SmartSketch LE - Review

SmartSketch was introduced by Intergraph under the name of Imagineer Technical, and was from the outset an outstanding example of a 2D drafting and diagramming system. At the time it was unusual for CAD programs to operate fully under the conventions of the Windows environment, especially in terms of user interaction.

Since the change to the SmartSketch name, the product has added features more associated with office diagramming software rather than traditional CAD – in particular, a system of ‘smart’ symbols that make diagram creation vastly easier than with traditional CAD drawing methods. Other products that use similar diagramming facilities are fairly awkward for technical drawing type of work. SmartSketch began as a fully-fledged 2D CAD drafting system and added the smart diagramming facilities. The result is a unique combination of 2D drafting capability with easy, automated diagramming capability.

This latest version of SmartSketch is taking advantage of the internet for its marketing and should gain a much wider recognition than its earlier versions managed through conventional retailing networks.

SmartSketch LE, where the ‘LE’ stands for ‘Limited Edition’, is available at very low cost for download from the Web. It can be augmented by adding extra modules, each designed for a particular field of work. I imagine most users would add at least one of the extra modules, since it is the industry-specific tools that give the system its greatest efficiency in real usage. The modular delivery method enables users to select, pay for and download just the facilities they need. There is also an option on the web site to upgrade to the full SmartSketch 3.0 product, which is then delivered on CD.

Full SmartSketch 3.0 on CD

The SmartSketch LE essential core module is a 59Mb download priced at US$99. In addition there is the following choice of specialist modules:

• Electrical diagramming (6Mb) US$99
• GD&T and Weld Symbols (2.7Mb) US$49
• Process Solutions (21Mb) US$249
• CAD Translators – AutoCAD & MicroStation (1.6Mb) US$149
• ImageScape - vector/raster (3.7Mb) US$99
• Web Publishing (11Mb) US$49.

Intergraph claim SmartSketch LE with appropriate modules will deliver for most users the advanced 2D CAD facilities they need for under US$250, making it exceptional value. I’d agree with that claim. People who have previously found CAD too hard to learn and use, will most likely find SmartSketch much easier, as well as more powerful than many more costly systems.

CAD systems used to be organized entirely around the drawing of objects "full size". Users then found various complications in organizing the scaling of that work to fit on paper prints together with the non-scaled paper-related objects such as dimensions, text and title blocks. Later, most systems added a separate Paper or Layout mode to scale projections of the full size objects onto paper outlines with annotations. SmartSketch brings the two classes of drawing objects – object-related and paper-related – together, in a system that is based around the paper sheets on which the printing will be done. It keeps the two classes of objects separate behind the scenes, but allows you to work without much concern for the difference, rather like working on a drawing board without having to worry about the scales. The only restriction this system imposes is that each paper sheet (and you can have many in the one job file) can have only one scale for the objects represented upon it. At least I couldn’t see any way of having different scales on the one sheet.

When drawing basic line-work, SmartSketch provides exceptionally convenient drawing aids. Snapping to existing graphics and placing graphic features in particular geometric relationships to existing graphics is so automated that you rarely have to invoke any special tools. The appropriate facilities automatically show up whenever they become possible and relevant as you work. This type of dynamic drawing assistance was extremely rare when SmartSketch’s predecessor, Imagineer, was first introduced, but only very recently, the major long established CAD systems have added similar features to various degrees. In SmartSketch, the mouse cursor continually shows what sorts of geometric relationships can exist as you move the mouse to specify locations for new work. Fleeting symbols indicate the types of snaps possible and fleeting guide lines show relationships to existing features. It makes it easy to draw very quickly, effortlessly and accurately – a rare combination.

SmartSketch is very strong on symbol placement and manipulation. Its symbols are parametric objects, and can be defined to respond in various appropriate ways to being manipulated by the symbol’s editing handles. Most symbols have corner handles on their imaginary ‘bounding-box’ plus a center point and a rotation handle. When the rotation handle (on a sort of lever extending out of the bounding-box) is dragged around, the system shows any relationships that arise to nearby objects and continuously shows the angles being produced. See the two example images.

