Home Design Software by SoftPlan

Build Menu Automatically Opens When the Assemble Floors Dialog is Closed

Version 12 has added a feature to speed up the process of generating in SoftView. When the Assemble Floors is selected and the floor plans are assembled to build, once the menu is closed the Build menu pops back up again allowing you to choose which option to generate.
Go to Build > Assemble Floors. Add in the floor plans to build. Click OK. The Build menu pops up again since the next step in this process is then to generate in SoftView. This allows the selection of 3-Dimension, Elevation or Cross section without having to reselect the Build menu. The cursor will become active on the Build menu in order to quickly select one of these options.

Gable Roofs with Raked Fascias Generate “cleaner” Elevations

SoftPlan Version 12 has improved the automatic generation of gable ends in elevation when the fascia is specified to be raked. Previous versions of SoftPlan added an extra line in the gable end corners when the fascias of the adjacent hip edges where set to be raked. These extra lines are no longer generated resulting in a much cleaner elevation automatically and thus eliminating the need to erase these lines in the saved elevation drawing.

Plan Post Added to Camera Position

Version 12 now displays plan posts while positioning the camera in SoftView.

Generating a 3D view.
Click on the Camera icon. The right hand pane of the ‘Camera Control’ dialog will display the plan posts.

Plan Post Added to Camera Position

Version 12 now displays plan posts while positioning the camera in SoftView.

Generating a 3D view.
Click on the Camera icon. The right hand pane of the ‘Camera Control’ dialog will display the plan posts.

Drawings in Assemble Floors Appear at the Top of the Drawing Selection Drop Down

A new feature to SoftPlan Version 12 is the order of the drawings in the Drawing Selection drop down in the Status bar. Those drawings listing in the Current Assembly side of the Assemble Floor menu will appear first in the Drawing Selection drop down in the same order of which they where assembled. Those drawings not in the Current Assembly are listed in alphabetical order after a line separator. This allows drawings that are more frequently opened to be located more readily.

Select Build > Assemble Floors.
Highlight the lowest floor plan drawing (example: Foundation Plan) and select the Add button.
Continue highlighting and added additional floor plan drawings until all floors are assembled.
The next time the Drawing Selection drop down in the Status bar is selected, those drawings that where assembled will appear first, followed by a line separator and then the remaining drawings.

Openings will not Extract if SoftView Flag is Unchecked

In Version 12, any wall that has their SoftView Flag unchecked will not have their opening generate in SoftView.

Edit a wall that has openings in it.
Uncheck the SoftView box near the bottom of the menu.
Generate an elevation on that wall.

Fit Top of Wall to Roof Automatically Removes Gable End Material

In a situation where there is a wall underneath a gable roof edge, there are two options which to select to provide the gable area wall. When a gable roof edge is placed, it automatically places a gable end provided by the roof. This is desired if the gable area wall were to be framed separately from the wall below. The other option is to edit the wall below to fit to top of roof, which balloon frames the wall to fit up into the gable area.

In Version 12 edit the gable end wall and press the button for “Fit top of wall to Roof”. The gable end material will automatically be turned off in Roof mode. Pressing the Go button will show the wall filling the gable area above and the wall at Multi-Height and the Rake option is now enabled.

Generated Drawings Use Highest Drawing Configurations

Drawings generated from SoftView will use the Drawing Configurations from the highest drawing on the Assemble Floors list. In previous versions of SoftPlan, these generated drawings would receive their Drawing Configurations from the System level.
Drawing Configurations would include Character Setup, Color assignments, Material Dimensions, Walls and Beams, etc.
This ensures a higher level consistency throughout a set of drawings as any options set in the original drawing will automatically be transferred to the generated drawing.

Ceiling Joist and Floor Joist Have Separate Display Properties

Within SoftView, the display options for ceiling and floor joist have been separated to give greater control to the user. Now a detailed rendering of exposed ceiling structure can be generating, without the overhead of having the hidden floor joists also generating, or in the case of a basement, the exposed floor joist can be viewed, while a main floor ceiling joist layout remains off.
Within SoftPlan, Select Build > Assemble Floors > Add the floor plans in the order the are to be vertically stacked. Select Build > 3D > and the mode to generate. On the Extraction Options menu, place a checkmark next to Framing Within SoftView Select Material > Structure. Double click on the display box to the corresponding item to enable or disable is visibility.

