DraftSight 2019 Beta Release

By

It’s that time of year again, the Beta for the DraftSight Professional 2019 has been released!

So you’re probably wondering, what is new in this Beta Release of DraftSight Professional 2019? I’ll list some of the new features below and then give a brief explanation of them. Obviously this list is not complete, and, as this is a beta, things can change before the actual commercial version is released.

Features List:

  • Image Tracer.
  • DraftSight / HomeByMe Integration.
  • Improved Import Ribbon Menu with added support for SVG files.
  • Drawing Frame and Title Block Library.
  • Block Attribute Manager.
  • Using Formulas in Table Cells.
  • Trimming of Hatches and Gradients.
  • Moving Entities by Click and Drag.
  • and more!

OK, so that’s some of the new features, now for the brief explanation!

Image Tracer – Sometimes you need to convert a scanned raster image to a DWG file. Perhaps it’s a sketch, perhaps it’s an old layout where no CAD file exists. Whatever the reason, if you wanted to do this previously, it involved using 3rd Party software to convert  the image.  That’s no longer the case, built in to DraftSight Professional 2019 is the new Image Tracer feature which will allow you to import a raster image file and convert it to a DWG file.  Now, this does come with a caveat, it is all dependent on the quality of the original image. As the saying goes, garbage in, garbage out!

DraftSight / HomeByMe Integration – HomeByMe is a 3D Web based app for home and space planning. HomeByMe has now been integrated into DraftSight Professional 2019 allowing users to work with the HomeByMe projects in two separate ways. Users can either import a .DSHBM file exported from HomeByME or from within DraftSight Professional 2019, they can login directly to HomeByMe, open their project and generate 2D plans with dimensions.

Improved Import Ribbon Menu with added support for SVG files – The improved Import Ribbon Menu now contains all the Attach and Import tools of supported file types, including the addition of SVG files, all in one easily accessible menu.

Drawing Frame and Title Block Library – Within DraftSight Professional 2019, users now have a collection of predefined Frames and Title Blocks created in accordance with various engineering standards, such as ANSI, BSI, DIN, ISO and JIS.

Block Attribute Manager – This tool allows you to manage the properties and settings of Block Attributes for all Blocks contained in your drawing file.

Trimming of Hatches and Gradients – Users can now trim Hatches and Gradient fills in DraftSight Professional 2019 using the Trim and PowerTrim commands.  Even after trimming your hatch or gradient, it still retains its association and remains as a single entity.

Using Formulas in Table Cells –  Users have been able to created Tables within DraftSight Professional for a while now, but this new feature lets you use formulas in cells with arithmetic operators and the Sum, Average, and Count functions (to calculate values based on the values from other cells).

Moving Entities by Click and Drag – This fantastic time saving feature allows you to Move an entity just clicking on the entity and dragging it to its new position.

Obviously this is not the entire list of new features and improvements in DraftSight Professional 2019, and, as I said above, this is a beta release, so things can change between this release and the final commercial version. Having said all that, if you would like to get your hands on a copy of this beta, just send an email to DraftSight2019beta@3ds.com  and we will get in contact with you!

Learn more about DraftSight 2018 here. 

Purchase DraftSight Professional 2018 for as low as $149 here.

 

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

Latest posts by MJ Smyth (see all)