PowerCADD Forum

I’m happy to help any software company to develop their software to incorporate any and all features of WildTools by providing the source code of WildTools which they can then use in their own programming. I’ve already done this with FormZ so it’s simple to pass along to High Design. I’ve got a conversation going now with GRAPHISOFT.

I really can’t learn to program in another environment or program.

Right now I’m working on exporting a PowerCADD drawing as SVG and then Matt Arnold has some improvements to show window muntins in the Doors & Windows palette.

Alfred

Thanks Alfred!

I'd be very interested in more details on the Graphisoft discussion, if / when you can share them. I'm almost ready to shift entirely to Archicad but just can't pull the trigger due to limited 2D drafting capabilities. If they intend to implement a more substantial offering in the future it would ease my mind about the decision quite a lot.

Alfred Scott wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 09, 2021 7:28 pm

I am the developer of WildTools, and I'd be happy to help you any way I can. The XML format is a great addition to PowerCADD and I'm sure it's just the thing you need to do a translation. However, there are always subtle things about how things work in PowerCADD that might not be obvious from the xml interface.

It would be helpful for me to have your direct contact information, like mine below.

Hello Alfred! Thank you, your insight would be much appreciated, there are indeed some sections in the XML that are not extremely clear.
I'm sending you my contact info via pm.

S. Shubin wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 09, 2021 8:35 pm

In case you don’t know — WildTools is a major plug-in for PowerCADD. It is a HUGE part of the PowerCADD community...

Thanks for all the info & links!

There are definitely many tools that would complement HighDesign very well. We'll see what can be done in the future.

Andrea:

I'm sure I speak for a lot of people here: Thank you

For me, the ability to import my PCAD files into High Design and have all the formatting intact is HUGE!
FYI, Alfred is a good egg and a great resource.

Looking forward to seeing the progress on this.

Well, this is great news… I did like High Design when I tried it and would make the jump if the future is viable for an architect who’s getting too old to try to learn things that shouldn’t be so complicated. Wild Tools would complement HD very well and make the transition very tempting.

Andrea, please keep us posted. HD will get quite a bit of new users if things progress.

POWERCADD user of over 25 years in Architecture. I will miss it.

I am looking for my next move.

I demoed "HIGH DESIGN"
My comments are:
The interface is great, it has the right core tools, and the price is great.

Cons: Do not like the paperspace thing - I have wooked in Autocad and never liked that concept..
There is a learning curve to learn it (High Design) and there seams to be little learning support or really good explanatory guides.

What about "MACDRAFT PRO"? Has anyone tried it? It is very powercadd like. My demo is going well so far and is easy to learn
Thoughts?

PEP the Architect

pep wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 15, 2021 11:31 pm

I demoed "HIGH DESIGN"
My comments are:
The interface is great, it has the right core tools, and the price is great.

Cons: Do not like the paperspace thing - I have wooked in Autocad and never liked that concept..
There is a learning curve to learn it (High Design) and there seams to be little learning support or really good explanatory guides.

Hi Pep, thanks for your comments! Layout sheets and viewports in HighDesign are optional: you can also assemble your drawings using only the drafting sheets and draw directly inside a page frame, like you would do on a drawing board.
We're expanding the documentation in the near future.

I must say that in reviewing the documentation at the web site the package seems comprehensive and possibly a worthy successor to PC. I was very impressed with the implementation of the "paper space/model space" concept which, I feel, compares very well with both AutoCAD and Vectorworks,
while adding some very attractive features. Through the forum many topics are being discussed and there is a robust company presence there and what seems to be a very active community of users. Were I not beyond the the stage of needing another CAD program to use I would give High Design VERY SERIOUS consideration and I intend to follow its development as I have done with PC/WT.

Edited