Autodesk does its duty at trade show
Autodesk provided a long list of offerings at A/E/C Systems '96.
Autodesk is the world's fourth-largest PC software vendor and controls 32 percent of the PC design software market, according to market research firm Dataquest Dataquest. The company is best known for its AutoCAD computer-aided design application for engineers and architects. Two months ago, the company also spun off a new division to market 3D Web authoring tools and file formats to help architects and engineers exchange files on the Internet.
Today's announcements included:
--the acquisition of CadZooks,
makers of the 3D viewing software Reality Check, to let designers "walk through" a project in its early stages to identify problems.
--the release of version 1.1 of Autodesk View, a viewing tool that lets
users who do not have the AutoCAD design software installed see drawings and
documents stored in AutoCAD and other files. The new version, available in
July for
$295, will let users rotate and invert raster images onscreen and
substitute fonts. The product also supports Windows 95 and NT for the first
time.
--the release of a beta of the Whip plug-in for Netscape Navigator. The
plug-in and Autodesk's new DWF (Drawing Web Format) allow users to download
and view large design files by compressing and transmitting vector data--lines, arcs, and circles--instead of bitmaps. Released as a prototype in
April, Whip
also now works with the Internet Explorer browser from Microsoft. It is due for final release this summer.
--the repackaging of several Autodesk products into one bundle dubbed the AEC Professional Suite. The $4,095 bundle includes AutoCAD, AutoVision, a
library of architectural design
components, and Autodesk View.
Autodesk is the world's fourth-largest PC software vendor and controls 32 percent of the design software market, according to Dataquest.
Related story:
Autodesk unveils Internet
blueprint