Columbia Events

A course titled “Vectorworks Core Concepts Course” takes place on March 12-13, 2012. The company says, this is the best hands-on training option to learn how to master tools, menus and commands. You can click here to see the list of topics covered. The cost of this classroom event is 700.USD. Location is at Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc., 7150 Riverwood Drive, Columbia, MD 21046. To register click here.

A follow up event is titled “Vectorworks Intermediate Concepts Course” and takes place on Wednesday, March 14-15, 2012. This event too is 700.USD.  To register click here.

Virtual Event

A course titled “Vectorworks Virtual Core Concepts Course” takes place online and offers the same material as the classroom course. This course takes place between Monday, March 19 – Friday, March 23, 2012. This event is 850.USD.

To register for this event click here.

In this review I am not able to address all of the improvements, added features, etc.  There are too many.   I am just going to sort of randomly pick out a few and comment on some that stand out at first glance.  The best way to see them all is to go to this site.  And you will notice that my comments are directed mostly towards the use of the features by an architect, because that is what I know best.

Working Planes: Handwriting is on the Wall

The first new feature that I noticed with affection is the ability to select a working plane by just clicking on it and then being able to work directly on it, adding text, cut outs, new parts and so on. (see image 01) I have up to now been too lazy to really use working planes choosing instead to sort of work around them.  This is a great new feature.  But on my computer at least I have noticed a bit of a time lag as the changes get updated in 3D.  This is one of the many issues that come up as a program gets more complicated.  Older computers have a harder time keeping up.

The handwriting in on the wall, that is if you select the working plan then type some text it will be on the wall or plane selected in 3D, this I believe could be done before but now it’s much easier.  Also dimensions can be added in a 3D view so it is much easier to show the height of an object for example.

Pushing and Pulling

This is not really new from 2011, but by easily selecting the working plane it also becomes easier.  One thing I thought would be fun and useful was to draw a curved line on a working plan in 3D and then pull it up to a height and turn it into a wall by extruding it.  That didn’t work.  Then I tried to change my curved object by offsetting it.  That didn’t work either.  What does work is to draw any shape in 2D then offset it using the close open curves (also works with straight lines) mode then use the push pull tool to stretch it up to whatever height you want.  It could also just be extruded at that point.  The thing that makes this interesting is the ability to easily create curvilinear shapes that can become walls or maybe areas of glass. (see image 01)

The Push Pull tool gains efficiencies despite it being fundamentally different because you simply do not have to select the working plane on an object now. That can be done in automatic mode, saving you many steps. You can also toggle that automatic mode off, a handy feature at times.

01 - Offsets and shape making in Vectorworks 2012. Note that text can be easily added to any plane by selecting it by just clicking on the plane, thereby making it the working plane and then typing text (see text on blue section, as well as imported image).

You gotta love the ability to change the size and angle of tiles and hatches on the fly; wow this one is cool.  It’s great for anyone who does layouts of paving for example.  I almost made myself crazy doing this a few versions back working on the design of a small piazza in Italy.

next page: Collaboration

Existing users will be happy with a 3x – 12x speed up for navigating between Viewports and design layers or switching between viewports. Even files in the hundreds of megabytes move this much faster than version 2011. Mac OS X Lion is also fully compatible with this release of Vectorworks 2012, which will please Mac customers.

“This release reinforces our position as a leader in 3D technology within the AEC marketplace,” says Dr. Biplab Sarkar, Chief Technology Officer of Nemetschek Vectorworks. “I’m proud of the many improvements our development team has achieved with this version, particularly those related to BIM, GIS and rendering.”

01 - Vectorworks 2012 has a new 2D X-ray mode that allows you to see behind filled objects while editing the drawing. This among many BIM and powerful 3D refinements.

“With the Vectorworks 2012 products, we continue to deliver the tools designers require to succeed in meeting complex design challenges, whether they work in the field of architecture, landscape or entertainment design,” said Stewart Rom, Nemetschek Vectorworks’ Chief Marketing Officer. “We value the feedback we receive from our users, and we’ve taken their wishes into account to further improve the usability and performance of our software.”

