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发信人: hbo (H.B.), 信区: CAD
标 题: AutoCAD R14 Q&A(1) Qlin (转寄)
发信站: 深大荔园晨风站 (Thu Mar 12 10:40:34 1998), 转信
寄信人: Qlin(Qlin)
标 题: AutoCAD R14 Q&A(1)
发信站: 华南理工大学 BBS木棉站
日 期: Fri May 23 02:32:14 1997
AutoCAD Release 14 Questions and Answers
---------------------------------------------------------
1.General Product Information
2.Product Quality
3.Performance
4.Compatibility
5.Networking
6.Technology
7.Platforms and System Requirements
8.Different Language Versions
9.Pricing
10.Registration and Authorization
11.Sales
12.Learning and Training
13.Future
14.Additional Technical Information
-----------------------------------------------------------
1. General Product Information
1.1 What is AutoCAD Release 14?
Built for speed and efficiency, this newest edition of
the world's design software standard delivers dozens
of enhancements in areas that most influence
productivity: exceptional performance, precision
drawing tools such as AutoSnap?, data-sharing features
like raster image and reference file clipping, and
presentation capabilities such as photorealistic
rendering, solid fills, drawing order, and TrueType
fonts. A streamlined user interface helps you work
smarter, while ActiveX? Automation means a wider range
of customization tools and compatibility with Windows?
software. You can even open, save, or drag and drop
drawings over the Web.
1.2 Who will use AutoCAD Release 14?
AutoCAD Release 14 is designed for use by design and
drafting professionals worldwide. Existing AutoCAD
customers, other CAD system users, and users new to
CAD will all benefit from this release.
1.3 Is AutoCAD Release 14 available
now?
Yes, you can order AutoCAD Release 14 from your
nearest Authorized Autodesk Dealer. If you order
Release 14 by September 30, 1997, you can also receive
a VIP Subscription for six months.
1.4 How did you determine which
features and enhancements would be in
AutoCAD Release 14?
The features included in AutoCAD Release 14 reflect
the wishes of our customers. We followed a rigorous
validation program to obtain guidance and advice from
several thousand customers. We visited sites around
the world, and performed activity analysis and
usability testing throughout the software's
development.
2. Product Quality
2.1 What have you done differently to
ensure a quality release?
The alpha testing program began in September 1996 and
we entered the beta testing phase in March 1997,
distributing over 16,000 copies to sites around the
world.
The alpha/beta testing program for AutoCAD Release 14
was the largest and most thorough testing program
Autodesk has ever had for any version of AutoCAD
software. This global program included testers from a
wide variety of industries and diverse levels of CAD
experience. The AutoCAD Market Group is committed to
delivering a high-quality product, and in doing so,
collected and acted upon a tremendous amount of
customer feedback during the early development phases
of this product. Our objective was to make Release 14
the highest-quality AutoCAD ever released.
2.2 How many more alpha/beta sites
did Release 14 have than earlier
releases?
The customer testing process for Release 14 started
with a small set of approximately 100 customer and
developer sites around the world and steadily grew
during a cycle of three alpha releases. The beta
release was sent to more than 16,000 sites around the
world, roughly three times more than any beta software
distribution in Autodesk history.
3. Performance
3.1 How does AutoCAD Release 14
software's performance differ from
Release 13 and 12?
Autodesk and industry-standard CAD benchmarks show
that Release 14 is noticeably faster in many common
operations than previous releases. The Autodesk User
Group International (AUGI?) AutoGauge Benchmark shows
Release 14 running twice as fast as Release 13 and
faster than Release 12 DOS benchmarked on the same
machine. However, with the incredible variety of
drawings and design styles our customers have, we
recommend that each customer measure the benefits of
Release 14 for themselves.
3.2 How much faster is Release 14?
The speed gains depend on the drawings being used and
the operations being carried out. For most file,
drawing, and editing operations exercised by
benchmarks such as AutoGauge, San Diego 2D, or the
CADALYST '96 Benchmark, internal results show that
Release 14 is twice as fast as Release 13 and about 20
to 40 percent faster than Release 12 DOS when running
on the same machine.
4. Compatibility
4.1 Will current applications work
with AutoCAD Release 14?
As with previous releases, AutoCAD Release 14
maintains full upward portability for AutoLISP?
applications and user-customized files such as menus,
pattern, and linetype files. Some applications will
need to be modified to handle the new hatch and
polyline data structures.
Binary applications, such as ADS and AutoCAD? Runtime
Extension (ARX) applications, need to be recompiled
with AutoCAD Release 14 libraries. They will be
source-code compatible, except where developers wish
to leverage any new objects or capabilities of AutoCAD
Release 14. We are working closely with our
application developer community on the AutoCAD Release
14 compatibility program.
4.2 How close is the third-party
developer community in delivering
applications that are Release 14
compatible?
