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SoftPlan
is a complete residential design program created to help
its users create house plans in a fraction of the time
taken to draw by hand or using a conventional CAD package.
Using the information created by the user in floorplans
and roof plan, SoftPlan automatically generates elevations,
cross-sections, 3D-perspectives and a material take-off.
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A
to-scale three dimensional rendering of your model appears
at your request instantaneously during any phase of the
drafting process. SoftPlan allows you to apply countless
textures to three dimensional surfaces - e.g. hardwood,
carpet or tile to floor surfaces; brick, siding or stucco
to exterior wall surfaces; etc.. To bring your model to
life, various lighting, which casts incredible shadows
and reflections, can be added. Sunshine, representative
of various daytime hours, is easily simulated. Even create
exterior or interior spotlights, lamps, and overhead lighting
- it's all available, and nothing short of amazing!
3D
views are generated in different modes such as Wire Frame,
Hidden Line, Shaded, and a Textured 3D. The Textured 3D
shows different surfaces such as brick, stone, siding,
shingles, etc. Click here for examples of SoftPlan's
3D rendering.
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You
are probably looking at several programs ranging in price
from $750.00 to $3500.00. Keep in mind that programs towards
the lower end of this price range will likely be quite
easy to learn and use, but will not provide the ability
to complete highly detailed working drawings. Most of
the programs towards the upper end of this price range
are going to allow you to complete working drawings, but
not with any ease of use. At $2985.00, SoftPlan is the
only program that provides an easy to use interface with
the ability to complete highly detailed working drawings,
3D renderings and material take offs. If price is truly
an issue, at $985.00 SoftPlan Lite is the program for
you. SoftPlan Lite is created from SoftPlan, meaning that
we have taken SoftPlan and simply turned off several features.
We have studied the other software packages in this price
range, and equipped SoftPlan Lite with all of the features
in these competitive programs plus a few more. If you
do find someday that you need the additional features
available in SoftPlan, your SoftPlan Lite purchase can
be applied towards an upgrade to the full program at any
time!
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SoftPlan
can be run on any current generation PC which is 100%
IBM® compatible and uses the Windows® XP or Vista operating
system along with an Intel® or equivalent processor.
SoftPlan is not compatible with the Apple® Mac OS®,
including when used on a computer with an Intel processor.
In addition, configurations such as terminal or server
operating systems as well as the Linux and Sun® Solaris™
operating systems are not supported. It is also possible
to run SoftPlan on those earlier versions of the Windows
operating system which are still supported by Microsoft®.
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| Some
additional technical details: |
- SoftPlan is a 32-bit application. It can be run on the Windows XP Professional 64-bit operating system by making use of the operating system's 32-bit emulator.
- SoftPlan
will take advantage of dual core and hyper threading
processors to increase the performance of its SoftView
3D module.
- For
SoftPlan to achieve maximum performance, the video card
should have a minimum of 256 MB of memory and must fully
support the OpenGL 2.0 and directX 9 standards.
- A
minimum of 256 MB of system RAM is required, with 512
MB recommended.
- A
DVD drive is required for software installation.
- A
USB port is required for the SoftPlan copy protection
device.
- A
100% Microsoft compatible mouse is required.
- A
minimum of 40 GB of free hard drive space is recommended.
- A
tablet PC can be used but SoftPlan does not make use
of any tablet specific input features.
- SoftPlan
does not endorse any particular vendor or model of computer
or accessory.
- An Internet connection is required
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| What
type of video card does SoftPlan require? |
To fully exploit all of SoftPlan's enhanced SoftView modes (for example, sketched and illustrated modes) a video card capable of supporting a minimum of Open GL 2.0, DirectX version 9.0 and a minimum Shader Model Support Version 3.0. The more memory on the video card the better. The higher the number of pixel shaders, vertex shaders, or stream processors, depending on the card, the better the performance will be. Note the video card does not affect the performance of Rendering mode in SoftView but rather wire frame, visible line, shaded, sketched, illustrated and textured modes.
