IMSI DESIGN, LLC 00D3MX22CC01 DESIGNCAD 3D MAX V22 -WIN XP,VISTA,WIN 7

Disclaimer: I come from a sketchup background and I am also a programmer.In sketchup you can do your first drawing in minutes: its that intuitive. DesignCAD 3D Max V22 is exactly the opposite: The graphical user interface (GUI) is old and outdated and anything but intuitive. Be prepared to spend a whole day just doing a simple drawing. Everything is done with hard to remember shortcuts and obfuscated GUI principles that take some time to learn and don't really work the way you would expect them to. The screen doesn't readily react to what you're doing and so there is little informative feedback. The GUI is crowded with superfluous stuff and icons that make even simple tasks confusing.At one point I fat-fingered a shortcut and the cursor disappeared from the drawing area for almost a day. I finally got it back but I'm not sure what I did to bring it back and the manual was not helpful in the least.Even simple things are excessively complicated. Are you use to Control sequence to zoom? Not with DesignCAD 3D. There's a whole sub-menu just to zoom your drawing and even then its hard to get what you want.I could see I was going to need help and additional information so I signed up on the forum yet it was a day or two before I was approved to post comments. I had to make several calls/e-mails to get on the forum. Who knows when they would've gotten around to it had I not pushed. To their credit, the forum members were helpful. I think there is one customer support guy in the whole company and he's swamped so don't expect quick turn-around on anything.The manual is sub-par. Lets say you want to draw a bezier curve - table of contents says 95. But when you enter 95 in the page box it doesn't go to 95 but rather some other page which means you need to scroll often to get to the information you need. Getting any information is a pain and the manual seems to be the only source - no decent on-line stuff, no You tube videos and generally poor help facilities.I could go on and on. They obviously have a decent engine but its wrapped in a terrible GUI. Maybe this program was it back in the 80s but its terribly outdated now. Look elsewhere for a decent interface. The only reason I got this was because Sketchup doesn't do true circles - this does but there is a steep price to pay and its paid with your time.I may yet return this item - its just not performing and is a black hole for my time.

I have been using Design Cad since it was first introduced back in Oklahoma. It is now owned by IMSI and Broderbund where I also purchase Print Master. Design Cad is relatively easy to learn, especially if you also purchase the Training disc which gives you all of the key features. Plus it operates in 2d and 3d; and over the many years good improvements and additions have been made. You can purchase the initial package inexpensively, and get add-on's at very economical pricing as you progress in your usage needs. I use it for building designs and mechanical products. You cannot expect to advance quickly from starting with any CAD program; and I have found that you must target your real usage demand and focus on learning that aspect to get the most of the program. While Design Cad is an easy to learn system, all CAD programs take time to get the best from them. But Design Cad addresses those issues effectively, and it will deliver all that CAD is supposed to give. And Amazon and its vendor pricing is the best.

Price compared to AutoCAD LT is fair after learning curve and change of drafting style to arrive at close to same result. Requires 'help' up as 'help' is not direct at times.

I didn't like this software, its to complicated to use the icons or controls made no sense it's best to get PUNCH software instead.

Being a retired design draftsman, this program exceeded my expectations. It takes a little time and diligence to do what is needed, but other good features of the program are discovered along the way. The program offers many features for its price.

Delivered quickly. Loaded in well. Better than paying 3 times more for the most current version. Nearly all of the functionality of the newest version.

For the most part, the software is very intuitive and easy to use for the basic functions. I'm still getting comfortable with the 3D and Animation functions.

Very good CAD program for the money!