BricsCAD v15 Wishlist

2

Comments

  •  After further use and going back and checking AutoCAD, the shift ortho shortcut also happens in AutoCAD, the difference is that I don't use the SHIFT key when right clicking to get to the menu for esnaps or the midpoint between two points snaps. In AutoCAD CTRL is the key used to get to this menu on right click. But at any rate, once I release the shift key in AutoCAD I can see the ortho at the bottom screen switch instantly back to polar. In Bricscad this does not happen, there is a delay and sometimes polar gets disabled completely. So it seem the feature is a little sticky in BricsCAD. Unless anyone else knows maybe a feature to make the temporary override less sticky or quicker I will have to file a support case for it.
  •  After further use and going back and checking AutoCAD, the shift ortho shortcut also happens in AutoCAD, the difference is that I don't use the SHIFT key when right clicking to get to the menu for esnaps or the midpoint between two points snaps. In AutoCAD CTRL is the key used to get to this menu on right click. But at any rate, once I release the shift key in AutoCAD I can see the ortho at the bottom screen switch instantly back to polar. In Bricscad this does not happen, there is a delay and sometimes polar gets disabled completely. So it seem the feature is a little sticky in BricsCAD. Unless anyone else knows maybe a feature to make the temporary override less sticky or quicker I will have to file a support case for it.


    I would class this as a bug with V14. Issue seems to occur when you first lock onto a polar tracking position, then press shift to engage Ortho. Doesn't happen in V13.

    Regards,

    Jason Bourhill

    CAD Concepts
    • Add ruler for tab indeiotn etc. and more format options to MTEXT
    •  Add spell check before post option to forum interface...
    sorry for the typo in last post...*indentation
  •  I've had zero time to test V14, but I didn't find the following in V13 (I may not have looked hard enough). If it's still not available, I wouldn't mind seeing:

    1. Dimension break
    2. Dimension jog lines
  •  For me there is only one issue for the next release.  Full implementation of dynamic blocks.

    -Joe
  • Less bugs in the printing of 3D views would be nice too, sometimes parts of my drawing just dissappear on a print.


    more beta testing and stability test would be good too, crashes happen too often.
  • I have only been using Bricscad for six months now but these are some of the things I would like to see implemented/improved.

    If I have missed how some of these things can be done already I would be happy to be proved wrong.

    True Copy Rotate and Move Rotate, so you can pick a new position within the drawing after rotating.

    Offset to keep Layer request during editing session.

    When offsetting to one or both sides, the ability to type in a total distance divided or multiplied by an amount; you can at present divide the distance but not multiply it. Unfortunately this ability only works with whole numbers, you can't use decimal places i.e. Bricscad accepts 50/2 but not 50.5/2.

    Running Offset so you can accept the last distance or add a new amount without coming out of the command.

    Improve the Break command with single click break point after selecting the entity; when breaking in two places, do away with the Autocad method of the selection being the first point, as there is no way of controlling where this is on the entity and the request to delete between the two break points or just break and leave the broken entity where it is.


    Export to pdf to be 100% accurate to the original file.
    At present the export usually comes out at about .25mm shorter than required, but it tends to vary from file to file.

    When copy and pasting, being able to paste more than once before having to start the procedure to do a second copy.

    Have all the parametrics in a form as opposed to having to type -parameters to get at user values.

    Hide dimensional constraints singularly as is presently possible with geometric constraints.


    Regards,
    David Waight


  •  I would like to see the following:

    • An options to ignore zoom and pan commands when undoing - having to undo view commands while trying to undo your drafting operations (especially 3D) adds unneeded steps and key strokes it can also add confustion when you are suddenly catapulted to the other side of your drawing or model.
    • The ability to constrain a sketch to a 3D object, let's say I draw a 2D rectangle and then extrude it to create a cube, double clicking (let's say) the cube brings you back to your base sketch of the rectangle where you can now change your dimensions of your original rectangle, once you accept your changes the program rebuilds the cube using your new dimensions.
    • Enhancements to the Mtext editor to allow for tab stops, numbered lists and bullet points.
  • When offsetting to one or both sides, the ability to type in a total distance divided or multiplied by an amount; you can at present divide the distance but not multiply it. Unfortunately this ability only works with whole numbers, you can't use decimal places i.e. Bricscad accepts 50/2 but not 50.5/2.


