with the latest changes
(new features, improvements and bug fixes and development
features).Below is a brief description of the enhancements and new features. Click on the hyperlink keywords for a detailed description.
Please read the BricsCAD Release Notes with the latest changes
(new features, improvements and bug fixes and development
features).
BricsCAD® (Windows) V14 installs and runs independently from previous BricsCAD versions.
V14 is not binary compatible with V13, some API's have changed. Most 3rd party applications/tools, except scripts and applications written in pure Lisp, will need to be rebuilt by their manufacturer in order to run on V14. If you are using 3rd party applications, please check with your supplier for V14 compatibility and updates.
In trial mode, BricsCAD runs as full
Platinum version without any feature restrictions.
The RunAsLevel user preference allows
to run BricsCAD in a lower level than the licensed level. A restart
is needed after changing this RunAsLevel user preference.
Pro or Platinum license is required for rendering, 3D modeling and Generative Drafting.
Platinum license is required for creation of 3D Constraints, Mechanical Assembly design and Sheet Metal design.
To report problems, please send a Support Request.
X-SOLIDS removed: new functionality has been added to the Mechanical tools to replace functionality offered by the X-solids tools. The history based X-solids modeling is retired.
LICENSING: BricsCAD V14 comes with a new licensing system.
GUI:
Restyled user interface reducing unnecessary lines, boxes and other distractions
A completely new set of icons in toolbars and menus.
A larger (32 x 32 pixel) icon set is now available for toolbars and toolpalettes.
UPGRADES:
ODA Teigha libraries were upgraded from V3.06 to V3.09
WxWidgets library was upgraded from V2.8 to V2.9
ANNOTATION SCALES: added the ability to view and edit the CANNOSCALE system variable in the Status Bar. The Custom option launches the SCALELISTEDIT command.
BricsCAD now supports CUIX files, which will be converted to CUI on-the-fly. When a CUIX file contains bitmaps, they are copied into a .RESZ resource file.
CUSTOMIZE: support for .RESZ files: an alternative to resource DLL (zip file containing tool bitmaps; works on all platforms).
The feature has been renamed from 'Generative Drafting' to 'Generated Drawing Views'.
The BMGENDRAFT and BMGENSECTION commands have been thoroughly reworked and renamed to VIEWBASE and VIEWSECTION. The BMGEN... commands will be retired in V15.
VIEWUPDATE: command to update a selection of drafting views.
VIEWEXPORT: new command that introduces similar functionality as the former QuickDraw. This command allows exporting the content of drafting views obtained by VIEWBASE and VIEWSECTION to the Model Space of the drawing.
Generated drawing views no longer consist of 3d solids to which a special visual style is applied. Instead they now are based on 2d entities, which are the result of a hidden line removal calculation. Visible and occluded entities are on different layers to provide easy control over their display properties.
A preview image with wireframe representation of the model is now shown when positioning the drawing views.
Viewports created by the generative drafting commands are placed on a separate dedicated layer, providing control over display and selection properties.
VIEWUPDATEAUTO: system variable which controls whether generated drafting views are updated automatically when the source model changes. When VIEWUPDATEAUTO is Off, views that need updating are marked with a red bounding rectangle.
PROJECTIONTYPE: system variable to control the projection type used when generating drawing views. First Angle projection (Europe) = 0, Third Angle projection ( U.S., Canada, Australia) = 1. This setting is stored in the drawing.
OVERKILL and -OVERKILL: Commands to remove duplicate entities, overlapping lines, circular arcs and polylines (lw, 2d, 3d), and also to combine partially overlapping or contiguous entities.
PARAMETERCOPYMODE: System variable to control copying of 2D constraints and related parameters when entities are copied.
PREVIEWTOPDOWN toggle: when Shift + Ctrl keys are pressed simultaneously and not held down longer than 500 milliseconds, they toggle the PREVIEWTOPDOWN setting. In other words: selectionpreview highlight priority will be toggled between selecting individual faces of 3D solids first or selecting the entire 3d-solids first.
PUBLISH: added the possibility to use PDF export when publishing. Plot and Page Setup settings are applied. Using the "Multi-Sheet File" option allows to create a single pdf file containing multiple layouts from a single drawing. Multiple layouts from multiple drawings are not yet supported.
SELECT: added the G option which allows to select groups by name when selecting entities.
SMFLANGECONNECT: command for closing gaps between two arbitrarily oriented flanges.
