SketchUp > DoubleCAD Workflow for Con Doc Output
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Ken, what did you think of the Su2DC, and DC2Su xref features. For me this is what makes the software outstanding.
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Geee, Ken, looks like you have gone through a rough time. As Honolulu says it the Xref that I think makes DCPro worth checking out.
Mike
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Mike you are right to say that DC is not an Autocad clone, there are differences, some are a little peculiar but many better. At the risk of sounding like a Doublecad blinkered fanboy, I have had no problems with Doublecad, it runs fine on my average spec laptop. I have drawn some enormous siteplans in it and brought in fairly large SU models. After using Autocad for a decade, DC seems just as stable. I agree with Ken that DC's text editing (and the snapping) is a law unto itself, but for free I can live with that.
In comparison to the other cad programs I have used / tried to use in conjunction with SU, I think DC is closer than anybody else has got to a seamless SU to working drawings workflow.
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Hi guys, thanks for the heads up of DC. I have been interested in how it fairs with SU but never really gotten around to spending the time to play..... Thanks for the link to the webinar, Mike, I will have a look in the morning.
Watching with keen interest.
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@linea said:
Mike you are right to say that DC is not an Autocad clone, there are differences, some are a little peculiar but many better. At the risk of sounding like a Doublecad blinkered fanboy, I have had no problems with Doublecad, it runs fine on my average spec laptop. I have drawn some enormous siteplans in it and brought in fairly large SU models. After using Autocad for a decade, DC seems just as stable. I agree with Ken that DC's text editing (and the snapping) is a law unto itself, but for free I can live with that.
In comparison to the other cad programs I have used / tried to use in conjunction with SU, I think DC is closer than anybody else has got to a seamless SU to working drawings workflow.
Jon, do you find the text editing and snapping buggy or is it a matter for you of getting used to it, in other words is it consistant? BTW, I do agree with Ken, just because something is free it doesn't nessessarily mean its worth taking into one's arsenal but DC would appear to be the first genuine attempt at SU 3D to 2D (Con Doc) output that I've seen so far.
I am in contact with William Manning, the guy that did the webinar. We will be doing a Questions and Answer session on DoubleCAD's development shortly. William advises that Mauritz Botha, their Chief Technical Officer will be handling the Q&A. Mauritz is a member here and goes under 'mbotha', maybe we could steer him to this thread to clarify the issue with the text editing and snapping. I will send out an SOS
Mike
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Mike- thanks for alerting us to this. DC is on my watch list too. I downloaded the free version when it came out and have used it a bit an found it enough like Acad to keep the learning curve down but haven't been serious about making the switch - (too many co-workers and consultants to deal with).
I have been following the news from DC and saw this interoperation with GSU mentioned but this video shows some real promise and power coming.
The x-ref reload is very powerful. Not sure if it can work the otherway - say a detailed Walden Pond cabin created in DC can be as simply transfered as a Sketchup model. Maybe in the DC Pro version?
I will keep a look out for additional videos. Thanks again for the heads-up.
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Jim, yes I can see where you are coming from with regard ACad 'Die Hard' consultants. As regards the reverse process, I don't know as yet but will check it out. Hopefully we will have Mauritz here shortly to answer these questions.
Mike
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Mike said
@unknownuser said:
Jon, do you find the text editing and snapping buggy or is it a matter for you of getting used to it, in other words is it consistant? BTW, I do agree with Ken, just because something is free .. but DC would appear to be the first genuine attempt at SU 3D to 2D...
Mike I don't think the snapping and text editing is buggy, it just has some idiosyncracies that I found a slightly unusual way of working. I suppose if I hadn't ever used another cad program, these things wouldn't seem idiosyncratic and I'd just accept that that is the way. Ultimately though these functions in DC do work so there is no problem.
@unknownuser said:
I am in contact with William Manning, the guy that did the webinar. We will be doing a Questions and Answer session on DoubleCAD's development shortly
William, on his own, is head and shoulders above Autodesk's technical support. He has personally emailed me several times because he has read queries I have had about DC on this forum, all of which he could answer. Certainly beats Autodesk's technical support where the stock answer used to be "Yeah, Autocad doesn't do that...."
Jim said,
@unknownuser said:
... found it enough like Acad to keep the learning curve down but .. (too many co-workers and consultants to deal with).
Jim, really try it. I have done a couple of large projects in DC now including multi-layered, multi-xref monster files and I've found no conflict sharing files with colleagues using Autocad.
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Linea,
Thanks for the insight on full function and file sharing. This is definitely an application I will be transitioning to.
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Sorry I didn't join in on this over the weekend, but my internet went down (made for a great weekend actually).
@ Ken: sorry for whatever happened with the support issue. If you need support and have trouble like that again just PM me here or post on http://forums.doublecad.com and I'll make sure you're taken care of. Sounds like you're happy with TC16. Your DC problems are odd though -- I haven't encountered them.
@ Linea: thanks for the compliments and support.
@Jim: regarding Xrefs, it is only one-way. You can't Xref the DoubleCAD file into SketchUp. But it is 2D CAD designed for documentation, so typically you wouldn't want to do that unless you wanted an elevation or something that you could bring into Layout for a presentation.
Also, creating an Xref is only in the PRO product. If you have an Xref in the drawing you can open it and update it in the free version, but can't create new Xrefs there.
I'm not sure that the Xrefs are the most powerful aspect at this time. We're adding a lot of functionality to them to make Xrefs more robust. I believe the "drafting palette" functionality that we've done in the PRO version is perhaps the best time saver. It is a feature normally found in MCAD products for sectioning and documenting mechanical parts, but we've taken the concept and extended it to surface models like .SKP for architectural elevations, floorplans, sections, and more.
Thanks for the thread here, and thanks for the interest. We really want to move rapidly in development, and are listening carefully to what people say, so thanks too for comments and feedback.
-- William
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