What’s new in DomuS3D® 2018 compared with v. 2017

Layout window

• Mirror the room: you can duplicate the room mirroring it horizontally or vertically. Tiles are not replicated in the mirrored room
• It’s possible to modify color, height and font of all text available in the project (using the check in Property Grid)
• It’s possible to modify color and height of all 2D dimensions available in the project (using the check in Property Grid)
• Merge Room is a feature that allows you to merge 2 rooms that are connected with a single wall Click here to learn more
• 'Divide (Split) room' feature allows you to start and terminate tracing the new room on the same wall
• The command 'Move-Point + Delta' has been improved, and now you can see the Delta directly on the screen. Click here to learn more
• The command 'Move furnishing', has been modified:
  • if the furnishing is inside the room, you can see dynamic dimensions between the item and the nearer horizontal and vertical wall. Click here to learn more
  • as soon as the item is aligned to a wall, you can see 2 additional dynamic dimensions related to the distance between the furnishing bound box and the nearer corner/furnishing; very useful when placing sanitary ware. Click here to learn more
• The command 'Move object' behaves now the same ways as 'Move furnishing', aligning the object to the wall and showing dynamic dimensions between the object and the corners of the wall (You can restore the previous command with the Registry "ObjMoveOld" = 1)
• When you create a 3D object starting from a polyline, you have the opportunity of automatically removing the construction polyline
• New command 'Delete inner wall'; allows you to delete the entire inner wall. Click here to learn more
• The DWG/DXF import module has beet updated, and it is now possible to load DWG files in Autocad 2018 format
• Property Grid for the walls (both in Layout and Navigation window) contains now a control that allows you to apply the wall material to the remaining walls of the room
• New command 'Show Info-Distance' that allows you to check the distance between 2 points without being forced to draw the dimension
• R2: the walls' default width has been set to 10 cm. Moreover, each project has its own walls width and height parameter, so that you can customize them directly within the project
• R2: when you draw a new rectangle (in CAD2D section) the Application automatically asks you if you want to create an object, a room (in Layout window), or an image/coverable area (Wall 2D window)
• R2: in Layout and Wall 2D window you can create objects just selecting CAD entities that have still not been merged into a unique polyline, provided that they point to a closed shape (the command is called Object from selection, and is located in the CAD-Create from selection section of the Ribbon)
• R2: drawing a new text in Layout window is quicker then ever, as you do not need to specify height and orientation with the mouse anymore, but just the text origin. Text height and orientation can still be specified in the text mask that will appear right after origin has been chosen
• R2: you can store in the Application database a file downloaded from Warehouse (SketchUp) or loaded from external files (.fbx, .3ds, ...), thanks to the command Add to database, available if you click the right mouse button on the object
• R2: Draw-Cube feature has been improved: the cube parameters are now persistent (you find the same values next time you draw again the cube). Moreover, when you start moving the cube, the move feature is the new one, the same used for furnishing too

Tiling features

• New Photo3D module: Design starting for a photograph.  You can load an Augmented Scene from the App RealityRemod, Porcelanosa Viewer, IRIS-Group AR; you can change a part of the photograph laying tiles on classified surfaces the same way you do in the native App, picking up tiles from the DomuS3D® Components window.  Click here to learn more

• When you pick the floor with the left mouse button in Navigation window, the PropertyGrid shows you the material contained in the floor. You can change the grout and the material finish

• When you pick the floor with the left mouse button in Navigation window, the PropertyGrid allows you to quickly change the grout 
• R2: it is possible to tile the shower box even starting from the corner (before this release you could tile the shower box only from the center and the edge)

