Lt Enhancement

[mandrews]

Anybody out there see a market for an in-between product to full Autocad where you would start with base LT & buy the add-on features you want eg. 3d module, VBA, Lisp etc.

[Tom Dorner]

Yes,

And there are products out there that do add functionality to LT to bring it to almost full AutoCAD including LISP. Autodesk has been busy taking a few of them to court, so I won't mention their names here. They do advertise in Cadalyst and I'm sure a Google search would bring them up.

[mandrews]

I know all about the products & legal action - just want to see if it is worthwhile trying to push Autodesk down this road - I have their ear when it comes to LT.

[michael.12445]

I've been periodically posting exactly this wish to the wish lists hosted by AUGI for several years. There's a lot of stuff in AutoCAD that we never use, like 3D rendering, solid modeling, database connectivity, etc. Yet we still have to buy the full product just to get the stuff we do use that's not included in the LT product, namely, LISP and ARX.

In fact, IMHO, without at least the LISP interpreter, AutoCAD is severely crippled because we've had to resort to a LISP file to set all the dimension variables properly in order to get predictable, consistent results when dimensioning. Of course LISP is also useful in other situations where you want to automate some repetitive task.

So yes, I think there would be a market for an "in-betwen" product.

Michael Evans
Togawa & Smith, Inc.

[mandrews]

Thanks for the Input Michael. I recently ran a poll on the Autocad Forum & the largest percentage of Autocad users use the basic package & lisp which would reinforce your opinion.

:)

[Ms. Serene]

I know I could really use a program that would allow me to use the features that you find in the full version of AutoCad. I am in a very unusual position where I have to use the full version for Civil drawings and LT for Electrical drawings. Guess which one is easier to work with.

[deacon]

I can sympathize. For years I worked for a Relocatable Modular Manufacturer, and did a lot of menu-level customization to mimic with our AutoCAD LT what the competition was doing up the road with the full version of AutoCAD, with LSPs (in terms of automation). I did notice that it seems that LT gets some of the neat features a few years before AutoCAD does (such as the ARRAY dialog box), or am I mistaken?
We used to beat their pants off in competition by the way...and with less than half of the drafting staff!

[CADKitty]

just want to see if it is worthwhile trying to push Autodesk down this road - I have their ear when it comes to LT.

How's this for an answer - Please, PLEASE, for the love of all things AutoCAD, make LT support LISP!! We are down to only two full versions of A2K4 - and everyone who has LT would forever shut up if it would just support LISP routines. Please Autodesk, help me regain this one small shred of sanity by giving them their LISPs back!

[mshoai]

You can test macrocad software by LT-Solution.
A trial version of the product is available at their website:
www.lt-solutions.com

[luke.ottinger]

I agree strongly with the general opinion that ACAD should offer a few grades. I'm learning that I want to do more with the software - specifically LISP - and I although it would be extrememly useful, I can't justify the cost increase for just that one piece of the program.

[aewen]

I completely agree that LT (2005) should be capable of enhancement.
The one thing that I would really want is to be able to freeze an xref layer by picking on an xref entity. Hunting for this capability has led me to AUGI.
While I could not justify a great deal more expense, I would consider small payments for small additions to function.

[zimrath]

I would love to see the capabilities of LT expanded with the addition of AutoLISP and ARX. Even as an LT+ option and modest increase in price would be justifiable for the added functionality.


aewen:

Try the following link and download LTXpress from the downloads section.

http://home.comcast.net/~hot4cad/

This is a menu file that has several tools that mimics the AutoCAD express tools, including layer isolation and the options to freeze or turn off layers by selecting them.

I have been using this menu (with some special modifications, that I made myself) for the last year, with excellent results.

[mhaines.195717]

What a great idea! In our office we have 2 seats of LT and really very little need for full AutoCADD. I could use some basic wire frame ability to give to our designers to speed up their work as well as for initial sizing and concepting.

And I wold love to get an LT version of Impression so we can use our drawings in client presentations rather than importing into Freehand to add color and depth. Our office would never support the cost of a subscription and full AutoCADD.

[jaberwok]

I could use some basic wire frame ability to give to our designers to speed up their work as well as for initial sizing and concepting.

LT IS a 3d package - you can do wire frame models, and more, just by drawing in 3d.
See ATP archive (http://www.augi.com/education/archive.asp?page=293#top) ATP186 March 2007. (shameless plug).


Would a moderator please split this from the original thread.