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Copilot Render: Intelligent Rendering for CAD Models

Copilot Render streamlines the design workflow by transforming CAD models into high-quality conceptual visuals within moments. Using simple natural language inputs, designers can generate expressive renderings directly from their drawings. By describing materials, lighting setups, atmospheric conditions, or stylistic preferences, the tool produces visual outputs seamlessly integrated with the original design. The underlying CAD geometry remains fully preserved, enabling continuous refinement of models while exploring diverse visual presentations and creative directions.

Supporting both 2D drawings and 3D models, Copilot Render offers a flexible solution for professionals in architecture, engineering, industrial design, and product development. It is particularly valuable during early-stage ideation, design reviews, and client presentations, where clear visual communication is essential.

Users can further enhance results by providing reference images. These guide the rendering process by shaping material definitions, surface finishes, color palettes, environmental settings, and overall visual tone—ensuring alignment with the intended design vision.

Getting started with Copilot Render

Follow these steps to generate conceptual visualizations from your project:

Step 1: Open the Copilot Palette

From the Tools menu, open Concept Explorer and navigate to the Copilot tab.

Opening the Copilot tab from Concept Explorer in TurboCAD

Step 2: Access the Render tab and review the Copilot Render Overview and Example Prompts.

Within the Copilot, click the Render tab. Scroll down the page to review the Copilot Render Overview and Example Prompts. These examples can help you craft effective prompts and achieve better rendering outcomes.

Accessing the Render tab and reviewing Copilot Render overview and example prompts

Step 3: Enter Your Prompt

Type or paste your desired rendering prompt into the prompt field and click Apply.

For example:

Render the car in a high-end luxury automotive showroom with ultra-realistic detail, keeping the exact design and proportions of the vehicle unchanged. Place it under professional studio lighting with soft spotlights highlighting the car body, curves, wheels, and paint reflections. Use a modern showroom interior with glossy marble floors, glass walls, and subtle metallic architectural elements. Ensure realistic reflections of the car on the floor and surrounding glass surfaces. Keep the environment clean, minimal, and premium so the car remains the main focus. Produce a cinematic, ultra-sharp, 8K commercial advertisement-quality render.

Entering a prompt into the Copilot Render field

Step 4: Wait for Processing

Copilot Render will process your prompt and generate the visualization.

Copilot Render processing the rendering request

Step 5: Review the Rendered Result

Once complete, the generated output will appear directly on the canvas.

Final rendered result displayed on the TurboCAD canvas

Additional Examples

Architecture:

These examples demonstrate how Copilot Render can be applied to architectural models, focusing on exterior materials, natural lighting, and realistic environmental setups suitable for residential design presentations.

1)

Architectural rendering example 1 showing exterior materials and natural lighting

2)

Architectural rendering example 2 showing residential design presentation

Mechanical:

These examples show the workflow applied to mechanical parts across different presentation scenarios. Outputs may range from clean technical views to workshop environments and contextual industrial settings. While surroundings and rendering styles vary, the emphasis remains on precise geometry, accurate material representation, and clear depiction of mechanical form, function, and assembly intent.

1)

Mechanical rendering example 1 showing clean technical view of mechanical parts

2)

Mechanical rendering example 2 showing workshop environment context

3)

Mechanical rendering example 3 showing industrial setting and assembly intent

Copilot Render simplifies the process of transforming CAD designs into compelling conceptual outputs without disrupting your workflow. By leveraging AI-powered rendering and natural language prompts, it enables rapid exploration of materials, styles, and environmental settings directly within your design environment.

Whether refining early-stage ideas, presenting proposals, or gathering feedback, Copilot Render enhances your ability to communicate design intent effectively—bringing concepts to life with greater speed and clarity.

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The Smart Help Trigger in the Copilot Palette provides contextual documentation automatically based on the command or tool currently in use. When a supported tool or command is activated, the palette displays the relevant Help page directly inside the workspace. This allows to access instructions and guidance without opening external help files or leaving the drawing environment.

Note: An active Copilot Help license or Copilot Professional license is required to use this feature.

How to Enable or Disable Smart Help Trigger

    1. Open Options → Program Setup.
    2. Select the General tab.
    3. Under Help Settings, locate Smart Help Trigger.
    4. Check or uncheck the option to enable or disable it.

Copilot Palette - Smart Help Trigger

How It Works

  • The Copilot Palette must be open.
  • When a tool such as the Box tool is selected from the Draw menu, the corresponding documentation page is automatically loaded inside the palette.
  • The help content updates dynamically as different tools are activated, ensuring guidance is always relevant to the current action.

