I would like to purchase a cad software program that draw residential construction projects well but not require a ton of time to learn. Any suggestions?
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Hello, welcome to Breaktime. This topic has almost been discussed many times around here. I can tell you that if you search through past threads, you will find an abundance of good info / opinions on this topic.
I will sum up the most recent thread for you: look into a program called "Sketchup". It's user friendly, capable and affordable. It seems to be a good fit for what you are looking for.
Good Luck
Edited 12/15/2005 4:45 pm ET by xosder11
could you define "well" and compare to how you weigh money and time. In many ways the two requirements are at odds.
But the suggestion to advance search the terms CAD, design, and drawing, or software is a good one for some previous in-depth discussions
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> .... but not require a ton of time to learn.
You're on dangerous ground already. Drawing is not trivial, because it encompasses all the thinking and planning that saves you costly mistakes in building. It's a little like asking what hammer and saw to buy in order to become a master carpenter, without spending much time learning.
Don't go cheap on buying a CAD program. You'll invest far more of your time in using it than you can imagine. A "quick and easy" program will be nothing but roadblocks for you. You'll have to un-learn it and re-learn a more versatile one if you make that mistake. BTDT.
-- J.S.
If cost is not an issue and you are really going to use the program to help your business, check out SoftPlan. Version 13 was just released. They also have a user's forum http://splash.softplansplsh.org/front/main.htm that is just great, and "traviling show" traning classes that go around the country and hit a city near you twice a year. It was a not a hard choice for me after I saw what it coud do and how easy it was to do it. I highly recommend it.
http://www.softplan.com/
kcoyner