Datacad is easy to use and easy to learn yet powerful enough to do all my commercial and residential projects efficiently for the last 20 years. I've had drafters up and running in a day. One of my favorite things is how flexible and customizable this program is. I also like that I can import and export to dwg files and dxfs. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One thing is the way it handles hatching around curved lines. I end up having to manually hatch any areas that have curved lines. Too time consuming. I also don't like having to log in and out all the time. I use this at the office and at home so I have to log in and out at each place. Sometimes I forget to do that :-) Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

DataCAD has so many features that make it quick and easy to edit drawings. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

My only complaint would be the layout for some of the actions in the side bar. For example, Move > Drag is located at the top of the menu, whereas under the Copy menu, Drag is 5 options down. In a rush, this can be quite annoying. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Ease of use. This program was created by Architects/Designers for Architects/Designers, and it is obvious that this is the case in the way the application works and functions. I have made my living for 21 years now using this software and it has never let me down. The staff has been phenomenal with the response and attention to detail. There are not enough positive things to say about both the software and the company itself. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The only thing that is toward a negative with this software is the lack of 'smart' entities. DataCAD moved toward smart walls, windows and doors awhile back, but the roofs and floors have been a long time coming. However, they did work hard to integrate with other software products that make up for the current deficiency. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I have been using DataCAD since 1989 as my primary software. What I like best is the ease of use. All of a multi story project can be in one file with Go to Views set to view any combination of layers with ease. DataCAD can do both 2D and 3D work as needed. The software works the way Architects think. It imports DWG with ease. There are keyboard shortcuts that allow you to efficiently draw without pop-ups. Great software for the price/performance. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The 3D is not as easy to use as other CAD software. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Cad operators who work in multi-software offices claim that DataCAD does more and does it faster than other cad software. There is a "light" version that is very inexpensive and will produce professional looking construction documents for any need. I believe Rhino and Sketchup are both primarily 3d, but I've heard others claim they can do condocs with sketchup also.

DataCAD has a very short learning curve and there is a free trial download, so give it a try. I've used it since '95 in my office. It has a dedicated user base and responsive management. For instance, yesterday at 5 pm, somebody on their forum suggested a software enhancement. There was a short discussion among forum members about advantages and options. The CHIEF CAD ENGINEER at DataCAD jumped into the discussion and by noon today he had revised the software and the guy's idea will be in the next upgrade. AutoCad won't do that.

The "lite" version is only $295 and includes most features except "x-ref's", the full program is $1,295, including a lot of 3d capability, and is worth the full price for "x-ref" ability. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

They haven't marketed fully enough to develop a strong customer base. Almost one else in my area uses it, except those to whom I've bragged on its abilities. On the other hand, the transfer to/from other offices via .dwg translation is easy/painless. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The "go to view" option, among hundreds of other. Like in no other software. I didn't now I was so addicted to this feature until I tried to find it in other much more expensive software. I firstly met Datacad at version 6, under DOS environment. I laughed at Autocad typing brothers. At that time...96-97, I think no other soft was better. I do engineering, structural design. Drawing the 3D model and then using sections to make the reinforcement was a huge advantage. The possibility to work with all building levels superimposed and "open" one or more stories made a huge speed advantage upon any other known software. Using 3D construction made a BIM type approach so easy, years before the concept even appeared. The philosophy of the basic training manual was great: "know what you want to draw before you draw it"!

Also a great feature, I did not experience program crashes since v12. I still am stuck at v12, as It was maximum I needed for my work. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The lack of reports and intelligent BOM. As far as I wanted to study the programming language, DCAL I did not have the time to find a way to make quick reports about surfaces, volumes, etc. In my Design&Build company, it is vital to put on the table quick quotations. This is where my need turned to a more sophisticated piece of software: Nemetscheck ALLPLAN, connected for structural design with Scia Engineer. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Datacad is the easiest program to learn using the tutorial inside the owners manual. Some of the steps have not been updated and are out of order, but if you read the whole section it becomes inherent the order the tasks are to be done. 3D drawing is as simple as 2D. Learned most of the program in about 6 weeks of part time use. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The user manual is only available in download format and if you want a book to reference in daily use, it must be printed. The prints are in color and that is nice, but it's over 600 pages (all of which are needed). I would have liked to have a book in hand when I got the program but after 2 days of printing and being bound into two volumes I got my book.

Some of the symbols are hard to identify at times. I recommend printing them out to see and label so you can quickly identity and locate the needed symbol. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

DataCAD was created by architects for architects. It is the easiest, most intuitive architectural CAD software out there. Yet I consider it the most powerful as well. I used other CAD products for a time, but when I started using DataCAD it just blew the others away. Especially AutoCAD. If I had to use another CAD program I think I would retire, instead. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Only that the program gets no respect. How many new CAD users have even heard of it? It's a shame. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The Datacad CAD Software package is one of the best on the market, for me, it its THE best. Often a company tries to sell you an expensive CAD package, and gives you all their reasons, and there are some good CAD programs out there these days.

However, DataCad is one of those 'gems' you really need to try for yourself.

Its really easy to pick it up, and if you've seen CAD these days, that is saying something.

They keep the same interface iteration after iteration, so you know it will look the same, even if it gets upgraded, which we all know that it will.

For producing really nice, powerful, drawings, this software is simply too easy to learn.

Try it, and you'll love the simplicity of the menus, the easy keyboard shortcuts, and the large number of options for both 3D and 2D exporting and importing. If you have clients who need help to visualize what you are doing, DCAD can do that quite easily. Create your own 3D models, and export them to Sketchup, which will also import back into DCAD, with little effort. Attach your models as XREF's, and bring them into your presentations, with very little effort.

Enjoy the ability to export your models, shaded, or as wireframes for visualization, or render your work in the O2c application, provided within DCAD.

You can even estimate the cost of your projects in a far superior way than square footage approximations, with the Datacad Estimator package, available as an add-on.

If you've spent your career using other CAD programs, this will be a snap to use, and if you've never used CAD before, same thing. Enjoy doing professional quality drawings and spend a fraction of the cost to do it with Datacad 17. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Its got a few bugs, and its got a few quirks.

There are some limitations with the modeling aspect, and its not BIM software, but that is understood when one buys this package.

If you dont have an internet connection on the machine which you are using for the software, you'll have to get one. This software lock has to verify the software every 45 days or it will have issues that will result in the software not working fully correctly, thereafter.

Still, these things are a small price to pay, just like the cost of owning DATACAD. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The DataCAD toolkit is vast. It was designed for Architects by Architects. It runs to 2D and 3D allowing for a complete exploration of preliminary and design development as well as making a complete construction document set. The company is constantly improving the product as well as delivering regular updates that install without interrupting my workflow. The interface can be customized to the way you work. The interface is also responsive to keyboard shortcuts as well as screen based menu choices. The very best is that when a question arises you can get immediate answers from a world community of DataCAD users through two different portals, or, if you are a subscriber, directly from the company support staff. Even the error trapping and recovery, though needed infrequently, works quickly and reliably. They will even receive a bum file and return it to you in working conditions. Outstanding group of people providing outstanding service.

DataCAD has a robust DWG and DXF translator which is often helpful when working with consultants on other platforms. There is also an interface with SketchUp which allows for a great presentation for the client while building data useful later in the project. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Hard to find something I dislike. The 3D interface is still a work in progress, but becoming more complete each release. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.