    There is a solution to using decimals in a fraction. For each decimal point, add a zero (0) in the other number. For example, instead of 50.5/2, use 505/20. I do this all the time when scaling from metric to imperial, or have other similar use of fractions as an input value. Instead of 1/25.4, I use 10/254. If you had a number like 12.345/30, you're moving the decimal place by 3, so add 3 zero's and you get 12345/30000.
  • Denis,

    Thanks for the tip, it seems to do exactly what I need.

    I wonder if there is a reason why Bricscad can't handle the decimal point?

    Regards,

    David Waight
  • I wonder if there is a reason why Bricscad can't handle the decimal point?


    I think this is a case where Bricscad copied Autocad.  The latest Autocad I have installed is 2010 and it also only does integer math in these situations.
  • It really is amazing that the wish list is this short. I'm extremely pleased with BricsCAD. I have wishes (in this order) which include:

    Improved support for dynamic blocks
    VBA for 64bit
    More of the same ... did I say that I'm pleased with BricsCAD, already.

    With that said, I've learned alot just reading this thread. Local folders added!
  •  I REALLY need to have full MTEXT compatibility with Autocad.  BricsCad has never had this.  When we get large blocks of MTEXT entities from clients that have formatting, most of the formatting is lost.  All the actual text is there, but hanging paragraphs, tab stops, etc., are lost.  We can't print this with BricsCad because it looks terrible.
  • Nothing against BricsCAD but we gave it an honest go and we had to stay with AutoCAD "LT". This forum/thread never received my full wish list because I kept having to add to it and finally I gave up on BricsCAD because there was so much missing. I also started receiving drawing errors and sheet set errors that caused BricsCAD to crash. Furthermore, I even tried to implement my own third party add-ins thinking I could save money rather than keeping AutoCAD and had to stop because the task was insurmountable for one person to program/develop alone and I could buy the cheaper AutoCAD LT that already had the functionality built in.

    The only thing BricsCAD had that is absolutely better than AutoCAD is the API functionality for a cheaper price. Let me reiterate: having the API functionality does not make BricsCAD better, the "one" thing that is better is the "cheap price" of the "API third party functionality".

    I understand some people may love the software but I really think that people who love the software have either not understood how to use the productive feature a modern version of AutoCAD offers or are upgrading from an old AutoCAD that never had the modern features. I found that since I have been spoiled with all the productivity features AutoCAD has I would lose money over time by going with BricsCAD. So the upfront cost of (BricsCAD) vs (AutoCAD LT upgrade [since we already have AutoCAD LT]) which was a $200 dollar difference was not worth it.

    What really broke the camel’s back is the fact that BricsCAD does not have dynamic blocks and does not have interoperability with AutoCAD concerning hatches, drawing scales of text and objects, multi-leaders, and sheet sets that all have become a staple of AutoCAD. Just because you have the "basic" familiar features of AutoCAD and can view and (halfway edit) some of the modern additions to AutoCAD, does not mean BricsCAD is an AutoCAD replacement or should even be an AutoCAD supplement. And of course AutoCAD is not open source or offering their proprietary code so understandably it will be hard for BricsCAD to develop these modern features for a cheaper price in such a short amount of time. Moreover, to substantiate the previous information, the answer I was given from Bricsys concerning dynamic blocks alone is that it is a huge task with no timeline for implementation.

    Now that we are back editing drawings in AutoCAD that were created with BricsCAD all the mleaders are messed up, so every time I encounter a mleader created with BricsCAD I have to make a brand new Mleader in AutoCAD and copy the text, this should not be the case. So I have been told before that BricsCAD is not AutoCAD, this is true and from my experience I don't think that is a good thing to boast about, because it shows that BricsCAD does not have all the "familiar" features a CAD user needs in order to stay competitive.

    Hopefully no one flames me because these thoughts are from my experience and I would consider myself to be more of a CAD expert than a novice. I also would like to see Bricsys to exceed beyond AutoDesk because AutoDesk it he undisputed monopoly over the AEC industry, so true competition is good for the user.