Key New Improvements

• Enhanced 3D Modeling — The program now examines the model under the cursor and sets the working plane automatically, removing the general need for the user to define the working plane manually.
• Instant Access Push-Pull Tool — The Push-Pull tool now works faster and more intuitively.
• BIM Improvements — A new Stories feature improvement adds a parametric capability within your BIM geometry. Plus there are  improvements to BIM objects like stairs, walls, slabs, wall components, etc.
• Improved IFC Support — IFC support has been greatly improved, with higher fidelity improvements from imported elements
• GIS and BIM are now integrated with new Landmark and Designer versions.
• Renderworks Improvements
• 100 Plus Performance and Usability Improvements
• New Features in vertical applications

Some key new smaller features include the new 2D X-ray fills mode and streamlining of the interface tools.

To learn more visit Nemetschek Vectorworks online and view several introductory videos.

Their views also paint a specific picture for us about their companies–and sometimes products–how they may see things differently from others or the industry in general.

We’ll start this trek by looking at Apple’s growth, in general and in specific….to the Mac and the wave of key software CAD or 3D tools that have been released during the past decade. We were very excited to produce the key graphic of this article (see image 01 below). It was the first time we laid out a timeline image of such software releases. Superimposed over Apple’s revenue and Mac growth picture it clearly stimulates our imagination while providing a soothing sense of accomplishment.

In this article we’ll touch on the growth question which touches aspects such as what developers actually need on the tools side as well as market pressures and business opportunities. The next-generation is always important and Apple has been said to hold the zeitgeist for the young. We’ll briefly cover university changes as we head into the cloud, iOS and the Mac. This article–nor the series–would not be complete without some captured criticism. And we’ll have even more of that in the final articles of the series.

Where are the opportunities for Apple? Where is Apple trying to take the industry and how does it affect CAD and 3D markets? This is what we get into in this special feature, and as always we hope to hear from you below. We start with growth.

Gauging Growth: The Mac in CAD/3D Today

There are some pundits, bloggers and old-school journalists who still find it hard to believe this is all happening. Not only do they find the Mac’s still minority share a sign of its low importance but they struggle contemplating the popularity of Apple’s iOS devices in CAD and 3D industries as well.

01 - Apple's Annual Revenue in billions and Mac shipments in millions at each forth quarter of the year with key software arrivals on the Mac CAD or 3D markets. Apple's Mac shipments have essentially quadrupled from about 1 million per quarter to 4 million per quarter. The Mac market is four times larger now than ten years ago.

But things really have changed. The chart above is both revealing and subtle. Yes, Apple’s revenues have truly taken off (and largely due to iPod, iPhone and now iPad) but during this ten year period Apple has more than quadrupled Mac shipments. More importantly, it essentially did most of this growth during the years its revenue picture began to steeply rise. And it has never been steeper.

While the Mac may not yet be the dominant platform in many CAD and 3D segments, make no mistake about it, many segments have changed dramatically over the past decade. As Carl Bass, CEO of Autodesk explains, “It is highly desirable by a number of our customers, particularly in some specific segments, to want to work on Macs. One are architects, two are industrial designers and a third are creative digital artists.” (more Carl Bass views here)

“It is really driven by what our customers want,” says Bass, “and they have spoken pretty loudly. They want to work on Mac.”

The rise and interest in the Mac may be best validated by Autodesk’s CEO but some critics and competition could argue that such a view is doubly optimistic and reflective of the company’s recent investment into the platform. In fact, when speaking to two of the industry’s most respected company heads with longtime investments and support of the Mac in CAD, we found more moderate, but still positive, views.

For example, Sean Flaherty, CEO of Nemetschek Vectorworks, the longtime leader in CAD on the Mac platform, didn’t directly say they see continued growth but instead answered: “We’ve been the CAD leader on the Mac for 15 years so a boost in popularity for the Macintosh definitely propels Vectorworks sales forward.” Interestingly, he remarked that Apple’s Mac popularity has aided CAD and 3D developers by improving the development tools and graphics environment.

