Autodesk has announced a few changes to its AutoCAD 2019 product lineup, embodied by a new mantra: Only One AutoCAD. This reflects the fact that AutoCAD will no longer be separated into distinct programs, like AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Raster Design and AutoCAD Map 3D. For AutoCAD 2019, AutoCAD is all of the vertical offerings rolled into one—plus access to the new AutoCAD web app, a browser-based AutoCAD.
Subscribers to AutoCAD 2019 will be able to access these multiple offerings—referred to as specialized toolsets—from their Autodesk account dashboards. Users don’t have to install the toolsets they don’t need, and will no longer have to determine exactly which versions of AutoCAD they want to include in their subscription—they’re all available under the AutoCAD 2019 umbrella (except AutoCAD Civil 3D; as of next month, Civil 3D will be known as Autodesk Civil 3D). The change to the AutoCAD subscription offering will come along with an unspecified price bump.
“This is a game changer for our customers,” said Autodesk’s Marcus O’Brien. “No matter their design challenge, they’ll always have the right toolset at hand.”
AutoCAD web, along with the AutoCAD mobile app, will let engineers design when and where they want. Though the functionality of the browser-based web version is still limited, O’Brien anticipates updates on a monthly basis to bring it in line with the desktop software.
Also new to the 2019 release of AutoCAD is the DWG Compare feature. This tool will overlay two drawings and highlight any differences between them, allowing engineers to quickly review changes. Users can also convert the DWG Compare overlays to a “Share View,” which converts the DWG into a viewable file that collaborators can examine in Autodesk’s online viewer.
Finally, AutoCAD 2019 has received a facelift with over 5,000 new 4K-compatible ribbon icons.
To learn more about Autodesk, check out Autodesk’s Licensing Transition. Who Knew It Would Be So Hard?