  • No flame intended, but I think this points out well that no one tool is optimal for everyone.  I rely on lisp routines so Autocad LT is not an option.  I don't use sheet sets or dynamic blocks or mleaders for the work I do.  Bricscad has its quirks, but so does Autocad.  Bricsys is trying to fix the issues in their software.  I can't make that statement about Autodesk.  I had about the same number of crashes when I was running Autocad (full version) as I do with Bricscad.  Bricscad works well enough for me that I dropped all the Autocad licenses I held and went 100% with Bricscad.  I do not regret that decision.   
  • It is that simple - as majority or users keep using AutoCAD, their monopoly keeps stronger! Because their file format is proprietary and there will NEVER BE full interoperability with other software! You are locked. That"s why Autodesk's products are so easy crackable and free for students. You think You have a choice - no, not anymore.
  •  I understand that you may need lisp routines for certain niche task or in certain industries, but I am curious what those task are because Autodesk may have implemented the features in new releases (e.g., you used to require a setbylayer lisp routine to make all objects bylayer but Autodesk implemented that feature in AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT a few releases back and now there is a setbylayer command...you still have to have a setbylayer lisp routine in BricsCAD though).

    I also understand there are certain tools that are more optimal for everyone but when it comes to finding more optimal CAD tools/software you would put software up against each other that are different such as (AutoCAD vs. Solidworks vs. Microstation vs. Revit vs. Inventor vs. ArchiCAD vs. etc.). For all intents and purposes BricsCAD is an AutoCAD clone, a clone that uses and saves to the .dwg and .dst format, therefore it should work as a clone.

    Admittedly you probably get more love if you are on an AutoDesk subscription plan when it comes to getting new features or getting things fixed. Yet, I just had some email correspondence about new features from AutoDesk's feedback department today, they emailed me back as fast as they could type which was pretty fast. I had a lot of crashes in older AutoCAD, but every year a new release comes out those crashes have went down. For example AutoCAD 2015 and AutoCAD LT 2015 can now purge DGN linetypes, those pesky things that caused drawing bloat.

    Again I hope BricsCAD can make exact competition, because as a user I really want the price of CAD software to come down. :)
  • LISP is not just for niche tasks. Let's look at one of the most basic commands in AutoCAD that has been implemented terribly, the TEXT command. The first thing AutoCAD asks is where do you want this invisible piece of text, then how big you want it, how would you like it rotated, and finally for the actual text. You can't expect to have placed precisely where you wanted it, after all it did not exist yet. Now its time to adjust by moving and rotating ...

    LISP allows you to easily create a new text command asking the user for information in the exact opposite order placing the text exactly where we want it the first time. A much better text command.

    Autodesk is implementing features at a snails pace, provides next to no support, and charging like they are doing a wonderful job. Nothing is farther from the truth. It sucks that AutoDesk came out first and that BricsCAD and other clones are forced to mimic AutoDesk's poor implementation. It hurts all of us!

    P.S. I need the 3rd axis so LT is not choice.

     I understand that you may need lisp routines for certain niche task or in certain industries, but I am curious what those task are because Autodesk may have implemented the features in new releases (e.g., you used to require a setbylayer lisp routine to make all objects bylayer but Autodesk implemented that feature in AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT a few releases back and now there is a setbylayer command...you still have to have a setbylayer lisp routine in BricsCAD though).

    I also understand there are certain tools that are more optimal for everyone but when it comes to finding more optimal CAD tools/software you would put software up against each other that are different such as (AutoCAD vs. Solidworks vs. Microstation vs. Revit vs. Inventor vs. ArchiCAD vs. etc.). For all intents and purposes BricsCAD is an AutoCAD clone, a clone that uses and saves to the .dwg and .dst format, therefore it should work as a clone.

    Admittedly you probably get more love if you are on an AutoDesk subscription plan when it comes to getting new features or getting things fixed. Yet, I just had some email correspondence about new features from AutoDesk's feedback department today, they emailed me back as fast as they could type which was pretty fast. I had a lot of crashes in older AutoCAD, but every year a new release comes out those crashes have went down. For example AutoCAD 2015 and AutoCAD LT 2015 can now purge DGN linetypes, those pesky things that caused drawing bloat.

    Again I hope BricsCAD can make exact competition, because as a user I really want the price of CAD software to come down. :)
  • Proper text masking tool would be handy as well.

    I have to waste so much time trimming lines on longitudinal sections because there is no real text masking.
  •  Oh, and much much faster switching between sheet tabs is required.
  • Proper text masking tool would be handy as well.

