Icovia Space Planner Blog

Check out our New Design Edition Updates!!!

Wow, the Icovia team has been busy, busy, busy!!!  During our last webinar, we previewed some of our new updates and everyone was anxious to try them out.  I am happy to say that when you log in to your planner today, you will have access to all of our new features.  Here is a quick look at what you will see...

Getting Started

The first thing you will notice is the updates to the Icovia Planner  Getting Started window.  When creating a new plan, you are now able to select some additional pre-defined room shapes as a starting point.  When you enter your dimensions, the room will scale and if you need to, you can modify once you are in the canvas.   

Updated Wall Features

At our last webinar, everyone loved the new wall tools and was anxious to try them out.  We have made the changes and are anxious for your feedback!  The biggest difference is the new pennant.  When you select a wall, you will see a condensed version of the pennant.  This new pennant allows you to quickly delete or clone a wall without having the larger pennant covering your workspace.  When you want to access additional features, simply click the  to access the expanded information you are used to seeing.  AND...we have added the Change Length button that will give you a chance to type in a specific dimension for the selected wall.  For those of you who have asked, you can now enter feet and inches with a dash (16-4, for example)  and the system will respond. To the left you will see an example of the updated pennant show the new Change length and Select connected walls buttons to make modifying and deleting multiple walls easier.

Can I add photos of items to my plan?  
While you all know you can add product information to a plan today, you have continued to wait patiently for the ability to actually add a product image to the canvas.  As of today, you will not have to wait any longer!! While we have carried over the mini-pennant design to allow you to only see information when you want it, you really want to select a symbol and click for this one. On the new pennant, you will notice a new button that allows you to Replace Symbol w/Image.

 To use this functionality, click the button, type or paste the image URL that you would like to use (remember, these must be open, publicly shared images) and voila, your symbol will be replaced with the image.  The rug to the left shows you an example of what the image will look like when it is displayed on your canvas.

Can I add my own custom textiles and finishes?

In this case, we really have saved the best for last.  You all know how to add textures and finishes to your plans as as a refresher, I encourage you to review the quick tip video. What is new, is you will now have access to a custom tab in the palette to add the URL for your favorite material or finish.  As long as the finish is in the public domain, you will be able to enter the URL and see the new finish on any product in your planner.    If you have permission to use a vendor's fabric or have scanned your own material, simply upload to a public photo sharing site (such as Flickr) and you are ready to apply. Below are some additional examples:

This bench has a custom paisley textile that was scanned and loaded from our Flickr account.  The kitchen island has been rendered to show a Granite counter top.   

      

 **Please Note**  We are still working through some items with adding custom materials and finishes to symbols in the elevations library.  Watch this space as we expect to have them resolved soon.

A few other new items...

• Users can now use the Delete key on your keyboard to delete symbols and walls from the planner. Simply select the item you wish to delete and hit the delete key.
• Once you add a fill to a symbol, you can now modify the transparency using the Transparency setting in the information pennant.
• We have also updated the Show/Hide settings to make them more user friendly. To access, go to the View menu and select the menu item for Show/Hide Settings...  This will launch the View States window and watch the screen as it dynamically changes to reflect the settings you choose.  
• We also have an updated photo pennant that will show a preview photo.  Click the photo and the user will see a larger version.

All in all, we are quite happy with the latest round of updates and we invite you to try them out and please, please, please, let us know what you think.  You can post comments to the blog or email me directly at june@icovia.com.

Happy Planning!

June

Welcome to High Point!

JT, Steve and I are having a great week at High Point.  It is always nice when we can visit with our customers and meet with interior designers who are using the Design Edition Planner .  This morning JT and I took a trip to visit Furniture Land South -- this location is truly a campus filled with beautiful furniture AND the World's largest 18th century Highboy replica.  This was built in 1999 and is a landmark in North Carolina, the 85-foot tall Highboy is even identifiable by passengers flying overhead! (I will be looking for this when I fly home later this week!)

We have also spent time with our friends and partners at Company C. Their theme for this Market is Dream, Inspire and Create.  Given the many colorful options they have in their showroom...you will definitely be inspired!  Don't forget to check out their new furniture line and also test drive their room planner to find the best rug for your space!

There are still several days to go and if you are visiting Market, stop by and see us at the Resource Center located in the Plaza Suites Building-- we are looking forward to seeing you!

Happy Planning!  --June