AutoCAD Update 2018.1

A recent AutoCAD Update for 2018 not only contained bug fixes but surprisingly (at least for me) contained product enhancements! [Yes, I’m a bit late in writing about this, as Autodesk just released 2018.1.1 yesterday, but still, there’s some cool stuff here!]

New Feature and Feature Enhancements

This AutoCAD Update contains new features and feature enhancements, including:

  1. Xref Layer Property Enhancements
  2. Views and Viewport Updates
  3. High Resolution (4k) Monitor Support Changes
  4. 3D Graphics Performance Improvements

If you are running on Windows 10 with a compatible video card you should see over 200 dialog boxes and other “user interface elements” work better with high-resolution 4K displays.

You should notice increased performance when working in 3D, especially when working in the Wireframe, Realistic, and Shaded visual styles. Autodesk is claiming an on-average 37% performance improvement with 2018.1 over AutoCAD 2018.

When selecting Viewports, two new grips appear. One for moving the viewport. The other for setting the display scale. I particularly love this one… much less mouse travel!

AutoCAD Update New Viewport Grips

Finally, the Layer Settings dialog includes new controls for managing Xref layer properties. 

AutoCAD Update New Xref Layer Property Enhancements

Fixed Problems

The 2018.1.1 update contains the following fixes:

  • Occasional crashes when opening the block editor no longer occur.
  • Occasional crashes when selecting or creating a non-associative hatch no longer occur.
  • Occasional crashes when clicking the Insert View button on the ribbon in some drawings no longer occur.
  • Occasional crashes when modifying certain dimension styles no longer occur.
  • Occasional crashes when editing the grip of a spotlight in some drawings no longer occur.
  • Occasional crashes when opening DXF files containing Xrefs no longer occur.
  • Blocks: The attribute position of a block remains the same after editing the block
  • PDF/Plot: PDF files plotted from certain drawings now display correctly in Adobe Reader.
  • PDF/Plot: Hatch patterns in PDF files are consistent with lineweight
  • PDF/Plot: Raster images are plotted correctly when Shadeplot is set to the Rendered option.
  • General: The AEC property-set data in DWG files can be successfully exported to 3D DWF files.
  • General: Certain Pro/E files can now be successfully imported into AutoCAD.

Products Affected

The 2018.1 and 2018.1.1 AutoCAD Update applies to AutoCAD and all of its verticals. This includes AutoCAD Architectures, AutoCAD Civil 3D, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD Map 3D, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD MEP, AutoCAD Plant 3D, and Advance Steel.

“After applying this patch, the Product Version in the About box will be listed as O.154.0.0 AutoCAD 2018.1.1 Update. If you use one of the vertical products, the Built On version will be listed as O.154.0.0 AutoCAD 2018.1.1 Update.”

The 2018.1.1 Update includes all of the previously released updates.

You should find the update in your Autodesk Desktop App. If not, then take a look at your Autodesk Account, within the Management section.

 

 

Feature Image Update” by fhwrdh