SolidWorks Punches up eDrawings

SolidWorks Corporation is out with a new version of its eDrawings email collaboration tool that allows users to drag-and-drop drawings into Microsoft Word or PowerPoint documents with all of the drawings' pan/zoom/rotate/animate features preserved. It was possible to do that before, says Aaron Kelly, SolidWorks' director of product management, but it was nowhere near as easy as it is now, and what's more, those who receive the documents don't have to download software to view them because that software is embedded in the file.

Another big deal in addition to the drag-and-drop enhancement is support for AutoCAD 3D files and AutoCAD layers, including selective activation of layers in a drawing set. Previous versions supported 2D files but did not support layers. The new version also supports AutoCAD 2007, and Google SketchUp.

Download a free version of eDrawingshttp://www.solidworks.com/pages/programs/eDrawings/e2_register.html Users who have the Professional version can download their update by clicking here: eDrawings Update(http://www.solidworks.com/pages/products/edrawings/eDrawings.html). A new feature in eDrawings Professional lets design engineers create 2D and 3D designs and send them to colleagues for mark-up and measurement whether or not the colleagues have CAD software. Professional users can also apply electronic stamps to eDrawings models to mark them "approved," "confidential," "draft," or a custom designation.