2 replies to this topic

[Tom Rogers]

That is like asking should I change driving a Ford to a Chevy.  There will be some adjustments to it but I have used many other programs (AutoCad being one of them) and I love Softplan and would not go back.  The pricing of AutoCad is high for what residential designers and architects need.  Softplan is priced correctly in their structure, with enough power to do what needs to be done but not paying for stuff we dont need.  I often compared to using AutoCad as driving a Lamborghini down a residential street.  A lot of power that you are paying for and never need.  The downside (which will change over time) are the amount of users out there when you have to hire people.  You will have to take time to educate and teach them without relaying on a school to teach them.  However I have found layering out drawings and CD work to be much much better than AutoCad and a lot faster as well. 

[Yvon Gonthier]

It's a hard question to answer because as die hard fan of Softplan we would say right away: YES! Softplan definitely has advantages over Autocad for residential construction. I would say it depends if you have the time to really do the transition because it's a different way of thinking. With Autocad, you draw the house, with Softplan you built it. I would recommend that if you do the switch that you take the time to transition properly to use the power of Softplan.

 

I have dealt in the past with drafters that use Softplan primarily like Autocad which I found very frustating and useless. They draw walls with openings and symbols but don't generate floor systems and roofs, therefore don't generate the automatic elevations and sections as well as loose the possibility to generate 3D. In this case, no it's not really worth it.

 

If you can take the time and you use it properly, I would say yes for sure.