite (2D) is $1,395. Looks like TurboCAD Mac

 

Honestly the 2D offerings from most of these are priced right with LT.

 

For a real laugh go to..

http://www.versacad.com (we used it in high school)

Hmmm, digitizer and crt monitor shown on homepage. Not a way to entice customers looking for an up to date, modern 2D CAD program. $795 a copy or $995 with 1st year of service and $595 a year after that.

Let's look at a 6 year cost cycle.

VersaCAD: $995 + ($595*5=$2,975) = $3,970

AutoCAD LT: $1,380 for 1st year + ($180x5=$900)= $3,180

or LT rental @ $360/yr ($360x6)=$2,160

[f700es]

Let you know after I run a trial. Probably this evening. Got to work on the 76 GMC modified 2 ton dump truck I just bought for $1500. Parts and labor in the few hours of warmth we have today.

 

Mark

 

Where are you that's warm? Was 72 here in NC on Sunday but not today.

[PreserveThe2nd]

Warm, of course is relative. It is supposed to make it up to 32 degrees, a refreshing change. There is a window between 12 and 2:30 that is acceptable working outside with metal objects that suck the warmth from your fingers.

 

Washington state. Not part of the left wing left coast but along side the Idaho border where family values are still pretty good.

 

Side note, did a quick conversion to .dwg with drafix 4.1. Opened up the free trial version of DraftSight and after fumbling for a few minutes learning what icons did what, it looks like a pretty clean conversion. Out of some 20 layers on one land mapping they all look operational. Didn't check the fine details yet though. Line sizes/types, lettering, etc. But the structure is there and looks pretty good. I just got to learn the new program.

 

One good test will be the house drawing and it's layers. Every outlet, light, appliance is labeled with the circuit breaker that controls it. Some handmade items, lots of lettering, and objects. I have a notebook with a picture of every room with the electrical items in them and the breakers assigned. If you need to do any work you know what to turn off. If a breaker is blown, you know what items it controlled.

 

If you buy a toaster, you get an instruction manual. You buy a house they just give you the keys and the payment plan. I want a full service instruction manual for the home that I can pass on when I no longer own it. I took pictures of all the wiring and plumbing before they enclosed the walls so I can present a disc covering the house and land from start to finish.

 

Mark

[f700es]

Warm, of course is relative. It is supposed to make it up to 32 degrees, a refreshing change. There is a window between 12 and 2:30 that is acceptable working outside with metal objects that suck the warmth from your fingers.

 

Washington state. Not part of the left wing left coast but along side the Idaho border where family values are still pretty good.

 

LOL As Sir Paul McCartney said, "There is good and bad in everyone..."

Do you get a lot of rain on that side like the coast does? Never been to Washington but maybe one day.

 

Side note, did a quick conversion to .dwg with drafix 4.1. Opened up the free trial version of DraftSight and after fumbling for a few minutes learning what icons did what, it looks like a pretty clean conversion. Out of some 20 layers on one land mapping they all look operational. Didn't check the fine details yet though. Line sizes/types, lettering, etc. But the structure is there and looks pretty good. I just got to learn the new program.

 

One good test will be the house drawing and it's layers. Every outlet, light, appliance is labeled with the circuit breaker that controls it. Some handmade items, lots of lettering, and objects. I have a notebook with a picture of every room with the electrical items in them and the breakers assigned. If you need to do any work you know what to turn off. If a breaker is blown, you know what items it controlled.

 

If you buy a toaster, you get an instruction manual. You buy a house they just give you the keys and the payment plan. I want a full service instruction manual for the home that I can pass on when I no longer own it. I took pictures of all the wiring and plumbing before they enclosed the walls so I can present a disc covering the house and land from start to finish.

 

Mark

 

That's not a bad way to do it honestly. Might be boarding on a bit "OCD" but still not bad. We had the construction company that built our new Business School do this when they where building. Tons of photos! They are still putting them all together a year later for some application that will know where the tech is standing in the building and can sync up photos to their hand held device. We'll see when it's finished.

[PreserveThe2nd]

The East side has normal seasons, not as extreme as where as I grew up in Iowa. The winters chased me out of there. And the wind. I am farther North than Spokane an in a small valley so can get some pretty good snow dumps. Not so bad if you have the equip. to deal with them. The West coast deals with the fall and spring rains and of course, winter rains except upon ocassion it snows.

 

As I approach retirement (a couple more years - don't build a new house later in life!) I was thinking that for side income I could document and create "owner's manuals" for the higher end homes (would probably be cost prohibitive for lower income homes). Maybe work with the contractors and/or the banks or insurance companies. It was just a thought.

 

I got a small dozer, a 2 ton 1980 GMC dumpbed truck (26,000 GVW), a stronger 1976 2 ton GMC dumpbed truck (40,000 GVW) (just bought, needs a lot of major repair), and a backhoe. I build driveways or repair them for folks who can't afford the big companies price. I make some extra funds to keep working the acreage and they get a very low cost charge for their tight budgets. And hopefully have extra income after retirement.

 

Anyway, the owner's manual was another reason I thought I should upgrade Drafix so if I did map the houses it would be a more universal format.

 

Mark

[PreserveThe2nd]

Since it appears all your work is in 2D I would first look at downloading the FREE CAD program called Draftsight and it's companion Getting Started Guide from the website of Dassault Systemes the makers of Solidworks. Draftsight is marketed as an AutoCAD-clone and will open and save to the DWG file format as established by AutoDesk.

 

 

ReMark,

 

I took you suggestion and tried DraftSight. I also tried TurboCad as another possibility. Drafix exported to .dwg (unknown old version) and DraftSight and TurboCad imported it pretty darn good. For some reason one curved line did not import. Some text moved but just a single line of information. With DraftSight being free, it is hard to not set it as a standard for other programs to.

 

I do like TurboCad's layer management better. I also like that it opens up two boxes (length and angle) when you start a line's first point. Start the initial point fill in length and angle boxes and done. DraftSight still follows command line functions at the bottom of the screen. I can't help feeling that I am backtracking to the old DOS days of typing commands. Once a line is drawn the properties shows the line length in DraftSight, but then won't allow you to edit it there which would yield new end points. Drafix could even handle that.

 

I wanted to thank you for suggesting I look at that program and not just because it is free. It writes in .dwg so future compatibility is better insured. TurboCad is good but it writes in its own language. Then it can convert to .dwg. (I tried drawing and initially saving in .dwg and the program spit it out.)

 

I am going to try the other program you mentioned but I think that DraftSight does a pretty good job. I am impressed that Drafix can export its files in an old .dwg and DraftSight imports it just fine. It appears AutoCad changes it every three years so we can't do that? At least older programs reading newer files.

 

Thanks again for your help.

 

Mark

[ReMark]

Yes, the file format for AutoCAD is updated every three years. Many clones are usually one file format behind whatever the latest one is for AutoCAD.

 

I'm glad to hear you found Draftsight to be of real value to you. You're entirely welcomed.

[Dana W]

You can down convert newer file formats up to 2015 (still 2013 format) with AutoDesk TrueView, a free download, so you can open them with Draftsight. TrueView also does a great job of plotting to pdf.