Summary of Current  New GCP 6.1 Features

GCP 6 feature list – as of 9-22-2009

New Tutorial Help Videos.  Visit this page http://www.generalcadd.com/videos.htm


* Now the GCP6 screen size and location are saved and restored

* New Commands

- Surveyor 3D command section click here 
- F2 – Field to Finish – see new video
- PI Polyline entity added. 
- QS (Quick Select)
- PN (Pan Line) Pans drawing based on 2 click. Very useful lining up Viewports
- KK Cookie Cutter / 2D Booleans – demo coming – Paste after KK to see place cut portion 
- BF – define boundary by Circle, rectangle, ellipse 

* Performance
- Major speed increase for Dimensions/Text
- Faster NP search
- Better selection rules when complex objects like Components, Fills, Hatch, and Text
are on top of one another.
- Multiple Drawings and Batch Print faster
- Enitity extents are stored in drawing. Much faster load times once the drawing has been saved from GCP6.

* Version Control overhaul
- VC launches dialog
- Delete after number of days
- recycle files, keep newest
- Restore VC File - strips date from filename and loads it

* Viewport Enhancements
- Double click mouse inside Viewport boundary to make active
- Scroll wheel works inside Viewport when active. 

* Viewport Manager
- Dialog driver VQ command displays and manages Viewport and Xref data

* OLE Server
- Insert GCP6 drawings in other Windows app as OLE objects.
- Paste GCP6 drawings as an OLE object
- OLE Copy – image support 

* DWG 2008
- new ACAD Library implemented

* Snapping inside Components/Viewports/Xrefs
- All snaps work inside Components/Viewports/Xrefs when GC is ON.

* Double click on...
- Leader Text brings up QE
- Leader line/arrow brings up UG show only Leader settings
- Dimension Text brings up QE
- Dimension line/arrows brings up UG

* Dimensions
- Text Append Linear Dimension uses Center Justify
- Multiple lines as be added to dimension text using UG or QE
- UG added Insert Chars button (like 

* Quick Select QS command
- click drag selection
- drag move when inside selected objects
- hold shift key while moving to copy
- RCclick to see QuickSelect.pop menu (not shift/rclick)
- QuickSelect.pop is editable
- selected objects show a quick info display in the 3rd prompt line
- ` (grave key) gives you quick access to QS. ` again to abort QS command.
- 

* Tabs
- Reorder by dragging tab to new location
- When the Tab scroll arrows are visiable, Double click the left arrow to jump to the first tab, right arrow for the last tab.

- Ctrl+Tab to select the next (right) tab, Ctrl+Shift+Tab to select previous (left) tab
- 
* FS, LT, CP (and other commands that use the side menu)
- FS lists the Fonts used in the drawing at the top and displayed Red
- FS will jump the side bar down the list as you type. Hitting Enter will pick the font highlighted.
- CP will jump the side bar down the list as you type. Hitting Enter will pick the component highlighted.
- LT shows Linetype preview
- LT, <TAB> shows Symbolic Linetypes only, <TAB> again to see all
- LT rclick menu Edit/Reload/Load the Linetype file.
- LK then Tab to toggle showing the color palette or color list. Will add to other color commands if
you guys like it.

* Quick Edit QE
- Delay the text update on screen. A pause of 1 second while typing will update the text on screen.

* Print (batch print enhancements)
- Faster redraws and tab selecting. Sending prints out is significantly fast too.
- Tab Color: this is an advanced command that allows you to color code the tabs when in DP. You can assign a color to a printer setting. Rclick tab or use the page setUp dialog
- Layout tabs can now be batch printed.
- All PDF options are inside the Print options DP,T,P
- Save Job can be called from DP
- Fast and Preview boxes have been added to the status bar. Preview when on shows print order, colormap, all to black on screen, but this causes redraw to be slower. Turning it off will still print them.

* XRefs
- Handles circular referenced xrefs better; much faster
- Use all snaps inside XRefs
- XRef Manager is faster

* Viewports
- Much faster display and object finding.
- Close All Tabs will leave the Model space drawing
- Active Viewport. shift/rclick menu item and pick Activate Viewport (double click inside VP to also select it). 
When ON the viewport will highlight its border. 
- When Viewport is active
- Scroll Wheel will change only the Viewport zoom
- Auto Pan (drag middle mouse button) will pan the viewport objects
- All zoom commands can be typed in and are directly passed to the Viewport.
- Zoom Previous and Panline added

* Selection Commands (MV,CO,CG,OI, all selection commands)
- implicit 'W' if you click and drag a window. Right to Left window will do a crossing
if AQ>AllowCrossing ON
- we've had an implicit 'O' for some time - here as a reminder.

* Filter
- Text Size (height) has been added to the filter
- More... option add that allows you to filter all available entitites like Leaders, XRefs, Viewports, OLE objects

* Misc
- Hatch Origin in OI - relative distance from the ref pt.
- AQ setting to turn off the Org pt. (hide white mark at 0,0) Advanced>HideHatchOriginPt 
- Using file association to launch the text editor. No longer hardcoded to launch Notepad.
- Shift/rclick brings up an editable custom popup menu called Default.pop. You can add commands and macros. Same syntax as the Video menu (Line,LI;).
- Custom Commands - new option to make these commands repeatable with spacebar. See MA options.

