Almost 20 years ago, after weeks of long days and nights in front of my computer, I was thrilled to release the very first copy of MiniCAD. A lot has changed since then, but one thing has remained the same- it takes hard work to create new, award-winning technology, but I'm thrilled every time that we do. And today, I have the honor to announce:

VECTORWORKS 11 IS NOW AVAILABLE

It has been a long road since version 10, one filled with countless bumps and time-consuming obstacles. But every long night spent at the computer was worth it. VectorWorks 11 provides every tool and solution you need to create the best designs. Simply put, this version is awesome. And we plan on spreading the word all across the country. We have big plans for version 11 so don't be surprised if we turn up in your city sometime soon.

Sincerely,

Richard Diehl
CEO, Nemetschek North America

TIPS & TRICKS

What is a Viewport?

VectorWorks 11’s advance page layout features make it easy to compose drawing sheets that combine different views of a design at varying scales with text, annotations and other graphical elements. Each view or “Viewport” is linked to the design so that as the design changes the viewports automatically update. Viewports are extremely flexible. Each Viewport can have its own scale, orientation, projection, rendering option, as well as layer and class visibility settings. Additionally, Viewports can be cropped by any shape and have the ability to be annotated separately, which makes creating detailed or enlarged plan views a very simple and straight-forward process. Lastly, VectorWorks 11's new page layout capabilities provide a way for VectorWorks to support paper space in AutoCAD, which means cleaner translation between the two programs. (See Image 1a)

What's Context Sensitive Help?

The new Context Sensitive Help makes finding information about a specific tool or menu right at your fingertips. While working in VectorWorks 11, simply press F1 to bring up Context Sensitive Help specifically for the current tool or menu you are using. You can also go to the Help menu and select Contents to bring the Context Sensitive Help to the front. From there, you can search for a specific word, browse by key word, browse by specific product, or save specific help topics as favorites. (See Image 2a)

What is Artistic RenderWorks?

Artistic RenderWorks is a new rendering mode in RenderWorks 11 that renders your 3D models with soft hand-rendered effects. (See Image 3a) Now you can choose to render scenes with photorealistic effects or non-photorealistic effects that soften hard lines and reproduce many hand-sketched styles, including cartoon, color wash, contour, tapered lines, hatch, ink print, lines and shadows, mosaic, oil painting, overlapping lines, soft lines, and stipple. These effects are great for presenting design concepts, as well as for final presentations.

Examples of Artistic Renderworks (thumbnails):

NEWS

VectorWorks 11 Now Shipping

Nemetschek North America announced today that it has updated its entire line of VectorWorks products to version 11. VectorWorks, ARCHITECT, LANDMARK, SPOTLIGHT MECHANICAL, and RenderWorks 11 offer enhanced tools and technology that make production drafting more efficient and modeling easier. Furthermore, new page layout capabilities along with new and faster rendering modes enable users to better communicate their design intent.

EVENTS

AIA Accreditation
NNA is pleased to offer AIA Continuing Education credit for our seminars. Architects can earn 16 learning units by attending the VectorWorks Fundamentals course, and 16 learning units by attending the VectorWorks Hands-on 3D course. For additional information, contact marketing@nemetschek.net