Product Review: Nemetschek Vectorworks Architect 2009

Nemetschek North America made quite a media storm last fall with the release of Vectorworks 2009 series CAD and BIM products. With a big press event in Baltimore, most of the world’s leading English language CAD press corp was there in attendance to hear about how the company had secretly integrated Siemen’s Parasolid geometric modeling kernel technology into the Vectorworks 2009 product line. (see “Architosh Talks to Dr. Biplab Sarkar about Parasolid,” 13 Sep, 2008).

The news was definitely a shot across the bow of CAD industry giant Autodesk and its archrival Bentley. Now the US-based and Germany-backed cross-platform CAD rival, Nemetschek North America, was setting its sights on larger fish and now in position to come at them with superior technology. German industrial giant Siemens was proudly in attendance in Baltimore…to say their world-leading Parasolid geometric modeling kernel was being incorporated into the industry’s first cross-platform BIM tool.

The Review

This product review is focused on understanding the key benefits of this milestone update to Vectorworks Architect. Admittedly, with so much work involved in getting a new modeling geometry kernel under the hood, this release is not over-flowing with brand new features, as in other past updates. Yet is not without some very compelling new tech — the stuff that can sway a potential adopter to its corner.

This review is organized around three broad areas:

• Its new “world-class” snapping and selection system
• The impact of the new Parasolid geometry kernel, and…
• Productivity improvements and updated compatibilities features

Part 1: World-class Snapping

Vectorworks has long been known to have good intelligent cursor technology, even back in the MiniCAD days. The SmartCursor, as its been called for quite some time, would provide good visual cursor feedback to the user. In Vectorworks 2008 the company advanced the way selected objects were highlighted by providing a soft orange glow on selected objects that resided on the “active” layer. If they resided on an “inactive” layer they would glow another color. Both colors were customizable by the user.

That was a very good improvement. But it was the tip of the ice-berg!

Now in Vectorworks 2009 Nemetschek North America has pulled out all the stops — with an all new Interactive Appearance Settings. The method in which visual feedback of pre-selection and selection of objects, snaps, and extension lines is fantastic.

In order to demonstrate some of the improvements over the previous version we have two QuickTime movie files below to compare. Before we do that however we will review the new snapping technology as a whole.

Pre-selection and Selection

A big improvement in Vectorworks 2009 is the new visual highlighting applied to items just prior to “selection.” This is called “pre-selection.” It is fully customizable via the new Interactive Appearance Settings. We have to admit we were overwhelmed when we first saw this new dialog box (see image 01) but it didn’t take too much time to master.

The Interactive Appearance Settings dialog box lists all the Interface Elements involved in “object selection” and SmartCursor technology settings. Each element can have its own color. Users can customize these settings or leave them in standard default mode. For instance, we changed the SmartCursor – Cue Background color to a light green with a significant degree of transparency. We also made the SmartCursor Cue Text dark blue, which matched the floating data bar text color. Such changes can improve the visibility of cursor interface items.

We also changed the color of Object Highlighting for “Inactive” Layer objects to purple, as it contrast dramatically from the default orange of “Active” Layer Object Highlighting. We bring this up because in essence, with just a few custom modifications, a Vectorworks 2009 user can now dramatically improve the user interface (UI) from previous versions of the software — making for a notable more enjoyable and productive environment.

Snap Box and Selection Box

Two new visible items in Vectorworks 2009 are the new Snap Box and Selection Box, indicators of which are fully customizable in the application preferences under the Interactive tab. (see image 02). The Snap Box, the larger of the two, indicates the area from which the current snap will be obtained. The Selection Box, the smaller of the two, indicates the area where geometry can be recognized and selected. At their default settings these two new features may confuse and bother existing Vectorworks users. They present a lot of graphical information directly under the cursor (compare the movies below).

