Vectorworks Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020

From VW Architect 2019 + 1‑Year Maint.

Engineered to meet the specific needs of smart-sized companies, Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020 From VW Architect 2019 + 1-Year Maint. has everything you need to streamline the design and production process. From project setup to programming, schematic design development and construction documents - Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020 lets you work faster and smarter with fewer errors. That's why top architects around the world rely on Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020 to create and present their designs. At a fraction of the cost of other CAD programs, Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020 can take your designs to places you never thought they could go.

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For a detailed Comparison of Vectorworks Commands and Tools by Product check our Comparison Table (PDF).

Live Data Visualization

Unlike other software programs that limit your use of project data, Vectorworks brings data visualization to the live design environment. Quickly change objects' attributes using data parameters that allow you to view everything from errors to the impacts of your decisions — all while you're designing. And because it's in the live design environment, you can edit an object's data as you're designing and see the impact of those changes; for example, you can have doors turn red when they lack fire protection. You will also experience greater efficiency in your process by being able to visualize data for error/quality checking and work validation.

GIS Improvements

With the new Geographic Information System (GIS) toolset and integration with Esri's ArcGIS online services, integrating GIS information with your BIM model just got a whole lot easier. After selecting an appropriate coordinate system in the Vectorworks file, you can accurately geolocate your project by simply entering an address. Instantly incorporate street map, satellite, or other imagery in your design through ArcGIS and WMS servers. And with a paid ArcGIS online service plan, you can access more maps and other imagery directly in Vectorworks.

History-Based Modeling

The 3D solids modeling commands in Vectorworks are now much more flexible and intuitive, supporting nearly endless permutations and combinations — both in the sequence of creating an object, as well as in modifying specific steps later in the design process. When you need to change something, there's no need to "start again," which enables more natural and iterative modeling.

Vectorworks Graphics Module Improvements

Our latest Vectorworks Graphics Module can now better control the graphic display of complex objects. The improvements will hide covered objects, auto-reduce meshes, and simplify the level of detail on native objects — leading to dramatically improved file performance while speeding up the responsiveness of your Vectorworks files. Enjoy faster file navigation, view changes, tool operations, more responsive models, and the ability to handle much larger projects.

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Efficiency and productivity are critical, and you need the right tools to help you achieve your goals, on time and on budget. Enhancements in Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020 help you seamlessly collaborate with others and streamline the creation of presentation drawings and construction documents, letting you work faster and be more productive than ever before.

Customize Your Drawings With 2D Components For Hybrid Objects

You've made the move to working in 3D. Now, optimize that effort by efficiently creating 2D drawings from your 3D and BIM models. With the new 2D components for hybrid objects capability, we're putting you in complete control of the detail level your symbols and plug-in objects display. Simply right-click to edit the detail and display of any 2D/3D hybrid object so it draws exactly as you want in plan, elevation, and section views.

Benefit From BIM-Ready Building Libraries

We've added BIM data sets to all architectural symbols to make it easier to exchange BIM data with others. Now, all building objects that ship with Vectorworks are compliant with the latest versions of IFC (IFC2x3, IFC4) and COBie (v2.4), resulting in a reliable and efficient export of your building model for both IFC and COBie standards.

Save Time With Data Tags

Some aspects of your workflow thrive when flexibility works in predictable ways. The new Data Tag tool in Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020 gives you a consistent and robust method for tagging and displaying data about the intelligent objects and symbols in your model and viewports. Tag objects individually, or automatically tag multiple objects, all while having complete control over the graphic appearance of data tags. This will save you time and simplify the process of managing displayed data in your documents.

Benefit From Advances In Marionette

More and more, designers are recognizing the benefits of algorithmic design to automate tasks and save them time. We've included a number of usability improvements and new nodes to make Marionette easier and more powerful.

Simplify The Data Handover With Cobie Worksheets

The assets data handover from BIM to operations just got easier. Unlike other BIM software that produces read-only COBie reports, Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020 has bi-directional control. Edit the BIM model and the COBie worksheet automatically updates, or update data in the COBie worksheet and drive changes in the model.

Better OpenBIM With Custom IFC Export

In a BIM project, controlling and filtering which objects and IFC data are exported is key to successful collaboration. Revolutionary changes in Vectorworks IFC data mapping give the BIM manager more control over IFC export. Custom export options and the ability to specify data for sub-objects provide you confidence in the exchange of BIM models with other project stakeholders.

