For many clients, visualizing and understanding the true scale of a project remains one of the most challenging steps when beginning an outdoor living design project.

Last year, we shared updates that covered every square inch of your clients' outdoor living spaces — the sky really was the limit, with tips on how to use your drone to map a client’s property quickly. Calculators to make measuring layouts a snap, smart tools to speed up design time when make designing decks and pergolas, and new video options to make creating interactive 360 images and videos as easy as taking a screenshot.

So we’re starting off 2018 with updates that will help you focus your client’s attention on all of the precise details that make your design so perfect for them. New staircase options, new import options — even a faster new way to email your design to your client. All that, and much more, is available now in today’s update.

Check out the update video to learn more about the new tools and features that will help you wow your clients:

When you invite your client to explore the new pool and spa you've designed for them, you can make your 3D tours even more enticing by adding thoughtful details that will help them understand exactly why your design is so perfect for their family.

Helping you make your already incredible designs even better is what motivates us to develop and share brand-new tools and features. With each and every update, we put the power of the most awesome new technology to work, improving lives through 3D experiences.

For many homeowners, renovating the backyard is about much more than just keeping up with the Joneses or finally getting rid of some overgrown landscaping — it’s about increasing the amount of enjoyable living space and transforming what might otherwise be a mundane yard into a private retreat.

That’s probably one reason why pergolas rank as one of the “top upgraded outdoor structures” — with more than a quarter of homeowners undertaking projects opting to update their pergolas (and of those, a quarter opt for a “major renovation” while 30% opt for an overhaul).

With Vip3D, VizTerra, and Pool Studio, you can now create and customize the perfect pergolas, patio covers, and arbors for your clients — offering your clients not just a shady area but also an ideal gathering spot and a focal point in their outdoor living space. And it’s incredibly easy to do with fully integrated pergola design software.

When clients ask for custom landscape designs that transform their outdoor living space, designing even the most innovative elements of your client’s new backyard is easy with 3D design software.

Until now, however, taking the measurements so your installers can build those intricate pools, multi-level decks, and unique pergolas has still been one of the more time-consuming tasks to complete.

So we’re here to help.

Delivering the custom results your clients want just got easier.

With the Fall 2017 update, you get access to streamlined tools designed to help you create those detailed custom results your clients are looking for — while also streamlining your design process.

That includes a new custom pergola design tool (bringing the features of last update's integrated deck design software to custom pergolas, patio covers, and arbors), a streamlined interface (putting the most-used tools right at the top for easy access), and automatic new measurement tools (revealing the most intricate measurements of your design instantly)

Fast, good, or cheap: pick any two. That well-known truism often crops up, ready to fit nearly every topic — including how to choose a computer and when to buy a PC.

But does that advice really apply to computers?

When many homeowners begin thinking about hiring a professional to update their outdoor living space, a deck is often a default item on their list.

That’s why decks often rank as one of the top upgraded outdoor structures — and also why decks offer designers a great opportunity to amaze clients with a phenomenal custom design.

When you need to create the most incredibly precise, accurate, and detailed custom projects, the right tools mean the difference between good enough — and absolutely spectacular.

With all-new 3D Measurements, you can now share an extra level of detail with your clients and installers, making certain that the design you’ve created is exactly right.