DataCAD Versions Comparison Chart
  DataCAD DataCAD LT
DataCAD 10 DataCAD 11 DataCAD 12 DataCAD LT 10 DataCAD LT 11 DataCAD LT 12
10 11 12 LT 10 LT 11 LT 12
  $1,295 $1,295   $295 $295
  Buy Online Buy Online   Buy Online Buy Online
Shading
1 ambient and 7 user-definable light sources Check Check Check Check Check Check
1 sunlight source Check Check Check Check Check Check
Shadow casting Check Check Check Check Check Check
Superimpose scene over background photo Check Check Check Check Check Check
Custom edge color, width, and overshoot Check Check Check Check Check Check
Anti-aliased shading     New!     New!
Rendering
4 fixed light sources (3 ambient, and one shadow casting) Check Check Check Check Check Check
7 user-definable light sources Check Check Check Check Check Check
Raytraced shadow casting Check Check Check Check Check Check
Superimpose scene over background photo Check Check Check Check Check Check
Real-time walk-through Check Check Check Check Check Check
Anti-aliased rendering Check Check Check Check Check Check
Raytracing Check Check Check Check Check Check
Dynamic 3D material preview Check Check Check Check Check Check
Transparency Check Check Check Check Check Check
Reflection Check Check Check Check Check Check
Smoothing Check Check Check Check Check Check
Self-illumination Check Check Check Check Check Check
Texture mapping Check Check Check Check Check Check
Texture masking Check Check Check Check Check Check
Texture origin   Check Check   Check Check
Material definitions by color Check Check Check   Check Check
Material definitions by layer   Check Check   Check Check
Material definitions by entity         New!
Embedded Material Definitions     New!     New!
Included Seamless Textures     250     40
Included Material Definitions 400  400 600+ 400  400 400+
Included Backgrounds     New!     New!
Import materials and textures from o2c objects   Check Check      
Import materials and textures from SketchUp files     New!      
Drafting
Automated 2-line, 3-line, and 4-line walls Check Check Check Check Check Check
Cleanup tools for L, T, and X wall intersections Check Check Check Check Check Check
Automatic door and window insertion Check Check Check Check Check Check
Complex user-defined line types Check Check Check Check Check Check
Pen Styles     New!     New!
Complex user-defined associative hatch patterns Check Check Check Check Check Check
Associative dimensions (DIN and AS1100) Check Check Check Check Check Check
Polyline and related editing tools Check Check Check Check Check Check
Object snap on-the-fly Check Check Better! Check Check Better!
Virtual object snapping Check Check Check Check Check Check
GetSnap smart snapping Check Check Check Check Check Check
3D object snapping Check Check Better! Check Check Better!
Dynamic Snap Indicator     New!     New!
Direct distance input method   Check Check   Check Check
Direction / Distance input mode Check Check Check Check Check Check
Relative and absolute Cartesian input mode Check Check Check Check Check Check
Relative and absolute polar input mode Check Check Check Check Check Check
XREFs (External Reference Files) Check Check Check      
Self-XREFs (Internal Reference File)     Check      
SketchUp XREFs     New!      
Bind XREFs to Symbols     New!      
XClips (Reference File Clip Cubes) Check Check Check      
SClips (Symbol Clip Cubes)     New!      
Fence Clips     New!      
HyperView linking Check Check Check      
Hyperlink to external file Check Check Check      
Hyperlink to Internet URL Check Check Check      
Command line alias Check Check Check      
Spell checker with international-language dictionaries Check Check Check      
Architectural text styles (Vector-based fonts) Check Check Check Check Check Check
Support for TrueType fonts Check Check Check Check Check Check
DataCAD TrueType Font     New!     New!
Automatic boundary detection for hatching (Contour search) Check Check Check      
Solid color fills Check Check Check Check Check Check
Pattern fills Check Check Check Check Check Check
Bitmap fills Check Check Check Check Check Check
Layer manager with support for long layer names Check Check Check Check Check Check
Multi-line Text (a.k.a. MText)     New!     New!
Support for SHX fonts     New!     New!
