📢 3CAD Next Release Notes - September 2026

Release Date: 2026-09-01

Updated on: 2026-09-01

Authors: Product and Documentation Teams

Contributors: R&D and Professional Services Teams

This release delivers significant upgrades across design workflows, content publishing, and administrative tools. Improvements range from AI-powered rendering for real-time photorealistic visualization to smarter snapping tools, optimized compilation workflows, and tighter discount governance. 

🚀 Major highlights

Design & Configuration

Render AI 🧾 Technical documentation

AI Render introduces a next-generation rendering mode that converts any 3D scene into a photorealistic architectural image in seconds using Google Gemini image generation. Unlike traditional rendering, it preserves the original scene geometry, layout, camera angle, and object positions while automatically improving lighting, materials, atmosphere, and interior styling.

A configurable Prompt Builder blends scene data with user-selected options, letting users choose lighting presets (from Studio to Golden Hour and Night), surface treatments for floors, walls, and ceilings, and optional decorative elements such as plants, lighting fixtures, and accessories. AI Render then generates a realistic image optimized for presentations, marketing, and rapid design validation.The workflow is simple: switch to AI mode in the Render panel, select style options, preview the generated prompt, and click Generate.

Results can be compared side by side with the original scene using an integrated slider, ensuring accuracy and fidelity. This capability eliminates manual adjustments, shortens rendering time, and produces more impactful visuals, enabling faster customer engagement and higher-quality outputs with minimal effort.

✨ Key improvements

Design & Configuration

TabAltezze dynamic row switching 🧾 Technical documentation

Dynamic row switching removes a key limitation from previous height management in 3CAD Next. You can now apply multiple height scenarios from a single TabAltezze (height matrix) without duplicating data or breaking column references.

When posmode = 50 is enabled, height is entirely rule-driven:

• Objects automatically adjust to the selected row or rule-based criteria.
   
• Manual vertical editing is disabled, ensuring logic consistency.
   
• Column references remain stable (e.g., $(tabaltezze:n)), simplifying catalog maintenance.

Why this matters?

Developers avoid creating multiple matrices for different heights, dramatically reducing catalog complexity. Heights recalibrate automatically when row selection or rules change, ensuring stability, predictability, and a standards-based approach across configurations.

Smart multi-duplication (Replica in Series) 🧾 Technical documentation

Smart Multi-Duplication accelerates layout workflows by allowing users to duplicate multiple elements in series with full control over spacing and direction. Instead of repeating manual copy-and-paste steps, you can generate a structured sequence in one action. 

This enhancement integrates directly into the Update Position workflow, ensuring correct alignment and orientation while maintaining catalog logic. 

Perfect for rapid placement of shelves, accessories, and recurring design elements, this feature delivers speed, precision, and predictable consistency in repetitive layout scenarios.

Content management

Layedit fragmented compile & publish 🧾 Technical documentation

This release introduces a modular compile and publishing workflow in Layedit, dramatically reducing execution time for catalog updates. Heavy assets like textures and 3D previews can now be selectively excluded from compilation.

The new Fast Recompile option accelerates live preview cycles without regenerating unchanged assets. Combined with an improved interface for managing compile and publish options, these changes result in shorter update windows, smoother previews, and less downtime for catalogs in active development.

🆕 Notable updates

Design & Configuration

Custom snap points for manual dimensions 🧾 Technical documentation

The new !ADDQUOTESNAP command lets catalog developers define custom snap points for manual dimensioning in Viewmaker, eliminating limitations of auto-generated snap behavior.

This addresses scenarios where default snap points do not align with the real box footprint—such as when panels, spacers, or other structural parts extend beyond article dimensions—ensuring dimensions reflect the true geometry of the furniture. When implemented, custom points override default encumbrance-based snaps while preserving endpoint snaps for dimensions.

Dragger: snap to wall obstructions 🧾 Technical documentation

Snapping just got smarter. Objects now align seamlessly to walls and structural elements such as doors, windows, and service points, extending beyond traditional box-to-box snapping.

To improve usability, the feature provides real-time visual feedback:

• Valid snap targets are highlighted in red as you drag.
   
• If constraints prevent perfect alignment, snapping is skipped—ensuring consistency and preventing unexpected adjustments.

These enhancements streamline room layouts, cut alignment time, and maintain geometric accuracy, even in complex configurations.

Smart snap to wall obstructions (Wall POI) 🧾 Technical documentation

Snapping behavior has been extended to include wall-based elements such as doors, windows, pillars, and service points, complementing existing box-to-box snapping logic. When Snap to Elements is enabled, moving an article near an obstruction automatically triggers:

• Alignment to wall objects and POIs with visual snap indicators (black dots).
• Consistent snapping experience across layout elements in 2D, 3D, and H views.

