AutoCAD for Mac 2018 includes the ability to flatten 3D scenes into 2D projections. (Image courtesy of Autodesk.) If you’re in the steady minority of AutoCAD users using a Mac, you may at times have felt envious of your Windows-based peers for the differences in your AutoCAD experiences. With the 2018 release of AutoCAD for Mac, that envy may soon run the other way. AutoCAD for Mac 2018 brings a host of improvements and new features for Mac users, including an enhanced user interface, better macOS support, improved printing settings, Touch Bar support and more. User Interface Improvements. AutoCAD for Mac 2018 users can import a variety of custom settings from previous versions.

(Image courtesy of Autodesk.) One of the first features AutoCAD for Mac 2018 users will notice is a tool to migrate their settings from previous AutoCAD for Mac releases. Designed to save users the hassle of reconfiguring their workspace, this tool also grants fine-grained control of exactly which settings to import. Once all settings have been imported, users will notice several improvements to the way they can manage their palettes.

AutoCAD for Mac 2018 now allows users to undock, float and hide palettes, providing more flexibility in how they organize their workspace. AutoCAD for Mac 2018 includes a new Flatten Objects feature. (Image courtesy of Autodesk.) Another very popular feature with users is the ability to select objects while panning, so they don’t have to zoom way out to see their entire model just to select it. AutoCAD for Mac 2018 also brings support for SHX in PDF imports, and sets the default file path to relative, both features designed to save even more user time and hassle.

Made for the Mac Of course, AutoCAD for Mac 2018 wouldn’t be complete without a few Mac-specific features that can capitalize on the uniqueness of the Mac platform. Chief among these is support for the MacBook Pro Touch Bar, the touchscreen strip that replaces the function keys to enable application-specific shortcuts. While AutoCAD for Mac users could previously use the Touch Bar only for its standard F keys, the Touch Bar can now be customized to fit each user’s preferences. While the F keys can still be used, there are now icons in the Touch Bar that symbolize the shortcuts they represent, and these icons can be reordered and swapped out as desired. Customizing the Touch Bar in AutoCAD for Mac 2018.

(Image courtesy of Autodesk.) Updates to the Mac operating system will now also be addressed much more immediately. Instead of waiting a month or so, AutoCAD for Mac 2018 will support any macOS updates on the day of release, saving users the unwanted choice of using an outdated OS, or upgrading and breaking AutoCAD. But for users who are afraid of change, don’t fret—AutoCAD for Mac will support the current OS and the previous two, giving you at least a few years before the cold hand of progress forces you forward. For the Windows perspective on AutoCAD 2018, check out “.”.

Autocad On Mac Vs Pc

Further Reading That changed today with the introduction of the new MacBook Air (which includes updates like a Retina display, Touch ID, and Apple's butterfly keyboard) and a new Mac mini (which got a big spec bump with quad- and hexa-core processors). Today's event brought the biggest hardware changes that both devices have seen in a long time, and yet they still have a lot in common with their predecessors—and that's a good thing. A sleeker MacBook Air The began showing its age long before the and the new MacBook Pros entered Apple's laptop lineup. But the stale, circa-2010 design is almost gone now (keyword almost), as the new MacBook Air takes notes from its more expensive siblings. It's still a sleek, all-metal notebook that's 10 percent thinner than the old model and weighs just 2.75 pounds. The Air is noticeably heavier than the 12-inch MacBook (2.06 pounds), but I appreciated the weight of it when I picked it up. Despite the various ways Apple managed to shrink the device, it still felt like a MacBook Air in my hands. Its tapered profile, with the widest point at the back, feels familiar and sturdy, and now the device is made of 100-percent recycled aluminum.

Apple also added new colors to the lineup and will offer the MacBook Air in silver, space gray, and gold. Further Reading Gone are the wide, metal bezels around the 13.3-inch display, as they've been replaced by the glossy black bezels we're accustomed to seeing around new MacBook displays.

But the fact that the new MacBook Air has a Retina display will be enough to make fans swoon. The 2560×1600 display is a huge upgrade from the old Air's 1440×900 display, and it's about time that Apple included it on this laptop.

