Autodesk Inc - leading software and services company

Autodesk, Inc. is a Fortune 1000 company and is considered one of the world's leading software and services company for the manufacturing, infrastructure, building, media and entertainment, as well as the wireless data services fields.

Currently headquartered in San Rafael, California, Autodesk was founded by John Walker and 12 other programmers who met to develop a graphical user interface (GUI) system known as Automated Desk in 1982.

Autodesk is the originator of the FLC animation file format commonly known as a "flick" file. In addition, Autodesk uses the .FLC file extension to provide a 640x480 resolution. Earlier .FLI formats provided a 320x200 resolution. Both FLC and FLI files provide animated sequences, however they do not provide sound. FLI and FLC formats were introduced with Autodesk's Animator and Animator Pro programs for DOS respectively.

AutoCAD: Is a suite of popular CAD software products for 2-D and 3-D design and drafting, developed and sold by Autodesk.

AutoCAD LT: Is considered to be one of the best solutions on the market. AutoCAD LT operates on mainstream Windows computers and doesn't require any additional hardware devices. AutoCAD LT is marketed as a CAD package for individuals who only require 2D functionality. When compared to the full edition of AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT lacks 3D capabilities, and does not include any programming interfaces.

Autodesk has developed several overlay programs, know as Desktops, for discipline-specific enhancements such as Architectural Desktop, which permits architectural designers to draw walls, doors and windows, with more intelligent data than with simple objects such as lines and circles. Other Desktops include Civil Design, Civil Design 3D, and Civil Design Professional, which allow data-specific objects to be used, allowing standard civil engineering calculations to be made and represented easily. In addition, Autodesk Inventor permits the technician to design any moving object and then visually represent movements on screen.

AutoCAD R14 introduced templates to allow users to start a drawing from a model.

In version 2006, AutoCAD added dynamic blocks, which have capabilities similar to the symbols used in Microsoft Visio. Blocks are a group of program statements that are treated as a unit based on the results of a comparison. On the Web there are many sites, which offer AutoCAD blocks, linetypes, hatch patterns, etc.

The latest version of AutoCAD is AutoCAD 2007 sports some very impressive new features, mainly in 3D modeling. Other new features include: Save As, which allows the user to save a DWG all the way back to Release 14. An Interface that displays command names, options, prompts, and values next to the crosshairs. Improved Object Selection Dynamic Blocks, which permit the user to insert a single block definition and select its configuration as the user inserts it

Home page

Disclaimers

Reviews of CAD Manufacturers

For Architects

Other uses for Cad software

FAQ's

Where to buy