AutoCAD 2009

The Action Recorder was introduced in AutoCAD 2009, under the guise of fulfilling the long standing wish (and former #1 on the Augi wish list) of having a VBA Macro Recorder, similar to the ones available in MS Word, Excel, etc.

Initially, there was some excitement when this was released, but that quickly turned to bewilderment when people started to figure out that the code which this tool created was a new proprietary, binary, un-editable, and undocumented format, also for which there was no API. On top of that, a recorded action itself was virtually uneditable.

I believe there were some enhancements to the Action Recorder in the 2010 release, but did this fix the issues users were complaining about? I really don't know. Were there any further enhancements in the 2011 release? I don't recall seeing any.

Which brings me to my questions.

• Are you using the Action Recorder?
• Have you tried and gave up? If so, why?
• Have you just not tried because of feedback from others?
• How much better is the 2011 version than the 2009 version?
• Can this be a useful tool?

If you have not already heard by now, Autodesk has released "Bonus Pack 2" for AutoCAD 2009. This update includes two PDF enhancements. The first gives you the ability to attach PDF files as underlays. The second includes enhancements to PDF output.

The download is only available for AutoCAD 2009, AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite 2009, and AutoCAD Revit Structure Suite 2009. Of course it is also only available to subscription customers. Read more »

New to 2009 is the default icon mode for the drawing tool buttons. You know what these are, the SNAP GRID ORTHO POLAR OSNAP, etc. buttons down in the status bar. They take up less room as icons, but you will need to figure out what each one does.

Out of the box, they look like this: Read more »

AutoCAD 2009 is now out. If you are interested in the Autodesk version of the new features, look below. If you are on an older release and only considering making the move to AutoCAD 2007 or 2008 and you want a summary of the changes, take a look at the NFW for these releases. Read more »

Workspace switching has been made easier in AutoCAD 2009 by a new tool in the status bar that mimics the functionality in the current Workspaces toolbar.

See the animation below.

This tool is visible by default no matter what workspace is current, unlike the Workspaces toolbar in earlier versions.

There are various "Drawing Tabs" add-ons for AutoCAD available, I created a quick review of some popular ones last January.

Autodesk released one themselves back in October 2006, for AutoCAD 2007. It was OK for a first effort, but not the greatest.

Now in AutoCAD 2009, you will find the "Quick View Drawings" feature. This is "drawing tabs" on steroids (no offense to current MLB players....) Read more »

Well, it's that time again. Another 12 months, another version of AutoCAD, whether you are ready or not. You will find all sorts of detailed reviews at various websites. This is not meant to be a detailed review. This is simply a quick look at some of the highlights in AutoCAD 2009.

AutoCAD 2009 is going to blow you away at first, not because of any spectacular new features, but because the UI has changed in such a dramatic way. So where to start...?  Read more »