Frequently Asked Questions

progeCAD currently ships in English, Italian, Russian, German, and Simplified Chinese, with French and Spanish coming soon. Additional languages are in development. Drawings themselves support any language for text content.

Yes — you can purchase and use progeCAD almost anywhere in the world, including traveling internationally with the software. The only restriction is that we cannot sell to countries on the United States Trade Embargo list.

Find out for yourself. All progeCAD products include a 30-day free trial with full, unrestricted access — no credit card required. Try every command, open your own drawings, and decide for yourself. Download the free trial →

Yes. progeCAD supports a powerful programming API with full AutoLISP/AutoCAD compatibility, making it straightforward to port existing AutoCAD applications. progeCAD USA also offers industry-specific add-on modules (progeEARTH for survey/civil, progeSTRUCT for structural, and more). Many third-party AutoCAD-compatible applications run on progeCAD without modification.

Yes. progeCAD supports most digitizers via WinTab Windows drivers, providing both a menu area and drawing area for selections.

Trial users have access to support directly from the progeSOFT development team. Use the Contact Us page to reach us — we're happy to help you evaluate the software.

Customers receive access to the progeSOFT developer support portal, our US support team, and the user community forum. iCARE plan holders receive priority response.

Minimum:
Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit)
Intel or AMD 64-bit processor, 2.0 GHz
4 GB RAM minimum
4 GB free disk space
OpenGL 3.3 compatible graphics card

Recommended for complex drawings:
16 GB RAM or more, dedicated GPU, SSD storage.

Go to Windows Settings → Apps → Installed apps, find progeCAD in the list, and select Uninstall. You can also use Control Panel → Programs and Features. If you plan to reinstall on a new machine, make sure to note your serial number before uninstalling — it was emailed to you at purchase.

You can re-download progeCAD using the link in the original purchase confirmation email. If you can't locate that email, reach out via the Contact Us page and we'll help you locate your download link. We recommend saving the installer to a USB drive or external backup as soon as you download it.

The progeCAD user manual (700+ pages) is installed with the software as a PDF — find it under Help → Printable Help inside progeCAD. A printed and bound version is also available in the progeCAD Shop.

First, check your spam/junk folder. If the email isn't there, try registering with a Gmail address (Gmail reliably receives authorization emails — some Yahoo, AOL, and corporate email servers block them). If you still can't complete online registration, reach out via the Contact Us page and we'll coordinate with the manufacturer to issue your code manually.

Registration is built into the product. When you launch progeCAD, select "I have a serial number — register progeCAD." Make sure you're connected to the internet, enter the requested information, and progeCAD will self-register and generate your authorization code automatically.

Simply reinstall progeCAD on the new machine and go through the registration process with your original serial number. The serial number was included in your purchase confirmation email. If you've misplaced it, reach out via the Contact Us page and we'll look it up for you.

Step 1: On the old computer, go to Start → Programs → progeCAD → Uninstall progeCAD and choose "Automatic" uninstall. This de-registers the license and generates an uninstall code (LTC) — note this code if prompted.

Step 2: On the new computer, install progeCAD and register using your serial number. If prompted that the software was previously registered, enter the LTC code from step 1.

If you have a USB key license, simply move the USB key to the new machine and register — no uninstall code needed.

Reinstall progeCAD on the computer and start the registration process with your serial number. When prompted that the software was previously registered on this machine, follow the on-screen wizard — it will issue a new authorization code automatically. If you run into trouble, contact us and we'll assist.

This is often caused by a corrupted drawing file. Use the RECOVER command in progeCAD to attempt repair: type RECOVER in the command bar and select the file. This cleans up internal errors in DWG files (which can originate in AutoCAD as well as progeCAD). After recovery, save the file and reopen it normally.

This typically happens when using "Paste Special" to insert an image, which creates a .vbi file in the same directory as your drawing. Delete the .vbi file (it has the same name as your .dwg file but with a .vbi extension), then reopen the drawing. To avoid this in the future, insert images using Insert → Raster Image instead of Paste Special.

Same solution as the bitmap issue above — delete the .vbi file in the same directory as your drawing. This affects all OLE objects (images, Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, etc.). After deleting the .vbi file, the drawing will open and you can remove the problematic OLE object.

Check two things:

1. Font path: Go to Tools → Options → Paths/Files and make sure the directory containing your fonts is listed. Multiple paths can be separated by semicolons.

