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AI Assistant ​

PlanCAD includes a built-in AI assistant that understands plain language. Ask it to do something — "pack 36 stands of 3×3 m into zone A", "find every stand smaller than 6 m²", "export a signage PDF with stands B12 and B14 highlighted" — and it reads your drawing, makes the changes, and tells you what it did.

The assistant is bring-your-own-key: PlanCAD does not run its own AI service. You connect it to an AI provider of your choice (OpenAI, Anthropic/Claude, or a compatible service) using your own account and key. Your requests go straight from your computer to that provider.

Desktop app required

The assistant only works in the installed desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux). The in-browser preview cannot connect to cloud AI providers, so a downloaded copy of PlanCAD is required.

Opening the Assistant ​

Open the assistant from View > Assistant, or with the toggle button in the toolbar. It appears in a floating panel you can drag, resize, and reposition — it remembers where you left it.

The first time you open it, PlanCAD asks for an API key and takes you to the Settings screen to set up your provider.

Settings ​

FieldWhat to enter
Provider / Base URLWhich AI service to use. Keep the default for OpenAI, choose Anthropic for Claude models, or paste the address of another compatible service (Groq, OpenRouter, Together AI, a local server, etc.).
ModelWhich model to use, e.g. gpt-4o, claude-opus-4-7, claude-sonnet-4-6. When PlanCAD can list the models your account offers, you can pick one from a menu.
API KeyThe key from your AI provider account. It is stored securely in your operating system's password vault (Keychain on macOS, Credential Manager on Windows, the system keyring on Linux). It is never written into your .plancad files or sent to PlanCAD.
Extra instructionsOptional house rules added to every conversation, e.g. "Always work in centimetres. Ask before deleting anything."

How It Works ​

You type a request in everyday language. The assistant looks at your drawing, decides what to do, and carries it out — often in several steps, checking the result as it goes — then replies with a summary or a question if it needs one.

Every change the assistant makes goes through PlanCAD's normal undo system. If it does something you didn't want, press Ctrl+Z to undo it, exactly like any other action.

When a request takes several steps, the panel shows the assistant's progress so you can see it is working. If the provider is busy or you've hit a usage limit on your account, PlanCAD automatically slows down and retries instead of failing — a small status message lets you know it is waiting, not stuck.

What It Can Do ​

The assistant can drive almost every part of PlanCAD. In practice it is most useful for repetitive, rule-based, or bulk work:

  • Drawing & layout — create and arrange entities, and automatically pack stands into a zone with aisle spacing.
  • Stand numbering & exhibitors — number stands in order, assign or clear exhibitor names, and look stands up by exhibitor.
  • Bulk edits — move, rotate, scale, recolour, restyle, or relayer many entities at once based on a rule you describe.
  • Layers — create, rename, merge, lock, hide, recolour layers, and move entities between them.
  • Clean-up & geometry — trim, fillet, chamfer, offset, explode, join, group, and remove duplicates.
  • Validation — run a plan check for overlaps, narrow aisles, missing stand numbers or exhibitors, and undersized stands.
  • Files & deliverables — open and save projects, import DXF/DWG, and export DXF, DWG, PDF, SVG, or a signage map.
  • PlanExpo & signage — check sync status, pull exhibitor data when connected, and produce a signage or visitor map.

If you're not sure what to ask, just ask the assistant what it can do — it can describe its own capabilities.

Example Prompts ​

  • Layout — "Pack 36 stands of 3×3 m into the zone on layer EXPO, leave a 2 m aisle between rows, and number them A1 to A36 starting top-left."
  • Audit — "List every stand on the active layer whose area is less than 6 m², and select them so I can review."
  • Bulk edits — "Change every red stand to layer WARNING and make their outline thicker."
  • Validation — "Run a plan validation and tell me what's wrong."
  • Signage — "Export a signage PDF that highlights stands B12, B14, and B16 in yellow."
  • Conversion — "Open floor.dwg, then export it as both DXF and a PDF at 1:200 scale on A1."

Clear, specific requests work best. If you want the assistant to apply a change rather than just discuss it, say so ("now apply that"). For big jobs, breaking the work into a few smaller requests is often faster and easier to review.

Privacy and Data ​

  • Your API key stays in your operating system's secure password vault. PlanCAD has no servers in this flow — there is nothing in the middle.
  • Your prompts and drawing are sent to the AI provider you chose, so it can act on them. Treat anything you type and anything the assistant reads from the drawing as visible to that provider.
  • The conversation is kept only while the app is open and is not saved inside your .plancad project files.
  • For sensitive work, you can point the assistant at an AI service running on your own machine or private network, so nothing leaves your environment.

Troubleshooting ​

SymptomLikely cause / fix
"API key required" keeps coming backThe key was rejected. Re-enter it in Settings and double-check it against your provider's own dashboard. Extra spaces are trimmed automatically, so that isn't the cause.
Assistant doesn't work in the browser previewThe assistant needs the installed desktop app. Download PlanCAD and use the installed version.
It keeps pausing and saying it's waitingYour AI account's usage limit is being reached. Use a higher-tier plan, a faster model, or an AI service running locally with no limits.
"Run hit the turn cap"The job had too many steps to finish in one go. Click Resume to continue, or split the task into smaller requests.
It replies with text but doesn't change anythingThe assistant treated the request as a question. Ask again more directly ("now make that change") or be more specific about what you want done.