Affordable 2D/3D software opens up world of Google Earth and 3D Warehouse Models

Kansas City, MO. January 9, 2007 -- Punch! Software LLC, developers of the #1 best-selling home and landscape design software on the retail market, today announced that its upcoming ViaCAD™ release will support the Google® SketchUp® 6 import file formats.

ViaCAD™ is a high functionality, low-cost 2D/3D design product that revolutionizes the way everybody creates designs in 2D and 3D. To be released in March of 2007, the new product supports Mac OS X and Windows platforms, and retails for $99.

“The addition of the new SketchUp format is very powerful for our users,” said Paul Bay, CEO, Punch! Software LLC. “With this capability, we enable ViaCAD users to benefit from the availability of predrawn models on Google’s 3D Warehouse, while using an affordable, simple and yet powerful design product.”

The 3D Warehouse is an online feature of Google’s SketchUp application that lets users search, share, and re-use 3D models. The models in the 3D Warehouse include commonly used 3D elements, everything from buildings, houses, bridges, and statues to couches, cars, people, and pets. 
A demonstration of the Google 3D Warehouse is available at: http://download.sketchup.com/downloads/training/tutorials50/The_Story/The_Story.html

ViaCAD delivers a powerful new way of designing, using 2D and 3D elements in a concurrent adaptive user interface that enables surprisingly rapid, easy and precise designs to be created. It also creates 2D details, plans and elevations automatically from 3D models – a tool that can also be used with models imported from SketchUp.

ViaCAD supports 2D, 3D, surface, and solid modeling tools with a wide array of features to allow precision illustrations while keeping the process incredibly simple. Accuracy is ensured by ViaCAD’s ACIS®-based kernel. The new release can export section views and detail views, Bill of Materials lists, and includes complete 3D editing tools, annotation, and dimensions, among other practical features for the home designer.


Export functionality of SketchUp formats is planned soon, and will be available as a download to existing users when complete.



Availability
ViaCAD will be released in March 2007, and will be available at major retail stores as well as direct from Punch! Software’s web site at: http://www.punchviacad.com/.


About Punch! Software
Punch! Software was founded in 1998 with the premise that home design software should be as fun to use as it is productive. With more than 2 million units of its Mac and Windows products sold via retail stores across North America. Punch! Software has consistently been the best-selling home and landscape design retail software brand in the US for the last 7 years. The company excels in providing highly productive but very affordable software that appeals to users everywhere.

Products developed and marketed by Punch! Software include: Professional Home Design Suite®, Home Design Studio™, Home Design Architectural Series®, Master Landscape™ series, the Interior Design Suite™ and ViaCAD™. All products are available at major retailers as well as direct from the company via its web site. Punch! Software is based in Kansas City, MO. More information on Punch! Software products can be found at www.punchsoftware.com .


Professional Home Design, Home Design Studio, Home Design Architectural Series, Master Landscape series, the Interior Design Suite and ViaCAD are trademarks or registered trademarks of Punch! Software L.L.C. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Press Contact:
Rachael Taggart
Strategic Reach Inc
303 487 7406
Email Contact

Company contact:
Tim Olson – Vice President of Development
Punch Software
(262) 691-3563
Email Contact