What's New in AutoCAD Mechanical 2026 Toolset

Learn about new features in this release of AutoCAD Mechanical 2026 toolset. For technical details, see the release notes.

Highlights

Revisions to ISO Standard Symbols

The ISO standard now supports the latest revisions of ISO 1101:2017(E) for feature control frame, datum target, and datum identifier symbols.

Find and Replace Options in AMNOTE

The FIND command can now search and replace the text in the Leader Note ribbon contextual tab.

Enhanced Content Library Parts

New mechanical standard parts have been added to content library in multiple languages.

Activity Insights

The new What's Changed insight provides an overview of edits made between Saved activities, allowing you to efficiently continue your work.

Connected Support Files

Support files are now connected, which means that all drawings and collaborators in an Autodesk Docs project can share one set of support files.

Markup Import & Markup Assist

Improvements were made to Markup Import and Markup Assist, namely when importing markups from Autodesk Docs to AutoCAD, making it easier for drafters to incorporate revisions.

Smart Blocks: Search and Convert

In addition to identical blocks, this feature now finds text variations to further streamline repetitive tasks in AutoCAD.

Smart Blocks: Detect and Convert

In this release, Detect has improved detection capability, as well as the option to change and edit the primary instance.

Added Layer Option to CENTERLINE and CENTERMARK

In this release, we integrated the CENTERLAYER system variable into the workflows of creating new centerlines and center marks.

Quality improvements

Content Library
  • Obsolete standard parts are removed from the Content Library.
  • Steel shapes are now displayed in order.
  • Error messaging is no longer displayed for circlips for bores.
  • Measurements are now updated when steel shape representation is changed.
  • The Content Manager now retains its position when resized.
  • The Content Editor contextual tab is now closed when the ribbon is turned off.

AMWELDSYM: The optional groove weld, non-destructive test, and P symbols are added to the finishing methods in the Weld Symbol dialog box.

AMSURFSYM: The values for the majority symbol in the AMSURFSYM command are no longer duplicated.

AMFITSLIST: Fits list now provides more accurate value sorting.

AM2DHIDE: Resolved occasional crashes while hiding objects behind 2D polylines.

AMSCRIPT: Exchange of blocks and translation are now accomplished with the AMSCRIPT command.

AMHOLECHART: The hole chart can now be split into different columns using the drag functionality.

PARTSLIST: The parts list now accurately displays the correct part details when editing the part reference block.

Leader Note: Resolved occasional crashes while placing a leader note in Trace mode.

Hatch: The hatch angle is now honored when the value is manually entered through ribbon.

Save: With migrated setting, the file format is retained even after multiple saves.

Publish: FIELDEVAL value is maintained after publishing to PDF.

2D Structure: When dealing with multiple components, the parent view component is now copied.

Performance: Addressed occasional crash issues while opening legacy drawings.

Additional enhancements

GDI Plot Enhancement: We improved compatibility with Windows system printers, handling custom configuration settings more effectively. This enhancement is enabled by default. Plot using your preferred Windows system printer as usual. The printer's custom settings will be used during printing and saved to a .PC3 file.

GPU Text: The selection effect of GPU text has been enhanced to improve display quality. A new option in the Graphics Performance dialog box provides better control over the display of TrueType fonts while using GPU acceleration. GPU text processing has been optimized for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and right-to-left languages like Arabic and Hebrew.

Note: GPU text optimization for TrueType fonts is available in DirectX 12 Advanced Mode only. Use the GRAPHICSCONFIG command to verify your device.

Changes to the FASTSHADEDMODE System Variable: We added two new visual styles with FASTSHADEDMODE support, Hidden and Conceptual. FASTSHADEMODE improves navigation performance in large 3D models when using a visual style with (Fast) in the name.

Performance Improvements: Raster images now load asynchronously in the background during the opening of a drawing file.