SMFLANGEEDGE: adjacent flanges with a corner relief and junction can now be created on a base flange which has non-right angles.
It is now possible to associate a bending table with a Sheet Metal model.
.csv files containing bending tables can be specified using the corresponding field in the Mechanical Browser.
Bend deduction values from the table are used to exactly calculate unfolding matching the used manufacturing tools.
The 'V' die width can be additionally specified for a particular Bend feature using the Mechanical Browser. The width is used as a key while looking for bend deduction values in the table.+
The radius can now be controlled parametrically for a particular Bend feature using the Mechanical Browser.
Snap tracking now creates one more tracking line, connecting LASTPOINT and an acquired esnap point.
SNAP TRACK LOCK: to lock a snap track path it suffices to press the Shift key once, it is no longer required to keep it down. To unlock a track path, press Shift again: it works as a toggle.
SNAP TRACK MARKERS: to distinguish between regular esnap markers and markers drawn together with related snap tracking lines, the color of the snap track markers was changed to the color of the tracking lines.
HATCH PATTERN SNAP: added support for snapping to hatch pattern geometry, controlled by new OSOPTIONS system variable. The default value of OSOPTIONS is 3.
OSOPTIONS = 0: Object snapping is enabled for hatch entities, and geometry with negative Z values when using a dynamic UCS.
OSOPTIONS = 1: Object snapping is disabled for hatch entities.
OSOPTIONS = 2: Object snapping is disabled for geometry with negative Z values when using a dynamic UCS.
OSOPTIONS = 3: Object snapping is disabled for hatch entities, and geometry with negative Z values when using a dynamic UCS.
VISUALSTYLES: implemented the -VISUALSTYLES command.
3D CONNEXION MOUSE: added 3D connexion mouse support. The 3D mouse is used for navigating the view while the regular mouse is used for controlling the pointer.
3D CONSTRAINTS: expressions and parameters can be used to specify the value of a dimensional constraint.
ADDSELECTED command creates a new entity based on the type of a selected entity, adopting general properties of the selected entity such as layer and color.
ANNOTATIVE STYLES and ENTITIES:
Added support for annotative styles and annotative entities. Annotative entities can be displayed in different ways (scale, location, rotation) depending on the viewport in which they are displayed. When hovering over annotative entities while selectionpreview is activated, the annotative marker will be displayed.
Entity types that obey annotative scaling include:
single-line and multiline text
hatches
tables
dimensions
tolerances
leaders and multileaders
Related commands, variables and extensions:
Text Style, Dimension Style, MLeader Style and Block Explorer dialogs were extended with annotative setting.
Annotative checkbox was added to the Attribute definition and Block definition dialogs.
Annotative and Annotative Scale properties were added to the Properties Bar (for applicable entity types).
OBJECTSCALE command and dialog allow to add and remove annotation scales to selected entities.
SR34983, SR38685, SR40102, SR40329: CANNOSCALE and CANNOSCALEVALUE system variables were implemented.
CANNOSCALE system variable sets the name of the Current Annotation Scale for the current space. Only scales that exist in the drawings named scale list are accepted.
CANNOSCALEVALUE system variable is read-only and contains the value of the Current Annotation Scale.
ANNORESET command resets the location of all scale representations for an annotative entity to that of the current scale representation.
ANNOUPDATE command allows to select annotative objects that you want to support the current Annotative scale.
SAVEFIDELITY setting allows to control Maintaining Visual Fidelity for Annotative objects in dwg formats that did not yet support Annotative scaling of objects. This is achieved by creating a separate layer for each annotation scale used in the drawing.
ANNOTATIVEDWG system variable specifies whether or not the drawing will behave as an annotative block when inserted into another drawing. Annotative Block definitions enable you to insert block references that are sized regardless of the viewport scale, for example a symbol for an electric receptacle. In general, annotative blocks would be symbols that are NOT drawn at real sizes for actual objects, unlike e.g. chairs or cars. To create/update block drawing files, ensure the block geometry is drawn at the size you want it represented, and enable the ANNOTATIVEDWG sysvar. The ANNOTATIVEDWG variable becomes read-only if a drawing contains annotative objects. The INSUNITS setting is ignored when a drawing whose ANNOTATIVEDWG variable has been set to 1 is being inserted into a drawing.
CONVERTPOLY: command to convert lightweight polylines to classic polylines and vice versa.
DIMENSIONS: in-place editing of dimension text.
