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The Ghost of AutoCAD Past – How my old software haunts me

Like the holiday tale from Dickens, I am reminded that often I am visited by a ghost… The ghost of AutoCAD past.

Many of us have been using AutoCAD for a long time. I find that many of the habits that I have acquired in the past are still “haunting me” today.

It might be that command line tool that I love and always default to, because I cannot remember where the icon is located or the toolbar that it is located on. It is the feeling of handicap I get when I open ADT and find that none of my old AutoCAD pulldowns have loaded. It is the strong desire that I have to create a CUI for every old MNU that I have carried along these many seasons.

Am I being held back by my fondness for old tools? Is there a better way of doing things that I have not embraced? Are my old tools really that old?

I have been thinking about this for some time and have decided that – YES – I am doing some things “the old fashioned way”. But there are also many items that I have jetisoned along the road.

Is there a problem with using old tools? Here are a few:

1. Old tools don’t fully exploit the new interface
2. Old tools won’t create new entities like Dynamic Blocks, Fields, etc.
3. Old tools are getting harder to maintain
4. Old tools use the new software in old ways.

Is there a benefit in using Software Past?

1. It still works fine
2. I don’t have to think about which tool to use
3. I don’t have to get retrained
4. I am getting my job done fine without the new tools

Be it old tools, old software or old methods. The CAD Manager and CAD User has to think these issues through and define the best and most productive environment possible.

I think that there are a lot of users out there that are happily living in the past. How about you?

1 Comment (Open | Close)

1 Comment To "The Ghost of AutoCAD Past – How my old software haunts me"

#1 Comment By Dan Messenger On July 15, 2009 @ 9:53 AM

I know this is an old post, but I too have several “old methods” that I have brought with me over the years. I do have a love for technology and new things, but I have been frustrated trying to use some of the new toolbars and buttons since I don’t where to find them all the time. I do like how easy it is to customize your user workspace now and I try to find new commands that take the place of older ones or that make things faster and I try to create shortcut keys for them. Old habits are hard to break, so sometimes you just have to force yourself to create new ones.