Solids use appropriate texture mapping type Planer, Cubical, Spherical ...

Solids in SoftView now have the ability to use appropriate texture mapping type, Planer, Spherical, and Cylindrical, when generating a Rendered view in 3D. This will allow the texture to appear properly on the Solid.

In a drawing, from the Solids menu, draw a Cylinder, a Plane, and a Sphere and save it.
Generate a Rendered 3d on the drawing.
In 3D, click on Material Option at the top of the screen and select a texture for each Solid. In the Texture Map Type section, select the appropriate type for the Solid.

Walk Through Added

SoftPlan Version 12 has added the ability to now perform a “walk-through” while working within Softview. This added feature utilizes your keyboard functions to complete the task, and was unavailable in previous versions of Softplan. In order to be able to take advantage of this feature, you must be in the Softview 3D module.

With your 3D image visible, select the one of the Up, Down, Left, or Right Arrow keys on your keyboard.
Without having to select GO, the view of your image will automatically regenerate based on the following: ·Up Arrow – Move Forward
·Down Arrow – Move Backward
·Left Arrow – Turn Left
·Right Arrow – Turn Right
Along with the Arrow keys on your keyboard, you can use the Ctrl, Shift, Alt, and / (forward slash), keys to help perform specific tasks.
With your 3D image visible, press the Shift key while at the same time pressing one of the Up, Down, Left, or Right Arrow keys on your keyboard.
Again, without having to select GO, the view of your image will automatically regenerate based on the following:
·Shift + Up Arrow – Move Up
·Shift + Down Arrow – Move Down
·Shift + Left Arrow – Move Left
·Shift + Right Arrow – Move Right
The remaining keyboard functions will perform the following tasks:
·Ctrl + Up Arrow – Move Up
·Ctrl + Down Arrow – Move Down
·Alt + Any combination of selected keys – “Run” (Speeds up the Walk-Through process)
·/ (forward slash) – Look Forward (Center camera)

SoftView Image Preview Window

SoftPlan Version 12 has added a Preview Window feature while using the SoftView 3D module. The feature allows you to view a preview of your image, if the camera position has been moved, materials textures modified, or items added or removed, without having to regenerate the image completely. In order to demonstrate this feature you must be in the SoftView 3D module.

From the pull down menus select Camera. The Camera Control window will open.
Move the camera into its new position respectively. Before selecting the OK button, select the preview button in the lower right-hand corner.
The Camera Control window will then expand to the right, displaying a preview of the image, referencing any changes that you have made to the image. You can then continue to modify the image as required, or exit the Camera Control window and regenerate the image.

Animations can be Saved to AVI Files

SoftPlan’s 3 Dimension program now in includes the capability of creating an animation file in an AVI format. This allows an animation of a 3-Dimensional model to be viewed by a client.

Once the model is generated to the screen, the steps are as follows:

Note : Within SoftView the 3D model must first be in Rendered mode.

Select Options > Output Options.
Select to Create Animation.
Select the Animation Path. Note that there are two options: to rotate the camera around the focus point, or to rotate the focus point around the camera.
You must select the total frames which will be used when creating the animation. The greater the number of frames, the smoother the animation will appear. However, more frames will take longer to generate, and the resulting file will be larger.
On the output to file, set the Image Size that will be used for the AVI file.
Within the Animation File Options the following settings can be set:
- Set the Frames/Second based on how many frames per second will be played during the generated AVI file (the greater the number, the smoother the animation).
- Set the color depth to be used. Note the greater the number the greater the color palette to be used, but the longer it will during the creation of the AVI file.
- Select OK followed by Go.
- Within the Save As menu, type the file name. SoftPlan will automatically save the file as a SoftPlan Animation (*.avi) file.
- Select Save and SoftView will now render each frame needed to create an animation based on the animation path selected (see step 3).
Once saved, this AVI file can be viewed using most media players. The viewer does not need to own SoftPlan to watch the animation.

Openings in the Background of Saved Sections are Formed into Elevation Openings

Version 12 now allows Openings in the background of saved Sections to be formed into Elevation Openings. This allows easier manipulation of the opening. Previous versions of SoftPlan created these openings as lines.