The following cards (chips) will NOT allow all of SoftView's features to be used (please note this is not a complete list):
Intel(R) 910GL, 945G, 945GM, 946GZ, Q943, Q965, G31, G33, Q35
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX 400, Geforce 4 MX 4000
The following cards (chips) will allow all of SoftView's features to be used (please note this is not a complete list):
Nvidia GeForce 260 GTX, 5600, 6200, 6600, 6800, 7900 GA, 7900 GS, 7950 GT, 8400
MG, 8600 GT, 8800 GT, ATI Mobility Radeon X1400, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650, Mobility Radeon 9000 IGP ATI Radeon X1300, X1550, HD2600 XT, ATI Raydeon 9250, ATI FIRE GL V3600.
It is advised that you keep the video drivers current; check the manufacturers site.
To keep your DirectX driver complete click here. |
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SoftPlan
can print in a number of different ways to any size or
scale depending on the output device being used. Some
customers do all of their printing in-house while others
prefer to print on small format printers at their office
and take their larger printing needs to an outside service.
SoftPlan
can print to any printer or plotter device that utilizes
Windows® drivers. Whether connected to the computer
directly or through a network, the current print driver
simply needs to be installed to match the output device.
Likewise,
if creating printer files to be printed at another location
such as a print shop, the driver that matches the output
device simply needs to be installed on the system operating
SoftPlan. To use this feature, you need to call the print
shop and ask what make and model of plotter will be used.
The print shop may supply a driver to you, but they will
most likely direct you to the web site for the plotter
manufacturer where you can download and install the correct
driver for the plotter as directed by them. Once installed,
print as usual but select the new plotter from the list
and select the ‘print to file’ option. By
selecting the ‘Print to File’ option when
printing from SoftPlan, a file is created that can then
be copied to the printer at the remote location.
Some
print services now prefer to use PDF file format to print
drawings. These files can be created using the reView
module from SoftPlan and taken to the print service to
be output.
Using
the same reView module, a file can be authored with print
capabilities and sent to the print service. By downloading
and installing a free version of the reView Viewer from
our web site, the print service can then print the files
directly from the reView Viewer. |
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SoftPlan
issues two types of updates, with the first of these being
new versions. New versions are quite large and incorporate
many new features. Purchase of these new versions is optional,
and a charge does apply. From time to time, SoftPlan will
release updates between the release of new versions. These
updates often include minor adjustments and can be downloaded
free of charge.
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A
drawing cannot be directly scanned into SoftPlan. A scanner
creates a raster image, a series of dots that form an
image. SoftPlan only understands vector drawings, drawings
formed by lines. To bring a scanned image into SoftPlan,
it would have to be converted to a vector based file.
This is a long process that requires additional software
and would, in almost all cases, take longer than reproducing
the drawing in SoftPlan.
Click here to watch a movie on Wall Definition
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SoftPlan
Systems, Inc. will send a complete
demonstration package to you upon request. Just call
1-800-248-0164 and a demonstration disk, brochure and
sample drawings will be sent out directly. Personal service
in the software industry is almost unheard of. However,
at SoftPlan we know that it is difficult to evaluate software
over the phone and through the mail. For this reason SoftPlan
will be happy to arrange for a fully trained representative,
with computer in-hand, to visit your home or office, provide
a comprehensive demonstration of our software, and then
help you evaluate the ways in which SoftPlan can benefit
your company. Just call our office at 1-800-248-0164 and
ask for the representative in your area who can provide
this FREE DEMONSTRATION (not available in some areas).
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| Our
company has moved. How do I update our address?
If you are a SoftPlan user and need to change your registered address, please click here.
Please note, items can only be sent to the registered
address. |
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Will
SoftPlan run on a Macintosh?