“Toolkit developers now more commonly develop Mac versions of their technology,” says Flaherty, “so we have a greater breadth of technology to choose from for integration into Vectorworks.” Flaherty made was some saw as a brilliant decision of choosing to integrate Parasolid, arguably the world’s most advanced modeling geometry kernel, into Vectorworks several years ago. His point about toolkit developers cannot be taken lightly. Like other types of developers, the pressure on toolkit developers to support Apple’s Mac OS X platform is another sign that software developers are in need to bring their software to the Mac platform.

Other newer Mac developers may have a hard time gauging interest in the overall CAD and 3D market for the Mac. Bob McNeel of McNeel and Associates, the makers of Rhino, remarked about the verticality of his company’s application. “Since we are only in the 3D design for fabrication world, we have a pretty narrow view of the whole 3D market,” he said. “In general,” McNeel notes, “it [3D to fabrication] is growing quickly because the cost of 3D fabrication tools is dropping quickly.”

While many segments within the design markets are growing or even exploding in interests–like the “makers market” for example–there is often an assumption that if you are going to develop for any kind of “creative” market you need to support Mac too. “The Mac has always been the platform of choice for the ‘creative’ designer,” says Bob McNeel, “but it seems like the Apple brand has been much enhanced by their mobile product offerings in many of our market segments.” McNeel is referring to the use of Apple laptops often running in Boot Camp to run Rhino and other “maker” tools and 3D prototyping software. “I don’t have any idea how many also boot in OS X.” he said.

The high-level view about the growth question requires a two-fold approach. Firstly, as the chart (see image 01) above shows there has been explosive growth and interest in Apple, generating immense focus on iOS and a steady four-fold expansion of the Mac market. However, and secondly, there are clearly challenges in recognizing what segments are growing, how to identify them, and sometimes technical challenges in counting or measuring them.

Dr. Chris Yessios of AutoDesSys explains that the same application can be installed on either platform. “The ‘renewed’ popularity of the Mac has definitely affected our sales,” he said, “even though we cannot really tell who buys for the Mac and who for the PC.”

next page: Academia: The Next Generation Wants Apple

AutoCAD LT for Mac is priced at less than 1000.USD and therefore fits under the price lid for the Mac App Store. Thus, it becomes the first highend professional CAD package at that price level to be sold through Mac App Store.

AutoCAD LT 2012 for Mac features numerous native Mac OS X features, such as support for Cover Flow, Multi-touch gestures, native OS X behaviors and more.

01 - Autodesk AutoCAD LT 2012 for Mac. First version of LT ever made native for Mac.

In addition to both the full and LT versions of AutoCAD, AutoCAD WS for Mac is being released for the first time today as well. To read our full report go here. Architosh will publish “notes” from a press event earlier this week later today. Stay tuned!

02 - AutoCADLT 2012 for Mac now featured on Apple's Mac Store.

The new products include: AutoCAD 2012 for Mac, AutoCAD LT 2012 for Mac, and AutoCAD WS for Mac. This marks the first time Autodesk has offered AutoCAD LT–it’s lighter weight version of AutoCAD–for the Mac platform as well as the first time AutoCAD WS as well.

“With AutoCAD 2012 for Mac, we’ve seen our productivity increase thanks to the stability of the Mac OS X operating system, and the fact that AutoCAD for Mac is a native application that doesn’t require switching back and forth between operating systems. One of my favorite Mac features is Exposé, which lets me see all the drawings I’m working on at once.” – Jim LaPier, lead designer at Chesapeake Design Group.

01 - Autodesk LT 2012 for Mac joins full version (also updated to 2012 version) and new Mac native AutoCAD WS for Mac.

The company also showcased these new products today on its AutoCAD Facebook page. That webcast will be available for those who have missed it later. Detailed notes from a private showing to the press will be published here on Architosh, stay tuned.

AutoCAD Expansions for Apple’s Mac Users

Autodesk has said that since the release of AutoCAD for the Mac customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “Bringing AutoCAD LT and AutoCAD WS to the Mac shows our continued commitment to making design more accessible for an ever-greater number of people to shape the world around them,” said Amar Hanspal, senior vice president, Autodesk Platform Solutions and Emerging Business.

