The IntelliCAD Alternative

A few weeks ago I attended a local AutoCAD Users' Group meeting. Now, aside from the free pizza and soda, which was a very nice bribe from the IntelliCAD folks, I got a chance to see the latest version of IntelliCAD 98 up and running. From the start it was great. Everything I wanted in a CAD package, including a real nice price. It had all the features I thought I wanted, until we started to ask some questions. Admittedly, it is probably the closest program to AutoCAD that there is on the market, not counting ACAD LT. In fact, it probably comes close to tying LT feature for feature. However, where it pulls ahead is with its ability to use LISP, DCL, and ADS programming functions. But it does not support ARX. On this I got a strange answer - they didn't see the need for it. True, neither does LT, but it seemed strange that they would seem to go only part of the way for accepting the various languages that ACAD supports. Yet, they are constantly coming out with updates to increase its functionality.

I actually received that or similar answers on several key issues that I thought needed addressing. First, they can't use associative hatch, or True Type Fonts. In fact, in both cases, while the drawing file itself transports them into and back out of IntelliCAD, they are invisible once inside the program, and remain so until you open the drawing up again in ACAD. If you use hatches they must be exploded. While I can handle not using TT Fonts, I find it very irksome that they wouldn't deal with hatching. Part of the reason I gleaned from the salesman was that they tried and couldn't do it to a good satisfaction and they gave up on it. After all, look how long it took ACAD to get to a decent - mind you, not good - hatch routine for picking areas with a single click. I still have numerous problems with ACAD's hatches, but at least I have them to use.

If it wasn't for these 2 shortcomings, I would recommend you buy this product for all of your management team that you would normally get LT for. In fact I think they did a better job with their version of the Block Explorer than LT did, combining not just blocks, but dimstyles, layers, and many other parts of your drawing into the explorer. They also support MDI - which is the multiple document interface. This is something that ACAD users have wanted for years, and if you look at your drawings in r13 and r14, they even implemented the 3-window buttons for the file up in the right hand corner, but they never finished what they started. Where IntelliCAD beats LT is in 3D. While it can't do ACIS Solids, it can do meshes, and very basic renderings. It can't use bitmaps or anything cool, but it will render an image fairly quickly in a basic style. It also uses command for command the EXACT SAME COMMADS that ACAD uses!!! This means there is a ZERO learning curve on this program if you are used to using hotkeys or the keyboard. You will need to relearn the buttons though if you are used to using them, since the images are different. However, if you have a cool IT person, they can easily save out ACAD's button images and use them instead in IntelliCAD. In fact IntelliCAD will open and use ACAD's very own PGP and MNU files. With a few clicks, IntelliCAD takes on the very feel of ACAD that you are used to. In fact it is much easier to program new buttons in IntelliCAD than it is in ACAD.

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