I have been a softplan user since version 9. Each update was significant, not making work faster, rather making a higher quality documents and providing more accurate and detailed schematic drawings.
Since version 2018, it was great having advanced options, bringing superior presentation tools with renders, animation, cloud, etc. truly wonderful and making life better in the design and construction documents, including the export feature to sketchup.
Now, from what I am seeing in 2020, I am very excited with key features I have been waiting to come forward such as pdf to lines (major need), model improvements (removing excess lines, making preliminaries much better), improvements to openings (still waiting on more options on customizing bays 🙁 ), and numerous other enhancements.
I asked prior to 2 versions ago if we could see a couple small, but valuable changes, but did not get a response.
-Could we have the option to extend the Barge boards past the gutter, usually done onsite in our province by 6 inches, usually plumb cut but not always.
-could we have a setting for the soffit to be recessed into the overhang as opposed to the soffit clinging to the underside of the finished fascia and barge? Generally here the 2×4 rough framing caps the truss tail , and the soffit ladder framing, becoming the soffit backing, then a Fascia and bargeboard caps those, often with a smaller shadow board in the gable, also not automatic in Softplan yet.
– showing a corbel where the joist are recessed is most common place here also, often stepping the foundation to the floor on top in the areas where grade changes.This is still not a built in option, it would be a real asset.
– Now with having to include drawings for wall bracing plans, there could be a drawing mode allowing to show location of the braced wall panels (darker), anchor bolt location from ends and to show dimensionsto them and the braced wall band, & centerline, I find it very cumbersome using a regular copy of the drawing in drawing mode, a separate mode would be of help.
I love the Plan sets, nice work!
Parksville, BC, Canada
We request that the elevations become real time and not to become drawings but rather models, so that modifications can be made in the elevation mode and it would reflect in the model and vice versa. By doing this, elevations become automatically updated rather having to create a new drawing and modify it each time there is a change to the model.
We think you’re going to like the upcoming SoftPlan version 2020.
Thank you. You win the suggestions game.
any update on HVAC design
Please send a drawing of what you are looking for to suggestions@softplan.com and we’ll be able to better answer your question.
Any change for a trial metric version of SP2018?
Would like to see if it is worth upgrading from the 2014 version.
Interbild in the UK only seems to distribute the 2016 version, according to their website.
Also, although we are metric in the UK, for some reason they distribute the imperial version?
You can download the trial this site and change the units to metric.
Is there a way to specify location using decimal notation instead of degrees, minutes, and second? If no this would be a nice option to have.
Can 2018 version open point cloud file and extract dxf file?
Just wondering if when you use copy to clip board if you can turn a setting on that also copys the dimensions?
Sorry there is no setting.
Being able to select multiple items and change the building option would be nice 🙂
2018 SoftPlan is worth the upgrade from 2014, so smooth.
Important question perhaps a bit late.
Is the menu bars in 2018 Scale-able?
4K monitor resolution leaves the menus extremely small! Even
with windows scaling turned to 150% ! Floating icon boxes etc. are extremely small at
high resolutions! IE: 3840 x 2160
Much appreciated!
Will a date be posted for 2018 Demo/Trial release?
Thanks!
It’s getting close. Make sure you follow us on Facebook or twitter for notification.
Hello,
When will 2018 be available in the UK?
Also, for some strange bizarre reason, the SP version provided in the UK, is the imperial (USA)version, opposed to the metric (Australia) version.
The UK is metric now for over 40 years.
Will SP be distributed in the near future, in the metric version, like Australia, with metric libraries?
SoftPlan+ subscribers should have access to the 2018 install this week.
