Editor’s Pick: AutoCAD 2017 for Mac

Dear DE Reader:

Autodesk broke the rules when it rolled out AutoCAD for PCs in the early ’80s. Everyone knew CAD ran on big UNIX boxes, not PCs. Skip to 2010. Autodesk breaks the rules and introduces a Mac-native version of AutoCAD. Everyone knows that CAD is for Windows. But from the earliest days of microcomputers, engineering legions adopted Apple products as their go-to systems. They cheered. Today’s Pick of the Week looks at the introduction of the 2017 editions of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT for the Mac. More cheering is likely.

A big theme running throughout AutoCAD 2017 and AutoCAD LT 2017 for the Mac is ease of use out of the box and through your own customization. This is most evident in the changes that have gone down with the user interface (UI). For example, the tool sets got a redesign. It strives to organize tools and commands in ways that are easier for you to access with as few as one click.

Autodesk split the tool sets into Drafting and Modeling tabs where each tab has predefined standard panels grouping related commands together. You can customize any standard panel. For instance, you can select which commands to show or hide. You can collapse, move, reorder and resize panels in real time. You can also create your own panels.

The 2017 edition of AutoCAD for the Mac also marks a breakout release for the system’s PDF capabilities. You can now import the geometry, TrueType text and raster images from a specified page in a PDF file and from all or part of an attached PDF underlay. You can plunk imported geometry from a PDF page into your current drawing as an AutoCAD object.

You also can specify the scale, rotation and insertion point of the imported geometry. You have control over the kind of data you import from the PDF as well as control over how layers are assigned to imported objects. There’s also a new PDFIMPORT command for those who prefer wielding such things.

AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 2017 for the Mac sees many more enhancements like support for OS X native Full Screen mode, smart centerlines and center marks as well as support for multiple open AutoCAD sessions. These and a slew more are covered in-depth in the Preview Guide and videos linked off of today’s Pick of the Week write-up. So, hit the link and get cracking.

Thanks, Pal. – Lockwood

Anthony J. Lockwood

Editor at Large, DE