Update of PowerCADD for MacOS Catalina

Silvarch · Post by **Silvarch** » Fri Aug 30, 2019 5:37 pm

I'm really glad

to hear that a 64bit version of PowerCADD is in the works. Thanks

Robbie · Post by **Robbie** » Sat Aug 31, 2019 1:50 pm

Hi Todd and All,

So glad to hear a new version of PowerCADD is being designed. Thank you!

I've been a dedicated user since 2006 and have recently been hitting a wall with transferring files to/from engineers and landscape architects. The solution has been to ask them to save down versions as low as possible. That obviously has a shelf life and we've been considering making a switch in software as an inevitability. Having a new version of PowerCADD may just do the trick.

If I had one request, it would be to allow the opening of more recent AutoCAD files. That keeps us relevant and up to speed with the rest of the design disciplines we work with.

Thanks!

Robbie

patrickm · Post by **patrickm** » Sat Aug 31, 2019 2:36 pm

Robbie wrote: ↑
Sat Aug 31, 2019 1:50 pm
Hi Todd and All,

So glad to hear a new version of PowerCADD is being designed. Thank you!

I've been a dedicated user since 2006 and have recently been hitting a wall with transferring files to/from engineers and landscape architects. The solution has been to ask them to save down versions as low as possible. That obviously has a shelf life and we've been considering making a switch in software as an inevitability. Having a new version of PowerCADD may just do the trick.

If I had one request, it would be to allow the opening of more recent AutoCAD files. That keeps us relevant and up to speed with the rest of the design disciplines we work with.

Thanks!

Robbie

You might know this, but you can download Teigha "File Converter" or 3DS "Draftsight" to downgrade DWG files to older versions. I generally try one of those first, before I bug my consultants for a new file.

Robbie · Post by **Robbie** » Sat Aug 31, 2019 3:33 pm

Haven't tried those but will. Thanks Patrick!

David Jones · Post by **David Jones** » Wed Oct 30, 2019 3:44 pm

When Apple announced the 2019 MacPro on Jun 4, they placed tech spec information on their website. In my post on this topic on Jun 4, I noted that by scrolling 3/4 of the way down the page, that the 2019 MacPro supported Mojave, which I observed would be essential for many Mac users. Apple has now updated the 2019 MacPro information, which now states that Catalina is the operating system. Can Todd find out whether, at the time of release of the 2019 MacPro, if it is possible to have the OS downgraded to Mojave?

I would think that this bit of information would be essential for PowerCADD users.

David Jones

Drew · Post by **Drew** » Mon Dec 30, 2019 3:20 pm

Hi chaps, I’m pleased the forum is back, it is a good thing. I too have been worrying about what the future is about to bring with the 32-Bit cut and I am reassured to hear what Todd and Alfred say. I can imagine there is much frustration in trying to anticipate what Apple will do next while keeping development moving forwards.

I have been a PowerCADD user for many years and PowerDraw before that; the PowerCADD way of working is deeply embedded. I toyed with ArchiCAD, Vectorworks and BRICScad but none of them is about drawing; working in any one of them prompts a constant process of comparison to how I do the same tasks in PowerCADD - so much quicker and more intuitive - so I am delighted to be able to envisage an even longer relationship with PowerCADD.

However…

There is no denying the allure of 3D. Clients see all the fancy 3D stuff on TV and they expect it but, more importantly, they find understanding a design so much easier if they can see it in 3D. I know this because I have forced myself to do development work in SketchUp Make. It is rough but it helps and I need to make some effort to draw it more into my workflow. I tinkered with a beta of In2Space many years back and never really got to grips with it but the developments in SketchUp in recent years seem to have made it quite accessible, though I am still struggling (failing).

I assume there are no plans to introduce a 3D component into PowerCADD but I also assume that, if there were, Todd may be reluctant to say so. On the information I have, I get the impression that people are managing to make sense of some kind of method of working in PowerCADD, SketchUp and Layout? If someone has nailed down a good workflow for these applications I would love to hear about it. At the moment I am finding dithering between the two is very time-consuming; trying to reconcile design developments and changes across two distinct applications. I am more than ready to be told I am doing it all wrong and I hope someone will :0)

ATB

Drew

P.S. By the way, I use PowerCADD for pretty much all artwork, not just architecture and interior design but also graphics and DTP.

mlsherrod · Post by **mlsherrod** » Wed Jan 08, 2020 4:52 pm

Drew,

Sketchup is super simple and easy, it's just not smart enough or precise enough for CD's. Sketchup and PowerCADD are a very good combination for Design Development. So: presentation floor plans in PC9 and Exterior design in Sketchup goes a long way to express design intent.

PowerCADD is blazingly fast for 2D. There just does not seem to be a good method of combining these 2 programs past DD, except to make a change on one platform, then go to the other. Once I move into CD's, I just import the Sketchup drawings as DWG and use that as a base model to begin all cd's in PC9 (elevations, sections etc).

I think Archicad is the closest I've found to combine the 2D & 3D world for construction drawings. I'm still learning it (slow going). It's not as intuitive as Sketchup, and not as easy to make changes in the 2D world as in PC9. Once you get something drawn in PC9, and DD signed off on, I think Archicad maybe my new app for producing CD's.

malcineurope · Post by **malcineurope** » Thu Feb 06, 2020 9:51 pm

I have been using Powerdraw/Powercadd since 1988 and it is still my program of choice for producing drawings. However, I do find working in 3D very useful. I use FormZ for this. I also have Bricscad which should do everything that FormZ and Powercadd do but is not intuitive and less suited to creative work. So, at the moment my I tend to work to begin with in FormZ and Powercadd (Powercadd to FormZ is easy using Openclip!) I then get it back into Powercadd to produce working drawings and do sometimes use Bricscad as an intermediate step as their paper space layouts are much better than FormZ layout. Bricscad is also great for looking at and translating Autocad files from other disciplines I work with. I did use Sketchup at one time but find FormZ much better. It is very precise, works on solids not surfaces and deals with curves properly and is very intuitive to use. S, my recommended workflow is FormZ or Powercadd to FormZ to Bricscad to Powercadd for final output. Rather convoluted but perhaps better than attempting to everything in a single program which tries and fails to do everything well.

RTCool · Post by **RTCool** » Fri Feb 14, 2020 3:55 pm

My workflow is PowerCADD to SketchUp and then back to PowerCADD in general. In brief:
- In SketchUp, set up things to be able to print to scale
- Print, and then select PDF>Save as PDF and the resulting file will naturally come in at scale in PowerCADD
- While that works for raster image, DWG is needed to bring vectored linework in
- With the use of layers in PC you can get the best of both worlds

Though it's more work than using viewports in Layout, PowerCADD is so much faster at everything else, it may just make up for it.

I've already posted an example drawing under the drawing heading in the board index. I put a bunch of SketchUp examples on my SmugMug page here: https://robertcoolidge.smugmug.com/Sket ... mple-work/

Paul H · Post by **Paul H** » Fri Feb 14, 2020 5:45 pm

Yep, same workflow here. PowerCADD to SketchUp then back to PowerCADD. More back and forth than I would prefer but it works. Both programs are an essential design and production process for us. Pencil and paper are still the primary design tool though, they travel everywhere with me.

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