Keep calm and get your Ho Ho Ho on!

Just a few hours to go before we can unpack our brand new calendars, 2015 will be upon us before the week is out. Holiday season also brings about the traditions of looking back and planning ahead. Here in Stuttgart we missed out on a white Christmas by just a day (or two, if like the Germans you can't wait until the 25th to enjoy the Christmas feast and unpack your presents), but the distraction of snow throws my yearly recollections beyond 2014.
 
It seems like it's white brilliance is hypnotising, so it takes precedence in my brain function, and instead of focusing on events of 2014, I am left pondering about past snow adventures. The current daily routine, of getting up early in the morning to be greeted by inches of fresh powder brings strong, fond recollections of voluntarily getting up in the wee hours of the morning, walking to the bus stop, in temperatures below -20ºC at times, but regardless, still wearing a huge, Cheshire Cat like grin on my face, knowing that soon I will be in snowboarding heaven. Still guilty of checking the daily snow report for Lake Louise and reminiscing at times. Seeing as I need to finish this post before the end of the year, I think we better check back to reality and give you a little look at 2014 at Palette CAD.

Happy holidays from Palette CAD

This year saw the release of the latest 8.2 version, truly bringing  with it enough changes and improvements that could have seen it become version 9, but we decided to keep the current look, familiarity and ease of use, that made version 8 such a great success. Other product additions include: Palette@Home, our new Internet planer, Palette4Business, the customised, branded version of P@H and Move version 2.

With stands at more than 20 trade shows, fairs and exhibitions, stretching from Nordbygg in Stockholm to Awisa in Brisbane, we have been doing our best to give as many people as possible the chance to experience the joy of designing with Palette CAD for themselves. With IMM Cologne, Bau Munich and KOK in Wels, in January 2015 alone, we are set for another eventful year.

Our team at the Architect@Work in Paris

Earlier in the year we held our 10th User Day show at the same time celebrating the 20th anniversary of Palette CAD. We also had some of the very first versions of our software from the 90's, and the vast technological advancement was very clearly visible. Just to put that into some perspective, to install just the current Stove and Fireplaces library using the then current tech 1.44MB Floppy Disk, you would need well over 11,000 of them.

User Day conference 2014

I suppose we should end the year with a few spoilers for 2015. New customer care centre will be finished in the next couple of months, providing the ever expanding team with a little more breathing space. Wood technology and the 2D module will both be getting very exciting and wished improvements, and finally the version 9 of Palette CAD should be with us in time for summer holidays. Watch this space for all latest on the above, plus all other ongoing developments throughout 2015!

Traditional German Richtfest for our new customer care centre

That is enough of me for this year, and I wish to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued custom, feedback and support. Enjoy the rest of the holiday season and all the very best for 2015!

Your Palette CAD Blog Team

Tip of the month! December: Information for inspiration

Believe it or not, but it seems the season to be jolly is upon us again. Almost seems like comes around every year or so, like clockwork.

As I have been running around buying presents for weeks, OK, one afternoon man-dash more like, fine, not actually done it yet, but planned for next week, I thought to share with you a gift of information. Many users contact us asking where they can learn more about our software, get in contact with other users or simply find some inspiration. Well here below are some links, with more than enough goodies to fill your stockings!


Facebook group 
Facebook international
YouTube channel (for other languages go to "Channels" tab)
Twitter
Homepage (choice of languages)
German blog

Of course, should you have any further questions or suggestions, you can always contact us on info@palettecad.com.


Keep calm and get your Ho Ho Ho on!

Your Palette CAD Blog Team

Tip of the month! November: 3D Gallery

As some of you have noticed, not all objects found in my plans can be found in our standard libraries. Well as first of the Christmas songs are finding their way onto our radio stations, I suppose I can also start the holiday season off with some early presents. If we take each available free object, than my generosity stretches into millions. My gift to you is the 3D Gallery import function.


The whole process has been made very straight forward. Let´s find a sofa for my corner to compliment my newly Kiwi painted room.

Simply got to the "Insert" tab, select "Import" and choose "3D Gallery".
 

As long as you are connected to the Internet, the 3D Warehouse page will automatically load up. Use the search feature to find a desired object. Now click on "Download" and select the  SketchUp model.

