Vectorworks 2024 will unleash creativity for designers across multiple verticals when it is unveiled in full this early autumn. Whether it be architects, interior designers, landscape architects, urban designers, or entertainment designers, significant new features—which Architosh has had the pleasure to preview—will empower design professionals to accelerate their workflows and impress their clients.
Vectorworks 2024 Coming
“Vectorworks 2024 represents a significant move forward in integrating our tools into specific design workflows,” says Vectorworks CEO Dr. Biplab Sarkar. “By taking a holistic and high-level approach, we work hard to ensure that our software aligns with the natural processes of designers. From ideation to final execution, this latest version has been carefully crafted to ensure new tools and existing features work together harmoniously to diminish disruption and enhance productivity.”
New Modern Interface
One of the biggest new features coming in version 2024 is a bold redesign of the user interface (UI), which will further improve the UX (user experience). The new UI has more customization options and new strategies for where palettes and tools live in the UI. The reorganized View and Mode bars bring a wide range of tools to the forefront so users can decide how to organize tools and shortcuts for easy access. The new UI changes will also play a role in aiding cross-over users coming from different BIM platforms, as they will find some new commonalities. The ability to streamline the UI to a minimal presentment, opening up the main working window as large as possible while still having tools access, will no doubt delight users.
Vectorworks 2024 promises big updates this early fall.
Project Sharing has been rewritten from the ground up to ensure project data and geometry are always current in the project file. And this new capability does not depend on what cloud service a firm uses, whether Vectorworks Cloud or a third-party cloud service like Dropbox. Project Sharing+ tracks every change, every time, and improves reliability regardless of your team or project size.
Vectorworks 2024 represents a significant move forward in integrating our tools into specific design workflows.
Another exciting new change for all users is the ability to save, reuse, and apply custom viewport settings as styles. Now, users can quickly convert their drawing layouts from, say, schematic-level styled drawings to construction document-level drawings. 3D-rendered views can gain even further flexibility and rapid visual change using the application of saved viewport styles.
Full Excel Roundtrip
A long-requested feature from architects that practically no BIM software provider has truly yet provided, Vectorworks 2024 is reported to feature cross-platform (Mac/Windows) Excel worksheet to Vectorworks worksheet referencing and roundtrip capability.
Architects and Interior Designers
There are multiple new features aimed at building design professionals, including geometry improvements for thresholds and sills, individually-sided controls for gaps on each side of doors and windows, new door-handling settings, and better material handling for doors and windows.
Robust new parametric object features will help architects design and document handrails and guardrails, and there are new casework parametric object features. In fact, the BIM maker has told Architosh that the new parametric casework technology is some of the strongest new aspects of the upcoming release.
Landscape Architects and Designers
Vectorworks Landmark 2024 will deliver dedicated new features for these design professionals, helping them play active and meaningful roles in the BIM process. A new Fence tool will save landscape professionals hours when designing and documenting fences in the landscape.
There are also new and improved material reporting tools, particularly those used around fences, gates, etc.
Lighting and Live Events Designers
For entertainment industry users, they will find in version 2024 products new capabilities that improve equipment lists, providing automation to highly repetitive tasks in equipment and inventory tracking processes.
For A/V installation work, the upcoming ConnectCAD “Share Reports” command lets designers upload design data to Vectorworks Cloud Services as a configurable worksheet so it can be viewed in a web browser on any device, helping all project partners and installers access the latest information.
Final Items
Vectorworks 2024 will also deliver improvements in Shaded Rendering views, the new default render setting that replaced standard OpenGL rendering. There will be improvements to shadow casting and the addition of camera settings with depth of field, exposure, and bloom for real-world camera-like effects in the real-time Shaded Rendering mode.
“Continuing our tradition of excellence, Vectorworks 2024 embodies our quality initiative, emphasizing solutions to complex problems,” says Vectorworks Chief Product Officer Darick DeHart. “We believe in the power of comprehensive workflows that address the challenges faced by designers and can’t wait to share more on the exciting improvements in quality that await our users in the new version.”
The upcoming English language release is expected to become available in September 2023 to active Vectorworks Service Select members and subscription customers. Stay tuned here on Architosh for the most up-to-date news on Vectorworks 2024 as we plan a major launch feature concurrent with its release.
About Vectorworks, Inc.
Vectorworks, Inc. is an award-winning design and BIM software provider serving the architecture, landscape architecture, and entertainment industries in 85 countries. Built with designers in mind since 1985, Vectorworks software offers users the freedom to follow their imagination wherever it may lead them. Globally, more than 685,000 users worldwide are creating, connecting, and influencing the next generation of design with Vectorworks on Mac and Windows.
With headquarters in Columbia, Maryland, with offices in the UK, Canada, and Australia, Vectorworks is part of the Nemetschek Group.