However, you can customize them by turning them off or on, choosing just one (say Snap Box) to be on, the other off, or by customizing their line color, transparency and line thickness. Users will have to experiment to find what is most helpful and comfortable.

QT-01 – In this QuickTime we can observe the SmartCursor technology in Vectorworks 2008, much as it has been for many years even in prior versions. Notice that there is no Selection Box and Snap Box indicators like in Vectorworks 2009 (see movie below). Notice too the differences in smart edges (guides for the cursor and relations between objects) versus what Vectorworks 2009 provides below. (Note: To view movies full size click on far right triangle and select Save as QuickTime Movie, save to your desktop and then open.)

A greatly improved feature of the new snap technology is projected guide lines (dashed red) along edges of objects or from vertices. You also get a confirmation that a point has been pre-snapped with a red box. Together these two new features speed up production by providing graphical feedback on items that in the past either took longer to obtain or were not obtainable at all. For instance it is now possible to obtain the half and quarter point distances between two objects and move an item to that point. You can’t do this in Vectorworks 2008 at all! The QuickTime movie below highlights differences in snap technology in Vectorworks 2009.

QT-02 – In this QuickTime we can observe the SmartCursor technology in Vectorworks 2009, complete with new found abilities. For instance, the new smart edges appear as dashed red lines (the color is customizable) while new mid-point and quarter-points appear as “marks” along these lines and the edges of objects. They also appear between objects — a very useful new feature!

We have spent some time on this new world-class snapping technology in Vectorworks 2009 because we think it is a bigger feature than many users realize. And with sharp customization users can tailor it exactly to their needs for optimal performance.

User Interface Improvements

In addition to the excellent new snapping and selection technology — all of which should be categorized as user interface improvements — there are several other interface improvements which contribute to a better workflow.

The best of these is probably the new Navigate Back to Design Layer Viewport from Design Layers. (see images 03 – 04). And now you can open up referenced files from within the Navigation Palette (see image 05). Lastly, the new Loupe Tool is a unique feature in Vectorworks 2009 that we have not seen before in a CAD or BIM application. By hitting a custom keyboard shortcut in the middle of an editing or creation process you can substantially zoom into the area under the cursor — greatly increasing your accuracy. This makes users more productive because they have to zoom in and out less frequently. (see image 06 below).

Part 2: Parasolids – The Impact of a New Modeling Engine

Vectorworks 2009 has a new modeling technology driven by Siemen’s Parasolid geometry modeling kernel. We have an extensive discussion of it here and in this interview.

It is not necessarily clear to existing users that Nemetschek North America spent considerable time implementing this new modeling kernel into the Vectorworks 2009 release. Kernel technology is something that lies behind the software, powering its many features. But beyond the new features that are implemented here, the overall robustness of the 3D modeling in Vectorworks 2009 is considerable; and in the next few releases many more modeling functions will rise to the surface.

In this release of Vectorworks Architect 2009 the walls, floors and all miscellaneous objects are all driven by the new Parasolid kernel. Walls can now handle holes in them of any shape. And door and window symbols of complex shape can now also punch holes through walls. (see images 07-08 and QuickTime QT-03).

QT-03 – In this movie we can see how Wall objects can now handle complex holes cut through them. This process can be accomplished a few ways. Complex shaped window objects (symbols) can cut through walls as can pure openings like in this example. 

There are several improvements to placing door and window symbols in walls. There are improvements to the offset placement of symbols in walls wherein you can now use a set of two reference points and a specified offset distance to set say, a door. It took a bit of practice to master this feature but once we figured it out we immediately felt its impact on being productive. (see image 09).

You can also use the Move Command to move symbols in walls by specifying an offset value. A handy preview button shows the direction of the move and this same feature applies to duplication of symbols in walls. This is a handy new feature and it works in round walls. (see image 10).

