progeCAD 2020 Update Released on CADDIT.net

Sydney, Australia 09 November 2019 - progeCAD 2020 Professional 20.0.6 has been released on CADDIT.net, with free upgrade entitlement for all existing progeCAD 2020 users. progeCAD Professional is an affordable general-purpose CAD computer program having similar commands and workflow to AutoCAD, native DWG file read/write and extensive publishing/translation features. Advanced progeCAD features include full 3D modelling and rendering, extensive symbols library and Express Tools similar to those offered in AutoCAD. Using progeCAD, designers can seamlessly communicate with an AutoCAD environment. progeCAD 2020 was first released on CADDIT offering a heap of new features like 4K display support, drag-and-drop icon palettes, BIM IFC and RECAP .rcp/.rcs support, table formulas, 3D silhouette printing as well as new interfaces for PUBLISH and EXPORTPDF and new EXPRESS Tools.

BIM IFC files can now be fully imported as editable geometry. progeCAD now supports either import or export of at least 40 different major design formats (not including format versions), including 3D models, 2D drawings, mesh and point cloud models, vector and raster graphic images as well as embedding formats like PDF, offering a true swiss-army-knife like set of CAD functionality essential and affordable for any CAD designer.

Direct BIM IFC import into progeCAD 2020 Professional with immediate 3D rendering in free Artisan rendering studio (Artisan for progeCAD included with purchase)

 The new progeCAD Professional 20.0.6 is a bugfix release offering users over 100 improvements over the previous 2020.0.4 version:

• Improved support for functions like hatches placed in layout, nested BEDIT sessions, REFEDIT fade, embedded image PAN and ZOOM (when MTMODE = 3), Unicode support and 3D solid regen improvements.
• Targeted fixes for existing commands like HATCH, BOX, HELIX, FILLET, SWEEP and dozens more..
• Performance improvement for STEP import, 3D PDF, APPLOAD, COPYCLIP
• API tweaks and small fixes to DCL, LISP and .NET
• General improvements in interface and workflow

Users of previous progeCAD versions are strongly encouraged to consider upgrade to progeCAD Professional 2020, for better compatibility with AutoCAD as well as the ongoing updates for Microsoft Windows. A full price list for all upgrade options, including multiple stand-alone, USB and floating network licenses, can be found on the CADDIT website here (link). A fully enabled 30-day trial can also be downloaded. Additional questions about progeCAD features or upgrade options can be sent directly to CADDIT Australia via the Contact Us page.

Batch Printing in progeCAD - Using Publish

progeCAD can be a powerful tool for creating, editing and printing AutoCAD-format DWG files for almost any version of AutoCAD. progeCAD includes multiple tools for vector-PDF import, PDF underlay and PDF printing as well. However, more than once we have been asked at CADDIT how progeCAD manages batch printing and I have agreed to write something on it. This article will offer an overview of progeCAD batch printing using the PUBLISH command.

Batch plotting is a convenient way to print multiple documents and layouts in one run. The origin of batch plotting has its roots in the unsupervised overnight plotting of large numbers of drawings for CAD offices. The PUBLISH command was first introduced in progeCAD with a free update for progeCAD 2013 users several years ago. Since its appearance several years ago, progeCAD's publish command has expanded to embrace full batch-printing functionality, including the in-dialog ability to add and remove drawing files to the batch, as well as selecting specific layouts and workspaces from those files. progeCAD's PUBLISH command is essentially similar to the one offered in AutoCAD (which effectively replaced AutoCAD's older batch plot utility a few years ago). To begin batch plotting jobs in progeCAD, there are several ways to start the PUBLISH command:

..From the "progeCAD Button" (similar to the "Office Button")..

 

..From the "Output" Ribbon Menu...

 

..By starting to type "publish" in the progeCAD Command Bar..

 

Once started, the PUBLISH dialog will display, allowing you many options for plotting multiple documents and workspaces as a single job:

 

As one can see, there are quite a few options here to work with. The basic idea is to create a list of drawing files - either from the currently opened files in progeCAD or using the "Add Drawing" button (triangle button with the plus, above). Individual workspaces (Layouts, model spaces..) can then be added or removed from the job list using the toggle boxes next to their name in the list. For example, to only print the layout (paperspace) drawings from files above, uncheck everything in the list with name ending in "- Model". You can also re-order the way drawings are printed in the publish job by individually selecting them and using the "Move ..up" and "Move .. down" buttons.

 

Clicking the "Options" button (top right) allows us to customize the job further:

 

 

 

For batch printing to a PDF or DWF file, the "Default Output Location" folder would be significant. You can also specify a single paper size or allow the job to use various paper sizes as specified by each individual layout. Headers, footers, even DWF security password can be specified in this options box if the user so wishes it. For more detail on the various options available in the PUBLISH command, we can first suggest the progeCAD 2017 "F1" included Help topics, such as "Customizing options when publishing to a file". Users are also free to post specific questions about using this or any other progeCAD command on the CADDIT user forum.

 



 For more information about how progeCAD's powerful CAD functionality save's companies thousands in CAD software costs, or for a free progeCAD trial, visit the CADDIT website.

Download Free Alternatives to Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and Visio

Although not really CAD software programs, it is worth mentioning that there are several FREE graphic software programs which will allow you to edit photos and diagrams without the purchase of Microsoft Visio or Adobe Photoshop.

There are basically two types of 2D images: raster and vector. Raster images are "bitmap" pictures like JPEG and PNG without math definitions. Vector graphics are more mathematical depictions of geometry and formulas such as lines, arcs and conic splines. Some applications actually combine both of these two data sets in their native file format. My favorite application for raster image editing is free. It is GIMP.

Gimp is a large suite of free raster image editing tools (similar to Photoshop) which can edit, convert and enhance most popular raster image formats. Its functions include smooth image scaling and mode conversion, as well as path editing, selection tools, macros and the list just goes on and on. There are many books about GIMP. It runs on Linux and MAC OS X, as well.

Another handy tool to download for free image editing like Photoshop is Paint.NET. It downloads smaller than GIMP and doesn't depend on GTK but uses Microsoft .NET 2.0, so it only runs in Windows. It doesn't support near as many formats and tools as GIMP. Lighter weight and easy to use, however, some still prefer Paint.NET over GIMP so it's worth mentioning here.

A useful tool for free vector graphics and diagraming similar to Visio is Inkscape. Some confuse Visio and Inkscape to be CAD programs. It's an easy mistake to make. What they really are is vector graphics tools, mainly for diagram creation. But Inkscape can also edit combined raster and vector files such as Acrobat PDF (let's see Visio do that). It favors open standards like SVG but can also read DXF. If you don't have Inkscape yet and are reading this Blog, you should go download it. Simple as that.

Another new project similar to Adobe Illustrator is Creative Docs .NET. At this time, the project lacks data exchange with other software, but it is still worth having in a pinch and it's free.