Raptor Software - Web-Enabled Business Solutions

Great Software Pricing Available

We pride ourselves in offering the best solutions at the best possible prices.

To see a list of our current product specials, please click HERE.

Autodesk Land Development Desktop Retires

Autodesk announced the retirement of this long-time standard for Civil Engineering design. As an early adopter of Land Desktop (original products developed by DCA Engineering, then Softdesk, and finally Autodesk), I had utilized this product for a myriad of projects from Surveys to Site Design to Subdivision Design to Highway Design. However, over the past 4 releases, Autodesk's focus was more on the Civil 3D solutions. The LDD product simply had taken a back seat and wasn't being updated with some dynamic features that would benefit us all.

Autodesk is trying to migrate users to Civil 3D with this decision.

While Civil 3D has some impressive features, its initial downtime (styles preparation, implementation, and training) cannot be absorbed by smaller to medium sized Engineering firms. Civil 3D is a model based solution along the lines of Revit (which, by the way is an incredible architectural tool).

In searching for a mix of the old (LDD) and new (Civil 3D), I began investigating the Carlson Software products. In 2004, I had used the Carlson suite and was impressed with the direction that they were headed, but it didn't fully offer the functionality that I was looking for as a Civil Engineer. That all changed with the 2009 release. See the top 10 features of Carlson here.

The 2009 Carlson products are simply terrific. They blend the best of Land Desktop with the features of Civil 3D to provide a truly dynamic design solution. There is no need for an object viewer for a client to view what you've designed. That alone makes it worth a look. The entities in the drawing are exactly what you would expect, AutoCAD entities. This makes your drawings more portable as well.

Take a look at the dynamic design in the short video clisp of LotNet and RoadNet.

Click here to see LotNet in action.
Click here to see RoadNet in action.

Top 10 Cartlson Features:

Gives Users Platform Choice Carlson Software is built on both AutoCAD® and IntelliCAD®, allowing its users to choose their CAD platform. The software runs on AutoCAD and AutoCAD Map versions 2000-2009. New, IntelliCAD, a robust DWG-compatible CAD platform, is customized and built-in.
Goes from Concept to Completion From data collection, to design and drafting, to estimating, through stakeout, to machine control, you'll find complete, interactive software solutions with Carlson, therefore allowing you to skip rework and data conversions.
Provides Advanced Technology & Innovation Carlson provides industry-leading breakthrough features across land surveying, civil engineering, construction and mining to enable its users to do more, do it better and in less time.
Enables Dynamic 3D Design Using Standard Drawing Entities A unique approach that gives Carlson users all the power they need for automatic or by-command updates and still allows for regular drafting on the entities plus seamless sharing of drawings with other design professionals.
Works For and With Its Customers To us at Carlson, success is measured in the quality of our products and the satisfaction of the individuals and companies that use them. Customer input leads directly to new state-of-the-art features.
Believes in Independence Carlson Software's independence fosters both our creativity and innovation and that of our users. We are free to focus on our customers to provide better, constantly improved software that "does more."
Provides Full Data Compatibility Carlson's product line provides full data interoperability through the use of dozens of built-in drivers, including full support of the industry standard LandXML format for civil data exchange.
Gives Free Technical Support Get support from Carlson via phone, email, discussion groups and webcasts. There is no limit on the number of support calls and no product retirement. We service all versions of all of our products.
Has World-Class Training Options Software is an investment and you can learn how to best put it to work for you at Carlson College. Attendees get personal one-on-one attention -- it's a hands-on learning experience.
Allows Choice of Maintenance as Needed Each new product line at Carlson Software provides new customer-driven features. Carlson customers are allowed to choose to upgrade based solely on the merits of the software's new features. There is no retirement of software.