Copilot Palette - Smart Help Trigger

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Overview

TurboCAD Workspaces provide a structured way to organize commands, toolbars, menus, palettes, and other interface elements based on the type of design work being performed. Selecting an appropriate workspace helps users access relevant tools more efficiently while reducing unnecessary interface clutter.

Available Workspaces

TurboCAD provides seven main workspace categories:

TurboCAD Launcher showing available workspace options

  • 2D Drafting – Tools for creating and editing 2D drawings and technical documentation.
  • 3D Modeling – Tools for creating and modifying 3D models.
  • Mechanical Design – Features intended for mechanical design and engineering workflows.
  • Architectural – Tools for architectural drafting and design.
  • BIM – Commands and functionality related to Building Information Modeling.
  • SDK/Programming – Tools intended for development and programming workflows.
  • Complete – The Complete workspace is the full, unrestricted configuration that exposes all available palettes, toolbars, menus, and commands. It is intended for users who want maximum access without workflow‑specific filtering.

Note: The availability of workspaces depends on the TurboCAD variant being used. Some editions include the full set of workspace configurations, while others provide only a subset.

TurboCAD Launcher Workspaces

TurboCAD Launcher Workspaces are default, pre‑configured layouts. When you select one from the Launcher, TurboCAD always opens with that default configuration — your customized workspaces are not loaded automatically.

To reopen your previous environment, select Last used Workspace in the Launcher.

To open or save personalized workspace configurations, use the customization options inside TurboCAD.

Benefits of Using Workspaces

Choosing a workspace that matches your current design requirements can provide:

  • Faster access to commonly used tools
  • A more organized interface
  • Reduced menu and toolbar clutter
  • Easier command discovery
  • A workflow tailored to your design requirements

For example, architectural designers can use the Architectural workspace, while mechanical designers can select the Mechanical Design workspace.

Workspace Selection: Ribbon or Toolbars

In the TurboCAD Launcher, the Workspace section allows users to choose both their preferred workspace and the interface layout used to display its tools. The layout is selected under Layout and determines whether TurboCAD loads the Ribbon interface or the traditional Toolbars.

The workspace defines which tools and commands are available, while the layout determines how those commands are organized and accessed.

Examples:

  • Mechanical Design + Ribbon – Loads the Mechanical Design workspace using the Ribbon interface.
  • Mechanical Design + Toolbars – Loads the Mechanical Design workspace using the classic Toolbar interface.

This separation gives users flexibility to combine the toolset they need with the interface style they prefer, creating an environment that fits both their workflow and personal working habits.

Default and LTE Workspace

Default Workspace

The Default Workspace uses TurboCAD’s standard interface and layout, including the familiar arrangement of menus, toolbars, palettes, and other interface elements.

LTE Workspace (AutoCAD‑style)

The LTE Workspace provides an AutoCAD‑style drafting environment. It includes features such as:

  • Dynamic Input
  • Command Line

This workspace is designed for users who prefer a command‑driven workflow similar to AutoCAD’s LTE mode, offering a more keyboard‑focused drafting experience.

Access the Workspace Customization Options

TurboCAD allows users to load, save, browse, and manage workspace configurations.

To open the Customize dialog:

  1. Click Workspace on the Ribbon, or Tools → Workspace when using the Toolbar interface.

Customize workspace controls in TurboCAD

  1. Select Customize.

TurboCAD workspace customization options dialog

Alternatively, right-click any blank area of a toolbar to open the Customize dialog.

Create or Save a Workspace Configuration

You can save your customized workspace configuration for future use.

  1. Open the Customize dialog.
  2. Enter or select a configuration name in the Save In drop-down list.
  3. Click Save In.

Saving a workspace configuration in TurboCAD

  1. TurboCAD saves the current configuration using the selected name.

To open your saved custom workspace, do not use the TurboCAD Launcher. Instead, open TurboCAD first, then load your saved configuration from the Customize dialog.

Load a Workspace Configuration

If you have an existing workspace configuration saved, you can load it into TurboCAD.

  1. Open the Customize dialog.
  2. Select the required configuration from the Load From drop-down list.
  3. Click Load From.

Loading a workspace configuration in TurboCAD

  1. TurboCAD loads the selected configuration.

Loading a saved configuration is useful when switching between different working environments or restoring a previously saved interface setup.

Locate Workspace Configuration Files

TurboCAD provides an option to locate the configuration files stored on your system.

  1. Open the Customize dialog.
  2. Click Browse.
  3. TurboCAD opens the location containing the configuration files.

This option is helpful for locating, managing, or backing up configuration files.

Restore the Default Configuration

If a customized workspace is no longer suitable or a workspace configuration issue occurs, you can restore the standard TurboCAD configuration.

  1. Open the Customize dialog.
  2. Click Default.
  3. TurboCAD restores the standard configuration.

This provides a quick way to return to the default interface without manually resetting individual settings.