For people running duel screens it would be helpful to have a few pallets available like the navigator pallet that we could see and have easy access to all the time such as walls, windows, doors, layers, building options and such…that way these could be accessible with ease and with out going up to the menu each time to select draw…select wall…find wall…then draw…if a pallet was there you could select the wall you want to draw and just go…does 2018 have any of these kind of tools? It would just make drawing tools quicker to get to…
Take a look at the Draw Select command, S on the keyboard.
that is fine when there is already a wall type on the screen that you want to draw…it would be nice to take the wall menu and just leave it open all the time on a second monitor…select the wall you want to draw…would just save a bit of time if the walls, doors and windows menus could just remain open similar to the way the navigator bar can be left open and dragged off on the the second monitor…
Couple of thoughts, would like to see an option for a kickplate for exterior doors and an option for diagonal bracing for posts on elevated decks.
It would be helpful to be able to see some type of narrow menu of the layers – maybe just the layer names – open all the time so I could switch between layers with one click. Maybe drag a window onto the side of the workspace?
Could we get an Layer Option under Custom Visibilities in Plan Set. Would be nice to be able to display various layered items on certain pages within the Plan-set. (Similar to the Building Option)
Layers are drawing based so you should already have layer control over the drawing in the set.
Could you contact me via Email to explain that to me?
If you have questions on Plan Sets please contact support, they are set up to assist.
Hello,
Any date set for releasing a 2018 Demo download?
Thanks.
No date set yet. Sorry.
I would like to see a choice of which floor walls will be shown on the floor framing plans, under the floor system options, generate drawings,include walls. It seems to me the walls under the floor are more important than over the floor. That change would help follow
loads down through the building. Thanks. Carl S.
In 2018 you can see the walls both above and below the floor that you are working on.
For some of my customers, they like to see the interior trim selection. Will 2018 have options to draw panel boxes with chair rail, craftsman paneling, bead board wainscoting, or ship lap? Right now it is a lot of using shapes and sticking them in the right place.
Any chance they will be adding the ability to specify a siding profile to run vertical rather than just horizontal? Would be great for board and batten siding profile. Also could potentially be used to better show a standing seam metal roof.
Hello Admin,
Does Softplan 2018 run under 4K monitors?
Thank you,
Dominic
Hello Admin,
Do you know when you will start showing videos of listed features?
Thank you for answering my question.
Dominic
Features that are best illustrated via video with have short movies included.
Hello,
Has Softplan 2018 addressed the blurry text issue? Version 2014 still has a much better look (WHEN ZOOMED OUT) that 2016!
It was the main issue I didn’t upgrade! I hope 2018 has reverted back to the older “crisper” text. This is an issue mostly when zoomed out on a drawing. Text should be legible at this zoomed out level as well as zoomed in. Looking forward to seeing the new rendering capabilities as well.
Cheers!
Character display in 2018 is similar to that in 2016. The move away from the vector fonts to WYSIWYG for version 2016 was intentional. If your having a difficult time reading the text you may want to use the enlarge text function (CRTL+Q).
Thank you! Will there be a Trial Version for 2018?
Yes of course but it won’t be until it is released.
Will softplan plus subscribers receive a backup DVD or will the software be downloadable? If we don’t get a DVD is it possible to order one?
Thank you admin for answering my question.
Dominic
2018 will definitely be available to SoftPlan+ subscribers for download, other details will be available closer to release.
Any idea when 2018 will be made available for download for Softplan+ subscribers?
Hello Will,
At this time no date has been officially announced as told by my sales rep as of 1-13-17. We will have to wait for Softplan to make an announcement.
Dominic
I have a question about openings,
In softplan 2016 some openings you can show the opening angle ( some doors like man doors, some windows) open in 3D. I would like to know in version 2018 is it possible to show all doors (like garage doors, all windows like casement, awning, ETC.) open in 3D? The reason why I ask this is I think it adds realism and when you do renderings you can show them in the open position. It’s also nice to walk around in 3D and have all the doors open (like garage doors, ETC.) without having to walk right through a closed door. It also helps when working with animation walk-thru’s. I did suggest this about when 2016 came out in case you were wondering why I am asking about this feature.
Thank you for answering my long comment. 🙂
Dominic
Windows and doors cannot display open, a suggestion has been made for a future release. Thanks for the feedback.
