Developer(s) Vectorworks, Inc. Operating system License Proprietary | Stable release 2017 / September 2016 Type CAD Website www.vectorworks.net | |
Vectorworks, Inc. is a global design software developer serving the architecture, landscape and entertainment industries. Founded in 1985 as Diehl Graphsoft, Inc., the company produces the Vectorworks family of software which includes Vectorworks Designer, Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Fundamentals, and Renderworks. These programs are CAD software designed with the intent to help designers communicate effectively and bring their visions to life while keeping building information modeling (BIM) at the heart of the design process. Located in Columbia, Maryland, Vectorworks, Inc. is a part of The Nemetschek Group.
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History
Since its beginnings in the mid-1980s as Diehl Graphsoft, Inc. and later as Nemetschek Vectorworks, the company has played a formative role in the CAD industry, redefining the marketplace by setting a high standard for its products, and continually testing and refining them to surpass users' expectations. In the process, it has become an internationally respected leader in both CAD and Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology. The company created one of the first CAD programs, one of the first 3D modeling software programs, and the first cross-platform CAD application. Vectorworks was also one of the first to introduce BIM capabilities, before BIM became an industry buzzword.
With the spring 2000 acquisition by Nemetschek Group of Munich, Germany, Vectorworks became the Nemetschek Group's largest U.S. subsidiary, joining the parent company's network of more than 40 branches and subsidiaries throughout Europe. Sean Flaherty, the CEO of Vectorworks, has focused the company on establishing global market leadership. That agenda involves development of new products, entrance into new markets, and expansion into service areas once not considered as viable options.
Another outstanding feature of Vectorworks' corporate identity is what Macworld magazine called its "nearly fanatical devotion to responsiveness to customers." The company's hands-on training seminars and self-guided training options provide users with a variety of learning tools for the software. The company has also helped third-party developers create Vectorworks-specific products.
More than half a million designers rely on Vectorworks technology. They include world-renowned architects, prestigious landscape architects, award-winning entertainment designers, innovative product designers, and many more. Each day, Vectorworks products are put to work in more than in eleven languages. Besides English, Vectorworks products are currently available in Chinese, Japanese, German, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, and Norwegian.
Vectorworks has had increasing success over the past 25+ years. The newest upgrade to the Vectorworks family of software, the Vectorworks 2017 product line, was released in September 2016.
File exchange
Vectorworks software has interfaces to DXF/DWG as well as IFC (an open standard for sharing BIM data), and imports and exports to a number of file formats, among those SketchUp, Point Cloud, DWF, 3DS, c4d, FBX, DAE (COLLADA), KML, STEP, Parasolid, EPSF, OBJ, EPix, Shapefile/SHP, PDF, EPS, JPG, and TIF. Vectorworks also supports IGES, SAT, STL, Rhinoceros 3D, and connects through ODBC to external databases like FileMaker, Access, MySQL, or Excel.