Can I use the pCon solutions for commercial purposes?

Yes, all pCon solutions can be used for commercial purposes.

Is it really free?

Yes. The pCon.planner ME, pCon.facts, pCon.box, pCon.basket CE and the usage of configurable data is free for all usage types.

We have premium versions of several applications, like the pCon.planner PRO, for professionals looking for more functionality and power.

What does 'pCon' mean?

pCon stands for product Configurator and that has been our mission for more than 20 years. The graphical product configuration has a significant impact on productivity and margin for interior design professionals.

What is the pCon community?

It’s a B2B community open to professional users from the interior design sector - architects, interior designers, specialist dealers, sales reps, agents, facility managers and manufacturers. We offer a range of exclusive free solutions for space planning, product configuration, quote creation and sales communication.

What is pCon.login?

It's the pCon community portal. It provides access to certain applications and allows professional users to request configurable data catalogs from hundreds of manufacturers and the generic kitchen and living libraries (these currently only available in selected markets).

Why is the community available only to professional users?

Because we are focused on B2B solutions.

How can I register with the community?

Download the presentation with step-by-step instructions. If you have any questions do not hesitate to call (+39.051.5875509) or write (contacto@easterngraphics.com).

How long does it take to approve an account?

On average, a business day is required - in some cases it may take longer, for example when using generic email address (such as .gmail or .hotmail). The approval is done manually to ensure a high quality level.

Why was my registration rejected?

Registrations to the pCon.login portal will be denied if you are not a professional user or if you provide incomplete/incorrect information. If you have any questions or believe we did a mistake, please contact us at contacto@easterngraphics.com.

What is configurable data?

Configurable data are 2D/3D geometries enriched with descriptions, materials, codes, prices and product rules. They are one of the pillars for an innovative and efficient sales process.

How can I access the generic configurable library for kitchen and living?

[The generic library is currently available only to certain markets]

• Sign in to the pCon.login portal
• Search EasternGraphics - Kitchen library and EasternGraphics - Home library
• Click the Request button
• You'll receive an email when you've approved it
• Download data to work with pCon.planner using pCon.update DataClient

What are the benefits of using configurable data?

Configurable data generates important benefits such as:

• Drastic cost reduction
  • speeds up the project creation process (drawing + quote)
  • eliminates specification errors
• Articles list always available and synchronized with the drawing
• Increased project quality
• Improved service through faster responses

Can I request configurable data from any manufacturer?

Yes. If it can be useful for your business, request it!

Who approves access to the configurable data?

Access to the data is approved directly by the manufacturer. You will receive an email when the data is approved or rejected.

What can I do if the data is rejected?

If access to the data has been denied and you'd really like to have access you can:

• request the data again by clicking the "Request again" button
• directly contact the manufacturer - click the company logo for contact information

How can I filter manufacturers?

You can filter manufacturers in the pCon.login portal based on product type, data request status, and languages in which the configurable data is available. We'll add more ways to help you find new solutions for your projects.

How do I know when there are new manufacturers in the portal?

You'll receive an email every time a new manufacturer joins the portal. If you don't receive our emails, check your spam filter.

What happens if I work with manufacturers that don't provide configurable data?

With pCon.planner PRO, you can manually connect commercial data to imported geometries. This allows you to create your own products that will be visible in the article list - the image in the article list will be automatically generated.

Can I mix configurable data with manually created special items?

Yes. The only difference is that special items are static while configurable data makes it super easy to specify any possible combination.

Where does configurable data come from? Who's keeping it up to date?

Configurable data is an investment of manufacturers in order to provide their partners with a super competitive solution. If you find any errors, send a report to the manufacturer.

What is pCon.planner?

It is a professional application for space planning, graphic product configuration, article list generation and commercial communication. It's powerful but simple to use.

Is pCon.planner free?

Yes, you can use the STD or ME versions of pCon.planner for free. There is a professional version called pCon.planner PRO that offers additional features and benefits.

Do I need other applications to run pCon.planner?

