• Manufacturing
• AEC
• GIS
• CAD Management
• Cadalyst Magazine
  • Purchase Latest Issue
  • Cadalyst Access Program
  • Magazine Archives (2004-2009)
• E-Newsletters
  • HP Workstation Innovation News
  • Dell Tech Insider
  • Subscribe E-newsletters
• CAD Software & Hardware Reviews
• Features & Columns
• CAD Software Tutorials
  • All CAD Tutorials
  • "Circles & Lines" AutoCAD Tutorial, by Lynn Allen
  • "Learning Curve" AutoCAD Tutorial, by Bill Fane
• CAD Tips & Tools
  • Cadalyst CAD Tips - Tips and Downloadable AutoCAD Code
  • Video Tips Gallery
  • CAD Software Tutorials
  • Cadalyst Benchmark Test
• CAD Video Gallery
• CADspeed: Hardware Blog
• Cadalyst Benchmark Test
• CAD Events Calendar
• Subscriber Services
• Job Search
• Cadalyst Store
• Advertising

AutoCAD 2011: A Look at What's New

There's a new version of AutoCAD in town, and it's sporting an updated UI, improved 2D and 3D functionality, and much more.

Today Autodesk announced the latest version of its flagship 2D/3D CAD software, AutoCAD 2011, and there's a lot to talk about. In this article, I'll provide an overview of the significant new features. You might also want to read "AutoCAD 2011 for the CAD Manager," as well as my Cadalyst Labs Review of the new version in the Spring 2010 edition of Cadalyst magazine, which goes on sale later today.

Armed with this information, I hope you'll be on your way to determining if AutoCAD 2011 is the upgrade for you. Enjoy!

User Interface

AutoCAD 2011's user interface is similar enough to prior versions that most recent AutoCAD users should feel comfortable with the new additions after a few minutes of exploration. New features include:

• A return to the dark model space tab with a new graph paper–style grid.
• Navigation controls are now docked along the right side of the screen.
• The quick-access toolbar now includes a pull-down menu for selecting the current workspace.
• A new ribbon pull-down menu controls how detailed you'd like ribbon panels to be.

AutoCAD 2011 comes with an updated user interface.


Ribbons employ a hierarchical structure almost like a pull-down menu, making it easier to use detailed ribbon panels without always having so much screen space consumed.


The new ribbon is context-sensitive.
 

The UCS icon and 3D gizmos have been updated to display a different color for each axis to minimize confusion when translating or rotating in 3D space. Red is for X, green is for Y, and blue is for Z.

Color-coded UCS icons and gizmos.
 

1 2 3 4 5