AutoCAD 2002
What's New?

by Denise Harrison

 

The introduction of AutoCAD 2002 marks a new marketing and distribution model for the company. Upgrades will now be annual, in order to better manage upgrade paths, and you can buy an annual subscription for upgrading.

In terms of the software, it looks like AutoCAD 2002 takes some common tasks and makes them easier with features such as true associative dimensioning, the capability to manipulate drawing geometry with a corresponding and immediate change in the dimension or annotation. There are also new layer, text, and attribute tools.

An updated DWF format allows for printing directly from within the software's Volo View and Volo View Express viewing programs, and the Publish to Web feature is expanded in this release to allow for full customization of output as well as the addition of new templates and themes.

For CAD managers overseeing standards, AutoCAD 2002's new CAD Standards toolset lets you check and encourage standards compliance, resulting in better coordinated teams, a more efficient and effective design process, and a higher return on investment in design tools. As a part of the expansion of AutoCAD into data sharing and consumption, they built i-drop technology directly into the product. With i-drop, you can bring intelligent design content directly from a manufacturer’s website into your drawing file. In addition to an object’s geometry, i-drop allows the content provider to attach important and useful information like spec sheets or material costs and drop it into your design. This data can then be extracted using the tools in AutoCAD 2002 to create a bill of materials, for example.

If you use AutoCAD Release 14, here is what's new. Some of the features are, of course, also new to AutoCAD 2000 and AutoCAD 2000i....
The third release since AutoCAD Release 14, AutoCAD 2002 should improve overall productivity through features like Multiple Design Environment, simplified Array functionality, collaboration tools, standards management, associative dimensioning, plotting enhancements, more powerful 3D, and an estimated 24 percent better application performance.

Some of the tools available on AutoCAD 2002:

  • Product training at Authorized Autodesk Training Centers
  • Tutorials available on the Autodesk store
  • Recommended books on Autodesk Point A
  • e-Learning Resources on Point A
  • AutoCAD Learning Assistance (ALA) is a tutorial-based, multimedia learning tool available in the AutoCAD box.
  • Multiple Design Environment: Open several drawings in a single session and copy, move, and paint objects from one file to another.
  • With Associative Dimensioning, you can modify an object, and its location, orientation, and measurement values are automatically updated. No more time-consuming manual updates.
  • Visually create and position objects with enhanced AutoSnap and AutoTrack features.
  • The Array dialog box takes the guesswork out of creating arrays by letting you preview and modify array options.
  • 3D Orbit: Create, view, check, and edit 3D models as you go, from any angle, in perspective and parallel views.
  • Edit multiple polylines with a single command and join multiple objects as a polyline even if their ends do not meet or they consist of lines and polylines.
  • Extend and Trim combined: When you hold down the shift key, the trim command can extend or the extend command can trim.
  • Layer States enable you to save a snapshot of the current layer settings in the Layer Manager. Layer states can be restored, exported, and imported, making it easy to change the properties of layers for plotting or editing.
  • Drag-and-drop hatch: Find hatch patterns in the acad.pat file and drag them onto hatch areas in the current drawing using the DesignCenter feature.
  • Use the Block Attribute Manager to manage, extract, and modify attributes without having to explode or redefine the block.
  • The Edit Attribute dialog box makes it easier to edit the properties, text, and general appearance of each attribute.
  • The Enhanced Attribute Editor is a faster and more accurate way of managing individually selected block attributes.
  • Enhanced Attribute Extract allows the easy extraction of block attribute data to comma-separated text (CSV), Microsoft Excel (XLS), and Microsoft Access (MDB) formats.
  • Layer Translator converts drawings from one layer standard or convention to another using an existing drawing, standards file, or drawing template. Translation information can be saved and reused to allow quicker conversion of future drawings.
  • Layer Previous improves UNDO, ZOOM, and Layer operations. It operates much like the Zoom Previous command, and restores the previously used layer state without undoing geometry edits or zoom operations.
  • Text Scaling improves the readability of your plot output and reduces the number of manual adjustments necessary.

Streamlined Output

  • Insert multiple paper-space layouts into a single drawing composed on a virtual sheet of paper.
  • Assign lineweights to ensure your drawings plot exactly as displayed.
  • ePlot: e-mail or publish your drawings online as plotter-ready, accurate DWF (Drawing Web Format) files. Complete with plotting attributes and hyperlinks.

Strong 3D performance

  • The Heidi 3D Graphics Pipeline provides a rich 3D environment in which to create and interact with your designs.
  • 3D Orbit enables you to perform fast, real-time rotation and zooming of rendered and wireframe models. You can also dynamically create, view, check, or edit 3D models from any angle in a perspective or parallel view.

