Reaction to the recently introduced Online training offerings has been quite positive. The first 5 Live Online Training classes sold out. You never know how a new offering will be received but it does appear that this one has some fans.
"I have been using SoftPlan for quite a few years and have taken some classes
in the past.
This however, has been very accommodating to be in the office and hold
classes online.
It was well worth it and I may put others through the class in the future.
It is amazing to see how much the software does, things that we are
not using.
It should help me to close clients as I use the entire program as demonstrated
in your class."
As more of you are taking advantage of the One-on-One Online Instruction, we are beginning to have some scheduling conflicts. Please be sure to book well in advance to avoid disappointment.
As more and more of these personalized sessions take place we are learning how they are being used. A surprising number of users are using the sessions for pre-designed or general content, "... let's spend some time going over how offsets work ..." for example. Initially we thought that the One-on-One Online Instruction would be used as more of a personalized support vehicle, "... please help me put a roof on this house..."; maybe that will come in time.
The folks that do the training here at SoftPlan need your help. If you could take the time to complete this short survey it would be much appreciated.
It's often asked what’s next from the Training Department?
Well, it looks like they are working on some roof content, so watch for that.
Online 4 Day Intermediate Class July 14-17
Please take the time to make sure that your Version 14 is up to release 14.4.2. Select System Options + Check for Updates. This is a maintenance release that includes fixes to Sketch Up imports, wall framing, and Educational Versions.
Sarah Cunningham (right) is pictured with her design instructor, Carolyn Judd.
Sarah Cunningham of
Eye for Design: Approaches to Creating a Great Looking Deck
Follow this link to a recent Professional Deck Builder article, "Eye for Design: Approaches to creating a great looking deck", by Kim and Linda Katwijk http://www.deckmagazine.com/article/191.html. We particularly like the part where the author states "for more complex designs I find SoftPlan easier to use". The author only uses Version 12; imagine what they could do with Version 14.
For those of you that don’t know, archadeck, www.archadeck.com, the largest deck company in the United States, is a SoftPlan user.
Wisconsin User Doing Much More Than Just Houses
SoftPlan is so adept in the single-family residential
realm, that it is often overlooked what a great job it can do on other types of
projects. Vanderwerf & Associates LLC is a design engineering firm in
Central Wisconsin. Pat Vanderwerf is the principal owner. "We have been
using Softplan since version 9 to prepare 90% of our projects, which include
multi-family residential apartments, office spaces, factory/industrial,
Churches, Fire & Police stations and municipal buildings like Town Halls."
Gear Factory Elevations
Multi-Family Framing Plans
Vanderwerf & Associates LLC completes about 35 - 40 projects similar to this each year. Says Pat "We really have found no limit to the program yet in our experience". So if you are looking to broaden your horizons a bit you may want to keep Vanderwerf & Associates LLC in mind.
Home Plan of the Month
This plan is available for purchase in SoftPlan format; perfect for quick customization.
For more plans visit www.softplanhomeplans.com
Technical Support
Question: Is there a way to change the color or appearance of the siding in SoftView 3D if the textures available are not what I desire?
Answer: Version 14 added the ability to utilize profiles within a wall definition. This is especially useful for creating siding or log walls that will not only allow the wall color to be easily manipulated, but will also look much more realistic in SoftView 3D. Instead of applying a flat image with lines to depict siding, a solid color is applied to a 3-dimensional siding that will create a true siding appearance with shadows. In the wall definition, select a profile for the siding material on the far right column of the definition. In SoftView, edit the siding texture and simply use a predefined color, define a custom color texture or import a color sample to apply to the 3-dimensional siding profile.
By the time Version 14 was released it had grown to quite a size; so big, in fact, that items, big time savers, are sometimes missed.
In
Roof Mode, there have been a number of changes made to enhance the roof
design process, including the tool “Add Roof Edges”.
User Survey
Last time we asked you
about your cell phones, and we are glad that we did.
We would not for a moment have guessed at the answers that we received.
Only 40% of you use smart phones.
Of those of you that do ,half use BlackBerrys, followed by Windows Mobile and,
surprisingly bringing up the rear, the iPhone. Guess that’s why we ask.
Web Pages
This time we are looking for
some help understanding how you use your web pages; is it simply an electronic
billboard or does it do more?
New at www.SoftPlan.com
SoftPlan’s web site has accumulated many videos over the past couple of years. Now the SoftPlan Video Library organizes these and makes them easy to find.
Recent additions to the video library include a two-part piece on How to Assemble a Multi drawing, covering Title Blocks and Partial Drawings.
Also included is a new How To for Elevations.
If you are a SoftPlan user and you are not receiving SoftPlan-related emails, you may either need to submit your email address or update the email address we have listed in our database. Please send your email information to vbarnes@softplan.com to remain current. You may also need to add SoftPlan to your address book. Click here for instructions.