Autodesk has made the decision to bring AutoCAD LT to the Mac to help expand options for Mac users looking for quality CAD solutions. AutoCAD WS is the same application available for Windows but designed for the Mac’s key features and now on the platform for the first time.

AutoCAD 2012 Solutions Made for Lion

These latest solutions by Autodesk take advantage of the very latest software features in Apple’s Mac OS X Lion platform. Here are just some of the major features tuned around the Mac:

• Full native Mac OS X GUI (latest user interface design features)
• Apple Mac Cover Flow
• Apple Multi-touch gestures support throughout the application
• Native Mac OS X Behaviors

“Autodesk has done an incredible job bringing their apps to the Mac,” said Ron Okamoto, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “AutoCAD for Mac has been a huge hit with Mac users and we’re thrilled to see Autodesk offer AutoCAD LT and AutoCAD WS as Mac App Store exclusives.”

AutoCAD LT for Mac brings high end professional apps to the Mac App Store.

To learn more read the full press release here.

As many regular Architosh readers may be aware now, Autodesk has emerged as a major provider of Mac software tools for architects, designers and visualization professionals. In a string of acquisitions going back several years and in brand new code bases targeting both Mac and iOS, Autodesk has fast become one of Apple’s key software providers for professional and technical creative markets.

In this special interview Autodesk’s chief executive officer talks about the changing role the Mac and Apple are playing in CAD and 3D industries–those same industries that his company is largely responsible for serving and shaping. He also talks about iOS,  the iPad in particular and the nature of cloud computing.

The Interview

AFR: (Anthony Frausto-Robledo): The Mac and Apple in general have been exploding in growth over the past few years. Can you talk about what you see in the market and how this is affecting Autodesk?

(CB): (Carl Bass): It is highly desirable by a number of our customers, particularly in some specific segments, to want to work on Macs. One is architects, two is industrial designers and the third are creative digital artists. In all three of those markets we’ve made most of our products available on the Mac–not all, but most. I’d like to get more products there [on the Mac platform]. It is really all driven by what our customers want and they have spoken pretty loudly. They want to work on the Mac.

AFR: So that explains the markets and the demands. Can you talk about synergies between Apple’s technologies and maybe Autodesk’s technologies…and what that can do for your products in terms of differentiating them in the market place?

CB: In terms of synergies between them and us, going forward, it is with some of the new applications we are building for the iOS devices.  So, when you look at the tablets and the phones, for example. And there are two aspects that are really appealing to our customers. One is the sense of being able to take their data anywhere…because it has always been an issue with architects, engineers and designers–how do I take my work out of the office? And the second thing is the ability to use their data and design work with newer interfaces like Multi-touch. And we’ve built a number of applications to respond to that.  One is SketchBook Pro and the other AutoCAD WS. One is a true CAD application and the other an inking illustration application.  And both are incredibly popular and one of the things that sets them apart is the Multi-touch and the unique UI they employ.

AFR: Right, so iOS and the Multi-touch in particular. Things that Apple might bring to the table you are keen to take advantage of.

next page: Bass discusses acquisitions and cloud computing

What’s New on Version 6

Aside from being one of the first CAD programs updated and compatible for Apple’s big new cat (Lion), TurboCAD Mac Pro v6 is also compatible with AutoCAD .DWG 2011. There are many new and enhance features in this latest release. Highlights include:

• New 3D Architectural Design Features: – TurboCAD Mac now has smart walls, smart doors and smart windows
• Doors can now be drawn in 3D
• Improved Door and Window Representation: – Parametric door and window symbols now offer greater detail
• New Architectural Format of Objects and Dimensions: – Enhanced architectural formatting of objects and dimensions
• New Automatic Wall Dimensioning: – There is now auto dimensions for all wall segments

IMSI/Design’s TurboCAD Mac Pro version 6 is now available and retails for 499.99.USD. For more information visit them online here.

CorelCAD for Mac OS X

CorelCAD works with native DWG™ files and comes with industry standard CAD features such as customizable 2D and 3D design tools. CorelCAD supports DWG and DXF up to AutoCAD version 2010 (the same file format that works with AutoCAD 2012).

