ZwCAD

This is AutoCAD compatible CAD drawing and drafting software and much less expensive than the AutoCAD.

ZWCAD 2010 is cost-effective & powerful CAD software for 2D and 3D design. With ZWCAD 2010, you get very high levels in Windows Operating Systems. It also extends efficient drafting & management features and powerful APIs if you are inclined to customize things and extend functionality. ZWCAD offers DWG file format support` It is easy to open, edit, and save any existing DWG file generated by AutoCAD from version 2.5 to 2011 without conversion or data loss. It is compatible with Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, etc.

When one talks of compatibility between two programs, the right question to ask is how much? No two programs are 100% compatible, whatever the sellers might say. So the best bet is to try it out in your work environment and make sure it gives you predictable results in the kind of things you do day in and day out. Users do not really need any extensive retraining on change over to the ZxCAD. It arranges menus, toolbars, the command line, the drawing area, the properties palette, and dialog boxes in a style that conforms to the expectations. This lets AutoCAD- trained users begin working with ZWCAD almost immediately.

The other thing that is attractive - the APIs. This software provides Lisp and VBA interfaces as well as SDS (like the ADS) and ZRX (like the ARX). Extending the software or customizing or even creating automated tools are quite easy with these programming interfaces. Availability in multiple languages is an advantage too.

ZWCAD 2011 provides you with the most cost-effective CAD software solution for the entire workflow, from the very beginning to the very end of your projects, with innovative, collaborative, and customizable features:
a. Read and write DWG format, support Windows
ZWCAD offers DWG file format support, so it can open, edit, and save any existing DWG file generated by AutoCAD® from version 2.5 to 2011 without conversion or data loss. In general, ZWCAD works well with Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, etc.
b. Bring your ideas to life through drafting and detailing
The drafting and detailing features include Fundamental Drawing Tools for 2D & 3D Design, Flexible Text Placement Options, Support for External References, Efficient Blocks and Attributes, Raster Image, Hatches, Fills, and Gradients, OLE, Multiple Grips Editing, Modify References and Attributes, etc.
c. Easily manage your drawings and their content
The management features include Design Center, Tool Palettes, Aerial View, Dynamic Prompt, AutoTrack, Realtime Pan and Zoom, Multiple Document and Tab Environments, Layers and Properties, etc.
d. Further your design with powerful APIs.
ZWCAD provides convenient application programming interfaces, such as LISP (similar to AutoLISP), VBA, SDS (similar to ADS), and ZRX (ZWCAD Runtime Extension, similar to ARX).
Now, ZWCAD 2011 is available in 15 different languages, including Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Hungarian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and Turkish.
Highlights of ZWCAD 2011 include:
a. Productivity Breakthrough - Parametric Drafting
b. Effective and Efficient Tools - Table, Field, MLeader, PDF Plotter, and Solprof
c. Better User Experience - Snap, Refedit, Raster Image, Dimension Break and Online Help
d. Optimized Application Programming Interfaces