South African CAD system Caddie Version 9 was recently released, and contains a wide array of new features that will benefit all users. According to the company, the unique way in which the software is developed has been made possible because clients deal and talk directly to the software authors as opposed to just dealers or distributors. As a result, the Caddie development team has a hands-on feel for what should go into the new software.

According to Caddie, the basic requirements of a CAD system have not fundamentally changed over the years - clients still want to produce drawings to portray information in a sophisticated yet simple and efficient way - and that has always been the concept of Caddie, right from the first version back in the mid eighties. What has changed, however, is the technology and tools that have been available to the Caddie development team to enhance the program, and every new release brings a host of new time saving features and functionality.

Year in review

For Caddie, 2002 has been an exciting and productive year. The development team has increased in size with new faces bringing different but complementary skills and more manpower to the existing team. At the same time, the European and South African companies have joined forces to pool their resources and skills. This has already paid dividends and will ensure that future development is relevant to both local and international projects. Also, according to Caddie, one of the implications of the advances in technology over the last few years is that the world is becoming a much smaller place, and many CAD users are no longer restricting their operations just to their own country. As a result software has to change to accommodate this.

Caddie 9, professional and budget, will be available free of charge to existing users with valid maintenance contracts; as a cross-grade for users of other CAD systems; or as a full product for those practices not currently using CAD.

For more information contact Caddie, 012 665 0000, www.caddie.co.za