SoftPlan Versions 13.3.3 and later can be run in several ways on Intel based Macintosh systems which use Mac OS X. Boot Camp software allows you to choose at start-up which operating system, Mac or Windows, to use. Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion software are used to create a virtual Windows environment within the Mac operating system. |
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Does
SoftPlan have a user’s forum available online?
Yes,
users may register with SPLASH, SoftPlan’s online
user forum. See http://splash.softplansplsh.org/front/main.htm
for more information. |
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I
do not have a plotter or large printer. How do I output
my SoftPlan drawings?
Large format prints can be created
at your local print shop. |
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Our
company needs more than one copy of SoftPlan. Is there a
discount on additional seats?
Yes, SoftPlan sells additional seats
at significant discounts. For pricing and restrictions,
go to http://www.softplan.com/ppricing.htm. |
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How many users does SoftPlan have ?
SoftPlan has more than 25,000 professional building and design companies running over 50,000 seats of SoftPlan. With only professional users counted, this number does not include users such as home owners, hobbyists, and students. |
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Many people tell me they use AutoCAD® to do their drawings and that's what I should buy. What makes SoftPlan a better choice?
AutoCAD® is a general purpose CAD program and is good at drawing a lot of different things but SoftPlan is excellent at drawing houses. If you are going to draw mechanical parts AutoCAD® is a good choice, but if you need to design houses, SoftPlan is the right choice. For over 25 years, SoftPlan has been optimized to create residential design. Walls have material properties such as studs, roofs have pitch and fascia, and windows have trim. In AutoCAD®, each of these items are drawn as lines (and 2D lines most of the time). The type of optimization SoftPlan offers translates into faster design and drawing time, quicker revisions, integrated materials lists, and detailed 3D models. Most people that draw in AutoCAD® are considered CAD specialists, (CAD jockeys by some). Most people that draw in SoftPlan are architects, builders, and designers, because it is simple for building professionals to learn and understand. |
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Some home design software targeted at consumers say they include materials lists. What makes SoftList different?
SoftList is much more powerful than any other integrated material list module and the resulting list more complete. What other software developers sell as a "Materials List" is a simple listing of the items that you have drawn on the screen. SoftList has the ability to count materials via logic based material definitions. Items that are not drawn are counted based on the presence of items that are on the drawing. For example, if we were to draw a 8' x 10' stone patio a lesser design package may report that the 80 sq ft of material is required. What you draw is what gets counted. SoftList on the other hand, based on the presence of the same patio, can calculate the volume of the excavation; the rolls of landscaping fabric, the length of edging, the volume of gravel and stone dust, and the number of stones required, each with pricing and a waste factor. So, there is a huge difference between a simple schedule of materials and the comprehensive materials list that SoftList is capable of producing. |
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When running the SoftPlan demonstration and trial DVD, I encounter the error: "This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem."
To fix this issue please download and install the following .exe file.
http://www.softplan.com/ftp/msvcrt/vcredist_x86.exe |
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While using the demo DVD I experience the following warning when going into 3D: "..application has failed to start because d3dx9_35.dll was not found.."
To continue working in 3D please update your Microsoft directX libraries by clicking the link below.
Click Here to Update Libraries |
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How do I import an AutoCAD® .DWG file into SoftPlan?
Click here to watch a movie on how to import a .DWG file into SoftPlan |
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Does SoftPlan have a Trial Version?
Yes, when running the SoftPlan Demonstration select the "Let Me Try" button from the lower right corner. If your computer is connected to the internet, a drawing session will begin. |
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Does SoftPlan require a user to pay an annual support fee?
No, unlike many software companies within this industry SoftPlan does NOT require users to pay an annual support fee. |
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Does SoftPlan charge for technical support?
No, technical support is free provided that a user is on one of the three latest versions. Some design software companies are now up to $125 per technical support call. |
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Does SoftPlan include a printed manual?
Yes, SoftPlan Lite and SoftPlan each come with a printed manual. |
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