iCADMac 2024 progeSOFT

• macOS Sonoma (v14) support
• ARM and Intel versions
• Fast start on ARM M1 or better

The new Custom Block Editor helps you create smarter blocks.
The Custom Block Editor is launched with the command EditCustomBlock or after a double-click on a block. You can use it to modify any block reference and also make them parametric in size and shape. The contextual ribbon includes features to combine special grips and actions such as Move, Scale, Stretch, Rotate, Pattern or Mirror. You may, for example, create a custom block which size can be dynamically adjusted with a grip that you can stretch.
The switch between different types of the same block. You can also create custom blocks with different states having elements that are hidden or shown. This allows, for example, to use only one block to show different options.
One Custom Block can replace many blocks. Combining multiple of these grips and actions allows you to create much smarter blocks. One custom block may replace tens of the blocks you currently use and would therefore significantly increase your productivity.

Convert dynamic blocks into custom blocks
You can use dynamic blocks created with AutoCAD® as they are. They will keep their intelligence and parameters in iCADMac. But now you may alternatively use the CBCONVERT command to convert them into custom blocks which definition can be further modified with iCADMac.

Test mode in the Block Editor
The Block Editor includes now a “Test Block” feature (Command CBTESTBLOCK) to try your custom block definition without exiting the Block Editor.

Define multiple base points
Traditional blocks have only one base point. Now custom blocks enable you to define more base points to choose from during insertion. By pressing the Ctrl key you could cycle between them which significantly helps to position and align the block without any further actions.

Distance multiplier and angle offset
You could define a value as an increment to eventually limit how an entity would vary in size and avoid, for example, configurations that cannot exist or be produced.
You can also define the distance multiplier to let you alternatively specify a factor by which a distance value of the custom block is increased or decreased (for example, double the size after each increment).
The angle offset works the same but with angles. You may, for example, define that entities could only rotate with angle increments of 60°.

Dynamic Blocks vs. Custom Blocks

• Using AUTOCAD Dymamic Blocks in iCADMac.
  iCADMac reads and uses AutoCAD dynamic blocks just like AutoCAD® does. When someone shares with you dynamic blocks created in AutoCAD®, they can be used inside iCADMac with the same set of interactivity functions, including modifying their shape, size, and configuration. After making interactivity changes to them and saving the drawing with iCADMac, the blocks are still seen as dynamic blocks back in AutoCAD®. When, however, you want to edit an AutoCAD® dynamic block with iCADMac Block Editor, it will be converted to Custom Block.
• Using iCADMac Custom Blocks in other CAD Programs.
  Custom blocks created with iCADMac can be read by other CAD programs, such as AutoCAD®, but only as simple blocks. When one of iCADMac custom blocks is modified in another program, it loses the interactivity that was specified with iCADMac. Fortunately, you can modify all the rest of the drawing with another program without breaking the interactivity of custom blocks as long as you don’t touch the custom blocks. When you want to edit an iCADMac custom block with the AutoCAD Block Editor, it is required to redefine grips and actions from scratch.

• Flatten – The new FLATTEN command is introduced to convert 3D entities into a 2D projection.
  It is also useful to solve issues with entities which elevation is not properly set.
• Flatshot – The MAKEFLATSNAPSHOT command already existed in iCADMac before this version. Yet now the command features some enhanced options to better represent hidden lines:
• “Foreground Lines” to specify the color and the line style for the foreground lines
• “Hidden lines”, the hidden lines which can be displayed by selecting “Show” can now have their color and line style modified
• “Show tangent edges” , this option displays tangent edges in the flat representation.

Contextual Ribbon Tabs
Quickly modify hatches, dimensions, xrefs, images, and more.
The iCADMac user interface is now enhanced with contextual ribbons that are displayed when you select specific entities in the graphics area, or when you use certain commands for creating new entities.

Many users and companies have customizations in LISP. The language doesn’t require many resources or tools to run, and a lot of useful code snippets can be found on the Internet, so LISP is a very common way to automate or customize DWG editor applications.

Debugging LISP programs, however, can sometimes be challenging. With this in mind, the new release of iCADMac provides a Visual Studio Code extension that allows any LISP developer to edit and debug routines properly — and save time doing so.

Sheet List Table – Reduce redundant work by filling in tables automatically.
Located in the Sheet Set Manager right-click menu, this functionality provides a way to create a table inside the drawing listing all the sheets or subsets. Consequently, users can avoid filling in this table manually or retyping the sheet name or other information already provided in the sheet set.

Publish Sheet Sets to DWF or DWFx – Two new output options join Publish to PDF.
To improve the ways that the Sheet Set Manager can export drawings, we introduced support for DWF and DWFx file formats which are much more compressed than DWG files and therefore it is easy to transmit them over the Internet. These are just two more options for the Publish command in addition to the popular PDF format and the possibility to print on paper.