Mathcad Prime: Performance and Presentation in One...

AnnaGiangregori · ‎Dec 08, 2011

Still confused about the difference between Prime and non-Prime Mathcad software? Read today’s blog post, “Mathcad Prime: Performance and Presentation in One Package”, and learn the main differences between the two, and features of Mathcad Prime.

“Although Mathcad Prime 1.0 has been available since mid-January 2011, we find that many users shopping for engineering software don’t fully recognize the benefits that Mathcad Prime offers. Especially now that we are anticipating the upcoming launch of Mathcad Prime 2.0, which combines the easy-to-use interface of Mathcad Prime 1.0 with many of the key features of Mathcad 15.0, we want to highlight the capabilities and functions that Mathcad Prime can provide for you.”

Read the full blog post here.

I hope you enjoy!

-Anna

Fred_Kohlhepp · ‎Dec 08, 2011

This is a joke, right?

April Fools in December?

Have you been following the comments and questions in this forum? The discussions and complaints about what Prime doesn't do at all, doesn't do as well as the "other Mathcad?" The comments and raves about the plans for Prime 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, . . .?

Many of the experienced" users don't like the ribbon interface; comments like, "Bad ideas by Microsoft shouldn't be propagated." abound. I can recall when the editor was changed before (was it version 7?) and similar complaints were made. So we'll all learn to deal with the new editor and its' quirks.

But Prime is missing many of the features that "other" has had for many versions, and other changes (the structure of solve blocks) don't seem to make much sense. (You drew a box around it and eliminated "Given".) And it can't/won't read the older files without the help of "other." (Those of use with twenty years of files that we need to refer to and reuse are holding our breath!)

This is one of several possibilities:

A joke!
A dirercted piece of propaganda from the marketing department.
The words of someone who hasn't used mathcad for actual work (very much.)

Presentation? Well, maybe. Headers? Footers? Page Numbering? Copying graphs, text and equations to paste into Word and/or PowerPoint?

Performance? NOT YET! And, from the roadmap, not for several more iterations.

MikeArmstrong · ‎Dec 08, 2011

Many of the experienced" users don't like the ribbon interface; comments like, "Bad ideas by Microsoft shouldn't be propagated." abound. I can recall when the editor was changed before (was it version 7?) and similar complaints were made. So we'll all learn to deal with the new editor and its' quirks.

When I look through other forums before all companies started jumping on the ribbon band wagon, it is quite clear that most people dislike the ribbon.

Performance? NOT YET! And, from the roadmap, not for several more iterations.

Agree.

Mike

RichardJ · ‎Dec 08, 2011

The blog seems to concentrate on three things:

The ribbon. You state "If you are an experienced user of Mathcad, you will find that this modern facelift allows you to navigate more easily without having to deal with the floating palette menus found in other versions". I am an experienced user, and I hate the ribbon. It requires more mouse clicks to get anything done, and certainly does not make it easier to create documents. You also state "It also allows you to have better documentation by letting you combine math, text, and images in one document, eliminating lost time on editing and formatting worksheets.". We can combine math, text, and images in one document in version 15 too. In fact, it has been possible since at least version 3 of Mathcad. The ribbon does not make it any easier to do that.

Dynamic unit checking. Are you aware that up to and including version 11, we had that? Then someone had the idea of static unit checking, and despite the warnings from several very experienced users, it was implemented. Then the phrase "SUC sucks" was born. So this is really not a new feature, it's just the return of an old one.

Numerical functions. Version 15 has them too.

Prime 2.0 does add some new features over Prime 1.0, but it still has a very long way to go before it has the capabilities of version 15.

GuyB · ‎Dec 08, 2011

I think the feeling from PTC is "If it's pretty they will come."

- Guy

MikeArmstrong · ‎Dec 08, 2011

Richard Jackson wrote:
The blog seems to concentrate on three things:
The ribbon. You state "If you are an experienced user of Mathcad, you will find that this modern facelift allows you to navigate more easily without having to deal with the floating palette menus found in other versions". I am an experienced user, and I hate the ribbon. It requires more mouse clicks to get anything done, and certainly does not make it easier to create documents. You also state "It also allows you to have better documentation by letting you combine math, text, and images in one document, eliminating lost time on editing and formatting worksheets.". We can combine math, text, and images in one document in version 15 too. In fact, it has been possible since at least version 3 of Mathcad. The ribbon does not make it any easier to do that.
Dynamic unit checking. Are you aware that up to and including version 11, we had that? Then someone had the idea of static unit checking, and despite the warnings from several very experienced users, it was implemented. Then the phrase "SUC sucks" was born. So this is really not a new feature, it's just the return of an old one.
Numerical functions. Version 15 has them too.
Prime 2.0 does add some new features over Prime 1.0, but it still has a very long way to go before it has the capabilities of version 15.

Richard seems to have hit the nail on the head here.

Mike

MikeArmstrong · ‎Dec 08, 2011

I agree with the above but must also add that I have just sat through a Creo presentation and if that package is anything to go by, us Mathcad lovers will be in for a treat.

I am only a basic ProEng users, but had very experienced users with me and they agreed that PTC has turned ProEng into a market leader of Parametric modeling. It goes far beyond what is currently on the market. But in all honestly, ProEng wasn't that far off anyway.

The layout of Creo looks like Prime. PTC obviously want the layout of their products to match and that's the way Prime has headed. I think we'll be on Prime 4.0 before most 'experienced users' are happy.

Mike

Fred_Kohlhepp · ‎Dec 08, 2011

Mike Armstrong wrote:
The layout of Creo looks like Prime. PTC obviously want the layout of their products to match and that's the way Prime has headed. I think we'll be on Prime 4.0 before most 'experienced users' are happy.
Mike

I can understand the marketing strategy--make everything work and loook the same. (Can you say, "Word, EXCEL, PowerPoint!" ?)

But was it necessary to destroy the functionality of mathcad to change the GUI? Bad, bad choice! If it takes four years to get Prime back in shape (versions 1 thru 4. . .) what are you going to use in the interim? Especially when Matlab () is passing out basically free student versions and educator versions.

Mathcad's per seat license fee is much less than Matlab (not counting the add-ons; but in this company Matlab licenses are difficult to come by and Mathcad usage is miniscule. This despite the fact that when I show these folks a mathcad solution beside a Matlab program, all the management types go , .

This type of program gets sold at college level. CATIA, Pro_E/Creo get sold to comapny management. (There used to be a small group here that demanded Pro-E. The company bought CATIA . . . )

MikeArmstrong · ‎Dec 08, 2011

I can understand the marketing strategy--make everything work and loook the same. (Can you say, "Word, EXCEL, PowerPoint!" ?)
But was it necessary to destroy the functionality of mathcad to change the GUI? Bad, bad choice! If it takes four years to get Prime back in shape (versions 1 thru 4. . .) what are you going to use in the interim? Especially when Matlab () is passing out basically free student versions and educator versions.

Absolutely not. I don't like the ribbon at all in any of the software packages, but it does seem like it's here to stay.

Mathcad's per seat license fee is much less than Matlab (not counting the add-ons; but in this company Matlab licenses are difficult to come by and Mathcad usage is miniscule. This despite the fact that when I show these folks a mathcad solution beside a Matlab program, all the management types go , .
This type of program gets sold at college level. CATIA, Pro_E/Creo get sold to comapny management. (There used to be a small group here that demanded Pro-E. The company bought CATIA . . . )

Exactly. I have heard this over and over again. Students come through university and they have already been exposed to Matlab or other products. The only holy grail is that fresh students won't really know what is missing because they haven't been exposed to past releases of Mathcad.

Mike