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New CAD on the Block

Tony Zilles

IntelliCAD is a landmark product for the technical design and drawing community.

For the first time, a very capable CAD package has hit the streets for less than US$500, undercutting its main competitor by a vast margin!

I sometimes wonder how developers summon the energy to create and market products in the face of the seemingly overwhelming domination of the market by AutoCAD. Yet there are a number of quite powerful CAD products available.

Some carve out a niche with a vertical market such as architecture, home building, mechanical engineering or GIS. Some serve regional markets. Each is an island in a sea of technology, with its own user and programming interface, and its own file format. Many claim read/write compatibility with common file formats like Autodesk's DWG and Bentley's DGN. Success varies and comes with limitations. In the sub-$1000 range there seems little room for inspired innovation.

IntelliCAD comes to market from an entirely different direction to most CAD packages. It is aimed squarely at the AutoCAD user rather than providing incidental AutoCAD support in some areas. Visio acquired the IntelliCAD technology with its remarkable level of AutoCAD compatibility and a swag of innovation to boot. It is now cranking the successful Visio high volume/low price point marketing model into gear with the very powerful IntelliCAD package.

No single factor in the IntelliCAD formula is earth-shattering. But the combination and timing gives IntelliCAD a unique quality and makes it worthy of landmark status.

AutoCAD Compatibility

There’s no secret in the fact that IntelliCAD plays the AutoCAD tune loud and long. It’s a major plank in the promotional platform that will attract users in droves.

• Native support for DWG format (that’s version 2.5 through Release 14!)
• AutoLISP support
• AutoCAD Development System support
• MNU, SCR, PGP, DCL support
• Command line and command set

I’ve toyed with both preview beta versions and nothing else comes this close to working with AutoCAD. There are some problems in the betas - as you would expect - the final cut is the one that really matters. The betas do give a taste of what to look forward to however. Some of IntelliCAD's unique features of like on-the-fly alias customization and multiple document interface stack up very favorably indeed.

AutoCAD-trained users will be able to move between AutoCAD and IntelliCAD without missing a beat. Conversely IntelliCAD trained users will be able to drive AutoCAD, although they may miss some of IntelliCAD’s innovations. Staff training is a major investment for any business deploying high tech systems. Retaining the value of past training will be a huge benefit to many companies that license IntelliCAD or decide to run an AutoCAD/IntelliCAD shop.

Innovation

In spite of IntelliCAD’s AutoCAD compatibility, the "AutoCAD clone" tag is a little shortsighted. IntelliCAD has adopted the features of AutoCAD that will it to fit into existing work systems and used efficiently by AutoCAD-capable staff. It also brings a number of significant innovations to the party.

The most significant innovation is probably the multiple drawing interface (MDI) that allows multiple drawings to be opened in a single instance of IntelliCAD. Users can cut and paste geometry between drawings. The MDI and Drawing Explorer also work well together. Being able to copy layers and styles between drawings is just a click-and-drag exercise

On-the-fly customization of menus, aliases and keystrokes is also a facility that you use more often than you might suppose.

Being able to examine drawing data with the Drawing Explorer is a brilliant innovation and exposes complex information in a way that is strangely familiar to Windows users.

The low overhead that IntelliCAD demands of hardware means that folks should be able to stretch a bit more life out of an aging system. Before you get too excited, don't grab that 386 back off the kids just yet.  Visio claims a minimum requirement of 486/66 with 16Mb of RAM and 50 Mb of free hard disk. A CD-ROM drive is required for installation. Haven’t seen a machine like that for awhile, but I’m sure there are still some around. It probably will run IntelliCAD too, but let's not tempt fate with the base configuration. Ever the skeptic, I’ll double Visio's minimum configuration. Let's say a Pentium 133MHz with 32Mb of RAM and 100Mb of free hard disk. An obsolete spec, but there are probably a few of these still delivering good service. A machine like this will run IntelliCAD very well, multiple drawings open, the works.

Distribution channel

Unlike the high cost CAD packages, IntelliCAD is distributed through regular retail channels, like most other commodity software. Traditionally the CAD distribution channel is a primary provider of hardware, systems support, consumables and training. Few retail channels can provide the level of value-added service that CAD customers used to get in the "olden days". There are many highly professional and experienced consultants around who will be able to assist users with support and advice. You will soon be able to find such professionals listed in the Design Drawing "Professional Services Directory".

What do we want?

