If you have an Autodesk subscription contract you will shortly (if not already) receive the 2009 latest version of your Autodesk product(s).

PDS V15 AutoCAD version. Please be aware that you would experience compatibility issues when attempting to both install and run PDS V15 (released in June 2007) and other older releases of PDS within AutoCAD 2009.

PDS V15 Stand Alone version. The only known compatibility problem with AutoCAD 2009 is that PDS V15 standalone version will not recognise an R2009 session as a valid current session when exporting data direct to AutoCAD and therefore data will need to be exported from PDS V15 standalone to R2009 via DXF. In every other respect PDS V15 standalone will work alongside R2009 perfectly well.

PDS V16. Both the standalone and AutoCAD versions of PDS V16 (due for release in late May or early June 2008 in 32 bit and 64 bit versions) are fully compatible with AutoCAD 2009 based products.

Under your Autodesk subscription contract you are legally allowed to have both AutoCAD 2008 and AutoCAD 2009 based products on the same PC for a short transition period. Therefore ECL strongly recommend that if you wish to install AutoCAD 2009 then please do so but wait for PDS V16 before attempting to install the AutoCAD version of PDS into R2009.

PDS Line/PDS Sign

With the recent release of AutoCAD R2009, please note that PDS Line v4 and PDS Sign v3 (released in June 2007) do not fully integrate with AutoCAD R2009, whereas PDS Line v5 and PDS Sign v4 (due for release in late May or early June 2008) are fully compatible with AutoCAD R2009.

Therefore, similar with PDS AutoCAD version, ECL advise users who require to use PDS Sign or PDS Line to delay migrating PDS Sign or PDS Line to AutoCAD R2009 until they receive the PDS V16 CD in early June.

PDS Version 15, Windows Vista and AutoCAD R2008

PDS Version 15 was released in late June 2007 and was sent to all currently maintained users at that time. V15 is compatible with both Vista and AutoCAD R2008 (32-bit).

For users still running PDS Version 14, please note:

PDS Version 14 can be made to run in AutoCAD R2008 but there are a few problems which have been resolved in PDS Version 15 which is therefore much the preferred option for running inside R2008. If you really wish to do so, PDS Version 14 can be installed and run in AutoCAD R2008 (32 bit) provided that one small step is taken prior to, and after, the PDS V14.0.02 (or later) CD installation - the file acad2008.lsp (located in the AutoCAD 2008 support folder) needs to be renamed as acad2007.lsp prior to starting the PDS V14.0.02 (or later) installation, and then renamed back to acad2008.lsp once the PDS CD installation is complete.

PDS Version 14 and Windows Vista

Also note that PDS V14 (both standalone and AutoCAD versions) should successfully install and run in Windows Vista provided that one step is taken during the CD installation - ensure that you select to "Display batch commands in Dos window during installation" when the option is given to you during the CD setup, and this will allow you to respond Yes to a question about copying files. Failure to select this option will cause the PDS CD installation in Vista to apparently freeze.