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.
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