Corel hopes to net those users who are interested in Autodesk’s products for the Mac, but who might be attracted to a lower price tag. Autodesk reports that AutoCAD for the Mac has been very well received. The Mac market is also still pretty fertile territory for CAD. The new CorelCAD has been developed to work in hybrid environments where people use Macs and PCs. CorelCAD is a 2D and 3D design and drafting tool with support for Macs and PCs. However, there are some cases, such as drawings that contain viewports or employ dynamic blocks, that could get users into trouble. From our studies we have found that many CAD drafters would be able to exchange DWG files bi-directionally between AutoCAD and CorelCAD without issues.
We have tested Graebert’s file exchange capabilities with AutoCAD LT. They’re also targeting the people working with drawings and models who occasionally need to deal with 2D CAD drafts.
Corel says they can provide professional tools at a much lower cost. There are many companies working in the AEC fields who want 2D and 3D file compatibility with DWG, the native file format of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT and also an industry standard. Corel saw a gap in its product line that called out for CAD. In fact, Designer is sold in a suite with CorelDraw and CorelPhoto for professional documentation and illustration.Īll of which brings us back to the new CorelCAD. Designer is interoperable with document programs and of course it works seamlessly with Corel’s drawing and paint tools, CorelDraw and CorelPhoto. Designer lets users work with 2D and 3D CAD files, add elements including dimensioning call-outs, and other details useful for documentation and illustration. It works with major CAD files from the major vendors (support for advanced CAD file formats is provided by an add-on from Right Hemisphere). The company’s Designer product is used in publishing and technical illustration. For instance, Corel’s tools are used in technical illustration, for sign making, and apparel design. Corel’s customers already include a number of CAD users and/or people working directly with CAD files.