No, pCon.planner is a completely independent application. You don't need to buy or install other software to make it work.

Can I manage large projects with pCon.planner?

pCon.planner has its origins in the office and contract furniture industry where large projects are the norm. The bigger the projects created, the more powerful the hardware has to be, especially the graphics card and amount of memory.

What are the advantages of using pCon.planner compared to other CAD systems like SketchUp or AutoCAD?

pCon.planner focuses on:

• Space planning
• configurable data
• professional quote creation
• customer communication

AutoCAD and Sketchup are generic modeling applications that are used in a variety of different industries without having any specialization in sales and interior design.

Who uses pCon.planner?

pCon.planner is used by leading furniture manufacturers, specialist dealers, facility managers, architects and designers. It is used daily by thousands of qualified users from all over the world. Some of our clients include leading companies such as Vitra, Arper, Magis, Steelcase, Haworth, USM, Arper, Piure, Artemide and Andreu World.

How can pCon.planner help me sell?

In many ways, here are some:

• Create complete interior design projects (layouts and article list) super fast
• Easily compare alternatives
• Excite customers with innovative presentation techniques: renderings, 360° panoramic images, online sharing of 3D models, animations, augmented reality and more
• Quickly generate different projects versions
• Improved team communication with pCon.facts, pCon.box and pCon.basket

If my partners use other applications, can I still benefit from pCon.planner?

pCon.planner is a very open application. It uses DWG as the native file format, which maximizes its compatibility with other CAD applications. You can also import and export to many other formats such as 3DS, SKP, FBX, OBJ, DAE, DXF, IFC and STL.

What are the main differences between the STD and ME versions?

The ME version focuses on professional users. It has less generic functionality than the STD version, but provides access to configurable data and allows the creation of a article list for the selected manufacturer.

Can I work with data from different manufacturers in the ME version?

Yes, but not in the same work session, this is only possible with the PRO version. You can select the manufacturer you want to work with and insert its products, once you close the application, reopen the same project but select a different manufacturer.

Can I have pCon.planner STD and pCon.planner ME installed on the same PC?

You can have all versions of pCon.planner installed on the same PC, they are independent of each other.

What are the benefits of working with pCon.planner PRO?

pCon.planner PRO is an advanced solution that includes all the features available in the STD and ME versions plus a set of features that will allow you to work more efficiently. Some of these features include:

• Work with more than one manufacturer in the same session
• Batch rendering of multiple cameras
• Create article lists with products from different manufacturers
• Create groups
• Create special articles
• Advanced print layout
• Product selection with commercial features
• Ability to work with plug-ins (e.g. VR plugins)
• Extra import and export formats
• much more

What is the investment for pCon.planner PRO?

The license costs €900 plus €180 per year for maintenance.

Why should I pay the maintenance?

It's the best way to protect your license investment. At a cost of €15/month, you’ll have on average two new versions each year plus eventual patches.

Can I try pCon.planner PRO before I buy?

You can try pCon.planner PRO for 30 days - download the latest version.

What features does the PC need to have to run pCon.planner?

Keep in mind that the bigger your projects, more powerful needs to be the hardware.

The most important features are:

• Dedicated graphics card. Important during the project creation phase, the more powerful the graphics card (NVIDIA or ATI) the faster and more fluid your work experience will be.
  • Updated driver. Make sure you keep your graphics card driver up to date. This is a manual check, the normal Windows update process does not alert you when there is a new version of the driver.
• Memory. We recommend at least 16 GB. Again, it all depends on how big are the projects you normally work on. Make sure to have enough memory available so that pCon.planner can store the geometries and material information for hundreds of articles.
• Processor. The CPU is used primarily when calculating rendering. We recommend an i7, there are several models with different characteristics. The faster and more cores the CPU has, the faster the render calculation will be.
• SSD. The time it takes to load and save information to the hard disk can be accelerated using a solid-state disk. An SSD has an access time that can be up to 100 times faster than a normal HDD. This increased access speed allows programs to run faster, which is very significant, particularly for applications like pCon.planner must access large amounts of data.