Rendering

• Render process is faster thanks to a new version of the engine (V-Ray 3.40), GPU usage  and also a better balance of the available properties (V-Ray)
• Slider values related to the Low, Medium, High, Very high and Maximum setup have been changed in order to optimize quality together with speed(V-Ray)
• Depth of Field: you can start the rendering in DOF mode. The DOF parameters are set in the view  mask (V-Ray and mental ray). Click here to learn more
• Better image quality using V-Ray: thanks to the new rendering parameters (gloss maps, IOR-Index of Reflection, opacity, translucency, 2-sided materials for curtains, procedural map falloff-FUR) you can increase the quality of the generated images (V-Ray)
• New V-Ray 3.6 integration: among the features available in v. 3.6: resume rendering, editing of the lights effects after the rendering, option to use the GPU (to be confirmed) in a balanced way (with compatible graphic cards: this is still under investigation)
• Materials presets: option to use materials preset in order to quickly classify the finish of standard materials (V-Ray)
• Lights compositing in post production. VERY useful feature, as you can manage lights even after the rendering process, and save a lot of time in the scene setup. Click here to learn more (V-Ray)
• You can group lights (which is useful if you plan to use Light Compositing in post production) (V-Ray)
• Adaptive lights: lights will be automatically switched off by the render engine in case they are not relevant in the rendered image (V-Ray)
• You can align Neon and Spot lights horizontally and vertically (in Navigation and Layout window, through the right mouse context menu)
• You can start the image denoising algorithm directly within the lights editing window (V-Ray)
• In the editing lights window you can load *.jps files
• You can convert a V-Ray material into a mental ray one (click the right mouse button in the materials mask). This is useful for those still using mental ray, when loading projects made for V-Ray
• R2: all modifications to the rendering engine in 2018-R2 are referred to V-Ray
• R2: you can recover the last rendering process in case you manually stopped it before its natural completion. You can use the new command available in Ribbon, in the Home-Rendering section (Resume last rendering)
• R2: a new mask containing all lightrs available in the project is available for a quicker modification of most used parameters of a light.  Click here to learn more
• R2: rendering environment has been improved if you are using V-Ray: 
  • you can choose the sky type (Hosek is the default for a new project)
  • you can apply a color filter to the sun light
  • you can use HDR backgrounds with a Dome light
• R2: while you are creating e rendered scene within the Application, it is possible to stop immediately the rendering process, or even Go back to the mask containing all rendering parameters in order to quickly change the rendering setup. The Back button is really useful to reduce time in case you need to slightly change the rendering parameters and launch the rendeirng again
• R2: when you create a rendering, you cannot specify anymore the Render Manager destination in case you are creating an Interactive rendering. Render Manager, in fact, is meant to process progressive Jobs only
• R2: if you stop a progressive rendering, denoiser will be applied automatically. In this way you minimize the error that you usually have when you stop a progressive rendering before its natural completion
• R2: the automatic procedure that converts a mental ray material for V-Ray has been improved
• R2: new conversion procedure that allows you to create a V-Ray material first, then to convert it for mental ray
• R2: it is possible to customize the rendering resolution parameters
• R2: it is possible to use EXR file format in the HDR backgrounds
• R2: Render Manager has been improved and now is more stable, especially when used in a Rendering Server environment