This feature improves positioning accuracy, reduces manual adjustments, and ensures reliable alignment even in complex room layouts. Visual feedback confirms valid snap points, while preserving predictable behavior across all views.  

Enhanced article library search 🧾 Technical documentation

The Enhanced Article Library introduces configurable, relevance-driven search for improved accuracy and control. Administrators can fine-tune behavior via config.json and the built-in Advanced Search panel, adjusting parameters like:

• Case sensitivity
• Diacritic (accents) handling 
• Minimum character match
• Fuzzy thresholds and scoring

By supporting catalog-specific presets across DEV, TEST, and PROD environments, the new system ensures faster, more accurate results that align with business logic—significantly reducing mis-hits and improving user satisfaction.

Content management

QuotaT aggregation 🧾 Technical documentation

The new !QUOTAT command introduces automatic generation and aggregation of QuotaT dimensions within 3CAD. When multiple quotas created via box rules share at least one point and have the same direction, they are automatically merged into a single quota, eliminating inconsistencies previously caused by overlapping measurement lines.

This improvement enables clearer documentation, faster quota generation, and a more predictable output, especially in projects with complex geometries where multiple overlapping quotas were previously common.

Direct GLB support in Closet Tool 🧾 Technical documentation

Closet Tool now supports native GLB file rendering through the wrGlb command, eliminating the need for legacy .js mesh conversions. 

This simplifies script development, reduces file duplication, and significantly improves loading performance. GLB models can be placed directly in the Res/Mesh folder and support material overrides, allowing textures to be customized via the mats[] array during runtime. This update provides a faster, cleaner workflow for creating complex closet components and ensures lighter, more efficient assets for interactive 3D layouts.

Cycles render handling in Viewmaker 🧾 Technical documentation (internal only)

Cycles render images in DevExpress reports now use a URL-based reference instead of embedding Base64 data. This change significantly reduces payload size, simplifies report generation, and ensures consistent behavior in both DevExpress Designer and runtime execution. Renders are linked through the attachUrl field in the renderPrints structure, which points directly to images stored on the Render Farm. This eliminates Base64 duplication, reduces memory consumption, and streamlines serialization.

Supervisor & Admin tools

Entity-level maximum discount enforcement 🧾 Technical documentation

This enhancement ensures maximum discounts act strictly as caps rather than defaults, enforcing pricing policies without restricting flexibility. 

If no order-level discount is applied, the entity discount remains 0%, whereas previously, the maximum discount was incorrectly treated as a default value. When an order discount is applied, the system now checks against the predefined maximum for the item: 

• If the order discount ≤ maximum → applied as is
• If it exceeds the maximum → automatically trimmed to the cap. 
  This change prevents excessive or non-compliant discounts, safeguards profitability, and ensures consistency across catalogs with zero manual intervention once configured.
   

Example scenarios

🔧 Minor changes

Design & Configuration

Measure-type variant arithmetic support 🧾 Technical documentation

Measurement variants now support arithmetic expressions at input time, allowing designers to enter values like 600/2 or 20+30 directly. 

Results respect min/max constraints, normalize unit handling across metric and imperial settings, and default empty inputs safely to 0 or the configured minimum. This closes a major functional gap with legacy workflows, delivering greater flexibility, accuracy, and speed for dimension handling in complex projects.

Supervisor & Admin tools

Role-based designer access 🧾 Technical documentation

Advanced actions in the Offer View—Print Designer and Download JSON—are now restricted by default to Level 6 (PRO) users, eliminating confusion and unauthorized access to DevExpress tools. Visibility can be extended to other seller levels using config.json settings—no frontend customization needed. This ensures cleaner UI, reduced support calls, and controlled access, maintaining security and clarity for different user roles.
 

Example configuration

{
  "config": {
    "enableProjectJsonDownload": [5, 6],
    "devexpress": {
      "enablePrintTool": [6]
    }
  }
}

Universal currency symbol in discounts library 🧾 Technical documentation

The Supervisor Discounts Library now uses the universal currency symbol (¤) instead of the Euro sign (€), ensuring clarity in multi-currency environments. This avoids misleading currency assumptions in global price lists, supporting clearer discount governance across regions.
 

🛠️ Fixes and maintenance

Backend RP2 function #163

Resolves a critical error caused by the $[RP2] function when adding multiple frontals, improving system stability in catalog evaluation workflows.

📚 Additional Resources

For detailed documentation, feedback, or support, please visit the 3CAD Support Center or contact our support team directly.

Enjoy a powerful and inspiring design experience with 3CAD Next!