Daron MooreApril 12th, 2024
Introducing the Future of Design: AutoCAD 2025 Unveils Exciting New Features
In the dynamic world of design and drafting, staying ahead of the curve is essential. AutoCAD, the industry-leading software, has been a cornerstone for professionals across various disciplines for decades. Now, as we step into 2025, AutoCAD is once again revolutionizing the way we create with a host of exciting new features and enhancements.
Let's dive into what AutoCAD 2025 has in store for designers, architects, engineers, and creators of all kinds.
• Smart Blocks enhancement! The Smart Block concept was introduced in AutoCAD 2024 allowing AutoCAD users to enable a feature referred to as Auto-Placement from the Blocks Palette. If a user is inserting a block into a drawing Auto-Placement provides the user with a series of insertion locations and rotations based on blocks of the same type previously inserted into the drawing. Now Smart Block offers solutions to convert multiple instances of selected geometry into blocks. The new BCONVERT command allows the user to select linework and convert it into a block, if AutoCAD detects similar groups of linework in the drawing, that linework will also be converted into blocks. This command would be very useful on the occasions when a user is importing PDFs into their drawings.
• Detect – Detect is a new command introduced in AutoCAD 2025 under the heading of a Technology Preview. Detect can work hand in hand with BCONVERT to locate instances of linework that may have been blocks at one time but are now simple linework. If blocks have been exploded or items that once were blocks but are now simple linework because they are part of an imported PDF, Detect can find this linework and offer the AutoCAD user an option to create a new block from this linework or the linework can be converted to an existing block already in the drawing allowing for a more orderly drawing and accurate quantity takes offs for the user.
• Updated Hatch Command – All AutoCAD users know that Hatch is a command used to fill enclosed areas with specified patterns or shadings. The Hatch Command has now been updated with a command line option that allows the user to create a hatch without first placing a closed boundary using the Rectangle, Circle, or Mode option. An update sure to speed up the process of Hatching drawings.
• Esri Maps – There are five new Esri maps available to ease the process of assigning a geographic location to a drawing. From the Insert tab of the Ribbon, Location panel, AutoCAD users can now assign geographic locations to their drawings with Esri OpenStreetMap, Esri Imagery, Esri Streets, Esri Light Gray and Esri Dark Gray. Simply open the Set Location menu on the Location panel, select From Esri Maps, and in the resulting dialog box, type in the address of your project location, click the Search Icon, and then follow the dialog box to complete the command. Once the Esri map has been placed in your
• Activity Insights – First introduced in AutoCAD 2024, Activity Insights now logs more Activity Types and more detail about these activities to improve collaboration. DWG History has been merged with Activity Insights so that if a copy of the current drawing that has been uploaded to a cloud storage location such as Autodesk Docs, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, or Dropbox is saved a new file version will appear as a Version Activity and will offer the user an option to compare the versions to ease the cloud collaboration process. The Purge command will now be tracked as an Activity with details on what kind of objects and their quantities were removed by a Purge and the date the Purge Command was used.
These are but a few of the new features offered by AutoCAD 2025. AutoCAD 2025 is available for download today! Visit manage.autodesk.com/home to get started creating!