2/12/2008

AutoCAD LT 2009 -- First Thoughts

So I just took 5 minutes to read the LT 2009 Preview Guide (available at Between the Lines), and here's my initial take. It looks like a lot of stuff will be appearing in both releases, so I just tried to find the LT-specific stuff:

  • The interface changes are huge! I think they'll be good, but it'll take a while to get used to it. (Okay, not LT-specific, but big enough to be worth mentioning.)
  • The Steering Wheels have been around in Design Review for a long time, but I haven't found them much more useful than the mouse wheel so far...we will see.
  • The guide says that LT 2009 can grip-edit xclip boundaries, but it doesn't say if they can be created. (I hope they can!)
  • LT can now create non-rectangular viewports. (Finally!)
  • It can also attach & detach images. (No more copy-paste!)
  • True Color & color book support is now included. (That doesn't mean much to me, but I bet there are a bunch of people out there for whom it does.)
  • And it now has full field support! (Woohoo!)
All in all, it looks like it'll be a good release -- plenty of new features, even if they're geared more towards usability than "drawing" tools.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

That would be a NO to Xclip creation in LT2009.

Anonymous said...

I look at the interface, and think, "Oh, no. Not again." It looks a lot like Vista/Office 2007 (which my company has yet to adopt).

I've used the Steering Wheel in the program formerly known as Alias Sketchbook. It is FANTASTIC if you are using a Stylus and Tablet.

I share your excitement for the additions that bring LT comparable with AutoCAD 2000 and beyond. What do you plan to do with your new fields?

BTW- Thanks for your consistently awesome posts.

Anonymous said...

Same old AutoCAD, great new look. Really, Autodesk, limit your new releases to every two years and make them worth it! It will take a couple of months just to get used to the new look but with seemingly few "real" functional upgrades and new features.

Unknown said...

The new interface is actually a screen space saver and time saver. LT is well, light. It is not supposed to have all of the features "regular' AutoCAD has. If it why would anyone buy AutoCAD? As for the 2009 releases, I think they are worth it this time. I wasn't sure in 2007, or with 2008. But I recommend upgrading to 2009. The interface is different, a nasty word I know, but once the changes are embraced, work will go faster.

Anonymous said...

For me Export Layout Space as DWG to model space is king. Only waited 8 years for this. No more binding xrefs to issue a dwg of just the info in Layout space. Don't know whether it's in LT but it better be.

Other than that apart from xclip, non rectangular VP's etc is modeless Layer manager.

What i'd like to see in LT:

A new sort of 'Group' to define an assembly and then to be able to just reference in an assembly not the whole freakin drawing everytime.

Fine grained XREFing even down to just a layer name from CAD Standards lbrary drawings.

Layer groups, to be able to define a group of layers for a task rather than working backwards having to create filters.

Viewport rules, not just a scale but visibility based on layer name or prefix or suffix of layer group. Like when a new layer is added to a drawing that is a base xref for other drawings it doesn't appear in all the viewports of all the other drawings. Control layer, text, dims,e tc visibility by self defined rules applied to viewports.

Anonymous said...

Is it ACAD 2009 LT 32/64 bits works well with Windows Vista?

Anonymous said...

Kate, I came across your page when searching for "AutoCad comparable".
If you have a minute, could you suggest a program for use of basic cad. My company (development) usually has the architect do all cad work, but they want to purchase a program for changes to and simple creation of dwgs. I'm not sure if I should purchase the 2009 AutoCad or go with another, less expensive software such as Bricscad.
Thanks for any help/thoughts.

fuzzybear said...

Can someone tell me the differences between AutoCAd 2004LT and 2008LT. Thanks.

Kate M said...

This comparison matrix will show you the main differences between AutoCAD LT 2009 and releases back to 2006. I don't have one that goes back to 2004, but it should give you a starting point.