Softplan Requirements

[Henrietta Naughton]

SoftPlancan be run on any PC which has a 64-bit (x64) processor from Intel or AMD. SoftPlan is not compatible with any device which uses an ARM processor, regardless of operating system or emulator used. A multiple (4+) core processor is required. Multiple cores are more important than raw processor speed.

Additional requirements: 2 button mouse/pointing device. 15GB of available hard drive space for program installation. 1 USB type A port. An internet connection during installation and while using the program.

SoftPlan requires a video card that at a minimum is capable of supporting Microsoft DirectX 11 (DX11) but will offer significant performance improvements when used with a video card which supports DirectX 12 (DX12).

Minimum Video Card: At least DirectX 11 support, 1 GB+ dedicated RAM. This class of cards may support DX12 but do not support DX12 ray tracing. They are suitable for 2D and basic 3D work but use a much slower software based ray tracing engine native to SoftPlan and some SoftPlan 3D features will be unavailable.

Better Video Card: DirectX 12 support, 6 GB+ dedicated RAM, This class of cards support DX12 ray tracing but have no dedicated ray tracing hardware. They are suitable for advanced 3D work, but will result in longer processing times than video cards in the Best class.

Limitations: Integrated graphics (i.e. no separate graphics card) often do not have dedicated RAM, instead sharing memory with the system in general. This is common with both laptop and desktop computers and can result in inferior performance as compared to that of a separate graphics card.

Boot Camp software allows you to choose at start-up which operating system, macOS or Windows, to use. Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion software are used to create a virtual Windows environment within the Mac operating system.

SoftPlan and SoftPlan reView can be run on those Microsoft Surface devices which have an x64 processor (Intel or AMD) and use the Windows 8, Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating system. SoftPlan and SoftPlan reView are not compatible with the Windows RT operating system and cannot be used on devices that use it. Examples include the original Surface and Surface 2 tablets. SoftPlan and SoftPlan reView are not compatible with the ARM processor and cannot be used on devices that use it. Examples include the Surface Pro X.

You are probably looking at several programs ranging in price from $750.00 to $6000.00. Programs towards the lower end of this price range will likely easy to learn at first but due to their history as consumer products they tend to become limiting very quickly and will not provide the ability to complete highly detailed working drawings. Most of the programs towards the upper end of this price range are going to allow you to complete working drawings, but will lack ease of use. SoftPlan is and always has been targeted to the professional user and is the only program that combines an easy to use interface with the ability to complete highly detailed working drawings, 3D renderings and material take offs. SoftPlan does not charge annual maintenance or support fees.

It's fast, easy to learn, and easy to use. A to-scale three dimensional rendering of your model appears at your request instantaneously during any phase of the drafting process. SoftPlan allows you to apply countless textures to three dimensional surfaces - e.g. hardwood, carpet or tile to floor surfaces; brick, siding or stucco to exterior wall surfaces; etc.. To bring your model to life, various lighting, which casts incredible shadows and reflections, can be added. Sunshine, representative of various daytime hours, is easily simulated. Even create exterior or interior spotlights, lamps, and overhead lighting - it's all available, and nothing short of amazing! 3D views are generated in different modes such as Wire Frame, Hidden Line, Shaded, and a Textured 3D. The Textured 3D shows different surfaces such as brick, stone, siding, shingles, etc.

SoftList is much more powerful than any other integrated material list module and the resulting list more complete. What other software developers sell as a "Materials List" is a simple listing of the items that you have drawn on the screen. SoftList has the ability to count materials via logic based material definitions. Items that are not drawn are counted based on the presence of items that are on the drawing. For example, if we were to draw a 8' x 10' stone patio a lesser design package may report that the 80 sq ft of material is required. What you draw is what gets counted. SoftList on the other hand, based on the presence of the same patio, can calculate the volume of the excavation; the rolls of landscaping fabric, the length of edging, the volume of gravel and stone dust, and the number of stones required, each with pricing and a waste factor. So, there is a huge difference between a simple schedule of materials and the comprehensive materials list that SoftList is capable of producing.

New Versions: A new SoftPlan new version is quite large and incorporates many new features. Historically new versions were released on average every 24 to 36 months. Newer versions will be released every 24 to 27 months.

