I frequently see the question "What is the difference between AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT?" Autodesk provides a comparison matrix that highlights some of the differences. (That particular document compares the 2008 versions).
But there really doesn't seem to be a comprehensive comparison of what the actual differences are. I imagine many new LT users figure out a command is missing when they go to use a familiar command and it tells them...
Command: XCLIP
Unknown Command "XCLIP". Press F1 for HELP.
Below I have listed a quick summary of major differences, a quick summary of the new features in LT, and then a list of 323 commands and 175 system variables that are available in AutoCAD, but not available in AutoCAD LT 2009.
General list of what is missing in LT...
Here is a summary of the major features that are not included in LT 2009.
- Sheet Set Manager
- Network licensing
- CAD standards management
- Most 3D tools and commands
- Express tools
- Action recorder
- Support for Autolisp, VBA, .NET and other programming languages.
New for LT 2009...
Besides the normal UI upgrade to match AutoCAD, the following previously unavailable features have been added to LT 2009.
- Image referencing
- Non-rectangular viewports
- Truecolor
- Fields
- 64-bit support
List of unavailable commands in LT 2009
Below is a list of 323 commands that are available in AutoCAD 2009, but not available in AutoCAD LT 2009.
*SCROLL
-3DCONFIG
-ACTSTOP
-ACTUSERMESSAGE
-ARCHIVE
-DWFADJUST
-EATTEXT
-INTERFERE
-MLEDIT
-OPENSHEETSET
-PARTIALLOAD
-PARTIALOPEN
-PUBLISH
-REFEDIT
-SHADEMODE
-VBALOAD
-VBARUN
-VISUALSTYLES
..ACADSTATUS
3D
3DALIGN
3DARRAY
3DCLIP
3DCONFIG
3DCORBIT
3DDISTANCE
3DDWF
3DDWFPUBLISH
3DFACE
3DFLY
3DFORBIT
3DMESH
3DORBIT
3DORBITCTR
3DRENDER
3DROTATE
3DSIN
3DSOUT
3DSWIVEL
3DWALK
ACISIN
ADCCUSTOMNAVIGATE
ACTRECORD
ACTSTOP
ACTUSERINPUT
ACTUSERMESSAGE
AI_BOX
AI_CIRCTAN
AI_CONE
AI_CUSTOM_SAFE
AI_DIM_TEXTABOVE
AI_DIM_TEXTCENTER
AI_DIM_TEXTHOME
AI_DISH
AI_DOME
AI_FMS
AI_INVOKENFW
AI_MOLC
AI_PRODUCT_SUPPORT
AI_PRODUCT_SUPPORT_SAFE
AI_PSPACE
AI_PYRAMID
AI_SELALL
AI_SPHERE
AI_TORUS
AI_TRAINING_SAFE
AI_WEDGE
ALIASEDIT
ALIGN
ALIGNSPACE
ALLPLAY
AMECONVERT
ANIPATH
APPLOAD
ARCHIVE
ARCTEXT
ARX
ASSIST
ASSISTCLOSE
ATTIN
ATTOUT
ATTREDEF
ATTSYNC
BACKGROUND
BATTMAN
BCOUNT
BEXTEND
BLOCK?
BLOCKREPLACE
BLOCKTOXREF
BORROWLICENSE
BOX
BREAKLINE
BREP
BROWSER2
BSCALE
BTRIM
BURST
CAMERA
CDORDER
CHECKSTANDARDS
CHURLS
CLIPIT
COMPILE
CONE
CONVERTOLDLIGHTS
CONVERTOLDMATERIALS
CONVTOSOLID
CONVTOSURFACE
COPYM
CYLINDER
DATAEXTRACTION
'DBCCLOSE
'DBCONNECT
DBLIST
'DDGRIPS
'DDSELECT
DIMEX
DIMIM
DIMREASSOC
DISTANTLIGHT
DVIEW
DXBIN
EATTEDIT
EATTEXT
EATTEXTEDIT
EATTEXTUPDATE
EDGE
EDGESURF
EDITTIME
EDITSHOT
EXOFFSET
EXPLAN
EXPRESSMENU
EXPRESSTOOLS
EXTRIM
EXTRUDE
FILTERS
FINISH
FLATSHOT
FLATTEN
FOG
FREESPOT
FREEWEB
FS
FSMODE
GATTE
GETSEL
GIFIN
GRADIENT
HELIX
HYPERLINKOPEN
IMAGEAPP
IMAGEEDIT
IMPRESSION
IMPRINT
INTERFERE
JOGSECTION
LAYERP
LAYERPMODE
