ILEXSOFT High Design Users?

[BaughbLabs]

Has anyone made the jump to ILEXSOFT High Design?
If so, how are you handling importing your PCAD files?
Happy with the package?
Serious downsides?

Thanks

[dnathanc]

I completed a trial period earlier this year. It struck me as kind of an AutoCad / PowerCadd hybrid, though your first impression would definitely be more AC. Here's my overall take:

PROS
Interface - clean and minimal, very nicely designed and not overwhelming, easy to navigate from first glance
Structure - the sheet system is brilliant, BIM-like, and eliminates folder structures and file / x-ref management
Imported DWGs well (actually shockingly well)
Responsive Tech Support
Cost - very cheap
Drawing elements look nice on screen (way better than AC)
Can make nice drawings (most important)

CONS
Drafting speed / intuitiveness - but compared to PC, nothing really compares
Buggy - this was the dealkiller, too many things didn't work as intended, and there was some really odd behavior with frequently used tools
Selection Tools - I found it very frustrating to simply select / deselect elements
Zooming - was kind of all over the place
Limited User Group - mostly international I believe, and I don't know anyone else that uses it

Never tried importing a PC9 file but I assume you would just translate to DWG first. There's a lot of promise with it but I ultimately decided to go in a different direction. I'm still considering HD for future use and will be watching for updates (but secretly hoping PC moves forward again).

[EduardoJB]

I tried it during the trial period. It was more intuitive than other programs I also downloaded but lacks tools that I find useful and that other programs do have, such as joining two polygons into one shape or substracting (I don't really know how to call the tools - names vary). However, it shows a lot of promise IMO, and it doesn't cost a lot.

I also tried CorelCAD, but that was disappointing. It has more tools and it's more advanced, but it's not very intuitive and some very basic functions (like moving objects) are quirky, and slow (I couldn't get right the instructions given most of the time - it took several times to get them right and when I did, it seemed to have happened by sheer luck) - maybe for someone who has dealt with similar operating procedures of other programs would adapt sooner. I even bought a book to help me, but by the third page, I was already frustrated.

For someone who comes from PC, adapting to other programs could be an exercise in patience. But... all the younger generations didn't even start drawing by hand, and this is the reason PC users could adapt to it years ago (and most of us are "old").

[S. Shubin]

My main problem with HighDesign was getting tiled patterns to show properly when inside a viewport that’s in a layout.

[Andrea_S]

Hi, ILEXSOFT developer here. Thanks for your interest in HighDesign and for your feedback!

We're currently finishing the new update, which includes a number of stability improvements and enhanced graphics features. This update will include the fix for tiled patterns in viewports.

I think it might interest you to know that we have also progressed well with the importer of PowerCADD .plist files. HighDesign is now able to import PC9 drawings converted to the .plist format. We've successfully imported the sample files included in the "PowerCADDXML" package, preserving layers, dashes, colors, attributes, etc. It is still a work in progress, but we're confident it will be ready when the translator app for PowerCADD is available.

[Alfred Scott]

Andrea,

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.

Alfred

Alfred Scott
804 353-1713
iPhone 804 690-4591
[email protected]
5407 Patterson Avenue, Suite 202B
Richmond
VA 23226

[S. Shubin]

Andrea,

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

I know with myself, when I was using PowerCADD, if there was a native PC tool and a Wildtools tool that was similar, that there was a good chance that I would end up using the Wildtools tool, as I liked how those tools worked

And I wouldn’t want to take anything away from PowerCADD itself because it was the core of this great combination of tools. But at the same time, Wildtools was no small part of this great combo

So it would make a real lot of sense for you to contact Alfred and talk with him because he was a major reason for the success of PowerCADD

But aside from Alfred helping you with the translation of PowerCADD files, I think this needs to be said also, and that is, that most or all PowerCADD users would love to see Wildtools incorporated into HighDesign as a plug-in, if there was any way possible to do so. It wouldn’t hurt if you and Alfred took a little time to talk about a possible Wildtools plug-in for HD.

And besides, Alfred has long had a connection to Italy, in that he once owned & ran an aircraft company that made kit planes based on a plane designed by Italian engineer Stelio Frati. So there’s already some kind of a connection. I’m not sure, but Alfred’s company still may be selling PLANS for this plane

http://seqair.com/FalcoBuilderLtrs/BldrLtr0303.pdf

[S. Shubin]

Below is a link showing the huge tool set of Wildtools.

And one of the great things about all these tools was that they were so user friendly and easy to use

Just tap on any word at the URL below

http://seqair.com/WildTools/WildTools.html

And just for fun, here’s another link about Alfred’s airplane company

http://seqair.com/

[S. Shubin]

You can also tap on any of the tool icons at the below URL, and that will take you to a page describing that tool

http://seqair.com/WildTools/ToolPalette ... Guide.html

[fred johnson]

It seems to me than incorporating Wild Tools into High Design would be very difficult, if not impossible without the input and sprit of Alfred. This is not a knock against the High design development team.