AutoCAD Hits the Mac and Mobile Platforms

Are you an avid AutoCAD user and a Mac enthusiast who's longbeen frustrated because the two live in separate worlds? Well, they don't anymore.

Autodesk justannounced a new version of its professional design and engineering applicationthat runs natively on Mac OS X and exploits all of the features andfunctionality unique to the Mac platform. Accompanying the new AutoCAD for Mac release is AutoCAD WS, a mobileapplication that extends AutoCAD to Apple's iOS, enabling the design tool torun on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.

"This is really all about making AutoCAD accessible toeveryone," said Guri Stark, vice president of AutoCAD and platform products, ina press conference announcing the new platforms. "For the last few years, AutoCADwas limited to just running under Windows, but recently because of theimportance and growing market share of the Mac platform and due to manyrequests by our customers, we're making AutoCAD available on the Mac and mobileplatforms."

While AutoCAD users will recognize the new version - itsupports the full feature set, including 3-D navigation, 3-D meshing andmaterials capabilities - the software has been designed to take full advantageof the unique Mac interface. Users can graphically browse design files with theCover Flow interface common to the Mac, for example, as well as take advantageof Multi-Touch gestures on Mac notebooks or the Magic Mouse to leverageintuitive pan and zoom features. User experience design patterns, such as thevisual approach to drawing and layout management, have also been incorporatedinto AutoCAD for Mac.

Interoperability between the Mac and Windows versions isanother big focus. The new release offers support for native creation andediting of files in the DWG file format, ensuring easy collaboration withcustomers and suppliers regardless of the platform. Files created in previousversions of AutoCAD will open seamlessly in AutoCAD for the Mac, reducing thetime-consuming translation and clean-up process of converting data. There arealso extensive API and customization options that let tailor-built workflowsand custom configurations for setting and screening real estate options to bemodified to individual workflows. "We're looking to provide the best-in-classDWG interoperability between Windows and Mac that ever really existed," saidRob Maguire, product manager for AutoCAD for Mac.

Accompanying AutoCAD for Mac is the new AutoCAD WS mobileapplication, a free app that will be available through Apple's App Store. Theapp extends AutoCAD to Apple's iOS, enabling users with a wireless connectionto edit and share AutoCAD files on an iPad or iPhone. This will allow real-timecollaboration and co-design sessions on-the-go, officials said.

Both new applications, to be delivered in October, weredeveloped as part of an extensive beta program involving more than 5,000 earlycustomers.

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