Personal Designer is a CAD software developed in the 1980s, designed to operate on the early IBM personal computers. Over the years, this product experienced various highs and lows. Although still in use by a few, its popularity declined, prompting many businesses to transition their archives to contemporary solutions. To address this challenge, DraftView was created to visualize and transfer Personal Designer data. This migration has significant advantages for businesses.
The Turbulent History of Personal Designer
Personal Designer's story dates back to 1981 and 1982. Boeing programmers, using CADDS 3, recognized the potential of computer-aided design on the new IBM Personal Computer. They subsequently founded 4D Graphics. Visionaries at Computervision also saw the CAD potential on PCs, acquiring the rights from 4D Graphics to launch "Personal Designer" around 1984.
By the early 1990s, Personal Designer became a threat to those at Computervision marketing the CADDS 4X/5 CAD workstation product. Consequently, they discontinued Personal Designer due to marketing strategies, high licensing costs, and physical "dongle" software protection.
The main competitor, AutoCAD, lacked the complete 3D features that Personal Designer had. However, it had lesser hardware dongle protection, leading to its widespread (often illegal) use. Many became familiar with it. In fall 1994, Computervision announced that Personal Designer would be succeeded by Pelorus. Unfortunately, the product wasn't ready, leading potential customers to seek alternatives.
In late 1997, PTC acquired Computervision. By 1999, they decided to discontinue Personal Designer. This was timely, sidestepping potential Y2K issues, given Personal Designer's development under DOS. At this juncture, 4D Graphics reclaimed their software rights, renaming it "4Design" and offering it as a free product.
Today, while Personal Designer retains some users, a shift from DOS to Windows never happened. The free product, 4Design, is essentially Personal Designer 6.7 without Computervision's surfacing package. Many businesses have stopped using it, and a considerable number of archived models need updating to a modern solution.
Visualizing Personal Designer Models with DraftView
DraftView is a data visualization tool. It empowers businesses to view Personal Designer archives and transition them to new CAD platforms. This software addresses the challenge of viewing Personal Designer data due to its obsolescence and incompatibility with current environments.
DraftView enables users to inspect Personal Designer archives without prior conversion. It natively supports Personal Designer files without needing the original software. Key features include zooming, measurements, and displaying the model as in the original software, custom fonts included.
Migrating Personal Designer Models with DraftView
Converting Personal Designer data is crucial for companies aiming to migrate their archives to newer CAD systems. This is complex since the software was installed on now-obsolete operating systems. Many firms that designed with Personal Designer no longer have the software or skilled designers. Hence, opening models in Personal Designer to convert them isn't feasible.
DraftView provides a solution, converting Personal Designer files to DXF or DWG formats without requiring Personal Designer installation. This conversion facilitates CAD data migration to up-to-date platforms, ensuring business continuity, reduced archive storage costs, addressing outdated OS security concerns, and providing easier design data access.
Data conversion can occur on-demand while viewing a design, or for multiple drawings, be processed in bulk automatically. Both methods offer a wide range of options governing various DXF file creation aspects.
A small Windows program, "DVPD2DXF", is designed for bulk DXF translations. DVPD2DXF can queue thousands of Personal Designer models for automated processing. Depending on file size and complexity, DV4X2DXF can convert a Personal Designer model to DXF within seconds.
Despite its loyal user base, most businesses using Personal Designer have transitioned to contemporary solutions. DraftView simplifies this transition, enabling the visualization and conversion of Personal Designer archives to newer formats. This migration offers businesses myriad benefits, from visualization quality and conversion automation to cost-saving and user-friendliness.
