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Why Do I
Have to Change?
You don't, really. If you are an old
time Generic CADD user like many of us, you may be reluctant at
first to even give General CADD Pro (GCP) a try.
We understand this. You have acquired many useful habits
and are pretty much comfortable and happy with the way things
are. Why should you have to change?
The big problem is that Generic Cadd, although
a valued and useful friend, was abandoned more than eleven years ago
and is no longer supported. It has stopped growing and
improving and does not take advantage of the many benefits
available through the newest Windows Operating Systems.
Generic CADD more often than not has trouble working with the
latest printers, plotters, video cards, mice and other
fascinating new hardware devices available today. Many
loyal users have excitedly bought a new portable computer and
when they get it home, they find they cannot get a screen
resolution higher than 640 x 480 to work. Bummer!
And what about those new USB printers and mice?
What you can
expect when you run General CADD Pro for the first time!
Well, to be honest with you, if you are like
many, be prepared to be a bit shocked at first. All those
menus and buttons, the coordinates placed in the lower right
instead of the top.... The visual shock alone can be
intimidating.... at first. Then, once your mind adjusts a
little, you will slowly begin to try out various commands.
To your surprise, with the exception of one or two commands, you
will find that they are all there and they work the same way as
they did in DOS! Straight lines still draw the same way.
NP is on the right mouse button. RE, A3, DL, DX,
DP, CL, CP, DS, SA, ZW, ZA, TK, EL, CO, WM, MV, ER, SE, OR, SG,
XT, RM, OO, UU... all your favorites are right there and
work the same way! Even QU, n, Q is still there!
Go ahead! Do a DL and load one of the Demo drawings
and play with it! The complete command list is right in
the program. Just type XX View
Command List
While you are playing, if you happen to have a
scroll mouse (one of those with the little wheel in between the
buttons), give it a roll. Watch the drawing dynamically
zoom in and out. Try out the new AP command
which allows you to "grab the image by pressing the first
mouse button" and pan or drag it around! Pretty neat,
huh? What else is new? 400+
new features. Click
Here
One thing you will spot right away is that a GCD
drawing is a file that has to be imported. The native file
extension for General CADD Pro is GXD. When
you DL, GCP looks for GXD files. To
load a GCD file you will have to use the LO
command.
To get fully up and running, you will have to
convert all your Generic drawings, components and fonts to GCP
format. To make this easy and fast for you, we have the
new CT convert command. CT will singly or in
batch mode convert all your legacy files to GCP format in
just a minute or two.
One of the really neat features of Windows is
the ability to get help right when you need it. To do so,
all you have to do is press the F1 key while you are in
the middle of a command. For example, if you type RE
for Rectangle and then press F1, the help manual will
open on the screen and go right to the page describing the RE
command. Note: to fully use this feature, you need to
download the COMPLETE help manual from the web site.
The Demo download only contains an abbreviated version of the
manual in order to shorten the download time. Click
here to download the manual
You will find that the manual will
be your best friend during the first few weeks.
We have put a lot of time into developing this learning shortcut
and we hope you can make good use of it. Once you get used
to working with GCP, you are going to want to explore the
400+ new commands and features that GCP has added
to the Generic CADD feature set. File import/export
capabilities now includes support for ACAD 2008 DWG/DXF
file format. If you are a surveyor, you are going to love
the new BL, BQ, BD and BG commands! Check
out the section on Printing and Printers and PDF file
creation. The IG command will allow you to insert
images like Geo-Tiff Satellite Pictures, BMP, JPG and PNG
images into the drawing and save with the drawing. The
list of new features will seem endless! Read what others
who have already made the change have to say. Click
Here
Help is also available in our Free Internet Help Forum.
A lot of valuable information and personal experiences can be
had by visiting the Forum often. Please
click here to enter the GCP Help Forum.
A third way to obtain help is to type FB while in GCP.
This will pop up a report form where you can report any
difficulty or ask a question. This form will be
automatically emailed to us if you are using MS Outlook or
Outlook Express as a mail client.
Well, that's about all for now. Enjoy your new
experience. And let us hear from you.
Now XP, VISTA and Win 7 compatible!
Give it a try... Download GCP Free
Here
www.generalcadd.com/downloads.htm
See you in our Forum!
Jim, Matt & Carl
GCP Development and Support Staff
contact@generalcadd.com
Conversion
Tips Generic to GCP Click
Here
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