Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing and frustrating
Review: After reading several of the reviews of this product, I had to wonder if they received the same product that I did. I have had none of the claimed problems that are mentioned. Walls stop when you want them to (read the instructions) and I created the home I am moving into with a few hours of paying attention to detail and trial and error with the features. I recreated a home that already exists from the dimensions taken from the home. I was amazed at how easy it is to work this program. I have tried to use CAD programs in the past and this is a piece of cake compared to them. I like it so much I am upgrading to the Platinum version for more features. The only reason I gave it 4 stars vs 5 is because I am upgrading.
I have not used the Broderbund program but I don't think anyone with a little computer skill will be disappointed.
Buy it...you'll like it.
Rating: 
Summary: Fast and Easy home design
Review: After reading several of the reviews of this product, I had to wonder if they received the same product that I did. I have had none of the claimed problems that are mentioned. Walls stop when you want them to (read the instructions) and I created the home I am moving into with a few hours of paying attention to detail and trial and error with the features. I recreated a home that already exists from the dimensions taken from the home. I was amazed at how easy it is to work this program. I have tried to use CAD programs in the past and this is a piece of cake compared to them. I like it so much I am upgrading to the Platinum version for more features. The only reason I gave it 4 stars vs 5 is because I am upgrading.
I have not used the Broderbund program but I don't think anyone with a little computer skill will be disappointed.
Buy it...you'll like it.
Rating: 
Summary: No! Stop! There's a better way!
Review: As a hobby, I design a lot of houses. I have been using 3D Home Architect 3.0 and wanted to try Professional Home design to step up. I'm not impressed.What the program offers: 1)complete integration and compatibility of program functions, 2) 3D rendered walkthroughs, 3) the ability to build custom furniture models, 4) the ability to build a physical scale model of the design Those are really neat sounding features, but they do not make up for the software's faults. For one, the floor plan design tools are somewhat counter-intuitive. I found that I couldn't break a wall in two, and the auto dimensions were not helpful in determining the locations of any interior walls. It is impossible to copy and paste doors and windows. Unlike 3D Home Architect, most objects do not recognize when they are against a wall. Particularly annoying was kitchen design. This thing behaves more like modified rendering software than a home designer. When you start placing cabinets, the selection looks neat already rendered, but I could not tell if they had doors or drawers! The selection of cabinets that I could identify was woefully inadequate, and when placed the sizes were a little off. After trying to design a kitchen I didn't even try the other features. If home design software can't get a kitchen right it's otherwise useless! So I say if you want to build a model of your house, get the cheaper 3D Home Architect 3.0, print out a floorplan, and get a modeling kit. Believe me, you'll still save time over using Professional Home Design.
Rating:
Summary: Don't believe the hype!
Review: As a mechanical engineer, I've used all kinds of CAD programs as well as other types of software. This has to be one of the worst software packages I've ever used. The interface is maddeningly archaic. It makes one wonder about the caliber of programmer that Broderbund is hiring. It also makes one wonder who's writing these reviews, some hardly seems believable after actually experiencing the software. PLEASE, do yourself a favor, don't believe the positive reviews, and save your money. Given a technical background, I lulled myself into believing I should be able to handle it in spite of the negative reviews, and came away severely disappointed. Stick to a general 2D drawing program such as AutoCad, Vellum, or Visio, it'll be much less headache and still fulfill 99% of what most users are looking for.
Rating:
Summary: Don't believe the hype!
Review: As a mechanical engineer, I've used all kinds of CAD programs as well as other types of software. This has to be one of the worst software packages I've ever used. The interface is maddeningly archaic. It makes one wonder about the caliber of programmer that Broderbund is hiring. It also makes one wonder who's writing these reviews, some hardly seems believable after actually experiencing the software. PLEASE, do yourself a favor, don't believe the positive reviews, and save your money. Given a technical background, I lulled myself into believing I should be able to handle it in spite of the negative reviews, and came away severely disappointed. Stick to a general 2D drawing program such as AutoCad, Vellum, or Visio, it'll be much less headache and still fulfill 99% of what most users are looking for.