I currently have softplan 2016 with softplan plus was included for two years when I purchased 2016 as an upgrade, my question is when should I call and continue my subscription to softplan plus? I would like to have my subscription not be interrupted when softplan 2018 gets released.
Thank you for answering my question.
Dominic
Please give the sales people a call on Monday, they’re out today due to weather. They can look at your record and let you know how to proceed.
When will SoftPlan+ subscribers be upgraded to SoftPlan 2018?
First, at this time the release date is not set but SoftPlan+ subscribers will be the first to receive SoftPlan 2018.
Thank you. Looking forward to the seeing the new features and receiving the new upgrade.
Thank you for your reply admin,
Do you know when you might start displaying features of 2018 for those that can’t attend the builders show?
Thank you for answering my question.
Dominic
After the IBS Show the features will start to be posted.
It looks like a new rendering quality (of exterior of home on this page) Is it a new rendering engine or has existing rendering engine been upgraded?
Also has the system requirements changed for version 2018?
Thank you for answering my questions.
Dominic
The rendering capability has been enhanced for SoftPlan 2018. Hardware requirements remain substantially the same. The image your looking at was CPU generated and would generate faster with a better processor.
Thank you for your reply admin.
I noticed that when you look at the link to rendering of exterior of home part of it says path-trace. Does that mean we lost those pesky little rendering boxes when rendering with 2016 and have a new way of rendering with 2018?
If you can, please explain the how the enhanced rendering engine works. I see that it is CPU based, is the new engine render any faster than the previous engine that runs softplan 2016?
Any improvements to rendering (in textured mode) with a GPU Video card?
I have been a softplan user since version 9. Each update was significant, not making work faster, rather making a higher quality documents and providing more accurate and detailed schematic drawings.
Since version 2018, it was great having advanced options, bringing superior presentation tools with renders, animation, cloud, etc. truly wonderful and making life better in the design and construction documents, including the export feature to sketchup.
Now, from what I am seeing in 2020, I am very excited with key features I have been waiting to come forward such as pdf to lines (major need), model improvements (removing excess lines, making preliminaries much better), improvements to openings (still waiting on more options on customizing bays 🙁 ), and numerous other enhancements.
I asked prior to 2 versions ago if we could see a couple small, but valuable changes, but did not get a response.
-Could we have the option to extend the Barge boards past the gutter, usually done onsite in our province by 6 inches, usually plumb cut but not always.
-could we have a setting for the soffit to be recessed into the overhang as opposed to the soffit clinging to the underside of the finished fascia and barge? Generally here the 2×4 rough framing caps the truss tail , and the soffit ladder framing, becoming the soffit backing, then a Fascia and bargeboard caps those, often with a smaller shadow board in the gable, also not automatic in Softplan yet.
– showing a corbel where the joist are recessed is most common place here also, often stepping the foundation to the floor on top in the areas where grade changes.This is still not a built in option, it would be a real asset.
– Now with having to include drawings for wall bracing plans, there could be a drawing mode allowing to show location of the braced wall panels (darker), anchor bolt location from ends and to show dimensionsto them and the braced wall band, & centerline, I find it very cumbersome using a regular copy of the drawing in drawing mode, a separate mode would be of help.
I love the Plan sets, nice work!
Parksville, BC, Canada
We love to hear your suggestions, please see https://ww2.softplan.com/?page_id=818.
We request that the elevations become real time and not to become drawings but rather models, so that modifications can be made in the elevation mode and it would reflect in the model and vice versa. By doing this, elevations become automatically updated rather having to create a new drawing and modify it each time there is a change to the model.
We think you’re going to like the upcoming SoftPlan version 2020.
Thank you. You win the suggestions game.
any update on HVAC design
Please send a drawing of what you are looking for to suggestions@softplan.com and we’ll be able to better answer your question.
Any change for a trial metric version of SP2018?
