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From:IMSI
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See Product Page
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#4193 |
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6 of 6 customers found the following review helpful:
 Too many flaws for serious work, 2008-04-29
If you are looking for a Mac version of TurboCAD, don't buy this program - it isn't TurboCAD. It appears to have been produced by Punch software and the support from IMSI is of little help.
The first problem I encountered is that when zoomed in on a drawing, the screen display often becomes hopelessly inaccurate. Lines don't meet where they should, and snaps are way off the displayed line. Also the rendering of curves is very crude.
The showstopper for me (I've returned to Autosketch on PC) is that line thicknesses can't be controlled properly. Line thicknesses (Pen Weights) always scale when printed - there is no way to print them to a specified width. For example 1.00mm line thickness, shows OK on screen, when printed at a scale of 1:50 it becomes a hairline. To get an actual 1.0mm printed line, I have to set the pen weight at 50mm, which is useless on screen. There appears to be some confusion in the minds of the designers of this program. Genuine TurboCAD had a Width Scaling setting ('Device' or 'World'). TurboCAD Mac Pro appears to be fixed to 'Device' on screen, but 'World' on printing. This can't be changed - according to IMSI support this is an issue they are "working on".
There is a lot about this program that could be really good, but save your cash until they've got the bugs out. It is worrying that IMSI don't appear to want to get them out.
5 of 5 customers found the following review helpful:
 Not great, or even as good as TurboCAD for Windows, but OK for light-duty work., 2008-04-26
I am disappointed that IMSI hasn't fixed any of the weak points of the previous version (V2) in this version (Pro V3). Maybe I expect too much for under $100. Documentation is still useless. Tools work, and the tool set seems to be complete, but nothing is intuitive. For instance, you have to de-select all drawing elements before you can switch between some tools (but not all tools). Drawings created with V2, then imported to V3 come in at an unusual scale. At first I thought maybe it was a simple metric-to-American conversion, but the multiplier turned out to be 7.737. TurboCAD Pro V3 came with a rebate coupon which I sent to IMSI, and they acknowledged by email, but I'm still waiting for the rebate. TurboCAD for Mac bears almost no resemblance to TurboCAD for Windows (except for the weak documentation).
22 of 23 customers found the following review helpful:
Agreed: documentation/support is a lame joke., 2008-02-11
I recently bought two packages of this application, one for a family member (a savvy Mac user but CADD novice) and one for myself, an experienced Microstation (Windows only) user. As always, there is a significant learning curve to any CADD application and I expected no different here. With few, if any, third-party references for the Mac version of TurboCad, all we have to rely on is the included help files, the PDF User Guide, and a few downloadable tutorials which are, in fact, hard to find.
I attempted to put together a simple sequence of topics (where to begin, what next, etc.) using the help files and user guide. First off, the help files are not accessible from the Help menu in TurboCad, but they do reside in the TurboCad application folder and are in HTML format so, no problem, we just open them in Firefox. It turns out many of the help files are "broken" which is perhaps why they don't appear in the Help menu. I am persistent, so I examined the HTML code (simple enough text files) and found that many of the included image files simply have the wrong filename. Rename the files or correct the HTML references, either way they're fixed.
Next I created a support ticket at IMSI asking about a fix for the help files. After quite some time with no response, I checked on the ticket and found it had been "resolved." I created another ticket to inquire as to the nature of the resolution: had the problem really been solved? The response I got went something like this (paraphrased):
'Your request did not appear to pertain to any resolvable issue; rather
it sounded like a bunch of complaining.'
So I replied that not only was the problem 'fixable' as I had repaired a couple of the help pages myself, it was a simple matter of editing HTML/text! This went on for several messages back and forth. Each specific question I asked was literally ignored until the very last response finally answered the main question: the issues (complaints) I raised would be fixed in the next release of the software, no ETA known.
The Mac version of TurboCad is built by another company and IMSI has no control. I've read some complaints about TurboCad support elsewhere just like I've read complaints about almost any product out there. However, their support for the Mac product is simply awful, even when compared to their support for their own venerable 'TurboCad for Windows' product line.
I am, to say the least, sorely disappointed. I even mentioned at one point in this futile exchange that I had yet to pen an Amazon review, thinking they (IMSI) might take the hint and at least pretend they were interested in the problems I was having. I take this platform seriously and would not lightly give a bad review, but this is without a doubt, some of the most condescending and worst "customer service" I've ever suffered.
I owe an apology to my in-laws for whom this was a Christmas present.
23 of 25 customers found the following review helpful:
User Guide is a Joke, 2007-12-23
I think this program may be a fun and powerful CAD program; however, the User Guide has very few examples and there are no tutorials. It is impossible to follow the explanations because they a vague and not detailed enough. If you are a CAD user already, it may be possible to follow, but I would not recommend this program for the person who buys it for fun and does not have an "expert" close by. Also, the TurboCAD web site is void of help.
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