Powerful Communication and Collaboration Tools

  • eTransmit saves time and money by securely sending complete DWG files––now including the DWS standards file to anyone via e-mail. The delivery is fast and virtually cost-free.
  • Use Autodesk i-drop technology to quickly add to your designs by dragging objects from the Web or your intranet and dropping them into your drawings.
  • Meet Now uses Microsoft NetMeeting technology to provide a way to collaborate with colleagues and partners in real time over the Internet or your intranet.
  • Publish to Web makes it easy to publish drawing for review on the Web or your intranet.
  • Host critical data and drawing files using the bulletin Board at AutoCAD Today, accessible from inside AutoCAD.

Manage standards easily and accurately

  • The Standards Manager associates standards with your AutoCAD drawing and makes it easy to search for and correct standards violations.
  • Like a spell checker in a word processor, the Standards Interactive Audit checks the active drawing against the associated standards, reports on any discrepancies, and suggests appropriate resolutions.
  • The Batch Standards Checker performs batch audits on multiple drawings and generates an XML-based, browser-viewable report of standards violations.
  • Summary Report Information includes a listing of all standards violations found for each drawing.



Some of the powerful tools you get by upgrading to AutoCAD 2002
Powerful CAD Platform
    With Associative Dimensioning, you can modify an object, and its location, orientation, and measurement values are automatically updated. No more time-consuming manual updates.
    REGENless tab switching: Eliminates REGENS when switching between layouts, boosting performance and productivity.
    Edit multiple polylines with a single command and join multiple objects as a polyline even if their ends do not meet or they consist of lines and polylines.
    Extend and Trim combined: When you hold down the shift key, the trim command can extend or the extend command can trim.
    Layer States enable you to save a snapshot of the current layer settings in the Layer Manager. Layer states can be restored, exported, and imported, making it easy to change the properties of layers for plotting or editing.
    Drag-and-drop hatch: Find hatch patterns in the acad.pat file and drag them onto hatch areas in the current drawing using the DesignCenter™ feature.
    The Array dialog box takes the guesswork out of creating arrays by letting you preview and modify array options.
    Use the Block Attribute Manager to manage, extract, and modify attributes without having to explode or redefine the block.
    The Edit Attribute dialog box makes it easier to edit the properties, text, and general appearance of each attribute.
    The Enhanced Attribute Editor is a faster and more accurate way of managing individually selected block attributes.
    Enhanced Attribute Extract allows the easy extraction of block attribute data to comma-separated text (CSV), Microsoft® Excel (XLS), and Microsoft Access (MDB) formats.
    The Layer Translator converts drawings from one layer standard or convention to another using an existing drawing, standards file, or drawing template. Translation information can be saved and reused to allow quicker conversion of future drawings.
    Layer Previous improves UNDO, ZOOM, and Layer operations. It operates much like the Zoom Previous command, and restores the previously used layer state without undoing geometry edits or zoom operations.
Powerful Communication and Collaboration Tools
    eTransmit saves time and money by securely sending complete DWG files—including xrefs—via e-mail. The delivery is fast and virtually cost-free. eTransmit even includes the DWS standards file associated with the drawing, so everyone can use a single standard.
    Use Autodesk® i-drop technology to quickly add to your designs by dragging objects from the Web or your intranet and dropping them into your drawings.
    Meet Now uses Microsoft NetMeeting technology to provide a way to collaborate with colleagues and partners in real time over the Internet or your intranet.
    Publish to Web makes it easy to display drawings for review by publishing them to the Web or intranet using a wizard with predefined and fully customizable templates.
    Host critical data and drawing files using the bulletin Board at AutoCAD Today, accessible from inside AutoCAD.
Manage standards easily and accurately
    The Standards Manager associates standards with your AutoCAD drawing and makes it easy to search for and correct standards violations.
    Like a spell checker in a word processor, the Standards Interactive Audit checks the active drawing against the associated standards, reports on any discrepancies, and suggests appropriate resolutions.
    The Batch Standards Checker performs batch audits on multiple drawings and generates an XML-based, browser-viewable report of standards violations.
    Summary Report Information includes a listing of all standards violations found for each drawing.
Flexible purchasing and licensing options
    Subscribe, rent, or host: whatever works best for your business. Get the latest versions of your licensed Autodesk software for an annual subscription fee. Or rent AutoCAD for convenient lease terms of 30, 60, or 90 days. You can even use your hardware and network connections to deploy AutoCAD to multiple desktops.
    World-class license management: Maximize your software assets with the market leader. FLEXlm and SAMreport-lite offer increased reliability and better support, while protecting your existing network license management capabilities.
Compatibility
    100 percent file compatibility: The AutoCAD DWG format remains unchanged from AutoCAD 2000 and AutoCAD 2000i, guaranteeing 100 percent file compatibility. So you can seamlessly deploy new software assets, while protecting existing drawings, LISP, ARX, and VBA scripts and customizations—for maximum return on your technology investments.

    The Windows environment: AutoCAD 2002 is built for the Microsoft Windows desktop environment, including Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows NT 4.0.
    Elimination of the hardware lock: CDilla Soft Locking technology will be used in localities and applications where a hardware lock had been used. Soft locks are substantially more reliable, portable, and flexible.


 



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