Why Creo Drafting and Annotation are so terrible? Why I have to do 1200 clicks in Drafting to perform actions that require 1-click in AutoCAD? Why I cannot edit stupid section line in Annotation and have to re-create section view? Why I have to run macro

[Oscar]

Questions, questions, questions...no answers.

PTC just sucks.

[TomD.inPDX]

I think PTC gets paid by the click

I've been detailing in Creo/Pro|E for a long time.  It really hasn't gotten any easier.

[Oscar]

Definitely!

Doesn't make any sense why they don't listen to their customers. I guess PTC doesn't care. Unfortunately, we are not Boeing size company to be heard. I have to say that 3D (Modeling) is not that bad, but the rest of the package is just a nightmare... I wasted all day today trying to spit out some drawings and I feel really mad.

[jbuckler]

The changes (new releases) made since this post was made , have emphasised how little PTC listens. It's got loads worse. The people who understood the code must have moved on, & PTC have allowed code  writer to make changes in the wrong direction. ( user since 1994 - V9)

[BenLoosli]

I think part of the reason for lack of enhancements to the drafting package is the push towards MBD models and no drawings. PTC seems to think that with MBD becoming more main-stream, they do not have to improve the drafting package since paper drawings are going away. This is a very bad assumption on the part of PTC. In our business, we rely heavily on drawings as the models are on a secured network that our vendors cannot access nor can we send them a file outside the network.

Did you know that when Pro/Engineer was first released, it did not even have a drafting module? It was 3 or 4 versions before PTC introduced the drafting module to Pro/E.

[jbuckler]

Seems as if they cant help going back to the 'elusive drawingless utopia' In the meantime we still need drawings. Back in the day we used pro-e for models & CV Cadd for detailling. Maybe its heading back there? (!) Personally, I'd love my work to be finished when my model is complete. Management think a shaded image = finished lol. Switch to wireframe when they look 😉

[BenLoosli]

Too bad PTC hasn't incorporated some of the CADDS4X drafting functions into Creo!

One company I worked for did the modeling in Wildfire and then exported views to AutoCad for the drawings. Then they would import the DXF sheets back into the Wildfire drawing. We had a table on the bottom of the first sheet that said what revision each sheet was at. I stopped that practice when we went to actually releasing the drawings as it is one file, thus one revision.

[PeterKehoe]

Can you provide some examples for functions that take a lot of clicks in Drafting or Annotation that take just a single click in AutoCAD? It could be that there are some shortcuts that you aren't familiar with. Or, there may be shortcuts/macros that can be created to streamline the functions.

[Oscar]

Easy. Say I want to add prefix and tolerances to the dimension. In drafting I need to click on dimension - go to properties - go to text extension - check "Change prefix" then click on "dots" to open editor if I want to add special symbols then click ok twice to finish it. Same with tolerances. In autocad I click on the dimension or any other element and properties tab pops up where I can change whatever I want.

Also, in drafting there is no way to lock parts so if you working at the top level you can accidentally grab and move sub part. We already screwed few solid tools because of that! It is ridiculous. In any other CAD user can lock the layer so it will be secured from change, but still usable as a reference.

Why I have to run a macro if I just need to change circle radius?

It crashes a lot when using eraser from copilot menu... and yes, my pc has all the updates and latest drivers.

Why it can't change the dimension orientation when I started pulling the dimension, but say forgot to align it horizontally? Every time I have to start over and make sure that alignment option is clicked twice. It is a simple event handler! It is especially annoying when using angular dimension - you never know which option to select unless you drag a dimension few times until you find what you need.

Do you need more?

[ThomasKirkman]

I strongly recommend getting some online training.  I have used many cad packages including AutoCAD, Microstation, Pro-E and Creo Elements/Direct Modeling and Annotation.  I found Annotation to be one of the easier ones to use after being trained and with practice.

Regards

Tom

[Oscar]

Thanks Tom. Not sure if it helps. I'm pretty familiar with Annotation. It is easy to use, but it also has a lot of room for improvement and I've addressed many many questions to Tech Support in a past. One simple thing: why it doesn't support opening multiple drawings? it is very handy feature! There is very corky way to copy/paste things and it is almost impossible to copy things from another drawing. I just don't understand why it was done that way.

Annotation is overall done better than Drafting. But still very far from say 2D Solid Edge.

[ThomasKirkman]

Yes it defineitly has it's quirks,  It would be nice to open more than one drawing.  What I have done in the past, when I need a view from one drawing, is save the sheet with the view on it as a sheet to the local drive, then insert that sheet into my drawing and move the view I want.  Again, a lot of steps but it does work.  Opening more than one drawing would definelty solve this.

As far as section views, I have edited section lines without issues, but if the section line has legs in it, forget doing that.

Regards

Tom

[Oscar]

Thanks Tom. Yes, exactly - section views is another story. I was able to edit section poly lines, but it is a nightmare, because you have to think twice before you click otherwise you have to start over. And if your 3D model changes in most cases you have to start from scratch. Solid Edge and Solid Works handle this much better.

Modeling is the only thing that I like. I wish 2D modules were done the same way.

[FranklinTu]

Let me answer for him.  I am sure that you never use SolidWorks. It is easier 100 times.

[PeterKehoe]

If I want to add or change the prefix or postfix for a dimension, I click on the dimension, then select Dim Properties.... If changing the Fix Text was the last thing that I did, the Fix Text panel will already be display-if not, then click on it. If it is a prefix or postfix that I have already used, it will be in the drop-down menu-so there is no need to go to the editor.

[Oscar]

I know. You're talking about Annotation though... I was talking about Drafting.

[uaichholz]

Hi there are some pretty simple solutions to some of your problems.

e.g if you create some keybord shortcuts for vertical (in my case ALT+S =Senkrecht =vertical in german) or horizontal (in my case ALT+W =Waagerecht =horizontal) in german.

The issue with accidentially moving stuff is just a matter of configuration you can deactivate the functionality completely.

I think if you have an experienced old school Drafting user he might be able to solve 60% of your concerns in a combined training/configuration/consulting session.

[Patriot_1776]

I actually really liked Creo 3, and so eagerly and blindly switched to Creo 4....BEFORE I found out how horrendously bad the drawing mode was.  Now I'm stuck because I stupidly converted all my start parts before I realized just how BAD Creo 4 was.  The people here are right, and I've been saying this for years:  PTC flat doesn't give a what we users think.  Some idiot manager has somehow worked his way up beyond his level of incompetence and has the code-jockeys who have likewise advanced far beyond their usefulness create whiz-bang interfaces that flat out don't work in the real world for us users.  I can now say, having used both, that the drawing mode in Creo 4 is ALMOST as bad in drawing mode in NX 8.5, and that's saying something...(and not a GOOD thing either).  Will PTC ever listen to us?  Not a chance, but venting about it helps relieve stress so...