PowerCadd 10

[rjmuller]

Me too, 2017 iMac PRO (Xeon-10 Cores) but with Sequoia. I use Parallels to run Windows 10 for ArcGIS Pro and only occasionally PowerCADD in a Mojave VM and it does fine. I want to move to a M4 Mac Mini Pro next summer but the oldest version Parallels on Apple Silicon supports is macOS 12 Monterey so I would lose access to PowerCADD. Maybe PC 10 will come along...

[arogerr]

WOW! I'm amazed how many hoops PC9 users are jumping through to keep their machines and application running, like installing Parallels!

arogerr,

I guess it remains to be seen how long you feel you need to lug that second laptop around before PC10 and the yet to be developed WildTools meet all your drawing needs. Those who don't use WildTools will be up and running in no time when PC10 is released.

There are some however who feel they must have various aspects of WildTools and that differs from user to user, discipline to discipline, etc. You might be lucky and benefit from new tools in PC10 that are delivered quickly but others may struggle if things don't arrive in the short term. I guess that's why people who want a one Mac solution and have a need for WildTools are hedging their bets for now and going the virtual machine path. Others are quite happy to have dual Mac options that meet their own needs, real or perceived.

Myself, I retried a few years back and my dependence on PowerCadd and WildTools has diminished a lot.I still love the software, the passionate community (although they are strained by the time factor) and being involved. I try not to compare how I do (or did) things with other users when they have problems or questions they post here. This forum and its previous incarnations show there are a lot of others who feel the same and chip in to help others. That is a pretty good place to be.

Derek.

I am amazed by the continued dedication of the PowerCadd community, which I don't feel seems to be appreciated by the owners of the software. I don't like being so negative, but under the circumstances, how can one not be? It is unfortunately exhausting! I know one friend (he introduced me to PowerCadd) who has given up and retired from drafting.

[e30]

Me too, 2017 iMac PRO (Xeon-10 Cores) but with Sequoia. I use Parallels to run Windows 10 for ArcGIS Pro and only occasionally PowerCADD in a Mojave VM and it does fine. I want to move to a M4 Mac Mini Pro next summer but the oldest version Parallels on Apple Silicon supports is macOS 12 Monterey so I would lose access to PowerCADD. Maybe PC 10 will come along...

Yup, Parallels on Apple Silicon cannot emulate an Intel processor.

[Travis]

Right this minute I am looking over at my other imac which I am waiting for the upgrade to BigSur. As soon as it finishes I am installing Autocadd light. Auotcadd Light is only $500 a year. Over the next couple months I will transition over to Autocadd. Makes no sense to keep waiting. I can't even do a search on my own business emails because my iOS is so out of date. If the owners of Powercadd don't wish to communicate with us, and when they do, berate us for complaining it's an obvious sign to move on. I don't want to, but if you're running Mojave like me, you are six years behind in current iOS technology.

[chip.clark]

Our architecture office of 5 people made the jump to AutoCAD LT Mac in late November. We couldn't keep waiting for all the logistical reasons already noted by others (hello, it's 2025...) as well as the challenge of trying to hire new employees with existing CAD skills (usually Autocad or Revit) and not have them spooked to be learning a CAD tool that they have never heard of. I just set up 2 more workstations with beefed up m4 Mac minis today using dual 2K Dell USB-C displays, in addition to a m2 Mac studio with same displays and my m2max MBP. We can finally use all of our other software tools again! The old iMacs will linger with PC9 as we close out existing projects, and then they will get e-cycled with one machine hanging around to open legacy files.

If it ever comes, we will surely buy a license of PC10, but the move has happened and there is no going back for us. As for PowerCadd, I will always have a fondness for its speed, simplicity, and emphasis on graphic representation.

Best wishes to the rest of you!

[patrickm]

I’ve been limping along, using a 2023 MacBook Pro (with Sequoia) for most of my work, a 2011 17” PowerBook Pro (with High Sierra) for PC9, and using Synergy to share the mouse/keyboard between them. I keep all my files on the MBP, and only use the PBP for PC. I just came to the decision that I am going to stop taking on new jobs and retire when the current work load dwindles in month or two. I’ve worked my entire career using the same HP41CV calculator that I got as a college graduation gift in 1983, and I’ve worked my entire CADD career on PowerDraw, then PowerCADD, starting in 1991 or so. (Prior to that, I was hand-drafting.) I look forward to letting go of the constant wish/anxiety regarding the release of PC10. If PC10 does get released and they offer a lifetime license, I might upgrade. In the meantime, I’ll limp into the finish line and keep the PBP so that I have access to PC9.

[ingseve]

the numerous beta versions are very similar but not yet usable for work; after 2 years of waiting, will it still be possible to see the final purchasable version as soon as possible?

[btouchstone01]

I spent the Christmas break watching the Vectorworks tutorials in order to replace PowerCADD and FormZ. I am afraid that the development of FormZ is following a similar trajectory as PowerCADD and I cannot fall completely behind the development/ compatibility curve. At this point we need some real commitments from AutoDesSys in order to stick with them.