CPAGESETUP: command to edit the model space or the current layout page setup in the Page Setup dialog box. The command can be accessed by right clicking the model tab or the current layout tab and choosing Page Setup... in the context menu.
DRAG-AND-DROP OPTION MENU: when using the Right Mouse Button to drag and drop files onto the BricsCAD application, following options are offered from a context menu:
Default by File Extension
Insert Here
Open
Create XRef
Create Hyperlink Here
BMGENDRAFT command generates associative 2D and 3D views from 3D models. These views are updated automatically when the 3D model is changed.
BMGENSECTION command generates associative section views from 3D models. These section views are updated automatically when the 3D model is changed.
HARDWARE LIBRARY: the new Library tab in the Mechanical Browser provides easy access to more than 30,000 three dimensional standard parts which can be drag-and-dropped into the drawing. Status: work in progress - Preview creation process to be improved, Length setting not yet functional.
HATCHEDIT command - allows to add or remove boundary entities to/from hatches.
HELIX command: Available geometrical helix properties are: Position(X/Y/Z), Constrain, Height, Turns, Turn Height, Base Radius, Top Radius, Twist, Turn Slope and Total length. Turn Slope and Total length are not editable. The Base Radius is initially set to 1, and during a BricsCAD session its default value becomes the previously entered base value.
DAE: Collada (Import / Export)
STL: StereoLithography (Export only)
IMPORT/EXPORT: following 3D import/export formats are available through a separate module, BricsCAD Communicator.
Export
STE, STP, STEP: Standard for Exchange of Product data
IGS, IGES: Initial Graphics Exchange Specification
CATIA V4 and V5:
VDA: VDA-FS
3D PDF
Import
IGS, IGES: Initial Graphics Exchange Specification
STE, STP, STEP: Standard for Exchange of Product data
IAM, IPT: Inventor
CATIA V4 and V5
PARASOLID
PAR, PSM: Solid Edge
PRT: NX
ASM, PRT: Creo Elements / Pro Engineer
SLDASM, SLDPRT: Solidworks
VDA: VDA-FS
PASTECLIP FROM EXCEL: an excel spreadsheet, or a range of rows and columns, can now be pasted as a dwg table entity, instead of as an OLE object. The TABLE command now also allows to create a table from XMLSS files.
MLEADER
MLEADERSTYLE command opens the Drawing Explorer / Multileader Styles for managing multileader styles.
MLEADER command allows creation of multileader entities.
MLEADEREDIT command allows editing of multileader entities.
MSLTSCALE system variable:
MSLTSCALE = 0: linetypes displayed in modelspace are not scaled by the annotation scale.
MSLTSCALE = 1: linetypes displayed in modelspace are scaled by the annotation scale.
PEDITEXT command edits vertices and segments of polylines.
PNG PREVIEW: added support for .png drawing previews, which allow to store high resolution previews with minimal .dwg file size increase.
PRINTER CALIBRATION: printer configuration was extended with the possibility to scale print output so it exactly matches intended dimensions.
PROPERTIES BAR: when no entities are selected, the properties of the current view are displayed - this also allows to modify the view settings.
QUAD cursor menu has been redesigned from scratch
DYNAMIC: the QUAD menu content is updated on the fly, as the cursor is moved, taking into account the type of the entities under the cursor and in the proximity, as well as considering geometric events like intersection and tangency.
CUSTOMIZABLE: the QUAD is fully customizable, both through the CUI dialog and through a dedicated programming API.
EXPANSION: the QUAD now expands differently. First, one button is shown, depicting the command that was used most recently when working in the same context of entity types. When the cursor is hovered over this button, it expands to a row of buttons showing the history of most recently used commands in that context. Underneath the row of buttons is a blue bar with an arrow. When the cursor enters this bar, more groups of commands are shown.
COMMAND GROUPS: each group has a title bar, when the cursor enters the title bar, the according group expands to show its command buttons.
WORKSPACES: on the 'Workspace' tab in the Customize dialog, the order and enabled/disabled status of the command groups can be set. Each workspace thusly displays its own specific set of command groups, in user-defined order.
BUILT-IN command groups: the content of the built-in command groups changes dynamically according to the context. The built-in groups cannot be modified.
CUSTOM command group: besides the built-in command groups, there is the Custom command group which can be fully configured on the 'Quad' tab of the Customize Dialog.
ADDITIONAL command groups: one CUI file can define one user-defined QUAD group. 'Custom' is the one defined in default.cui. Any additional partial cui file can thus add its own group to the quad.
