Ex-Generic CADD programmers reunite

Three of the programmers most responsible for the success of the Generic CADD product line have formed a new company, with the announced intention of creating a new CAD program. At press time, Visual CADD Corporation, as the fledgling CAD company is called, had hired a business manager and was about to open an office in downtown Seattle.

No official statements have been issued by the company about the product, but CADD Times has learned that Visual CADD Corporation is working on a Windows based two-dimensional CAD program the company hopes will appeal to Generic CADD users.

The three programmers behind this new venture are Peter Acker, Matt Brown, and Carl Randsdell. Acker was a co-designer of Generic CADD 1.0 and the primary designer of Generic 3D. Brown joined Generic Software, Inc., the original publisher of Generic CADD, in 1987, and was project leader for Generic CADD 5 and 6. Randsdell has been associated with Generic CADD since 1988.

Two well-known Generic CADD users have been advising Visual CADD Corporation on features for the new product. Lew Merrick, consulting engineer and "CADD Times" Contributing Editor, and David Nurney, architectural draftsman and Generic CADD third-party developer. Both have been talking in broad terms about the new program to interested Generic CADD users on CompuServe and BBS services covering CAD.

All company partners are keeping quiet about specific features in the new product, which may be called Visual CADD, but a few details are available:

• Many of the features that distinguish Generic CADD will be available, including direct distance, tracking, nested command structure, and mnemonic keyboard commands.

No timeline for release of the program has been announced, but sources say that the product may be available for testing as soon as April.

According to sources, the company may produce a three-dimensional version of the program if the 2D version is successful.

Visual CADD on track for Aug. 1 release

Three of the programmers most responsible for the success of the Generic CADD product line have formed a new company and are well on their way toward an August 1, 1994 deadline for release of their new CAD program, Visual CADD.

Numera Software Corporation is aiming their new Windows product directly at Generic CADD users. It will read Generic CADD drawings and components, as well as drawings in either the AutoCAD DWG format or the Autodesk DXF format. Most of Generic CADD's two-letter commands can be used in Visual CADD, offering a smooth learning curve for Generic CADD users who move to the new program.

According to early beta testers, all of the features cherished by Generic CADD users, such as Tracking, Like, Direct Distance, Match Parameters, nested command structure, and global editing are to be found in the new program. But, these early testers report, Visual CADD also provides new features not currently available in other low-cost CAD programs. As one Generic CADD user who has seen Visual CADD said, "It's everything you'd expect in a Generic CADD 7, if such a program were to be created. The programmers have done their homework well."

The three programmers behind this new venture are Peter Acker, Matt Brown, and Carl Ransdell. Acker was a co-designer of Generic CADD 1.0 and the primary designer of Generic 3D. Brown joined Generic Software, Inc., the original publisher of Generic CADD, in 1987, and was project leader for Generic CADD 5 and Generic CADD 6. Ransdell has been associated with Generic CADD since 1988. The three are joined as founders of Numera by Kevin Cable, a Seattle entrepreneur who is now company president and CEO.

Visual CADD will be fully customizable with the help of any Windows programming language.

Numera recently received an infusion of capital from a broad listing of both private investors and venture capital firms. Numera's Board of Directors includes: Chris Smith, Vice President of International Operations at Microsoft; Steve Duzan, Founder of Immunex; Tom Cable, General Partner at Cable & Howse Ventures; Michael Savage, President and CEO of Molecular Simulations, Inc.; and Scott Land, lead technology investor at First Marathon Securities.

Numera is currently offering a pre-release special price of $99 to Generic CADD users, ending June 30. Effective July 1, the price goes up to $199. When the product ships in August, it will retail for $495.

Numera is planning to release a 3D version of Visual CADD, but no dates have been set.

For more information, contact Numera Software Corporation, 1501 Fourth Avenue, Suite 2880, Seattle, WA 98101.Phone (206) 622-2233; Fax (206) 622-5382; CompuServe 71223,3372·

Visual CADD 1.0 (and then 1.01!) released

The following problems in the first release of Visual CADD have been fixed in Version 1.01:
• Generic CADD text converting as Italic.
• Dimensions from Generic CADD now convert better.
• Manual entry now "wins" or takes precedence over Ortho and Grid.
• Trim and Extend works much better with continuous lines.
• The 3 letter commands for the Settings Tab dialog (TB*) work .
• The letters D, A, and V can now be used in a leader string.
• Leader Text Offset works.
• HPGL/2 devices plotting very small to D & E paper sizes.
• Some performance enhancements (see Entity Cache and Symbol Cache in the section New Features in Version 1.01).
• On-line help updated.
• Floating Point error after printing some GCD drawings.
• Floating Point error when trying to mirror or differentially scale arcs.
• Multiple Clipboard operations resulting in 0 byte file.
• New Handle problem with symbols.
• Very small text now displays as lines to increase redraw speed.
• Properties become unavailable when "Show" is not checked in Dimension Tab.
• Diameter dimension placement points now convert correctly.
• Can now add an AutoCAD font in Import/Export tab.
• Dimension and dimension suffix convert correctly from Generic CADD.