For some time, we have been working closely with our
application developer partners around the world. Some
of them were the first ones to receive alpha copies of
AutoCAD Release 14, and we gradually expanded our
distribution to include all members of the Autodesk
Developer Network.
Because the final Software Development Kit (SDK) for
Release 14 has shipped, we are confident that several
developers will have a Release 14-compatible product
ready within 30 to 60 days of the first customer
shipment of Release 14 (May 8, 1997).
4.3 Can AutoCAD Release 14 read older
drawings?
AutoCAD Release 14 reads all previous versions of
AutoCAD drawing files. In addition, it provides native
read/write data round-trip with AutoCAD Release 13 and
can write to AutoCAD Release 12 format as well.
4.4 Do old ADI? drivers work with this
release?
All ADI (Autodesk Device Interface?) digitizer and plot
drivers work with this release. Raster printing
requires newer ADI 4.3 print drivers.
With the new graphics pipeline, there is no longer an
ADI display driver interface AutoCAD Release 14 simply
uses the default Windows display driver.
4.5 How interoperable is AutoCAD
Release 14?
AutoCAD Release 14 provides perfect file
interoperability with AutoCAD Release 13 and AutoCAD
LT? for Windows? 95. It interoperates with other Windows
applications through a superior implementation of OLE
2.0 and works with other Autodesk products such as
AutoCAD Map?, 3D Studio MAX?, and the Mechanical Desktop
via the DWG file format.
The common Windows interface found in Autodesk
products provides the user with familiar easy-to-use
tools.
4.6 Are AutoCAD Release 14 and
AutoCAD LT users able to read each
other's files?
AutoCAD Release 14 reads any drawing created by
AutoCAD LT Release 1, Release 2, and AutoCAD LT for
Windows 95. In order for AutoCAD LT to read a Release
14 file, you must use an explicit SAVEAS command and
choose the appropriate file type to save the file.
4.7 Are AutoCAD Release 14 and
Release 13 DWG files bidirectionally
compatible?
Release 14 can read all Release 13 data flawlessly. In
order for Release 13 to read a Release 14 file, you
must use the SAVEAS dialog to save a Release 14 file
in a Release 13 format. Data does round-trip though,
so an object created in Release 14, such as raster,
that is saved in Release 13 format (where it cannot
appear) will reappear when that file is opened back in
Release 14.
4.8 How large of a task is it to
migrate customized menus over to
AutoCAD Release 14 from Release 12
DOS?
AutoCAD Release 14 should be able to read these menus;
however, they wouldn't include the new Release 13 and
14 commands. Release 14 supports a new, more flexible
menu structure; you may want to explore partial menu
loading as a method for adding your special
functionality to the base Release 14 menus.
4.9 What device driver changes have
been made for AutoCAD Release 14?
No changes have been made to the ADI 4.2 digitizer
driver interface drivers that work with Release 13
will continue to work with Release 14. The same holds
true for plotter drivers, where 4.2 drivers continue
to work with Release 14. Customers requiring support
of raster output to hard copy devices will need to use
an ADI 4.3 driver.
There no longer is an ADI display pipeline for graphic
card drivers the Windows system display interface is
used.
4.10 How will existing AutoLISP?
programs be affected by changes in
AutoCAD Release 14?
For the most part, AutoLISP programs will run just
fine in Release 14. Programs that manipulate data will
need to be modified to recognize and handle the new
hatch and polyline data structures.
4.11 Do AutoCAD Release 13 and
Release 12 add-on applications work
with AutoCAD Release 14?
No, binary Release 13 and 12 applications will need to
be recompiled and relinked using Release 14 libraries.
We are working closely with our application partners
to release all major applications within 30 days of
shipping Release 14.
4.12 Why should someone upgrade to
AutoCAD Release 14 if their add-on
application is not ready yet?
If you make heavy use of an application and are fully
dependent on it for day-to-day productivity, we do not
recommend upgrading your entire installation to
Release 14 until this application is ready. We do
recommend getting a few trial seats installed to
become familiar with the user interface and inherent
capabilities of Release 14.
4.13 When will the other Release
14-based Autodesk products be
available?
AutoCAD Map will be available within 15 to 30 days of
the shipment of Release 14. The AEC Professional Suite
(US only) will include Release 14 within 30 days. The
remaining Autodesk products, such as Mechanical
Desktop and AutoCAD LT, are expected to ship in the
second half of this year.
4.14 Has the data structure changed
from AutoCAD Release 13 to Release 14
as it did between Release 12 and
Release 13?
The DWG file has a different revision number since it
contains new objects. This means that the customer
must carry out an explicit SAVEAS operation to make
Release 14 DWG files readable by Release 13. The file
format change between Release 13 and 12 was dramatic?
we switched to an object-oriented database; the change
between 13 and 14 is small and guarantees 100 percent
round-trip of data.