Easily Create Concept Layouts With Image Effects

Now you can accomplish mainstream image editing right inside of Vectorworks. You don't need to export your designs to other editing applications such as Photoshop or Illustrator. The new viewport image effects work with viewports and imported images, which lets you prepare your presentation boards in the same software you used to create your designs.

Increase Efficiency With Improved PDF Workflows

Building on our integration with Bluebeam Studio Prime, we made it easier to work with imported PDF files. New options allow you to toggle off and on annotations, improve snapping, control background fills, and quickly resize and align multiple PDFs at the same time.

Improve Collaboration With Revit

Thanks to the latest updates to the industry standard Teigha BIM library from the Open Design Alliance, Vectorworks users can now batch import Revit Families making it easier to incorporate manufacturer objects and convert more building objects from a Revit model to native Vectorworks objects. This is a huge improvement for Revit customers migrating to Vectorworks and makes it easier to access manufacturers' BIM product content.

Discover Streamlined Section Drawing Creation

Derive high-quality sections from your model without wasting time making repetitive adjustments. A new default display for section attributes provides universally acceptable defaults, and a new context-sensitive right-click menu allows you to generate sections directly from section elevation markers or orphaned section lines. Create better drawings by generating a profile line that emphasizes the cut of your sections. Plus, you can now override object visibility beyond or before the cut plane using the correct line weights and styles. The object visibility control is the same for horizontal and vertical sections.

Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020 gives you more opportunities than ever before to optimize your modeling process. No matter your project type or size, Vectorworks provides you with intuitive and robust modeling functionality to help you save time and deliver exceptional results.

Create Remarkable Presentations With New Clip Cube Options

You asked for it, and now you can use the clip cube on sheet layer viewports. And, unlike other applications that have limitations on the visualization of clip cubes, Vectorworks enables you to use clip cubes in any rendered view or style, giving you the efficiency and capability you need to create remarkable sections, elevations, and presentation drawings.

Save Time Specifying With New Object Catalogs

We've expanded our support of catalog styles to additional architectural elements, including all cabinet objects. You can quickly define and specify the cabinetry in your designs using manufacturer catalog data. Controlling objects by catalog styles lets you quickly modify the architectural object data while saving you time with your materials specifications. Additionally, Vectorworks now supports this style capability for third-party plugins.

Quickly Capture Site Data With Point Cloud Enhancements

Reality capture has quickly transformed from a high-cost, advanced technology for experts into an affordable and accessible process that can have a major impact on your design workflow. Our latest release makes working with point clouds faster and easier. We added import of PLY point cloud files, new controls to manage the density and automatically clean up point cloud data, and the ability to define a marquee region to refine the data set. A new Merge Point Clouds command creates a single model from individual scans, and a new custom color option allows you to define height limits of various regions, so you can better visualize your data set.

Speed Up Your Modeling Process With Subdivision Iterations

We've continued to refine the ease of use of our subdivision feature, built on Pixar's OpenSubdiv library. A new setting in the Edit Subdivision tool gives you the ability to quickly see how subdivisions will look with one to five subdivision iterations being performed, making it possible to go from generic form to your desired result much faster.

Increase Accuracy With Non-Horizontal Ceilings And Floors In Space Objects

Having a 3D model of building spaces is incredibly advantageous for understanding your design at all stages. With these latest improvements to our space objects, you can easily fit your spaces to geometry above or below your space, such as walls, ceilings, roofs, and slabs, resulting in more accurate representations of space volumes, areas, calculations, and visualizations

Improve Space Planning With Space Styles

Vectorworks understands the importance of space planning and has long offered a powerful suite of space planning tools to simplify your design process. In this latest release, the Vectorworks space objects now support the use of styles so you can more efficiently create and manage your spaces for typical information such as usage type, color, and class, enabling you to quickly and consistently handle a large number of spaces.

We pride ourselves on listening to customers like you. We know you love the innovative technology we've delivered in the past, and we strive to provide the top-notch quality you expect across all Vectorworks products. With Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020, we've listened to your feedback, and we've doubled down on many under-the-hood improvements that you're sure to notice when you experience the latest version for the first time.

