Draw & CAD programs

I used to use Canvas 7 but Canvas has abandoned the Mac.

I have tried to use TurboCAD Mac Designer V.6 as as substitute but it seems to have a lot of bugs.

Does anyone know of any draw or CAD programs that could serve as a substitute for Canvas 7?

AutoCad for the Mac 2012. Expensive, but they have a trial version you can download to see if suits your needs. LINK

I just took a look at their price.... never mind, unless you've got money to burn!

Thanks for the lead. I'll try the trial version of AutoCad for the Mac 2012 and let the Mac Forum know how it works.

I'm in architecture school now using AutoCad for Mac 2012. The software is pretty good but there are a few bugs and differences from the windows version.

1) The plot manager in the windows version doesn't exist in the Mac version and the resulting printing method is a combination between the windows version and the usual OS X plotting dialogue.

a) A lot of disconnected printers will cause the print dialogue to lag at every step
b) Check the paper size when fiddling with layouts because when you go to print the print dialogue sometimes loses the paper size set up in layouts.


2) If you at all use the express tools in AutoCad for Windows then you will have some issues as this has not been implemented in the Mac version yet. There are a lot of LISP commands available to replace express tools functions like 'flatten' and others.

I'm also looking for two-dimensional drawing S/W

Hi, Before I had my Mac I used a drawing program called EasyCAD, then EasyCAD7. It was for two-dimensional drawings. I have absolutely no need for three-dimensional capability an I'm not sure 3-D drawing programs will let you draw in 2-D. I would love to find S/W for two-dimensional drawing for the MAC but do not want to pay all that money for AutoCAD. If anybody finds such a thing, I would love to know about it. Of course by now there's probably a dandy ap for the iPad but I want it for the Mac. Thanks. Joyce

I've never tried this software but microspot has a 2D drafting program called MacDraft PE, as a UK based company pricing is in pounds but on the order page you can switch to US dollars.

It costs 122.xx$ US from what I can see. A heck of a lot cheaper than autocad if you don't need any 3D utilities.

Here's a link,

MacDraft PE - Easy-to-use vector based graphic design solution

Also, you can definitely draw in SketchUp (which is free) in 2D as well as 3D, though it's not as function laden as the cad programs.

To rrhake: Have you contacted the developer to tell them about the bugs in Tubocad Mac Designer V6? Can you tell us about the bugs?

To milesthomas: Thanks for the link to MacDraft. I will download the demo and ask the developer if files created with Easycad will work with their product. I didn't realize one could do 2D drawings in Sketchup. I will explore that avenue also.

Thanks to both of you. Joyce

Joyce Keay said:

To rrhake: Have you contacted the developer to tell them about the bugs in Tubocad Mac Designer V6? Can you tell us about the bugs?

To milesthomas: Thanks for the link to MacDraft. I will download the demo and ask the developer if files created with Easycad will work with their product. I didn't realize one could do 2D drawings in Sketchup. I will explore that avenue also.

Thanks to both of you. Joyce

Click to expand...

I have tried TurboCad on three different occasions before giving it up. As far as rrhake contacting the designer, the last time I considered TurboCad (it can be had cheaply thru Amazon) I read an interesting and extensive online review where the reviewer took the trouble to send the designers edited text and screen shots referring to problems with the documentation and help screens.

He was totally ignored, receiving only generic emails that made it obvious they had not bothered to read anything he had sent them.