CorelCAD has a command line bar like AutoCAD. It has properties palettes and dockable tool bars, and right-click shortcut menus. For 3D work CorelCAD supports tiled viewports so you can view your 3D objects from different views (top, bottom, right, left, back, front, iso, etc). You can also choose different rendered view options for each viewport.

Modeling operations include sweeps, extrudes, lofts, revolves and follow along path. Boolean operations are supported. The modeling engine is Spatial’s ACIS, same as ARES.

You can collaborate with others using DXF or DWG  as well as PDF, SVG and DWF formats. You can also open up .SAT files (ACIS) and repurpose data for later work with advanced visualizations in Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite Add-On Right Hemisphere Deep Exploration™ CCE.

Further integration with other Corel software products like CorelDRAW is a major attraction to CorelCAD.

Final Notes

CorelCAD is built on top of Graebert GmbH, of Germany’s ARES platform. It supports robust OpenGL support on both platforms. The price for CorelCAD is 699.USD.

One final note. With CorelCAD, you can access the Graepert Market for CorelCAD Plugin Store for add-ons for this product. This includes plugins, standard drawing parts and libraries.

To learn more visit them online here.

What We Think

It is remarkable how many mid-level 2D/3D CAD programs there now are on the Mac platform, with CorelCAD now being yet another entry making the point. One can ask the question, does the Mac market need another mid entry level CAD app? And why CorelCAD?

Competition is always good and this program is built on top of ARES by German-based Graebert GmbH. It is also priced just under AREA Commander Edition for Mac. This program makes sense for those who are working with other Corel-based software products and want or need a better dovetail between graphics and CAD.

Lion Can’t Roar with AutoCAD Yet

The software giant has posted an explanation of the situation on its Services and Support website area detailing the issue. It reads: “If AutoCAD 2011 for Mac is installed on Lion, undesirable side effects can occur, including issues with printing/plotting, Customer Error Reporting (CER), and more.”

01 - Mac OS X 10.7 Lion by Apple. (image courtesy of Apple)

It goes on to say, “Our engineers are working round the clock to support Lion for AutoCAD 2011 for Mac, however no support is currently available.”

Beta Lion Program

A beta program will be announced in the near future for a service pack that adds support for Lion to AutoCAD 2011 for Mac. However, until such time as that service pack is available, the company highly recommends not installing AutoCAD 2011 for Mac on Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.

To learn more.

The new Parallels Desktop 6 Enterprise Edition enables IT departments to deploy Windows-based solutions for Mac users with a configurable, policy compliant solution that easily fits into existing business processes.

Mac Use Up In Enterprises

“As Macs become increasingly more prevalent in the workplace, there is a growing need for Mac users to run essential Windows applications that are critical to their businesses,” said Laura DiDio, Principal of research firm Information Technology Intelligence Consulting.

Adding Macs into enterprises businesses has traditionally been a challenge or pain point for IT departments. But users are asking for Macs and more businesses today are using them in their environments. “Savvy businesses are addressing this issue by deploying desktop virtualization solutions that allow them to easily manage their Windows and Mac environents,” said DiDio.

Key Features

Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac Enterprise Edition helps businesses install pre-configured, policy compliant deployments of Parallels. This helps IT proactively enforce a configurable software update policy and well as local server options. That means IT departments can determine when and where software updates are applied to Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac across the organization.

Other features that differentiate this product from the regular edition of Parallels Desktop 6 Mac include:

• Unified volume license activation key — simplifies mass end user license agreements
• Streamlined Business GUI — adds customizable Request Support menu option to direct users to internal help desk resources
• Parallels Desktop for Mac Mass Deployment Application — enables a centralized configuration and distribution of software install packages, including enabling “lights out” deployments
• Annual subscription license — includes software licensing and business class support and more…

To learn more visit them online at: www.parallels.com

As of now, this Service Pack is currently available for all non-localized English versions. Nemetschek Vectorworks has announced that other language versions will be available soon.

If you have a license, this update is available.

To install the Service Pack, go to the About Vectorworks 2011 dialog box in the Vectorworks menu (Mac users) or Help menu (Windows users) and click Check for Updates.

