IntelliCAD

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IntelliCAD

Developer(s)	IntelliCAD Technology Consortium
Operating system	Linux and Windows
Website	http://www.intellicad.org

IntelliCAD is CAD-software, that tries to emulate the functions and behaviour of AutoCAD and which third parties can use to make customized CAD software. The IntelliCAD Technology Consortium controls the developments of the core functions and to be able to use the IntelliCAD sourcecode a company has to become a member. The IntelliCAD Technology Consortium has nearly 50 members.

There is special attention for the exchange of drawings and additional software between IntelliCAD and AutoCAD:

• High level of support for the .dwg file format in cooperation with the Open Design Alliance^[1]
• Full compatibility with AutoCAD Command Line, menu (.MNU) and script (.SCR) files ( AutoLISP macro language), hatches, fonts and true type fonts.
• new: developing method DRX, comparable to AutoCAD's ARX.

Other features:

• Complex linetypes
• Multiline Text
• Lightweight polyline
• Draworder
• Audit & Recover
• ADS support in most applications
• Raster image display manager

Contents 1 IntelliCAD Technology Consortium 2 History 3 IntelliCAD based Products 4 See also 5 References

[edit] IntelliCAD Technology Consortium

The IntelliCAD Technology Consortium (the "ITC") is an organization of CAD software developers, who develop applications for IntelliCAD, a Computer-aided design engine. The IntelliCAD engine, which is based on the DWGdirect library from the Open Design Alliance reads and writes the “.dwg” data format – a widely used file format for storing both graphic and textual information of CAD-related software applications.

The IntelliCAD engine not only provides native industry-standard compatibility with .dwg, but also has a set of commands similar to AutoCAD by AutoDesk, Inc. Similarly, IntelliCAD provides several calling convention routines, or APIs, such as LISP, COM, Visual Basic, and SDS (IntelliCAD's C/C++ Programming API) that allow users the ability to create complex custom CAD applications.

Although IntelliCAD consists of a generic CAD engine with full abilities to display, modify and create 2D drawings or 3D models, consortium members use its extensive APIs to program powerful specialty applications. IntelliCAD consortium members pay an annual license fee to use IntelliCAD, and in return can resell IntelliCAD royalty-free and have full access to the IntelliCAD source code.

The IntelliCAD Technology Consortium is a Founding Member of the Open Design Alliance.

[edit] History

In the early 1990s a company named IntelliCAD developed some source code that was integrated in AutoCAD. Softdesk, the largest third-party developer of Autodesk, acquired this company and used its know-how to secretly develop an AutoCAD clone. Autodesk had indeed recently entered into competition with Cyco Software, another major third-party developer, and Softdesk was concerned Autodesk could do the same in its markets.

The AutoCAD-clone project was kept secret under the project name "Phoenix" until Autodesk announced it was acquiring Softdesk in 1997. A competitor alerted the US Federal Trade Commission and Autodesk was directed to get rid of what was to be considered its only direct competitor.

Developers working on the Phoenix project founded a company named Boomerang and continued the development of IntelliCAD. Visio Corporation finally acquired the technology for $6.7 million. Visio IntelliCAD was launched on the market for the first time in 1998 with a very low price compared to AutoCAD. 12 000 licenses of IntelliCAD were sold in the first three months before IntelliCAD started to gain a reputation of instability. This first release had indeed been launched on the market with a six-month delay but too late for IntelliCAD's Chief Architect who finally left the company with most of the historical developers.

Visio sold about 30 000 copies but it was much less than expected to reach rentability. The IntelliCAD technology was requiring more development time to be finalized and Visio was too short of resources to do so. Visio created therefore a consortium with a perpetual license on the IntelliCAD technology source code and was finally acquired by Microsoft in January 2000.

Since then The IntelliCAD Technology Consortium continued the development of IntelliCAD independently from Visio or Microsoft. It has now about 50 members around the world sharing the development costs and using this technology as the engine for their applications.

[edit] IntelliCAD based Products

Products that utilize IntelliCAD technology include:

• CADopia
• AcceliCAD
• BitCAD
• Bricscad
• CADian
• GStarICAD.
• IJCAD
• IntelliPlus
• MicroSurvey CAD
• progeCAD
• ZWCAD
• CMS IntelliCAD
• IDEA
• FineMEP
• STRAD

[edit] See also

• Comparison of CAD, CAM and CAE file viewers
• Comparison of CAD editors for AEC

[edit] References

1. ^ Harrod, Geoff (2000). "Bricsnet IntelliCAD 2000 Review" (in en). Digital Business Media Pty Ltd. http://www.cadinfo.net/reviews/icad2k.htm. Retrieved on 2009-01-25. 

• "ITC Releases IntelliCAD 6.4", Cadalyst Magazine, August 29, 2007. Accessed June 27, 2008.
• OutsideLookAtIntelliCAD An Outside look at Intellicad, IntelliCAD World Meeting, Ralph Grabowski, October 2004.
• [1] Autodesk, Softdesk Settle FTC Charges, Federal Trade Commission, March 1997