Draw programs other than Apex & WinSketch?

[Dave Smith]

Can anyone recommend draw programs other than Apex and Winsketch? Both programs have more bells and whistles than we need. We would like to find a simple "draw the lines" program that isn't overloaded with extras.

I have been using Laser Draw for almost fifteen years but ACI no longer supports it because they can't get support from the company they got it from. I still have it on my computer and use it regularly. I now have an associate so we need a draw program on the second computer but can't get Laser Draw up and running due to the fact it is no longer supported by ACI.

Any suggestions on other options will be appreciated.

 

[Tejus]

excel.

super tight integration with the appraisal sw, simpler and easier to use, yet the full drawing capabilities are available and the functionality far exceeds sketch specific sw.

fyi, i recently sketched a 5,000+ GLA lake house with a 2 story guest house/garage, pool, pool house, boat docks, etc. there were too many items to fit on a single sketch page. i then discovered the sketch drawing area flows past the excel page boundary onto the rest of the worksheet. the entire worksheet is available for the sketch and the sketch can easily be partitioned into sections and added to separate report pages. in layman's terms, this translates to a virtually unlimited number of sketch pages which can be added to a report.

the more i use excel, the more i realize how little i know and how much useful functionality exists. i'm a happy camper.

bueno suerto.

 

[Neil Anderson]

Excel? As in Microsoft Excel?

 

[Tejus]

yes.




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[Ken Miller]

A lil help please!

excel.

super tight integration with the appraisal sw, simpler and easier to use, yet the full drawing capabilities are available and the functionality far exceeds sketch specific sw.

fyi, i recently sketched a 5,000+ GLA lake house with a 2 story guest house/garage, pool, pool house, boat docks, etc. there were too many items to fit on a single sketch page. i then discovered the sketch drawing area flows past the excel page boundary onto the rest of the worksheet. the entire worksheet is available for the sketch and the sketch can easily be partitioned into sections and added to separate report pages. in layman's terms, this translates to a virtually unlimited number of sketch pages which can be added to a report.

the more i use excel, the more i realize how little i know and how much useful functionality exists. i'm a happy camper.

bueno suerto.

Alan, can you please contact me and help guide me through how to do this? I have Office Excel 2003 and I don't know how to sketch in it. Thanks!

 

[Herire Ghazanian]

Although i'm not a newbie to computers, i am not too familiar with excel and am trying to figure out how to use excel for sketching.

Here's a link i found by googling which may help interested people get a general idea http://www.mrexcel.com/tip071.shtml

I think it would be great to use excel for sketches as well as filling out our appraisal forms, but i haven't yet spend a lot of time to figure out how to do it.

 

[Tejus]

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http://appraisersforum.com/technica...2d-sketch-package.html?highlight=excel+sketch

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[Herire Ghazanian]

Thanks for the link Alan, i've just about read all the posts on this forum regarding excel.
Have 3 questions right now.

How difficult is it to incorporate formulas for area calculations?

How long does it take for you to skectch a typical let's say 1,800 Sq.Ft. 2 story home with excel?

My last question is regarding excel forms you use for your appraisals. Do you create them yourself from scratch, or do you convert the FNMA pdf forms to excel somehow?

 

[Thomas N. Morgan]

Dave,

Is your new associate well-seasoned in appraising, plus savvy when it comes to knowing or learning excel?

I have had the same concerns as you. For years, I used something called "Haldraw" designed and sold by Hal Fielding of Santa Fe, NM. You could do everything with it. Interior walls and symbols were easy. You could make a sketch that says to the client, "You were there". BUT, it was DOS based, and Hal wasn't interested in designing one for Windows. Someone bought the rights to that program and improved it some as a DOS-based program. They didn't sell many of them and gave up on it.

There's a new one out called Rapid Sketch. Through inquiry here, I haven't found anybody who has ever used it.

I like Clickform's "Area Sketch" better than Apex or WinSketch. If all you want to do is to quickly and easily draw the exterior walls, it can't be beat. As for labeling the rooms, Apex is a little easier there, but not much. Area sketch is easier than Apex for interior walls and symbols, and overall, much simpler an much faster. It can be bought and used separatley from ClickForms. Not sure they have a working demo, but if they do, try it. Or just call Clickforms. Ask for Jill Calero.

There's another one called HomePlan Pro. With it, you can make a sketch that looks like one a builder would use to construct a home. For various reasons, I do not think it is practical for an appraiser.

At one time, John-David Biggers was working on a sketch program. He was asking Formites what characteristics appraisers thought such a program should have. The responses were not very informative. Mostly, people told him which program they used, not the features they liked.

I sort of believe that if the designers and programers of Clickforms are also the ones that designed it and are now sitll associated with Area Sketch, it will be improved where needed, without getting too complicated.

 

[Tejus]

Thanks for the link Alan, i've just about read all the posts on this forum regarding excel.
Have 3 questions right now.

How difficult is it to incorporate formulas for area calculations?

"Difficulty" is a relative term that is hard to quantify and dependent on the participant's ability, knowledge, resources, etc. To put this into perspective, there are 6.5+ billion people in the world. So far, 1 has solved this problem. If you can do it, the count will double to 2.

How long does it take for you to skectch a typical let's say 1,800 Sq.Ft. 2 story home with excel?

Quicker and easier than the other sketch packages. Keep in mind a commonly used sketch package was integrated with my system then dropped when a better option was available.

My last question is regarding excel forms you use for your appraisals. Do you create them yourself from scratch, or do you convert the FNMA pdf forms to excel somehow?

http://appraisersforum.com/technica...76-fillable-FNMA-forms.html?highlight=scratch

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