AutoCAD 2018.1 Sees Incremental Improvements and One Big Change

But, before we dive into AutoCAD’s latest improvements, it’s worth taking a moment to notice how this release further cements the idea that many CAD software have, over the last few years, become a truly mature product and new releases are seeing fewer big changes. That’s certainly the case for AutoCAD. Instead, annual and semi-annual updates for popular CAD programs are focusing on incremental improvements or adapting to keep up with improved hardware.

The take away from this release, and actually the past few AutoCAD releases, is that it’s going to take a bright, fresh new perspective on CAD if anything major is to be added to a release. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It means that the tool you’re using is really good.

That being said, there’s always room for some improvement. Let’s check out what’s new in AutoCAD 2018.1.

XREF Override Updates Give Users Greater Control

XREF layers are critical for drafters who have to reference external documents to create their own drawings. However, XREF overrides change style types of an attached drawing, which can confuse a drafter when working with stacks of referenced models.

To eliminate this confusion, AutoCAD 2018.1 the “Layers Properties Manager” now includes an icon that clues a user to any XREF overrides that exist on a specific layer. If a drafter hovers their cursor over the layer, any overrides that are present will be spelled out in a pop-up dialog box.

To add even more clarity to hidden XREF overrides, a new toggle in the Layer Properties Manager applies a background color to any layer that contains an override, making it easy to see all layers that contain overrides in a single view.  If more control is needed to identify overrides, an XREF override filter has also been added to the Layer Manager, which isolates all layers with overrides. Through a simple right click menu, all of these isolated layers can have their overrides reset to their original condition. The same option is also available from inside the –LAYER command.

3D Navigation Performance Enhanced and Expanded 4K Monitor Support Added

Although my experience with AutoCAD has been mostly focused on 2D drawing, I am aware that a number of users employ the software for 3D model creation as well. Obviously, 3D models take a bit more computing power to render, especially when they’re being rotated around, and a machine has to interpret what geometry should be shown.

To make 3D navigation smoother, AutoCAD’s engineers have improved the 3D graphic performance for Wireframe, Realistic and Shaded model visual styles. In fact, after Autodesk benchmarked its new code against six large models, AutoCAD 2018.1 performed 175 percent faster than AutoCAD 2017, and 37 percent faster than 2018. According to Autodesk, the commands that benefited the most from the 3D enhancements were the 3DORBIT, ZOOM, PAN and VSCURRENT.

To round out the visual improvements in the new release, expanded support for 4K monitors has been added. In the past, some dialog boxes and the command line rendered a bit wonky (oversized, odd font settings) when using a 4K monitor. These anomalies have been corrected and now AutoCAD looks like it should work properly, with a nice, uniform layout, sans oddities that tend to irritate and distract.

Named Views for Easier Drawing Creation

Finally, the most important, addition to AutoCAD 2018.1 is the “Named Views” panel. Within Named Views, users will find tools that make working with named views and layout viewports much easier. With quick access to tools like “New View” and “View Manager”, drafters can create drawing views within model space by simply drawing a box around an area of a model that needs to be highlighted. Once selected, that view can be named and used wherever it’s needed across paper space.

But creating named views isn’t really that powerful unless you can effectively manage them. When designs become complex, numerous schematic details have to be added to a drawing. With the View Manager, users can name a view, categorize a view, assign it to a visual style, define its background and more.

Once a set of views has been created and users switch over to their drawing space, a contextual “Layout” will appear on AutoCAD’s ribbon. From this, tab drafters can choose the “Insert View” icon and place it on a drawing. What’s great about this tool is that AutoCAD has automated many of the steps for adding graphics to a blank sheet. Once a view is selected and placed it, becomes active, its scale is set, its view port is correctly sized and it’s locked.

Since creating drawings, even if they’re 3D PDFs, is one of the chief functions of AutoCAD, and CAD in general, making it easier to do that work is monumentally helpful. The Named View panel and the tools within are a great addition to any CAD workflow.

Organ Dots Guide the Way

Oh, and before I forget, AutoCAD is also adding an “Orange Dot” tool that will make identifying and learning how to use new features a bit easier. In 2018.1, all new features will be labeled with an orange dot. If a user hovers over the dot, options to learn about how to use the new tool will become available. So, not only does this new feature make added tools more obvious, it also gives users a chance to learn how to use the latest additions to AutoCAD at their own pace, knowing that the orange dot will be there as a beacon whenever they get free time, or feel like expanding their drafting repertoire.