What's New in Envisioneer 5.0
Envisioneer 5.0 is Cadsoft’s most advanced version release yet and offers the Building Information Modeling (BIM) power you need whether you are seeking a professional construction, remodeling, interior or exterior design solution. Click here to download our comprehensive feature list highlighting what’s in store for our 5.0 release or click the below links to review specific feature enhancements:
Ease of Use Features
 Enhanced Tool Buttons:
The new Envisioneer tool buttons are now larger and have been redesigned for easier recognition. This also allows you to run at a higher resolution and still have fast access to toolbar commands.
Split Buttons on Flyouts:
Envisioneer’s toolbar options are now controlled using the split button flyout approach allowing you to access the last used flyout option faster and easier.
Toolbar Command Themes:
Now your toolbar color and appearance can be saved and restored with a user definable name. This allows you to also reset to your original display if requested.
Interactive Help Tutor:
The new help tutor gives step-by-step instruction to all insertion commands. This is a great tool for people exploring commands for the first time and a great refresher for Clients who haven’t used specific commands for a while.
Help Learning Center:
This is your one stop shop for additional learning videos, tutorials, educational movies and other educational tools.
Select All Similar:
Context command added to allow for selecting all other objects with the same definition as the one selected. This makes selecting many types of the same object a single command instead of having to shift-select objects.
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View Management Features
Updated View Manager Properties:
The updated View Manager now encompasses both the view manager information and the ability to store printing information. This makes data access faster and allows you to save print information per view and drawing page.
View Reordering:
Views can now be re-ordered allowing you to re-sort your views and worksheets if desired.
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Catalog Features:
 New Catalog Support for the .BIM format:
Envisioneer now supports a .BIM file extension for catalogs. This .BIM format combines the geometry, manufacturer’s data and all materials into one compound file that can be accessed from the web or any other source.
New Search Mechanism:
The new search mechanism allows you to search on any keyword found in the description field in the catalog. With over 10,000 objects and growing, it is an invaluable tool for searching through the catalog to find your intended content.
Materials Paintbrush - Apply to All Similar:
With a simple checkbox, this option now allows you to apply materials to any similar object type in the 3D model. A great time saver.
Materials applicator - Step Back Function:
Located on a handy right-click menu, the Step Back function allows you to undo material applicator commands one by one.
Manufacturers Catalogs:
Cadsoft has undertaken the initiative to provide manufacturer catalogs to Envisioneer clients. The continuously growing list includes Anderson Windows, Marvin Windows, and Koehler fixtures to name a few.
Green Catalog Objects Added:
The Envisioneer 5.0 catalog has been greatly expanded to include such items as solar panels, solar tubing HVAC objects and dozens of other types and styles.
Appearance Property Page Enhancements:
This has been organized more efficiently for faster access and ease of use. In addition, the ability to apply to the selected object or all similar objects has been added to the material, which allows you to change materials to edit the current or all elements of that type. Also allows for independent mapping between textures and patterns.
Catalog Group Expansion:
Catalogs can now be expanded and organized into multiple group levels. This is great for storing specific manufacturers and organizing your data however you wish.
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Modeling Features
 Add a Location Wizard:
Add a Location Wizard is a command that allows you to create another floor location (such as foundation) by simply choosing appropriate elements and offsets.
Enhanced Snap Points on Walls:
All intersection points are now being published by walls, allowing for greater precision when modeling. Moreover, you now have all the additional snap points at your disposal when snapping dimensions, leaders and CAD objects.
Lengthen Members to Fence:
This option allows you to select multiple members and either extend or shorten to a chosen 'fence' line. This provides a much faster way to lengthen multiple members such as floor and ceiling framing.
Interior Surfaces:
You can now add surfaces and cavity space to the interior of walls. This is a great feature for illustrating drywall or plaster on walls and also perfect for renovation work to existing structures.
Bathroom Builder Wizard:
Like our existing Kitchen Builder Wizard, the Bathroom Builder Wizard enables you to select one of the many predefined bathroom layouts. This makes it much faster and easier to design a bathroom in a wide variety of configurations.
Insert Accessory to Plane:
This provides the ability to insert any other accessory on a roof surface. The command provides a fast and easy way to insert items such as solar panels, solar tubes, roof vents, and other roof accessories which could have previously been a time consuming task.
Step-Back Option for Wall Insertion by Baseline:
This context command has been added to allow you to step back while picking points for wall insertion boundary making it easier to correct wall insertion errors.
Duplicate CAD Data to Locations:
CAD data can now be duplicated to additional locations using Model View.
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 Annotation Features
Find & Replace Text:
New find and replace text has been added for both Model and Worksheet Views. Simply look for a text string and Envisioneer searches your document to find and replace it.
