What our customer's say!"Waste of Time & Money, even with the rebate", If you want to design a deck and get all the stuff this software claims, go elsewhere.
I spent several hours with it and could not find help on posts, joists, beams, or materials. It's not even a good CAD package. For material lists, you'll do better with a spreadsheet.
There are much better packages available a builder's stores; or, be old fashioned, by a book!
It's cheap, and not even worth that!
"DO NOT BUY THIS!!!!", If you are interested in info on building a deck, spend your money on a good D.I.Y. book from your local home improvement store. This software is genuinely worthless. It is just a simple CAD program, and if you know CAD you dont need this, if you dont know CAD, you will not be able to use this. Read the reviews and believe them!
"Worthless", I downloaded Version 15 of this program from the IMSI website-now I see why they don't offer a trial version. The description on the website is manifestly untruthful. The deck wizard only offers a few options: deck dimensions; corner chamfer; and stair position. In order to change anything, you have to reconfigure the pre-drawn deck one board at a time using a very limited set of editing tools. The wizard only allows you to position the stairs coming straight out of one of the sides-forget about having a landing halfway down. There are no options for any of the materials used or railings, etc.
The Help file is for DesignCAD, the words "deck, " stair," and "rail" are not even included.
It doesn't even create a materials list. This seems to be a blatant flaw, it just lists two words: "Count" and "Attribute" and the number "0."
This software performs no useful function for anyone who intends to build a deck. I wish I could get my money back.
"Waste of time", I bought this at CompUSA last year. The program tinks. It has very few pre-drawn deck layouts which are not really editable. There is nothing in the program that helps you draw a deck from scratch any better than pencil and paper. Basically, unless one of the pitiful few decks shown included perfectly matches what you want to build, it's useless. It's a sham to call this "deck design". Completely false advertising. Junk junk junk. Download a free 30 day demo of smartdraw and at least you'll have a decent and easy to use drawing program to use. Need something for a longer timeframe, then pay for smartdraw or some other actually useful program vs. throwing away your ... bucks.
"A Simple CAD program", I'm not sure why this is called "Instant Deck Design". There are a few canned deck designs in here. If you want to make your own deck design, you are basically given a standard CAD package that allows you to do 2D or 3D packages - there aren't even any canned deck accessories.
I did find the program useful, and I did draw my deck using their 2D tool. I was hoping it would help with structural calculations, etc., but it doesn't. So don't expect any help in pier locations, beam sizes, lumber selection, etc. If you select a canned deck it does provide a material list, but not if you draw your own.
Summary: Inexpensive, allows you to draw your deck, but really not much help other then a drawing tool.