Third party applications can implement QuadReactors. Each QuadReactor defines a group in the quad.
SELECTION: left mouse button click no longer is claimed by the Quad, so it remains available for regular entity selection.
PRESELECTION: preselected entities are supported now.
2D ENTITIES: extended functionality has been made available for editing 2D entities using the Quad.
SETTINGS: the settings dialog has a Quad section to customize Quad behavior and appearance. It can be found by entering 'quad' in the search field, or (faster), by right-clicking the Quad field on the status bar and choosing 'Settings' in the popup menu. This popup menu also contains shortcuts to navigate to the Quad related tabs in the CUI dialog.
RASTER IMAGES
PERSISTENT CACHE: drawings that reference huge raster images are loaded nearly instantaneous after they have been cached while being loaded for the first time.
SR26015, SR28264, SR31801, SR38420 - GeoTIFF: implemented GeoTIFF support.
memory use for .ECW and .SID was improved.
SELECTSIMILAR command selects all entities of the same type as the current selection, based on a set of matching properties, stored in the SELECTSIMILARMODE system variable. The Settings option of the SELECTSIMILAR command brings up a dialog that allows to define the SELECTSIMILARMODE in a user-friendly way.
SELECTSIMILARMODE system variable sets the selection criteria for the SELECTSIMILAR command. It is a bitcode value holding the sum of following values:
0 Entity type
1 Color
2 Layer
4 Linetype
8 Linetype scale
16 Lineweight
32 Plot style
64 Entity style (E.g. text style, dimension style, table style)
128 Name (E.g. for blocks, xrefs and images)
Create a sheet metal part by extruding a 2D profile and add new flanges by pulling its edges.
Bends, bend reliefs and corner reliefs are created automatically.
The full set of direct modeling operations and 3D constraints can be used to edit sheet metal parts in combination with controlling the parts using pre-defined parameters like material thickness and bend radius.
Automatic unfolding and export to 2D .dxf enables computer-aided manufacturing of sheet metal parts designed with BricsCAD.
COMMANDS:
SMFLANGEBASE: creates new Sheet Metal body from a closed 2d polyline or a region.
SMFLANGEEDGE: creates a flange (wall) attached to an existent Sheet Metal body with a bend feature. Automatically generates corner and bend reliefs.
SMFLANGEROTATE: rotates the flange around the nearest bend, in order to change the bending angle of the flange.
SMUNFOLD: generates the unfolded representation of a sheet metal body.
SNAPPING
SNAP TRACK LOCK: pressing and holding the Shift key while a snap track marker line is displayed, will keep this snap tracker locked, any (snap)point that is picked will be projected perpendicularly onto the tracking line. A locked tracking line changes color to use the SnapMarkerColor.
TK option: whenever prompted to enter a point, type "TK" on the command line to define one or more Temporary (snap)Tracking points. When eventually the desired location has been reached, enter the point by pressing the Right Mouse button or the Enter key.
TT option: whenever prompted to enter a point, type "TT" on the command line to define an extra Temporary (snap)Tracking point. After the tracking point has been picked, normal command execution continues. Repeat typing "TT" to enter additional Temporary Tracking points.
Example: tracking points come in particularly handy to pick points at locations where no existing geometry is available to snap directly to, while you know the desired offset distance(s) from snap points on existing geometry in the neighborhood.
SWEEP command extrudes a closed profile along an arbitrary curve with control over banking during the sweep. If the sweep profile(s) are intersected by the sweep path, the intersection point is used as the base point for sweeping. If profile and path do not intersect, the profile centroid is used as the base point.
LAYCUR command: sets the layer of a selected entity current.
CAMERA command: creates perspective views.
STL (Stereolithography):
STLOUT command allows a set of entities to be exported to .stl format.
EXPORT command was extended to support exporting drawings to .stl.
IME: implemented inline IME (Input Method Editor) editing for the MText editor.
DEFAULT workspaces: "2D Drafting", "3D Modeling" and "Sheet Metal" are provided by default. Additional workspaces can easily be created.
CURRENT workspace: the name of the current workspace is displayed on the status bar and it can be changed by right-clicking on the Workspace name.
Workspace ONSWITCH: each workspace can define a set of commands (macro's) that are executed when the current workspace is switched to be this workspace. This can be edited in the Customize dialog, 'Workspace' tab. Any tool from the tree control on the right can be dragged into the 'OnSwitch' section in the tree control on the left.
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