Summary

Workspaces selected from the TurboCAD Launcher always load the default configuration for that workspace. To save and reopen your own customized workspace layouts, use the options described in the Access the Workspace Customization Options section.

TurboCAD provides comprehensive tools to load, save, browse, and restore workspace configurations, allowing users to personalize their interface and switch easily between different working environments.

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Bringing your designs to life is now faster and more intuitive with Copilot Render. This powerful feature generates conceptual visualizations directly from your CAD drawings using natural language prompts. Simply describe the style, materials, lighting, or environment you envision, and Copilot Render creates a concept image that overlays your existing drawing.

Because the underlying geometry remains unchanged, you can continue refining your design while exploring different visual directions and presentation styles.

Transform Ideas into Visual Concepts

Copilot Render works seamlessly with both 3D models and 2D drawings, making it a versatile tool for designers, engineers, architects, and product developers. Whether you're creating early-stage design concepts, preparing for client reviews, or developing presentation materials, Copilot Render helps communicate design intent quickly and effectively.

You can also use reference images to guide the rendering process. These references can influence materials, textures, color palettes, environments, and overall visual style, helping you achieve results that closely align with your vision.

Flexible Creative Control

Beyond simple text prompts, Copilot Render offers additional controls that provide greater influence over the generated results.

You can:

  • Control how closely the render follows the original CAD geometry.
  • Allow more artistic interpretation for conceptual or stylized presentations.
  • Use reference images to define materials, textures, backgrounds, and visual themes.
  • Leverage notes stored within your project to help maintain design intent across multiple render variations.

These capabilities make it easy to explore a wide range of visual styles—from photorealistic product renders and architectural visualizations to sketch-style concepts, material studies, and creative design explorations.

Getting Started with Copilot Render

Follow these simple steps to generate conceptual visualizations from your TurboCAD project.

Step 1: Open the Copilot Palette

From the Tools menu, open the Palettes menu and select Copilot Palette.

Opening the Copilot Palette from the Tools menu in TurboCAD

Step 2: Create a Draft Rendering

Right-click anywhere on the drawing canvas and select Draft Rendering.

Right-clicking on the drawing canvas and selecting Draft Rendering

After a few moments, TurboCAD will generate a draft rendering of your project.

Draft rendering generated by TurboCAD showing the project visualization

Step 3: Open the Render Tab

Within the Copilot Palette, click the Render tab.

Clicking the Render tab within the Copilot Palette

Step 4: View Render Overview and Examples

Click the mouse scroll wheel while the Render tab is active to access the Copilot Render Overview and Examples. These examples can help you create more effective prompts and achieve better rendering results.

Viewing Copilot Render overview and example prompts

Step 5: Enter Your Prompt

Type or paste your desired rendering prompt into the prompt field and click Submit.

For example:

"Photorealistic render of a luxury sports car with deep metallic burgundy paint, studio lighting, realistic reflections, and premium materials."

Entering a prompt into the Copilot Render prompt field

Step 6: Wait for Processing

Copilot Render will process your request and generate the visualization based on your prompt.

Copilot Render processing the rendering request

Processing time may vary depending on project complexity and render settings.

Step 7: Review the Rendered Result

Once rendering is complete, the generated visualization will appear directly on the TurboCAD canvas.

Final rendered visualization displayed on the TurboCAD canvas

Step 8: Explore Project Details

Additional project and rendering information can be viewed through the Toggle Panel View, allowing you to review render details and manage generated content.

Exploring project details and render information using Toggle Panel View

Copilot Render makes it easier to transform CAD designs into compelling visual concepts without disrupting your workflow. By combining AI-powered rendering with natural language prompts, you can quickly explore different styles, materials, and environments directly within TurboCAD. Whether you're refining ideas, presenting concepts, or gathering feedback, Copilot Render helps bring your vision to life faster and more effectively.

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NOVATO, Calif. July 31, 2026 – IMSI® Design, a leading software developer of Home Design and CAD titles for more than 30 years, is proud to announce the launch of FloorPlan® 2026, newest generation of its award‑winning Home & Landscape Design software suite. Now available on www.turbocadpro.com or www.imsidesign.com, FloorPlan® 2026 introduces refined tools, improved visualization options, and expanded rendering capabilities for architects, designers, and DIY creators.

What’s New in FloorPlan® 2026

FloorPlan® 2026 combines the strengths of the existing platform with a new set of intelligent tools inspired by the latest advances in visualization and design assistance.