Auto Dimension to Stud:
By popular request, Envisioneer now has additional options for automatically dimensioning to stud or specified surfaces. This makes short work of dimensioning plans and allows you to tailor the output to suit your needs.
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Drafting Worksheet Features
 Polar Array:
A new polar array has been added to the array command. This handy feature allows you to place multiple copies of items around a central point.. Objects can also be rotated as they are copies around the array.
Double-Click Edit in Worksheet:
Any command that brings up a dialog for editing in worksheet views can now be accessed by double-clicking on the object.
Rectangle:
A rectangle creation tool has been added to Worksheet views. This creates a simple rectangle consisting of a closed polyline.
Polygon:
The new polygon creation tool offers you the ability to draw CAD shapes faster then ever before. Specify the number of sides of the polygon and choose its rotation and draw the shape instantantly.
Polyline:
The new polyline command is a robust feature that creates a continuous segment on inserted line segments. Polylines can be “open” or “closed” and are treated as a single object whose segments can be altered.
 Improved View Generation:
When inserting plans, elevations, sections and details into your worksheet views, great care has been taken to remove overlapping lines that may be caused by extraction of a 3D model. In addition, small lines that may have been collinear are now merged into a continuous line. This greatly reduces cleanup of inserted views.
Enhanced Worksheet Appearance:
Worksheets now have the familiar shadow option for better definition on where your print area is located. Each worksheet can be defined individually depending on your printing divide.
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Framing Features
 A new wall framing module puts Envisioneer into a class by itself. The new framer is designed for rapid expansion and will allow multiple framing configurations in any material.
Intersection Configuration:
The intersections where walls meet are now completely customizable to solve your framing configurations. Specify which wall runs through and which wall(s) will butt into the primary wall. Very top plates are also configurable to lap properly over the wall intersection. End cuts can be specified as well.
End Conditions:
Each wall’s end condition can be created and specified. No longer are you limited to a finite number of wall end conditions.
Opening Span Tables:
Specify your opening spans and how each framing parameter will react to those specified spans. Create custom headers, kings, jambs, cripples, and sills and save to a completely customizable library. Each span table can be set per building location, per load/non load bearing wall and also be overridden by specified opening. The ultimate in terms of flexibility.
Framing Rules:
You can now control the framing direction from a variety of situations. Framing can be controlled from a corner of a building, from a specified side, or individually control framing and deployment direction.
Custom Infill:
Specify your stud spacing, number of plates, and orientation. Save the entire configuration to a library for sharing across multiple construction jobs.
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Printing Features
Batch Printing:
Now you can choose to print a selected number of views to send to your printer all at once. Each view can now have its own parameters saved as well.
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Interoperability/Green Building Features
 Improved DWG support:
Many new AutoCAD entities have been added to Envisioneer or improved including:
- Spline and oval support
- Enhanced nested block support
- Enhanced polyline import
- Enhanced text and attribute alignment matching
- More robust hatching import
Improved DWG Export from Worksheets:
The export of AutoCAD DWG drawings have been improved including:
- More accurate text style and line pattern export
- More robust arc export
- Splines export properly and remain intact
Autodesk® Green Building Studio® Integration:
Envisioneer is now saving a GBMXL file to Autodesk® Green Building Studio® allowing those with a subscription to the service to output Envisioneer models to perform whole building analysis, optimize energy efficiency, and work toward carbon neutrality earlier in the design process.
Convert Punch Files:
Punch is a popular program for home enthusiasts and hobbyists. When you want to turn these drawings into serious construction models and documents, you can use our free Punch Powertools plug-in which allows you to export a .PXF file and open it in Envisioneer.
Open HGTV Home and Landscape Files
The most popular consumer product on the market today, Envisioneer can read, edit and enhance files created with HGTV’s Home and Landscape series of products. Now you can exchange ideas with clients who use this popular software series and take these files and turn them into professional designs, produce construction documents, and extract detailed quantity takeoffs.
Integration with Green 3D Home Website:
Cadsoft has partnered with Green 3D Home (www.green3Dhome.com), which offers of wealth of knowledge and information ranging from additional Envisioneer catalogs, energy saving tips, and a user community.
 Insert Image as Grayscale:
The Insert Image command has been expanded to include a gray scale option.
New Envisioneer Plug-in Technology:
Our new Envisioneer plug-in technology includes several add-on applications. New applications include the ability to navigate through an Envisioneer model using a standard Nintendo WII controller, support for the 3Dconnexion Spaceball Controller and Sandio 3D Mouse support to name a few. Additional plug in applications will be added in the future.
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