Customizing CAD
I entered the CAD industry in 1986. AutoCAD
2.17 was the current release and 2.18 came out
shortly thereafter. With 2.18 came the ability to
program commands using an obscure
programming language called AutoLISP – a
superset of Common LISP developed
specifically for AutoCAD.
It was the course I took in AutoLISP that made
me really fall in love with AutoCAD. I knew
that with this programming language, the
opportunities to customize AutoCAD to meet
the specific requirements of users were virtually
limitless.
We developed our own applications, many of
which are still provided to our customers today
at no charge, such as TE! Table Editor, which
makes working with tables and schedules within
AutoCAD a breeze, and our Power Tools 2000,
which started out as A.D.S. Utilities – a
collection of useful programs to automate
certain repetitive tasks in AutoCAD. And we
became a Registered Developer with Autodesk
because of our programming initiatives.
Now, AutoLISP is playing second fiddle to
Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), which is
recommended for new programs due to its
flexibility, ease of learning, and ability to
communicate with other applications.
The next step in the programming evolution is to
drive your AutoCAD, Mechanical Desktop and
Autodesk Inventor-generated designs with input
over the Internet. Imagine allowing your sales
team or even your customers to create the
designs for their parametrically generated
products over the web. If you are interested in
how your applications can be automated –
including creating a web interface – please
contact your nearest Automated Design Systems
rep.