Sales FAQ

The Combo Pack is the combination of RainCAD™ for irrigation design and Land Illustrator™ for landscape design capabilities. In addition, there is a small module for accent lighting and drainage design. The Combo Pack also includes Irricalc™ 3.0 as a bonus for water management capabilities.

RainCAD™ is for irrigation design only and does not include Irricalc™.

Land Illustrator™ is for landscape design only and does not include Irricalc™.

What is the difference between the RainCAD™/Land Illustrator™ 2008 IntelliCAD Editions, the RainCAD™ X Series 3.0 AutoCAD® Editions, and the RainCAD™/Land Illustrator™ 4.0 AutoCAD® Editions?

All editions of the software have basically the same functionality for irrigation, landscape, accent lighting, and drainage design. The AutoCAD® Editions allow for gradient fills in plant symbols, berms, and fill materials. The real difference between the editions is the base CAD engine required for the software to operate.

The RainCAD™/Land Illustrator™ 2008 IntelliCAD Editions come with a full function CAD program called AcceliCAD™ 2008 from Autodsys, Inc.. No other software is required for these editions of RainCAD™ or Land Illustrator™ to operate.

The 3.0 AutoCAD® Editions require that you purchase and install AutoCAD® 2000, 2000i, 2002, 2004, 2005 or 2006 on your computer system. These editions will not operate without AutoCAD® being properly installed on the computer system. AutoCAD® is not included as a part of these editions and must be purchased separately.

The 4.0 AutoCAD® Editions are up to 4,000% faster than the 3.0 AutoCAD® Editions. The 4.0 AutoCAD® Editions require that you purchase and install AutoCAD® 2006, 2007, 2008 or 2009 on your computer system. These editions will not operate without AutoCAD® being properly installed on the computer system. AutoCAD® is not included as a part of these editions and must be purchased separately.

Is Photoscapes™ included with any edition of RainCAD™ or Land Illustrator™?

No. Photoscapes™ is a stand alone imaging program that is not included with any of the CAD programs. We do discount the price of Photoscapes™ if it is purchased along with one of the CAD programs. Be sure to ask our sales representative about the discount pricing.

Will the RainCAD™ X Series 3.0 AutoCAD® Editions or the RainCAD™ 4.0 or Land Illustrator™ 4.0 AutoCAD® Editions run on AutoCAD® LT?

No. The AutoCAD® platform offers fully extensible drawing and application customization through APIs (application programming interfaces) such as Visual LISP™, VBA, and ActiveX®. AutoCAD® LT is not an extensible product.

Will the RainCAD™, Land Illustrator™, or Combo Pack 2008 AcceliCAD Edition programs open dc2, dw2, or dcd drawings from previous stand alone programs based on a version of DesignCAD?

No. You will need to keep your old stand alone program based on DesignCAD to continue work on old drawings. You could export the drawings to a DWG fromat and open them in the AcceliCAD Edition programs, but the programs will not recognize irrigation or landscape materials.

How long does it take to learn?

That really depends on the person and their previous computer skills. If you already know how to use a computer with Microsoft® Windows®, you have a head start. Depending on which version of the software you have, there are eight to eleven lessons in the tutorial that accompanies the program. Each lesson takes approximately one hour to complete. Once you finish the tutorial and create a couple of small residential or commercial designs, you should be up and running. From this point on, the more you become familiar with the software, the faster you will get.

How long does it take to complete a design?

This depends on several factors:

How big is the plot plan?

How much detail to you want to add to the drawing?

How well do you know the program?

For example, there are some experienced users who can draw a piece of property (say a single dwelling on a lot that is 120' X 80'), layout the sprinkler symbols, group them into zones, pipe the zones together, place the control valves, and run the mainline in thirty to forty minutes. If you want to size the pipe, calculate system hydraulics, add hatching for a brick patio or sidewalk, create a material takeoff, create a legend, and add installation details, it may take up to an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes.

What kind of computer do I need?

Please refer to the section on System Requirements at the bottom of the product information page.

Do I need to purchase any additional software such as AutoCAD®?

If you purchase the RainCAD™ 10.0 or Land Illustrator™ 10.0 programs, the answer is NO. With the purchase of the 10.0 DesignCAD Edition programs, you get all of the software you need other than the operating system itself! The 10.0 DesignCAD Editions all come with a complete version of DesignCAD 3D Max from IMSI as the base CAD program.

If you purchase the RainCAD™ 2008 or Land Illustrator™ 2008 programs, the answer is NO. With the purchase of the 2008 IntelliCAD Edition programs, you get all of the software you need. The 2008 IntelliCAD Editions all come with a complete version of AcceliCAD™ 2008 from Autodsys, Inc. as the base CAD program.

If you purchase any one of the RainCAD™ X Series 3.0 AutoCAD® Edition programs, the answer is YES. You will need to purchase and install AutoCAD® 2000, 2000i, 2002, 2004, 2005, or 2006 for the RainCAD™ software to operate.

If you purchase the RainCAD™ 4.0 AutoCAD® Edition or Land Illustrator™ 4.0 AutoCAD Edition programs, the answer is YES. You will need to purchase and install AutoCAD® 2006, 2007, 2008 or 2009 for the RainCAD™/Land Illustrator™ software to operate.

Can I import or export drawings from other CAD programs?

Yes. The RainCAD™ 10.0 or Land Illustrator™ 10.0 software programs each include a program called DesignCAD 3D Max from IMSI. DesignCAD saves its drawings in a DCD file format. The program will import DWG, DXF, IGES, WMF, HPGL and XYZ formats. You can export a drawing to one of these formats or to an image file such as a jpeg, tif, bmp, pcx, png and more.

