I just wanted to share a few design tools with the designers and LA's on this board. These have been very helpful for my business. That said, I use cad and these tools will probably be more useful to other cad users.
1. PDF creators- Most of you probably already use Adobe or some other free software to convert word documents into pdf's. I use a free program called PrimoPdf. I'm not sure what capabilities the other free software has, but with PrimoPdf I am able to convert my 24"x36" cad files to pdf's. This is huge for my business. No longer do I need to print full plan sets at my studio for contractors to pick up. I simply email the full set as pdf's. They maintain the full size as well as the scale. I can also send the plans to clients and others such as civil and structural engineers. What if the files are too large to email?
2. File sending/storing software- If I need to email a full set of plans to a contractor, yet the file size is too large, I use a free program called
DropSend. There are other programs available as well. I won't go into how this works exactly, just know this technology is available.
3. Screen Capture software- I stumbled upon this just recently and it's been a huge benefit to me. I use
JingProject. Here's how I use it- If a client has a question about a specific element on their plan, in the past I would print out a portion of the design on a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper and mark it up with comments and some sketching. I would then scan it and email it to my client for review. With Jing, I simply "capture" the relevant view of the design, add text, lines, etc., save it and email it. A process that would normally take about 15 minutes now takes me about 3 minutes- and I use no paper.
I hope this helps. I'd love to hear from others about how they use these tools or other software that is available.
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