Yep, you heard it right, it's really free. Those professionals who have purchased AutoCAD know that the offline product is very expensive and not all people you coordinate your drawings with have access to this costly software. So Autodesk, the company who is responsible for spreading the use of AutoCAD in the construction world, has made a solution. They created an online AutoCAD application which anyone can easily access using a computer and an internet connection.
They call it AutoCAD WS. With this online application, you can open, edit, save, and share AutoCAD files easily without even owning an offline AutoCAD application yourself. And since this is accessed through your web browser, you can use any electronic device with an internet connection. It's already being used widely with IPad and other touch screen tablets, and it works perfectly fine on those units. I don't really know what the WS stands for, may be work station or something else, but the idea of being able to access an AutoCAD file from anywhere without an AutoCAD application is very convenient. This is especially helpful when dealing with other professionals that don't have access to an offline AutoCAD software but has access to a PC and an internet connection.
Below is a screen shot of the free AutoCAD WS' workscreen.
Although it's possible to create a technical drawing from start to finish using this application, AutoCAD WS is considerably slower to use than its original offline counterpart. The use of this, in my opinion, is greatly focused on coordination of drawings with other technical persons. This is especially useful to professionals who are always on the go, and with just a tablet or mobile phone in hand.
Check out Autodesk's video presentation of AutoCAD WS below.
Go to www.autocadws.com and try it today. I'm sure you'll be impressed as I was.
Thanks to Toti for sharing this.
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very interesting! i want to try this one out!