SppDb Interface ~ a quick overview
The image below shows the SppDb interface. Comprehensive information about each species can be stored simply by selecting categories (fields) and filling in options using drop-down lists. These options are completely configurable. If you do not like our terminology, you can edit or delete it. Although it is usual to work with species, the icons in the column at left link to other tables. Data about other elements important to landscapers, such as hardspace elements, designs, CAD blocks, and notes, can also be stored.
In the figure above, the location of the image file (path) on your computer is stored and ready to be pasted into a CAD drawing. Other information, including text in the comments field or the Notes table, can easily be copied and pasted into MTEXT entities in CAD drawings.
Tip: It is useful to store multiple images of species used in a landscape setting. The figure below shows a Japanese Maple in use in a designed setting. It is record 2 of 3 of Acer palmatum in this particular (sample) database.
Navigation
The buttons on the left of the screen are used to navigate to different tables in SppDb. The second ‘Hardscape’ table is shown below. This table holds images and information about hard landscape design elements—bollards, pavers, seating, irrigation equipment, water features, etc. The sample database file contains a small number of images, but your file will undoubtedly contain many more entries. Photographs of constructed and specified hardscape elements are the most efficient method of communicating hardscape design ideas.
The third ‘designs’ table is shown below. This table holds details of previous landscape jobs that you have stored on your computer. CAD drafting is much more efficient if you can find a past job and paste it into a new landscape plan. The file type can be LCD (from gCADPlus), but it could be in other CAD formats. We have added several ‘contents’ buttons to help quickly categorize designs.
Tip: Unlike species data, you cannot use SppDb to download CAD designs from the net. No one gives those away!
The Blocks menu item (and table) serves as a store to landscape CAD blocks (plant symbols or other grouped entities) that you may have developed for your use.
Finally, the Notes table holds text information ready to copy and paste standard text into CAD drawings. The text in the example below covers the design philosophy of a landscape firm. The text will be copied into a CAD MTEXT entity. The information is typed once in SppDb and used repeatedly.
Flexible design
SppDb has been designed to be completely flexible. Not only is it easy to add data about new plants, but it is also possible to add new lists of options within categories. For example, change the term vine to climber in a plant type category if you prefer it. In short, you customize and adjust SppDb to work the way you work using your terms.
Call SppDb from gCADPlus
The figure below shows that SppDb can be called from a drop-down menu while working inside our companion landscape CAD application, gCADPlus.
Operating systems
SppDb runs in the Windows environment in a separate window while working on landscape plans.
We also run SppDb on our Apple iMac happily using CrossOver or Parallels.
Why use SppDb?
Many plant databases are available online and as standalone applications, but they often contain information irrelevant to practical landscape use. Most designers work with a palette containing relatively few plants, but extracting from that palette the names of plants with particular characteristics is sometimes challenging. Queries such as “Give me a list of medium-sized native shrubs that flower in winter with showy yellow flowers” are complicated to run from memory or paper records. Not everyone can quickly recall Acacia iteaphylla – a species that meets those criteria [in the Southern Australian landscape setting].
Use SppDb while CAD drafting
SppDb can run while you work and is a valuable companion while drafting with CAD software such as gCADPlus. SppDb can be called inside gCADPlus and used to produce lists (say) of plants suited to coastal planting or lists with such narrow characteristics as “all small shrubs that flower in winter with showy red flowers and encourage native bird life”. Sorted lists like these can be great memory joggers and help solve challenging plant selection puzzles while drafting. The figure below shows a query such as the one above, which offered Calothamnus villosus as a possible species.
As mentioned, SppDb is particularly well suited as a companion for landscape CAD drafting software such as gCADPlus. The figure below shows SppDb open in its window on top of gCADPlus landscape design software running in a separate window.
‘Dressing up’ landscape CAD plans
If you were creating a CAD layout showing photos of the species used in the design, you would simply copy the path to the file location and use the Draw>Insert Raster tool.
Bidirectional movement of data
Plant schedule data files can be exported from gCADPlus, and those species used in a design will be tagged after import to SppDb. This enables the rapid generation of PDF print files showing details of species used in a design.
The “Using SppDb” menu tab contains a more comprehensive movie that includes comments on using the database with CAD software.
About Us
SppDb is a product of Design Cad, a software development house based in Adelaide, South Australia.
Contact info@gcadplus.com