Sneak Peaks

PoweCADD version 7 Sneak Peaks

Here they are! Sneak Peaks of the soon to be release version of PowerCADD 7. For the record, no, we're violating any non-disclosure agreements Cool ; we're simply posting followup tidbits here after they've been officially leaked by Engineered Software.

Have fun with these teasers. When will PowerCADD 7 be released? There's been no official date but we're speculating early first quarter 2006. Check with your local reseller or distributor for specifics.

PowerCADD v7 was released in January 2006 and we have numerous tutorials and articles covering a wide range of content on PowerCADD v7. To view this Premium Content you need to register and log in: please see the link in the right hand navigation area on where to log in or for links on creating an account.

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Attribute Styles

Bill Stanley, President of Engineered Software XTNL URL, posted a sneak peak publicly XTNL URL of the new Object Attributes Window in the soon to be released update for PowerCADD 7. Here's our take on things.

The new feature refers to Styles, specifically creating new Attribute Styles. Styles is a time saving feature allowing you to save specific attribute setting combinations as an Attribute Style. These Attribute Styles can then be applied by selecting them from Attribute menu > Styles or from a Contextual Menu when you Control+Click on an object.

Choosing Attribute menu > Styles > New... (a new menu command) brings up a new Attribute Style dialog. The new, Styles, feature appears to support saving various object attributes including Opacity? (new!) among many other attribute options. You be the judge of just what all these neat new features can bring to your work flow!



[inline:AttrStyles-1.jpg]




We're looking forward to talking more about the new features of PowerCADD 7 as soon as the product is available.

caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

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Attributes Window

Bill Stanley, President of Engineered Software XTNL URL, posted a sneak peak publicly XTNL URL of the new Object Attributes Window in the soon to be released update for PowerCADD 7. Here's our take on things.

The Attributes Window (Window menu > Attributes) is a floating window which allows you to change the drawing attributes of specific tools or all tools available in the Tool palette quickly and easily. You may also use the Attributes Window to change the characteristics of existing objects just as you do using the Attribute menu. If you're a veteran PowerCADD or PowerDRAW user, think of this as the old Defaults Window on steroids.


Examine the diagram carefully; from the look of the new Attributes Window it appears we have some existing new features in store for PowerCADD 7!

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

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Layer Opacity

Bill Stanley, President of Engineered Software XTNL URL, posted a sneak peak publicly XTNL URL of the new Layer Opacity? Attribute in the soon to be released update for PowerCADD 7. Read the rest of this article to get our take on things.

The new feature refers to Layer Attributes, and specifically being able to globally adjust the opacity of a layer. Layer Opacity allows you to specify to what degree information is hidden or revealed below the layer. For example, a layer opacity of 100% hides all information below the layer. A layer set to 10% opacity would appear almost transparent, allowing you to see through to objects below. Adjusting layer opacity affects the Pen and Fill opacity of all objects on a layer, as compared to adjusting an objects Pen or Fill opacity attributes separately using the Attributes window. It may be helpful to consider Layer Opacity as Global to everything on a layer, and cumulative with respect object opacity attributes.

To adjust the Opacity Attribute of a specific Layer (or selected Layers), do this:

  1. open the Layers Window by choosing Window menu > Layers Window (or press the L)
  2. click on a layer name in the layer list
  3. double click the layer name or click Edit
  4. the Layer Attributes dialog appears as shown below
  5. drag the opacity slider left or right to change the layers opacity or enter a value in the Layer Opacity field
  6. click OK to see the results

Keep in mind the effects of adjusting opacity at the object and layer levels are going to be combined as shown below. It's also important to remember that when a layer status is set to dimmed (it may be on, off or dimmed) the layer is rendered as transparent and that effect will be combined as well. In this example all the circles have a pen opacity of 100% (solid) and a fill opacity as noted. The horizontal line is on the bottom most layer and all opacity settings are 100% (solid). Observe how the circles show more or less of the line as the opacity settings are combined.

[inline:LayerOpacityDiagramD.JPG.jpg]

As you can see, Layer Opacity can be a great way to globally change all the opacity attributes of objects on the same layer, and it can be combined with other opacity attributes to create a variety of effects. Just how important will Layer Opacity be in your work flow? Well, consider things like existing verses proposed conditions of a building or site plan. Perhaps a demolition plan. Perhaps you need to illustrate another consultants imported layers for context while emphasizing your particular component of the work. The usefulness of Layer Opacity exceeds just illustration work; have fun and experiment!

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

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PowerDWG Translator

Bill Stanley, President of Engineered Software XTNL URL, posted a sneak peak publicly XTNL URL of the new PowerDWG Translator in the soon to be released update for PowerCADD 7. Here's our take on things.

Part 1: File? formats
Yes! PowerDWG will read AutoCAD DWG release 10 through release 2006 file formats.

While we can't discuss the particulars of the translation process until the product is released, suffice to say part 1 is some pretty big news that will be welcome by many long time PowerCADD users.

Part 2: Improved Translator interface
If a picture is really worth a thousand words then the new DWG Incoming Settings dialog is War and Piece condensed into a single window!

Remember the old way? Well, as James Caan said in Mickey Blue Eyes XTNL URL "Fuhgeddaboutit" (forget about it) Cool No more guess work thanks to an improved interface that includes a live preview! Every change made in the Incoming Settings dialog is updated in the Preview Pane and the suggested drawing scale and page size update too! Here's a general breakdown of the new interface:







We can't wait to talk more about this new suite of features; these should be a time and money saver.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

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Scale Hatch Patterns

Bill Stanley, President of Engineered Software XTNL URL, posted a sneak peak publicly XTNL URL of the new ability to Scale Hatch Patterns in the soon to be released update for PowerCADD 7. Read the rest of this article to get our take on things.

There is a new Hatch Settings submenu in the Attributes menu! Among the new options available for Hatch Settings is the ability to specify a scale factor ( Hatch Settings > Scale... ) to enlarge or reduce the size of a hatch pattern! Look closely folks, because while the new feature sneak peak deals specifically with Scale... there are some other new items in the menu that warrant careful consideration which we're not at liberty to openly discuss. Cool


[inline:H1.jpg]



What does this mean? Well, it's a pretty big deal really. Remember that hatch patterns in PowerCADD 6 and PowerCADD 7 are associative and behave much like fill patterns in that they reflow when objects are resized or reshaped. In PowerCADD 6, a hatch pattern had to be converted to objects (hardened) before it could be rescaled, thereby breaking the association with the source object. With Hatch Settings > Scale... the pattern can be rescaled so it can be tweaked to suit a particular drawing scale, and still maintain it's association with the source object.


[inline:Hatches2.jpg]



No more having to play around trying to get the hatch scale right! Just draw the object, hatch it, and choose Hatch Settings > Scale... to make it larger or smaller. That has to be a productivity increase and time/money saver for anyone who deals with hatches in their drawings. Don't forget, hatches also translate via DWG? and DXF? and with the associative nature of hatches and other features you have to wonder if they might supplant fill patterns for a lot of users. Particularly those who need to maximize DWG compatibility but still want all the benefits of Macintosh fill patterns.



We hope that helps
caddpower.com

P.S.: Did you notice the New Hatch menu item has an arrow which represents a new submenu too. Makes a person wonder just what's behind that curtain! |:)

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank!

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