Why should I switch to DraftSight Professional?

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Since DraftSight was released, there has always been a free version. That version is not time limited, and it’s not crippled in anyway. Using the free version, you can open and edit drawings, print and create PDFS, like you would expect from any CAD package. So, knowing this, why would you want to switch to DraftSight Professional?

Over the next few blogs, I’ll go into detail about some of the features only available in DraftSight Professional, but in this blog, I’ll give a basic run down of these features. Hopefully, by the end of the series, you’ll want to make the switch also!
So, lets get started!

PDF Underlay

PDF Underlay allows you to attach a PDF to your drawing in pretty much the same way you can attach an xref. You can turn on and off layers in the PDF and snap to points on the PDF. It’s a fantastic tool to have when you don’t have access to the original DWG.

Lisp Support

Lisp is synonymous with CAD. It allows you to program within DraftSight Professional. Lisp has been in use in the CAD world for about 30 years and because of this, there is a massive library of routines available for free on the internet. If you can’t find the routine you need, you can create it yourself!

Macro Support

Do you have a task that uses a series of DraftSight commands to fulfil? Well you can automate that using DraftSight Professionals built in Macro Support. It’s probably the easiest way to start programming within DraftSight Professional!

Batch Printing

Batch Printing allows you to select multiple drawings and select layouts from each that you’d like to print! So, in the real world on a Friday evening, you get asked to print 10 copies of 18 layouts, all in different DWG files. That’s normally annoying, to say the least. With Batch Printing, you just start the command, load the DWG files, select the Layouts you want to print, and then click on Print.

Just remember to have plenty of paper in your plotter!!!

Design Library

In a previous DraftSight blog, I spoke about Blocks and how to create and use them. DraftSight Professional takes this one step further and provides a central location for your user created elements, including blocks!

Drawing Compare

It shouldn’t happen, but it does. You have two drawings, the same name, similar time stamps and, to the human eye, they look the same, but which one is the correct file? Let Drawing Compare take the pain out of this situation, and let it compare the files for you, making your decision an informed decision.

Upgrades, Service Packs and New Releases

If all the above doesn’t convince you to switch to DraftSight Professional, how about being entitled to all the Upgrades, Service Packs and New Releases that become available during your entitlement period!
So, that’s a brief rundown on some of the features only available to users of DraftSight Professional. In further blogs, I’ll go in to more detail on many of the features above, so stay tuned!

Free 30-Day Trial

What’s more, you can get a free 30-day trial of DraftSight Professional! Simply go to the Help menu in your free version of DraftSight 2016 or later for Windows, and click “Try DraftSight Professional.”

Discover more about DraftSight and how you can boost your productivity with DraftSight Professional, a powerful 2D design solution for professionals that includes productivity tools and an API.
http://www.draftsightprofessional.com/professionalfeatures

MJ Smyth

MJ Smyth

The first time I used CAD, it was on a DOS PC with an 8088 processor, 640K of memory and a Hercules Mono Graphics Card... That, well that was a long long time ago. I switched to DraftSight the day it was released and haven't looked back!
MJ Smyth

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