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interiorcad 2008 SP2 provides new as well as improvements over existing features.

New features and enhancements

• Via the front design preferences it is now possible to configure default connectors for newly created front design elements ("Always create partitions with connector X")
  
• Proper mapping of image based textures on front panels (e.g. to map a dishwasher front onto a door panel)
  
• Rebates on drawer bottoms are now possible even in case of underfloor slides
  
• Ability to drill handle borings from either the inner or outer side of a door
  
• Progress dialog for Part Layout on MacOS
  
• Dowels for imperial measurements
  
• Progress dialog when copying XG Resources to the user's DataFolder
  
• Autocreation of workpieces when converting a VectorWorks object to a VectorWOP object accepts
  • Polygons
    
  • Polylines
    
  • Circles
    
  • Arc Segments
    
  • Rectangles
    
  • Rotated Rectangles
    
  • NURBS-Curves
    
  • Extrudes
    
• Ability to output a supplier ID (boards, edges, coverings) during NC-Export
  
• Support for "CASE...OF" expressions in VectorWOP'S NC output configuration files
  

Fixes

• Some interiorcad plug-in objects didn't trigger copying the XG Resources folder to the user's DataFolder
• Many fixes to (non-rectangular) frames
• Unit name was sporadically disappearing when editing a unit
• Double-doors messed up the front design under certain circumstances
• Second handle on drawer front panel couldn't be removed
• Costing didn't honor "per unit" cost centers
• Lot's of improvements & fixes in part layouts

We are very pleased to launch interiorcad 2008 SP2. It is a free update for all interiorcad 2008 users, providing lots of bug fixes and new features. As a user of versions prior to VectorWorks 2008 please contact your local distributor.

As interiorcad 2008 requires an unlock code, please send your full address information and VectorWorks 2008 serial number to interiorcad@extragroup.com. We will then provide the download link and credentials as well as your unlock code.

For more details please pay attention to the entries preparations before updating interiorcad 2008 and the interiorcad 2008 SP2 fixes & features.

Enjoy interiorcad 2008.

interiorCAD 3.5 beta-testing is about to start. Anybody interested should contact us at interiorcad@extragroup.de (Note: You will need to run VW 12.5 on either MacOS or Windows to beta-test interiorCAD 3.5).

interiorCAD 3.5 is not only a mere compatibility update with VectorWorks 12.5, it features an impressive array of new features, too:

• Unit plug-in objects (instead of symbols) - double-clickable, 3D-reshapable und editable via the object-info palette - Including tools for insertion in both 2D & 3D views
• New, substantially improved functional hardware selection dialogs
• Visualization of material used in every dialog
• Windows XP look & feel of all dialogs
• Bifold doors
• New lists outputting whole units and work instructions for each part
• More information on unit (# of doors, materials used etc.) in quotes

Of course, it will be a free update for all existing interiorCAD users.

Watch this space for more details on interiorCAD 3.5!

If you are an interiorCAD customer and you haven't received our 3.0.2 upgrade notice yet, please contact us at

Shop-Section

Customizable report layouts

User now can customize the layout and what data is displayed for parts lists, material lists etc. Using special template datasheets users can modify the layout using the standard VectorWorks formatting tools for datasheets. They also have access to a range of variables that determine the printed content for reports.

Support for functional hardware

interiorCAD 3.0 ships with functional hardware databases for sliders, hinges, connectors and more.

Parametric cabinet creation

Extended back functions

• New type of back with grooves in the sides and a rebated back, used for greater stability.
• More options for double backs

Case

• Stretchers can be designed horizontally and vertically
• Connectors can now be attached to the inside or the outside of the case. The same goes for dividers where connectors can be attached to the left or the right side.
• Grid boring now can be centered to allow for symmetric parts.

Cappings

• New cappings on top of the case
• Cappings now can be attached using a definable bead
• Front-flush cappings now can be moved more to the front to be in line with doors

Extended 2D-view

• The cabinet's 2D view is extended by a configurable position and size of the cabinet's name

Front Design

Faceframes

• You can define face frames both in the case and the division dialog. The main face frame is defined in the case dialog, additional elements can be added segment-wise in the division.

Division by front dimensions

• Users now can specifiy the front's dimensions when dividing a segment allowing for precise door and drawer dizes. Gaps are defined only once per segment in this case.

