In November of 1994 R14 appeared on the scene and you could no longer run AutoCAD on an Apple Macintosh. Fast forward 16 years—your babies have grown into high schoolers, you’re Apple Macintosh is now just a Mac, and Autodesk has just released AutoCAD for Mac!
The public release date is today, though we got our hands on it a little earlier, and I wanted to share a little bit on the new program. It’s not a version of currently existing Windows software that’s been ported to OSX, but rather a brand new product designed from the ground up. I’ve been using Boot Camp to run AutoCAD on my Mac for awhile, but now having the icon natively in my Dock below my picture of the bay bridge seems a little funny.
Tool palettes (the equivalent in AutoCAD for Mac is the Content Palette) Quick Properties palette (the AutoCAD for Mac property palette has “Essential” and “All” views). And if you are hoping to reuse that Digitizer tablet, Digitizer integration has been dropped. Instructor We're going to start with AutoCAD for Mac2016, as it shares an almost identical interfacewith every version since the initial release.Like most Mac apps of the time,the interface uses palettes for thedifferent elements of the display.These palettes can be drug around the screenby clicking in the top title area of the palette like so,and can arrange them. For more information visit: the latest and greatest tutorials, tips & tricks and product news on the official AutoCAD YouTube.
After using the program for awhile, I think it fits in the Mac scheme well while maintaining its AutoCAD feel. What really struck me though is that it’s going to be a new program for everyone. Current users moving from a Windows environment will want to know where all their tools went, while the Mac savvy non-user will wonder what exactly to do with the program. In this post I hope to give a little overview of the product, its interface and settings.
When you first open AutoCAD for Mac, you’ll see a welcome screen that includes a bunch of videos to help you get accustomed to the new interface. I recommend watching the video on gestures. Using a Magic Mouse or track pad, you’ll be able to do things like zoom with a two finger swipe. Which controls work for you will depend on your setup. On my MacBook Pro, these are the default gestures:
- Two fingers – Zoom
- Space bar with one finger – Pan
- Shift with two fingers – Orbit.
Of course you’ve also got buttons in the status bar for zoom and pan.
Just like Windows’ AutoCAD, you’ll see the following main areas:
- Drawing area
- Status bar
- Drawing aids
- Annotation settings,
- Palettes
- Layers
- Properties
- Etc.
There are a few minor interface changes:
- There’s a layout list in the status bar which allows access to and the creation of layouts.
- Cursor coordinates are displayed in the bottom right corner of the drawing area.
- Palettes can be turned on and off or minimized as icons through the Windows menu.
The biggest difference is how drafting tools are accessed. On the left side of the screen you’ll see the Tool Sets Palette, which resembles the old AutoCAD toolbars. It replaces the Ribbon as the graphical interface for running commands. Tools are also accessible through the menus at the top of the screen, referred to as the Menubar.
Not only does the Tool Sets Palette replace the Ribbon, but Tool Sets also replace workspaces. At the top of the Tool Sets Palette there is a switching menu for the selection of different Tool Sets. Each set contains a collection of tools organized within tool groups. Though Tool Sets typically contain only a subset of the available commands, everything is always accessible through the command line. Unlike workspaces, switching Tool Sets will not affect the Menubar. Though customizable, there is only one Menubar which will display at all times.
Though the extent of customization in AutoCAD for Mac may be diminished, both Tool Sets and the Menubar can be controlled through the CUI interface, accessible though the CUI command or Tools à Customize à Interface through the menus. In the resulting Customize window, Tool Sets and Menus can be created and edited to contain different tools.
One feature that might initially worry the long time AutoCAD user is the Layers palette. Out of the box, freeze, lock, and plot are the only layer settings that display in the manager. But, don’t worry, a click on the Display Settings button will bring up a list of settings that can be turned on and off.
I also want to talk about the Application Preferences, or Options for those of us coming from Windows. The stripped down settings are accessible by typing OP or PREFERENCES in the command line or through the AutoCAD -> Preferences menu.
One thing I had to do right away was reduce the zoom speed on the General tab so I could make sense of what I was doing with my track pad. You might also want to explore the Look & Feel tab to control how your AutoCAD interface appears.
