2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.

3 New Features 1/14

1 Create Media with Improved Options ............................................................................................................. 3
1.1 Image Rendering: one Dialog, three Renderers ..................................................................................... 3
1.2 The Video Button .................................................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Improved settings for the OSPRay Renderer .......................................................................................... 3
2 New Printing Process ....................................................................................................................................... 5
2.1 Selecting a Printing Process .................................................................................................................... 6
2.2 Print and PDF Settings ............................................................................................................................ 6
3 Simple and Elegant: A new Render Mode ........................................................................................................ 7
4 Changing Wall Thickness in a Specified Direction ............................................................................................ 9
5 Predefined Wall Thickness ............................................................................................................................. 10
6 Disabling Automatically Connecting Polylines ............................................................................................... 11
7 Additional Changes and Improvements ......................................................................................................... 12
7.1 Material Editor: Placing Textures and Normal Maps Independently of One Another ......................... 12
7.2 Extended Support for SketchUp ........................................................................................................... 12
7.3 Improved Vector Graphics .................................................................................................................... 13
7.4 Ambient Light as a Standard ................................................................................................................. 13

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.3 New Features 2/14

1 Create Media with Improved Options
1.1 Image Rendering: one Dialog, three Renderers

In pCon.planner 7.3, you will now find all rendering options

in one place.

You can render photorealistic views using the Image button

found under the Presentation tab. Choose from three differ-
ent renderers and their respective settings. With this, you
can create the exact image you need for your particular pur-
poses. The OSPRay renderer is no longer in Beta Status, and
is fully integrated as a rendering tool under the Presentation
tab.

Image dialog: Selecting a Renderer

Are you looking to get started without manual default set-

tings? For image rendering, you can simply choose from
several prepared profiles.

Are you a rendering pro and would prefer to use your own
settings? You can save individual settings as your own pro-
file. You can then select them from the Profile drop-down
menu.

NOTE: Under Type in the image dialog, you can choose

an image variation: create standard images, panoramas
or multi-content pictures.
Image dialog: Selecting a profile for rendering

1.2 The Video Button

Video, also found under the Presentation tab, will open the dialog for video rendering. Here you will find all of
the necessary settings for generating a high-quality video sequence from your own animations.

1.3 Improved settings for the OSPRay Renderer

The OSPRay Renderer did not just move to the Image dialog, it also has new settings as well.

NOTE: If you would like to use OSPRay in pCon.planner, please ensure that your CPU uses at least SSE4.1
An operating system of at least Windows 7 (64-Bit edition) is also required.

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.3 New Features 3/14

For an even more realistic image, integrate a panorama into your rendering. In the area Background of the
improved OSPRay render settings, select the Panorama option and upload a panorama image into your plan.
This will give your rendering an appealing setting.

Rendering including spherical panorama as background (Panorama: iStock.com/mihtiander)

Note: In order to avoid perspective errors, please use a spherical panorama as background image.

For extra-realistic lighting, HDRI Light is available. When this option is enabled, upload an HDRI Image (High
Dynamic Range Image) in pCon.planner. This image will be used as an invisible background light source for the
scene and the lighting will be adjusted to the lighting conditions of the image.

pCon.planner Help: Creating Media

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.3 New Features 4/14

2 New Printing Process
Beautiful prints and PDFs: All editions of pCon.planner have a uniform printing process. With the new version
of pCon.planner, lines are printed as clear as if they were on the drawing board regardless of the scale and
without additional settings.

The new printing process works for all render modes and render styles.

PDF print using the new printing process (High Quality Printing activated)

The process is based on a combination of techniques: Visible lines, edges, points, hatches and texts are based
on vectors. In vector printing these elements are sharp, even when magnified, keeping unsightly jaggies out.

Detail from PDF print above using new printing process magnified to four hundred percent

Colors and textures are also included in the prints. This is important for images without enhanced edges (for
example in Realistic render mode).

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.3 New Features 5/14

2.1 Selecting a Printing Process

The new printing process is preset in pCon.planner and will automatically print in higher quality. If you would
like to avoid vector printing, you can simply disable it. The print will then be of conventional quality. This way,
the file size of the PDF will remain smaller and printing will save memory.

1. Open Print Preview.

2. Click on the viewport within
the preview page.
3. Find High Quality Printing in
the Properties Editor.
4. Remove the checkmark from
this option.

High Quality Print option in Properties Editor

2.2 Print and PDF Settings

For the lines and elements created in vector print, the settings Line width factor and Use fixed line width are
available. You can find both of these in the Layout Settings (Print Preview, Group Page, Options arrow):

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.3 New Features 6/14

 The Line width factor is multiplied
by the set line width for lines,
edges, drawing elements and
hatches. Differences in the line
widths remain.

Value 1 = Line width from

view
Value > 1 = Thicker lines
Value < 1 = Thinner lines

Use Fixed line width determines a

uniform width in millimeters for
all lines, edges, drawing elements
and hatches in the viewport.

Settings for the display of lines in print and PDF

NOTE: With the increase in quality from the new printing process, the previously necessary Viewport
output optimization option has been removed.

pCon.planner Help: Print

3 Simple and Elegant: A new Render Mode

pCon.planner 7.3 provides an additional render mode with a familiar name. The new mode goes by the name
Colored. Up until now, a plan in render mode included colored lines, the color itself and colored textures.

Now, you can switch to Colored mode when you want to display your rooms and furniture with color and en-
hanced edges. As opposed to textures and multi-colored materials, this mode will display a corresponding color
value. The result is a simple and elegant representation.