List of features included from Version GCP 5.1

The above list is taken from the What's New in GCP 5.1 page in the GCP 5.1 Help Manual.  Download the help manual for more details.  Click Here

List of features included from Version GCP 4.1

Added Google Desktop Search Plug-In   Click Here for Details

12,272 Free Symbols Architectural, Electrical and Mechanical on downloads page

Component "Flip" on the fly added to CP & MC commands

F3 new Surveyors Command

Support for ACAD XRefs and multi-tabbed Layouts ACAD 2004 - 2006 file format compatibility
LO,A automatically creates tabbed drawings. Our Xbox will replicate XRef functionality.

VCD CAD file input support, VCS symbol input support

YP Layer Protect command

YK  Layer Lock

Q1 Quick Linear Dimension

LM  Expanded Functionality

AQ all settings dialog with search feature

ME measure path option added

PO-SI place point at proposed intersection of non parallel lines

Migrate command to upgrade from version 3.1

Export bitmap with background color setting option

DL Multiple Drawings at one time in tabbed interface

VT Multiple views of the same drawing in tabbed interface.

Tabbed Multi Document Interface NT command
NT starts a new drawing (untitled) in a new tab. Right click on tab displays a menu to close the tab. RClick on a Tab or in prompt area to get a popup Tab menu.

Magnify command (ZG/Z1/Z2)
Opens a dialog (zoom birdseye) with a magnified view with the drawing cursor at the center. Ctrl + Scroll to zoom in/out on the magnified view. Z1 will set the drawing view = magnified view. Z2 toggles modes.

Windows XP Style File Selector
Functions in Win XP only

HATCH file changes
GCP4 now saves hatch patterns in individual files

AQ command – All settings dialog

EA command – Elliptical Arc

E4 Four point Ellipse

OX on ellipse breaks into arc segments

Group Selection Command (GP)

VS command - Vector sort
Selection options added to WO vector sort command

File locking option for network users (in QT list)
Load file with this on will mark it Read-only. Will warn if DL a read-only file.

Seed Area command IA
Same interface as seed fill. After seed area is found a dialog with options.

Window Option added to Seed Fill IF

Send File (GXD/DWG/DXF/JPG/GIF/TIF)
Commands are in Menu>File>Send. Saves the current drawing and attaches to an email. PDF is missing.

Component Change command MG
Change properties of a component, similar to Hatch Change interface. Change name, scale, rotation, color (yes, color).

Save to Original Folder (in QT list)
Drawing remembers it’s original path and saves to it. DS will ignore the drawing path
and save back to the original path.

LN command - Set Length command - works on Lines, Arcs, and Circles
Set the length of an existing line or arc and radius of circle

S1 command - (Selection > Action prompt)
Regular SE command but on exit an additional prompt to > Print Plot Save Batch clipboard: Cut Copy < This will allow us to do away with explicit Selection Print/Save/Batch

Snap Quadrant Command (SQ)

WC - Hold Down Ctrl and Scroll the Mouse for Multiple Copies 

DP = Print only

PL = Plot only
PL brings up the DP interface and will not allow you to go to Print.

deg°min'sec added to Numeric Format command and dim dialog
Another format option for labels, dimensions, statusbar display

Direct distance/regular number entry supports metric suffix (mm, cm, m)
Examples:
LI,0,0,1mm,1mm;
TZ, 5cm;

Match feature added to Text and Dimension dialogs
Allows you to sent the dialogs properties by matching an object. The dialog hides while you are clicking on an object (like BQ).

Macro Enhancement
$OUTPUTFILE -> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\General CADD Application\GCP4\Environment\App\OutputFile

LB,$OUTPUTFILE; will look inside Registry and dig out a filename. The registry can be set by an external application like ASC2GXM. Sample macro: /WAITEXE,ASC2GXM,!,LB,$OUTPUTFILE;

Complete Development Details Click Here 

List of features included from Version GCP 3.1

Full viewing access to all GXD drawings in Demo Mode
ACAD 2004 File Format Support
Spell Checker SK
Multi Break command UB
Ortho Stop Command OS
Bearing commands for surveyors BD, BL, BG, BQ
Fence Selection and stretch commands
User customizable toolbars
Curve Editing BE, VE, JV
Offset command OT
Text Justify TJ
Load ASCII Text File edit bypass LA
3 point rectangle R3
Change grab point command
Hatch selection HA
persistent commands
expanded extend - trims to any object including components
expanded snaps to any object
expanded object breaks of all objects
Multicopy (MC) - change reference point on the fly  
auto pan with middle mouse button AP
retain print settings and improved print options
Fill Selection FL
Group Text GT
Advanced Seed Fill/Hatch commands IF IH
Dimension Arrow Flip AW
Version Control VC
expanded macro commands and features

New BQ Surveyor's Setings Options

+ more....

New!!  Free Surveyor's Total Station Data Conversion and Plotting Program

Click Here for Details