Powerful and simple to useJuly 29, 2008 M. Lea 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Having had no experience of CAD based drawing programs I found this a doddle to pick up and get to grips with. The comprehensive manuals and tutorials give all the information you need to get started.
I was drawing walls and rooms in minutes and the simple drag and drop type interface makes it really easy to then add in your doors and windows. The library of objects and textures is fairly comprehensive giving enough variety to suit most styles of design.
The reason I went for this particular program is the fact it's designed for a UK/Europe market unlike most other similar software which is only suitable for US style buildings. The inclusion of the Creative Lines program also allows me to get my plans into a format suitable for submission for planning permission which is a great bonus.
Instant resultsJuly 29, 2008 Mr. Tim Bates(UK) 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
ARCON has no steep learning curve and allows for non-qualified CAD users like myself to very quickly produce instant results.
In 2D mode create your plans by accurately dragging and dropping elements such as walls, doors and windows. There is also a room planning tool allowing you to quickly place walls to further modify. If you want to create new floors, you can easiliy do this by transferring all elements from existing floor to further modify.
The visualisations created in ARCON are very impressive. In 2D mode you simply click a button and hey presto you have a 3D model. Furnish the model with choice of objects and textures from catalogue. You can even walk through your project and experiment with lighting conditions. Collision control stops you walking through walls.
Placing furniture objects is easy and can be modified to suit e.g. size and orientation. I suggest placing objects in plan view as manual suggests - this is much easier to control and position objects. Some objects e.g. kitchen units can even snap to one another.