    I have to waste so much time trimming lines on longitudinal sections because there is no real text masking.


    What is wrong with the mtext background mask?
  •  I would like to see the following:

    • An options to ignore zoom and pan commands when undoing - having to undo view commands while trying to undo your drafting operations (especially 3D) adds unneeded steps and key strokes it can also add confustion when you are suddenly catapulted to the other side of your drawing or model.


    +1 that :)
    I have always found that undoing view to correct or redo a move is counter productive.
    The mentioned option would be sweet.



  • What is wrong with the mtext background mask?

    The add-ins we are using all use text objects. So contour lables, longsection lables etc aren't masked.

     
  • I suppose since the V15 beta is already out, this comment comes too late.  But I will say it anyway...

    Why are people pushing for another major release?  Bricsys support group may not agree with me, but V14 still has some unresolved bugs,  stability, and speed issues.   -- As was the case with V13 before it.    Every time a major release is made, they stop the bug fixes for the prior release, and you have to pay for the upgrade (or have a subscription).   AND the major release will have it's own new set of bugs, in some cases, in tools that were already working in the prior release.  

    I see BricsCAD slowly moving from an economical, fast, efficient program which can run on light hardware, and do 95% of the work we want it to do, to another bloated and expensive program requiring the lastest hardware and system software.

    I really don't care if BrisCAD has extensive support for sheet set publishing, extensive programming capabilities, exotic rendering capabilities, or cloud computing. I just want to make 2D and 3D drawings fast and efficiently.  And I need to be able to exchange drawings with people who have other packages. I'm the only CAD designer working for my employer, and they are not going to keep upgrading my hardware and OS every couple years. 


  • Jim,

    I think Bricsys has no choice in this.  If all they do is bug fixes to the same edition they limit their revenue stream.  No revenue = no company = no more bug fixes. 

    I don't see Bricscad requiring cutting-edge hardware.  We run it just fine on an i5 processor using the on-board graphics.  It also runs fine on my laptop, which has a dual core AMD processor.  Monthly bug fixes (on average) beat once or twice a year.  My opinion is that many of the problems with Bricscad are either programming issues in customizations (like failing to declare local variables in lisp routines) or are flaws in the TEIGHA libraries, which are getting better.   

    I'll take Bricscad's annual upgrade cost over Autocad's subscription cost any day.  I'll also stay with Bricsys' continual bug fixes instead of Autodesk's "maybe in next year's release" approach.  
  • I would like the generate views function to leave all the tangent lines visible.  While you are waiting for the views to finalize, all the tangent lines are visible. But when finalized, some of them disappear.  It is important to note that I am not talking about all tangent lines.  Some of them do show up, but the majority do not.  I have not submitted this because as a workaround I open V13 and use Quickdraw to generate views and then copy the missing lines over.  To be clear, this is not with just a single model, it happens with all of them. This should be an easy fix.
  •  I, too, have been irritated when I need to pay for an upgrade to get a feature that is supposed to be in the current version.  Currently, the biggest one is the tendency (over 50% of the time) for associative hatches to forget their associativity.  I also purchased Platinum to use the 3D mechanical design tools, but found that they are really not viable.  The mechanical issues are not bugs, but rather, things like not being able to figure out easily which item on a BOM is an object on the model.

    On the positive side, they do have an upgrade business model that is less irritating than companies (i.e. most of the major CAD companies) that have expensive subscription programs, and much more expensive non-subscription upgrade fees.  I think that model tends to encourage CAD companies to generate nonsense for the purpose of showing subscribers that they are getting something for their money.  Before subscriptions, the upgrade had to be good enough to warrant the expense.

    But, even with BricsCAD's less irritating fees, idea of paying for bug fixes is a problem.  This means means you have to pay twice for a feature.  E.g. I paid for associative hatches on the version I have now, but apparently must purchase an upgrade to actually get the associative hatches to work reliably.

    -Joe
  •  Importing Shape Files (shp). Possibility to snap at the Shapefile.
  • Woops,

    meant to re-attach this screen grab of the places bar settings.

    Regards,

    Jason Bourhill

    CAD Concepts


    Jason I can't find that in my BricsCAD. I am running Classic.  Maybe that is the issue.
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