What do you need in a sketcher?

[Nancy in Friday Harbor]

Although DCSKETCH and now DCSKWIN are both great & allow you to enter/rotate lines and whole sections to any angle you want, determining the angle has always been a challenge for me. Most of the houses up here that have really challenging shapes are balanced on the edge of a cliff with a large drop to the rocky waterfront below. Some of them you can't even get to all four sides to measure -- or you can get there once in your lifetime.......! So measuring to points in the yard, just isn't feasible.
I invested in a Bosch digital protractor/level combo from Amazon.com. About $120. It reads the exact angle of the corner, inside or outside, and displays it in big red easy to read numbers. Just put that sucker in the car as one of those "I won't use it often but it'll sure pay for itself when I need it" tools.
Nancy

 

[Tim The Enchanter]

Does anybody know if DCSketch has a demo version or something? :?:

I used to use an old DOS version for about 8 years, but the last 2 have been using Apex. Wouldn't mind trying DC again.

DCSketch I liked because you could easily move walls after closing the sketch. And not have to draw from one corner all the way around to close the sketch. And could move and rotate areas easier than in Apex (or maybe I just need to read the Apex help screens more).

Recently I had a very irregular house (plans only, proposed const.) with odd angles (not 45 or 90) and was able with Apex and a protractor to draw it accurately, I don't think the old DC had any such ability. Did read those Apex help screens a bit. DCSketch help screens, what (useful) help screens?

 

[Pa'akai]

I used to have the old dcsketch program. anyone know where i can get the new version, if there is a new one. I always thought it was real easy to use

 

[John Hassler]

Like Koert, I loved DC Sketch too - the dos version!!!! But I use WinSketch as it is integrated in my software. Actually, I dislike WinSketch so much I have had my assistant do all my sketches for the last few years.

I still use DC Sketch for complex properties.

Features I like/want are:

1) Rotating the sketch in minor increments - say 15°. Especially helpful when drawing walls on non-rectangular properties.

2) Being able to put exterior doors on angled walls (can not do this in WinSketch).

3) Easily editing exterior walls

4) Keyboard commands rule! Yes, they do take some time to memorize but I hate switching between the mouse and keyboard. Keyboard is also much easier to use than trying to move a mouse steady and left clicking for line length.

 

[Pa'akai]

cant find anything on the web for dcskwin. I used dcsketch for over eight years and no longer have it. I thought dynamic computing went out of business and never heard of dcskwin or where you can get it. google search showed nothing.

 

[DB]

I have done some doozies and never had a problem using Apex IV. Would love to have a PDA version for the HP Jornada 525 WinCE MH3 OS ..... not much in the way of sketching available for that model it seems.....

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I have used and own DCSketch, but even the windows version is actually a DOS program ran inside a Window Shell. Saving as a .jpg is very poor quality. Learning curve awful.

I have ran APEX both early versions and the latest (within 18 mo.) The program functions fine, but again, portability into another program (like WordPerfect) is bad because while it will export the sketch, it won't export the calculations. and wysiwyg is not wyg or wys.

Winsketch is the only "true" windows sketcher to my knowledge. I can "select all", "copy as metafile" and then go into WP and "paste" and get both the sketch and the calculations (if on one page)...if on two pages, I have to go thru that for each page.

Portability of the sketch AND calculations into a word processor is a requirement for me because I am a using narrative reports almost exclusively.

APEX does have an excellent surveying module. And a surveying module or program is a necessity for me....i still use landchec, a DOS program.

So....develop a sketcher that has a surveying module where it is wysiwyg and it will export both sketch and calculations into either a graphic file like .jpg or .gif, or can be copied and pasted into a word processor. & keep the price under $150

 

[Kate]

Originally posted by Mike Garrett, RAA@Feb 7 2002, 01:49 PM
ie main level then basement.

Um, i don't sketch basements. Am I supposed to?

 

[Charlotte Dixon]

Originally posted by Katharine Laubscher+Jan 22 2004, 12:17 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Katharine Laubscher @ Jan 22 2004, 12:17 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Mike Garrett@ RAA,Feb 7 2002, 01:49 PM
ie main level then basement.

Um, i don't sketch basements. Am I supposed to? [/b][/quote]
Beats me!

But I do; then it carries the sf of the basement to page 1, page 2 cost approach, and the grid.

 

[Head Surfer]

wow, talk about bringing a post back from the dead! The original topic was in 2002 and somebody found it and replied to it in 2004 which caused it to come back!