The RainCAD™ 2008 or Land Illustrator™ 2008 software programs each include a program called AcceliCAD™ 2008 from Autodsys, Inc.. AcceliCAD™ saves its drawings in an AutoCAD® DWG file format. The program will export your drawings to additional DWG formats, DXF, WMF, EMF, SVG, DWF, PDF and BMP file formats.

The RainCAD™ X Series 3.0 AutoCAD® Edition, the RainCAD™ 4.0 AutoCAD® Edition or the Land Illustrator 4.0 AutoCAD Edition software programs require AutoCAD® to operate. You will have the ability to import and export drawings based on the capabilities of your release of AutoCAD®.

Do I have to pay for technical support?

No. Technical support via the Support section of this web site or by fax is free. We do not offer telephone support. In addition, you can receive technical support from IMSI for any questions relating to DesignCAD 3D Max or from Autodesk for any questions relating to the use of AutoCAD®.

Can I convert my databases from a previous version of the software?

You can convert databases from the RainCAD™ 9.0 or Land Illustrator™ 9.0 DesignCAD Edition programs into the RainCAD™/Land Illustrator™ 10.0 DesignCAD Edition programs or the RainCAD™/Land Illustrator™ 2008 IntelliCAD Edition programs. You can also convert your RainCAD™ 7.5, RainCAD™ 8.0, or EcoCAD™ 5.0 databases into the RainCAD™ X Series 3.0 AutoCAD® Editions. You can convert databases from RainCAD™ 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0 into the RainCAD™ 4.0 or Land Illustrator™ 4.0 AutoCAD® Editions.

You cannot convert or import databases from any version of RainCAD™ previous to 7.5 or any version of EcoCAD™ previous to 5.0. We have made so many changes to the format of the database, it is not possible to translate the information.

How hard is it to get the property into the computer?

It's really very easy! There are multiple ways you can enter the plot plan.

You can draw the plan with a mouse.

You can type in the information using an X, Y coordinate system, or a distance and angle system.

You can scan the image directly in into DesignCAD 3D Max. You can design directly on top of the image, or you can then simply trace over the image. You can also make use of DesignCAD’s Auto Trace command to automatically trace the image.

You can import a raster image such as a bmp, jpeg, pcx or tif.
If you own a digitizer, you can digitize the plan using the puck.

You can also open an existing AutoCAD® DWG drawing file.

Does it do the design for you?

No. Although the software will automatically place sprinklers or plants, automatically draw lateral line pipe, automatically size all of the pipe, and more, it does not do the entire design for you. We refer to the software as a design tool, not a designer. If you go to the store and purchase an accounting software program, it does not make you an accountant. The same is true for RainCAD™ or Land Illustrator™. Although these programs are great tools, you must have the knowledge to create an irrigation or landscape design.

Can you do the irrigation and landscape design on the same plot plan?

Yes. In any version of RainCAD™ or Land Illustrator™ you have the ability to draft on multiple layers. AcceliCAD™ and AutoCAD® support an unlimited number of layers. Each layer is like a separate sheet of paper. You will draw the plot plan on several layers, the irrigation on other layers, and the landscape on additional layers. To view or print only the irrigation portion of the design, simply turn off the layers that hold the landscape material.

Does it create a material takeoff or an estimate/proposal?

Yes. Simply click on Material/Estimate from the Calcs drop down menu. Select the categories to appear in the report and sort them in any order you desire. Click on the OK button and the program will calculate a complete bill of materials. The program will calculate all of the materials necessary to install the design and price them according to the information in the databases including change in direction fittings in the field such as the 45°, 90°, and tee fittings.

Click here to view a sample Material Estimate Report.

What equipment comes standard in the databases?

RainCAD™ comes complete with irrigation equipment from Hunter, Irritrol Systems, Nelson, Netafim, Rain Bird, Toro, and Weathermatic. In addition, there are databases with Febco, Watts, and Wilkens backflow prevention devices. There is a database of water meters ranging from 5/8" up to 6" in size. The pipe database includes 17 different categories of pipe in both English and Metric Units of measurement. The categories include poly, PVC, copper, and galvanized. Pipe sizes currently range from 1/2" to 12" in size. You may add additional equipment to any of these databases.

Land Illustrator™ includes a database of more than 2,500 individual plant listings. The plants are broken out into six different categories. You may add categories and plant material to the database.

The Combo Pack includes a database of accent lighting equipment from Loran and a database of drainage equipment from NDS. You may add manufacturers and equipment to these databases as well.

Is it easy to draw a curve?

Yes. Select the Polyline or Spline command by clicking on a icon, pressing a hot key, or from the drop down menus. Once the command is selected, simply click on the screen with the mouse to set points. A curve will appear on the screen. It will bend at each point set.

Can I scan in a plot plan?

No. You can import raster image files and load them onto the design screen.

Can I fill an area with a brick or some other pattern?

Yes. There are many different hatching patterns available in DesignCAD, AcceliCAD™ or AutoCAD®. You can select the layer on which to draw the pattern, the color, the angle, and the scale of any hatch pattern.

Will it print on my dot matrix, ink jet or laser printer?

Yes. You may print to any printer you have as long as you have the correct device driver to run the printer. If you have any questions on device drivers, call the manufacturer of your printer.

Do I have to have a plotter to print on big sheets of paper?

No. To output to a large sheet size when you do not have a large scale plotter, make use of a program such as Adobe Acrobat and print your drawing to an Adobe PDF file. You can then take the PDF file to your local copy center such as a Kinko’s or Kwik Kopy for output to paper.

Lines drawn on the screen look jagged. Do they print that way or are they straight?

Lines appear jagged on the computer screen because the screen is made up of small individual pixels. When a drawing is sent to the printer, the lines and curves will print as smooth objects without jagged edges.

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