The ApexSketch v7 User Interface (UI) offers a familiar look for existing users with a bevy of new features and functionality. If you’re new to Apex, don’t let all the buttons, icons and panels worry you. You’ll soon learn the basics of drawing and discover how easy Apex is to use. Before jumping to the sketch tutorials, we suggest taking a little time to get more acquainted with the components that make up the ApexSketch v7 UI.

This PDF lists all of the shortcut keys of ApexSketch v7. We recommend printing this out as the more familiar you become with the shortcuts, the faster you’ll navigate through all the operations to complete your floor plan sketches.

The Modern Drawing method allows you to immediately begin drawing your sketch. In this setting, ApexSketch will not prompt for an Area Definition prior to drawing. That’s because this new “Draw First” paradigm offers more flexibility to draw where you want, when you want and only those lines necessary to complete areas. The learning curve is small. In fact, if you’re used to drawing free form lines in previous versions, this drawing method may be familiar as it uses the same behavior that allows you to pick up and put down the pen at will. This tutorial will take you through an entire sketch using this new approach to drawing.

This tutorial covers the use of Auto-Subtract in ApexSketch v7 (Av7) when using the Draw First drawing method. Auto-Subtract is a special Calculation Adjustment that allows you to define and subtract an Area from any other Area of your choice (except the same type of Area). Auto-Subtract is traditionally used when sketching wrap-around porches, pool aprons, staircases, open to below areas, etc.

Editing in ApexSketch v7 is easier and far more intuitive than any of our previous versions. This tutorial provides you with just a basic glimpse (from a Draw First perspective) of reopening an area as well as making a simple change to a closed area for situations where all you needed to account for was additional square footage due to an addition or improvement to the subject property.

The Legacy Drawing method is the tried and true, 3 step drawing paradigm that consists of Defining the Area, Establishing a Point of Beginning and Drawing the Area that our customers have been using since the 80s. It’s a slightly different look, but you can draw and anchor your lines and dimensions keystroke for keystroke in the same fashion you did with ApexSketch v5 and older This tutorial will take you through an entire sketch using this classic approach to drawing.

This tutorial covers the use of Auto-Subtract in Apex Sketch v7 (Av7) when using the Define First drawing method. Auto-Subtract is a special Calculation Adjustment that allows you to define and subtract an Area from any other Area of your choice (except the same type of Area). Auto-Subtract is traditionally used when sketching wrap-around porches, pool aprons, staircases, open to below areas, etc.

Editing in ApexSketch v7 is easier and far more intuitive than any of our previous versions. This tutorial provides you with just a basic glimpse (from a Define First perspective) of reopening an area as well as making a simple change to a closed area for situations where all you needed to account for was additional square footage due to an addition or improvement to the subject property.

This guide will introduce you to an optional module we call Photometrics; that allows you to draw directly over (i.e. trace) images such as blueprints or plans & specs, hand-drawings (to scale), aerial imagery, etc.

Small, easy-to-measure angles (i.e. bay windows) are fairly straight forward using the rise and run method in any Apex product we’ve released to date. Combined with the “Turn” feature that allows you to directly input the angle of the wall (measured with an angle measuring device such as Mite-R-Gage®), some of our customers claim that drawing angles is actually fun!

Measuring curves is rarely any fun, but that doesn’t mean drawing them can’t be. This guide will take you through the methods used to create curves in ApexSketch v7. Once you have a good understanding of what the program is expecting, your workflow and processes will improve as well because you’ll know precisely what data you’ll need to complete every curve you draw.

Adding additional annotation to your sketch files is as simple as dragging and dropping the labels contained within the Text Library. But there’s more to it than that. This guide will show you the ins and outs to adding additional text labels to your sketches.

Should you copy or clone an area? The answer really boils down to what you’re attempting to accomplish in ApexSketch v7. This guide will take you through the steps of cloning an area, giving you a better feel for those scenarios when you are creating new areas from existing areas or simply duplicating the same areas.

Whether you’re cleaning up your sketch file or adjusting for changes in your subject property, deleting area can be a challenge at times with complex sketches. This guide will show you how to remove an unwanted area from your sketch.

Often a result of a copied sketch (vs. cloned), this guide will illustrate how to redefine an area through Properties located on the Context (right-click) menu.