Would like to see if it is worth upgrading from the 2014 version.
Interbild in the UK only seems to distribute the 2016 version, according to their website.
Also, although we are metric in the UK, for some reason they distribute the imperial version?
You can download the trial this site and change the units to metric.
Is there a way to specify location using decimal notation instead of degrees, minutes, and second? If no this would be a nice option to have.
Can 2018 version open point cloud file and extract dxf file?
Just wondering if when you use copy to clip board if you can turn a setting on that also copys the dimensions?
Sorry there is no setting.
Being able to select multiple items and change the building option would be nice 🙂
2018 SoftPlan is worth the upgrade from 2014, so smooth.
Any time line for Demo/Trial 2018 download?
Thank you!
It should be available very soon.
The SoftPlan 2018 trial is now available.
Important question perhaps a bit late.
Is the menu bars in 2018 Scale-able?
4K monitor resolution leaves the menus extremely small! Even
with windows scaling turned to 150% ! Floating icon boxes etc. are extremely small at
high resolutions! IE: 3840 x 2160
Much appreciated!
Will a date be posted for 2018 Demo/Trial release?
Thanks!
It’s getting close. Make sure you follow us on Facebook or twitter for notification.
Hello,
When will 2018 be available in the UK?
Also, for some strange bizarre reason, the SP version provided in the UK, is the imperial (USA)version, opposed to the metric (Australia) version.
The UK is metric now for over 40 years.
Will SP be distributed in the near future, in the metric version, like Australia, with metric libraries?
Please see http://www.interbild.com/ for information on SoftPlan in the UK.
Hello it says on your site the 2018 is available to subscribers. I have not seen anything in my email yet or do I need to contact you?
Thanks,
Dale
If you are a SoftPlan+ subscriber go to the install section of the webpage https://ww2.softplan.com/?page_id=2685 and enter your key number.
Any update on release date
SoftPlan+ subscribers should have access to the 2018 install this week.
For people running duel screens it would be helpful to have a few pallets available like the navigator pallet that we could see and have easy access to all the time such as walls, windows, doors, layers, building options and such…that way these could be accessible with ease and with out going up to the menu each time to select draw…select wall…find wall…then draw…if a pallet was there you could select the wall you want to draw and just go…does 2018 have any of these kind of tools? It would just make drawing tools quicker to get to…
Take a look at the Draw Select command, S on the keyboard.
that is fine when there is already a wall type on the screen that you want to draw…it would be nice to take the wall menu and just leave it open all the time on a second monitor…select the wall you want to draw…would just save a bit of time if the walls, doors and windows menus could just remain open similar to the way the navigator bar can be left open and dragged off on the the second monitor…
Couple of thoughts, would like to see an option for a kickplate for exterior doors and an option for diagonal bracing for posts on elevated decks.
It would be helpful to be able to see some type of narrow menu of the layers – maybe just the layer names – open all the time so I could switch between layers with one click. Maybe drag a window onto the side of the workspace?
Could we get an Layer Option under Custom Visibilities in Plan Set. Would be nice to be able to display various layered items on certain pages within the Plan-set. (Similar to the Building Option)
Layers are drawing based so you should already have layer control over the drawing in the set.
Could you contact me via Email to explain that to me?
If you have questions on Plan Sets please contact support, they are set up to assist.
Hello,
Any date set for releasing a 2018 Demo download?
Thanks.
No date set yet. Sorry.
I would like to see a choice of which floor walls will be shown on the floor framing plans, under the floor system options, generate drawings,include walls. It seems to me the walls under the floor are more important than over the floor. That change would help follow
loads down through the building. Thanks. Carl S.
In 2018 you can see the walls both above and below the floor that you are working on.
For some of my customers, they like to see the interior trim selection. Will 2018 have options to draw panel boxes with chair rail, craftsman paneling, bead board wainscoting, or ship lap? Right now it is a lot of using shapes and sticking them in the right place.
