There are actually all sorts of subtle 3D changes. You can also right-click on the UCS icon to access additional UCS controls from a new shortcut menu, making it much easier to manipulate the coordinate system “particularly when working in three-dimensional space. The UCS icon can now be selected and manipulated by using grips to quickly align the UCS with existing objects, including curved surfaces and solids.
In-canvas control is further exploited in AutoCAD 2012 by the addition of new user coordinate system (UCS) icon functions. These same tools have now been added to AutoCAD 2012, enabling users to change viewport settings, views and visual styles by using tools that always appear in the upper-left corner of each viewport.
In addition to a totally Mac interface, AutoCAD 2011 for the Mac featured new in-canvas viewport controls. Last fall, Autodesk quelled rumors when it released the first native Macintosh version of AutoCAD in nearly 20 years (see /articles/aabamx.htm). But while really big enhancements may have to wait until next year, AutoCAD 2012 provides a wealth of welcome changes.
In the past, that might have meant a release relatively light on new features, much as AutoCAD 2009 offered few surprises beyond the now-familiar ribbon interface. Version of AutoCAD 2011 have been added to AutoCAD 2012. The in-canvas viewport controls that originally appeared in the Macintosh If the cycle continues, AutoCAD 2012 marks the last version to use the 2010 file format. The file format changed last with the release of AutoCAD 2010. Every three years, Autodesk makes changes to its DWG drawing file format, which then supports the next round of additions to its venerable flagship product. For more than a dozen years now, AutoCAD has had a three-year development cycle. Autodesk recently began shipping AutoCAD 2012, the 26th major release of the world’s most popular CAD program.