News

D-Tools System Integrator 4.5 Now Working with AutoCAD (25/5/2005)

Stand K16, CEDIA UK Expo 2005

Building on the successful System Integrator 4 software, D-Tools announces the release of version 4.5 at InfoComm which incorporates the power of AutoCAD 2006 and the ease-of-use of Visio working seamlessly in the award-winning D-Tools solution.

System Integrator 4.5 (SI 4.5) was developed in response to demand from commercial system integration professionals. Users of SI 4.5 can now create and open native AutoCAD files in the plan, elevation and functional views and utilize the robust product database and powerful features that have made System Integrator the number-one choice for system integrators in the low-voltage system integration industries.

System Integrator 4.5 is now a total design solution that leverages the strengths of both AutoCAD and Visio to offer truly comprehensive design and documentation capabilities. Users of the software can work in Visio to take advantage of the intuitive user interface, the rich graphic capabilities, scalable vector drawings and drag-and-drop functionality, or they can work in AutoCAD which features dynamic blocks, an enhanced Sheet Set Manager, precise drawing tools and efficient drafting. Both programs can be used together; System Integrator 4.5 unites AutoCAD and Visio inside a single electronic file. In a typical process, the sales person will quickly create a line diagram to demonstrate the concept of a project in Visio and the engineers will continue the design process in AutoCAD.

The success of D-Tools' software lies in its ability to manage the entire workflow process using a single, shared project file. The greatest challenge for system integration professionals from a project management perspective is to keep all of the parties involved, including engineering, installation, project management and sales on the same page throughout the entire project. D-Tools solves this problem by keeping all project-specific details in one, unified, updatable project file. Users of D-Tools' software can now incorporate their AutoCAD files into that seamless workflow functionality.

System Integrator software leverages the power of the rich D-Tools product database that tracks critical information such as dimensions, input and output information, phase of installation, time to install, price, cost, vendor SKU and more. Fields are user-modifiable to allow customization on such things as margin, cost of equipment and labor. These numbers are automatically calculated as each component is placed in the project and dynamically permeate throughout the project and into the final reports including proposals, detail cost summaries, gross profit, pick lists and project hours. Removing or adding any equipment in the project updates all the associated costs. New updated proposals or change orders are generated in a matter of seconds.

System Integrator software users swear by the software's ease-of-use and its ability to significantly shorten the design, documentation, proposal and management process. "A well-implemented D-Tools solution saves a significant amount of time," says Adam Stone, company president. "As a matter of fact we have clients saving up to 90% of their time over traditional methods because they use D-Tools System Integrator software."

Users of SI 4.5 will be able to open up AutoCAD files in either plan, elevation or functional views. Components from the product master database can be placed on the AutoCAD drawing files with drag-and-drop ease. To use System Integrator 4.5, users will need a copy of AutoCAD 2005 or 2006 however the software is optimized for the new dynamic block feature of AutoCAD 2006.

D-Tools will be demonstrating AutoCAD and Visio working together in System Integrator 4.5 at CEDIA UK, Stand K16.

www.d-tools.com