LAYOUTMERGE
LAYTRANS
LAYVPMODE
LIGHT
LIGHTLIST
LIGHTLISTCLOSE
LIVESECTION
LOAD
LOFT
LSP
LSPSURF
MATERIALASSIGN
MATERIALATTACH
MATERIALMAP
MATERIALS
MATERIALSCLOSE
MENU
MINSERT
MIRROR3D
MKLTYPE
MKSHAPE
MLEDIT
MLINE
MLSTYLE
MOCORO
MOVEBAK
MPEDIT
MSTRETCH
MVSETUP
NAVSMOTION
NAVSMOTIONCLOSE
NAVVCUBE
NCOPY
NETLOAD
NEWSHEETSET
NEWSHOT
NEWVIEW
OLDMTPROP
OLELINKS
OPENSHEETSET
OVERKILL
PAINTPROP
PARTIALOAD
PARTIALOPEN
PFACE
PLANESURF
PLJOIN
PLT2DWG
POINTLIGHT
POLYSOLID
PRESSPULL
PROPULATE
PSBSCALE
PSELECT
PSFILL
PSTSCALE
PYRAMID
QDIM
QLATTACH
QLATTACHSET
QLDETACHSET
QQUIT
REDEFINE
REDIR
REFCLOSE
REFEDIT
REFSET
RENDER
RENDERCROP
RENDERENVIRONMENT
RENDEREXPOSURE
RENDERUNLOAD
RENDERUPDATE
RENDERWIN
RENDSCR
REPLAY
REPURLS
RETURNLICENSE
REVERT
REVOLVE
REVSURF
ROTATE3D
RPREF
RPREFCLOSE
RTEDIT
RTEXT
RTUCS
RULESURF
SAVEALL
SAVEIMG
SECTION
SECTIONPLANE
SEQUENCEPLAY
SETIDROPHANDLER
SHAPE
SHEETSET
SHEETSETHIDE
SHELL
SHOWURLS
SHP2BLK
SKETCH
SLICE
SOLDRAW
SOLIDEDIT
SOLPROF
SOLVIEW
SPHERE
SPOTLIGHT
SSX
STANDARDS
STATS
'STATUS
STLOUT
SUNPROPERTIES
SUNPROPERTIESCLOSE
SUPERHATCH
SWEEP
SYSVDLG
TABSURF
TARGETPOINT
TBCONFIG
TCASE
TCIRCLE
TCOUNT
TEXTFIT
TEXTMASK
TEXTUNMASK
TFRAMES
THICKEN
TJUST
TORIENT
TORUS
TRACE
'TREESTAT
TSCALE
TUTCLEAR
TUTDEMO
TXT2MTXT
UNDEFINE
VBAIDE
VBALOAD
VBAMAN
VBARUN
VBASTMT
VIEWPLAY
VISUALSTYLES
VISUALSTYLESCLOSE
VLIDE
VLISP
VPSCALE
VPSYNC
VSCURRENT
VSSAVE
WALKFLYSETTINGS
WEBLIGHT
WEDGE
XCLIP
XDATA
XDLIST
XEDGES
XLIST
XOPEN
XREFCLIP
List of unavailable system variables in AutoCAD LT 2009
Below is a list of 175 system variables that are available in AutoCAD 2009, but not available in AutoCAD LT 2009.
*_TOOLPALETTEPATH
_LINFO
_SERVER
3DCONVERSIONMODE
3DDWFPREC
ACADPREFIX
ACADVER
ACIS15
ACISOUTVER
APSTATE
ASSISTSTATE
AXISMODE
AXISUNIT
BINDTYPE
CAMERADISPLAY
CAMERAHEIGHT
CMATERIAL
CMLJUST
CMLSCALE
CMLSTYLE
COMPASS
CPROFILE
CPUTICKS
CSHADOW
CURRENTPROFILE
DBCSTATE
DBGLISTALL
DEFAULTLIGHTING
DEFAULTLIGHTINGTYPE
DEMANDLOAD
DRAGVS
DWGWRITE
DXEVAL
ENTERPRISEMENU
FACETRATIO
FFLIMIT
FLATLAND
FULLOPEN
GFANG
GFCLR1
GFCLR2
GFCLRLUM
GFCLRSTATE
GFNAME
GFSHIFT
GTAUTO
GTDEFAULT
GTLOCATION
HPASSOC
IMPLIEDFACE
INTERFERECOLOR
INTERFEREOBJVS
INTERFEREVPVS
LASTPROMPT
LAYOUTREGENCTL
LAZYLOAD
LEGACYCTRLPICK
LIGHTGLYPHDISPLAY
LIGHTINGUNITS
LIGHTLISTSTATE
LIGHTSINBLOCKS
LINEARBRIGHTNESS
LINEARCONTRAST
LISPINIT
LOFTANG1
LOFTANG2
LOFTMAG1
LOFTMAG2
LOFTNORMALS
LOFTPARAM
LOGEXPBRIGHTNESS
LOGEXPCONTRAST
LOGEXPDAYLIGHT
LOGEXPMIDTONES
LOGEXPPHYSICALSCALE
LOGINNAME
LONGFNAME
MATSTATE
MENUCTL
MENUNAME
NOMUTT
OFFSETGAPTYPE
OSNAPZ
PFACEVMAX
PLOTID
PLOTTER
PLQUIET
POPUPS
PROJECTNAME
PSOLHEIGHT
PSOLWIDTH
PSQUALITY
PSVPSCALE
PUBLISHCOLLATE
QAUCSLOCK
QUEUEDREGENMAX
RE-INIT
REFEDITNAME
RENDERPREFSSTATE
RENDERUSERLIGHTS
RIASPECT
RIBACKG
RIEDGE
RIGAMUT
RIGREY
RITHRESH
SAVEIMAGES
SCREENBOXES
SCREENMODE
SHADOWPLANELOCATION
SHOWHIST
SHPNAME
SKETCHINC
SKPOLY
SOLIDCHECK
SOLIDHIST
SPACESWITCH
SSFOUND
SSLOCATE
SSMAUTOOPEN
SSMPOLLTIME
SSMSHEETSTATUS
SSMSTATE