Generate a Cross Section. Background must be enabled for the Openings to be generated. Be sure that the section lines are oriented to that they will allow openings to be generated.
Save the Cross Section and exit SoftView.
Load the saved drawing. The Openings are saved as Elevation Openings.

Note: Some window treatments, such as Trim, Shutters, etc, will cause the openings to be saved as shapes.

Quality of Shaded and Textured Mode Images Improved

SoftPlan version 12 has improved upon the quality of 3-D images produced by either the Shaded or Textured Modes within SoftView. Shaded mode generates an image with shaded surfaces and can be useful for determining depth and space planning. Textured mode generates an image with photographic bitmap textures applied to the surfaces, useful for the comparison of surface materials. Version 12 has improved on the quality of the images produced in these two modes by allowing a Background Image to be set. Previously a Background Image could only be set in Rendered Mode. Textured mode will also allow for Transparencies, allowing for Rendering Trees and Shrubs to appear more realistically. SoftPlan version 12 has further improved the quality these two modes through the use the OpenGL graphics engine.

Textured mode is the highest quality image that SoftPlan Lite can generate.

Elevations and Sections Always Generate at 100%

SoftPlan Version12 has improved the initial view of Elevations and Section by ensuring that they will always generate in a full window. SoftView has a scaling option that allows a 3-Dimensional view to be scaled down by specific percentages. In previous versions, if 3D view was set to be scaled less than 100% and an Elevation or Section was generated after the 3D, the Elevation or Section would generate in the same scale. The Scale feature is not accessible in Elevation or Section, so there was no direct way of rescaling the image. Now, Elevations and Section will always generate at 100% full scale regardless of the scale set in the previous 3D view.

Open an existing house plan and select Build > Assemble Floors and assemble the floor plans from the lowest drawing to the highest.
Select Build > 3-Dimension > Rendered. Select OK at the Extraction Options menu.
From within SoftView – 3D, select Window > Scale > 100% and then select the GO button to Render the image in a scaled Window.
Select File > Exit to exit the 3D view, saving all changes.
Back in SoftPlan select File > Build > Elevation and select to view the Front Elevation. The Elevation will open at 100% scale.

Animations, Rotate Camera Around Focus and Focus Around Camera Added

Version 12 now displays plan posts while positioning the camera in SoftView. SoftPlan Version 12 has added a new feature in SoftView 3D that allows the 3D model of the floor plans to be animated. The valuable new tool, which was previously unavailable, can be used to animate the floor plans in one of two animation paths. First, the Camera can be set to rotate around the Focus to get a view from the outside of the plan. This simulates a walk-around of the building with the focus always on the house. The second animation path is to rotate the Focus around the Camera to allow a full 360 degree view from the inside of the plan. This simulates the action of turning around in a stationary spot to get a view of an entire room. In both animation paths, the Total Frames can be set, and the direction the Focus or Camera moves in can be reversed. In addition, the animation can be displayed directly to the screen, or an Animation File can be created and saved and played at a later time. This tremendous new tool will greatly benefit in selling the design to perspective clients.

Open a completed house design in SoftPlan.
Select Build – Assemble Floor and stack the drawings from the lowest floor plan to the highest.
Once OK is selected on the Assemble Floors dialog, the Build menu will automatically open again. Select 3-Dimensions.
Animations can be made with any 3D Mode (Wire Frame to Rendered). Select a Mode depending on the quality of the animation you want.
Select OK on the Extraction Options dialog
In SoftView 3D select Camera to open the Camera Control. Move the Camera and Focus to a desired position.
Select Options – Output Options.
Select the Create Animation radio button.
Specify the Animation Path and Total Frames you want for the animation. Close the dialog by selecting the OK button.
Selecting the GO button will then animate the model on screen according to the current location of the Camera and Focus.

Move of a Roof in Softview Blocked

Move of a roof in Softview has been prevented in V12. This will prevent misalignment of the roof if it has been selected.
If the Move command has been selected, clicking on the roof will not select or show any change. 1. Generate an Elevation. 2. While in SoftView, select the Move command. 3. Click on the Roof, nothing should happen.