The I7 is fine. I would install 2 1 gig drives not one 3 gig drive. I use one for software, then put all my data on the second one, with a copy on the first drive as a back up. Then monthly copy it off the first one to a cd as an incremental back up and delete it off the first drive.

An i7 processor will work fine for you. My setup is about 7yrs old and other than burning out the video card, the quadcore i7 I'm running is great. I'd suggest a solid state drive and I have a 500Gb one. Including pictures, PDF's and other work related stuff, I only have half of it used and I'm doing about 150 projects a year. If you have other requirements for the 3Tb drive, go for it.

If you do 3D for your clients or want to get into more of that, spend the money on a good video card. I have a friend who is a brilliant computer architecture guy, when he and I discussed hardware for SoftPlan, he sent me these links:

Not sure if you are looking at a desktop or laptop. I am running a Dell Latitude E5570 laptop with a I7 2.6G dual core processor with an integrated video card and secondary video card. The secondary video card only is used when in 3d mode. I just upgraded the memory to 16 gig Ram. The I7 is much better for multi tasking but the I5 will do fine as well. I would recommend an I7 processor 2.6 ghz quad core processor a good video card, preferably one for gaming. A solid state drive as a main drive and 16 gig of RAM. If you can swap out the hard drive and ram yourself, you can do it much cheaper than having the manufacturer install it. You can get 16 gig of ram for about $70.00 and a 500 gig solid state drive for about the same off of Amazon, add on a cord and software to clone the drive for abut $25.00, vs. the manufacturer installing these for about $500.00 - $700.00. If you have a business name, you can get a computer through Dell Small Business with no bloatware on it. You should be able to get into a laptop with a dock for about $1200.00 - $1500.00 and desktop for less than this plus monitors. If buying a laptop, make sure you get 1920 x 1080 monitor. If you are buying a Dell, get either a Latitude or Precision. These are easier to work on than their other models and the docks for them will power the computer through one cord. 500 gig hard drive should be plenty big, Get an external to backup your work to. I only do about 6-10 houses a year as a side business and I work off a flash drive and I have less than 8 gig used up on it. Hope this helps.

To fully take advantage of all of SoftPlan's enhancedSoftView modes (for example, sketched and illustrated modes) avideo card capable of supporting a minimum of Open GL 2.0, DirectXversion 9.0 and a minimum Shader Model Support Version 3.0 isrequired; the more memory on the video card, the better. The higherthe number of pixel shaders, vertex shaders, or stream processors,depending on the card, the better the performance will be. Notethat the video card does not affect the performance of Renderingmode in SoftView, but rather wire frame, visible line, shaded,sketched, illustrated, and textured modes.

Traditional wood-frame construction can't compare to the safety, permanence, and energy efficiency of walls built with insulating concrete forms. Increasing energy-efficiency and disaster resiliency requirements make it more complex and expensive to build to these higher minimum-standards. An exterior ICF wall delivers code-surpassing energy performance and extreme disaster resilience while reducing materials, trades, and complexity.

I'd like to hear some tips from others how they determine whether a window will meet minimum egress requirements. Window measurements in SoftPlan are typically frame size, not clear open area. Different manufacturers' windows of the same frame size will have differing clear open dimensions, depending on thickness of frame, style of opening hardware, etc. Do some manufacturers provide calculators for their various models, and the frame size just needs entering to determine if it meets egress? Or are there other simple methods?

Thanks for sharing that link; that gives me the type of info I need, at least for Jeld-Wen windows. It'll serve as a guideline for other brands, too, if I can't find other brand-specific calculators. I wasn't able to locate a Canadian version of that calculator, but this one gives me enough info I can compare it to NBCC requirements.

Martin Windows used to have a specific catalogue that listed all their windows that complied with egress requirements (at least for Ontario). I still use it as a rough and ready guide. However, I normally have a window that's well in excess of any required minimum.

I somehow doubt that, most of the salesmen at lumberyards couldn't tell you off the top of their heads what the egress requirements are, never mind which of their various window brands slider, casement, single hung or double hung windows complied with those requirements.

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