PowerCadd 10

[arogerr]

So basically, am I to understand that this program, in general, is up and running on your Mac?

Yes.

What's so secretive about a Beta test version?
This kind of non-communication from the developers is so annoying...

[RRichards]

I'm in the same boat as everyone else and more and more software is no longer usable on Mojave including more sites where I can no longer use Mojave Safari. I keep hoping for an extended beta test but we have made a decision that January 1 will be our cutout date where we will give up using PowerCADD. This will be probably the saddest moment in using Macs since 1984. It is amazing that I will be coming up on 40 years!

Ralph

[pebblebeach]

David Kropp's last update was on 22 August. That's two months.

I understand these things take a long time, and everyone there is working very hard, so we really appreciate everything that they are doing. They don't need to commit to a release date, but surely a quick message every two weeks would give us some comfort?

Perhaps post a very brief message saying, "All is going well; we are still working through some UI bugs. We will update you in two weeks."

Or, "We are refining some compatibility architecture; more updates to follow."

It's their business, so they can run it however they want, but the odd communication from them wound't take long and would help me enormously.

[joseph]

Very annoying

[PeterKona]

I'm in the same boat as everyone else and more and more software is no longer usable on Mojave including more sites where I can no longer use Mojave Safari. I keep hoping for an extended beta test but we have made a decision that January 1 will be our cutout date where we will give up using PowerCADD. This will be probably the saddest moment in using Macs since 1984. It is amazing that I will be coming up on 40 years!

Ralph

I've had no problems using Firefox.

40 years! I think I am more like 36 years, and my dilemma is basically retire or learn (invest time and money in) a new program.

[PeterKona]

The problem I encounter and which has worsened over the years with PowerCadd is with text boxes and dimensions. I reformatted the computer and installed PowerCadd by downloading the latest version from the ENGSW site, I did not install additional fonts but only the generic software to use the computer and work (nothing special or strange). With a clean, new file, the problem persists. Exactly this is: difficulty editing text in text windows already created with continuous freezes of a few seconds when you go to edit the text. If I use the most complex text tool, the one with the most sophisticated formatting, only today I discovered that things work better, a little better.
Another problem I encounter is about deleting dimensions: if I select them with a click I can't then delete them with backspace: I have to select them by dragging the selection, then I can delete them. Very strange.
I forgot. Today's news is that by selecting the simple text tool and going to write something, the text appears invisible (white on white but also changing the background), even if it remains selectable. Obviously I checked that I had the right text settings but nothing. It doesn't let me see it but only select it and I can't change the attributes even later (or at least I don't see the results)
However I purchased ViaCAD 2D for $70 and it doesn't seem to be bad. Certainly less sophisticated and beautiful (Windows style interface) but I want to get used to it because it has a negligible cost and many things I use (guidelines) are similar. I have to dedicate myself to ViaCAD and abandon PowerCadd because I'm tired of waiting. Via CAD it also imports PC files by translating them into DWG quite well. For $70 I recommend you check it out!
Another interesting software more dedicated to architecture is HighDesign by an Italian developer. Price around 350/500 dollars depending on the version. No annual subscription. Worth taking into consideration!
Unfortunately my hopes for PowerCadd 10 are growing dimmer and I'm tired of waiting and working knowing that if I have a problem I have to fix it myself. You can't do business in these conditions! It's a shame because I've been using it since it was called PowerDraw and I don't even remember how many years it accompanied me...
A warm greeting to all of you who are waiting with hope in your heart!
Giulio from Venice, Italy

You are having some particular problems I have not seen. Is it possible a re-install or cleaning up your system will help? My main problems are: after a while PowerCADD will not paste text -- I just get "v" or the menu item is gray. I just have to restart PowerCADD.Sometimes opening a file PCADD asks to replace a font (no other program does this) and sometimes in a new project the dimension text starts out blank until I reset the font for the tool.I have a very infrequent crash using the WT guideline line offset, but little else. I dug out an old V6 set project for a colleague who happens to use PowerCADD, saved to v.8. Amazing how small the files are and how iron-clad this program has been through multiple OS changes.

[patrickm]

I’m running PowerCadd on a 2010 17” Mac Book Pro, while all my files are on my 2023 16” Mac Book Pro. I have been using Avant Gard as my default font since the old Apple LaserWriter days. For some reason, I frequently have to reset my default text and dimension font back to Avant Gard. I can’t discern the pattern, but I suspect it is something to do with using such an old font, keeping the files on the new computer while using PC on the old computer. I have them networked together via an Ethernet cable, so that I can keyboard/mouse share via Synergy. Not ideal, but I’ll limp along until PC10 comes along.

[ryandrnek]

I'm in the same boat as everyone else and more and more software is no longer usable on Mojave including more sites where I can no longer use Mojave Safari. I keep hoping for an extended beta test but we have made a decision that January 1 will be our cutout date where we will give up using PowerCADD. This will be probably the saddest moment in using Macs since 1984. It is amazing that I will be coming up on 40 years!

Ralph

I agree with you, January 1st will be the cutoff date for me as well. 23 years of PCadd and career worth of drawings will go to the dust bin. The stress of this transition is killing me.

[AudiA4]

I've been a PowerDraw/PowerCADD user for more than 30 years. It's a beautiful drafting tool, and one whose functionality and flexibility really extends well beyond architecture. PowerCADD was an inextricably linked to our firm's production from about 1991 through the early-mid 2000's. Even though the scale of our firm and projects grew to the extent that we moved to BIM around that time, PowerCADD remains as an indispensable early design concept/drafting tool for many in our firm...mainly the older guys, ha!

Even from the early 1990's, our firm acknowledged that the software was created by a small developer and understood and recognized all of the advantages and drawbacks that come from that. So the fact that a new, modern version of PowerCADD is being developed at all is a HUGE gift to this relatively small community, ESPECIALLY the fact that it's being funded by a much larger, well-established entity like AutoDesSys. We have a HUGE archive of PowerCADD work, and the fact that we'll now be able to extend the life of our past work alongside current-day use is a God-send. I literally got teary-eyed when the news broke that a new version was being developed.

Fully acknowledging that the situation is a bit more pressing for those of you who are using this in daily production, I really came here to say this: We should all be grateful that a new, modern, rebuilt from the ground up 64 bit M1/M3 capable version of PowerCADD is being developed at all...whether it's released in 6 weeks or 6 months. Irrespective of whether they send you personal Slack messages every 3 hours, or simply give updates on this forum once every few months, it's being developed. They've provided screen shots. Beta testing is in-progress.

I'm excited about PowerCADD 10 and would encourage those at Engineered Software and AutoDesSys to keep up the good work and to press on. Thanks for the good work. I look forward to running it on my imminent order of the newly announced M3 powered MacBook Pro. Cheers guys.

[Baker]

I must agree with AudiA4.