Stardraw.com Previews Stardraw Design 7.2 at ISE 2016

Software provider Stardraw.com is previewing the latest version of their most sophisticated design/documentation product yet, the award-winning Stardraw Design 7 software package at ISE 2016, February 9 - 12, in Amsterdam RAI. Version 7.2 boasts new features and major enhancements that will be demonstrated on the Stardraw booth DL-100 in the Diamond Lounge.

First of the headline features is PDF import; the user can now import a PDF file which creates a new project with a drawing tab for each page in the PDF. Better still, vector PDFs are converted into faithful, editable vector drawings in Stardraw Design 7.2, meaning that the user can edit the text as well as other objects, like lines, rectangles, arcs, etc., as if they were native SD7 drawings.

"We cannot overstate the importance of this new feature," said Stardraw CEO, Rob Robinson. "Our users are reporting that more and more frequently they are receiving PDFs instead of DWG/DXF files. Although this makes no sense to us -- PDFs are traditionally unusable, not to mention the fact that the original drawing must have been created in something that natively generates useful DWGs -- it's the way the market is going, so it was up to us to react. Our powerful new PDF import feature solves the issue and is unique in the market; no other AV system design tool enables you to import a PDF and convert it into an editable, resolution-independent vector drawing."

Other major new features include the addition of plan view symbols and support of the CTA/CEDIA/InfoComm standard, J-STD-710 "Audio, Video, and Control Architectural Drawing Symbols." The standard defines 91 symbol types which are delivered into SD7.2 by Stardraw.com's cloud-based service and are available for use in any SD7.2 drawing. Furthermore, around 10,000 appropriate products in the SD7.2 library -- i.e. those that might be used in plan view drawings -- have been assigned a default J-STD-710 symbol. The new plan view symbols are dynamic and support attributes (data about the product) that are displayed in the drawing. Also, the available symbols palette enables any product in the user's project to be simply dragged into a plan view drawing where the symbol will appear complete with all its attributes. Finally, users can also assign 710 symbols to their own user defined products (UDPs) thanks to the new plan view tab and symbol browser contained in the symbol editor used for creating UDPs.

Further enhancements include improvements to the library synchronization process which is now around eight times faster than in SD7.1 and a number of new features requested by users. Stardraw Design 7.2 will be a free-of-charge upgrade for all users with a current subscription.

"Stardraw Design 7.2 is without doubt our most powerful design/documentation application to date," observed Robinson. "As ever, our primary concern is to deliver what our customers want and need in order for them to be as efficient as possible. For example, the increasing prevalence of PDF submissions was becoming a real headache for some of our customers. We are delighted to be the only provider to the industry that has successfully resolved this issue. Support of J-STD-710 demonstrates our commitment to industry and international standards, and the quality (and size) of our symbols library remains unrivalled. For a taste of everything SD7.2 has to offer, please come and visit us in the Diamond Lounge at ISE -- you won't be disappointed!"