[Charles Freeborn]

I used MiniCadd - the predecessor to Vector Works many years ago. It was a capable program back then and I'm sure it's evolved into a solid choice for both 2 and 3d drawing. I haven't used it in years so can't give any specifics. I also used AutoCad in the 90's when I worked at an architect firm. Tedious but highly accurate.
I use Form•Z for 3-d and I share the opinion that's on life support too. The lates upgrade seems to really be about OS compatibility and not much more. It's really a shame that PC and FZ couldn't have a happy marriage. Combined they'd be a powerhouse. But alas, too much time has gone by, too many users abandoned ship and the necessary momentum for success has probably left the building. The only thing that will save either or both is an infusion of cash that is willing to suck up the loss until it gets its feet under it, former users return and new users get on board. But that ship is sailing away fast.
I'm close enough to retirement that I'll preserve one lone iMac for design and drafting purposes and move on to another machine for all the other tasks. BTW, the Late 2009 / 27" is a nice machine to draw on. There are plenty of them out there either whole or in parts on the used market so one should be able to keep it alive for some time to come. If I were starting out, 20 or 30 years younger or in a large (5 or more.. thats large compared to me) office, I'd look elsewhere for my design and drafting needs.
As for continued beta and development, anything short of the entire toolbox, including Wild Tools will be a waste of time. Ya can't go backwards...
As for file management, I'd suggest storing files on dropbox or other easily networked servers, and get in the habit of multi-saving- exporting finished works into .DWG .SWF or other multi-platform formats for use on future software. You might also want to go back through your archives and re-save anything important for the same reason. For a larger office environment I'd suggest keeping at least one Mac capable of running PC that is dedicated to maintaining and exporting archive files.

[Matt_A]

Rec'd from David Jones:

Hi All,

I started with PC about 1991. I still work because of a shortage of engineers. I’m Civil and Structural. I mainly am working on a large railway project extending from Melbourne (Derek’s hometown) inland up the east coast with connections to Sydney, Brisbane and up to Gladstone in central Queensland (2,000km from Melbourne) to facilitate transporting containers to and from a major deep sea port at Gladstone. There are a lot of existing railways mostly 4’ 8.5” standard gauge although Queensland is 3’ 6”, and Victoria (where Melbourne is located) used to be 5’ 3” (which was a common gauge for city trams worldwide). There are now railway connections from Brisbane to Sydney to Melbourne to Adelaide to Perth which are now 4’ 8.5” standard gauge and also from Adelaide to Darwin. Everything in Queensland will be dual gauge (See photos attached). There will be a lot of new railway and rebuilt railway so that the grades will all be 1 in 100 with 1,000 metre minimum horizontal radius curves. I’m mainly connected with planning of a high standard gauge railway connecting the three large metropolitan cities on the east coast from the western side of the Great Dividing Range which runs along Australia’s east coast from Melbourne up to Cairns (Great Barrier Reef) in North Queensland to the port at Gladstone. I have prepared strip maps which can be folded concertina style so they fit into a standard briefcase but all at 1:100,000 scale. They were all high quality strips. Alfred was very helpful to me to make them as small as possible using his knowledge of tricks to make Photoshop files as small as possible, maintaining as high a resolution as possible. The maps are plotted onto orthophotomap strips using PowerCADD and WildTools. I owe Alfred a debt of gratitude. In PC9, they are all smaller than 305MB. I have been able to open them in PC10 and they are double the size but stable. I’ve got these special sizes 353mm wide by up to 4.89 metres long and I have been able to print them out of PC10 to my Canon iPF8400SE printer which can print on paper from 17” to 44” wide rolls up to 50 metres long. I have concertina marks at 270mm centres along the edges to facilitate folding.

I sent the following to Alfred, Derek, Matt Arnold and Eric Mar on 5Dec2024 and I thought it might be of interest to you al.

"I remind you all that I have a 2019 Intel iMac which runs Sequoia 15.2.1 off an external 8TB OWC SSD which gives me access to all current software especially Microsoft and Adobe who are renowned for only supporting backwards for 4 operating systems. Mojave is 7 OSs ago. I have Parallels desktop installed as well with Mojave in it. I have PC9/WT10 installed in Parallels. It runs well and quite fast. I also have PC10 beta installed. Parallels is only able to run Mojave in Intel Macs, so you can’t update to Apple Silicon Macs and hope to run Mojave in Parallels. I have all my railway map drawings installed both in PC9 and in PC10 also. The drawings are in strips 353mm wide and up to 4.89 metres long, folded concertina style so that they fit compactly into a briefcase. I can print them to my Canon IPF8400SE wide format printer which can print on up to 44” wide rolls 50 metres long. After a bit of messing about I have been able to print the drawings from either PC9 or PC10. I use WT in PC9 to prepare the drawings and then I open them in PC10 which saves a .PC10 version as well as the original .PC9 version. I can create the special drawing sizes in PC10 as well. I also have a 4TB external OWC SSD with Mojave installed so I can print direct from Mojave if I wish. It will be great when WT is imported into 64 bit.
On the matter of the PC10 interface, because the tools in the RHS pane can be torn off and dragged to a desired location on the desktop, for all intents and purposes it is relatively the same as PC9, so I don’t see PC10 being all that different. I am not sure why there are still are quite a few tools still not working, but hopefully that will be addressed soon.”

My Canon IPF 8400SE plotter does not have printer driver support beyond MacOS 14, so I need to work in MacOS 13 or 14 for my printer driver to work.

Regards,

David Jones
Civil & Structural Engineer