What is PowerCADD 2?

PowerCADD is the Power Mac version of PowerDraw, one of the oldest, and traditionally one of the best, 2-D drafting packages for the Mac. Currently, Engineered Software is shipping PowerDraw 6.0 for 680X0 Macs and PowerCADD 2.0 as separate products (same price) with essentially identical feature sets.

Naturally, PowerCADD’s greatest benefit is speed, but Engineered Software has added many new features to the mix since we last looked at PowerDraw.

Fast CAD

PowerDraw was always fast, but it didn’t have the hardware resources that PowerCADD has at its disposal. The performance increase, resulting from the combination of efficient software and agile hardware, is dramatic — speed experienced only with workstation-class machines. On a Power Mac 7100/80, drawling response is virtually instantaneous, and screen redraw's are almost as fast, even with fairly complex drawings. PowerCADD does the best job of harnessing the Power Mac’s capabilities I’ve seen.

PowerCADD also incorporates interface enhancements that make drafting tasks less cumbersome. The Window Manager, for example, is a floating popup menu that automatically stacks or tiles multiple drawing windows. Additionally, it lets you save window arrangements, along with currently active tool attributes, so you can recall specific configurations for particular projects.

PowerCADD also includes a floating Status palette that provides handy buttons for zooming and that displays the current level of magnification — a big improvement over the old ⌘-key-driven zoom function. And Status lets you change the working scale of the drawing and adjust the distance by which the arrow keys nudge objects, all on the fly.

Another palette makes controls for adding and editing dimensions more accessible. The Dimension palette allows you to alter the position of dimensional text, leader lines, and arrowheads to improve the visibility of drawing details or the legibility of a dimension. Plus this palette lets you change the units of measurement governing the dimension, the degree of accuracy for the measurement, and even the range of tolerance, all without grappling with dialog boxes — nice.

Lastly, the Overview window displays a miniature of the document, facilitating navigation around large drawings. As you zoom in on details or pan over the drawing, the Overview window shows the big picture. Overview is an interactive window, so when necessary you can relocate objects inside it. Move the cursor to Overview' and press the option key, and a rectangle appears, denoting the section of the drawing currently displayed in the document window. Best of all, when you select something in Overview, die document window automatically zooms (when you hold down the option key) or pans (with option-⌘) to that location. Overview is a wonderful navigation tool.

External Power

These palettes, windows, and menus are all externals — modules similar to the plug-in tools of graphics programs. PowerCADD relies on externals for everything from additional drawing tools to file-translation functions to plotter drivers. Drawing-tool externals are accessed via pop-up menus on the main tool palette or as individual floating icons; you access other functions as menu commands.

New externals include a Select Special command that lets you make global selections according to the type of object and its attributes, such as color, fill pattern, and so on. Another, the Export Data command, produces a file with information on object attributes and coordinates, which you can in turn import into a spreadsheet to serve as the basis for recording a bill of materials. The Objects on Path command automatically distributes objects along user-defined paths.

PowerCADD’s external architecture and its built-in macro language give the program exceptional versatility. Of course, building macros is programming, so it’s not for everyone. However, PowerCADD comes with a large assortment of useful macros. Additional collections of external tools, macros, and file translators are available separately (at various prices) from Engineered Software and third-party developers. Also available are collections of symbols, both general and profession-specific, for use with Pow'erCADD’s competent library function.

PowerCADD is chock-full of useful drafting tools. For example, the program can build parametric symbols with editable associative dimensioning. And it offers Sheets, a great layer-management tool similar to the styles of word processors, which lets you change from one layer configuration to another with a single command. The program also has an Edit Group command that allows you to edit individual objects within a group without disturbing the group’s relationship. PowerCADD’s features list goes on and on. It defies enumeration.

Modest Requirements

Of course, PowerCADD demands a Power Mac, but otherwise its needs are modest. The program requires only 4MB of available RAM. You can actually do real work in such a minimal partition, but naturally more memory is recommended.

PowerCADD comes with so many external tools that when all the palettes, drawing-tool icons, and pop-up menus are deployed, screen clutter becomes an issue. Yes, all floaters can be toggled off and needless tools removed from the program’s Externals folder. Still, to get full functionality from PowerCADD’s many floaters, a large monitor is advisable.

Essentially a tool and feature reference, PowerCADD’s manual seems quaint by today’s glitzier standards. But it’s straightforward and to the point. Everything you need is there, including documentation of the program’s Pascal-based macro language.

The Last Word

PowerCADD is suitable for general 2-D drafting tasks and customizable for the demands of professions such as architecture and mechanical engineering. Continual improvement and a middle-of-the-road price make it an excellent value. But best of all, PowerCADD is outstandingly fast.

Martinez, Carlos Domingo. (October 1995). PowerCADD 2.0. Macworld. (pg. 77).

Download PowerCADD 2 for Mac

Architecture

IBM PowerPC

Compatibility notes

Emulating this? It could probably run under: SheepShaver