Opinion
Graebert produces the ARES Commander DWG editor, and is one of the very few DWG editors that does not depend on IntelliCAD. Graebert wrote its own CAD engine, which, like Bricsys, allows it do more than other CAD systems based on code written by the ITC. Graebert has produced probably the most advanced Web-based and tablet-based DWG editors, as well as ones that run on Linux, MacOS, and Windows.
Last week, Graebert launched ARES 2026, and I captured the Q&A from the Webinar. Questions and answers were edited lightly for clarity and brevity. Cedric Desbordes is head of marketing for Graebert.
https://www.graebert.com/cad-software/ares-commander/new-features/
JG: What about Lisp routines?
Cedric Desbordes: ARES Commander fully supports the Lisp programming language.
Ralph Grabowski: Not sure about the "just like AutoCAD" statements. AutoCAD users inherently would recognize the similarities, and so don't need to be told that. Better to emphasize on what's different, and hence better.
Desbordes: I agree. But you will only see this comparison in the first video. You already know ARES, but this video was also aiming as an introduction for the hundreds of attendees joining us today for the first time.
EC: Does ARES have an equivalent to Autodesk Civil 3D?
Desbordes: Last year we announced that ARES Commander can open DWG drawings containing Civil 3D entities. It can visualize these entities and read their specific properties in the properties palette.
That said, the CAD features in ARES Commander are better compared to full AutoCAD, and then adding on top the cloud-based Trinity collaboration features, as well as AI, Maps, and the BIM-to-CAD drawing automation. There are no industry-specific features for civil engineering. There is a partner solution, named UNDET, to work with 3D point clouds
RW: Does ARES Electrical support the MariaDB SQL as a valid database for component-store?
Desbordes: The new ARES Electrical 2026 is introducing a new concept to manage components. It manages a symbols library and creates your own components by adding the parameters you need. It is already available on the event page as a bonus video. Please find it after the event on www.graebert.com/next
RT: Can ARES Commander save to the latest DWG format?
Desbordes: ARES Commander saves by default in the latest available DWG format and can save back in any previous version of DWG or DXF. More importantly, ARES uses the DWG file format natively. There is no import or export, as we use this format directly. DWG files saved in ARES Commander can be modified by AutoCAD and vice-versa.
VF: By the same token, can ARES open the latest AutoCAD format drawings? And what happens when AutoCAD upgrades again?
Desbordes: ARES uses the DWG file format natively without import or export. Note that many other programs use the DWG format, not only AutoCAD and ARES. There has not been any new DWG format for many years, but when this has happened in the past it did not take more than six months for ARES to support it.
For this purpose, Graebert collaborates with thousands of other software company within the Open Design Alliance. Learn more on https://www.opendesign.com/
[Autodesk last updated the DWG format in 2018 -Ed.]
AL: I use ARES Electrical, and among its main functions, we need to generate wiring tables for projects. Currently, we use QC PRO for this purpose only. Does ARES 2026 have this functionality so that we don't have to use two different software programs for this?
Desbordes: QC was an OEM version based on ARES Commander. Graebert acquired the QC product from SKA, and SKA keeps selling it now in Brazil as our reseller.
So all the features that were in QC are now supported in ARES Electrical, with some rare exceptions that were custom side plugins, such as the SAP connector and Solidworks PDM connectors that need to be customized for each client.
AL: Our goal is to use just one software for the entire process. We don't have to rely on another one to complete projects.
Desbordes: Sure, makes sense. You can visit after our event page and find three bonus videos about ARES Electrical:
- A general product overview explaining the Electrical features and the Trinity collaboration features we added on top
- A video specific to the new features in the version 2026
- A third video about the new Electrical Components library with a Symbols Library and a customizable Parts Library. It is a big improvement compared to QT
You will find these three videos after the event onwww.graebert.com/next#videos
MO: With any BIM update files, is there a notification prompt that may indicate or list any changes/revisions made within the updated drawing file?
Desbordes: When you import a new version of a BIM file (Revit or IFC), you will see an update icon on each of the drawings you previously generated. From there you can either decide to update all the drawings in one click, or to update drawings one by one if you only want to update some of them.
But most importantly, you are not losing anything about the CAD details you have added with ARES. All the geometry inherited from the BIM model will be updated and all the labels and dimensions linked to the BIM entities will also be automatically updated. All the CAD details you added on top -- such as blocks, details or a network you may have designed -- will be preserved.
VF: Is ARES compatible with INNOVYZE hydraulic modeling and asset management subscription-based software, recently acquired by Autodesk?
Desbordes: Products owned by Autodesk don't make it easy for you to use alternatives to AutoCAD. But more generally, the question for any plugin is more or less the same:
- If they can open a DWG file and work without AutoCAD, then it is very easy to create DWG files with ARES and use them with such a solution.
- If the partner solution requires to install a plugin for AutoCAD and you cannot use it without this plugin, then the question is if the developer is ready to make a plugin for ARES as well. You cannot install a plugin for AutoCAD on top of ARES Commander if the developer does not support it. Obviously, when the owner is Autodesk the answer is simple ;-). [No.]
- More specifically, I don't know INNOVYZE. The easiest for you would be to install the free trial of ARES Commander and then test the workflow. Feel free to contact [email protected] if you have more specific questions.
VB: Will there be a mention of use with Vectorworks [during the Webinar]? I appreciate that they are different packages, but I'm interested to know if there is going to be any updates regarding the two software platforms.
Desbordes: There is no specific demo about Vectorworks today. But Vectorworks can export to IFC, so anything you see today about the workflow with Revit files and drawings automation in ARES Commander and ARES Kudo is also true for Vectorworks, albeit by using the IFC format.
By the way, Anthony Frausto-Robledo from Architosh is a big fan of Vectorworks and he showed interest in ARES, because of the cloud version and the BIM drawings automation. He sees a great fit for Vectorworks users for whom DWG CAD is a side activity. You can read more of his product reviews about ARES on www.architosh.com.
JC: My main difficulty arises when zooming in on the map to draw the streets.
Desbordes: It seems like you are having trouble zooming in on a specific file? If this happens, the best approach is to email [email protected] with a copy of your file attached, so that they can take a look.
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