This shows the same symbol being dragged to rotate. Note the pop-up text showing the current angle and the alignment lines.

Symbols can automatically cut into existing connection lines, or connecting lines can be added after the symbols have been placed on a grid. Symbols can have defined connection points, and when used, the connecting lines will automatically re-route themselves sensibly if the symbols are moved around.

The hidden data attached to each symbol and graphic object can be manipulated easily to modify the form of a graphic object, and additional text data can be added as desired. The data attached to all objects can then be aggregated and gathered in a table either on the drawing sheet or externally. Conversely, the data can be easily linked so that changing values in the associated spreadsheet will alter the form of graphic objects. This parametric facility is very rare among simple 2D CAD systems. The ability to easily aggregate object data into a table constitutes a built-in parts list or bill-of-materials facility that is also rare.

Translating CAD data between different CAD products is usually a tricky task that introduces many problems. SmartSketch is very unusual in having such detailed support for integrating data from the two major CAD products. It can handle it both by translation into SmartSketch data and as embedded external references directly to the original DWG or DGN files. In the latter case, data appears in SmartSketch quite normally but remains stored in its original form. The system fully supports all MicroStation and AutoCAD line-types, fonts, cells, blocks and attached tag-data, attributes, extended-entity-data and database linkages. Blocks or cells can be converted to SmartSketch symbols if desired. Data can be saved after changing in the original DWG or DGN format if desired. The module supports MicroStation data of versions V4, V5 and SE, and AutoCAD R10 to 2000. If the external CAD files include raster image data then the SmartSketch ImageScape module will also be needed to fully handle it.

Like all these modules, this adds industry specific toolbars and menus to the basic SmartSketch system. This module includes about 250 electrical. The automated routing of symbol linkage-lines and anchoring of linkage lines to symbols that is in the basic system is very valuable when laying out and altering schematic diagrams. Component and connection annotations are automated and organized as attributes that can later be gathered into tables.

A major problem I found here is that although the symbols are provided in what are described as ‘metric’ and ‘imperial’ versions, that appears to refer only to their relative sizes for the working drawing units. The metric symbols are all to the USA standards only. The international IEC/ISO symbols used throughout Europe, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and elsewhere, are not provided at all. This is a problem with many American CAD products. For people performing electrical and electronic work outside America it makes the product unusable unless they can obtain alternative international symbol sets.

This operates similarly to the electrical module. There may be similar US-international symbol standards problems, but I’m not familiar enough with this field to know.

This allows raster images or hybrid vector/raster artwork to be integrated with the vector drafting work. All common raster formats are supported in two-level, grayscale, palletized color and Trucolor, including GIF, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, CAL, PCX, RLE, COT, TGA, CIT, CRL, CMP and RGB. Images can be scaled, rotated and adjusted for brightness, contrast and color, and some types of image manipulations are also supported.

This is a big module that provides very thorough facilities for many types of diagrams. These include Control Loop diagrams, Process block diagrams, Ortho piping diagrams, PFDs and P&IDs, and Plot Plans. Again, the symbols may not suit if standards differ.

This provides facilities for saving SmartSketch drawings in forms suitable for display on the Web. Drawings can be saved as ready to use HTML web pages including hyperlinks added to elements of the drawing. Alternatively drawings can be saved as ActiveCGM format for manual embedding into Web pages. If the ImageScape module is also used, raster and hybrid graphics can be included.

Summary

SmartSketch LE represents extremely good value, capability and ease of use for most types of CAD work where 2D methods are appropriate, subject only to the issue of having only USA symbols provided. Intergraph may be able to supply international standard symbol libraries on request, but they were not on the CD I was sent and I could not find any source on the Intergraph web site [Intergraph comments...]. If that is not an issue for you, then the product can be recommended without reservation.