The third update to the HighDesign R5 line is now available for download, either from the Downloads page or from the Update directly in HighDesign.
Quality of projects and workflow are extremely important to us. As all CAD and architecture design professionals know very well, those two key factors influence each other for the eventual success of a project, both in terms of time and money, and customer satisfaction.
In this update we focused on the fundamentals of drafting and documentation, implementing many features that were requested especially after the release of HighDesign R5. Many new features were added, and many existing features were improved and made more accessible.
One of the most requested features were custom insertion points in symbols. When working with asymmetrical drawing blocks, the ability to define a custom insertion point for its symbol can be very handy for a quicker use of the symbol. Now, in R5.3, you can define as many insertion points as you need.
An area that was extensively redesigned is the Insert Image tool and the overall management of images. Previously, images were embedded objects with no link to the original image data. That meant that once resized, the image would change permanently, with clear effects on its quality. In R5.3, images are treated as project resources: that means that the image object is an instance of the original image that is stored once inside the project. Now, rotation and resizing can be applied with no interference on the original image, so that it is possible to restore the original image size and resolution at any time. Also, you can replace the image maintaining position and size of the inserted object.
Spline curves and bézier paths also received improvements to conform the construction methods to the standards that are widely used in vector drawing software. To define the tangents of a bézier path, you can now click and drag: the first click defines the node and dragging defines its tangent.
Editing is now easier with a new command to change the type of a node from sharp to smooth and vice-versa. To open the menu, with the Curves tool active go to the node of a selected path and hover for half a second.
Other new features in HighDesign include:
- The Text tool now provides more options for box-fitting and a handy menu for the quick insertion of special characters.
- Dimensions offer better support for international standards by providing new label positioning options.
- Added snap to grid subdivisions and improved the accuracy of the snap to grid nodes.
- Improved handling of recovered files.
- Improved overall support and UI on Windows.
To learn more about HighDesign R5 and download a free trial, visit https://www.ilexsoft.com/highdesign/index.html
