Hi there,I was wondering if there are some options for software which edits basic CAD 2D drawings. Our company does construction equipment rentals, and we'll need a user to be able to open a dwg file, and be able to insert our own dwg (blocks) into the drawing to plan where each piece of equipment goes. I'm assuming everything scales automatically?Free would be nice, but something not too costly?Thanks in advance.

Draftsight (free) is well respected.(There are many other reasonably priced paid alternatives as well)"assuming everything scales automatically?"Not necessarily. Depends on the drawing units of the native dwg.Once you've taken time to tutor yourself in the basics of your CAD program's units, you should have no problem scaling either YOUR drawings, or the NATIVE drawing to make everything compatible.

Were your blocks done in a 1:1 scale (i.e. - full size)?Draftsight is a free 2D CAD program by Dassault Systemes makers of Solidworks.  There is also a Draftsight Pro version now but it will cost you.  I'm not sure what the price is.  Draftsight is an AutoCAD clone and is pretty similar to AutoCAD LT not full AutoCAD.  The website where you download DS also has a Getting Started guide for new users and DS has an online forum for users to ask questions, get help and exchange ideas.

Unfortunately Draftsight does not read or write full DWGs (not 100% compatible files). So you may consider AutoCAD LT or AutoCAD Mobile (AutoCAD 360).

[QUOTE=Vladimir Michl]
Unfortunately Draftsight does not read or write full DWGs (not 100% compatible files). So you may consider AutoCAD LT or AutoCAD Mobile (AutoCAD 360).[/QUOTE]Please clarify as that sounds like total BS to me.  What is your definition of a "full" drawing?Maybe you were referring to the version of AutoCAD that Draftsight can read?  It is a known fact Draftsight can read .dwg and .dxf versions as early as 2.5 and at least to 2010.  Personally, I haven't tested it for the ability to read 2013 file formats but that would be immaterial to many users like the OP above. Addendum: Just tested.  DS cannot open an AutoCAD drawing saved in 2013 file format.Re: Price of Draftsight Pro.  It is being sold for $299 U.S. and that includes the first year subscription.  To renew the subscription a yearly fee of $99 U.S. will be charged.For comparison, AutoCAD LT 2017 current sells for $360 for a single year license, $685 for a two year license, and $970 for a three year license.



John Connor2017-02-01 12:37:24

Draftsight and other "clones" (fakes) do not fully understand all DWG entities (read) and it does not create fully compatible DWG files (write). The use a .DWG extension, not DWG format. While it may be sufficient for simple drawings, there is a risk of losing information when a standard (genuine) DWG is processed (read and written) in Draftsight. You can test it yourself with our older benchmark drawing - BUDWEISER.DWG - www.cadstudio.cz/budweiser 

Most users are not going to experience that problem.  I can open any 2D drawing I've created with AutoCAD using the latest version of Draftsight without the loss of information.  These drawings can be site plans, P&ID's, PFD's, block diagrams, electrical schematics, architectural floor plans, elevations and sections as well as any tank fabrication drawings sent to us by outside vendors who also use AutoCAD.  And if the drawings have been saved to 2013 file format I could, if I really needed (obviously I don't), use DWG Trueview to open and save the drawing to the 2010 file format and then open them.  On the other hand I've had AutoCAD 2017 refuse to open drawings created using AutoCAD 2013 (one of the worst releases ever) yet I've been able to open the drawings using Draftsight.  The drawings were saved to 2010 file format too.  That got AutoDesk's attention when I sent them a sample file.  To this day no one at AutoDesk has been able to come up with an explanation for the problem. 

I'm confused. OP is asking for software options, but later poster qualifies only Autodesk products."They use a .DWG extension, not DWG format"Not true; they use dwg format."Unfortunately Draftsight does not read or write full DWGs"Don't understand this either. If you're looking for "software which edits basic CAD 2D drawings." you should have no problems at all.I've been using one of the "fake / clones" for years. I've collaborated with dozens of associates around the world, and they with me (most I assume are using Autodesk) and I (or they) have never had an issue.PS: I DL'd the BUDWEISER.DWG and didn't see what the point is..everything appeared fine.
Robert_D2017-02-01 14:25:16

I think Vlad is making reference to the Open Design Alliance and the various .DWG formats they have come up with.  From one of the alliance's own reports...





Originating in the late 1970s,
drawing files created with microcomputer based computer aided design software were saved with the .dwg
extension. In the early 1980s, Autodesk® released AutoCAD® which eventually became the most used CAD
software in the world and which used Autodesk’s undocumented  and proprietary DWGâ„¢ file format (using the
.dwg extension).  The Open Design
Specification for .dwg files serves AutoCAD’s undocumented and proprietary DWG file
format. This specification includes DWG file format versions 13 up to and
including version 2013.

