Berryessa

Today we’re happy to announce our first major software update since Origin’s launch in October. The Berryessa update was developed with our early users in mind. Over the past few months we have seen you build some amazing things (#shapermade). You have also been sharing helpful feedback on what else you would like to see in Origin. We think you’ll be very excited about today’s update, which focuses on precise placement and on-tool adjustments of your designs.

One piece of feedback we heard was that the grid tool in the Alameda release was useful, but only if you needed to place a design at one of the preset spacings. There are many cases, like when placing cabinet hinges for example, where you need custom spacings with snap points. With the improved grid tool, just enter in your desired spacing (which can be updated at any time w/o needing to re-probe). The other major improvement is the ability to change the anchor point on your design. As you move along your workspace, the chosen point will snap to your grid intersections all while showing you where you are through the new coordinate display.

Another common request has been the ability to modify designs after they have been transferred to Origin, particularly scaling. Sometimes you don’t know the exact scale needed until you are at your workpiece or you want to reuse the same design on different sized projects. In Berryessa, you are able to change the width & height of your design on the fly. You can also rotate to a precise degree relative to your grid. If you want to use the modified design multiple times on your workpiece, just use the new ‘Copy’ feature. This is handy for things like concentric designs or fine tuning butterflies per woodgrain.

In addition to these two areas, you’ll find lots of improvements to existing features. For example, you can now use the pen tool to create unclosed shapes. The sortable folders & thumbnails recently added to MyHub are now available on tool. Many will also be happy to see a major improvement in reliability when scanning large areas. Check out the full list of updates in the Berryessa release notes. You can also get a walkthrough in our latest tutorial video.

This is the first of many performance and functionality improvements we have planned. With your continued testing & feedback, you can expect your Origin to get better and better with time. As updates are released, your WiFi-connected Origin will automatically download without interrupting your work. The update will be installed & ready for use after the next time it boots up.

Finally, after lots of work & testing we wanted to have a little fun using the new features in Berryessa. Check out the walnut & mango chess board Lauren and I made only with the design tools built into Origin. No computer required!

Kiley McEvoy, VP of Product