iPad

AutoCAD Facebook Fans and their Mobiles

Feb 01

A couple of days ago, we asked our AutoCAD Facebook fans which mobile platform they have and what kind of device they’d like to use for viewing, editing, and sharing drawings. Well, the results are in, and it’s clear our users are freeing themselves from their desktops and are interested in mobile CAD. If you haven’t downloaded AutoCAD WS mobile app for iOS devices yet, give it whirl.

Platform Showdown – Android Hot on the Heels of iPhone and iPad

Although Apple devices still represent the majority of responses (41%), Android is proving quite popular, with 36% of respondents commenting that Android devices – tablet or smart phone – was either what they already owned, or wanted to use. Windows devices came in a distant third, with 7% of the vote. And of course, there were a couple of old-school folks out there too who still want to use pencil and paper. Looks like the napkin sketch won’t go away just yet.

Smartphone vs. Tablet

Tablets are newer to the scene, and offer clear benefits for DWG file viewing with the extra screen real-estate. That said, as smart phones travel everywhere with us these days, they still have the lead—with iPhone being the most popular with our fans.

Here’s the surprise of the survey – almost 5% of the folks who commented were interested in the idea of a dedicated AutoCAD tablet designed specifically for our customers. A dedicated device that simplifies all the steps of your work, incorporates BIM functions, and takes advantage of the GPS and camera features of the mobile device. Interesting indeed…

Using a Laptop? Get AutoCAD WS Web App on Google Chrome Store

No matter what mobile device you have, you can start using the web browser version of AutoCAD WS with your laptop today. It’s available at www.autocadws.com (hey, that’s right here), and we just published our free AutoCAD WS app to the Google Chrome Store too.

We always like to hear from our customers about what they want to see in our products. If you’d like to contribute more feedback to AutoCAD WS product development, email us: feedback@autocadws.com.

AutoCAD WS – Best of 2010

Dec 30

As we wrap up an eventful 12 months, I thought it would be nice to revisit some of the important milestones over the past year.

We also want to thank you, our community of users, for embracing AutoCAD WS and engaging with us whether on Facebook, Twitter or the comments in this blog. We want to thank everyone who uploaded a drawing or took part in a poll. Your feedback is crucial to the continued development of AutoCAD WS.

So here is our AutoCAD WS review of 2010.

Project Butterfly Reborn as AutoCAD WS

Throughout its development, it was known internally as Project Butterfly. But as we got closer to the launch, Butterfly was rebranded to bring it in line with other Autodesk products.

So Project Butterfly became AutoCAD WS. Once we changed the name there was some speculation about the meaning of WS. There were several wild suggestions, but the answer has stayed a mystery.

AutoCAD WS Launched as Mobile App

We knew there was demand for a mobile version of AutoCAD, but even we were surprised by the size of that demand when we launched. Back in September AutoCAD WS was released on the App Store for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The impact was huge with AutoCAD WS becoming the top app in the Productivity segment in countries throughout the world.

Since that time the app has been downloaded over 700,000 times and combined downloads for the app and its update have passed the magic 1,000,000 mark for 2010.

We Moved To New Offices

In the middle of all the excitement surround the mobile app, the AutoCAD WS team moved in to its new home overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We were proud to welcome Autodesk CEO, Carl Bass, to our offices which were designed and built using AutoCAD and AutoCAD WS.

We were also flattered when the hard work that went into designing our new workspace was acknowledged by one of the leading blogs on office design.

AutoCAD WS 1.1 Arrives

Less than three months after the AutoCAD WS mobile app was released, we were ready with a welcome update that included two major features requested by users.

Email support means that you can now open drawings that you receive as email attachments to your mobile device.

Also the update makes AutoCAD WS available even when the user is not connected to the Internet.

So, What’s Next?

Well, you’ve asked for all sorts of things. You want AutoCAD WS to support more products and you want it to be available on a range of different platforms, especially Android.

2010 has been a great year for AutoCAD WS and we guarantee that even more good things are planned for 2011.

The only thing that remains is for us to wish you all a Happy New Year!

Adding Fonts in AutoCAD WS

Dec 23

AutoCAD WS for web and mobile comes preloaded with all the same font files as AutoCAD.

If you are working in a language other than English or with an unusual font, it may not be supported when you upload your drawing to AutoCAD WS.

AutoCAD WS will always try to present your drawing in one of its preloaded fonts. As long as the text in your drawing uses the Latin character set you should be able to read the text even without the exact font.

For a precise representation or if your drawing uses non-Latin characters, you will need to import and update the correct font file. Once you have updated a font for a drawing, it will be visible for that drawing whether you are viewing it over the web or with your iPad or iPhone.

To import and update a font, go to the View tab in AutoCAD WS web client. From here, click on the Fonts button.

Manage Fonts

The window to the right will appear.

In this example, you can see five fonts that have been imported and recognized. You can also see that four are missing.

Click “Import” for each font that is missing. Once you locate the font file on your computer you can import it.

When the font has been successfully imported, click Update Fonts.

Successfully imported fonts will also work for all shared versions of the drawing.

Your imported fonts can be found in the Fonts folder in AutoCAD WS.

Imported Fonts

Any imported fonts will be automatically available for drawings that are uploaded to your AutoCAD WS online account after the import. From that moment forward the imported font will be identified in drawings uploaded via the web client or through your mobile device.

You will have to update the fonts manually for drawings that were already in your online account.

Dropbox Now Supported by AutoCAD WS

Dec 14

Our goal is to allow you to upload your drawings to your AutoCAD WS account from anywhere you store them. That’s the way to make AutoCAD WS a truly mobile experience.

The latest update to AutoCAD WS (now available on the App Store) introduced Upload from Email for the first time. Now you can open DWG files that you receive as email attachments simply by tapping on the attachment.

The integration with the iOS email system also enables other cloud storage applications, such as Dropbox and Box.net, to work seamlessly with AutoCAD WS.

iPad

If you usually store your drawings using Dropbox, you can open them directly onto your iPad. Tap the DWG file in Dropbox. When it is ready, you just tap the “Open In…” icon in the top right of your screen and select AutoCAD WS. Your drawing will now open in AutoCAD WS. At the same time it will be added to your AutoCAD WS online account so you will be able to access it again at any time, even when you are offline. You will also be able to access and edit the drawing from any web browser using AutoCAD WS.

If you’re using the Box.net app on your iPad, it functions in almost exactly the same way – just tap the “Open In…” icon in the top right of your screen to view the drawing in AutoCAD WS.