AutoCAD is f-ing terrible. Let's talk about it

#1

Post by arctan » Thu, Sep 15, 2022, 11:16 PM UTC

I've used AutoCAD for ten years, and I fucking hate it. When it's good, it's just marginally not too shitty. When it's bad, it's terrible. While I have become fairly experienced with using it, the quirks, inconsistencies and limitations often make it exasperating to deal with, and occasionally make it nightmarish. This puts me in the awkward position of doing something I've come more often recently to downright hate.

I want your best AutoCAD time saving and optimization tricks. Maybe a knowledge share like this will also be useful for other drafters and engineers who scroll HN.

While I'm not a programmer, I'd also like to hear thoughts from programmers who are familiar with AutoCAD. If an engineering entrepreneur with an unlimited budget, determined to start from scratch while keeping goodness about the things that are good, dropped the code on your desk and said 'okay what do we do with this shit?', what would your answer be?

Oh and, BTW, please don't hold back if you happen to have dank AutoCAD memes and/or a similar amount of ire (all of it) as I do for Autodesk and their associated hellspawn.

Thanks!

Re: AutoCAD is f-ing terrible. Let's talk about it

#2

Post by superchroma » Thu, Sep 15, 2022, 11:45 PM UTC

To boot, autodesk finally has a licensing model so terrible, their awful software will never be the square focus of criticism even again.

https://twitter.com/ColinWilliamson/status/15702108536891105...

Re: AutoCAD is f-ing terrible. Let's talk about it

#3

Post by ohiovr » Fri, Sep 16, 2022, 12:30 AM UTC

superchroma wrote: post #2

To boot, autodesk finally has a licensing model so terrible, their awful software will never be the square focus of criticism even again. https://twitter.com/ColinWilliamson/status/15702108536891105...

Autodesk loves to buy companies to eliminate the competition. The newly bought software exists for a while but soon, they simply eliminate it like they did with Softimage. Adobe does the exact same thing of buying competition and then destroying it. Softimage was well loved, so was Director. Director may have been a product without future, but adobe mismanaged Flash so that's gone forever and with it thousands of sites that had great content.

If I never use another adobe product in my life, I'm fine with that totally.

Re: AutoCAD is f-ing terrible. Let's talk about it

#4

Post by chunkles » Fri, Sep 16, 2022, 12:32 AM UTC

Use the extra command line option '/nologo' to remove the splash screen and speed up time to first action by a decent amount.

Re: AutoCAD is f-ing terrible. Let's talk about it

#5

Post by adfm » Fri, Sep 16, 2022, 6:39 AM UTC

Adobe and Amazon are husks of their former selves and rely on the life force of companies they acquire to maintain that youthful glow. Solidworks is dope, but AEC is already using Rhino/Grasshopper for all the interesting bits. Worth investigating if you’re looking for something programmatic, accurate, with a considerably advanced ecosystem that plays well with others.

Re: AutoCAD is f-ing terrible. Let's talk about it

#6

Post by syncbehind » Fri, Sep 16, 2022, 2:34 PM UTC

ohiovr wrote: post #3

superchroma wrote: post #2

To boot, autodesk finally has a licensing model so terrible, their awful software will never be the square focus of criticism even again. https://twitter.com/ColinWilliamson/status/15702108536891105...

Autodesk loves to buy companies to eliminate the competition. The newly bought software exists for a while but soon, they simply eliminate it like they did with Softimage. Adobe does the exact same thing of buying competition and then destroying it. Softimage was well loved, so was Director. Director may have been a product without future, but adobe mismanaged Flash so that's gone forever and with it thousands of sit…

>Adobe does the exact same thing of buying competition and then destroying it

Oh. That's why they bought Figma. My heart breaks

Re: AutoCAD is f-ing terrible. Let's talk about it

#7

Post by airbreather » Fri, Sep 16, 2022, 3:06 PM UTC

Adobe is worse

Re: AutoCAD is f-ing terrible. Let's talk about it

#8

Post by SubjectToChange » Fri, Sep 16, 2022, 5:04 PM UTC

If you hate AutoCAD then try out BricsCAD, or perhaps even Draftsight if you're willing. Otherwise, if you're not working in construction or architecture, move to a 3D CAD package. AutoCAD is simply outclassed by mid-range 3D options like SolidWorks.

Re: AutoCAD is f-ing terrible. Let's talk about it

#9

Post by noSyncCloud » Fri, Sep 16, 2022, 5:09 PM UTC

superchroma wrote: post #2

To boot, autodesk finally has a licensing model so terrible, their awful software will never be the square focus of criticism even again. https://twitter.com/ColinWilliamson/status/15702108536891105...

I'm literally speechless. They cannot keep getting away with this shit (but somehow they always do).

Re: AutoCAD is f-ing terrible. Let's talk about it

#10

Post by galfarragem » Fri, Sep 16, 2022, 5:24 PM UTC

I have the opposite opinion: autoCAD is great. A true emacs for CAD. It has a really steep learning curve but once you get it is as essential as Excel and a tool for life. You can draw everything there and (like emacs) script it with lisp.