AutoCAD WS

AutoCAD WS is a FREE online CAD editing tool from Autodesk - and it's received an exciting set of updates. There are limitations though, but that is to be expected from a free web based app. This really shows the power of web 2.0. You can modify and amend your drawings almost anywhere, which is a new and novel idea in the CAD industry. The main feature lacking is full support for 3D across all the various AutoCAD WS platforms. For more casual users Google SketchUp's free version is the way to go, it's support for 3D drawing and quick textures is ideal for home use.



Autodesk are market leaders in Computer Aided Design (CAD) Software and their flagship product, AutoCAD, is probably the standard for engineering, architecture and manufacturing. AutoCAD typically runs on a specific computer and any work that needed doing to a specific drawing would have to take place on that computer. For those that aren't aware of AutoCAD you could draw parallels from Adobe's Photoshop suite:

• AutoCAD / Photoshop / Expensive specialised product.
• AutoCAD LT / Photoshop Elements / Stripped down product with just what you need and lower cost.
• AutoCAD WS / Photoshop Express / Even further stripped down product based online

So AutoCAD WS is a web based product that allows you to view and edit your drawing files online and on the go. Just like Adobe's Photoshop Express iPhone app there is an AutoCAD WS smart phone / tablet app for iPhone, iPad  and Android devices. The latest features include the ability to manipulate layers within a drawing. You can also enter lines at a specific length which was a particularly big downfall of the original 2010 release of AutoCAD WS. Another new feature of AutoCAD WS is that you can connect it to your existing online storage solutions such as box.net. Here's a short video showing off these new features:



There is also now a Mac App which works with the online service and also provides support for offline editing. The AutoCAD WS Mac App can be downloaded for free from here.



AutoCAD WS is also fully integrated into the latest version of AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2012.

Google SketchUp 7 is here

Google SketchUp 7 has arrived, 3D modelling and CAD for the masses is now even easier and it's full of new features!

If you want to do CAD, in 3D and for free, Google SketchUp 7 is ideal for you. It now features dynamic components (much like dynamic blocks in AutoCAD 2006 onwards) that let you interact and change blocks without having to copy and edit them. It has lots of new tools to make your drawing easier to set up. When you open a new file it asks if you can to work in feet/inches or millimeters and if you want to produce it to insert into Google Earth. It makes it much easier to insert in Google Earth compared to previous versions. I think that the integration with Google Earth is really cool as you can insert your 3D model into Google Earth locally (or if you are really accurate and proud of your work you can add it to the 3D Warehouse on Google's site and it will pop up on everyones Google Earth!).

This is a design tool ideal for visualising everything from new office blocks and business parks to house extensions. The texture and painting facilities are really good as well.

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