It will take a few seconds to download the object, depending on the size of course, but then the below window will come up. This is used to determine the size of the object. They may not always be to scale so just choose the size that you require. All sizes are in centimetres.

Just position the object as usual, process and show off your renderings.

Don´t forget that you can also save any imported objects into your own catalogues, but don´t forget to save their materials too.

Have fun!

Greeting from Stuttgart,

Your Palette CAD Blog Team

Orange & black incite, and now not just for one night!

Tonight sees some scary joy, 

for all people to enjoy. 

Big and small hitting the streets, 

knocking on doors for tricks or treats.

Orange and black the theme of the night,

bringing thousands much delight.

There is another such themed desire,

helping businesses set profits on fire.

A Gothic door here and a spooky window there,

with our software design a perfect Halloween mare.

Riddle me this, riddle me that,

Palette CAD is where it's at!

Wishing you a terrifyingly good Halloween,
Your Palette CAD-Blog Team

Tip of the month! October: New features in 8.2

I have been fortunate enough to visit exhibitions in Brisbane, Bologna, Verona and Paris in the last three months. Question I got asked the most on our stands was: So what's new in the version 8.2 of Palette CAD? It may seem just like a number to many people but this is far from the truth. How different are smartphones from one version to another? With Palette CAD it is a very similar story. We didn't want to change the look too much, but, as you can see from the lengthy list below, plenty of improvements and new features have been developed by our mad computer scientists.

Graphics

• The “Virtual Reality” display mode has been improved once again and is now even more realistic

• The reflections can be calculated with precision in the Exposé or for export as an image, panorama or movie.

Illumination

• The global settings for the light sources are grouped under “Illumination” for a clear overview

• There is a drop-down menu with different lighting atmospheres under Daylight

• There is an expert mode for the lighting settings

• In the expert mode, it is possible to switch off the automatic lighting feature so that specific darker or lighter lighting situations can be displayed

• All of the settings for the Presentation mode are now saved with the project

• There is a new type of light source called “Luminous rail”. The effect of this light source is like an oblong spot and is ideal for displaying lighting rails

• There are 4 new spot types under Spots

• There is a function called “Align” for spots and luminous rails which focuses the light beam at a specific point in the scene

• The lighting settings for the sun have been optimized

Showing and hiding objects

• It is now possible to undo and restore the showing and hiding of objects

• There is an automatic feature for dynamically hiding walls (automatic Hide function) in the axonometric view

• This makes it possible to look into fully closed rooms in the axonometric view

Pitched roofs and dormers

• Pitched roofs now intersect automatically with adjacent walls

• A pitched roof can be created directly in the object controller of the wall

• Pitched roofs can be displayed as a 2m line as an alternative

• There are dormers as intelligent objects

• Dormers are installed in walls like windows and doors

Examine object

• There is a new command called "Examine object” for when an object is selected in the scene or in the catalogs

• This causes the object to be displayed in a preview bitmap image that can be rotated with the mouse

• The preview bitmap can be shown as an exploded view

• The preview bitmap can be exported via the clipboard and inserted into the Exposé

• The complexity of the object (number of faces, lines and points) is displayed

• The volume of the geometries contained in the object is displayed

• The normals of the surfaces can also be displayed for checking purposes

• The "Check geometry" function can be called directly from the dialog box so that problematic geometries (of imported objects) can be recognized

• The normals of the surfaces can be rotated here; this allows some objects that appear black when rendered to be “fixed”

Coverings for walls and floors

• There is now a setting for windows, doors and openings that causes coverings to be created automatically for the sides as well as the top and bottom

• A covering can also be created automatically on the back of recesses

• This makes it possible, for example, to create a continuous floor covering for a door or an opening

• Room-high windows, doors or recesses divide the wall covering into two separate partial coverings

• The T-connection of a wall also divides the wall covering into two partial coverings at the point of the connection

Dimensioning as a preview in the Front window

• Dimensioning is displayed as a preview when objects are inserted into the Front window

• Dimensioning is also displayed when objects are moved in the Front window using drag & drop

Shopping basket

• There is a shopping basket

• Objects can be gathered in the shopping basket and can be loaded from there into the scene

