CAD SoftwareBlogProduct NewsWhat’s new in ARES Commander 2020?

What’s new in ARES Commander 2020?

What’s new in ARES Commander 2020?

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Note: ARES Commander 2020 will be released end of January 2020. You can currently try the new features from a Pre-release version:

NB: Features that can be tested in these setups are marked after as “Released 2020 Beta” while features marked as “Release in 2020 SP0” will only be available end of January

It includes the following new commands and features.

Improved Licensing Workflow

Release in 2020 SP0

The new licensing wizard provides:

  • Better display of the licensing status
  • Easier access to the licensing options
  • Easy trial activation without leaving ARES Commander to go to the customer portal

Insert Base

Released 2020 Beta

This command determines the insertion base point for the drawing.

Layers Manager Palette

Released 2020 Beta

New predefined Layer group filter for all the Layers of externally reference drawings. The Reference filter is automatically created when attaching external references to the drawing.

New Dimension Style

Released 2020 Beta

Use the NewDimensionStyle command to create new dimension styles from existing dimensions.

Create 2D Entities from 3D Models

Released 2020 Beta

  • Use the OffsetEdges command to create 2D entities from the boundary of a solid or surface.
  • Use the ConvertEdges command to create wireframe geometry from the edges of a specified 3D solid, surface, mesh, or region.

Customizable Blocks

  • The Block Editor is introducing new powerful features for working with CustomBlocks.
    Test Mode for Testing CustomBlock Definitions

Released 2020 Beta

  • You can test CustomBock definitions without exiting the Block Editor.
    + CBTestBlock. Lets you check CustomBlocks in a test window.
    + CBTestClose. Exits CustomBlock test mode.

Convert Dynamic Blocks into CustomBlocks

Released 2020 Beta

Use the CBConvert command to convert dynamic blocks from a DWG file into CustomBlocks.

Dependent of Independent Base Point for Rotate and Scale Activity

Released 2020 Beta

The Base type property of Rotate and Scale activity specifies whether the type of base point is a dependent or an independent one. You can specify whether the base point of the Rotate or Scale activity coincides with the main point of the element to which the activity is applied or is an independent point specified in the CustomBlock definition.
For example, for Rotate activity: If the Base Type is Dependent, the Rotate activity rotates entities around the center of the table.

If the Base Type is Independent, and the independent base point is the lower-left corner of the table, the table and the chairs rotate around the lower-left corner.

Distance Multiplier and Angle Offset Action Properties

Released 2020 Beta

For some activities, the Overrides category of the Properties palette groups the following properties:

Distance multiplier. Lets you specify a factor by which a distance value of an element is increased or decreased. For example, a distance multiplier of 2 for a stretch activity doubles the associated entities of the CustomBlocks when moving the grip point. Angle offset. Lets you specify a factor by which an angular value of an element is increased or decreased. For example, an angle offset of 60 for a move activity moves 60 degrees beyond the angle value when moving the grip point.

Other Improvements for CustomBlocks

Incremental markers for Stretch and Rotate activities.

Data Extraction Wizard

Released in 2019 SP3

You can extract information from a set of entities to create bill of materials. The Data Extraction wizard lets you specify a set of entities or blocks and extract properties and attributes information.

You can display the result in a table on the drawing or save it in an external file that you can exchange with your colleagues.

The ExtractData command opens the Data Extraction wizard.

The available options let you:

  • Specify the set of drawings or folders.
  • Filter entities
  • Organize the extracted data
  • Specify an output format
  • Format the output data in a table

The software saves the data source selections, entities, and property selection and table formatting in a Data Extraction File (.det). Use as a template any previously created data extraction file to perform the same type of extraction for another drawing.

Associative Patterns

Release in 2020 SP0

Associative patterns let you edit them in their entirety instead of changing the individual items in the pattern.
The Pattern command has been extended to allow you to create associative linear, circular, and path patterns.

The new EditPattern command lets you modify the shape and appearance of associative patterns. You can also edit associative patterns using specific EntityGrips and the Properties palette.

Reshape Non-associative hatches using grip points

Released 2020 Beta

If you disable the link between the hatch and the boundary, you can directly manipulate the shape of the hatch according to a new boundary configuration using the hatch grip points.

Hovering over a grip point on a non-associative hatch entity displays a menu with edit options according to the specified type of grip point.

Improved Field Command

Released 2020 Beta

The new Entity option lets you:

  • Display entity properties in text
  • Insert formula fields in table cells
  • Insert a Block placeholder field in a BlockAttribute

New Selection Method – Lasso Selection

Released 2020 Beta

Use the lasso selection method to specify entities within an irregularly formed contour specified by dragging the cursor.