Any chance they will be adding the ability to specify a siding profile to run vertical rather than just horizontal? Would be great for board and batten siding profile. Also could potentially be used to better show a standing seam metal roof.
Hello Admin,
Does Softplan 2018 run under 4K monitors?
Thank you,
Dominic
Hello Admin,
Do you know when you will start showing videos of listed features?
Thank you for answering my question.
Dominic
Features that are best illustrated via video with have short movies included.
Hello,
Has Softplan 2018 addressed the blurry text issue? Version 2014 still has a much better look (WHEN ZOOMED OUT) that 2016!
It was the main issue I didn’t upgrade! I hope 2018 has reverted back to the older “crisper” text. This is an issue mostly when zoomed out on a drawing. Text should be legible at this zoomed out level as well as zoomed in. Looking forward to seeing the new rendering capabilities as well.
Cheers!
Character display in 2018 is similar to that in 2016. The move away from the vector fonts to WYSIWYG for version 2016 was intentional. If your having a difficult time reading the text you may want to use the enlarge text function (CRTL+Q).
Thank you! Will there be a Trial Version for 2018?
Yes of course but it won’t be until it is released.
Will softplan plus subscribers receive a backup DVD or will the software be downloadable? If we don’t get a DVD is it possible to order one?
Thank you admin for answering my question.
Dominic
2018 will definitely be available to SoftPlan+ subscribers for download, other details will be available closer to release.
Any idea when 2018 will be made available for download for Softplan+ subscribers?
Hello Will,
At this time no date has been officially announced as told by my sales rep as of 1-13-17. We will have to wait for Softplan to make an announcement.
Dominic
I have a question about openings,
In softplan 2016 some openings you can show the opening angle ( some doors like man doors, some windows) open in 3D. I would like to know in version 2018 is it possible to show all doors (like garage doors, all windows like casement, awning, ETC.) open in 3D? The reason why I ask this is I think it adds realism and when you do renderings you can show them in the open position. It’s also nice to walk around in 3D and have all the doors open (like garage doors, ETC.) without having to walk right through a closed door. It also helps when working with animation walk-thru’s. I did suggest this about when 2016 came out in case you were wondering why I am asking about this feature.
Thank you for answering my long comment. 🙂
Dominic
Windows and doors cannot display open, a suggestion has been made for a future release. Thanks for the feedback.
I currently have softplan 2016 with softplan plus was included for two years when I purchased 2016 as an upgrade, my question is when should I call and continue my subscription to softplan plus? I would like to have my subscription not be interrupted when softplan 2018 gets released.
Thank you for answering my question.
Dominic
Please give the sales people a call on Monday, they’re out today due to weather. They can look at your record and let you know how to proceed.
When will SoftPlan+ subscribers be upgraded to SoftPlan 2018?
First, at this time the release date is not set but SoftPlan+ subscribers will be the first to receive SoftPlan 2018.
Thank you. Looking forward to the seeing the new features and receiving the new upgrade.
Thank you for your reply admin,
Do you know when you might start displaying features of 2018 for those that can’t attend the builders show?
Thank you for answering my question.
Dominic
After the IBS Show the features will start to be posted.
It looks like a new rendering quality (of exterior of home on this page) Is it a new rendering engine or has existing rendering engine been upgraded?
Also has the system requirements changed for version 2018?
Thank you for answering my questions.
Dominic
The rendering capability has been enhanced for SoftPlan 2018. Hardware requirements remain substantially the same. The image your looking at was CPU generated and would generate faster with a better processor.
Thank you for your reply admin.
I noticed that when you look at the link to rendering of exterior of home part of it says path-trace. Does that mean we lost those pesky little rendering boxes when rendering with 2016 and have a new way of rendering with 2018?
If you can, please explain the how the enhanced rendering engine works. I see that it is CPU based, is the new engine render any faster than the previous engine that runs softplan 2016?
Any improvements to rendering (in textured mode) with a GPU Video card?
Thank you for answering my questions.
Dominic