2D CAD & Bluebeam Revu, written for the people who actually use it.
Xrefs in AutoCAD: attach, overlay, and how to fix broken paths
An AutoCAD xref guide covering attach vs overlay choices, safe project path types, and practical steps to find, repair, and prevent broken xref paths.
Convert a PDF to DWG in AutoCAD: PDF Import and the SHX text step
How AutoCAD's built-in PDF Import turns a vector PDF into editable DWG geometry, plus the import settings and the Recognize SHX Text step for font-based text.
The 2026 PDF markup decision: free readers, paid editors, or Bluebeam Revu
Free PDF readers, paid PDF editors, and Bluebeam Revu compared for 2D CAD drafters. The decision is frequency, not feature count: concrete picks for occasional, weekly, and daily review.
More on the bench
7 moreBricsCAD V26.2: what the mid-cycle update actually delivered
BricsCAD V26.2 shipped March 31, 2026. For Lite and Pro seats, the story is BricsCAD Assist and the finished Dynamic Block toolset, not the cloud connectors.
BricsCAD V26 reviewed: a year of maturation
BricsCAD V26 is where Bricsys stops looking like the cheap AutoCAD alternative and starts looking like the better-engineered platform in its chosen slices.
ETRANSMIT: how to send a DWG with all its xrefs and fonts intact
How AutoCAD's ETRANSMIT command bundles a DWG with its xrefs, fonts, and plot styles into one ZIP, plus the BricsCAD, DraftSight, and ProgeCAD equivalents.
The 2026 DWG Seat Decision: AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, BricsCAD, DraftSight
Full AutoCAD costs around $2,000/year, BricsCAD Pro around $800. Four real purchase scenarios show when the Autodesk premium is earned and when it is just inertia.
The Stubborn Survival of 2D CAD
An industry called the death of 2D drafting in the 2000s and 2010s. In 2026 the format is still shipping new features, anchoring regulatory work, and growing alongside 3D rather than into it.
MCP arrives in CAD: what the Fusion, SketchUp, and Blender connectors actually do
Anthropic MCP wires Claude into Autodesk Fusion, Trimble SketchUp, and Blender. Early users land real automation wins on repetitive work, and predictable failures the moment geometry has to ship.
AutoCAD 2027: Cloud-First Ambitions Meet a Rough Launch
AutoCAD 2027's system requirements jump to Windows 11 and a 16 GB RAM floor. Five weeks in, the cloud-first push also brings a licensing slowdown bug and the quiet death of Save-to-Web.