STANDARDSVIOLATION
STARTUPTODAY
STEPSIZE
STEPSPERSEC
SUNPROPERTIESSTATE
SUNSTATUS
SURFTAB1
SURFTAB2
SURFTYPE
SURFU
SURFV
TBCUSTOMIZE
TEMPPREFIX
TEXTOUTPUTFILEFORMAT
UCSDETECT
UCSVP
UNDOONDISK
USERS1
USERS2
USERS3
USERS4
USERS5
VSBACKGROUNDS
VSEDGECOLOR
VSEDGEJITTER
VSEDGEOVERHANG
VSEDGES
VSEDGESMOOTH
VSFACECOLORMODE
VSFACEHIGHLIGHT
VSFACEOPACITY
VSFACESTYLE
VSHALOGAP
VSHIDEPRECISION
VSINTERSECTIONCOLOR
VSINTERSECTIONEDGES
VSINTERSECTIONLTYPE
VSISOONTOP
VSLIGHTINGQUALITY
VSMATERIALMODE
VSMONOCOLOR
VSOBSCUREDCOLOR
VSOBSCUREDEDGES
VSOBSCUREDLTYPE
VSSHADOWS
VSSILHEDGES
VSSILHWIDTH
VSSTATE
WHIPTHREAD
WRITESTAT
XFADECTL
XREFNOTIFY
If you spot a mistake or would like to add something, leave a comment please. Thanks.
Labels: AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2009, AutoCAD LT, Tips
PermaLink Posted 5/07/2008 11:57:00 AM
Comment from:
Kate M
Date: May 7, 2008 at 12:40:00 PM CDT
Watch out, I may steal this post. ;-)
But you forgot fields -- they're new to LT 2009.
Comment from:
Date: May 7, 2008 at 4:13:00 PM CDT
Can you please tell me if the PUBLISH command in LT2009 still only publishes to DWF?
Thanks
Comment from:
R.K. McSwain
Date: May 7, 2008 at 4:22:00 PM CDT
LT2009 allows you to publish to any printer. Sorry, I forgot to add this.
Comment from:
Unknown
Date: May 7, 2008 at 8:16:00 PM CDT
WOW...
This post scares me. How the heck did you stand typing all this down?!
Anyway, good job. These commands will not be useful as they will not be available, but at least I won't get frustrated if a command I know doesn't work anymore :P
Comment from:
Date: May 7, 2008 at 11:36:00 PM CDT
The short answer is;
"Quite a lot of money" :-)
Comment from:
Date: May 12, 2008 at 10:10:00 AM CDT
nice article. suprising how many features (commands and variables) are not described anyhow in help... what the heck is flatland ? :-)
but some functions not only dont work in lt but also in full 2009 like gifin for example.
cheers
Comment from:
Date: May 21, 2008 at 2:09:00 AM CDT
And what is alternative for command DVIW..(twist) ?
Comment from:
Date: May 21, 2008 at 2:10:00 AM CDT
Comment from:
Date: September 11, 2008 at 5:44:00 PM CDT
I'm shocked, I work with a cracked cad everyday and I can't imagine myself working without a lot of commands that doesn't exist in the LT version.
I guess I'm still going to be illegal for a while... I hope ti gain some money to be able to buy the full version. very good topic, thanks.
Comment from:
Date: January 13, 2009 at 4:30:00 PM CST
is there a way to add xclip to Autocadd LT 2009? or oxref? is there an option to pay a fee that will allow to upgrade certain commands?
Comment from:
Date: January 14, 2009 at 11:47:00 AM CST
wipeout, it some what like Xclip, you draw a rectangle around the area you want gone, than you type in wipeout and click on the rect. and that area is gone. however, than you need to turn off the wipeput rect. otherwise, your left with the image of the rectangle.