Rating:
Summary: Useless for serious design
Review: As someone in the professional contractor's field, I thought that this piece of software might be useful, to create all the various layouts of a house, landscape it, furnish it, and see it all in glorious color 3D. The Punch Home Design Professional was supposed to let the lay customer (i.e. non-architects who have no time to learn expensive CAD programs) to do all this and more. Unfortunately, because the program is designed to be "simple," it is very limited. If you try to do something remotely different (such as changing the height of power outlets, or adding home theater wiring), then you're completely out of luck. And if it's something a little more complex, don't even think about it. Furthermore, the program is not as simple as it wants to be either. It tries to offer lots of options. Unfortunately, the options are not very useful. Then, there are other quibbles, such as the 3D view controls being completely out of whack. Running on a relatively powerful computer, the scroll is so fast that there is virtually no way to control anything. All in all, this is a great concept, and maybe in a few revisions, they'll get it right. But for now, don't waste your time or money.
Rating:
Summary: hard to learn
Review: have had this software for several months now and have not been able to master it.
Rating:
Summary: Not Good.....Don't Buy
Review: I am a professional interior designer, ASID member.I upgraded to Punch Professional thinking it had to be better than the other Punch software I had. WRONG. It is impossible to draw interiors walls with exact measures as it always deducts the wall thickness. The " Ruler" in useless as it is huge and cumbersome and hard to keep in a straight line. The furniture templates are a joke.You have no idea what they look like( and they certainly aren't pretty)or their size until you drag them into place.Stick to a pencil & graph paper.Can't anyone create a software program for the Design Professional that is not cartoonish.Something quicker & easier than AutoCad. I know people would spend the money for it.Any ideas???
Rating:
Summary: Sent it back for refund!
Review: I had been using Broderbund Home Architect 2.0 and finally decided to upgrade. The promises of the Punch home design were totally empty. Many, many features I did not like! Drawing walls was not intuitive... I couldn't figure out how to stop drawing! If my plan went off the screen, I couldn't stop the wall to move the screen and then start back up without walls goings off to never-never-land. I started with an old design of known size and found the "area"(i.e. square footage) to be 30% off/under. A major flaw! Then there is the moving walls. I'd try to move an entire wall up or down, but just one corner would move... pulling the adjacent wall corner in at a strange angle. It was impossible to get the corners back to 90 degrees. I found the 3D furniture design tediously impossible to work with. And I did not like the measuring setup. The tape was far too big and once I had measured the room dimensions, the measurements didn't stay... so I had to move the wall a few inches and measure... and move a few inches and measure... I returned it for a full refund and bought the Broderbund 4.0. It has a few flaws too, but at least its workable.
Rating: 
Summary: Best of the Lot
Review: I have been working with Punch Pro now for over a year and as with any program, flaws exist. For 10 years or more I have worked with Expert Homes, 3D Home Architect, Total 3D, and others and until I found Punch! I had been unsuccessful in completing a home design from scratch. Finally, I created my home. I started out with Punch! 5 in 1, built my home, and have upgraded ever since, to Punch! Super, and then to Punch! Pro. The 3D rendering in Punch is the most realistic, non-cartoonish, and fastest renderings out of all the programs I've tried. In addition to it's excellent rendering qualities, it has offered me by far the most useable tools for creativity related to flooring, roofing, wall styles, doors and windows, decks, landscaping, furniture, and the like. I'm able to move walls, split walls, build up, build down, and create any type of roof I so desire. The Esitmator calculates essential lumber and main inserts for the home design, and allows for additional inputs of criteria necessary for actual building and creating floor plans. What I especially enjoy the most is the furniture workshop where I can easily alter or create, design, and decorate my furniture to an exact fit suitable to my own needs. Learning the program, as with any other, requires patience and persistance and in the end the results are worth waiting for. I would encourage those who have not yet tried it to thoroughly learn of it's capabilities, go to the support websites to learn of enticing and exciting new ideas for creativity and work-arounds, and be patient and persistant before giving up on the Punch Program. No program is without flaws! I plan to continue with Punch and in addition try others for comparison. I have not yet found anything better and more cost effective than Punch!
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