Other modeling improvements include the ability to unfold developable NURBS surfaces into a flattened 2D representation. This could be useful to architects creating custom furniture and lighting for their projects. Additionally, there are several new modeling capabilities and improvements more applicable to Vectorworks Designer and Machine Design. The 3D Power Pack tools have incorporated Parasolid functionality in tools such as: Creating Fillet Surface command, Stitch and Trim Surfaces command, Project tool, Loft Surfaces tool, and others.

Also in the area of modeling is the ability to generate much more involved roof geometry in massing models. This will aid architects in early schematics and urban design studies. And in the area of texturing of 3D models, users can now apply textures to individual parts of objects, beyond what was possible in Vectorworks 2008 and prior versions.

In total Nemetschek North America has implemented a substantial amount of the Parasolid geometry engine throughout the modeling functionality of Vectorworks 2009. By the time of the next version the company says the entire program will be Parasolid driven. What users may also not recognize is that Parasolid is also contributing to 2D generation, increasing robustness in multiple 2D areas.

Part 3: New Productivity Improvements & Compatibilities Features

We have already touched on the new world-class snapping and selection technology and a few excellent user-interface improvements. Both contribute to increased user productivity overall when using the program. There are of course some specific tool improvements that can greatly speed things up.

The first of these is the new Eyedropper support for Design Layer Viewports. If you use viewport objects as “reference objects” with layer color and opacity over-rides then you are going to love this new capability. In essence, after setting up one such reference viewport, you can quickly mass edit a series of viewports by applying the attributes of the master reference viewport object. (see QuickTime QT-04) 

QT-04 – In this movie we observe the use of the eye-dropper tool applying attributes from one design-layer viewport to several other design-layer viewports. Class and layers, class and layer over-rides, and color and other attributes can be quickly picked up and applied. This is especially valuable when using color and opacity settings for layers in design-layer viewports — saves time!

Of course this eyedropper support for viewports is hardly limited to 2D information. Class and layer attributes, including over-rides all work in any kind of viewport, of both 2D and 3D information.

Also cool is the new Polyline Arc improvements made to the Polyline tool. Two new arc modes allow you to create precise arc segments within a polyline. Very useful to landscape architects or architects doing road, driveway or sidewalk layouts (as this QuickTime movie at Nemetschek NA attests) but equally useful to architects creating moulding profiles for cornices, crowns, casings and related items. In earlier versions of Vectorworks Architect users would have a few different ways of creating precise moulding profiles, including drawing individual arcs, and line segments and then composing them together. A faster method would be to use the polyline tool. But it was clumsy without the arc modes now introduced into Vectorworks 2009. (see QuickTime QT-05 for a quick moulding).

QT-05 – Using the two new arc modes in the updated Polyline tool it is now easier than ever to quickly produce moulding profiles. 

New Import/Export Capabilities

Vectorworks has always had solid if not great import/export capabilities between various industry file formats — especially good on the graphics side due to its use of Apple’s QuickTime cross-platform media architecture. Now thanks to the use of Parasolid there are even better capabilities for file compatibility between both graphics and CAD and engineering software file formats.

You can now import and export Parasolid X_T file format. Additionally, a big new enhancement is the new Drag and Drop import support. Simply drag and drop any of these file formats into an open Vectorworks 2009 window: DXF/DWG, IFC, EPSF, Metafile, PICT, PDF, Shapefile, 3DS, IGES, SAT, SketchUp, Parasolid and of course image file formats compliments of Apple’s QuickTime Media architecture. These would include JPEG, JPEG 2000, GIF, TIFF, PICT, MacPaint, PNG and QuickTime image format, among others. Drag and drop imports the file. (see QuickTime QT-06 below)

QT-06 – This movie shows the new Drag & Drop import support for Vectorworks 2009. Simply drag files from your desktop (or Downloads folder under Leopard) or anywhere to an open Vectorworks 2009 window. This begins the import process. 

