Rhv Software Systems GmbH of Dusseldorf is continuing its European expansion by moving into the UK this month, and will be operating from a base in Bracknell, Berkshire. The company intends setting up a dealer network throughout the country and specialises in CAD/CAM products. It will initially be marketing PC Draft, which contains an optional internal module called Perspective. This comprises dormant software which can be activated for a fee by the manufacturer, which describes it as rhv’s answer to three-dimensional drafting. One advantage of Perspective is that it enables people who are comfortable with a two dimensional environment to use projections such as vanishing point perspective, which would normally only be available on a more time consuming and expensive three-dimensional one. This package is modest, and deliberately so; all the commands are based on one or two letters. The designer decided that items such as pull-down menus are impressive for buyers but a nuisance for users, or in real life, as rhv puts it. The majority of users are engineers and architects and rhv feels that two dimensional facilities are sufficient for customers in this category. PC Draft also comes with other modules such as a variant programming systems and data exchange, which enables users to write macros and applications software. Up to now rhv has done most of its UK business in the UK through Nixdorf UK Ltd. The company is part of the generations-old DAT group in Germany and some of its directors are ex-IBM personnel who joined in 1981, when it moved into the personal computer market. PC Draft will be available through dealers at UKP2,495 for PC Draft and an additional UKP1,495 with the Perspective module switched on.