Entity Properties Editor     New!      
Modeling
3D geometric primitives modeler Check Check Check Check Check Check
Vector-based hidden line removal Check Check Check Check Check Check
Raster-based hidden line removal Check Check Check Check Check Check
Digital Terrain Modeling (Drop Mesh) Check Check Check Check Check Check
TIN (Triangular Irregular Network) Surface Modeler   Check Check      
Ruled Surface Modeler   Check Check      
3D Knife   Check Check      
3D Sectioning Tool   Check Check      
o2c-based object viewer Check Check Check Check Check Check
Convert TrueType fonts to 3D Check Check Check Check Check Check
3D Boolean Operations     New!      
3D Edit Planes     New!      
Printing
Support for any Windows-compatible printer Check Check Check Check Check Check
WYSIWYG Print Preview Check Check Check Check Check Check
Multi-scale Printing Layout Check Check Check      
Convert Multi-scale Layout to DWG     New!      
Batch printing direct and to .PRN and .PDF Check Check Check      
Print to PDF with layers   Check Check      
Date, Time, and File Stamps Check Check Check Check Check Check
Map 15 colors to 15 pens       Check Check Check
Map 255 colors to 15 pens Check Check Check      
Windows Compatibility
Windows Vista   Check Check   Check Check
Windows 2000/XP   Check Check   Check Check
Windows NT Check          
Windows 95/98/Me Check     Check    
Network Awareness   Check Check   Check Check
Interface supports Windows XP themes   Check Check   Check Check
MDI (Multiple Document Interface) Check Check Check Check Check Check
Multi-view windows   Check Check   Check Check
Standard toolbar   Check Check   Check Check
User-definable icon toolbars Check Check Check Check Check Check
View-sensitive icon toolbars Check Check Check Check Check Check
User-definable context-sensitive icon toolbars   Check Check   Check Check
Global, unlimited undo/redo Check Check Check Check Check Check
Cut, Copy, and Paste to/from Windows applications Check Check Check Check Check Check
Dynamic Zoom with Mouse Wheel Check Check Check Check Check Check
Dynamic Panning with Mouse   Check Check   Check Check
"Select All" via [Ctrl] + [A]     New!      
Estimating and Take-offs
Estimator link for material take-offs Check     Check    
Automated 3D framing with take-offs Check Check Check Check Check Check
File Compatibility (Open, Import, or Paste)
.DWG AutoCAD R2007 - R2009 drawing file     New!     New!
.DWG AutoCAD R2004 - R2006 drawing file   Check Check   Check Check
.DWG AutoCAD R12 - R2002 drawing file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.DXF Data Exchange Format file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.AEC DataCAD drawing file (double-precision)   Check Check   Check Check
.DC5 DataCAD drawing file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.DLF DataCAD layer file (double-precision)   Check Check   Check Check
.LYR DataCAD layer file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.DSF DataCAD symbol file (double-precision w/layers)   Check Check   Check Check
.SM3 DataCAD symbol file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.DC+ DataCAD Plus drawing file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.LY+ DataCAD Plus layer file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.SM+ DataCAD Plus symbol file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.TXT ASCII text file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.WMF Windows Metafile Check Check Check Check Check Check
.EMF Enhanced Windows Metafile Check Check Check Check Check Check
.O2C Objects to See file Check Check Check      
.ACO ArCon file Check Check Check      
.3DS 3D Studio   Check Check      
.STL Stereo Lithography   Check Check      
.BMP Windows bitmap Check Check Check Check Check Check
.JPG Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.GIF Graphic Interchange Format   Check Check   Check Check
.TIF Tagged Image Format File   Check Check   Check Check
.TGA Truevision Targa Graphic   Check Check   Check Check
.PNG Portable (Public) Network Graphic   Check Check   Check Check
.PCX PC Paintbrush Bitmap Graphic   Check Check   Check Check
.PCD Kodak Photo-CD Image   Check Check   Check Check
.SKP SketchUp     New!     New!
.XLS Excel Spreadsheet     New!      
