New version of Topocad

Chaos systems AB has released its eleventh version of Topocad, the CAD software for surveying, mapping and design. Every Christmas time there are a new version, a new version number that contains the big changes that requires new file formats.  

For version 11 three areas have been in focus: Administration, CAD/mapping/layout and Volume calculation. The CAD/mapping part involves all users, making Topocad more involved in the mapping and planning process especially in local authorities. "We plan to release a new module within this field during 2009 and it is a good step for us to improve features such as layout and drawing sheet management, automatic scale bars and North arrows, automatic fix of cutted texts in drawing views and things that enhance the speed to create nice drawings and maps which still is very important for most of our users", says Tomas Sandström, sales manager and one of the partners of Chaos systems AB.

The administrative part Topocad 11 has a new interface with more buttons, a check for corrupt files, a logging function for each command in the files where you also can create your own notes, and functions for better handling of system files as attribute tables and line type files.

Topocad users work with many different file formats, from simple coordinate files, to CAD drawing files and GIS tool files and also different types of databases. It has been easy to import and export many different file types but now it is also possible to use these files as external references directly, no translation or transformation is needed, Topocad reads the files direct and you can mix file types as DWG, DGN, Shape, MIF, XYZ, LandXML, MX genio and many more. If they have different insertion points or rotations this is also made directly in the settings for the external references. "For the file formats that uses layers we can turn different layers on and off, also important to have the best graphic view for work and for output", continues Tomas Sandström.