4.15 Does AutoCAD Release 14 increase
interoperability with 3D Studio MAX?
The 3DS file output function in Release 14 is the same
as that in Release 13. However, 3D Studio MAX provides
an excellent DWG Plug-In that provides much better
data interoperability with AutoCAD.
4.16 Are the products from Autodesk
Data Publishing compatible with
AutoCAD Release 14?
Yes, PartSpec?, MaterialSpec?, and DesignBlocks? to
work with Release 14.
5. Networking
5.1 Have you improved networking
functionality?
Yes, we have added a range of new networking tools
that will assist CAD managers. AutoCAD Release 14
provides a floating network license manager,
multi-user preferences, simplified network
installation, batch plotting, support for network
print queues, and system file locking.
5.2 How can an AutoCAD Release 14
stand-alone product be converted to a
network version or node?
To convert a Release 14 stand-alone product, customers
should contact their Authorized Autodesk Dealer with
the serialized media and request a network version.
After receiving your serialized media, your dealer
will order a network exchange from Autodesk for a
nominal charge.
In the case of nodes, stand-alone units can be
converted by contacting the the Autodesk Customer
Satisfaction Center (CSC) the existing serial number
is swapped for a node serial number. (For customers
outside the US and Canada, please refer to
International CSC phone numbers.) For customers who
purchase license packs, they have the option to
receive the User's Guide at no additional charge.
5.3 Can I buy a license pack for
AutoCAD Release 14 for my network
environment?
Yes. This process is the same as it was for Release
13.
5.4 Which network license technology
is used in AutoCAD Release 14?
The Elan License Manager, which has been the AutoCAD
for UNIX? floating license manager for the past three
releases.
6. Technology
6.1 How does AutoCAD Release 14 take
advantage of the Internet?
Building on the success of the Internet Publishing
Kit, AutoCAD Release 14 continues to expand your
access to quick-start Internet tools. Built-in tools
for publishing, sharing, and accessing information on
the Web make it easy and inexpensive for you to share
designs over the Internet. Autodesk is committed to
making the Internet a more effective and practical
medium for you to use in your business梐nd for keeping
in touch with Autodesk.
6.2 What is the status of VBA and
AutoCAD Release 14?
Microsoft's planned delivery for Visual Basic for
Applications (VBA) slipped beyond our target Release
14 feature-complete date. Because of this, we decided
to defer the inclusion of VBA to a future release of
AutoCAD. AutoCAD Release 14 includes an ActiveX
Automation interface which provides programmatic
access to AutoCAD via an external Visual Basic
Routine. The shipping copy of Release 14 includes our
current VBA implementation in a "preview" (or beta)
form on all English-language products.
6.3 Why are you using Heidi? and not
OpenGL?
OpenGL currently lacks key functionality, such as
picking and plotting, to be fully useful as a core
graphics subsystem for AutoCAD. The Heidi? layered
architecture is ideally suited to leveraging the
capabilities of any platform that it runs on top of.
If OpenGL is ever fully capable of handling all
operations useful to AutoCAD customers, the Heidi
graphics architecture will be able to take advantage
of it.
6.4 Why should I care about object
technology?
Object technology represents the paradigm upon which
design software for the next decade will be built. For
many years, CAD products have been efficient geometry
engines. Object technology promises to remove the
abstraction of real-world objects into geometry, which
should improve user productivity, design integrity,
and the integration of applications leveraging this
technology.
You should care about object technology because it
will result in smaller files, faster drawing
operations, and easier learning. Applications that
leverage this technology are likely to be vastly
superior to those that do not.
As with any new technology, objects will take some
time to realize their full potential. Many independent
application developers are already taking advantage of
AutoCAD software's object technology. Many existing
partner applications will have to be rewritten to
leverage this capability.
AutoCAD Release 14 represents a step into the future
of design software with its object-oriented database,
Web connectivity, and new graphics engine while
maintaining the present a great production drawing
product.
For more information read our Release 14 Technology
Review.
6.5 Does AutoCAD Release 14 take
advantage of the new MMX technology?
No, Release 14 does not take advantage of the MMX
technology.
6.6 Where are the API files located?
The files needed to create ObjectARX? and ADSRX
applications are supplied as part of the ObjectARX
Software Developers' Kit (SDK). They are not supplied
as part of base AutoCAD Release 14.
6.7 Does AutoCAD Release 14 take
advantage of dual Pentium systems
(double processors)?
No. Customers running multiple sessions of Release 14
on dual processor systems cannot run each AutoCAD on a
different processor.
6.8 How has Autodesk used the
Microsoft Foundation Classes?
Microsoft Foundation Classes are used to build many of
the Release 14 user interface components梔ialog boxes,
toolbars, and menus.
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