Great update, more modern features

I routinely import a scan of my designer's hand drawn floorplans and work with them in MacDraft. I can overlay the computer drawn plan and work with it very well.

Pros

I have been using MacDraft for at least 20 years. Over that time, it has become a mature, useful tool for me. Although I have used Autocad before, I find MacDraft so much easier to use and 'Mac-like'. Not all the tools are intuitive, but easy enough to figure out with online help. With the new update to V7, the interface has been cleaned up significantly, and everything is easier to use. I now can do my work in less time, and achieve better looking results. I really appreciate that Microspot continues to update this great piece of software.

Cons

Some of the tools look different than the last version, so there is a bit of a re-learning curve. That's not to say that once learned, the improvements are evident.

Very useful 2D CAD tool

Generally the graphic interface (UI) of this version is closer to the way other 2D CAD works and for my activity MacDraft 7.x it's ideal.

Pros

The new 7.x version is certainly more user friendly than all previous versions. Better stability. Better speed. All the necessary tools are just a mouse click away.

Cons

However I would like to underline two aspects that I would like to personally change: 1) It would be nice if the actually list of various fonts, showed their real graphic appearance, otherwise for the desired choice, I necessarily to scroll through and view them all and it is a waste of time. 2) For small projects where only one A4 sheet is enough, the one-page scroll on the 27 "screen is too reactive at the touch of the mouse; sometimes it comes out of the visible area and makes it take a little time to bring it back in the working position. Certainly this is useful with worksheets greater than A4 in the landscape version. It would be really useful if the user could activate or deactivate this function directly from the "Preferences" panel.

Home plan drawing

I have been a Mac Draft owner since its origin. Other soft ware has advanced much faster than. I regret that I haven't learned to use the CAD programs. It would be really nice to draw a floor plan and then be able to rotate it into a 3D drawing. I expected much more from this upgrade.

Pros

The update makes the program commutable with the new Mac operating system and makes it possible to use older files. The tools are easy to identify and use.

Cons

Very disappointed with the templates. I ordered the entire package with all templates. I expected the templates of architectural features that are used in the drawing of house plans that include plumbing fixtures such as sinks of different sizes, toilets, bath tubs, showers, and appliances. Electrical symbols that depict light fixtures, electrical out lets, bath fans, ceiling fans. Furniture images to depict bed sizes, sofa's, tables, chairs, TV's. Doors that shows the door swing. I would like to down load PDF drawings and then make changes. If that is possible I would like to know how to do this. I would really like to down load a photo of a house and then be able to draw over it to demonstrate alternatives to owners. I guess that I was hoping for more.

MDP 7 - Personal thoughts

I like the program. I want to use it seriously but unfortunately in its present iteration, I cannot. As previously said, I have lots of experience in using lots of CAD software, I would like you to have a rethink of the workflow issues. For reference, please take a look at http://www.ilexsoft.com/highdesign/ The workflow is pretty good but I do get a few issues using it on my macbook air. It looks like they are developing it to be full blown BIM, which I don't need - hence the switch to MDP. Simple, workflow efficient 2D cad with awesome output possibilities is what I need.

Pros

On the whole, it is a good CAD tool with fairly good features which I really want to use as my primary CAD software solution. I like the fact that it can be easily used for 'graphics' and 'page layout' too. I can use it on my Macbook air.

Cons

To be honest, I like the software but your workflow really does need addressing for me to use the software for serious architectural designs. As I have moved from seriously high end CAD programs and use it for small architectural projects as well as the possibility for using it in school for CAD/CAM and presentation. I sooo want to be able to use MDP for all architectural projects but in its present form (I know that you have added lots of features from the previous version), I just cannot use it due to workflow issues. When drawing architectural elements, something which should take just a couple of mouse clicks in other software programs, ends up taking significantly more in MDP. I have logged a lot of this in the forums - your response has been fairly quick but the solutions come across as a long winded 'work around' to achieve a relatively simple task. This is the reason why I am not currently using the program daily or weekly. I want to be able to offset angular lines in just a couple of click with specific dimensions, not just dragging them and relying on grid snaps. The solution given in the forums was painfully long - you could not afford to do it in practice. I want to have the ability to have full customisation of dimensions - leader lines and weights, arrow heads, scale/size of everything. Currently, the tool is too constrained. I want to be able to create symbols at various scales and drag and drop them into a drg and they will be the correct size. I can go on..

MDFT Pro 7 Upgrade for 10 year+ user...

Overall, I'm pleased with the new Version Pro 7 of MacDraft. It has been my drawing program of choice for more than 10 years and I look forward to getting further along in the new version to fully realize all the improvements. I trust my comments provide some useful feedback. As someone who really tried to learn autoCAD and failed miserably, I am SO GLAD to have your product in my tool bag.

Pros

With the new version 7, I find I like how all the drawing tools are laid out in just a couple of windows so that they are readily available. It appears the new "titling" version is better but I'm still on the steep part of the learning curve getting used to the changes

Cons

1) The new work flow to "Duplicate" a file and then "Save" seems counter intuitive to the former "Save As" function. Not quite sure what the thinking was there !?! 2) It appears that I cannot change the default font color. Titles I create start in sort of a TAN color and then I have to change it to black or whatever... 3) The "Enter" or "Return" button does not exit you out of the title creation phase. Rather it just gives you a carriage return in the title block. In order to get back to the cursor, I have to hit "ESC". Yikes ! ...shades of AutoCAD nightmares !!