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A quick reply, before heading into the weekend...
I only saw XCad a couple of times, not Xcad designer.
It's much more functional than Draw 2000, but lacked an undo function
in the version I saw!
It performs several times better than Draw 2000.
It's user interface sucks even more than Draw 2000's (no menus)...
Don't remember postscript output, but could do arbitrary rasters,
so your safe when that 15000 dpi printer comes along. ;-)
Regards,
<CB>
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I have both Aegis Draw Plus (which grew into Draw2000) and the original
XCAD. In a nutshell...
XCAD is a real, genuine 2D drafting program, and is in fact a poorly
disguised clone of an older Computervision package. It is incredibly
fast and powerful. However...
XCAD works on the 'VERB/NOUN/MODIFIER' principle. When you open an
XCAD screen, there is a 'soft' button menu displayed on the top of your
screen. This first menu is filled with verbs like OPEN, DRAW,
TRIM, CREATE, etc. When you select one of these verbs, the menu is
replaced by a NOUN menu, filled with goodies like LINE, CIRCLE, ARC
etc. After selecting a noun, you are presented with a MODIFIER menu
filled with PERPENDICULAR, HORIZONTAL, VERTICLE, etc. You get the
idea.
XCAD is not easy to use. To build a decent interface, you can create
your own custom menus, whereby a single mouse click can set into motion
hundreds of commands. You might build a menu for geometry
construction, and use a different custom menu for detailing and
dimensioning. Menus are created using Deluxe Paint or any painting
program and then converting the resulting IFF brush into an XCAD menu
using a supplied utility.
I'd heard that someone had developed a complete user-friendly front end
for XCAD; this bears watching. As the package currently stands, it is
not acceptable for the casual user. It takes just too much effort and
button pushing to master. A shame, really, since the program has been
benchmarked by an independant CAD rating agency as being 40 times
faster than AutoCAD running on a 8 MHz IBM AT.
I can testify that it's pan/zoom/redraw performance is breathtaking. I
use UniGRAPHICS on a megaTEK workstation and a Vax 8800, and the
pathetic little Amiga can redraw much faster than $40K worth of custom
display hardware.
XCAD supports a multitude of plotters, including HPGL, but no
PostScript output. There are PD utilities to convert HPGL files to
XCAD and XCAD to PostScript.
Now, on to Draw2000. Draw is a nice little freehand drafting program
(OK, you can enter coordinates) but it can't touch XCAD (or AutoCAD or
any other CAD) as a genuine CAD program that a real mechanical engineer
would feel comfortable with. At risk of getting singed, I'd guess (not
much hands-on experience) that it's comparable to MacDraw. It's fine
for simple floor plans or layout work, but I couldn't imagine being
able to design, say, a disk drive using it.
Unfortunately, until AutoCAD appears for the Amiga (which WAS rumored
some time back), the Amiga is NOT a contender for serious CAD work. If
that was my main goal in life, I'd buy a 386 machine and AutoCAD.
Ed.
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There's an important point I'd like to make concerning the relationship
between the hardware and the user.
As you may have gathered from my previous reply, I use CAD 8 hours a
day at work. We run McDonnell Douglas' UniGraphics package, which is
one of the most powerful 3D packages in the industry. The executable
is something like 13 MB in size!
Anyway, UniGraphics runs on a variety of platforms, including the
VaxStations and DecStations. My group is using older MegaTEK
workstations; massive, noisy behemoths that radiate about 3 KW of heat
and are as noisy as a car wash. These MegaTek monsters actually have
two monitors; one for displaying command menus, and a larger color
display for the drawing area.
Commands are executed in heirarchal fashion using a large 'Button Box'.
The Button Box has about 64 lighted keys that represent all available
commands. A good user (like me :^)) can really go to town on that 'ol
Button Box, banging in the commands faster that the eye can follow.
The newer workstations do not have a Button Box; menus are displayed on
the single large monitor and must be selected by pointing and clicking
with the mouse.
Anyway, our marketing folks would have you believe that UniGraphics
runs much faster on a DecStation than on a VAX/MegaTek combination, and
technically, they're correct. The DecStation really screams, and can
redraw much faster that the ancient MegaTek hardware.
However, there ain't a mousketeer on earth who can click those silly
soft menus as fast as I can hammer my Button Box. In fact, I have a
standing challenge to any DecStation user to drag race my poor old
MegaTek in building a complex model. I'd have banged out a few hundred
commands before he could even read his screen menu.
The point is that all the fancy hardware in the world ain't gonna help
if you can't get the commands into the machine fast enough to keep up
with the machine. This is a major failing with all PC based CAD
systems. A digitizing tablet is some help, but they'll have to pry my
Button Box from my cold dead fingers.
Ed
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Actually, XCAD product support is no longer provided by Haitex, but
has been transferred to someone else. I can get the information, but
to my horror I'd heard that the new publisher WOULD NOT support users
who had purchased it from Haitex. Grrrr...
I'm also pretty certain that the package that I paid $350 (retail=$595)
is now the entry level package, with a $149 retail price. There is an
even more powerful XCAD Professional with a much higher price tag.
I'll post the info here if I can find it. However, due to an
additional mouth in my home, there's not much money these days for
software.
Ed.
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