Further, the Open Design
Specification for .dwg files serves the Teigha® software development platform of the Open Design Alliance.  While our Open Design Specification for .dwg files
is able to read and write .dwg files with excellent AutoCAD compatibility, we continue to work to
improve our understanding of all the data in a .dwg file.

If you are the kind of person who gets off on minutiae then follow this link where you'll find the 256 page report detailing the Open Design Specification for .dwg files Version 5.3.  Read a few pages of this and you'll fall fast asleep in no time.  LOLhttps://www.opendesign.com/files/guestdownloads/OpenDesign_Specification_for_.dwg_files.pdf




John Connor2017-02-01 16:09:43

We are dealing (support calls) with faked .DWG files quite frequently - they are causing various incompatibilities both in other "cloned" CAD software (each one uses its subvariant of the genuine DWG file format) and in AutoCAD itself. The Budweiser test shows some of the usual incompatibilities - if you open it in non-AutoCAD software, the test-case pairs (images) differ.

No problem here opening the test drawing in Draftsight.  Given your location I'd say the chances of the problem being a result of pirated software is a possibility.

Do you thunk the clones behave differently based on location :-) ?

I think you're just being an alarmist because you have a relationship (i.e. - vested interest) with AutoDesk.  You have to defend the company's software because your livelihood depends on it.  Which also means you have to bad mouth anything else that's out there whether it is Draftsight, Bricscad or another CAD program.  Those of us in the real world though have the duty to explore other possibilities and make recommendations based upon our experiences actually making a living doing cad work on a daily basis.No, the clones aren't the problem as much as it is the shoddy practices of some of your clients who are probably using pirated software but they aren't going to tell you that.  Who knows what kind of corruptions the use of the software may introduce into a drawing.As far as my personal experience goes I've used Draftsight from time to time to view and edit drawings originally created in AutoCAD and vice-versa.  Other than the standard "warning" I get from AutoCAD about a drawing not being created with an AutoDesk product or not being "trusted" I have not encountered any problems.  My recommendation to the OP was based solely upon what I perceived to be a sometime use of a cad program for minor work which begs the question "why spend $$$ that you don't have to for something that will sit unused for the majority of the time?"  Yes, I know what your response will be: rent AutoCAD LT.  That certainly would be an option but that isn't up to me, it's up to the OP.
John Connor2017-02-02 11:45:32

Alarmist or not - everyone have to make its own experience. But it is not about claims and feelings - can you send me a PDF or other hi-res output of the latest Budweiser benchmark DWG opened in Draftsight?

The OP hasn't responded...I think he got scared :)

The budweiser drawing opened in Draftsight.This is so ridiculous.  The image size limitation is 150KB.  The image file size I want to upload is 182KB.  So I guess I'm not going to be able to show you the whole image. 

John Connor2017-02-02 17:07:43

Try again with a "smaller" image.By the way, I ran AUDIT on your drawing; it had errors in it.


John Connor2017-02-02 17:11:04

Upload sized up (can be also sent via cloud storage). The latest version of BUDWEISER.DWG is in the DWG2013 format.

uploads/413522/budweiser_Model.pdfBricscad v17(Note re frame 24: Images are identical in model space. "Extra lines" only apparent in plotted output)Robert_D2017-02-02 18:08:10

Ah, but you said to open the budweiser drawing and since you specifically have versions saved to different AutoCAD file formats I picked one that was compatible.  Are you moving the finish line after I have completed the race?  It doesn't matter.  You asked me to provide an image of the drawing opened in Draftsight and I did.  I completed the task.  Case closed.

So the supplied benchmark results (even from a 7 years old version DWG2010, not from the latest) show at least 9 errors (from 28 tests), just in the modelspace. This 68% reliability is not bad (there are worse examples of AutoCAD lookalikes) but it is far from the expected 100% DWG compatibility. As said before, there are situations where none of these potential problems will occur or when some differences will not be that much a problem - but you can never be sure... Error cases: #2, #4, #8, #15, #17, #20, #24, #26, #27

Your budweiser test drawings could stand to be cleaned up a bit before you make them available to your clients or the public in general.  I recommend running Overkill, -Purge (regapps), -Purge (all) then Audit.  Maybe that will eliminate some of the problems.  As a last resort do an EXPORTTOAUTOCAD.  That's my last word on the subject.

[QUOTE=Vladimir Michl]
So the supplied benchmark results (even from a 7 years old version DWG2010Error cases: #2, #4, #8, #15, #17, #20, #24, #26, #27[/QUOTE]Interesting, but I must admit I don't quite understand.(DWG2013 yielded same.)Error cases:2: It is identical to same frames opened in TrueView.4: It is identical to same frames opened in TrueView.8: Euro symbols are identical.15: It is identical to same frames opened in TrueView.17: Same as frames opened in TrueView.20: It is identical to same frames opened in TrueView (but plotted output doesn't display circle).24: It is identical to same frames opened in TrueView.27: Same as frames opened in TrueView (red values are different)..uploads/413522/budweiser2013_Layout1.pdf