AutoCAD 2019 includes specialized toolsets

Specialized features and libraries for mechanical design, architecture, 3D mapping, and more; new web and mobile apps; and new features, specialized toolsets, and performance enhancements are included with new subscriptions to AutoCAD 2019, available starting March 22, 2018.

With access to seven specialized toolsets, subscribers have more than 750,000 intelligent objects, styles, parts, features, and symbols to choose from when drawing. Designers can automate floorplans; quickly draw piping, plant equipment, or electrical panel layouts; incorporate GIS data into the planning process; edit scanned drawings and convert raster images into DWG objects all while working in a familiar AutoCAD interface.

The toolsets now included in AutoCAD offer intelligent features that will help users work faster and be more efficient. For example, by using the Architecture toolset to model a design, you’ll save a significant amount of time incorporating real architectural elements such as doors, walls and windows, instead of starting from lines and circles; creating a wall in AutoCAD requires five steps, whereas the same outcome in the Architecture toolset requires only three steps.

Subscribers to AutoCAD 2019 gain access to the following toolsets:

• Architecture Toolset: Use specialized building design features and 8,000+ intelligent architectural objects and styles to speed architectural drawing and documentation.
• Mechanical Toolset: Use specialized mechanical design features and 700,000+ intelligent manufacturing parts, features and symbols to speed product design.
• Electrical Toolset: Use specialized electrical design features and 65,000+ intelligent electrical symbols to boost productivity for creating, modifying, and documenting electrical controls systems.
• MEP Toolset: Use specialized MEP engineering features and 10,500+ intelligent mechanical, electrical, and plumbing objects to draft, design, and document building systems.
• Plant 3D Toolset: Use the specialized plant design and engineering toolset to efficiently produce P&IDs and then integrate them into a 3D plant design model.
• Map 3D Toolset: Use specialized mapping features to incorporate GIS and CAD data to support planning, design, and data management. Access spatial data stored in files, databases and web services, and aggregate it with your AutoCAD design data.
• Raster Design Toolset: Use raster to vector tools to help you edit scanned drawings and convert raster images into DWG objects.

Web and mobile apps

An AutoCAD 2019 or AutoCAD LT 2019 subscription also includes access to the all-new AutoCAD web app and the AutoCAD mobile app.

The AutoCAD web app enables access to AutoCAD directly in a web browser via web.autocad.com. And there is nothing to download or install. Simply log in to your Autodesk account and quickly access Trusted DWG files, core 2D drafting and editing tools (ex: Arc, Circle, Rectangle, Offset, Trim, and more), including Xref support, and layer management.

An early tester of the AutoCAD web app and owner of Mechanical CAD Design and BIM firm Point to Point CAD Services, Clifton Schnarr said, “The detail in the AutoCAD web app is just superb! You can see the dimension, the contrast, the color, just all the depths to be seen on a 2D drawing. The resolution is just excellent.”

Make edits on the go without carrying heavy blueprints in the field. With the AutoCAD mobile app, users can view, edit, create, and share CAD drawings anytime, anywhere. Download DWGs to your device to access them when WiFi isn’t available. Available across Windows, Android, and iOS devices, AutoCAD mobile app is also optimized for the iPhone X, iPad Pro, and Windows Surface.

Saving to web and mobile

A new feature that enables users to work seamlessly across the desktop, web, and mobile platforms is the capability to “Save To Web & Mobile” and “Open From Web & Mobile” from desktop AutoCAD. While in the field, view and edit any drawing on the AutoCAD web or mobile app and save it back to your local network drive to continue working at your office in AutoCAD 2019 or AutoCAD LT 2019.

Identify drawing differences with DWG compare

The new DWG Compare feature in AutoCAD 2019 and AutoCAD LT 2019 helps users identify graphical differences between two revisions of a drawing or Xref. Quickly view changes, see clashes, review constructability, and more. And there is no need to worry about missing something, turning revision clouds on will further highlight the changes, and users can systematically cycle through each one to make sure every detail is accounted for.

“DWG compare is definitely one of the best features in recent times. It’s beautiful, very easy to use and helpful,” said Ashwin Tahiliani, architect at Designcast.

Shared views

Shared Views is an enhancement to the “Share Design Views” feature. This AutoCAD 2019 and AutoCAD LT 2019 feature makes it easier for to share designs with stakeholders without sending DWG files to them. Avoid the cumbersome commonly used workflow of publishing and emailing designs via DWF or PDF files; instead, a viewable file is created in AutoCAD, and circulated via a shareable link that can be viewed and commented on in the browser of any device with internet access. And this year, comments that collaborators make on the shared link appear right back in your AutoCAD desktop product.

2D performance enhancements

Autodesk said it invested in streamlining 2D graphics performance with this release. Operations that typically require AutoCAD to redraw or regenerate 2D graphics (like changing draw order, zooming, panning, and changing layer properties, particularly in large drawings or drawings with raster images) are now up to twice as fast. New controls in the Graphics Performance dialog box let users configure the behavior of 2D graphics performance.

Updated, ‘flat design’ icons in the Ribbon, Status Bar, Quick Access Toolbar (QAT), and Application Menu provide a better visual experience when using AutoCAD, especially on a high-resolution monitor, Autodesk said. The new releases dynamically match icon sizes to monitor resolution or pixel density.

Download a trial of AutoCAD 2019 or AutoCAD LT 2019 at https://www.autodesk.com/products/autocad/free-trial.