Is there rooms for improvement in IntelliCAD? You bet there is! The users will have plenty to say about that and I think it’s safe to say that Visio will be listening hard. There’s a bundle of technology that I'd like to see woven into IntelliCAD as soon as possible. Whispers are that a further host of innovative features and more AutoCAD compatibility additions will probably appear in the next release, if not before.

How Will CAD Users React?

Licensed AutoCAD users will continue to use AutoCAD. There is no compelling reason to change. Those involved in AutoCAD customization and in-house development are likely to grab IntelliCAD for the ease of development of menus scripts and prototype drawings. It is definitely a winner in that regard.

The cost of IntelliCAD is far less than the cost of an AutoCAD upgrade, but if you’ve already forked out several thousand dollars for software it’s unlikely that you will want to quietly stash it in the closet, just because something else has arrived. Unless the new product is vastly superior of course. IntelliCAD does have some superior features that could easily translate into higher efficiency, but not enough to jettison AutoCAD quite yet.

Unlicensed AutoCAD users will definitely move to IntelliCAD, if the cost of AutoCAD is the true reason they use unlicensed software. IntelliCAD is an opportunity to get legal software at the right price without the pain of changing file formats, relearning the interface and retaining the customization investment made over the years. In a corporate situation the cost of using unlicensed software far exceeds the short-term savings illegal software use might provide.

Offices that need more CAD seats, but which are restrained by budget from purchasing additional AutoCAD licenses should buy IntelliCAD now. They will retain file format compatibility and maintain office CAD standards using the same prototypes, menus and AutoLISP routines. They will be able to add additional capacity at lower cost and satisfy the engineering, finance and IT departments in a single bound. No mean feat.

The bane of using CAD in an engineering consultancy is that while most of your clients use AutoCAD, they seem to insist on using a range of versions between them. This requires you to maintain several operational versions in the office. In many offices this is in contravention of the licensing agreement which requires you to cease using an old version when it is upgraded. IntelliCAD on the other hand supports all versions of DWG format from that created with AutoCAD v2.6 through to Release 14. Read in a DWG in any format and write it out to any other format. (Ed. Be aware that backtracking DWG files may result in loss or undesirable changes to data)

New recruits to computer aided design will find IntelliCAD a good choice. Not only will they create documents in widely acceptable format (DWG), the learning effort invested in IntelliCAD will enable them to move easily between IntelliCAD and AutoCAD where-ever they happen to be working. The Windows interface makes learning CAD easier than it used to be. The ACAD/ICAD CAD interface is still a trying one to come to terms with. It requires training and practice to master. Those who succeed in mastering either of these products will have done so to their credit through much personal dedication. If you are starting out with CAD, be sure to budget some face-to-face, hands-on training with an experienced trainer. It is worth every cent and is a true investment in your business and your career.

We can expect Autodesk and Visio to match each other for features between releases for awhile. The first release of any software must have bugs that only become apparent with hard use. IntelliCAD will be no exception. When the first wave of bugs has been ironed out, the real differences between IntelliCAD and AutoCAD will come down to:

• add-on or front-end application support for IntelliCAD or AutoCAD (no-one really wants to use either of these products straight out of the box)
• price
• how you like the person who sells you the software (is this person providing me a solution or making a commission?)
• your satisfaction with after-sales support (can you get the answers you need for this product at a price that gives you good value?)

CAD has reached a level of commodity status that allows the market to be customer-driven rather than vendor-driven. You, the customer, call the shots and the winner is the provider who hears the call and delivers the goods.

Crystal Ball Department

The launch of IntelliCAD into the CAD market should not cause a dilemma for users or managers. If you need a Windows CAD tool with DWG file format, AutoCAD compatibility and a reasonable price, then IntelliCAD has to be a smart choice in your office. If it is AutoCAD you must have, then justify the price and buy the licenses.

Visio’s recent loss of most of the programming team that developed IntelliCAD raised more than a few eyebrows and brought the doom and gloom merchants out of their hidey holes. Without doubt this loss will set back the development schedule while a new team takes over the project. However it will not kill IntelliCAD. There is too much momentum behind this product.

Autodesk will not take the introduction of IntelliCAD lightly and has the capacity to make counter moves in the market that could shake IntelliCAD’s foundations. For example, it has long been rumored that Autodesk could easily enable AutoCAD LT with AutoLISP. The question is: can Autodesk do something like that and still retain the goodwill of its existing user base? Only time will tell.

[Editor's comment: Since this article was written (in 1999) Visio has been acquired by Microsoft and the IntelliCAD future has been assigned to the control and direction of an autonomous body - the IntelliCAD Technology Consortium. Autodesk has released several new major upgrades of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. LT still does not  include LISP programming ability.]

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