any experiences with architectural desktop

huangyhg

any experiences with architectural desktop?
hi all, i have a question.  my company is going away from autocad to architectural desktop 2004, basically immediately.  we are an engineering firm with structural and mep services.  the mep guys are switching to autodesk building systems.
does anyone have any experience with arch desktop for structural cad?  or any other cad work other than architectural?  i am a little nervous that a program designed to make things look pretty for architects (no offense to all you archies out there) isn't going to be very useful to engineers.  
thanks

is it autocad architectural desktop? that it is esentially some add in tools ontop of autocad. the only function on find useful is it has a library of object i can import into my dwgs ie, beam and joist sections, srews bolts etc
architectural desktop is simply an add-on to autocadd, not a separate cadd program.  you cannot do cadd with just arch. desktop, you must have autocadd.  
architectural desktop provides numerous tools to draw architectural, mechanical, electrical "things".  structurally, you use the architectural elements wihin it to draw beams, joists, masonry, wood   
ahh, i see.  well, i guess that's good news that it still uses the core of autocad.  i guess i will really find out all about it when i go for the one day crash course training session in a couple of weeks.
thanks.
autodesk architectural desktop 2004 is a stand alone cadd program for drawing and detailing building structures. architectural studio is an add-on program.
maybe your firm is switching over to take advantage of the new add-on programs such as civil design, civil 3d and other engineering solutions that directly interface with this program.
if you are using autocad now the switch should not be too difficult to learn, the user interface is all new, but there are options in the program to enable one to configure to familiar settings.
erv - are you sure?  my it guy says it is strictly an add-on to autocadd...that you cannot simply use arch. desktop alone but only with autocadd.
architectural desktop is a version of autocad.  from my experience i can tell you the following:
i have been using autocad 2000 since it was released.
i have been using eaglepoint's (now it is digital canal's)3d frame analysis also since that time. it is an overlay onto autocad that allows you to draw a line structure, convert it to nodes, beams, truss elements, tension elements, etc., then analyze and design same.
for the same time period i have been using strucpro, which is another overlay that is good for drawing structural details using concrete and steel. (it is also by digital canal.)
these software combinations are quite useful, particularly for structural engineering (which is my specialty).
after about a year i added architectural desktop, but only because a few of my clients used that software, and it seemed to make sense.
architectural desktop does have some good drawing capabilities for entire floor and wall systems, but it really didn't work for me for structural details.
well, i found out rather quickly that arcitectural desktop benefits architects, not structural engineers. i still use some of the canned details in architectural desktop, but little else.  in fact, when drawings from an architect (who used architectural desktop) are e-mailed to me, i usually find it easier to either trace over them, or explode them for my use.
in short, i don't recommend architectural desktop for structural work.  and it will not work with my 3d frame analyses programs.
jae,
i do not use this program, but have checked into it. along with other autodesk programs.
maybe we are talking about different programs, anyway check it out:
architectural descktop is technically an add-on to vanilla autocad.  however, you buy it and install it as one product.  you either get autocad or architectural desktop.
architectural desktop includes all of vanilla autocad, and uses it's technology, and would not work without it.  
so even though it is one product, it is built on top of the base product of autocad.  
while there isn't any structural analysis types of things included, it can be used very efficiently for structural plans and details.