TFC #42: New Cabinet Vision Features

High five to Cabinet Vision’s product development team!

Back in June I wrote an article called “Where is Cabinet Vision Today?”

I talked a little bit about the frustrations of major version changes and data migration.

This week, I downloaded the new 2023.3 version, and I am excited!

Although there is only a handful of changes in this build, two features really stand out to me.

#1 Assign Connections To Edges

Ever since the Connection Manager was introduced in Version 12, I have loved the layout of it but struggled to have the control I wanted outside of the normal construction method settings.

Well, no more!

2023.3 added a feature that lets you assign connections to edges.

This may not mean much to you, but trust me, this is great stuff.

You can now click on any part, and assign a connection to a specific edge. This means you can add blind dados, Cabineos, pilot holes, and dowels, wherever you want them to be.

I’ve made several UCSs over the last couple years trying to give the user the ability to add connections whenever they wanted, but it never felt like a very polished solution.

I was not expecting Cabinet Vision to build something so this was an excellent surprise.

The one thing that I am hoping for in the future is a few more system parameters to better assign and change connections via UCSs.

#2 Briefcase Mode

This is another feature that I was surprised to see, but one that could be very useful in a lot of shops.

Most shops opt for a server installation of Cabinet Vision, which means that all computers in the office share the same database. This works great until you want to take your laptop to the job or back to your house.

Previously, if you ever thought you might need your laptop away from the office, you would just install that laptop as standalone and leave the rest of the computers as server installs.

This is okay, and it works, but you have to rely on backups and restores to keep your laptop synchronized with the server.

Briefcase mode allows you to install your laptop as a server install, and then toggle back and forth between briefcase mode when you need to go offline.

Then, when you get back to the office, you simply turn off briefcase mode and enjoy a nice shared database again.

This could be a great option. I am a little curious to see how it actually works when there have been changes made on the server and on the disconnected laptop. According to their help files, it says that if there are two conflicting changes, the most recent change will take precedence.

I think if a little caution is exercised in how long you stay offline and what changes you make, this could be an excellent feature for your shop.

Development teams mostly receive criticism and complaints from their users, but I, for one, am really happy with the latest versions, and I think that Cabinet Vision is headed in a really great direction.

Thanks for reading,
Myron

Also, on the note of Cabinet Vision features, I created my first Cabinet Vision downloadable product.

A lot of people I work with use the X-Series rollout systems so I decided to create a nice configurable package that allows CV users to easily:

• add vertical pilasters to the sides of rollouts

• automatically size the width and height of the pilasters based on the opening

• add a marker dado to help your employees in the shop know where to place the pilaster

• see a report with the pilaster sizes and number of brackets for easy ordering

I sent an email out a few days ago to some of the people I have worked for in the past and had them test it out to check for any major bugs and so far it looks like it is good to go.

I’m excited to share it with you.

I have a video explaining how it works on the product page.

For all of my TFC subscribers, I’m offering you this 25% off coupon code that expires December 5, 2023.

Coupon Code: TFCROLLOUT