[bigviclbi]

I have been looking at programs and I seem to remember one of them would let you do a design and then have the option of coloring it for you to look like it was drawn with colored pencils. I liked the examples but can't remember which program it was. Any one have this one, it was one of the more expensive versions I think.

[Lanelle]

ProLandscape has that option as well as a program that ianc showed me as I recall.

[JohnIV]

Landmark does all that color lines, fill an area with color etc. very powerful program. Dynascape is a good program also the reason we didn't go with Dynascape was it was more $$$, you had to buy their Iris quoting software which we don't need.

[sdinenno]

John:

You said that you looked at DynaScape, VectorWorks, and PROLandscape. You have expressed approval of DynaScape and VectorWorks. What did you think of PROLandscape in comparison to the other two? My impression is that the 2-D graphics in PROLandscape are inferior.

[trees]

I'll give my reply to your question, sdienno.

I think as far as 2D graphics go, Dynascape is the best, with VectorWorks a close second... PROLandscape trailing quite a bit behind.

I, too, chose VectorWorks due to cost and I can assure you that the learning curve isn't that steep and that their newest version (version 12) is by far the best and easiest to use yet.

[serenland]

How would Landscape Illustrator line up with the others (Dynascape, Vectorworks, ProLandscape)?

I have the older version of ProLandscape. Perhaps the newer version is much better, but I found the learning curve very steep, the manual index very incomplete, and the little tutorial videos superficial. It retains the complications of it's CAD heritage and overlays it with overly canned landscape design features which I couldn't customize easily. Even the plant lists are difficult to edit - so I usually just have separate xcel/word file. So I mostly just use it as a clunky CAD.

The 3D image editor with the clip art plants just doesn't cut it, particularly where the photo of the existing landscape has to be modified. (I agree with the forum member that uses Photoshop for this).

On top of all this, I get unexpected computer crashes.

Other than the above, LandscapePro works great!

Still, we've put out some very nice designs with it and I suspect that if we used it long enough, and invested in enough training it would work for us. It just feels clunky and not state of the art and I don't want our new designers to be unproductive and discouraged while they stumble up the learning curve. This is particularly important now as we are expanding and will have satellite offices with increasing number of chairs in the site license.

Rather than jump to the new version, I'm looking around and it seems that Dynascape or Vectorworks is a good choice.
Not sure that we'd use Dynascape's Iris quote package except to estimate project pricing as we go since we always have some idea of client's budget.

Don't know about Landscape Illustrator.
Paul

[DynaSCAPEr]

Originally posted by JohnIV
Landmark does all that color lines, fill an area with color etc. very powerful program. Dynascape is a good program also the reason we didn't go with Dynascape was it was more $$$, you had to buy their Iris quoting software which we don't need.

Our product is priced higher because we're end to end. 'Iris' (now called DynaSCAPE Quote) is more than just a quotation application - it allows CRM type customer management, production of plant care reports, flexible output (user 'designable' quotes, material lists, exports to Microsoft Word, Mail Merge, etc), and tight integration with your design, which are all wins from a features included/time saved standpoint. In addition, rich material list editing is done in DynaSCAPE Quote (or Manage) as well, so you get a fully fleshed out interface to edit your plant list to use for labeling in DynaSCAPE Design.

So, if you're not quoting/estimating, you may not need the quote specific functionality, but theres a lot of other useful stuff rolled into that package. (And maybe there is someone in your office who is quoting) Nearly all of our competitors include only extremely basic material take off, but we try to pay attention to the fact that there's more to your business than just the design and presentation, even if that's the first thing you and I naturally think of. Often there is a progression from CAD software to business management/productivity software, and we are focused on both, which gives us the advantage of tight integration.

DynaSCAPE Quote is packaged with our flagship design product because they belong together from our standpoint - we've even tied some important functions in our CAD product (like Softscape Labeling) to the Quote product, so they depend on each other. Even if you don't want to use it to Quote/Estimate, there's still enough there (material editing, links to the online plant encyclopedia) to be of use to most of our customers.

Just to clarify...

F.

[DynaSCAPEr]

Originally posted by serenland
Speaking of Macs (which one of our group has) does anyone know if Dynascape will run decently on a (new, high speed) Mac using Virtual PC. (not just open the tiff file output)??

Thanks
Paul

I believe we have had users use our software this way. I can't confirm this until our sales guys return from tradeshows though.

F.

[JohnIV]

It has been some time since I looked at ProLandscape and at the time it seem to me to be just like a program you could buy at Best Buy, Office Max etc. and we wanted something more powerful than that.

[JohnIV]

DyneSCAPEr,
Like I said before I liked your product we just didn't need to have the Iris software (DynaSCAPE Quote now) we had just invested alot of time and $$ getting another software package up and running the way we wanted it. We don't like to keep trying new software because the software company says this is the best thing going, you can't live without it.
I did get a little upset when I looked at your software and saw that it did take care of landscape installation projects, maintenance (mowing, trimming, fert. etc,) and the estimating of projects. Like I said if we didn't spend time getting our current software up to speed with the way we operate I may have looked at Dynascape a little closer.

[DynaSCAPEr]

Originally posted by JohnIV
DyneSCAPEr,
Like I said before I liked your product we just didn't need to have the Iris software (DynaSCAPE Quote now) we had just invested alot of time and $$ getting another software package up and running the way we wanted it. We don't like to keep trying new software because the software company says this is the best thing going, you can't live without it.
I did get a little upset when I looked at your software and saw that it did take care of landscape installation projects, maintenance (mowing, trimming, fert. etc,) and the estimating of projects. Like I said if we didn't spend time getting our current software up to speed with the way we operate I may have looked at Dynascape a little closer.

That makes perfect sense John - you've already invested time and $$. If at any point your current system ceases to be good enough, give us a look...

F.

[JohnIV]

I will with a doubt.

[Jgoodcats]

I have found that DesignWare is an excellent program. If you can give the customer a visual, it really helps.

[winter3]

Has anyone used Landcadd? I'm looking at getting the picture perfect product. It just does photo imaging. I have used sierra products in the past and sold some jobs, but I would like to be using a professional product with the trees & shrubs I would be using. At this point most of the design is rough scale drawings. The budget is tight for this year, so $1500 for ProLandscape may be more than I need and can afford.

[agla]

I used Landcadd, but not the photoimaging module. It was the landscape design and the colorfast rendering module for plans. It was pretty good, but I found faster ways of doing things with just the cad engine. The colofast is a good rendering program, but very time consuming because you need all closed polylines.

By the way, I also found that you can chisel them down on the price (at least four years ago I did).