Video: Apex Medina v4 Update Announced - Free update is loaded with NEW features!

I have to admit that I was a little "under-whelmed" by the initial release of Apex Medina.  I actually caught a lot of flack from appraisers on email forums as I tried to drill down to the key features that set Medina apart from its desktop sketching predecessor V3. Turns out, maybe Randall Garrett, CEO of Apex might have felt the same way?

In an email, Mr. Garrett says:

"Tomorrow, we should begin releasing the long-awaited update to Apex v4.0 “Medina.”  For the record, I was not really happy with v4.0 – too much fluff, not enough content.  The first thing I did was to strip out all the crud which was needlessly bloating up the core code.  Next, we started optimizing the core wherever we could get the most bang for the effort.  Once I was satisfied that the core was where it needed to be, we started fixing bugs, enhancing old features and adding new ones."

It looks like Apex is on schedule to release v4.1 this week and this update should be a HUGE one.

Randy says that "Most people would feel that it is worthy of being labeled an upgrade vs. a “point release” update.  Even so, I felt that I owed you folks “the real deal” and still keep it labeled so that it would be an update.  That is, v4.0 users get it for free… "

Apex's Robert Smoote, VP Product Development for Apex has put together a fantastic video.  Here is a link to a preliminary “teaser” video he put up: http://www.apexwin.com/v5/whats_new_apex_41.php 

The new version has so much in it, though, that even his quick video doesn’t show everything I feel is important.  Apex will continue to produce videos this week and next so you can get an idea of what they've done. 

Randy says, "We’ll start with “feature overview” types but I want to transition quickly into more “How to..” videos so you can get the most out of the product.  I still have more to do and within the next two weeks, we should turn on the auto-updater so you’ll once again start getting notices when we’ve enhanced things or added stuff automatically." 

I've watched the video and put together a "short-list" of features that really caught my attention!

Click here for my list . . .

MY Top Ten NEW Medina 4.1 Features

1. The Command Pad is back!
2. Real time "On Screen" Feedback of angles and rise/run dimensions.
3. New Split Area tool to separate out sub-areas from previously drawn areas using drag and drop tools.  For example, sectioning out a garage from a larger living area section.
4. Symbol Gravity snaps symbols (icons) to the nearest wall.   Also the symbols have now been colorized!
5. Improved Fill Patterns.
6. New and enhanced Right-Click Features - Sketch sensitive short-cut tools available with a simple right-click.  No more digging for menus or short-cut lists.
7. Clone All Feature - Allows you to clone ALL of the features of an area (walls, text, dimensions, and symbols) then flip and rotate them with data integrity.
8. Zoom Cursor Feature - Small pop-up window blows up sections of your sketch for a detailed view.
9. Revamped Engine - Lean, mean, sketching machine!
10. Data Export - This new feature will really appeal to Commercial Appraisers that want to export their  sketch, calculations and property characteristic field notes into OTHER applications like MS Word or Excel!