For more info

Or for any technical questions or problems contact
tech@vectorworks.net

For more on Nemetschek Vectorworks

“TurboCAD Mac Deluxe 2D/3D v6 is the price/performance leader in CAD apps for the Mac,” said Bob Mayer, COO of IMSI/Design, “and we’re pleased that it’s now available through Apple Stores.”

New Features in Version 6

• New AutoCAD 2011 DWG support
• New 3D Architectural Design Tools – smart walls, windows, doors can now be drawn and displayed in 3D, as well as 2D views
• Improved Parametric Doors and Windows
• New Architectural Format for Objects and Dimensions – Enhanced architectural formatting of objects and dimensions
• New Automatic Wall Dimensioning – Auto dimensions for all wall segments

TurboCAD Mac Deluxe 2D/3D Version 6 is available for 129.99.USD retail. To learn more about this product visit here online: http://www.IMSIdesign.com/

What We Think

TurboCAD as a product line has a long and rich history within the CAD market. We remember when IMSI came back to the Mac years ago as it marked an inflection point in the Mac market’s overall growth, signaling that it was possible for medium-sized CAD software makers to support Apple’s Mac platform… and be successful.

We are impressed with IMSI/Design’s robust product layout for the Apple platforms. Aside from having the world’s only 3D DWG file viewer on the iPad and iPhone–in the new TurboViewer–IMSI has four TurboCAD products scaling from entry level to its Pro v6 product. Their location within Apple’s retail stores produces a high visibility of the brand and products to the market.

With the coming of this software, came the DraftSight community, an online collection of people coming together, comparing and sharing learning resources as well as an open dialogue about what is needed in the most practical sense for the software.

Social Network

This community is one of the first social networks designed by engineers for engineers, designers and architects.

“We couldn’t be happier about reaching this milestone,” said Aaron Kelly, senior director, DraftSight, Dassault Systèmes. “From the start, it has been our intent to offer a valuable product for engineers and designers while giving them the opportunity to provide feedback on its future growth. We want to thank our users for the support and consistent response to DraftSight, and we look forward to continued shared success.”

“From evaluating tools to help with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill clean up to developing beautiful yachts, users worldwide have implemented DraftSight in resourceful and inspiring ways.”

The point is DraftSight is growing. Even schools, such as Weber State University, Utah, are offering a DraftSight education for engineering students. Thus, leading to the creation of a Hovercraft Autonomous Target Vehicle (HATV) developed for possible use in U.S. Air Force pilot training.

What We Think

We have been watching the emergence of Dassault’s DraftSight with great interest. It seems that every month, more and more user success stories are featured on their online community, encouraging new users to submit projects showing the inventive ways in which they’re using the product.

It is clear that Dassault Systèmes’ is very proud of its product. Surpassing one million downloads is no insignificant deal. That is a lot of software out in the wild, even if a great proportion of it is in experimental or secondary use.

For more on the story.

Or to see the online community itself.

It seems many have or are attempting to compete with Google’s phenomenally popular SketchUp modeling program. Autodesk’s new free modeling application Autodesk 123D is out in beta but there is no Mac version yet.

Is this going to be a huge error on Autodesk’s part?

Not likely. But the request for a Mac version is fairly strong. Thomas Heerman, the product manager for Autodesk’s 123D wrote on their support forum, “The Mac OS X platform is very pervasive among the makers, we are definitely looking into having 123D available on this platform.”

Forum users have jotted down some interesting comments too. They note that Rhino is on the Mac and “makers” using Rhino–on the Mac! A user also notes, interestingly, that creatives often use Macs at home but Windows at work because of the absence of certain software–like Inventor or AutoCAD LT. A user posted, “Would love to use this alongside Autodesk Alias on Mac; maybe even port Inventor to Mac while you are at it.”

Boy, they make it sound so easy, don’t they? That’s what I hear the Autodesk folks saying.

One final comment from a poster named Shaun. “Designers have Macs and designers have children who will more than likely become designers….”

OpenCL in CAD Article

Over at the blog CAD Speed, Tony DeYoung wrote an article (a series actually) on the potential of OpenCL in the CAD market.

