DM Photometrics Release Notes

Vertical Calculations: Photometric calculation areas can now display vertical illuminance values along the edges of the area. Area calculation schedules can display separate ratios for vertical calculations.

Calculation lines can also include vertical values. Line calculation schedules will include vertical calculations when enabled.

Create Areas Using Existing Polylines: When drawing a new calculation area or line, you can now specify an existing polyline on the drawing, which the software will trace.

Multiple Heads on Light Fixtures: Using the new Number of Heads field in the light fixture schedule, you can specify the head configuration for a fixture. This feature lets you accurately represent your multiple-headed light fixtures without inserting multiple blocks on the drawing.

New pole-mounted light fixture blocks have been added to the default customization for use with this new setting.

Metric Units: Photometric calculations can now be displayed in foot-candles or lux. The base unit can now be based upon meters, centimeters, or millimeters, in addition to feet or inches.

The new Project is metric setting in the Options command allows you to specify lengths and distances—such as arm length, elevation, and calculation grid spacing—using meters rather than feet.

New standards databases have been added to the software to make it easy to configure new projects for different base units and measurement systems.

New Grid Settings: When querying calculation areas, you can now use the Set Grid Origin and Set Grid Angle buttons to better control where illuminance values appear in your calculation areas.

Recalculate After Query: A Recalculate Illuminance Levels checkbox has been added to the query calculation area or line dialog box. When this box is checked, the queried calculation area or line will automatically recalculate when you press the OK button.

Light Fixture Elevation Labels: The new Insert Elevation Label command allows for easy notation of the elevation of light fixtures on your drawing, which will update if the elevation changes. New settings in the Options command can be used to customize the appearance of the labels.

Options Command Redesign: New categories have been added to the Options dialog box to accommodate settings for new features and make it easier to locate the settings you want to change.

Set Default Standards Database: You can now set a default standards database in the Manage Standards Database command. When starting new projects, the specified standards will be selected by default (but can still be changed).

Learning Resources

Training Recording: New Photometrics 1.2 Features

• Added support for AutoCAD 2027.

• Added option for 3 heads at 120 degrees for light fixtures.
• Fixed a number of crashes reported by customers during photometric calculations.

• Added support for AutoCAD 2026.

• Added support for AutoCAD 2025.

• Fixed a crash when running the photometric calculations.

• Fixed a number of bugs and crashes reported by users.

• Added support for AutoCAD 2024.
• Fixed error when running the Calculate command on a drawing that has had DM links removed.

• Fixed error when inserting schedule.

• Fixed photometric calculation error related to obstructions.

• Added text style for elevation labels.
• Fixed bugs related to photometric schedules.

• Added support for BricsCAD V23.
• Support for BricsCAD V20 will be dropped in a future release. If you are using BricsCAD V20 and want access to new features and updates, you will need to update to a newer version.

Fixed crash when using a specific layer for photometric contours.
Fixed error when starting a new project related to loading schedule settings.
Fixed errors in BricsCAD related to selecting folders.

Added support for AutoCAD 2023.

Fixed error in photometric calculations that caused foot-candle values to be displayed outside the calculation area boundary.

Added support for BricsCAD V22.
Dropped support for BricsCAD V19.

Fixed error in the Highlight Calculation Area Group command.

Added support for AutoCAD 2022.

Fixed error going to the light fixture schedule from the Edit Multiple Light Fixtures command.

Added support for BricsCAD V21.
Dropped support for BricsCAD V18.

Added support for AutoCAD 2021.

Fixed crash when removing a photometric boundary point.

Added support for BricsCAD V20.

Fixed the “Insert Mask” command to work correctly with non-world UCSs.

Changed calculation display to require foot-candle levels or contours to be displayed.

Fixed error starting a new project.

Fixed errors in floating licenses caused by incorrect system configurations.

Photometric contours can be assigned individual layers.

Added support for AutoCAD 2020.

Fixed BricsCAD version to work in 64-bit BricsCAD again.

Fixed crash in AutoCAD Civil 3D when using the Quick Properties feature.

Fixed errors with floating licenses.

Added support for BricsCAD v19.

Improved warning messages that are displayed when there are licensing problems.

LED IES File Scaling: IES files are used to calculate point-by-point photometrics. Standard IES files include information about the lumens used when creating the IES file. The lumens value in the light fixture schedule can be used together with the IES lumens value to scale the IES file output.

IES files for LED fixtures typically do not include lumens information. The lack of this information makes it impossible to scale the output based upon the lumens in the light fixture schedule.

There is a new Scale Factor value you can set in the light fixture schedule for these situations. The light output will be multiplied by the scale factor you provide.

Previously you had to set the Lamp Depreciation to a value greater than 1 to workaround this limitation in the IES files.

Average Foot-candle Uniformity Ratios: The photometric schedule can include three new uniformity ratios: average foot-candles to maximum foot-candles, maximum foot-candles to average foot-candles, and minimum foot-candles to average foot-candles.

Added support for BricsCAD V18.

Added support for ribbons in BricsCAD.

Fixed error in “Insert Light Fixture Project Schedule” that caused the schedule to not be automatically inserted at the current location.

Added support for AutoCAD 2018.

Fixed update of files when using a network install with BricsCAD.

Improved error messages when foot-candle levels are 0 to provide better suggestions for fixing the problem.

Added Array Light Fixture commands.

Added support for AutoCAD 2017.

Added support for BricsCAD V16.
Dropped support for BricsCAD V15.

Dropped support for changes and improvements on AutoCAD 2004, 2005, and 2006.