• Objects can be copied to the shopping basket from the object catalogues and the bathroom fittings and plumbing catalogues

• The shopping basket can be docked or undocked just like the object list

• The list of objects in the shopping basket can be exported and re-imported from a file

Automatic alignment of objects while pasting

• Objects can be aligned with the walls (rotated) automatically as they are pasted

• Automatic alignment works in the Plan View and in the Axonometric View

Family Replace

• There is an “Apply” button with which a family replace can be carried out without having to close the dialog box

• Missing previews for families are calculated automatically

Machining operations

• Mirroring now also works for the imported objects and plumbing objects for which this was previously not permitted due to problems with the geometry

• Cutting and splitting works now as well for the imported objects and plumbing objects for which this operation was previously not permitted due to problems with the geometry

• It is possible, however, that these objects may end up hollow after being cut

Materials

• The placement of bitmaps on textures can be moved in the scene using the mouse

• When a material is selected, a search can be made in the catalogues for similar materials

• It is possible to search by a hue (colour shade) when searching for materials

Primitives

• The automatic calculation of the faceting of arcs can be set more precisely

• There is an elliptical ring

• A triangle can also be defined using the angle

Exposé

• There is a button which causes all of the views in the exposé to re-calculated at the same time

• There is a button which allows images and texts to be pasted from the Windows clipboard directly into the exposé

Cloud

• There is now an administrative option for the Palette Cloud in the File menu

• This allows panorama files, virtual rooms (Palette Play) and projects to be uploaded to the Cloud and there be managed

• The files can be exchanged with other users via the Cloud

• A link can be created with which panoramas and virtual rooms can be viewed in any browser

• This means that viewers are available to end customers on the Internet that are very easy to operate and which allow you to present the results of your project very impressively

• The files can also be opened directly in our Cloud at www.palettecloud.net using a "Download Code"

• Panorama files can now be transferred via the Cloud directly to the new Version 2 of the “Palette Move” app

Import

• There is an import feature for SketchUp objects

• This means the import function via the 3D Gallery works once again

• The import of DXF, DWG, 3DS and OBJ has been reworked and improved

• Objects are examined when they are imported as to whether they could be problematic because they have too many faces and a warning is given

• The IFC import (BIM) has been enhanced so that now additional architectural elements can be imported into Palette CAD

Export

• There is an export option for projects using the obj (Wavefront) format

• There is an export option for projects using the 3ds (3D Studio Max) format

• There is an export option for projects using the stl format (for 3D printers)

• The export function must still be licensed as an add-on module

Development

• The programming language LUA can now be employed for the development of assembled objects

Wood technology

• A joint can now also create a variable pocket

• In a new bill of materials, it is now possible to generate labels with barcodes for the boards

• The prerequisite is that the boards be numbered in the board manager

Tiling technology

• The wall tiling has been reworked so that laying can be started at the ceiling with better results

• Corner profiles can be placed at outside corners and inner corners of tiling areas automatically

• There is a bill of materials for corner profiles

• You can make a setting for outside corners as to whether the corner should be executed as a mitre or be blunt

Sanitary objects

• Objects with the ARGE New Media format can now contain a wall clearance

• Objects with a wall clearance are automatically aligned with walls when they are inserted in the plan view or in the axonometric view

• Mirrored items with the ARGE New Media format are given the addition (mirrored) in the name and a * in the article number

Palette Move

• There is a new Version 2 of the "Palette Move" app (as of summer 2014)

• This app is available for the iOS, Android and Windows RT/8.1 operating systems

• The app can display panorama files from the Palette Cloud

Palette Play

• The quality of the rendering when exported as a virtual room has been improved

• There is an export optimized for the room glasses made by Immersight

Palette@Home

• There is an online planner called "Palette@Home” which allows rooms to be captured and planned in the browser

• Moreover, there is a new app called “Palette@Home” for the iOS, Android and Windows RT/8.1 operating systems

• Projects from Palette@Home can be imported into Palette CAD and processed further

 

Well there you have it people. I hope the thirst for version 8.2 knowledge has been quenched. Until next time.

Greeting from Stuttgart,

Your Palette CAD Blog Team