Disable grid borings on a segment basis

• Grid borings can be disabled in any segment allowing for a more elegant design in parts of the cabinet where no grid borings are needed.

More extensions

• Horizontal segments can be defined as stretchers with a front and a back stretcher.
• The "Dimensions" tab is replaced by a "Segment" tab that combines both the dimensions and the properties of a given segment.
• The new tab "Frame" allows for the definition of a face frame element, if face frames were defined in the case dialog.
• Door and drawer front panels now can be mitred at the back side as well allowing for handle-less fronts.
• The width of vertical and horizontal frame elements can be adjusted separately.
• Material properties of any element can be adjusted directly from the division. Now nearly any element in the division with exception of the back can have its own unit group allowing for a greater flexibility in material schedules.

Data structures

Material groups

In order to allow for a more sophisticated rendering and parts list definition the existing unit groups were extended. There are more different groups for cappings, plinth, stretchers, back and faceframes. Additionally, users can add more groups to their material schedule as they see fit to define a greater variety of boards or front elements with different rendering materials etc. These custom groups can be used globally in the cabinet module.

New material dialog

The new material dialogs simplifies the handling of materials the cabinet is build of. It handles the grown size of unit groups more easily and allows for a more precise modification of only certain aspects in a cabinet. The new material dialog combines assignment of

• Material
• Texture and color
• Hatches for viewport-based cross-sections (usable in VW architect only)

in one go. The "copy material" function is rendered obsolete and thus removed. By selecting more than one unit group users can easily assign different properties to the unit groups in the material, texture and hatch section. By selecting a group of unit groups users can assign certain properties the areas like case, front, back or other areas. Selecting a stored default assigns all properties the the cabinet's unit groups. Equally useful is the fact that users can change material thicknesses in dialogs like case or division and the material is automatically adapted if there is a matching material for the new board thickness.

Resources and libraries

Improved resource handling

In order to facilitate easy access to the interiorCAD libraries, we added a new resource assistant that gives users access to the complete library of content that is supplied with interiorCAD. Users can search for content by attribute or any entered text. All content supplied by extragroup is indexed in order to achieve maximum accessibility. Users can create their own indexed content. The resource assistent contains a preview pane for any kind of content that is currently selected.

VectorWOP

Improved process support

Export to CNC was drastically improved over previous versions allowing for more cabinet types to be machined and providing a better process integration in a multi-vendor environment.

• Export multiple cabinets in one go
• Export all properties of exported cabinets in additional info files
• Customizable output using
  • Specification of sort order for tool operations
  • Automatic program numbering
  • Automatic launch of converters to further modify output nc programs like xiso to convert xxl files to pgm
  • Evaluation of formulas in the template to improve support for older machinery
  • Support of polylines in the CAM module
  • Support of non-rectangular workpieces
  • Support of rotated borings and cuts
  • Extended tool information file with more information about available tools
  • Tool name abstraction layer allowing for tool names that are automatically translated to machine specific tool names
  • Extended workpiece definition for workpieces that are formatted, unformatted, backs of workpieces etc.
  • Cutlist file that exports all parts to be cut on a cutting saw. Used to interface with cutting optimizers

When doing an NC export actually 4 types of files can be created:

• NC programs
• Jobinfo file that contains one line of information for every cnc program created, useable for production lists and further postprocessing (like in MACIS or for production lists in Biesse or Weeke machinery)
• Cutlist info file that contains one line of information for every different part. May be used for cutting optmizer and subsequent print of labels
• Export log file containing detailed information about any errors occured during the export process.

One of the major changes in interiorCAD 3 is the fact that we have finally dropped the external colour sets. Units of previous versions always referred to an external colour set file. If you edited a unit on an installation where the colour set file was missing, interiorCAD complained a lot about the missing file. Thus we finally have dropped this linking to external colour set files. Instead, colours and textures are now assigned in the completely redesigned material dialog. All settings concerning materials, colours, textures and hatches now can be done in one central place. As a side effect, the "material" favourite files now include all material, colour, texture and hatch settings. With interiorCAD 3 it now is easy to exchange units with other interiorCAD users without the need to additionally include the external colour set files.

