Tip of the month! August: Water fill feature

As the summer rages on, we here at Palette CAD are thinking of your well-being once again. To help you stay cool (if at least just virtually), now you can use the water fill feature to add that photo-realistic water finish in a matter of seconds, be it a cold glass of water, or an Olympic size swimming pool.

To start, select an appropriate object and then click on "Water", found under the "Insert" tab.

A new window will open up with a number of settings. A preview is also visible in the middle, and the water material is available in a number of options.

Some materials may look better in different presentation modes, Virtual Reality and Ambient Light, for example. Just choose how you wish to have it appear and select OK.

That's all there is to it! Now create and enjoy your own dream getaways.


Greeting from Stuttgart,

Your Palette CAD Blog Team

 

Tip of the month! July: Virtually cost-free VR setup

There is no getting away from it, VR is the next big thing, and is likely to be the next big opportunity for businesses to quickly impress and win over customers. Most people think that it is an expensive upgrade to their showrooms, but it really doesn't need to be.

Following the hype, it is really easy to get carried away, or discouraged by the price tags of some of the VR goggles on the market right now. Palette CAD to the rescue once again. 

You can go as far as your budget will stretch, but also if you want to get started, and get a taste, all that is needed is any VR glasses, including Google Cardboard (sometimes a free giveaway) and a smartphone. Really impressive results can be achieved with most 30-50€ goggles where the smartphone is inserted as a screen.

Now simply download our FREE app Palette Move on your smartphone and you are good to go. You can chose from a number of existing interior designs, as well as, use design codes from Palette CAD panoramas. We have gone a step further by adding an intuitive "gaze control" system to Palette Move, making it very easy to navigate through our VR world.

To start the VR mode tap the VR goggles symbol in your mobile app. This will load the user into our virtual chill out room. Now simply look at what you wish to load, or to exit, just gaze at the exit button in the designs.

Of course it is possible to take this to the next level, and by purchasing our 3D design software Palette CAD, you can make and show off your own designs.

Try it out and see the reactions from your audience!


Greeting from Stuttgart,

Your Palette CAD Blog Team

Tip of the month! June: Shopping basket feature

This month we bring you a very cool feature that has probably not been given the recognition it deserves. It also just happened to be my wife's favorite feature in our software, until I explained it in a little more detail and a realisation set in that it had no direct link to Internet retail.

Still for most interior designers it is a phenomenal time saver, as it allows a whole list of objects, such your favourite plants, for example, to be saved in one list, which you can then import into any design. No more searching necessary.

This little gem can be found under the "Design" tab. Simply click on the symbol and "Shopping basket" menu located on the right side of your screen will open.

 

To fill it with your own best-sellers simply open the object broswer "O" (or select "Object catalogues") and follow one of the two following options.

Option one: Find your desired object in the browser, right-click on it and select "Into the shopping basket".

 

Option two:  Follow the same steps as above but instead right-clicking, select your desired object by left-clicking on it once (this will highlight the object in blue) and then simply press the "+" symbol on your keyboard. 

Both options produce the same results. Far too easy! When done, just close the object catalogue browser. Now you can save your virtual goodies for future use. Under the shopping basket menu you can find the classic save symbol. Next to it is also the file symbol, which you can use in the future to find and open your saved objects. 

Objects from the shopping basket can be inserted into designs just like by using the catalogue browser, drag and drop or double-clicking on them. Once used they will disappear out of your basket, but worry not, if you wish to use the same object multiple times in one design, just use the copy feature.

Inspiration complete, now over to you to put to good us and show us what you got. Have fun and enjoy.

Greeting from Stuttgart,

Your Palette CAD Blog Team

Tip of the month! May: v9.03 + v9.04 release notes

They say, good things come in pairs and our wizards from the Palettecador house of programming have managed just that. Below you can find the release notes from versions 9.03 and 9.04 that they conjured up. I for one am a huge fan of the new short cycle programming structure. Keep up the sorcery guys!

• In the update manager, it is now possible to exclude individual catalogues from the automatic download process and later reactivate them

• There is an object controller for profile objects

• There is an object controller for extruded objects

• There is an object controller for intelligent masonry enclosures

• The “Draw” menu provides access to a new, independent 2D scene view (2D Planning)

• 2D Planning is very practical for viewing, editing and managing 2D drawings

• 2D Planning can be used as a 2D program that is integrated into Palette CAD

• A 2D drawing derivation of a scene can be transferred into 2D Planning automatically

• It is now also possible to create a drawing derivation of an axonometric view or a perspective and automatically transfer it to 2D Planning

• 2D Planning replaces the previous “2D” display mode in the scene window

• The user-defined line width in the Exposé now only refers to the edges of 3D objects and no longer to 2D elements because for these, a line width is already defined by the line style

• Drawing derivations now transfer all selected objects and not just the currently displayed detail

• In a drawing derivation, segmented circles and arcs are converted to 2D circles and arcs to the extent possible

• During dimensioning and the creation of 2D elements, the selection of previously selected objects is no longer cancelled, which makes it easier to see and snap these objects

• For walls, you can now pick the dimensions from the scene

• The family replace function for the door handles of intelligent doors has now been revised so that it also works correctly for doors that are open

• The intelligent staircase is able to show the position of risers on the steps

• The masonry enclosure object can now create tiling areas for tiles on the front sides and on the top side

• A rectangular masonry enclosure is now the default setting for the masonry enclosure object

• It is possible to set the background colour and the display colour for the preview on intelligent primitives and masonry enclosure objects

• The 2D pdf export in the File menu has been expanded for very large drawing areas

• The DWG Import can import files that are password protected

• The import of DXF, DWG and Collada now also supports texture coordinates (which means that the textures are displayed correctly for imported objects)

• The import of SketchUp files has been expanded to accommodate the 2016 version

• The maximum zoom factor for enlargements is now restricted to avoid inaccuracies due to strong magnification when snapping

• There are many small improvements of details as well as bug fixes

• 2D drawing: In the drawing derivation of a section, a hatch can be generated on the sectional area automatically

• The edge view and the display of 2D elements in the presentation modes have been revised

• The display of objects that cannot be hidden has been revised

• In wood technology boards, the dynamic editing and the display of adjacent objects have been revised

• The technical preparations for Wood Technology 4.0 have been completed. At least version 9.03 is required for Wood Technology 4.0. 

So there you have it. Be sure to check back next month and in the mean time enjoy "zauberning" your own projects.

Greeting from Stuttgart,

Your Palette CAD Blog Team