CADPro CAD Software Review
Features:
1) Drawing tools include the usual square, circle, triangle, lines, etc.
2) All toolbars are floating and/or dockable allowing for some customization ablity.
3) Objects can be edited with your mouse.
4) Chamfer and filet tools are available; adding a level of realism.
5) If you combine the drawing and snap tools you can edit objects perpendicular, parallel, or tangent at the same time.
6) Radius, diameter, angle, and other information are displayed as a pop up during your design.
7) English and Metric measuring systems are available which can help depending on where you live.
8 ) Measurements are displayed on readouts.
9) Changes to the design can be made from the readouts window which can save time.
10) There are over 5000 symbols when you order CAD Pro.
11) Custom shapes and symbols can be created; if a shape or symbol isn’t provided you can always design one.
12) Drag and drop rulers are provided for positioning objects in your design and double checking measurements.
13) Scroll through your design easily by hovering you mouse over the ruler and using your mouse’s scroll wheel.
14) There are plenty of design options such as deck plan, floor plan, landscape design, drafting, fence design, office design, home design, furniture design, restaurant design, and electrical. CAD Pro can help the average designer around the house, but an expert should purchase another program since there are no mechanical or 3D options.
Con’s:
1) Tech support does not answer the email address or the fax number provided. CAD Pro’s website lists a forum, but if you click to go to the forum a page is displayed for you to submit a complaint.
2) Window’s Vista is listed on the home page of cadpro.com, but in the FAQ it says only Windows 98, ME and 2000 are supported.
3) Mac is not supported.
4) The several features (i.e. snap tools) on CAD Pro’s website are restated multiple times.
Review:
There is little to no information online about this CAD software. For this review, 30 websites were viewed to find a success story. Two were found on one popular website, but the rest were negative reviews claiming no help from tech support. I decided to download the demo, but there was no demo to download! There are nine videos if you include the introduction. The videos show somebody working very fast and pulling from an off screen program. This could possibly be classified as training videos, but definitely not a demo. I checked CAD Pro’s website for reviews and news, but there isn’t anything from the last two years and most of the information is from 2005. Based on my research and efforts for this program I would highly recommend looking for a program somewhere else.