Older colour sets are incompatible with the new material file format, but adjusting or recreating them is quite simple. Please note that in the material dialog you can filter the parts in the parts list (only show used parts, front parts, carcass parts and the like), and you can do multiple selections using the shift and control keys of your keyboard while selecting/deselecting parts. This way, editing existing and creating new material favourites is very simple and will only consume a fraction of time compared to previous versions of interiorCAD.

For backwards compatibility (e.g. editing units created in previous versions of interiorCAD), interiorCAD 3 still contains a folder called ./Plug-Ins/XG Resources/ColourSets/. If you want to open older drawings, copy your colour set files from the previous installation to the colour sets folder of interiorCAD 3. When opening older units, those colour sets will then get assigned to the unit when editing it. After that step, the unit doesn't need the external file anymore. All colour settings went into the unit. Please use the material dialog to check all settings. interiorCAD 3 features many new parts to allow a more detailed rendering. Check all parts, especially the new ones, to ensure colours and textures are assigned properly. Then save a new favourite if you need the settings for later use.

Users may want to migrate their materials database from an interiorCAD 2.5 installation to interiorCAD 3.0.

We recommend to check the materials which get shipped with 3.0 and to adjust them to fit your needs. See the menu Shop, submenu Materials for editing them.

In case you have created lots of customized materials in 2.5, the port can be done by copying over some text files from 2.5 to 3.0. These files are located in Plug-Ins/XG Resources of your interiorCAD installations. Before copying over a file, it is a good idea to save a copy of the originally installed file for later reference.

• Finishings.txt contains your finishings. You can simply copy this file from your 2.5 installation.
  
• Coverings.txt contains your coverings. You can simply copy this file from your 2.5 installation.
  
• Edges.txt contains your edgings. You can simply copy this file from your 2.5 installation.
  
• Boards.txt contains your boards. You can not copy this file from 2.5 to 3.0. If you have a few boards only, please edit/add boards using the frontend provided. If you have lots of boards created manually, please send us the file Boards.txt so we can adjust it for you
  

Your default materials are saved in the file Materials.txt. After adjusting/porting your materials, open the dialog Material of a newly created unit, adjust all materials to fit your needs and save it as default when done. Please note that you can create multiple selections in the list of unit groups by Shift- resp. Ctrl-klicking.

Today, we launched the interiorCAD 3.0 beta-program.

If you are interested in beta-testing interiorCAD 3.0, please contact us at interiorcad@extragroup.de. Please note that we need to get active feedback from our beta-testers in order to improve the product, so please apply only if you can dedicate some time to not only testing interiorCAD 3.0, but also creating elaborate and reproducible bug-reports.

Also, the first betas will be metric only, imperial measurements will be supported later in the beta cycle.

To wet your appetite, here's an incomplete, birds-eye view of interiorCAD 3.0 new features

• Customizable report layouts
• Lot's of enhancements to the cabinet builder
  • Face-frames
  • New back options
  • Top-scribes
  • All new material handling
  • More stretcher options
  • Extended 2D-plan view options
  • Disabling grid borings on a per-segment basis
  • Chamfered door/drawer panels
• New, custom resource browser featuring previews, searching & filtering
• Support for functional hardware (connectors, hinges, slides, dowels)

Here is an update for the

• Units - mm
• Units - cm
• Units - m

commands found in interiorCAD 2.5 for VectorWorks 12. These commands will properly change the primary units of the current drawing to mm, cm & m.

These commands will work in VectorWorks 12 only.

Due to a production error the parts in cutting lists are not cumulated in interiorCAD 2.0. To fix this, you can get un updated version of the corresponding plugin:

• MacOS
• Windows

After unpacking the file, simply move it to the folder called »Plug-Ins« of your installation and overwrite the existing file with the new one.

[Update: Fixed links]

Starting with interiorCAD 2.0, all of interiorCAD's plug-ins filenames have a common prefix: "XG", e.g. "XG Create Unit.dll", "XG Part Layout.dll". Even the folder used to store all of interiorCADs favorite values and materials was renamed to have the "XG" prefix. Why?

If you want to strip your VectorWorks version off interiorCAD (you would only want to do that because you want to try out the latest and greatest interiorCAD beta version, don't you?), it's really simple: Open up VectorWorks/Plug-Ins, sort the contents by name, delete all files and folders starting with "XG", delete the folder Includes/tg - and you're set.