A floor plan tool for architects: run the concept alongside your client.
Draw the draft in front of your client, deliver the revision in the meeting, get approval with 3D. You do the final design in CAD; Nodaform shortens the most expensive time before it: the back-and-forth rounds.
Six shortcuts for architects in the concept phase
In the concept phase, time goes not into drawing but into waiting and repeating. Nodaform steps in at these six points; you still do the construction documents in CAD.
A draft at the first meeting
As the client gives you the dimensions, you type them in; rooms take shape, doors fall into place. You leave the meeting with a dimensioned draft in hand; no more "I'll come back with a draft next week".
Revisions in the meeting
When they say "let's open the kitchen to the living room", delete the wall, see the area, send the PNG. A revision round shrinks from a separate meeting to a message.
Approval with 3D
A client who can't read plans understands the space in the isometric view. "Will it look like this?" gets answered with an image instead of a drawing. 3D View →
Continue in CAD via DXF
Export the approved draft as DXF and draw on top of it in AutoCAD or ArchiCAD. You don't start from scratch; walls, openings and room names come ready on separate layers. Pro
Take-off and cost threshold
Wall lengths, door and window counts and floor area are listed in a schedule; add unit prices and you get a budget threshold. You get to talk numbers with the client early. Pro
The same plan with your team and partners
The interior designer places the furniture, then the electrician marks the socket locations; with the Editor role, everyone saves to the same plan, and version chaos and "which is the latest file?" are over. With templates, you don't start from scratch on apartment types you repeat often. Pro
Architectural drawing conventions in plan, section and elevation
The first things an architect looks at on a sheet. The images below are real output of the example duplex, taken straight from the editor with no manual retouching.
Plan
- Cut walls are drawn heavy and solid; columns carry their labels (S6, S10…), beams are dashed with their section size (K5 25/50).
- Door leaf and swing arc; windows drawn with double lines within the wall.
- Stairs cut at a 110 cm cutting plane: dashed above the cut, a break line, the walking line and an up arrow.
- Dimensions are internal, room areas net; room names never overlap the stairs or beams.
Section Plus
- Reinforced concrete slabs, columns and beams in solid black; masonry walls hatched.
- Height string: sill, window, lintel, slab and storey height.
- Every room shows its name and clear height; ground hatched, levels from ±0.00.
- In the section there’s no slab in the gallery void: the double-height room reads as one space; two-story glass runs through the section without a break (Pro).
- You place the section line on the plan with two clicks; it cuts through all floors, and the walls, doors and furniture seen beyond are drawn too.
Elevation Plus
- Elevations from all four sides come from the same model: north, south, east, west.
- Opening triangles and sills on windows and doors; mullions on floor-to-ceiling glass; tile courses on the roof.
- Storey and overall height strings, levels; the ground sits lower by the plinth height.
Furniture and wall decor at true size and height
Even the clock on the wall is in the right place: 460 objects are drawn to the centimeter, and everything hung on a wall knows its height above the floor.
Above the cutting plane: dashed
Wall-hung objects such as pictures, mirrors, clocks, shelves and sconces are drawn dashed in plan, so anyone reading the plan can tell what hangs on the wall.
Height from floor
The height of each wall object's bottom edge above the floor is stored; in 3D, in sections and in IFC it sits at that height.
Symbols at true size
Sofa armrests and cushions, bed pillows and chair seats are drawn to the centimeter; stretch an object and its body grows, and a sofa gains more cushions.
A numbered, scaled sheet set with title blocks
Once you draw the plan, the section, elevations from four sides and 3D come from the same project. In the Sheet editor you lay them out on paper, number the set and deliver it as a scaled PDF. Plus
- Drag views from the palette on the left onto the sheet; each box has its own scale and title, and edges snap into alignment with each other.
- The set is numbered (A-01 / 10) and can be reordered; the jury sheet lays out two floor plans at the same scale on A1.
- Vector PDF from A4 to A0 (A0 Pro); 1:50 and 1:100 accurate to the millimeter on paper.
- Carry on at the office: DXF in millimeters with layers (Pro), IFC (Ultimate).
Checks while you draw: structure, fire, accessibility, BIM
One plan, everyone with their own role
Share the plan by email; each person gets their own link. Your client leaves notes on the plan under their name, your partner edits the same plan on their own computer, and your builder only reviews it.
- A Commenter leaves notes on the plan with numbered pins; hover over a pin to see who wrote it and the note.
- An Editor makes changes directly in your plan; if the plan was saved more recently elsewhere, Nodaform warns you and you choose which version to keep. Pro
- A Viewer reviews the plan and its floors; the drawing stays unchanged. You can turn off the link at any time.
An architectural concept tool, not a construction documents tool
Nodaform's job is to shorten the time before approval. Structural, architectural and mechanical construction documents are still prepared under the responsibility of licensed architects and engineers, in their own CAD environment.
- Centimeter precision, 15° angle snapping, true-to-size furniture.
- Door types, the MEP diagram and 3D are all derived from the same plan.
- Output: PNG, scaled PDF, DXF; project file .json.
- Concept draft
- With the client · 3+1 apartment, furnished · no installation
- Revision
- During the meeting · share as PNG
- Approval visual
- Isometric and perspective 3D, single floor (Free) · all floors (Plus) · interior walkthrough (Pro)
- CAD export
- DXF · walls, openings and room names on layers (Pro)
- Quantities
- Walls, doors, windows, floor area, MEP symbols (Pro)
- Team
- Comment and review link · collaborative editing (Pro)
- Projects
- 50 (Pro) · unlimited (Ultimate)
Walk into your next client meeting with a draft plan.
Try it with a Free account; when you unlock Pro, DXF, take-off and shared editing are added to the same project.
No credit card needed · No install · Paid plans are paid through Paddle
Frequently asked questions
Which layers does the DXF export include?
Walls come with their thickness and hatching; doors, windows, room names and areas, furniture, columns, beams, MEP, dimensions and the plot come on separate layers. Furniture is exported as lines on its own layer, not as blocks.
Can I bring my own CAD drawing into Nodaform?
No; the flow runs from Nodaform to CAD. You draw the plan with its dimensions in Nodaform and, on the Pro plan, export it to CAD as DXF.
Can team members work on the same plan?
Yes. When you share a plan, you give each person the Viewer, Commenter or Editor role; viewing and commenting are on every plan, the Editor role is on Pro and Ultimate. An Editor changes and saves the same plan on their own computer; if the plan was saved more recently elsewhere, Nodaform warns you and you choose which version to keep. There is no live cursor or real-time sync. A Commenter leaves pinned notes on the plan under their name.
Are there scale and drawing sheet standards?
Sheets range from A4 to A0 (A4 and A3 on every plan, A2 and A1 on Plus, A0 on Pro); choose a scale between 1:20 and 1:500 or fit the plan to the paper. Scaled vector PDF and your own title block and logo are on the Plus plan.