Is It Worth Upgrading to Vectorworks 2011

A lot of people ask me if they should upgrade to Vectorworks 2011. Is it worth the upgrade they ask? I'm very happy about the changes and new techniques in Vectorworks 2011, and I think these will save you a lot of time.

I guess you have to ask what your time is worth. I have a client with a large file (44.8MB) with several viewports and 30 sheet layers. When it's time to update all the viewports my client uses Update All Viewports command.

In Vectorworks 2008 this file was incomplete after 13 minutes of updating. In Vectorworks 2011, this file was completed in 3.5 minutes. So, that would be a saving of 10mins. If you update the file, or files like this, everyday, then you can save yourself about an hour a week. Just on the speed of updating viewports. This should be enough savings to pay for your upgrade. At 50 weeks, an hour a week at $40/hr, that is a saving of $2000!

There is no doubt in my mind that Vectorworks 2011 is a major upgrade. The changes to 3D modeling with the Pus/Pull tool and planar objects will change the way you model. It is so much faster to model in Vectorworks 2011, I can't go back. The interaction between walls and slabs will change the way you create buildings. They will become faster to draw and model.