Guides
free browser tools for architects
Six free, no-install browser tools for AEC work — feasibility, takeoff, space programming, IFC viewing, task boards, and mind mapping. No accounts, no uploads.
6 min read
how to create a space program
Turn a client brief into a proper space program — areas, grossing factors, adjacency diagram — with a worked school example you can follow free in your browser.
9 min read
calibrate scale PDF drawing
Every takeoff error starts at calibration. Learn how to set and verify scale on PDF drawings — and catch distorted sheets before they poison your quantities.
7 min read
desktop vs browser BIM viewer
An honest capability comparison — where desktop viewers still win, where browser viewers already cover the job, and how to decide which your task needs.
6 min read
Excel vs Kanban board
The spreadsheet tracker every office runs vs an actual Kanban board — what the grid genuinely does better, and where rows structurally can't show flow.
6 min read
FLAR PSO BHL meaning
What do FLAR, PSO, and BHL actually mean for your property? Plain-language explanations, worked examples, and how the three rules interact on a real lot.
7 min read
free Trello alternative for architects
Trello's free tier keeps shrinking and generic boards don't fit drawing workflows. Here are the real options for architecture teams — including a no-login one.
6 min read
small contractor estimating workflow
Price the job, build the BOQ, and track the works — a small contractor's complete workflow using free browser tools, with an auditable trail throughout.
7 min read
site feasibility report
A hands-on speed run: draw a lot boundary, enter zoning rules, and export a PDF feasibility report — free, in your browser, in fifteen minutes.
6 min read
check if a lot is buildable
Learn how to run a site feasibility check on any lot — setbacks, FLAR, PSO, and height limits explained — and generate a free PDF feasibility report in your browser.
8 min read
quantity takeoff without expensive software
No PlanSwift or Bluebeam budget? Learn the digital takeoff method — calibration, measurement, BOQ — and run it free in your browser with no upload.
8 min read
open IFC file without Revit
Received an IFC file but have no BIM software? Here's how to open, inspect, and section any IFC model free in your browser — no install, no upload.
8 min read
LOD vs LOI difference
Two models can look identical and be worth completely different amounts. Why information level, not geometric detail, decides what a BIM deliverable is for.
9 min read
mind map client brief
The brief you received is not the brief. How to unpack a client's words into requirements, assumptions, and questions with a mind map — before geometry.
7 min read
free AEC tools workflow
Follow one small commercial project from brief to construction using all six free DSYNTEC browser tools — and see how the outputs chain together.
7 min read
plan a house before hiring an architect
Ten years abroad, one dream house. How to turn your family's ideas into a real space program, budget, and plan — free, in your browser, before the architect.
10 min read
review structural IFC model
A practical review workflow for structural BIM models — section cuts, property inspection, and the checks that catch real problems — free in your browser.
7 min read
Kanban for architecture studio
The column setup, card structure, and weekly rhythm for managing drawings through drafting, checking, and issue — on a free board with no logins.
7 min read
BIM vendor lock-in
Your models, your data, someone else's format. How lock-in accrues quietly in AEC firms, what it costs when the bill arrives, and the openBIM exit strategy.
9 min read
pre-design process architecture
The disciplined sequence between "we have a project" and the first sketch — brief interrogation, feasibility, space program — all free, all in the browser.
7 min read
BIM coordination truth latency
Every project has a lag between an error entering the information and someone catching it. Measuring that lag — truth latency — changes how you run BIM.
9 min read
ISO 19650 small practice
ISO 19650 without the consultancy fog: the handful of things a small firm genuinely must do, the things it can scale down, and the myths it can ignore.
10 min read
local-first AEC software
Every file you drag into a web tool goes somewhere. Here's why local-first, browser-based AEC software protects your projects — and your appointment.
11 min read
IFC export problems
Model at the wrong coordinates, elements floating in space, missing properties? Diagnose the five classic IFC export failures yourself — free, in a browser.
8 min read
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