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Moving around a 3D model can be disorienting, and the ViewCube does a good job of letting you know whether you are looking from above, below, or at some oblique angle.Īnother uniquely AutoCAD interface element is the Command Line window. The ViewCube rotates as you click on it, giving you a visual representation of your drawing at various angles. It allows you to rotate your drawing and model, or jump to standard 3D views and orientations with a single click.

One interface element Autodesk brought over from the Windows version is the ViewCube, a very useful graphical navigation element for controlling 3D views. You can change the background color in the preferences and, in fact, much of the interface can be altered to suit your own tastes, including which tools show up in the palettes and where the palettes are located on screen. This differs from most Mac CAD or graphic design applications, which typically have a white background with black and color drawing elements on top. One of the first things you will notice is that the default background in AutoCAD is black or slate-colored with the lines and objects you draw in white (or bright colors). The menus are extensive, and the tool and information palettes are arranged to the left and right of the canvas. When you first launch AutoCAD 2011, you will be presented with the drawing canvas or Modelspace, the window where you will build your drawing or model. But, you are less likely to be disappointed with AutoCAD’s performance if you bought your Mac in the last couple of years. To be fair, you’d want to use a high resolution monitor with a CAD program anyway, given the quantity and level of graphic detail you’re typically working with.

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The program works with only with more recent Mac hardware such as Mac Pro (early 2009), MacBook Pro (mid-2009), and iMac (early 2008). While AutoCAD is a complex and powerful application, the system requirements are higher than much of the competition on the Mac (such as Vectorworks ( ), TurboCAD ( ), and Ashlar-Vellum), starting with a minimum of 3GB of RAM and higher screen resolution (1280 x 800 pixels). It makes the viewing your 3D model from different angles easy and intuitive.

The View Cube is my favorite interface element. The Toolsets button lets you switch between three different tool palette modes: Drafting, Annotation, and Modeling. Cover Flow navigation lets you easily flip through your designs.

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Autodesk has also taken advantage of multi-touch trackpad gestures (and offers similar moves on Apple’s Magic Mouse ( ) For example, two-finger swipes scroll up or down, pinching can zoom in or out, and a shift plus two-finger swipe can rotate around a 3D model. Floating tool palettes also include most of the same tools as the menus, while the interface will look familiar to users of other Mac CAD applications. Instead of offering the ribbon-based interface of the Windows version, Autodesk has has chosen to place more AutoCAD functions in the pulldown menus.

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Rather, Autodesk has programmed this version for the Mac from the ground up with a conscious effort to take advantage of the Mac OS X interface.

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With the new Mac version of AutoCAD for freeform 2D and 3D design and drafting, Mac users no longer need to use Boot Camp or Parallels ( )-or suffer a PC on the same desk with their Mac.ĪutoCAD 2011 for the Mac is not a port from Windows. This is good news for many Mac fans in the architecture, engineering, and design professions who have been unwilling to give up their MacBook Pros and iMacs for the sake of a single application, despite its status as a very important part of their workflow. AutoCAD, the industry-standard Computer Aided Design (CAD) application from Autodesk, is back on the Mac after an 18-year hiatus.