DoubleCAD XT, free commercial use 2D detailing app.
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Hi William, firstly I just want to say....
I am so stoked that there is finally a real free alternative to the "Autocrash" monopoly. I use autocad at work and have, until now, not found a viable alternative to use at home. I do however have 1 issue that I have come across.
A 6mb floor plan (.dwg) that I opened on DoubleCAD runs a fair bit slower on my machine at home compared to my machine at work. The specs are virtually identical btw. The problem is that panning and zooming is very "choppy" and not smooth as it is on ACAD. Is there any way that I can rectify this? Is it a opengl issue or/and is there and opengl display setting to tweak etc?FYI the machine specs are basically as follows:
Intel Dual Core 3ghz
2GB Ram
Nvidia Geforce 7600 256mb ram
WinXP 32bitThanks for any help you can offer.
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Dazza, glad you're stoked! It's nice to get the positive feedback after almost a year in the labs...
Your problem is a bit of a mystery to me. If both machines are similar specs, my guesses would be that one has had different updates, a different configuration, or is competing with a different set of open applications. You might want to check for a video driver update.
I'll ask some of the guys at work that know the app better than me... Mauritz, our CTO sometimes visits SCF, he might have a good suggestion.
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Thanks, I really appreciate it.
I have been using DCAD all evening (Sat evening and working -
) and the only problem I have come across so far is the frustration of panning as mentioned.
I have checked and my drivers are all up to date and I've only had DCAD open. I also want to clarify, both machines have the mentioned problems panning when I run DCAD!?!OH, a quick question, is it possible to import ACAD plotstyle .ctb files directly into DCAD? I know I could always set up my own styles from scratch again but was just hoping that there would be an import to bypass that.
I'll just add that the more I "play" around with DCAD the more cool little features I'm coming across that really rock.
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Dazza, that isn't a good a Saturday night at all! But I can relate. Regarding the panning I'm still waiting to hear from colleagues. Regarding plot styles, I think we're somewhat weak there, but here I have to confess my ignorance. I'm not the expert on this product that my colleagues are. I'll pass ono your question, or try forums.doublecad.com.
@ Malaise and PeterCharles, I apologize for delays. I thought I'd sent you codes but hadn't seen the message in my sent box. I saw you're up and running Peter, so Malaise, if you still didn't get anything email me at wmanning @ imsidesign.com
-- William
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William,
Thank you for the software. I appreciate a genuine approach to an user since an installation started. It is quite unusual that program informs that will create temp files or that allows users to specify different folders locations. It can look complicated for a simple user, but this 'transparency' it was a good sign for me.
The interface looks clean and I have loaded a big SU model, to see if it will kill the DoubleCad XT Free. It didn't!
I am also happy that you are really interested what our feedback is. I think this kind of approach is what we enjoyed when '@Last' was owning the SketchUp.
Keep up good work! Will do some more tests - have to find really heavy model
Tomasz
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William, thank you for this, I think. I signed up for the download 45 minutes or so ago. Hopefully the expected e-mail will come soon.
Regards,
Dave
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Dave if you can't find the email in your spam filter than it's been intercepted somewhere along the way... The email is automated, so should be sent in "nanoseconds" -- then again it is a Windows server... Let me know if you can't find it and I'll try to get it pushed to you again (or you could try again with a different email).
-- William
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Thanks. That's where it went. Downloading now.
Cheers,
Dave
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@unknownuser said:
Thanks, I really appreciate it.
I have been using DCAD all evening (Sat evening and working - ) and the only problem I have come across so far is the frustration of panning as mentioned.
I have checked and my drivers are all up to date and I've only had DCAD open. I also want to clarify, both machines have the mentioned problems panning when I run DCAD!?!OH, a quick question, is it possible to import ACAD plotstyle .ctb files directly into DCAD? I know I could always set up my own styles from scratch again but was just hoping that there would be an import to bypass that.
I'll just add that the more I "play" around with DCAD the more cool little features I'm coming across that really rock.