OpenCL was invented by Apple and open-sourced. It is now managed by the Khronos Group, of which Apple is a member. We have done some writing on OpenCL here at Architosh a bit. DeYoung brings up some interesting aspects of OpenCL as it relates to CAD. We look forward to hearing more as the article series is completed. Read on to learn more.

25th Anniversary Sale on C4D Ends Soon

Maxon’s CINEMA 4D 25th anniversary sales ends 30 June 2011. The current sale offer gives you 25 percent off the retail price on this award-winning visualization software package that works hand-in-hand with sister BIM applications ArchiCAD and Vectorworks.

File transfer is easy with Vectorworks’ new Send to CINEMA 4D command, which converts the model structure, lights, and materials directly to CINEMA 4D format. You can also later merge model changes directly into the model in C4D.

To receive a price quote call or email at: sales@vectorworks.net or 888-646-4223.

The source shared this news with one of our fellow associate editors at approximately the same time as AIA National about a year ago. My fellow editor said, “this might be really big!” Clearly he was excited.

Crowded BIM Market?

One thing that came to my mind immediately was, does the market have room for yet another BIM tool? That’s what I was wondering a year ago.

And I’m still wondering… but here we are and even SolidWorks has entered the world of AEC 3D tools. Perhaps there is more room than we imagine? But I understand that it may not be a whole new competing BIM tool in the classic sense but a tool that operates in the BIM space, complimenting other BIM tools. And that would be consistent with the structure of the BIM transformation in general.

Here We Go

So we are trying our best to secure an arrangement to learn more about this new BIM software offering that is lurking in the software labs somewhere. So here is what we currently know.

Will the new mysterious software be in the BIM space? Yes. Will the new software tool be web-based? Yes. What platforms will the new software support? All of them. Will it support iOS for tablets like the iPad for instance? Yes.

This isn’t much to chew on. We know. We don’t know for example the scale of the tool. What types of problems it addresses. Or how it might interact with other BIM tools. As you can see we don’t know much yet. But we know from the source that they believe this tool is very important and the BIM market needs it.

I hate mysteries like this. I’m dying to know what this new tool is. Hopefully, we will all find out soon enough.

Iterative Design Professionals

The world of architecture is a world of iteration. It starts in architecture school, an indoctrination in the back and forth process of iteration, revision, refinement and finalization. This design process is not unique to architects but architects in today’s practice have particular challenges facing iteration in their field.

What are these challenges?

Quite simply, buildings can be vastly complicated. Even today’s luxury-level custom homes can be remarkably technical and challenging–and architects do struggle to keep their design process rigorous and orderly. The orderly part is there to help them keep track of the myriad decisions, responses and inputs into the architectural design process itself. And Mac OS X Lion will help them do this better.

This Lion Can Walk Backwards

It is routine for architects to create multiple design iterations, as noted above. Once schematic level design settles down into production it is still common for remaining smaller design tasks to go through multiple stages of design change and evolution. And this says nothing about issues that spring up in the field and force architects to revisit previously concluded areas of a building’s design.

Keeping track of all these changes typically forces architects to save and store multiple versions of documents with elaborate file-naming conventions to keep them orderly and meaningful for future search. In comes Mac OS X Lion. The Lion to the rescue!

01 - Mac OS X Lion features Versions. This is a screen shot of Apple's Mac OS X Lion Preview web page. Versions will be very popular with design professionals who iterate highly in their normal course of creative work, saving them stress and time and file directories.

Mac OS X Lion will feature something called Versions at the file disk level. It is essentially Time Machine built into the end user’s experience. And architects are going to be some of the happiest users of this new feature. What Mac OS X Lion does is “record” the evolution of a document as you create it. This will relieve architects (and other similar creatives) from the burden of feeling like they need to track every single major or minor design iteration into a separate “save-as” version–cluttering up directories with files that are essentially only holding small deltas in design differences.

Versions

With “versioning” built in architects can actually change design elements freely and if they want to go back and capture that older design iteration they can use Lion’s Versions to do that. (see screen shot above, image 01). Versions shows you the current document (state of) next to a cascade of previous versions–in an interface similar to Time Machine. You can see how your design work looked at any given time, you can revert entirely back to it or quickly copy and paste work from a previous version into the current version.