  • Home Design Copilot: A new AI‑assisted workspace for visualization, image creation, material exploration, plant generation, and design guidance. Users can start from a 2D plan, 3D view, rendering, source image, or plain-language prompt, then guide results with reference images, material direction, lighting notes, style cues, and location ideas.
  • AI-Powered Rendering and Design Exploration: Turns design views into polished presentation images while preserving the structure of the model. Explore lighting, materials, and moods without rebuilding the scene.
  • Custom Asset Generation: Create textures, plants, and supporting design elements on demand. Save results or add them directly to the User Library for future projects.
  • Modernized Interface: Updated startup and welcome screens, a redesigned menu bar and quick access toolbar, compact and large palette options, improved dark mode, and system theme detection — all designed to create a workspace that feels cleaner from the moment it opens.
  • Improved SketchUp Import: Better texture handling for LuxCore, clearer scale and naming controls, visible import progress, organized User Library folders, active-subplan assignment, and new split-import options that convert top-level groups into separate, editable objects.

“FloorPlan® 2026 brings a new level of creative power to home design,” says Syed Gilani, President of IMSI Design. “With AI‑powered rendering, design exploration, custom asset generation, and a more capable SketchUp import, users can develop ideas in ways that simply weren’t possible before. It marks a clear shift in what the software can deliver.”

“The updated interface sets the stage for what Copilot can do,” adds Rita Buschmann, Vice President of Product Management, CAD & Home Design. “With new icons, clearer panels, and a more organized layout, the software feels easier to navigate. And once Home Design Copilot steps in, the jump from a simple view to a high‑quality rendering is immediate and striking.”

Check the New Features section here for video demonstrations highlighting these exciting new features.

Availability and Pricing

The FloorPlan® 2026 for Windows product line is now available for purchase directly from www.turbocadpro.com or www.imsidesign.com:

  • FloorPlan® Pro – $299.99 USD
    The most advanced version, built for professionals. Features Spray Topography, Custom Subplans, 2D/3D Visibility Control, HVAC, Electrical, and Foundation Planners, plus Advanced Deck Tools, Batch Rendering, Sun Positioning, and Topography Tools for precise, photorealistic designs.
    • As Bundle with Home Design Copilot – $299.99 USD
      Includes FloorPlan® Pro and Home Design Copilot, delivering an intelligent, prompt‑driven workspace that understands project context and turns natural‑language direction and reference inputs into clear, decision‑ready visuals.
    • As Bundle with Custom WorkShop Pro – $379.99 USD
      Includes FloorPlan® Pro and Custom WorkShop Pro for creating custom furniture and objects—ideal for designers seeking full creative control.
    • As Bundle with LuxCore™ – $379.99 USD
      Adds LuxCore™ to FloorPlan® Pro, featuring PBR support, Depth of Field Camera Control, and 8K High-Resolution Export for photorealistic rendering.
  • FloorPlan® Deluxe – $159.99 USD
    Great for homeowners and DIYers, with 3D Terrain Modeling, Customizable Plant Sizing, and Advanced Deck Layout Tools.
  • FloorPlan® Instant Architect – $99.99 USD
    Beginner-friendly with 2D/3D Visibility Control, Step-by-Step Guides, and Cost Estimation for easy home design.
  • FloorPlan® Express – $69.99 USD
    Entry-level version with basic tools for Landscape Design, Room Planning, and 3D Visualization—perfect for casual users.

All variants are also available as 1‑year and 3‑year term licenses.

All variants of this release include Home Design Copilot. Usage requires a Copilot term license, available as a 1‑year plan for $99.99 USD or a 3‑year plan for $299.99 USD, each offering a monthly credit allowance for AI‑based visualization, asset generation, and design guidance.

Note: Feature availability varies by variant. For a detailed overview of included tools and capabilities, please refer to the feature and file format comparisons.

About IMSI Design

IMSI Design is a global leader in mechanical and architectural CAD (Computer-Aided Design) and a pioneer in mobile solutions for the AEC (Architectural Engineering and Construction) industry. Since 1988, IMSI Design has distributed its products to over 20 million users worldwide, including the award-winning TurboCAD®, DesignCAD™, FloorPlan®, TurboViewer®, TurboReview®, and TurboSite®—a diverse suite of precision design applications for both desktop and mobile. Please visit www.turbocadpro.com or www.imsidesign.com for more information.

Contact: 

IMSI Design 

+1 415-483-8000  
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© 2026 IMSI Design LLC. All rights reserved. FloorPlan, TurboCAD, and IMSI are registered trademarks of IMSI Design LLC. All other identifiable marks are the property of their respective owners.

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Founded in 1983, IMSI is a leader in feature-rich, yet affordable, general-purpose CAD (Computer Aided Design) and home design desktop software, and a pioneer in mobile solutions for the AEC (Architectural, Engineering, and Construction) industry.