Fully Searchable National CAD Standard 3.1 Released

April 13, 2006
The new version allows users to access the standard from any Internet connection

The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), American Institute of Architects (AIA), and Retrieve are proud to announce the availability of the National CAD Standard 3.1 vBook™. The NCS 3.1 vBook represents a new way to access the information contained within the NCS guidelines. Users access vBooks online, where content is presented as a combination of narrated screen capture videos, audio narration of content, and traditional text and diagrams.

Users may now access the National CAD Standard from any Internet connection, and conduct quick and easy searches that yield results in a multi-media format. As an added benefit, the online presentation of the NCS makes it extremely easy to update, ensuring that users always have access to most current version of the standard.

vBooks are accessed online and navigated through an intuitive layout that is familiar to all - leveraging the traditional layout of a book (a table of contents and an alphabetized index), combined with the power of complex search technology. vBooks are an easily searchable knowledgebase - the table of contents, the index, and the text search results link to specific topics in the National CAD Standard vBook. By clicking on their selections from the table of contents or the index, or by entering keywords in the search box, users can quickly navigate and drill down into video and traditional content to pinpoint and view NCS content on specific topics.

The NCS vBook pricing will be comparable to the traditional printed and shipped version. Individuals who have purchased a copy of the National CAD Standard version 3.1 will also receive a substantial discount to the NCS vBook. This exciting new product will be available through CSI, NIBS, the AIA, and RetrieveMedia (www.retrievemedia.com).


The National CAD Standard coordinates the efforts of the building design and construction industry by classifying electronic building design data consistently, allowing streamlined communication among owners and design and construction project teams. This will result in reducing the costs of developing and maintaining individual office standards, and transferring building data from design applications to facility management applications. The NCS also offers greater efficiency in the design and construction process.

This information was reprinted with permission from the Construction Specifications Institute, a national association of specifiers, architects, engineers, contractors, building materials suppliers, and others involved in commercial and institutional building design and construction. To find out more, visit (www.csinet.org).

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