Vectorworks 2009 also now supports the latest AutoCAD 2009 file formats and a new feature enables the batch exporting of Vectworks layers (sheet and design layers) as separate DXF/DWG files. You can also import ADT objects like walls, doors and windows and their plan rotation angles and geometry stay intact.

Additional new features and improvements in Vectorworks Architect 2009 include the Parasolid integration of site models. Now you will get more reliable cut and fill calculations. Moreover, there is the ability to modify existing site models using site modifiers. (see image 11).

And lastly you can now snap to imported PDF files so you can use them as the basis of your designs. In our tests of this feature we had mixed results however.

Lastly users now have pre-set levels of magnification in worksheets so that you can work easier within them. You can also drag and drop copies of rows and columns or do a move of data this way. This wraps up our discussion of improvements in three broad areas. You can visit their website to learn about several dozen smaller areas of improvement.

Closing Comments

We mentioned in the opening of this article that Vectorworks 2009 with its integration of Siemen’s Parasolid geometry kernel was a serious shot across the bow of Autodesk and Bentley. This is especially relevant to BIM (Building Information Modeling) and the ongoing trend of the use of CAID tools like Rhino in architectural design. Even tools like Rhino are not backed up with modeling kernels as feature-laden and robust as Parasolid-backed applications. This is one reason why some have cried out for SolidWorks to enter the BIM and AEC market. And partly why structural engineers in the UK are using a product based on it.

From this perspective, Vectorworks Architect 2009 and its future have become much more exciting. If there was one feature area improvement where we think this is indicative of the level of changes that will be made in the future we think it’s the new world-class snapping and updated SmartCursor technology.

As for the product today, Vectorworks Architect 2009 is easily the most robust version ever shipped. The improvements to the walls, new methods of placing openings in them, and substantial new improvements to file import/export and latest AutoCAD 2009 file support make this a worthwhile update.

Recommendations

Architects on the latest computers with good graphics cards will appreciate the quickness of the new world-class snapping and SmartCursor technologies as these are now partially calculated on the graphics card. All existing users will immediately feel the difference in snapping. For those using Vectoworks Architect as a true BIM application the new Parasolid-driven walls and floors will add new robustness and make complex model designs more possible.

On the 2D front some of the design-layer viewport improvements — though subtle and minor — work to round out what is in this author’s opinion the most advanced and flexible viewport system in existence. For those using older versions — older than version 2008 — Vectorworks Architect 2009 is a major jump forward. For those on version 2008, that quantum jump ahead will largely depend on how you value the new world-class snapping system and the importance of the Parasolid-driven 3D environment.

All in all this is best and most capable version of Vectorworks ever and easily one of the most well-rounded 2D/3D CAD system on the planet. — ANTHONY FRAUSTO-ROBLEDO, EIC.

Pros: New world-class snapping and updated SmartCursor technology makes overall environment more efficient, once you use 2009 going back to older versions will feel painful; new Siemens Parasolid kernel integrated throughout (50% of) the program, walls allow for more complex holes in them, including doors and window symbols; continued improvements to superb “best-in-breed” Viewport technology; new native Parasolid file format support, new AutoCAD 2009 import/export, better batch export features to DXF/DWG, new Drag & Drop import feature; excellent integration with sister product Maxon Cinema 4D Architectural Edition, good rendering capabilities with RenderWorks add-on.

Cons: Doors, windows and roof objects are not yet Parasolid-based; SmartCursor technology needs updating to 3D cursor; still lacks integration with 3rd party BIM tools — including tools by sister companies in Europe; big BIM weaknesses include no built-in collision-detection system, no SE or MEP modules. 

Advice: Program is truly a BIM worthy competitor, especially for small and mid-sized firms or large firms on the Mac. Multi-file workgroup formation for BIM teams is superior from the point of view of limiting file size and working with remote offices. All firms considering BIM should short-list Vectorworks Architect 2009.

Cost: $2,395 new, $480.USD upgrade / Mac OS X Universal Binary and Windows XP/Vista.

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