2. Font mapping file: Check the icad.fmp file (in the progeCAD fonts directory) for substitution rules. If a font you have installed is being substituted with a different font, delete that line from the .fmp file. The format is OriginalFont;SubstituteFont.

Print settings are stored in three places:

System registry: "Save changes to Layout" setting, "Use Setting from" value, header/footer content.

Inside the drawing file: Print area, scale, fit-to-page, print origin, line weight setting, printer name, paper orientation, units.

CTB/STB files: Pen colors, lineweights, and linetypes mapped to color table entries.

Some versions of Windows Paint save .bmp and .tif files with a compression format that is incompatible with the Image Enabler module. Solutions: (1) save the image as .png format instead, or (2) re-save the image using a more capable editor like Photoshop, GIMP, or PaintShop Pro before inserting. For .tif files specifically, LZW-compressed TIFFs are unsupported — save without compression or use PNG.

AutoCAD DWG files sometimes contain internal errors that cause problems when opened. Use progeCAD's built-in RECOVER command to repair and clean the file first: type RECOVER in the command bar, select the drawing, let it process, then save the result. This resolves the vast majority of cross-application compatibility issues.

The source drawing must remain open while you paste. If you closed it after copying, reopen it, re-select the entities, and copy again using Edit → Copy (or Edit → Copy with Base Point). Then switch to the destination drawing and paste — do not close the source drawing until after pasting is complete.

This is caused by a different LTSCALE value between the two drawings. Type LTSCALE in the command bar in the source drawing and note the value. Then switch to the destination drawing, type LTSCALE, and enter the same value. Linetypes will then display consistently.

Click the LWT button in the status bar at the bottom of the screen to toggle line weight display on and off. Alternatively: Tools → Drawing Settings → Display, then select "Lineweight" and check "Display lineweights."

Scroll wheel: Rotate to zoom in/out. Press (middle-click) and drag to pan. Double-click to zoom extents.

Keyboard + mouse shortcuts:
Ctrl + Left mouse button drag → 3D orbit
Ctrl + Shift + Left drag → Zoom in/out
Ctrl + Shift + Right drag → Pan
Shift + mouse → Pan

Custom paper sizes for the PDF printer are managed through Windows: go to Control Panel → Devices and Printers, right-click the PDF printer, choose Printing Preferences → Advanced, and add a custom paper size there. The new size will then appear in progeCAD's plot dialog.

Yes — if you have a licensed copy of AutoCAD installed, progeCAD will automatically detect and add its font paths during installation. You can also add them manually: go to Tools → Options → Paths/Files → Fonts and add the path to your AutoCAD fonts folder (e.g., C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 20XX\Fonts).

If you need to map specific fonts to alternatives, edit the icad.fmp file in the progeCAD fonts directory — each line maps one font to another: romanc.shx;IC-romans.shx

This is a graphics hardware acceleration issue. Go to Windows Control Panel → Display → Advanced Settings and reduce the hardware acceleration level for your graphics adapter. Updating your GPU driver may also resolve the issue.

The drawing is using AutoCAD-specific fonts (like simplex.shx) that aren't in progeCAD's font path. Add the AutoCAD fonts directory to progeCAD: Tools → Options → Paths/Files → Fonts, and add the path to your AutoCAD fonts/help folder. Once progeCAD can find the correct fonts, text will display and align correctly.

This is usually caused by FlyOver Snaps (advanced object snaps) being too aggressive on a complex drawing. Try setting only one or two snap types at a time (e.g., just Endpoint and Center) rather than all snap modes simultaneously. You can also disable FlyOver Snaps entirely and use the Object Snap toolbar manually instead. Right-click the ESNAP indicator in the status bar and choose Settings to adjust.

First, update your printer driver from the printer manufacturer's website — outdated drivers are the most common cause of print failures. Also check that the print job is being processed by the computer (not the printer's internal memory), which is configurable in the driver settings. Some printers don't have enough on-board memory to process detailed CAD drawings.

The generic Windows-bundled drivers for many printers don't expose all available print features. Download and install the full driver package directly from the printer manufacturer's website. Once you have the manufacturer's full driver installed, all options supported by your printer should be available.

Install the latest driver from your printer manufacturer's website. Windows system drivers (installed automatically) are often incomplete and may not support rotation or landscape settings your printer is capable of. The manufacturer's full driver package resolves most of these issues.