When preparing printouts or PDFs in particular, we recommend working with the new Colored mode. When it
comes to printing, two-dimensional colors often have a more pleasant effect than bumpy textures. In addition,
colors look great even in high resolution.

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.3 New Features 7/14

Front view of a plan in render mode Colored

If youd like to display lines, colors and textures in the future, simply choose the Textured mode.

Front view of a plan in render mode Textured

Altogether, pCon.planner 7.3 provides a total of 7 render modes. Since each Render Style is based on a stand-
ardized render mode, you also benefit from the wide range of choices.

pCon.planner Help: Render

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.3 New Features 8/14

4 Changing Wall Thickness in a Specified Direction
Is your room finished, but you
still want to customize the wall
thickness? Previously in
pCon.planner this could uninten-
tionally shrink your floor plan.

However, a new wall interactor

has solved this problem: With a
simple click on the triangle, you
now determine where the inner
side of the wall should be.

The selected wall side will hold

its position, even when you
change the thickness of the wall,
and the inner dimensions of the
room will remain the same.

Determining the inner side of a selected wall

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.3 New Features 9/14

5 Predefined Wall Thickness
Looking to adjust the wall thickness during the drawing process? Now, there are more options available to you.
You can take advantage of predefined values for wall thickness, which have been added to the context menu:

1. Set the starting point and begin to draw your wall.

2. Right click with your mouse to open the context menu.
3. Here you will find the input field Thickness. Choose one of the predefined values or simply enter the de-
sired wall thickness.

Selecting a preset wall Thickness from context menu

The last custom thickness values that you use will then be saved to the list.

You can still retrieve the most recent values from the context menu the next time you open pCon.planner, even
if you are working with a different plan.

pCon.planner Help: Walls

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.3 New Features 10/14

6 Disabling Automatically Connecting Polylines
For many use cases, it makes sense to automatically connect polylines. You draw one line, for example, and at a
later time draw a second one attached to the end of the first. The second line will then automatically connect
to the first polyline, merging the two into one line.

But what if you want to draw a line connecting to another,

yet still have it remain a separate drawing element?

To do so, simply use the new context menu field Connecting

Enabled / Connecting Disabled. By default, the setting is
enabled.

1. While drawing another line, right click with your

mouse.
2. Select Connecting Disabled. Now you will have two
separate lines.
Deactivate connecting of lines from context menu

NOTE: If you always want

your lines to remain
separate drawing
elements, you can also
change the default
setting:

1. Open Program Settings.

2. Switch to the Edit tab.
3. Uncheck Automatically
connect lines when snap-
ping.

Edit tab within the Program Settings

You can also use the context menu field Connecting Disabled when moving polylines. If you have disabled this
option, two lines will not connect to one another even if you push them together.

pCon.planner Help: How to insert Drawing Elements

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.3 New Features 11/14

7 Additional Changes and Improvements
7.1 Material Editor: Placing Textures and Normal
Maps Independently of One Another

You can expect an improvement when using the Material Edi-

tor. Width, Height and Rotation of textures and normal maps
of a material can be positioned individually, or can be edited
all together. The normal map is initially linked to the values of
the material texture:

Changes to the texture will be inherited. If you would like to

adjust the position of the normal map independently from the
texture, click on the pencil icon for the normal map. The input
fields will then be available for you to individually position the
normal map.

pCon.planner Help: Material Editor

Material Editor: editing surfaces

7.2 Extended Support for SketchUp

pCon.planner 7.3 supports SketchUp 2016. When exporting geometrical objects in *.skp format, an additional
export dialog will be available. Here you can choose from the current or an older version of SketchUp for the
export of 3D objects.

pCon.planner Help: Supported File Formats

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.3 New Features 12/14

7.3 Improved Vector Graphics

The new program version improves your vector graphics. Through the use of a new procedure, the file size as
well as the amount of memory used during the export has also been reduced.

pCon.planner Help: Supported File Formats

7.4 Ambient Light as a Standard

From this point on, lighting your plans will be much simpler. Previous default lighting has been replaced with
global background lighting. This lighting is active by default and works to produce uniform illumination
throughout your plan.

Now, lighting fits to your needs much easier: with slide control (found under the Start tab, Room Elements
menu), you can determine how bright your plan is. You do no longer need to input light intensity for standard
lighting via the Properties Editor.

Setting Ambient Light Intensity: Lighting group, Room Elements menu, Start tab

With background light you will have the optimal lighting for your renderings. The new lighting affects the dis-
play in both Shaded and Realistic mode.

pCon.planner Help: Ambient Light

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.3 New Features 13/14

Legal remarks

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH | Albert-Einstein-Strae 1 | 98693 Ilmenau | GERMANY

This work (whether as text, file, book or in other form) is copyright. All rights are reserved by EasternGraphics
GmbH. Translation, reproduction or distribution of the whole or parts thereof is permitted only with the prior
agreement in writing of EasternGraphics GmbH.

EasternGraphics GmbH accepts no liability for the completeness, freedom from errors, topicality or continuity
of this work or for its suitability to the intended purposes of the user. All liability except in the case of malicious
intent, gross negligence or harm to life and limb is excluded.

All names or descriptions contained in this work may be the trademarks of the relevant copyright owner and as
such legally protected. The fact that such trademarks appear in this work entitles no-one to assume that they
are for the free use of all and sundry.

2016 EasternGraphics GmbH pCon.planner 7.3 New Features 14/14