Navigation

• R2: you can create movies of the scene navigation in MP4 format

Miscellaneous

• Materials: new parameters. New parameters are available within the V-Ray materials; those parameters help improving the quality of rendered images
• DomuS3D® 360 for the Web: this is the first version of the web portal that allows customers publishing and sharing their own projects, including images, panoramas, 3D scenes, PDF’s, etc… It can be used by DomuS3D® 2017 users too. v. 2018 users, indeed (if they have processed the Catalogues Download service) will have the opportunity of integrating 360.com in a micro-site within their own website, so that their projects will be available and visible in their web site. You can access DomuS3D® 360 connecting to the following link: http://www.domus3d360.com
• SketchUp 2017 compatibility: it is possible to load skp v.2017 files
• Knowledge Base system: the new Knowledge Base platform contains tons of information regarding the software. Knowledge Base (also called KB) replaces the old User's Manual; in it you can find articles that will help you better learning how to use specific features, but also solving the most common troubleshoots. Through the browser, you can access the KB on PC/MAC systems, as well as mobile devices. From within DomuS3D® you can search the KB starting from the Property Grid, or even the '?' buttons in the most important masks. KB is currently available in English, Spanish, Italian. The address of the KB is: http://support.domus3d.com
• Software (Cloud) protection: when delivered, a DomuS3D® license is protected with a software protection system. This means that you need to be connected to the Internet, time to time, in order to start and run the Application. The Software License can be applied also on Virtual Machines (typically used by the Server module in a Client-Server environment). Hardware leys (dongle) protection may be ordered instead of the software one, with an additional price. The new software license gives retailers more opportunities of sharing DomuS3D® with the Architects connected to the Point of Sale: ask your sales reference more information about that
• Projects section in Live! page: it is a new section (also called Tile, following Microsoft Windows rules for Windows 8 and later O.S.) of the Live! Page, where the user can browse several projects, searching them by room type, style, collection, etc...; those projects can be immediately downloaded  in DomuS3D®
• New content in Property Grid: when activating a furnishing item, you can synchronize the Component window to the Collection or Typology the furniture refers to
• DomuS3D® Starter: after installation, the desktop shows just one icon, with which you can start Starter. Starter is a companion tool that allows you to 
  • launch DomuS3D® itself
  • launch render Manager (application that allows you to run render processes in a queue)
  • launch Composer (application that allows you to print the project deciding the folder format)
  • launch DomuS3D® Application Manager (application that allows you to maintain and backup the internal database)
  • access to Technical Support as well as the most important URL's for the Program
  • access to the Diagnostic Tools, that commonly allow you to repair your Application
• A search field is available in the mask dedicated to the Materials contained in the project; in this way you can easily focus on the material you need, in case there are so many in the project
• You can modify directly the material assigned to the Wall clicking the material name field and activating the related button 
• In the Options window, section Surface (2D) --> Tolerance for objects next to wall, you can modify the Registry value TileWinCaptureZMax; this Registry specifies the maximum distance between objects and wall so that objects will be visible in the Surface 2D window
• When you delete a project, a backup copy is saved in the Projects Trash. Project Trash is located in the following folder: ...\DomuS3D\Projects\trash. If you do not want to save a copy in the trash go to the Options mask, General section, and uncheck the control called 'Move projects to the \Proejcts\Trash folder when you delete them'
• You can delete multiple views, accessing with F3 the Views mask in Navigation window
• If you click a tile with the left mouse button while in Navigation window, the Property Grid shows you the main information of that tile
• The Property Grid also gives you information about the finish (material) applied to the tile, so that you can immediately open it and change its properties
• DomuS3D.Box is no more available, hence it is no more possible to share projects and Panoramas for DomuS3D.Box; DomuS3D.Box has been replaced by DomuS3D® 360, where you can find far more features
• A new command is available in the Navigation window in order to duplicate objects and furnishings. It is called 'Duplicate 3D', it's available in the context menu related to the right mouse button, and allows you to immediately move the duplicated item using the Gizmo
• You can use long file names (typical of images download over the Internet) when you apply images to the walls and any Surface 2D
• R2: in finestra Componenti viene mantenuta la cronologia delle piastrelle/materiali da rivestimento utilizzate, in modo tale da poterle ritrovare e ri-applicare in modo veloce. Inoltre, facendo tasto destro su una piastrella (oppure selezionandola con il sinistro ed operando dalla Property Grid) è possibile sincronizzare la finestra Componenti con le piastrelle appartenenti alla stessa Collezione, oppure con lo stesso formato di quella selezionata
• R2: Composer can print also the view from above of the room/architecture
• R2: Composer can print images coming from the Photo3D module (this module deals with real photographs where you can chenge floor/walls materials thank to the RealityRemod Augented Reality technology); you can print both the original image, and the processed one
• R2: the Application Update Procedure has been fixed when importing those customized images you formerly saved in the ...\bitmap\textures and ...\bitmap\images folders, so that you keep on finding them also in the new version
• R2: "Knowledge Base" term has been replaced with "Online Guide"
• R2: if you are using the Application with the software protection, you can now manage users that will be able to access the license, even inlcuding the opportunity of engaging architects in case you have a multi-license key. Click here to learn more
• R2: internal project code can now be customized in the Property Grid too
• R2: Estimate export feature has been completed, with the option of running post-feature customized applications. In this way it is easier to link the project estimate to the ERP your Company is running. Click here to learn more

Bug fix

• 2D Surface and hidden Layer: when you have hidden layers, sometimes they still appear in 2D Surface (Floor 2D, Wall 2D) window  
• Sky and sun color: a new algorithm allows you to create images with a more realistic Sky and Sun color
• When you flag a 3D object as a 'wall object', the wall filler symbol is available also in the Wall/Surface 2D window, as well as in the blueprints
• Other fix's
• R2: merge rooms and delet inner rooms have been fixed
• R2: fixed a problem that caused you keep on seeing a new catalogue to be loaded notification, even if you already completed such process
• R2: Move-Point + Delta has been fixed
• R2: estimate calculation now fills the correct quanity of  pallet quantity, and number of boxes per pallet
• R2: fixed the export to Composer in case the project contains lots of objects
• R2: improved the software protection framework. More flexibility in case you want to share your license(s) with external Architects, Designer, Influencers
• R2: DWG/DXF import procedure has been improved
• R2: Room Move/Duplicate(Copy)/Copy in Clipboard features  can now include also objects, and furniture where the origin is located slightly outside the border of the room
• R2: fixed a bug that did not allow you to move some objects in layout window specifying small distances (1 or 2 mm.)
• R2: fixed the blueprint related to objects containing tiles on their surface(s)
• R2: Client-Server version cannot manage anymore (Save/Load) projects on external files. This option is available just for Standalone version