One of our clients asked us the following question:

"What we are looking for is a piece of software that we and our
customers can use freely over the Internet via either the ****.com
website or a VPN site, where they and we can upload CAD drawings from
different CAD programs and make comments and remarks. Preferably
without us owning the CAD software or having to download any
significant pieces of software or the drawing to the individual
computers. So, the questions are:

Does such software exist?
Will the software allow "everybody" to use it, and how much does it
cost?
Do we provide secure access to our customers via the website or use a
VPN site?"

The client's question is a bit confused in parts, I believe, but I
would appreciate any guidance anyone can provide for this issue.

From the way I am reading the question “CAD Software for Internet
Usage,” I believe AutoCAD 2000i or the newest version, AutoCAD2002,
would provide all the collaborative tools your client is looking for,
although it was a bit unclear about just who they wanted to own the
software. If you don’t want to pay for anything then you can simply
exchange files as e-mail attachments or develop a very simple Web site
to exchange files. Your question didn’t make it clear whether the
users would be making alterations to the drawings or specifications or
if they were merely viewing the drawing and making text comments. If
the latter is the case, there are a number of .DWG and other CAD file
format viewers available, many free or very inexpensive, however, the
AutoCAD programs offer professional-grade CAD collaboration between an
unlimited number of users and offers a number of powerful features
which go far beyond mere file exchanges.

Below you will find a description of the AutoDesk options, followed by
one useful and inexpensive product which allows users to view and
annotate CAD files without buying a full CAD package. I’ve also
included information about a CAD program which runs on a PDA.

The most recent versions of AutoCAD are designed to be used by a team
sharing drawings via a LAN, WAN, or over The Internet. A VPN can
certainly be used but is not required and files are encrypted.

An important feature built into the newest versions of AutoCAD is the
ability to enforce standards across all the drawings using network
connections.

eTransmit (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/item/0,,617036-123112,00.html)
packs all the files associated with a drawing, including Xrefs, and
compresses them into a password-protected secure file for
transmission.

There are also options to notify users that a new drawing has been
transmitted or to post the drawings to an intranet or Internet site
(Web Posting).

iDrop (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/item/0,,617032-123112,00.html)
lets you drag and drop items from the Internet to your drawings. This
also works with Discrete products such as 3D Studio VIZ.

The Publish-to-Web (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/item/0,,617023-123112,00.html)
feature is another way to share drawings and use templates to make
certain drawings conform to a company standard.

Meet Now (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/item/0,,617018-123112,00.html)
uses Microsoft’s NetMeeting to make it easy to collaborate online.

As for pricing, AutoDesk offers a number of quantity prices and
licensing deals but the maximum it would cost to install AutoCAD 2000i
(the “i” stands for Internet) would probably be $3,295 per user, but
this would be substantially reduced by licensing or by taking
advantage of any upgrades from earlier versions.


You can view and even edit .DWG, DXF, HPGL, and raster image files
without purchasing expensive CAD software using software from Trix
Systems, Inc.:

http://www.trixsystems.com/dcenter.html

This software runs on Windows systems and has browser viewing
capabilities using ActiveX.

This is especially useful for service companies where technicians out
on the road making repairs can download and view CAD drawings without
having to pay for another copy of CAD software.

The base cost is $139 for a single copy with quantity discounts
available.

PocketCAD Pro, from ArcSecond Inc. (http://www.pocketcad.com) costs
$199 with a viewer only version selling for $139.  PocketCAD is a
full, if limited CAD program and I thought it might be of interest
because of the low price and portability.

See a CADylist review at:

http://www.cadalyst.com/reviews/software/cad/0101pocket/pocket.htm

See my Mobile Computing review at:

http://www.mobilecomputing.com/showarchives.cgi?109:8


Further Reading:

You’ll find a .PDF guide to the latest version of AutoCAD, 2002 at:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/files/617779_AutoCAD2002_Preview_Guide.pdf

Information updating users of AutoCAD R14 (pre Internet) is located
at:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/item/0,,617132-123112,00.html


I hope this is what you and your client are looking for.  FYI, as a
former software reviewer for PC Magazine I should mention that I have
used all of the mentioned products except AutoCAD 2002 (which I
believe hasn’t shipped yet.)

Siliconsamurai

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Clarification of Answer by siliconsamurai-ga on 09 Jul 2002 09:40 PDT

Since I am familiar with these products I didn't use any search terms.

However, if you want more options beyond the ones I recommend, try this search:

collaborative CAD

://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=collaborative+cad

which will provide a number of other options.

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Clarification of Answer by siliconsamurai-ga on 17 Jul 2002 07:06 PDT

Thank you for the nice rating.  From your question I didn't realize
you were looking for a no-cost solution. I thought "freely" was
referring to ease-of-use issues over the Internet.

There are some freeware and shareware products which I didn't think
appropriate to list for a business CAD application but which might
provide exactly what you're looking for.

Please specify Linux or Windows and I'll be happy to provide some
additional links if you wish to explore these options, but, knowing
your requirements a bit better now, I believe that the Trixsystems
solution will probably be a good fit and recommend you check it out
before investigating other shareware or freeware options.

Thank you again for your comments and I'm glad you found the
information useful.

Some good information in answer. But too much emphasis on the benefits
of the AutoCAD2002, which is a very expensive solution to the
situation. The client is looking for either free or inexpensive
solutions, which the answer touches on also.

one way, not the way above,  is converting the file into a PDF format
which allows collaborative working, as Adobe Acrobat full version
allows comments to be added etc without having to own the software.

You could look at Bentley Microstation's free viewer for .dgn files. 
Microstation also opens AutoCAD drawings and will create Acrobat PDF
files from .dgn files.

Peter Mann
http://www.micro-press.com