Synaps left Beta: Welcome to Production

Feedback from users showed that navigation and tool access could be more streamlined to help you work faster and more comfortably.

The main navigation now lives on the left-hand side, with tools reordered based on your usage patterns, most-used tools are front and center. The ‘Canvas’ mode is now the sole workspace, as ‘Polish’ mode has been retired.

Access all drawing tools from the left sidebar. Adjust properties directly within it.

Architects and designers needed a way to see their building in its true urban or rural setting, with support for precise site boundaries.

You can now search for an address, select from available parcels (with size and area shown), or draw a custom site boundary if parcel data isn’t available. The tool supports a wide range of countries and regions.

Click the site button (location pin), search for your address, then pick or draw the site boundary. Rotate to orient the site, then create it. The site frame will show surrounding plots, buildings, and trees. Connect your buildings to sites to see them together in their surroundings.

Floor plans matter only when you put them in context. The Building frame now holds space for all floors of any building you are building.

Now, each building is made of stackable floors. The floor switcher lets you move between floors, add or remove levels, rename them, and adjust their order. You can isolate a floor for focused editing, display the lower floor at reduced opacity, or hide floors as needed. Each floor’s height is customizable for accurate sections, elevations, and 3D models.

Use the floor switcher to navigate between floors, add new ones, or edit existing ones. When your plans are ready, click the Building frame to reveal automatic sections, elevations, and a 3D view. Return to your floor plans to make edits, and the connected views will update automatically. Visual cues help you align geometry across levels.

Manual drafting of sections and elevations was time-consuming and prone to errors when updating designs.

With a few clicks, you can create section lines or select a wall for elevation, and Synaps will automatically generate and keep these drawings up-to-date as you edit your building.

For sections, select the section tool, place two points, and choose the viewing side. For elevations, select the elevation tool and click on a highlighted wall. Drawings update automatically with every model change. Convert these drawings into polylines for further editing as needed.

For a more immersive way to review and present building designs, we introduced different viewing modes and finishes.

The 3D viewer lets you orbit, zoom, and switch between axonometric and perspective views. You can choose glass or porcelain finishes and toggle below-ground floors to set the level of detail you want to view.

Enter 3D mode to explore your model. Right-click and drag with your mouse to orbit and rotate. If you’re using a trackpad, hold the Option key and click-drag to rotate. Scroll to zoom in and out, and use the view cube to orient. Adjust finishes and visibility from the 3D settings menu.

We created architectural elements that adapt to your design constraints and simplify complex geometry creation.

Dedicated tools have been added for stairs (straight, L-, U-shaped, and spiral), railings (customizable by type, height, alignment, and appearance), and roofs (flat, hip, gable or mono-pitch). Stairs now know about floor heights, roofs respect the footprint geometry, automatically create openings, and appear in 3D, sections, and elevations.

Select the relevant tool (Staircase, Railing, or Roof) from the toolbar. Click to define geometry on the canvas, and use the properties panel for detailed adjustments. Double-click stairs to edit with handles or adjust runs and handrails.

When working with overlapping elements, clicking would always select the topmost item, making it tricky to reach items beneath, such as a room under a wall or a slab beneath furniture. Workarounds often meant hiding or moving elements just to select what you needed.

Press the comma key (,) with the Select tool to instantly open the Selection Fan, a ring of chips appears beside your cursor, listing every selectable element at that spot, with the top element first. Hovering over a chip or using arrow keys highlights that element on the canvas. Select your target by pressing a number key, clicking a chip, or pressing Enter. The fan remains visible while you zoom or pan, and closes with Escape or a click outside. You can also right-click and choose Select layer for similar functionality.

Synaps now supports clearer, more flexible export workflows for both 2D drawings and 3D renders.

You can export paper drawings (PDF, DXF, PNG, JPEG) with page size and fit options, and 3D views (PDF, IFC, PNG, JPEG).

Choose an item on the canvas to export, such as a model, viewport, paper, or image. Select ‘Export’ and choose your preferred format. For paper drawings, set the page size and layout.

We added a way to bring work from other architectural tools into Synaps, along with more control over how PDFs are interpreted, especially when distinguishing scanned images from actual vector lines.

DWG files are now supported for import, making it simple to transition your work from other CAD and architectural applications into Synaps. PDF import has been redesigned for clarity: if a PDF contains real vector lines, Synaps gives you a choice, import as editable geometry or as an image. For scanned PDFs, the file is placed directly as an image. Multi-page PDFs show a page list, allowing you to pick exactly what gets imported. If a PDF is password-protected, damaged, or too large, Synaps now provides a clear message so you always know what’s happening.