66 Comments

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  3. 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.

  4. 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?

  5. 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.

  6. Just wondering if when you use copy to clip board if you can turn a setting on that also copys the dimensions?

  7. 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!

  8. 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?

  9. 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

  10. 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…

      • 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…

  11. 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?

  12. 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)

  13. 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.

  14. 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.

  15. 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.

  16. Hello Admin,

    Do you know when you will start showing videos of listed features?

    Thank you for answering my question.

    Dominic

  17. 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!

  18. 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.

        • 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

  19. 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

  20. 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.

  21. 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

  22. 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

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