Even before the partnership between Esri and Autodesk was announced in November, Esri had been working on tools that enable the design of smart communities. A free plug-in for AutoCAD, ArcGIS for AutoCAD makes maps, imagery, and geographic features in ArcGIS available in CAD drawings.
This plug-in improves the design of infrastructure and facilities management by letting engineers and managers create and edit GIS data in standard DWG files. With ArcGIS for AutoCAD, multiple georeferenced ArcGIS maps can be viewed and queried in AutoCAD without data conversion so interior and exterior spaces can be visualized and analyzed within a real-world context.
The latest release of ArcGIS for AutoCAD provides AutoCAD users with access to ArcGIS web services and the ability to share ArcGIS data in AutoCAD DWG files.
ArcGIS for AutoCAD 370 is an incremental update that includes certification for 64-bit versions of AutoCAD 2015–2018. Although this release marks the deprecation of 32-bit versions of ArcGIS for AutoCAD, 32-bit versions and support for them will still be available.
The previous version of ArcGIS for AutoCAD functioned with AutoCAD 2018 versions (including AutoCAD Map 3D and Civil 3D), but it required installation of the ArcGIS for AutoCAD 365 version on an older version of AutoCAD and loading the software using NETLOAD. This release includes the installation and desktop launcher for the 64-bit versions of AutoCAD 2018, as well as several fixes.
Future releases of ArcGIS for AutoCAD will continue improving the integration with ArcGIS Online and portal. Additional integrations of ArcGIS and AutoCAD are being considered that will enhance CAD/BIM/AEC applications.