Comments Palette

Released 2020 Beta

  • Use wildcards to reduce the number of displayed comments.
  • Sort the comments according to the user name.

Add Markups to the Drawing

Release in 2020 SP0

The new markup features let you leave feedback about the drawing using non-text annotations, such as:

  • Predefined and custom stamps
  • Voice recordings
  • Picture notes

Markups can be created from ARES Commander, ARES Touch, and ARES Kudo. They are synchronized across all the users and their devices. For that reason, it is a service operated in the Cloud and it is required to use the Cloud storage palette to save the drawing in Cloud storage.


Another advantage of markups is that they are a type of annotation that will not insert any entity in the drawing but work instead on an abstraction layer on top of your drawing. It is, therefore, a type of annotation that can easily be used by people with little experience of CAD without risking to alter the drawing.

Drawing Compare

Release in 2020 SP0

The new Drawing Compare palette groups the tools for comparing two versions of a drawing.

Feature details:

  • Load the differences independently of LineStyle or LineColor
  • Preview the differences independently of LineStyle or LineColor
  • Browse and review changes between two versions

Work with BIM files

  • Import IFC or Revit® files in your project
    Release in 2020 SP0
    Allows to access BIM model data from Industry Foundation Classes (.ifc), and Autodesk Revit (.rvt and .rfa) file formats. Once the model is loaded in ARES Commander, you can display it in the graphics area and create sections.
  • BIM Navigator palette
    Release in 2020 SP0
    The BIM Navigator palette groups all tools necessary to import the BIM files and control the visibility of BIM elements in the graphics area.

From the BIM Navigator, you can:

+ Import BIM files, such as .ifc and .rvt files.
+ Control the access to a file. Unlocking the BIM file displays the file content in the graphics area.
+ Control the visibility of the elements. You can show or hide entities and categories of entities from the BIM files that you imported in the current drawing.
+ Define filters for BIM Elements

Release in 2020 SP0

  • Data Extraction for BIM Elements

BIM Elements Properties

Release in 2020 SP0

Properties palette is now capable of showing the properties of BIM elements.

BIM Model Sections

Release in 2020 SP0

Possibility to create drawings based on the BIM model. Specify a section plane and ARES Commander automatically creates the corresponding view.

Create 2D drawings from the BIM model with a section plane. The 2D drawing that you will obtain contains entities that you can select to read the BIM properties (eg. the properties of a wall) and you can use the CAD features of ARES Commander to draw on top of this drawing to add details or further information.

Other New Commands

Released 2020 Beta

  • SetConstraintNameFormat. Specifies how to display the information in the dimensional constraints.
  • SafetyOptions. Prevents executable files with potential safety risk from running.
  • LogfileOn. Writes the contents of the command history to a log file (with .log extension).
  • LogfileOff. Closes the command history log file opened by the LogFileOn.
  • Commands. Displays the list of all commands.

More Improvements

Reload References Option Available in the Status Bar

Released 2020 Beta

The notification area of the status bar displays a balloon to indicate that an externally referenced drawing has changed and needs reloading. The options in the right-click menu let you update the references.

New Settings (Options dialog box)

Released 2020 Beta

  • Base Angle Guide display. You can display a guideline along the zero base angle according to the current CCS. User Preferences > Drafting Options > Display > Polar guides
  • Display the full path in the application title bar. Lets you control whether the title bar displays the full path of the active drawing or only the name. System Options > Open / Save As > Open file > Display full path in application title bar
  • The rendered entity smoothness option lets you specify the resolution of curved surfaces for rendering.
  • Heads-up display delay time. Lets you control the display of the Heads-Up toolbar when selecting entities.
  • Use layers in PDF file (PDF v1.5) option lets you create layers in the PDF file according to the layers in the drawing.

Printing

Released 2020 Beta

  • Window print range highlight in the graphics area.
  • Improved BatchPrint command. Lets you group multiple drawings into a single PDF file.

Release in 2020 SP0

  • Printer property settings. Lets you specify printer-specific property settings to be reused for subsequent outputs. Thus you can override settings of the printers installed on your computer. You can save the printer property settings in configuration files with a .pcx extension.
  • Custom paper sizes are available for the built-in printer (PDF, PNG, JPG, SVG, or DWF).

New Shortcuts

Released 2020 Beta

  • Ctrl + Pg Up. Moves to the next working space (sheet or model).
  • Ctrl + Pg Down. Moves to the previous working space (sheet or model).
  • Ctrl + I. Toggles between absolute and relative coordinate during command execution.

Click below to download the whitepaper about new features of ARES Commander 2020: