Autodesk Introduces Smart Space Planning with New Release of Planix Home Designer 3D Deluxe; Makes It Easy to Create New Home Plans Like a Professional.

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 13, 1997--Autodesk Inc. today announced the immediate availability of Planix(R) Home Designer 3D Deluxe, the only consumer software that helps Microsoft(R) Windows 95 and Windows 3.1 users create residential floor plans the way professionals create them.

The product, a renamed and upgraded version of Planix Home Design Suite 3D, is available from most computer retail stores in English in the United States and Canada. This announcement represents the first new upgrade of a Planix brand product since March when Autodesk acquired Softdesk and its Planix family of home improvement products.

Planix Home Designer 3D Deluxe is the only product in its category that offers smart space planning, as many as four popular cabinet styles, the ability to search for floor plans, and the capability to create 3D virtual reality walk-through tours. The Planix Home Designer 3D Deluxe software helps consumers design entire house plans with technical accuracy.

Once the homebuilder has generated a technical drawing of the new home, then Autodesk's Picture This Home!(TM) software can be used to help the homeowner visualize the finished project interior by creating a detailed plan, decorating scheme and budget for specific rooms.

Smart Space Planning

Planix Home Designer 3D Deluxe is ideal for the average person who wants to design the floor plan for a new home or make an addition to an existing residence. Through a new feature called "Smart Space" planning, the product helps users fit the desired number of bedrooms and bathrooms into a particular sized home. The new Planix Home Designer 3D Deluxe uses the same logical guidelines as professional architects would use. The software also allocates all the space, freeing the user to design the complete floor plan.

First, the user selects the desired square footage, the number of bedrooms and the number of bathrooms of the home to design. Next, the user can customize the list of rooms to match a family's needs. The total square footage is automatically calculated, informing the user about the amount of space remaining for closets, hallways, etc.

"Getting started is as simple as picking a house description from the real estate want ads -- such as 2,000 square feet, three bedrooms/two baths. This product helps consumers solve the basic planning problem of fitting the required number of bedrooms and baths into a home with the square footage of the user's choice," said August Grasis III, senior director of the Personal Solutions Group at Autodesk.

Planix Home Designer 3D Deluxe automatically generates rooms that are scaled, colored and labeled to match the room list the user originally created. The user can drag the rooms into any configuration and trace around them to create walls. The user then finalizes the plan by adding details such as doors, windows, furniture and fixtures.

Feature Highlights

In addition to Smart Space planning, there are many new easy to use features.

Find-a-plan -- makes it easy to determine the ideal home plan for users who do not want to create a design with Smart Space planning. Autodesk recreated in software format 500 fully-editable, professionally designed floor plans from Home Planners Inc., the leading publisher of home plan books. Consumers can use the Find-a-plan dialog to search for the preferred home plan on the Planix Home Designer 3D Deluxe CD by selecting the style, number of bedrooms, and number of bathrooms. The user can then open the desired plan file to make any changes necessary for customization.

Advanced Design Capability Enhancements -- let users create a plan by drawing the exterior walls first. By selecting a shape and typing in the exterior wall dimensions, Planix Home Designer 3D Deluxe automatically places the floor plan outline fully scaled on the page. The more experienced user can start with a blank sheet of paper. A new dialog box prompts the user to type in the lot size to set the scale.

Four Popular Cabinet Styles -- are included, more than in any other home design product available. This offers the user more flexibility in designing kitchens and bathrooms.

Home Project Estimator Software -- is included to calculate quantities and costs for do-it-yourself home projects. Some of the categories include: Interior Decorating (paint, wallpaper, tile); Lumber Construction (interior and exterior walls, nails, board feet, roofing); Concrete Construction; Landscaping (dirt, sand mulch, grass seed, decorative rock); Home Electronics; and Electrical. Typically sold separately at US$29, the bundled Home Project Estimator software provides helpful how-to descriptions with tool lists and specialized calculators to determine the quantity of the required materials.

Although it is not new, a unique feature of the product is the 3D virtual reality walk-through tour.

3D Virtual Reality Walk-Through Tours -- can be created easily for any floor plan. The user simply traces a path in the plan and Planix Home Designer 3D Deluxe automatically generates a standard (.AVI) video file. Any number of "movies" can be created and replayed again and again using the VCR-like controls.

Pricing and Availability

Planix Home Designer 3D Deluxe operates with Microsoft Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. It is available immediately in the U.S. and Canada at an estimated street price of US$59.95 and can be purchased at most computer retail stores. Current users of any Planix Home product can upgrade for US$39.95 by calling Autodesk Personal Solutions Group at 800/231-8574. Customers who would like more information can call this same number or visit the World Wide Web at http://www.planix3d.com .

About Autodesk

Autodesk is the world's leading supplier of PC design software and PC multimedia tools. The company's 2D and 3D products and data management tools are used in many industries for architectural design, mechanical design, mapping, film and video production, video game development and Web content development. Its Kinetix(TM) division is the leader in PC-based 3D modeling and animation software, providing a full range of products for digital media and design professionals.

The fifth largest PC software company in the world, Autodesk has three million customers in more than 150 countries. For more information, please contact any Authorized Autodesk Dealer, call Autodesk at 800/964-6432, or fax requests for information to 415/507-5100. Outside of North America, please fax requests for information to +1 415/507-6110 (Latin America), +1 408/616-1048 (Asia Pacific), or [phone] (Europe).

For more information on Autodesk, please call 415/507-5000, type GO ADESK on CompuServe, or log in with a World Wide Web browser at http://www.autodesk.com. Autodesk shares are traded on the Nasdaq national market under symbol ADSK. -0-

Note to Editors: Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, and Planix are registered trademarks of Autodesk Inc. Kinetix and Picture This Home! are trademarks of Autodesk Inc. Microsoft, Windows and Windows 95 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

CONTACT: Autodesk Inc.

Amal Abed, 415/507-6543

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