Why choose CADtools?

DRAW, DIMENSION & LABEL
Click and drag dimensions or labels that follow and respond to artwork changes

WORKS JUST LIKE ILLUSTRATOR
Over 100 tools seamlessly integrated with no learning curve

FREE TECHNICAL SUPPORT
Call, email or in-app chat for tech support answered in the USA

BEAUTIFUL STYLES
Customize live dimensions and labels with control over terminators, text placement and much more

PASTE WITH SCALE
Copy and paste at different scales without doing any math - It just works

LABELS FOR ANY DESIGN TASK
Incremental, geometry, custom and structured labels in hundreds of styles

MOVE & MEASURE WITH PRECISION
Full control over points, paths and objects including length, perimeter and area

ZOOM IN ON THE DETAILS
Automatically generate close-up views in any scale

UNLIMITED SCALES
Select from a wide range of engineering and architectural or custom scales

SEVEN CONSTRUCTION CALCULATORS
Add fractions, mix and convert units, measure proportions, and calculate materials

3D-STYLE OBJECTS
Create and dimension axonometric and isometric art with control over rotation and tilt

STRUCTURED LABEL DESIGNER
Complex labels help with signage planning and wayfinding

Span dimension tools and boxed text enhance UX design	Detail tool generates close-up views with scale control.	Grid tool adds settings for color and styles
CADtracker’s Constrained Nudge moves art by < 1 pt	CADtimesheet tracks billable time in documents	Integrated Live Chat adds faster friendly tech support

Major drawing features:

• Draw Illustrator art in any scale – document or layer-based
• Use the simple scale calculator for extra help
• View scaled CADrulers and CADgrids
• Create and adjust walls and insert doors/windows
• Project art to axonometric/isometric planes for 3D effect
• Create cubes and cylinders with axonometric/isometric tools
• Draw grids and waves with numeric control
• Create instant titles and tables with easy numeric input
• Access hundreds of symbols of architecture, people, and landscaping

Click-drag tools with seamless integration
CADtools adds over 100 tools to the tool panel. Red dots indicate the number and placement of mouse-clicks to edit or create an object, label or dimension. Recent tools include Scale Line, Repeat, Repeat Along Path, Scaled Type, Grid, and Wave tools.

Document or layer scales and scale calculator
Select from a wide range of engineering and architectural scales or create an unlimited number of custom scales. Figuring out scale is easy with the Scale Calculator.

Unlimited styles for dimensions and labels
Create beautiful live dimensions as measurements, letter, number, or custom text. Create custom labels with text, numbers, alphabet or object geometry.

3D-style cubes, cylinders, and planes
Create art with custom 3D-like view angles using the CADaxonometric panel. Dimension with axonometric dimension tools or flatten into front, side, or plan views.

CADunits cover all possibilities
Set up units and precision for dimension values as well as numeric input, CADrulers and CADtools panel options. Add polish to professional docs with clever compact fractions.

Guides and grids your way
With CADguides, customize scaled rulers and grids that can snap with CADtools drawing tools. Show full screen cursors to easily create and edit CADtools objects.

CADshortcuts and automatic dimensions
Instantly apply dimensions to artwork by using the CADshortcuts panel. Save time by applying custom presets that retain CADtools settings.

Measure and transform objects in scale
Numerically move and transform objects in scale with CADtracker. View angle, perimeter, length, and area of one or more paths or placed images.

CADdashboard and CADhelp
Quickly access all tools and panels with CADdashboard. The context-sensitive CADhelp panel shows step-by-step details and video tutorials for the current tool or panel.

Hot Door CADtools 11 ships with hundreds of vector symbols for Adobe Illustrator

Major dimensioning and labeling features:

• Click-drag dimensions with custom style or text
• Dimension every possible object, path, or points in space
• Create live dimensions that follow and respond to artwork changes
• Measure area, perimeter and length of one or more paths
• Create custom labels with text, numbers, alphabet or object geometry

Major editing and transformation features:

• Numerically move and transform objects on group or independent axes with CADtracker
• Project or dimension flat art in axonometric view
• Create fillets, chamfers, and profiles on object corners
• Click to trim and extend paths to create precise intersections
• Slice paths into equal parts with the path divider tool
• Create offsets for vector paths, including numeric control
• Repeat objects in grid or along path with numeric precision
• Resize art in scale with proportion and scaled type tools

Shortcuts and instructional features:

• Learn features fast with the context-sensitive, in-app user guide and 1-minute video tutorials
• Auto-dimension objects in the CADshortcuts panel
• Save or load CADtools settings as shareable Preset files
• Work fast with keyboard input while dragging dimensions, labels, doors/windows, polygons, rounded rectangles, grids, and waves to edit shapes on-the-fly

CADtools 14 works with Illustrator 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024
 

Control Plug-ins

These plug-ins put you in Illustrator's driver's seat and rip out the speedometer! Choose your own combination of controls to make a unique suite of plug-ins that pump your productivity. Discover new raceways for editing, organization, and labeling. And find out what our power users have been requesting for 20 years!

NitPicker: Select artwork with custom search criteria and presets
ParticuLayer: Create layer groups for organization and printing
FixPix: Nudge artwork at LESS THAN 1 pt increments!
TimeSheet: Log time spent on documents with auto features
ArtLabel: Call out attributes of artwork such as fonts, colors, etc.
DocLabel: Call out attributes of the document or add date/time
ArtTags: Attach terms to artwork for counting/tracking materials
 

CADpatterns

Hot Door CADpatterns add 134 vector-based swatch patterns for design documents. All patterns are in Illustrator format for easy editing and colorizing inside Adobe Illustrator for Mac or Windows.
 

DwellSymbols

Add a splash of architecture from around the world with 36 unique, royalty-free symbols for Adobe Illustrator. Each home is featured in 3D-style with easy vector editing. Embellish with your own details and color for brochures, maps, infographics, and more!