Better Drawing Workflows, Improved Performance and Other New Features and Enhancements in the Latest Renga Release Announcement

«Change before you have to!»

Jack Welch

Renga team is thrilled to announce the release of the long-awaited new Renga Standard and Renga Professional versions. This update expands the capabilities of the "Paste link" and "Replace with vertex" commands, introduces the "Group" and "Ungroup" tools, enables working with drawings via the API, and much more.

Let’s take a closer look at the new features.

Pasting links to DWG/DXF files

New Renga release significantly extends capabilities of the "Paste link" command, and now makes it possible to paste links to DWG/DXF files directly into the drawing space. What makes this tool so useful? It eliminates unnecessary and disconnected graphical elements in your projects, significantly “de-cluttering” it and making files lighter. Additionally, automatic and timely drawing updates any time changes occur in linked files help save time on replacements and prevent errors if someone on the team forgets to update an inserted file. One might seriously question pasting links to formats containing 2D geometry when designing in 3D, as this may seem to contradict the technology. However, this is not the case. International experts note that certain elements—such as node connections—are more efficiently represented using 2D primitives, which helps to reduce the overall model size.

How can this be applied in practice? Let's consider a scenario where not all project members have implemented Renga, and some still work in software that generates DWG files. Node connections may have been created in a DWG file but are not yet finalized and might continue to undergo changes. Instead of repeatedly inserting new files and risking errors, we can use 'Paste link' command to paste a DWG file directly into the drawing space.

Step-by-step algorithm of using "Paste link" command to DWG file: place the existing DWG file containing node connections into the drawing space (Figure 1 and Figure 2); after other team member makes changes to the file, update the link to the DWG file; the updated node connections will automatically be displayed in Renga (Figure 3).

Figure 1. Pasting link to DWG file

Figure 2. Placing DWG file in a drawing sheet

Figure 3. Updating link to DWG file

Clearing the clutter by replacing route points with vertices

Our development team has significantly improved the "Replace with vertex" command. Users are now able to replace route points with vertices directly within the tab of the selected utility system to which the route point belongs. Let's take a closer look at this functionality using a multi-apartment residential building model. We see a large number of route points on the sewer system route, which can make model representation seem cluttered and difficult to read. . Previous Renga version supported the ability to replace route points with vertices in the 3D view. New Renga version allows for this operation to be performed directly within the selected system tab (see Figure 4 and Figure 5). To perform the replacement: select the required route points and apply the "Replace with vertex" command. As a result, the route becomes more coherent and visually cleaner with fewer actions required.

For a more detailed overview of the new command, watch the videos on RuTube and VK Video.

Figure 4. Selecting and replacing a route point with vertex

Figure 5. The outcome of applying 'Replace with vertex' command

Grouping objects in drawings

To our users' delight we added the much requested "Group" and "Ungroup" commands in the latest Renga version. For now, these commands are available only for objects in drawings; however, in the future they will also be available in 3D view and in assemblies. This means that the "Group" and "Ungroup" commands will eventually be accessible tor the entire Renga BIM system functionality.

"Group" command implementation has made it possible to combine individual drawing objects into groups. To do this, users need to simply select the required objects, choose the "Group" command from the Primary panel, or use the Ctrl+G shortcut. If you need to return objects to their original state, select the group and use the "Ungroup" command or the Ctrl+Shift+G shortcut.

This new feature significantly improves efficiency of drawing workflows. And allows to create standard 2D objects and group them. For example, users can create breaklines in drawings or various customised symbols for territory layouts (coniferous trees, shrubs, etc.) (Figure 6).

For a more detailed overview of the new command, watch the videos on RuTube and VK Video.

Figure 6. Creating a group of objects

Figure 7. Populating object group with new elements

Displaying of handles when selecting multiple objects becomes more convenient

A user-friendly and intuitive interface has always been one of Renga standout features, which is why we continue to work in that direction. Now, whenever users select a large number of elements, Renga updates the display of their handles. Selecting objects has become more visually clear and easier to read by removing all individual object handles from the display.

Figure 8. Differences in display of selected objects

Improved performance

Delivering new functionalities with each release, we at the same time constantly increase software performance so that our users can comfortably work with projects of any complexity and scale. Latest Renga release provides a rich tool to drive important workflow processes, that's why our users might notice their interactions with models have become smoother and faster. For example, if you look at the frame rate (FPS) meter, in some projects it can increase by two times (Figure 9 and Figure 10).

Figure 9. Frames per second in the previous Renga version

Figure 10. Frames per second (FPS) in the new Renga version

Working with drawings via API

Renga Software team continues to expand API functionality, giving users convenient tools for creating and editing objects directly from the programming interface. Latest Renga release provides plug-in developers with the ability to work with drawings.

Users now can create new drawings directly from the program, define the required parameters and edit them. In addition, our developers added the ability to work with drawing properties: creating new properties, as well as reading and modifying them. Thanks to the new API capabilities, users can also access all drawing objects. Each object is now available for detailed inspection and optimization of specialized task workflows. New drawing functionalities also include the ability to create and edit texts in drawing sheets, and open drawings by identifier. How can this functionality be useful? It can be used to recreate any automated scenarios that require placing specific text in a specific location. For example, adding a note on the first sheet of each drawing set confirming that the working documentation complies with the design brief, technical conditions, and other requirements.

Download the latest Renga release and apply new features and functionalities to your projects!

By Elizaveta Tenyatova, Renga Software marketing manager.

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