Now that last ability with Lion’s Versions is going to be very useful. Say you are an architect and you designed the layout for a master bathroom in a home. Later you developed a more creative approach and moved forward with that layout instead, only to discover that the client seemed to be more interested in features of the design not present in the second design but the one you did earlier. Did you save it? Not likely–as you believed you had created a much better solution.

With Mac OS X Lion you can quickly go back to that previous version and copy and paste all or part of that earlier design into the current design. Walla! Time saved!

To learn more about Mac OS X Lion and other useful features to creatives working under intense time pressure (film, architecture, publishing, etc) daily, visit this page. Lion will also have a feature called Auto Save.

Learn more here: http://www.apple.com/macosx/lion/

Yesterday Autodesk hosted a live event on Facebook focused on AutoCAD for the Mac. Using a streaming video Facebook application called “Livestream” participants on Facebook could post questions to the presenters on the Facebook wall for the event and the video showed live feedback from Autodesk staff. While several hundred people had signed up on Facebook as attending, during the event only about 50 people were present. That of course is no small number.

Autodesk Looking at the Future

It was clear from the other Facebook members present that the popularity of the idea of AutoCAD on the Mac is firmly oriented within the next generation of professionals. Autodesk knows clearly that Apple commands the IT zeitgeist for Gen-X and Gen-Y. Regardless, older generation users who are diehard fans of either the Mac or AutoCAD seemed to be tuned in as well.

Some questions answered during the event included news that Autodesk will be working to bring integration with AutoCAD WS up a notch or two going forward. Users asked about bi-directional flow of information. Autodesk said AutoCAD WS (its online web-based and mobile platform) has been a surprise hit for the company and they are working on deeper integration between WS and both OS platforms of AutoCAD.

02 - The new AutoCAD for Mac features the well-regarded mental ray rendering engine. Stunning renderings, like the one in this image, can be easily created from within AutoCAD for Mac.

We posed a question about third-party developer support for the Mac version of AutoCAD and the response was that the company continues to encourage developers to produce versions for the Mac. It was noted that Autodesk ObjectARX–the company’s programming environment–provides object-oriented APIs (application programming interfaces) for third party developers to use. They can program in various versions of C-languages and VB.net. There is also now a version of ObjectARX for AutoCAD for Mac 2011, though not all APIs are available on the Mac version.

The company spoke quite a bit about the customization capabilities within AutoCAD for the Mac. LISP is fully supported and advanced users can customize the app in LISP or in a C language if they are capable. For more typical users the interface itself is fully customizable.

Next page: Future stuff >

The note from media relations to Architosh read: “The AutoCAD for Mac product team will be hosting the first-ever “Facecast”, a live, streaming webcast within the AutoCAD Facebook page. This Q&A will give users a chance to ask questions and learn about what’s going on with AutoCAD for Mac, directly from the experts themselves.”

As of 9:00pm EDT, there are already over 373 people attending the event on Facebook. The event is free and open to those interested in AutoCAD on the Mac. To learn more visit this Facebook page. 

01 - Screen image of the new AutoCAD for Mac.

VBvisual produces high-quality, photorealistic images of plants and trees in computer renderings without overloading the computer. These are low-poly count objects (even large trees are less than 10,000 polys). Vectorworks users might not be aware of this tool, its inclusion in Renderworks and more. VBvisual plant objects can be changed per season without having to change the geoemetry. The company has a vast library of products, including general textures. To learn more visit here: http://www.vbvisual.com/

Swiss Architects “Project of the Week” achieved with Vectorworks

In other news Nemetschek is touting the work of Leuppi & Schafroth Architekten AG, who achieved “Project of the Week” for their Rhine Falls visitor center. To see pictures of this interesting structure and learn more visit here.

Vectorworks at AIA

Finally, Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc., will be at AIA National this year in New Orleans in mid May. Their booth number is 3601. They will be supporting buildingSMART and the development of Open Standards for BIM.

To learn more about Nemetschek visit them here.