Finally, another valuable tool is the search function of the help feature. By searching for a command and choosing a menu item in the resulting list, you’ll see a bouncing blue arrow showing you how to access that specific tool. Kind of a neat little feature.
Thanks for reading. Let us know if you have any questions about the new product.
This is AutoCAD LT running in Apple's Desktop/Laptop Operating System, and you can purchase it right now from the Apple Apps Store(North America only for now): that's the power LT has at Autodesk, their best selling Windows application, is now readily available to all Mac users.AutoCAD LT for Mac is, much like its Windows sibling, AutoCAD with no support for LISP or 3D modelling or rendering, and no Network Licensing. It concentrates on the 2D functionality required for drafting and documentation.
AutoCAD LT for Mac follows common native Mac application user interface guidelines (read: No Ribbon), with a familiar Apple menu bar together with a number of workflow-based palettes. It also supports native Mac OS X Lion behavior, including Cover Flow navigation and Multi-Touch gestures, Visual Quickview, Layout Visor, and Cocoa-centric collapsible and dockable Palette System.
So what else is new? This is LT2012 for Mac, and except for the interface, it should be an identical experience, with almost identical commands and features. Work faster with the 2012 productivity tools and enhancements such as multi-functional grips, command line autocomplete, Associative Array, Multi-Function Grips (for more entities), Nudge objects with ctrl+ Arrow keys , Group Enhancements, and Hatch and Mleader enhancement. and more. Watch this VIDEO demonstration.
![Creating tool palettes in autocad Creating tool palettes in autocad](/uploads/1/1/8/2/118237354/961375030.png)
- Sheet Set Manager (a Batch Publish command is available as a substitute).
- Migration tools (it is Version 1 for Mac, and you cannot migrate any LT for Windows content).
- eTransmit Command (you have to share files old-school style, by hunting and searching).
- CUI Import and Export (you got a great menu but you can't share parts of it with your colleagues).
- CUI Workspaces (true drafters get this one).
- Table style editing (Hope your LT for Windows buddy is generous with their time).
- Dynamic Block authoring (who needs the greatest enhancements to the old blocks anyway).
- PDF and DWF Underlays (hope your partners are good at sharing DWG files).
- Filter and Quick Select commands (you cannot custom sort or select objects easily).
- Hyperlinks.
- New layer notification.
- Layer State Manager (Fundamental layer state operations can still be performed using the stAte option in the -LAYER command)
- Layer Filters (a great tool for those that use Xrefs or have many layers, but not here)
- Most of the Layer Tools (LAYCUR, LAYDEL, LAYON, LAYTHW, LAYMCH, LAYMRG, LAYWALK, LAYVPI commands are not available: think LT2006)
- Creating or opening password-protected drawings from AutoCAD for Windows.
- DGN underlay (limits collaboration).
- WMF import/export
- DesignCenter (the equivalent in AutoCAD for Mac is the Content Palette)
- Tool palettes (the equivalent in AutoCAD for Mac is the Content Palette)
- Quick Properties palette (the AutoCAD for Mac property palette has “Essential” and “All” views). And if you are hoping to reuse that Digitizer tablet, Digitizer integration has been dropped.
There are no issues with DWG format: you can share your files with anyone in Windows, and they can share their files with you. 100% compatible, and they mean it.
Command keyboard shortcuts are a little different thatn Windows: see this LINK for details. Yu can define your own with the following PROCEDURE.
Due to the restrictions of the App Store, there is no trial version of AutoCAD LT 2012 for Mac. If you want to try before you buy, your current only choice is get the 30-day free version of AutoCAD for Mac, then make sure you fully read the comparison matrix before you go get AutoCAD LT.
Tool Palettes In Autocad For Mac Os
Check out ths FAQ file for bare-minimum system requirements (that's code for it-will-run but you may hate it). FOr the most part, ensure your Apple/MAC is no more than two years old and not the 'value' line that is as hobbled as low end Windows PCs from storefront stores.
Explore this new LT variant at the Autodesk WIKIHELP website