Posted: 3/24/2016 6:25:33 PM EDT
|
I have been using AutoCAD LT for about the last fifteen years or so (2001). While the majority of my usage has been for business purposes, it is not very often that I need to use this software. Over those fifteen years my usage has probably averaged out to about once a month.
I started out with a version of AutoCAD LT 95 that my brother-in-law gifted me back in 2001 when he switched to something more powerful and 3D capable. I then upgraded to LT 97, then LT 2004, then LT 2009. Since I rarely need this software the LT 2009 has been fine for the last seven years or so since I purchased it and I was planning on keeping it for another few years, but apparently upgrading my laptop from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 has caused some compatibility issues. As I recall I wasn't really even supposed to be able to use LT 2009 on Windows 7 or 8, but I somehow got it to work years ago and it worked fine until I upgraded to Windows 10. As I recall my last few upgrades to LT 2004 and LT 2009 cost me between $600 and $800, and I'd be happy to pay that again, but Autodesk has moved to subscription based software. I'm no longer self-employed, so I can't easily write-off the software as a business expense, nor do I believe my employer would foot the bill. I can't really justify spending $350 a year to rent the software, as I just don't use it that much. So, since Autodesk has priced me out of using their software I'm looking for suggestions on alternatives to LT. Most of the 2D software alternatives I'm finding seem way to cheap to give me much confidence in them, so I'm hoping some experienced users here can give me some feedback. |
|
It will be cheaper to revert your computer to W7 or W8 and use the old software.
It will be cheaper to buy a new compute and have them install W7 or W8--don't forget to turn off auto-updates. Do not buy in to the subscription model. When you buy a tool, you don't have to change it every couple of years. |
|
Draftsight. Free. AutoCAD very light.
ETA I used AutoCAD and several other programs starting 20 years ago. Then IDEAS, then NX, then ProE in various flavors, now using Inventor. I have found Draftsight to be plenty stable for home drafting use and wouldn't have any qualms about using it for paying jobs on an infrequent basis (subject to terms of use). |
|
Quoted:
It will be cheaper to revert your computer to W7 or W8 and use the old software. It will be cheaper to buy a new compute and have them install W7 or W8--don't forget to turn off auto-updates. Do not buy in to the subscription model. When you buy a tool, you don't have to change it every couple of years. All good advice, but I found a work-a-round. |
|
Quoted:
Draftsight. Free. AutoCAD very light. ETA I used AutoCAD and several other programs starting 20 years ago. Then IDEAS, then NX, then ProE in various flavors, now using Inventor. I have found Draftsight to be plenty stable for home drafting use and wouldn't have any qualms about using it for paying jobs on an infrequent basis (subject to terms of use). Draftsight looked pretty good, but it is subscription based software as well. |
|
Quoted:
I have been using AutoCAD LT for about the last fifteen years or so (2001). While the majority of my usage has been for business purposes, it is not very often that I need to use this software. Over those fifteen years my usage has probably averaged out to about once a month. I started out with a version of AutoCAD LT 95 that my brother-in-law gifted me back in 2001 when he switched to something more powerful and 3D capable. I then upgraded to LT 97, then LT 2004, then LT 2009. Since I rarely need this software the LT 2009 has been fine for the last seven years or so since I purchased it and I was planning on keeping it for another few years, but apparently upgrading my laptop from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 has caused some compatibility issues. As I recall I wasn't really even supposed to be able to use LT 2009 on Windows 7 or 8, but I somehow got it to work years ago and it worked fine until I upgraded to Windows 10. As I recall my last few upgrades to LT 2004 and LT 2009 cost me between $600 and $800, and I'd be happy to pay that again, but Autodesk has moved to subscription based software. I'm no longer self-employed, so I can't easily write-off the software as a business expense, nor do I believe my employer would foot the bill. I can't really justify spending $350 a year to rent the software, as I just don't use it that much. So, since Autodesk has priced me out of using their software I'm looking for suggestions on alternatives to LT. Most of the 2D software alternatives I'm finding seem way to cheap to give me much confidence in them, so I'm hoping some experienced users here can give me some feedback. Here is my update, which I hope helps someone else out in the future with a similar problem. I've been scouring the Internet for over a week looking for a reasonable alternative to AutoCAD LT. As mentioned above, I might have been better off trying to revert back to Windows 8 or Windows 7, but in a lot of the searches I came across it sounded like people like me who had AutoCAD LT working on Windows 7 & 8 were not able to successfully get it working again once they tried rolling back the Windows 10 install. I definitely didn't find any reasonable Windows 10 software that could be purchased outright and was not subscription based in my original range of $600 to $800 I was willing to spend. I have a nice Android Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 tablet that I strongly considered using for all my CAD needs, but there too I was not able to find a replacement for AutoCAD LT. There are lots of useful Android Apps, two of which I already owned and a couple others I tried, but nothing that was going to make me not miss having LT on my laptop. So, my solution. I came across some software called Longbow Software, which somehow converts this older AutoCAD software to make it compatible with Windows 10. It cost me $79.99 for a home user license to give it a shot and I'm glad I took the chance. I uninstalled my existing installation, rebooted, installed the Longbow Converter, copied all my AutoCAD LT 2009 installation files from the install CD to my hard drive and ran the converter. Everything worked smoothly and AutoCAD LT is back up and running faster than it ever did on when I was running it on Windows 7 and 8 in compatibility mode for Windows XP. Something about this converter also allows use of up to 4GB of memory instead of the 2GB that the original software was designed to use, so I imagine that alone is helping the speed. |
|
Quoted:
Draftsight. Free. AutoCAD very light. ETA I used AutoCAD and several other programs starting 20 years ago. Then IDEAS, then NX, then ProE in various flavors, now using Inventor. I have found Draftsight to be plenty stable for home drafting use and wouldn't have any qualms about using it for paying jobs on an infrequent basis (subject to terms of use). This |
|
Have you looked at Vectorworks?
It's expensive, but less expensive than AutoCAD, but they still offer a non subscription option and will export to dxf and dwg formats. |
|
If you're a veteran, you can get Solidworks for $20. (good for one year)
Or sign up for a single class from your local community college or technical institute and get the student edition for $150 Coming from ACAD, you'll probably hate it at first, but run through some of the free community college classes on youtube and you'll learn to love it quickly. |