Question

How do I know what version of PowerCADD or WildTOOLs I'm using and how do I know when to update?

Requirements

PowerCADD and Mac OSi X Tiger
optional: WildTOOLs

Background

While PowerCADD has the ability to automatically check for updates, knowing which version and build number you're running is important for both technical support requests and for comparing against current updates. WildTOOLs does not support the automated update checking so you'll need to manually check the version number you have installed against any updates posted on Engineered Software's website.

Unlike previous versions of PowerCADD where you had to manually check the version number and update PowerDWG, that's not the case in PowerCADD 7. The PowerDWG Translator External is included with PowerCADD 7 and automatically updated, if necessary, as part of the PowerCADD update process.

What To Do

To manually check your version and build number of PowerCADD, do this:

1. Launch PowerCADD
2. Choose PowerCADD menu → PowerCADD Profile...
3. the following dialog box will appear listing your version and build number:

Note: This image is simply an example of where to look in the dialog box for the build number. As of the time of this writing the most recent versions numbers for PowerCADD 8.0.0, PowerCADD 7.0.6 and PowerCADD 6.2.1. It's in your best interest to take advantage of free software updates! You can review specifics on how update here on our website.

To check if there is an update available for PowerCADD, do this:

1. Choose Help menu... → Updates...
2. A dialog appears describing if an update is available or if your software is up to date
3. Alternative: You can also tell PowerCADD to check for updates on a preset interval by choosing PowerCADD menu → Preferences... → General tab → Check for Updates pop-up menu. Set the menu for the desired interval and when PowerCADD is launched it checks to see if an update is avaialble for download

Understanding PowerCADD Build Numbers
The Build Number is important as it tells us what specific day the version we're using was built (compiled). A build number is composed of a two letter and two number set. For example: FA23

F = the year 2006 (6th letter of the alphabet for the year 2006)
A = the month of January (1st letter of the alphabet = first month = January)
23 = the day of the month (example: the twenty-third day)

Checking your version of WildTOOLs v8
Currently, there is no manual or automatic method to check which version of WildTOOLs you have installed. The steps noted below are how it worked in PowerCADD v6 / WildTOOLs v7 and how we hope it will work in PowerCADD v7 / WildTOOLs v8. Until the method below (or some other way) is in place, we recommend keeping a written record of what version number you have installed and what version number you may have downloaded from Engineered Software's Download Page

To check your version of WildTOOLs, do this:

1. Click on your Desktop to make the Finder the active application
2. Open Applications folder → PowerCADD folder → Plug-Ins folder → WildTools folder
3. Click once on the WildThing plug-in icon to select it
4. Choose File menu → Get Info...
5. The current version number is displayed in the General section, Version of that dialog as shown below.
6. Compare the version number displayed in step 5 with the version number listed on Engineered Software's Update page

For information on how to install the various updates, please review the related articles in this section of our website.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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