Features

General:

Increased Performance: A change in overall structure of the program to increase performance. Changes include, but are not limited to:

  • Bitmaps optimized for faster redraw
  • Database change for faster access, loading, reduced file sizes
  • Restructuring to take advantage of Apple core performance increases including faster redraw times
  • Faster redraw in Overview Window
  • Faster execution of menu commands

QuickLook Previews: Support for Mac OS X Finder-level quick preview of drawings. Press the Space Bar to view the last saved state of the PowerCADD 9 file. Previews are created for legacy PowerCADD files when saved as PowerCADD 9.

Backwards Compatibility: Open all versions of PowerCADD 1 through 9 and PowerDraw 6.

Cosmetic Changes: Improved rendering of font sizes in various floating windows including Edit and Layer Windows. Larger tool palette icons.

Consistency of Interface: User interaction is consistent with all prior release versions of PowerDraw and PowerCADD (the big change here is, once again, there was no change).

Documentation: Include link to PDF version of documentation from within the application for easier support and user self help.

Tools

  • Text Tools: Text is indexed for Spotlight Search in Mac OS X Snow Leopard
  • Selection Filter: Updated for End Cap object attribute
  • Magic Wand: Updated for End Cap object attribute
  • Parallel Line: New option for multiple increments
  • Parallel Offset: New option for multiple increments
  • Eye Dropper: Updated for End Cap object attribute
  • Rounded Rectangles: Rotating a rounded rectangle is still a rounded rectangle, previously became a polygon.

Menus:

File Menu:

  • New File Formats: Support to Open, Import, Place: EPSF, Postscript, Illustrator and numerous other raster and object level graphic formats.
  • Read and Write for .dwg release 2010 formats.
  • Improved DWG interface, default selection of area to be translated if user doesn’t select an area.
  • Improved interface when saving files to reduce the number of dialogs if a drawing has only one layer.
  • Improved reading of special characters, unicode symbols and stacked dimensions read correctly.

Preferences Menu:

  • Magnetic Windows: Turning this preference off now automatically demagnetizes all floating windows; previously they had to be manually torn apart after disabling this preference.
  • Share Usage Statistics: Send statistics to Engineered Software on most-used features to assist in refining product development.

Edit Menu:

  • Select Special: Updated for end cap attributes.
  • Exit Group: By default exiting a nested group backs out one level at a time. Previously required creating a custom key command that included OPTION key to back out one level at a time.

Tool Menu:

  • Live Area: Area and/or perimeter values inserted into the drawing are linked to the objects, values update on the fly as objects are resized or reshaped.
  • Auto Alpha: Knock out any color from a bit image and make them transparent.
  • Alpha Support: Support for alpha channels (transparency) when Open, Place, Importing bit images from other applications with transparent backgrounds.
  • PDF To Objects: Convert Postscript-based graphics (EPSF, PDF, Postscript, Illustrator, etc.) to editable objects bezier curves) or editable text.

View Menu:

  • High quality previews of all operations is now standard when moving objects.

Layout Menu:

  • Rename Sheets: More direct method of renaming sheet setups.
  • Guidelines: More direct method to delete individual guidelines, control click on a guideline to remove it.
  • Drawing Setup, Dimensions:
  • New setting to specify offset of dimension text from the dimension line.
  • New setting to control display of leading zeros.

Attribute Menu:

  • End Caps: Ability to apply a line end cap as an object attribute (previously an application wide preference).

References:

  • General: Refined and simplified model for how the user interfaces with referenced drawings.
  • Management: New Reference Status Window describing status of all references in a drawing.
  • Masking: Ability to create a rectangular or polygon shaped mask of a referenced drawing, displaying only desired portion of the drawing.
  • Edit masks to change view port or see entire drawing with real time, live preview in the main drawing window.
  • Manipulating References: Referenced drawings behave just like any other PowerCADD object making it faster and easier to perform tasks such as scaling, moving, deleting, or rotating referenced drawings.
  • Placing: Live preview of reference being placed, insertion point is placed dynamically with all other references automatically using the same reference point (see manipulating references for moving a reference).
  • Resolving Paths to References:
  • Master drawing always displays last saved state of a reference, even if the link to that reference is broken.
  • Extremely robust search engine for finding links to references that have been moved or renamed. Breaking a link to a reference is so robust that deleting the file is typically required to break a reference.
NAVIGATION MENU