.PAK DataCAD Pak-N-Go Archive     New!      
.DMF DataCAD Material File     New!     New!
File Compatibility (SaveAs, Export, or Copy)
.DWG AutoCAD R2007 - 2009 drawing file     New!      
.DWG AutoCAD R2004 - 2006 drawing file     New!      
.DWG AutoCAD R2002 drawing file   Check Check      
.DWG AutoCAD R2000 drawing file Check Check Check      
.DWG AutoCAD R12, R13, and R14 drawing file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.DXF Data Exchange Format file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.DWF WHIP! (Design Web Format)   Check Check      
.AEC DataCAD drawing file (double-precision)   Check Check   Check Check
.DC5  DataCAD drawing file Check     Check    
.DLF DataCAD layer file (double-precision)   Check Check   Check Check
.LYR DataCAD layer file Check     Check    
.DSF DataCAD symbol file (double-precision w/layers)   Check Check   Check Check
.SM3 DataCAD symbol file Check     Check    
.TXT  ASCII text file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.WMF Windows Metafile Check Check Check Check Check Check
.EMF Enhanced Windows Metafile Check Check Check Check Check Check
.O2C Objects to See file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.ACO ArCon file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.3DS 3D Studio     New!     New!
.STL Stereo Lithography   Check Check      
.BMP Windows bitmap Check Check Check Check Check Check
.JPG Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) file   Check Check Check Check Check
.TIF Tagged Image Format File   Check Check   Check Check
.TGA Truevision Targa Graphic   Check Check   Check Check
.PNG Portable (Public) Network Graphic   Check Check   Check Check
.PCX PC Paintbrush Bitmap Graphic   Check Check   Check Check
.EPS Encapsulated PostScript   Check Check   Check Check
.PCD Kodak Photo-CD Image   Check Check   Check Check
.PRN Windows printer file Check Check Check Check Check Check
.PDF Adobe Acrobat Portable Document file Check Check Check      
.WRL Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML) file Check Check Check      
.RAY DC Render file Check Check Check      
.SKP SketchUp     New!     New!
.PAK DataCAD Pak-N-Go Archive     New!      
.DMF DataCAD Material File     Better!     Better!
Miscellaneous
32-Bit Single-precision database Check     Check    
64-Bit Double-precision database   Check Check   Check Check
64-Bit Double-precision Display List     New!     New!
Maximum drawing file size 128MB 1,024MB 1,024MB 4MB 15MB 15MB
Automatic purge of unused data   Check Check   Check Check
Drawing file compression   Check Check      
Drawing Session Backups   Check Check      
Automatic Drawing Backup and Recovery   Check Check   Check Check
Symbol Browser   Check Check   Check Check
Included 2D/3D Symbol Library 3,000+ 3,000+ 3,200+ 300+ 1,700+ 1,900+
Symbol (a.k.a. "Block") Text Attributes   Check Check   Check Check
Maximum number of user-defined line types per drawing 175 256 256 25 256 256
Embedded line types   Check Check   Check Check
Line type manager   Check Check     New!
Line type creator   Check Check      
Maximum number of user-defined hatch patterns 256 Unlimited Unlimited 50 Unlimited Unlimited
Embedded hatch patterns   Check Check   Check Check
Hatch pattern manager   Check Check     New!
Maximum number of layers 1,000 32,768 32,768 1,000 1,000 1,000
Maximum number of icons per toolbar 100 Unlimited Unlimited 50 Unlimited Unlimited
Maximum number of characters per layer name 88 256 256 88 256 256
DCAL (DataCAD Applications Language) Included Check Check Check      
DCAL for Delphi Included   Check Check      
DCAL for C++ Included     New!      
Selection Sets Check Check Check      
Text Scale Check Check Check      
Customizable keyboard macros Check Check Check      
Hard-coded keyboard macros       Check Check Check
Identify, Set All Check Check Check      
User-definable default drawings Check Check Check      
Customizable scales, angles, and distances Check Check Check   Check Check
Architectural scale fractions 1/64, 1/128, 1/256   Check Check      

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