sharing

Learning to Share with AutoCAD WS

Feb 06

One of the things we were most proud of when we launched AutoCAD WS was that the functionality we had included in the app might herald a new era of collaboration and sharing among CAD users. Until the arrival of AutoCAD WS, if you wanted to show your work to others, you had a number of options:

You could send the original file to people and then try to manage the different versions you got back with different markups.
You could save your drawing to another format, like PDF, and email that.
You could print out your drawing and deliver it via bicycle messenger.
Or, for a truly read-only experience, you could invite people to come and look at your computer screen!

AutoCAD WS is a great leap forward enabling you to share your work with anyone with an email address and a web browser.

But for many people, sharing is as much a matter of temperament as it is functionality. One customer of ours who works in construction told me that he loves the share functionality, but that no architect has ever let him see a soft copy of the plans. Not everyone wants to share.

For those of you having difficulty letting go, here is a recap of the permission types that are available in both the web and the mobile versions of AutoCAD WS.

Permissions

There are two types of permissions:

Edit
Download

This means there are four different combinations of permissions:

Edit and Download – Users can edit the drawing using AutoCAD WS and download it to work on it offline.
Edit but not Download – Users can edit the drawing online using AutoCAD WS but they cannot download the file from within the app.
Download but not Edit – Users cannot edit existing objects with AutoCAD WS. They can only add to and mark up the drawing. In addition, the drawing may be downloaded (including additions and markups) and edited offline.
Not Edit and not Download – Users cannot edit existing objects with AutoCAD WS. They can only add to and mark up the drawing. Users cannot download the drawing

Sharing

I hope this will give you the confidence you need to start sharing your work with others. It’s a great way to mark design milestones with clients and colleagues and it will help you collect feedback and achieve consensus.

Tell us about the last project you shared with AutoCAD WS either in the comments or on our Facebook page.

5 Ways AutoCAD WS Helps Improve Your Productivity

Jan 31

Let us never forget that AutoCAD WS is more than just a web and mobile app version of your favorite CAD software package. AutoCAD WS is also a key weapon in the battle for optimum personal productivity. So just to remind you here are five great ways that AutoCAD WS can save you time as you go about your every day work.

1. No more transporting files via disk on key

Once you upload your files to AutoCAD WS you can access them from any web browser anywhere in the world. If you have synched them on your smartphone or tablet, you can even view them in places where there is no internet connection.

2. No more transporting bulky printouts when you’re in the field

We have already heard from many users how AutoCAD WS has revolutionized their business trips. They are happier visiting a site with an iPad or Android tablet rather than trying to weigh down a set of paper plans with a couple of rocks.

3. No more version management headaches

With The AutoCAD WS Timeline you can revisit previous versions of your design and keep track of when comments were made and suggestions were implemented.

4. Reduce conference call nightmares

Next time you’re having a meeting with a remote office, share the designs in question with them first. Then during the call, you can see each other’s cursors as you navigate through the drawing and highlight the discussion points. You can also make AutoCAD WS the center of your presentation and we wrote about setting that up here.

5. Prevent work duplication when you come back from a site visit

Before AutoCAD WS, any notes that you took when you were out in the field would have to be painstakingly added to your design back in the office. Now when you make notes using AutoCAD WS, they are automatically synched with the original file so that you only have to do the work once.

I’m sure there are a whole set of additional advantages that you can come with to explain why AutoCAD WS works for you. Tell us about them in the comments here or on the Facebook page.

When Will You Start To Share?

Jan 26

One of the most exciting things about evolving technology is how it shapes and changes our lives. There are many things that we do today that simply didn’t exist 20 years ago such as typing with our thumbs or commenting in public about each other’s holiday photos. New technology creates new things to do as well as new ways of doing things that we have always done. In business terms, new tech creates new workflows and improved versions of existing workflows.

It’s up to individuals and businesses to work out how to incorporate these new workflows into their lives and how to use them to improve productivity. One area which has always thrived on adapting new technology to its best advantage is design. When designers first moved away from the drafting table and onto the computer, it signaled a paradigm shift in the way design projects were handled. Since that time there has not been another major leap forward despite the ubiquity of high-speed internet.

I believe that’s going to change in the immediate future. The next evolution for designers will be collaborative design where designers, their colleagues and their clients can work together in guiding a project in the right direction. Using tools like those found in AutoCAD WS, you can share your design with anyone in the world at any time. You can get instant feedback on any draft and take suggestions and make corrections in real time without having to go through a major iteration which can be frustrating and time-consuming.

Collaboration Builds Consensus and Improves Productivity

Collaboration is not about taking power away from designers. It’s about removing the obstacles to satisfying design with clear communication and transparency. Getting the input of the stakeholders and decision makers at the right moment in a project can save time and prevent frustration as well as build trust and generate positive goodwill towards a completed draft.

The question is what are you going to do. Let us know in the comments below or on the Facebook page whether you like to collaborate with another designer on drafts. How often do you incorproate external feedback into your work and at what stages in the project? What could you be doing to achieve consensus sooner?

AutoCAD WS Celebrates the New Year and 4,000,000 Downloads!

Jan 01

New Year, New Milestone. We are currently celebrating 4,000,000 downloads of AutoCAD WS for iOS, Android and Mac.

We wanted to thank YOU, for being the best customers ever – Your suggestions, questions and other feedback had a huge contribution to the success of AutoCAD WS.

2011 was a busy year, both product and development wise – It started with adding support for 10 different languages and then the release of our version for Android devices which was a huge hit!. AutoCAD WS was also integrated into AutoCAD 2012 ribbon with the "Online Tab" and of course, we didn't forget our Mac users and provided them with a Mac version of AutoCAD WS. We joined to the Amazon family, added lots of editing and viewing features, reached to more than 80,000 fans on Facebook and made sure to have some fun on the way as well.

So… what can you expect for in 2012? The simple answer is – A lot! It's been a little over a year since AutoCAD WS was released and we grew up rapidly. We listened to your feedback and tried to make AutoCAD WS a smarter, more innovative, faster and useful tool for you.

We can promise you that 2012 will be even more interesting with more amazing features that will blow your mind