Plot Suite 1.5.3/Time Suite

Infinity Squared Services, Inc.
Star rating: 5 stars out of 5

Plot Suite 1.5.3 ($375 for first 5 licenses) from Infinity Squared Services, Inc., is a plot-spooling application for AutoCAD Releases 13–2000 and AutoCAD LT that tracks plots and plotting costs throughout an organization. Because Plot Suite is a plot spooler that works with Windows printers, you can also use it with other CAD and non-CAD applications that plot or print to a file. To use Plot Suite for applications other than AutoCAD, you plot to a file and then use Plot Suite to perform the actual plot. Plot Suite is simple to install and straightforward to use.

You can browse to find files that you need to plot. You can also use the AutoSpool options available in AutoCAD to automatically send plot files through the Plot Suite application. This requires some minor additional AutoCAD configuration, and the on-line Acrobat PDF manuals provide step-by-step instructions. For other applications, you need to plot or print to a file. When using PLT files, Plot Suite prompts for additional information about the particulars of the job so that you can track this information in its database.

The Plot Suite Admin application sets up the database. This tool simplifies the administration of the Plot Suite utility and can be used to track plots and their costs. You can query data by date, client, and project to create reports for billing and budgeting. The database is in Microsoft Access MDB format, so you can create your own queries and reports.

You can combine the Plot Suite Admin tools with data produced by Infinity Squared Services’ companion application, Time Suite. Use Time Suite and its administration application to track time spent on specific jobs and clients. Like Plot Suite Admin, you can query Time Suite Admin’s database to create reports about time and cost.

Both Time Suite and Plot Suite can use the same database file. When you place the database on a network, you can track and share plot expense and time spent on a project across an organization. This central reporting tool easily determines job-related time and material costs. Whether you use AutoCAD or another program for which you want to track plotting or billable hours, Plot Suite and Time Suite provide a simple, elegant solution.

Download a 30-day demo from www.infinitysquared.com. The company just released Print Suite which tracks all print devices on a network for all Windows program. Highly Recommended.