Multiple-Core Support For The Vectorworks Graphics Module

The Vectorworks Graphics Module has been enhanced to use intelligent ondemand object tessellation for loading only geometric objects that need to be shown. This enhancement significantly speeds file and view loading in Vectorworks files of all sizes.

Improve Collaboration With Better Dwg Imports And Exports

When you collaborate with others, you expect the information you share is accurate and easy to manage. With enhancements to the layer and class mapping for DWG imports, you'll enjoy a quick import process that doesn't require manual effort to rename and organize the DWG file information. A new purge option lets you delete empty layers and unused objects for a cleaner import. And, new options give you more control when exporting images, fills, and tiles resulting in higher-quality DWG exports from Vectorworks.

Work Faster With The Vectorworks Graphics Module On Sheet Layers

The Vectorworks Graphics Module is an exceptional screen-drawing technology that makes it possible for you to enjoy smooth, fast, and reliable generations of drawing and model views while you're using Vectorworks. With this latest release, your project's sheet layers now benefit from optimized, multi-threaded technology for use with advanced GPUs. As a result, there's no performance difference between panning and zooming in a sheet layer compared to a design layer.

Enjoy Simpler Title Block Management

With enhancements to the title block in Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020, you'll enjoy the ability to manage title blocks across multiple documents from a single file, regardless of how many Vectorworks files are incorporated in your project.

Improve Navigation With Layer And Class Filtering

Searching through long lists to find the layer and class you're looking for is a huge pain. In Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020 you can instantly find what you're looking for by typing in a keyword search or using filters to display classes and layers based upon specific properties. Being able to work with filtered lists, and instantly search to find classes or layers, will significantly improve your productivity.

Increase Your Efficiency With Improved Stairs

The Stair tool has several exciting quality improvements in this release, including options for correctly modeling custom top and bottom treads in any design scenario, at-your-fingertips access to stair content in the Resource Selector, and easy-to discover settings for stair-to-floor connections.

Discover Peace Of Mind With Project Sharing Diagnostics

We've tuned project sharing to address the common usage issues. We've added safeguards to prevent accidental deletion of work when multiple users have admin privileges within a project. Moreover, you can run diagnostics to check for performance issues and take corrective actions.

Easily Handle Changes With Improved Chain Dimensions

Take advantage of new capabilities with Vectorworks dimensions that enable you to simultaneously add multiple dimensions in a chain dimension and quickly split a chain dimension in two, so you can more efficiently handle changes with your design dimensions.

Take Control With Improved Flyover Sensitivity

With Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020, you now have easy access to settings for controlling the Flyover tool sensitivity, so you can stay in complete control of your 3D flyover.

• 2D Components for Hybrid Objects
• Image Effects
• Clip Cube Viewport Option
• Layer and Class Filtering
• Streamlined Section Drawings
• Data Tags
• 3D Site Model Sculpting
• AutoTURN Online
• Vectorworks Graphics Module Support for Sheet Layers
• Improved Stair Modeling
• Space Styles
• Non-Horizontal Ceilings and Floor Support in Space Objects
• IFC Data Mapping
• Improved Collaboration with Revit
• Improved PDF Workflows
• Cabinet Catalogs
• Title Block Coordination
• Contour Reshaping
• Project Sharing
• Smart Cursor
• Marionette
• Survey Data Import
• Augmented Reality
• Image Props
• Custom Textures
• Web View & Virtual Reality
• Rendering Panoramas
• Graphics and Presentation
• Notes and Keynotes
• Dimensioning
• Master Snaps
• Open BIM
• BCF Manager
• Accessible IFC Data
• IFC Data Mapping
• Energos
• Worksheets
• BIM Object Library Access
• Symbols
• Stairs
• Roofs
• Slab Drainage
• Wall Styles
• BIM
• Resource Manager
• Creative Modeling
• Surface Array
• Rendering
• Door and Window Styles
• Subdivision
• Push/Pull
• Multiple Drawing Views

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After you place the order for Upgrade to Vectorworks Architect 2020, we will send you an e-mail asking for the last 6 digits of the serial number of the Vectorworks license to upgrade. Be sure to have a regular Vectorworks Architect 2019 license. Available only for US licenses.