• Visual CADD brings the usability of Generic CADD into the Windows environment.
• Autodesk has announced that there will be no new versions of Generic CADD. Version 6. 1.5 is intended to be the final release, barring any new catastrophic bugs (as surfaced in version 6. 1.4, see page 20).
• Autodesk encourages Generic CADD users who desire a Windows interface to move to AutoCAD LT. Although LT is a capable, moderately powerful program in its own right, it is a subset of AutoCAD.
• The key programmers behind the success of Generic CADD are the cofounders of Numera Software Corporation, the company publishing Visual CADD.
• Virtually all subscribers to CADD Times are current and former Generic CADD users. They have expressed a strong interest in being informed about Visual CADD.

The following features have been added to Visual CADD in Version 1.01:

• SNAP PARALLEL -- Snap Parallel allows you to draw lines and three point rectangles parallel to existing lines. If the Draw command has been started and the snap parallel command is executed Visual CADD will display a speed bar showing the current parallel offset value in the current unit. You can then change the offset distance by typing in a new value or by using the "D" option and specifying a distance on screen, or by using the "Like" command and matching the distance of an existing entity.

• GRID -- Grid allows you to display and snap to grid points of a definable distance. It is broken down into four different commands: GRID ORIGIN, GRID SIZE, GRID DISPLAY, and SNAP GRID. These commands work in the same manner as in Generic CADD.

• UNDO VERTEX -- This command allows you to remove or "backspace" one segment of a continuous line. If you place a point in error, simply right click with your mouse and choose Undo Vertex, or type UV.

• ALL COLORS TO BLACK -- This option can be found on the Print dialog. When checked or toggled on, "All Colors to Black" will send print information to monochrome printers in black rather than greyscale. This overcomes the dithering effect that does not work well with lighter colors.

• ENTITY CACHE -- The Entity Cache option, found in the System tab of the Settings tab dialog, is used to speed up redraws. With this option on, all entities in the drawing are "buffered" in memory. This buffering of entities is done so Visual CADD can access those entities from an optimized section in memory rather than reading through the entire drawing database. Since this option can nearly double the memory required for the active drawing it should not be used in low memory situations.

• SYMBOL CACHE -- Found in the System tab of the Settings tab dialog, the Symbol Cache option is similar to the Entity Cache and is also used to speed up redraws. With this option on, a symbol is exploded in memory and the individual entities that make up the symbol are "buffered" in memory. The symbol placed in the drawing is not affected. Since this option can nearly double the memory required for the active drawing it should not be used in low memory situations.
• FLIP DISTANCE -- Found under the Utility menu, Settings, Dimension. This option allows you to control both the left and right length of the dimension line when (and only if) the dimension arrows have been flipped using the "Flip" option. For more information on Dimension "Flip," see page 265 of your Visual CADD Reference Manual.

There is an error on page 128 of the Visual CADD Reference Manual regarding Leaders. The steps following "To Place a Leader" below the illustration are incorrect. Please read below for the correct order while placing a leader.

1. Choose the Leader Command.
2. Click to set the tip of the arrowhead.
3. Place additional points to set segments of the leader line.
4. When finished drawing the leader segments, type PU or right click to bring up the context sensitive mouse menu and choose Pen Up.
5. Right click again and choose Leader Settings from the mouse menu. A speed bar should appear at the top of the drawing screen.

6. Type the Leader text. Click the OK button when done.
7. Click to place the leader text. You can also define leader text in the Tab Settings dialog under the Utilities Menu, Settings, Dim Text tab, leader text.

If you purchased the original release of Visual CADD, you can get the 1.01 update from the following sources:

• Numera Software BBS: (206) 233-0371;
• Tangent Engineering BBS: (206) 778-5360, please no calls between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Pacific Time;
• CompuServe, CADDVEN forum, Library section 16. NUMERA.

The file is named V101.ZIP on CompuServe, and (possibly) VCAD101.ZIP on the various BBSs. If you do not have a modem, call Visual CADD Technical Support.

CIRS File: VChistory01.doc