Item: DraftSight
Rating: 10
Author: Patrick Brady

Overall Satisfaction with DraftSight

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I am the sole user of DraftSight at Kaleida Health. The software assists with addressing the need to keep our electronic blueprints up to date. It is also very valuable in the planning efforts of future projects that we may undertake.

Pros and Cons

Pros

The affordable cost helped in our decision to go with DraftSight.
How the program functioned was familiar so I did not have to learn all over again.
DraftSight provides a long trial period so you can make an informed decision.

Cons

At times when I open a file it tells me its read only but in reality its not.
Not having some smart architectural elements is at times a hinderance.
Cannot move tool bars around to get a fully custom layout.

Return on Investment

Runs much better on my laptop than the previous program used. Which allows me to be more mobile and flexible in planning out future projects.
I am still able to communicate with architects and engineers even though they are using a different software.
With all the keyboard shortcuts being exactly as my previous program allowed me to jump right in and get to work. There was not efficiency lost because I had to relearn.

Alternatives Considered

AutoCAD

Does AutoCAD have more features? Yes. But I rarely used them all. And for the yearly cost we were spending, we were throwing money out the window that could of went towards something else. I selected DraftSight for two main reasons. One; cost. The product was a fraction of the cost. Two; usability. With all the commands exactly the same, I was able to easily switch over. Another reason was it used the same type of drawing file.

Other Software Used

Bluebeam Revu

Likelihood to Recommend

I used to use a more well know industry standard so I can work with the local architects and engineers and the file formats would all be the same. But with me being the only user, the yearly costs was outrageous. So I started looking for a program that performed in a way I was familiar with it & the cost was more reasonable. I came across DraftSight and was able to download a trial version with 30 days use. That gave me plenty of time to check it out. After just a couple of days I was sold!

Comments

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DraftSight is the CAD that you have been looking for all your life!

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