AutoCAD History - when did it become windows compatible?

[alanjt]

http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_lines/ACAD_R12.html

 

 

LoL

I can't believe I was right. I was only 10.

[Coosbaylumber]

However, the part about AutoCAD being DOS only before R13 is not true. There were versions for OS/2, Macintosh, Solaris, Unix, and probably some others, mostly unix variants IIRC.

 

 

I sort of remember a version circa late 1990's labeled on the outside of the box exclusively for work on Mac, and on some H-P substitute. Each of which automatically allowed use of a server too then. I think you had to use one of the highly expensive CD-ROM drives then to load it up. These alternate operation systems were short lived though.

 

Wm.

[TAZIN]

As stated by others, AutoCad R12 for Windows was the first version designed for the Windows 3.1 environment. This would be cira Feb. 16, 1993 for AutoCad R12 for Windows (no C number yet, e.g. C1, C2, etc.). I think some at Autodesk refer to this version as AutoCad R11 Beta for Windows, but I'm not sure. In addition, this version was compiled with the Watcom C 386 Version 9.01d compiler which came out in late 1992. Most folks (including the people at Autodesk) refer to the first edition of AutoCad R12 for Windows as Version R12 c1 which came out in June 4, 1993, but technically this isn't correct.

[TAZIN]

Someone mentioned the AutoCad R12 for Windows software currently available on eBay.... That one for sale doesn't have the Advanced Modeling Extension with it, and is the C4 version (the last updated version of the R12 for Windows software). If someone did buy it and found and installed the AME portion of the program, then the AME Code would be: A69A3DEA. This is for one user, since the AME codes are based on the number of users for the package along with the AutoCad serial number.

[Ryder76]

The first time I ever saw a computer doing cad work was in 1978 in a civil engineering firm and they used a Wang computer! That was when I knew I wanted to learn to draft, but back then the only way to get drafting "training" was to get an engineering degree and there were only a couple of semesters of it.

 

Took me thirteen years to find a school/program that taught mostly drafting and cad. I got an associates and took some engineering courses, advanced math and pyhsics as well as the liberal arts stuff we have to have to graduate.

 

Been doing the cad drafting thing for 18 years now and I still love what I do. Funny thing in school we focused on mechanical and machine shop stuff, but I prefer electrical to most other disciplines. Can do Arch, Piping, Mech, Civil, but Elec is my favorite.

[ReMark]

The first computer I used in an engineering environment was an Olivetti-Underwood (yep, the same company made typewriters too!). Had to slide a magnetic strip through the top of the "computer" to load the program. God forbid you had sweaty fingertips or grease (butter from your toasted muffin) on your fingers as both would prevent portions of the program from being read. The program was used to layout stationing for surveying in a roadway.

[Dana W]

This ain't exactly AutoCAD history but it is CAD. Oh, and it ain't exactly accurate but it's as good as I can get it.

 

I had been drafting (Arch't) for 11 years and then in 1982, the first machine I ever did drafting on was a VAX midi. It was about the size of a double door refrigerator with 3 disk drives as big as a washing machine. Each disk drive held a whopping 512 K for a grand total of just over 1 and 1/2 entire megabytes of storage. They had semi-replaceable multi-layer disk packs 12" in diameter. I say semi-replaceable since the heads usually left marks on the platters when retracted and parked. The computer was booted with a metal tape. They stored all data on 10" tape reels and there was an actual model 29 IBM punch card machine that was still used for payroll.

 

My terminal was a Tectronics, made out of steel, yep, steel. It was so huge, it had its own legs and stood on the floor. There was no mouse, of course. The terminal had x & y finger wheels and to this day I will swear they are faster than a mouse or trackball. The only mouse in the house was on the digitizer and it was attached to one of those gynormous rail type drafting machines on a 48 x 72 board. The company had a custom proprietary drafting program called CDedit. I mostly snapped line ends and electronics symbols to the proper connecting points after the digitizer babe hacked her way through the hard copy.

 

There were two plotters. One, I think was a tectronics, which moved paper (on a roll) back and forth under a pen head with (I think) 6 colors. The pen head moved side to side. To load a drawing on it you had to give it one of the 10" tape reels. That one was big and it would hurt you. When I was a newbie there, one day I loaded the paper roll upside down. When the plotter started initializing and taking up slack, it shot nearly half a roll of the paper out into the room before I could hit the power switch. It couldn't take up the slack because the roll was turning the wrong way, so it just kept spinning fatser and faster.

 

The other plotter was bigger and would hurt you badder. It was a Kongsburg platform type the size and color of a D9 Cat, with a pen/photo head mounted on a 6" forged and machined iron "I" beam spanning the 6' width of the platform. The 300 lb beam and the drive motors would wizz up and down the 9' length of the platform on rails in about 2 seconds. It looked and worked like a rocket powered warehouse crane and weighed nearly as much. One of my supervisor's favorite hazing tricks was to sit a newbie down at the 0,0 corner of that thing by the control panel, mount the basketball sized photo head and then tell 'em "Ok we're ready. Push the green button." That beam and photo head shot the full length of the table and stopped right in my face before I could even blink. That was fine. 3 years later I had his girlfriend.

[Dana W]

The first one was a Calcomp plotter.

[Coosbaylumber]

The first one was a Calcomp plotter.

 

 

According to an old advertisement that I once had, Calcomp put onto the public market a plotter circa 1959. One or two years prior to that they had a few in private use. The originals ran on some FORTRAN language. M-s was not even thought of then, nor was the personal (small) computer.

 

 

Wm.

[Coosbaylumber]

Someone mentioned the AutoCad R12 for Windows software currently available on eBay.... That one for sale doesn't have the Advanced Modeling Extension with it, and is the C4 version (the last updated version of the R12 for Windows software). If someone did buy it and found and installed the AME portion of the program, then the AME Code would be: A69A3DEA. This is for one user, since the AME codes are based on the number of users for the package along with the AutoCad serial number.

 

 

I am thinking that AME was on my R-11 version, but unless you said to load it when new, you then never got the chance to install it via the last four disks in set. May not have even been included into the basic package with version R12. For was assumed that everyone wanted such. I see it is noted as on my preview disk sent via Autodesk in late 1995. I also got a preview disk on Microstation circa 1994. Nothing there so noted as being a standard feature.

 

 

Wm.

[Jack_O'neill]

I know this thread is old, but due to some insomnia I was digging around and stumbled across it. With all the replies this got, I'm surprised no one mentioned the "Windows extension" for release 11. This bit of software if I recall correctly was AutoCad's first attempt at a Windows interface. It was absolutely horrible in that it was as slow as molasses in winter. Hit L pick 2 points, go to the break room, buy a coke, come back and just as you sat down your line would appear. It would take an hour to draw a donut. Installed it on 2 different machines just to make sure it acted the same on both. Called our dealer and he came down to "fix" it. After half a day of messing around with it his "fix" was pulling out his check book and giving us a refund. Uninstalled that mess and went back to DOS.

 

Release 12 for windows wasn't too bad. It ran ok under Windows NT (remember that?) but was a bit slow on 3.11.

Release 13 was the first time they didn't offer a dos version, but that was another nightmare. I got the first patch on CD before the program disc arrived, so I knew I was in trouble. Four major patches on CD mailed to all the registered users, and several incremental patches that were downloaded and we finally had a product that worked.

[Tyke]

I was digging around in the store room at home and found the boxed Release 10 Documentation dated September 1988. I have the AutoLISP Programmers Reference on my desk at the moment and it doesn't seem that out of date.

 

Does anybody know if Autodesk has such documentation available as PDF files and if they are available?

[dbroada]

I still use my LISP manual for release 10 or 11. It may not be right up to date but for the little I do is far easier to use than the help files on the computer.

[MSasu]

Release 13 was the first time they didn't offer a dos version' date=' but that was another nightmare.[/quote']

 

I’m afraid that that was in fact AutoCAD 14; release 13 still had a DOS version.

 

Regards,

Mircea

[Jack_O'neill]

I’m afraid that that was in fact AutoCAD 14; release 13 still had a DOS version.

 

Regards,

Mircea

 

Yes, you are right. I had it a version early. That was a long time ago and I'm getting old!

 

R13 for windows was still a nightmare though!

[Coosbaylumber]

At a couple of firms, I had been using Autocad version four (I think) then jumped to R-11 in Palm Springs that (except for one lone Micro) used the common Calcomp tablet for commands. They had a whole array of special comands and wanted to retain their investment there.

 

We got in the mail a notice that R-12 was about to come out, but in no location did it say support for the older Calcomp tablets. An inquiery, and found that was true. No need for one. Then the Windows version came out, but then those magical words showed up: SUPPORT. It too was a nightmare for there were numerous tabs, buttons and pull downs that did and did not work. We went back to R-11.

 

Then R-13 and Windows 95 came out, Problems right off, in that it would not load up. Had many telephone calls to our dealer, Sauseleto and Washington state. Got very litle work done at the time.

 

Then we got in the mail a demo to R-14 and it worked near immediately. No problems what-so-ever. But it came out early and unless you had a late model version of Win95 it did not work. We had a few stations on R-11 which worked flawlessly, and a few on R-14. By fall all stations were converted over to Win98, and we did not need R-11 anymore. We also did not have anyone coming in the front door anymore. I lasted until three days until the door was closed last time, and got their copy of R-11 on my home computer now.

 

And still copy and paste verbage from some earlirer version of a LSP filr, for it used to work? All I got to do now is change a few things.....Got some blue softbound bookwith examles in it hare and at the Public Library.

 

 

Wm.

[Jack_O'neill]

Then we got in the mail a demo to R-14 and it worked near immediately. No problems what-so-ever. But it came out early and unless you had a late model version of Win95 it did not work. We had a few stations on R-11 which worked flawlessly, and a few on R-14.

 

I spent so much time on the phone with the folks at Autodesk over R13 that I got on a first name basis with a couple of them. After we finally got it working after weeks and weeks of effort, one of they guys there sent me a very nice Autodesk coffee mug. I still have it in fact.

 

A while after R14 came out, our dealer called trying to sell us on it. He said something to the effect of "you guys usually upgrade as soon as a new one comes out, so I am surprised I haven't heard from you already. Would you like to see R14?" to which I replied "Oh hell no. The big chunks missing out of my backside as a result of R13 have not healed up yet, so no way am I going down that road again." He said that we wouldn't have that problem this time, and I told him that was true, that we would not even consider upgrading to 14 till someone else did all the leg work this time. That in fact, I planned to wait for a couple more versions to come out before we upgraded again. He pressed for an appointment to come see me and talk about it in person, and I finally agreed if for no other reason to tell him "no" in person. When he arrived, he had an interesting proposition for me. Said he was so sure that it would work perfectly, right out of the box that if it didn't, he'd give me a copy for my own personal use free. I reminded him that we used lots of lisps and scripts, and that it had to run those too, and he assured me that it wouldn't take but a matter of minutes to get me all set up and working. Well, that was a bet I couldn't refuse so I let him set it up on my machine. True to his word, in an hour or so after the install he had all our custom menus and everything up and running. He said for me to carry on working, he'd be back in a couple hours to check on me and headed out the door. I was amazed. The transistion was flawless. Well, almost. The only thing he forgot to do was the plotter, but it was nothing to set up. When he returned and asked what I thought, I told him I was amazed but cautious. Anything that seems to good to be true usually is, and after Fiasco 13 I was extremely hesitant. He said "ok, i'll be back in 30 days, we'll see what you think then". I called him up on day 29, told him to bring 5 more when he came down and we cut him a check.

[Cad64]

Lucky for me, I never had to deal with R11 or R13. I went from R10 to R12 to 2000. I guess I missed all the fun.

[Jack_O'neill]

Lucky for me, I never had to deal with R11 or R13. I went from R10 to R12 to 2000. I guess I missed all the fun.

 

You have no idea my friend. The dos version of 11 was ok, I don't remember much of a problem with it. The "windows extension" was nothing more than someone attempting to shoehorn a windows interface on to a dos program. Don't know why they bothered. Back in those days if you wanted to run a dos program under windows, all you had to do was create a "program information file" or PIF as it was referred to that told windows how to handle fonts and what have you.

 

The first installation of R13 i put on, none of the dialog boxes would go away. If you started a command that used one, you could hit ok or cancel a hundred times and it wouldn't matter. It would vanish and pop right back up. The first patch we got created the opposite problem. You only got to use that dialog box once during a session. Once you hit ok or cancel, you had to restart Autocad to get that command to open a dialog box again. It was just absolutely amazing all the wierd stuff taht was in that. I do not know for the life of me why 13 got released in that condition.

[Tyke]

I did a similar thing to Cad64, R10 to R12 to R14 to 2000 and then successively to 2011. I never really did have any big problems, but at the same time there was only a comparison to a DOS surveying program that output the survey data with line joining codes directly to an A3 plotter. We then stuck all the A3 sheets to the drawing board and traced over them to produce our finished survey plan. We were told that it was CAD and did not know anything to the contrary and it was so much easier than what we had previously done that it was welcomed. Compared to what we now have it was Fred Flintstone stuff.