CAD/BIM Tips & Tricks

AutoCAD 2023 and 2024: New Features and Improvements

16 May 2024

Are you using an earlier version of AutoCAD^® and wondering what you’d get with an upgrade? Luckily, AutoCAD consistently releases new features to enhance your experience and address evolving industry needs. Both the 2023 and 2024 versions introduced significant improvements focused on streamlining workflows, optimizing collaboration and leveraging the power of machine learning. Here’s what you’d enjoy with an upgrade.

AutoCAD 2023: Heightened Productivity and Streamlined Collaboration

AutoCAD 2023 introduced several new features aimed at improving the efficiency of the design process and enabling better collaboration between users. Here are some of the key new or improved features that users enjoy:

Markup Import and Markup Assist: Incorporating feedback received from emails or via PDFs can be one of the most tedious aspects of the design process. AutoCAD 2023 introduced a powerful solution to this challenge with Markup Import and Markup Assist. This feature utilizes machine learning to streamline the process of incorporating feedback into designs. It can automatically identify markups within emails or PDFs and convert them into AutoCAD entities. This eliminates the need for manual entry, saving you time and minimizing the risk of errors. What’s not to like?
My Insights (Macro Advisor): Repetitive tasks are inevitable in any design workflow, so automating them is a time-saver you’ll love. AutoCAD 2023 introduced a valuable tool to enable this: My Insights (Macro Advisor). This intelligent feature analyzes how you interact with the software, specifically focusing on command usage. By analyzing these patterns, My Insights (Macro Advisor) can suggest the creation of custom macros so that you can automate frequently used workflows. This can significantly boost productivity by reducing the time spent on repetitive tasks. Yes, please.

Floating Drawing Windows: AutoCAD 2023 introduced more flexibility in managing the workspace environment. With the new Floating Drawing Windows feature, you can easily detach drawing windows and arrange them freely on your screen. This allows for a more customized workspace layout.

Quick tallies of objects within a selected area eliminate the need for manual counting, saving time and enhancing accuracy.

Sheet Set Manager for Autodesk Docs™: For users working in collaborative environments or heavily invested in cloud-based workflows, AutoCAD 2023 introduced the Sheet Set Manager for Autodesk Docs. This feature streamlines collaboration by allowing you to manage sheet sets directly within Autodesk Docs and BIM 360^®. This eliminates the need for switching between separate applications and ensures that everyone involved in the project has access to the latest versions of the sheet sets.
Improved Trace and Count: While introduced in the previous version, AutoCAD 2023 offered further enhancements to the Trace and Count features. Trace allows you to effortlessly follow the path of entities throughout a drawing. This is particularly useful in complex designs where tracing entities visually can be challenging. Count, on the other hand, provides quick tallies of various objects within a selected area. This eliminates the need for manual counting, saving time and enhancing accuracy.

With AutoCAD 2023, the additional features and improvements clearly focus on you — the designer — and finding ways to make the design process easier for you. But what about AutoCAD 2024?

AutoCAD 2024: A Focus on Collaboration, Productivity, and Machine Learning

Thumbs up to anything that makes collaboration easier.

Building on the foundation laid by AutoCAD 2023, the 2024 version prioritizes collaboration and productivity, while leveraging the power of machine learning to introduce a new generation of design tools. Here's a closer look at some of the most noteworthy new or improved features:

Activity Insights: Maintaining transparency and tracking changes within collaborative projects can be challenging. AutoCAD 2024 tackles this hurdle with Activity Insights. This feature provides a detailed log of changes made to a DWG file by different users. Want to know who made which change and when? Activity Insights enables better communication and streamlines project management by providing a clear trail of modifications made to the design.
Smart Blocks: AutoCAD 2024 introduces Smart Blocks, a collection of intelligent features designed to streamline block management within drawings.

- Smart Blocks Placement utilizes machine learning to analyze how blocks are used within a drawing and recommend suitable placement locations for new blocks based on this context. This feature can significantly reduce the time spent on positioning blocks and improve overall design efficiency.

AI can assist designers in making smarter, better-informed decisions and automating
tedious processes.

- Smart Blocks Replacement: Another valuable addition to the block management suite is Smart Blocks Replacement. This feature simplifies the process of finding and replacing blocks within a drawing. It offers suggestions and filtering options to help you locate the specific blocks you need to replace. This eliminates the need for manual searching and streamlines the block replacement workflow.

Improved Web Functionality: AutoCAD 2024 prioritizes accessibility by offering enhanced web functionality. This allows you to access and work on AutoCAD drawings directly through a web browser. These improvements provide greater flexibility, enabling you to collaborate on designs or review drawings from any location with an internet connection. This can be particularly beneficial for remote teams or situations where access to a local machine with AutoCAD software might be limited.

Switching between layout tabs is significantly faster in AutoCAD 2024.

Faster Performance: Autodesk consistently strives to improve software performance, and AutoCAD 2024 is no exception. Compared to AutoCAD 2023, this version efficiently boasts up to nine times faster switching between layout tabs. This translates to significant time savings, especially if you frequently navigate between different layouts within your designs. Additionally, the installation process for AutoCAD 2024 has been optimized, resulting in a reported two times faster installation compared to the previous version. This reduces downtime and allows you to start benefitting from the new features more quickly.

Apple Silicon™ Native Support: For Mac^® users working with Apple Silicon hardware, AutoCAD 2024 boasts significant performance improvements. With native support, AutoCAD can leverage the full potential of Apple Silicon processors, resulting in faster software operation and a more responsive user experience.
Markup Import and Assist: Building upon the success of Markup Import and Assist introduced in AutoCAD 2023, the 2024 version offers exciting enhancements. One significant improvement allows you to directly update existing text within the drawing based on the information gleaned from markups. This eliminates the need for manual retyping and ensures that the incorporated feedback seamlessly integrates with the existing design. Additionally, AutoCAD 2024 introduces a helpful feature for managing addressed markups. Now you can fade markups once they have been addressed, improving the visual clarity of the workspace and ensuring focus remains on the outstanding feedback elements.

The Future of Design: How AutoCAD 2023 and 2024 Empower You

The new features introduced in AutoCAD 2023 and 2024 represent a significant step forward in design software. By focusing on collaboration, productivity and machine learning, these advancements empower you to:

Work More Efficiently: Features like My Insights (Macro Advisor), Trace, Count, and Smart Blocks all contribute to streamlining workflows and reducing time spent on repetitive tasks.
Facilitate Seamless Collaboration: Smooth communication and project management are the result of enhancements such as improved functionality for markups, Sheet Set Manager for Autodesk Docs, and Activity Insights.

Want tools to avoid
mind-numbing repetition?

Want tools to avoid mind-numbing repetition?

Leverage Machine Learning for Smarter Design: AutoCAD 2023 and 2024 showcase the potential of machine learning within the design industry. Features like Smart Blocks Placement and improved markup recognition demonstrate how AI can assist designers in making smarter, better-informed decisions and automating tedious processes.

Want to easily detach drawing windows and arrange them freely on your screen?

Ultimately, the abundant features of AutoCAD 2023 and 2024 are designed to enhance your design experience. By focusing on collaboration, productivity, and leveraging the power of machine learning, these innovations empower you to streamline workflows, work more efficiently and ultimately deliver exceptional design outcomes.

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