Almost all of the disks available on the Cheap Tricks Ware listing are compatible with DataCAD 5, 6, 7, 8 (DOS), and yes, even with DataCAD 8 for Windows (D8W). However there may be a few things you need to be aware of in using disks which were originally developed for earlier versions.

If you purchased Drawing Files, they may be in the DC3 format rather than in the DC5 format that is required by DataCAD 5/6/7/8. Not to worry, DataCAD 5/6/7/8 can read DC3 files. Copy these drawing files into your standard drawing directory similarly to the DOS command COPY A:*.DC3 C:\DATACAD\DWG or per your DataCAD directory

Now when you start DataCAD, you will wonder why these new drawings do not show on your menu directory. You must first turn on the toggle button at S5 marked *.DC3 (or in D8W, adjust the file type scroll to DC3 files.) Now your new drawings will display for selection. When you exit and save this new drawing, DataCAD will automatically create a new DC5 format drawing by the same name. If you have a number of files, a Cheap Trick is just to rename all the *.DC3 files as *.DC5 files and they "should" load fine in DataCAD 5/6/7/8 -- if not, go back to the other method noted above.

Template files are also compatible with DataCAD 5/6/7/8, although some of our older installation routines may try to install your template into the MTEC or DCAD5 or DCAD6 directory, rather than the typical DATACAD directory. While some of the disks do contain "install" routines, because of the variety of paths where your DataCAD might be stored, these install routines are chancy at best. We recommend reviewing the README.TXT file on each disk to see how you can modify the install commands to match your own DataCAD installation location. Please note however that most of our template disks DO NOT require installation at all because they are diskette accessible. To use these disks, you simply put the disk into your floppy drive, enter DataCAD, select template, then New Path, and type in A:\ (or B:\ if applicable) and Enter. You will then see a template come up, usually with an A (or B) at the end, such as "DETAILSA". By selecting this template, the symbols will be accessed directly from your diskette. (Make sure you make a backup copy of this disk.)

Linetype Files, Hatch Files, Keyboard Macro & Other Support Files written for DataCAD are all compatible with DataCAD 4/5/6/7/8, however where you may find a README instruction sheet may say to copy these files into your "C:\MTEC\SUP" directory or "C:\DCAD6\SUP" directory, you should copy them instead into your "C:\DATACAD\SUP" directory (if that is where you installed your DataCAD 5/6/7/8 program.) As noted above, the automatic install procedure may not be applicable for you. However, note that most of these type disks simply ask you to copy in these files yourself into the proper directory, which is the safest best installation routine. DataCAD 6/7/8 linetype files are not backwardly compatible with DataCAD 4/5, see details on your README.TXT print out. Also note that for the multi-line use of DataCAD 7/8, you need your custom linetypes defined by their centers. While the linetypes created for 4/5/6 will work with 7/8, if you want to use them with multi-line, you should get those indicated as updated for DataCAD 7/8.

FOR DATACAD 8 for WINDOWS, please note that the standard support files formerly named DCAD.LIN, DCAD.PAT, DCAD.MCR, etc. are now named DCADWIN.LIN, DCADWIN.PAT, DCADWIN.MCR, etc. The files are identical but you may need to rename them to this new format to make them work in D8W.

DCAL (Toolbox) Macro Files are generally compatible with all versions of DataCAD 5/6/7/8(DOS & Windows). Occasionally a DataCAD 5/6 macro will not work with 7/8 due to some idiosyncracy and as far as we know, such cases are noted on the Cheap Tricks Ware are listing. If you find a new exception or incompatibility, we will honor your request to exchange the item or refund your purchase (minus shipping/handling).

Most of the other utilities listed on Cheap Tricks Ware are DataCAD independent so are not affected by which version of DataCAD you are using.

Due to high degree of variety of our listing and as well as of the authors who have submitted Cheap Tricks Ware disks, we can only attempt to standardize the instructions for installation and use with DataCAD's various versions and try to make them as clear and easy as we can. Please remember that Cheap Tricks Ware is "cheap" and some effort may be required on your part to achieve maximum utility! However, if these instructions are no help, and you are still unclear about how to use your Cheap Tricks Ware disks with DataCAD, please feel free to fax or write us for further help.

Thanks for your patience and for purchasing Cheap Tricks Ware!

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