Hi Dazza
We are addressing the panning issue to improve the general performance. We have seen similar issues on other similarly equipped machines where the one works fine, the other is slower.
Thanks for bringing it to our attention.As far as .ctb support - this is not one of our strengths, we do support importing of stb styles.
BTW, check out our South African representative's web site http://www.doublecad.co.za
Mauritz
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Hey Mauritz, good to see you around again!
Thanks for looking into the problems and for giving me the heads up for the SA based site.
Please keep us informed about any improvements you guys come up with re the panning and .ctb as well as other major issues which arise.
Cheers for now -
Hi Wmanning
I don't know if you received my post, but thank you, all work fine now
MALAISE
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That would be right; I leave this place for a few weeks and you give me this!!!!! I need to keep an eye on this Freeware forum.....
I have struggled with another full BIM program for nearly 3 years and it seems all it takes is for DoubleCAD XT to come along to satisfy my workflow....Having a play now. If all is good, I will look seriously at the PRO version....
Thanks in advance, William
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Someone can say if the export dxf from DoubleCadXT after an import of an Skp file stay a 3D file?
And what is the best DXF format? -
Hi Frenchy,
The DXF does stay a 3D file. The best version to save may have a lot to do with how well the other application opens the DXF. So depending on where you want to open the file later either the DXF 2009 or DXF 2000 may be better. A lot of users have been using DXF 2000 to take the file into Blender for example, and many use Blender to export to other formats like .3ds, .obj, etc.
With our Pro version there are many, many other formats supported, but if you use it only to translate, then the DoubleCAD XT - DXF 2000 - Blender is a good free route to take.
-- William
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Many thx, for Blender that will be perfect!
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I used Doublecad all day at work today, worked perfectly, the only thing I couldn't work out is how to scale a hatch. BUT when I came to save as a dwg, DoubleCAD just hung and I lost about half a days work. Really annoying but I can't say that AutoCAD never crashed. I will persevere with DoubleCAD, the interface is lovely.
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This all sounds good....but in the comparison chart the price for a seat of AutoCad LT is listed as $1200.00...while the price of DoubleCAD XT is listed at 695.00. You can purchase a seat of AutoCad lt 2009 for $559.00...check amazon.com. Bashing AutoDesk and Microsoft have become popular...They produce tools...if you don't like them.....don't buy them....use the one that produces the results you require...
I'm just saying that if you are comparing prices.....how bout a little honesty. If DoubleCad XT catches on....I am sure there prices will rise too (just like AutoDesk)all that being said....I have been using AutoCad since version 10...and intend on looking at DoubleCad too. Finding new tools is always interesting.
Buy the tool that suits you and allows you to be as creative as you wish to be.
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@linea said:
I used Doublecad all day at work today, worked perfectly, the only thing I couldn't work out is how to scale a hatch. BUT when I came to save as a dwg, DoubleCAD just hung and I lost about half a days work. Really annoying but I can't say that AutoCAD never crashed. I will persevere with DoubleCAD, the interface is lovely.
Select the Hatch ,select propertys and adjust the scale.
Bep
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Cadward, doublecad xt is free, the pro version does cost, though, and is probably the one your thinking of.
From the sounds of it the free version is pretty capable, so quite comparable with acad.
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@linea said:
...BUT when I came to save as a dwg, DoubleCAD just hung and I lost about half a days work...
Linea, this is terrible. There's a good chance that you didn't lose the work though. There are two elements. By default the system does a backup every 10 minutes, and separately, when the system has a crash in instances where we can there is also a separate autosave.
To find where your backups are located, open DoubleCAD and in the menu select Options - File Locations. Click on Backups and click on the Modify button to see the full path to the directory. Do the same for AutoSave Files. Then either use the File - Open to look for the files there, or use Windows Explorer to find any backup files. You may also want to check the folder of your primary drawing files and look for the file with *.bak extension.
You can use the Options - General to set the frequency of backups as well. The default is every 10 minutes (done in background so you may not have noticed).
-- William
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