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Dyeus · May 4, 2003, 04:14 PM

Is there a chance that autocad will be brought to the mac? and why isnt it already available for the mac? and if there is no hope for me getting autocad for the mac is there another program that is as good as autocad?

OptimusG4 · May 4, 2003, 05:13 PM

Architosh can help with that

Dyeus · May 4, 2003, 05:18 PM

whats the difference between archicad and autocad?

Dyeus · May 9, 2003, 06:58 AM

no one that ever used archicad or autocad?

bluedog · May 9, 2003, 09:29 AM

AutoCad is not currently available for Macintosh. With the changes available in OSX, I would guess AutoCad could be ported without as much trouble as it would have been under OS9.

I suggest you politely ask the developers to consider a port to OSX. There really isn't a perfect substitute, while there are *alternatives* they all do not have the breadth of features (which you may or may not need). More importantly, I would be concerned with file format compatibility when looking for a solution.

In the graphic design field we are tied into QuarkXpress because of our legacy files and their customization features using Applescript and custom plugins. If those issues could be taken away, I'd be in InDesign full-time for a long time. The same goes for any software. Watch your file formats carefully, for intercompatibility when possible. Thats my opinion on the matter.

Architosh has a good reputation as a Mac CAD program and many professionals use it, but AutoCAD has a greater market penetration.

Good luck!

Dyeus · May 9, 2003, 10:05 AM

Thank you very much for the informative response, do you think it would be effecient to use autocad under virtual PC?

Timo · 10:29 AM

Autocad and Archicad take very different approaches to the design of buildings (for example).

Autocad is a 2D program with 3D components bolted onto it. Its the industry standard and a program lots of people (including myself) love to hate.

My favorite thing about autocad is its Command Line Interface. The constant hunting around with the mouse for little icons to push while drafting slows me down, as a person can really draft knowing about 30 (typed) commands. But for 3D modelling, Autocad is too cranky, IMHO.

Autocad was ported to Macintosh in the mid-90s: release 12, I think. It was a terrible port, really buggy and crash-prone. There was also a UNIX port that was stable, but these were discontinued in the short-lived release 13 and the more stable 14.

As for Archicad, its idea is that you design the building in 3D (as an object) and then take your "cuts" of the model (for plans or sections or whatever). I have not worked with it personally, but the program is well regarded by its affliciandos.

You might also look into Vectorworks.

Timo · May 9, 2003, 10:28 AM

Originally posted by Dyeus:
Thank you very much for the informative response, do you think it would be effecient to use autocad under virtual PC?

Depends what you want to do and what version of windows you're running under what version of a mac os. There's a report about it here.

I personally run autocad r. 14 with win98 in os 10.2.6, with a dual gig. Any machine you want to run VPC with should really have an L2 (or even L3) cache, as these help. But I also draft on my G3 500 mhz Pismo, so YMMV.

I don't do any modelling with autocad. I save that for OS X native programs.

jamez bond · May 9, 2003, 03:47 PM

Aah, the CAD on Mac...
I made the move back to mac about a year ago, and one of the things that held me back for a while was proper CAD packages for the mac.
There are several packages available, if you please tell us what you want from the software (in detail), I am sure we can find something with fitting file format, and enough features...

And they will probably be better than AutoCAD...

DavidHossack · May 11, 2003, 05:20 PM

I used to use autocad 14 and now find VectorWorks v10 very suitable.

Good at doing 3d stuff too.

David Bertrand · Aug 27, 2004, 02:25 PM

I agree with Timo. As a former AutoCAD user, I loved the command line interface. I could really fly. The newer guys, using the GUI were always lagging.

They would ask me how to do something and I would tell them I didn't know, because they really wanted the GUI command, and I didn't know where it was. If I gave them the CLI command, I'd get a blank stare.

But now I'm on a Mac and I'll have to get used to a GUI.