The old Air was the final Retina holdout after the high-quality screen already made it onto the 12-inch MacBook and the MacBook Pros. Apple opted not to put its full Touch Bar on the new MacBook Air, but instead it carved out the Touch ID fingerprint reader and stuck it on the top-right corner of the keyboard. You won't find Face ID on this device (it's still sequestered to and ), but including Touch ID brings a much-loved feature to a much-loved laptop. The device is also more secure thanks to the inclusion of Apple's T2 security chip. Apple made the right call by forgoing the Touch Bar, because including that OLED strip would have added to the price of the device, and it may have had a negative effect on battery life. There are also some users who simply don't want or need the Touch Bar, so keeping the new MacBook Air simple will likely speak to those users. The keyboard and trackpad area looks similar to its counterpart on the 12-inch MacBook: there's little space between the bottom keys and the enormous force touch trackpad, and the keyboard uses Apple's butterfly mechanism.

That may scare off some users since butterfly keys have had problems in the past and have been known to be polarizing. But Apple clearly hasn't been deterred by the naysayers: it has put butterfly keys on the 12-inch MacBook and the MacBook Pros. It was only a matter of time before Apple retired the MacBook Air's chiclet keys and brought in the butterfly switches. The speakers still sit on either side of the keys, but Apple promises they'll be 25-percent louder than those on the old Air. The new MacBook Air's hardware looks more streamlined than that on the old Air, but it's not as dramatic as that of the 12-inch MacBook. The former device was never for me, particularly because I felt like it would shatter (or, at the very least, be severely damaged) if I were to drop it, and because I don't like the look of the cramped keyboard-and-trackpad area. The new MacBook Air seems to marry the most crucial parts of the 12-inch MacBook's design (butterfly keyboard, huge trackpad) with a chassis setup that will feel familiar to MacBook Air lovers.

Valentina Palladino In addition to the butterfly keys, the new MacBook Air's port situation may turn bothersome. It has two Thunderbolt 3 ports on its left edge and a headphone jack on the right edge.

It's slightly too thin to fit a USB-A port, which is a bummer, and it means that Mac users will continue to live the dongle life for the foreseeable future. I also wish Apple put one Thunderbolt 3 port on either side of the device—being able to charge up or connect to peripherals from both sides of a laptop is useful, particularly when you're in a tight space. Let's recap the new MacBook Air's specs: it'll run on 8th-gen Intel Core i5 CPUs and support up to 16GB of RAM and 1.5TB of storage. While we're disappointed that there's no Core i7 option, those specs are significantly improved from the old Air (it was lagging on a 5th-gen Core i5 chip). Apple claims the new MacBook Air will last 12 hours on a single charge. A stronger Mac mini The last time Apple talked about the on stage was in 2014, and some did not like what the company had to say.

Macbook One : Autocad For Mac Free

Apple got rid of the four-core CPU option for the Mac mini at that time, and the device became harder to upgrade. Further Reading While we can't speak to the new Mac mini's upgradability, Apple rectified the device's performance problems by including quad- and hexa-core Intel CPU options, as well as support for up to 64GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. Along with the addition of the T2 security chip, the new Mac mini has an array of ports on its back edge: four Thunderbolt 3 ports, two USB-A ports, an Ethernet port that can be configured to support 10Gb speeds, an HDMI port, and a headphone jack. All of the Mac mini's significant changes lie within the device itself. The outer shell doesn't look much different from the previous model, aside from the fact that it now comes in space gray. It takes up a small 7.7×7.7-inch footprint on a desk, and you can stack them on top of or next to one another if you need the power of more than one Mac mini at once. The Mac mini's small frame remains one of the best things about it, because it saves space on users' desks while also providing a decent amount of power.

We're eager to get our hands on one to test out the new internals and see just how well the new Mac mini stands up to the newest competing desktop PCs. The new, and the new.

Both are available to order today, and devices should arrive on November 7. Check back for Ars' full reviews of both devices in the coming weeks. Listing image by Valentina Palladino.