TurboCAD 2D and 3D Training - lots of issues

[dumorian]

I purchased/downloaded the 2D and 3D Training bundles. Wow.... very ragged around the edges.

First, doing a complete search of my system, there is no Student_2D.tct which is needed to do the tutorials.

Second, on a Win 7 64bit system, if you install the 2D bundle it gets installed under TurboCAD 3D Training. Then when you install the 3D bundle, it overwrites the 2D bundle. So, I had to install the 2D bundle, change the directory name... fix the Start menu links and then install the 3D bundle. All good after doing that.

Third, this training doesn't really say which versions of TurboCAD it is for, so I assumed any version. And it should be... at least as far as I've been able to work through it. (now I'm stuck needing the first problem above before I can continue). But, when I open the first drawing.... a very simple drawing.... in my TurboCAD Deluxe 18.1 program, it says the drawing was created using TurboCAD Pro and that some corruption may occur. Well, sure enough, some of the data does not display.

Fourth, there have been a few other bugs, like at least one flash movie that was not included and one or a few that end before they are actually finished... just the end is chopped off. But that really isn't so bad.

Fifth, is the training uses and older version of TCW and many of the menus have changes... again, minor snag and only takes the time to find where it is now.

All in all, I'm just a bit disgusted with spending my money on this training and it being so very ragged all over the place. And, I'm mostly stuck at the moment with not having the template and opening drawings that are drawn in the Pro version, so some things aren't there to work through the tutorials.

I did submit a ticket about the missing template files and after nearing 2 days, I have not heard back as of yet.

This whole set of packages needs to be repolished.

[WillR]

Wherever it installed the training there should be a Student_3D.tct and a Student_2D.tct file.

Copy them to your ...\IMSIDesign\TCW18\Template directory.

Then you should see the templates when you do a "new" , "New from template"

If you cannot find them email me and I can send them.

[dumorian]

I have looked in every directory where it is installed and also done a full search of my drive C for *.tct and they do not exist. I find 44 other .tct files which do show in TurboCAD, but not Student files anywhere.

Also of note, I did an install on my Vista 64 laptop and in fact the 2D learning sessions do get installed by default under C:\Program Files (x86)\IMSIDesign\TurboCAD Training\TurboCAD 3D Training

When I then install the 3D pack, it overwrites most of the 2D pack due to this pathing issue in the installer. On the laptop, I did not install the 3D pack and the Student files are not on it either.

Also, within the interactive training, it does mention that you must be using TurboCAD Deluxe or Pro to do the tutorials... or open the included example drawings. However, when I open some of those drawings, I get a pop up that states they were created in TurboCAD Pro and warnings about incompatibilities. In fact those files when opened in Deluxe do not contain some entities needed to follow along interactively. These drawings are extremely simple and actually could be created in the Designer version... nothing fancy about them.

I am running TurboCAD Deluxe 18.1.

[natalieS]

Hi

Natalie from Mindscape here( Australian Distributor of IMSIdesign(, please email at salesau@mindscape.com.au
I will email you the template that the US sent me when I noticed it was missing. 
I can't answer the rest of your questions about the training CD as we deal with the CADfundamentals training video's but I can send you the file.
Cheers

Natalie

[dumorian]

Thank you Natalie.

I have now made my way through as far as I can go using some of the drawings provided as templates. I did finish the 2d tutorial and found pretty early on that the 3d tutorials are for the Pro version only. It would have been really nice if IMSI had mentioned this on the website as I may not have purchased it.

The 3d tutorial does help with some features in the Deluxe package, but you can't work through the tutorials using Deluxe. You can read them and learn by looking for things in Deluxe, figure out what is there and what is not.

All in all, my take on these packages is that they need a total overhaul. They should be thought out in terms of the various CAD packages and either multiple tutorials created, or have logical 'stopping' points... so like the first third being general CAD instruction pertinent to all versions... the next third for Deluxe and Pro and the last third for Pro only features. I hope that explains my thoughts. As they are, if you are a Deluxe owner, really only the book is helpful, but again... some items in there are not available in the Deluxe version.

Otherwise, they should be advertised as for the Pro version on the website so that others don't fall into the trap I landed in.

And gee... those templates... How can they be omitted?

[natalieS]

Thanks for your reply, as I said I don't look after the training books but I  am happy to pass your feedback on to IMSI. 
The CADfundamentals training is made with Deluxe for the 2D and the 3D CD.  There are a handful of lessons made with Pro but only to show the quicker way of doing things in the compared to Deluxe.
if you need the file be sure to email me on the address below.
Cheers

[dmizner1848]

I too purchased this package to get a head start on learning TurboCad.  And like you I did not have the templates.  I emailed customer support and they sent me the files.  First problem solved.  Now I can't complete the first lesson because the Task01.tcw file is written for PRO only and not all the drawing shows up in Deluxe.  I am now questioning whether or not I made a mistake.  I like TurboCad but they really need to do a better job with their training course.