Answers
Frequently asked questions
Direct answers about the category, the product, and how it fits with the tools your firm already uses.
The category
- What is architecture presentation software?
- Architecture presentation software is a tool built to present design work to clients, review boards, and selection committees. It differs from general-purpose slide software in two ways: it is built around the pursuit process, so it holds the narrative, team, fee, and schedule that accompany a design submission, and it is delivered as a live link rather than a static file, so teammates and partner firms can collaborate on it and keep it updated after it has already been sent. It also supports richer media than slides, including video, high-resolution imagery, and navigable 3D models where a project calls for it. Full guide to architecture presentation software →
- What is proposal software?
- Proposal software supports the process of responding to a request for proposal: qualifying which opportunities to pursue, assembling a submission from reusable content, delivering it to the client, and tracking what happens afterward. For architecture and AEC firms it additionally has to support a team, not just one author, working on the same submission, deliver it as a live link that stays current instead of a file that goes stale, and carry richer media such as renderings and 3D models, which generic proposal tools built for consultancies typically treat as flat attachments. Full guide to architecture proposal software →
- What is an interactive proposal?
- An interactive proposal is a proposal delivered as a live, browser-based link rather than a static file. The recipient opens a link instead of an attachment and can explore the content directly, navigating sections in their own order and playing video, with the option to move through a 3D model where a project calls for it. Because it lives on the web rather than as a copy on someone's device, multiple teammates can work on it, the sending firm can keep updating it after it is already in the client's hands, and the firm can see which stakeholders opened it and which sections held their attention. Full guide to interactive proposals →
- Can multiple teammates or partner firms work on the same proposal?
- Yes. A proposal or presentation lives in a shared workspace rather than on one person's laptop, so teammates, and partner firms brought in as consultants, can work on the same live proposal instead of passing a file back and forth by email. That does not stop once it is sent: the sending team can keep updating it, correcting a fee schedule or swapping a rendering, without asking the client to open a new attachment or re-download anything.
- What is a pursuit intelligence platform?
- Pursuit intelligence platform describes software that treats a proposal as a source of information rather than only a deliverable. Alongside producing the submission, it researches the client and the selection committee beforehand and records which stakeholders engaged with which parts afterward, so decisions about positioning and follow-up rest on evidence instead of assumption.
- How do interactive presentations affect win rates?
- Reliable industry data on this is thin, and any specific percentage claim deserves scepticism, including ones made by vendors. What can be observed directly is the mechanism rather than the magnitude: a firm that knows which stakeholders read which sections can follow up on something specific, and a firm that qualifies pursuits more selectively spends its effort on winnable work. Both plausibly help, but the honest answer is that the size of the effect is not well established. What the win rate data actually shows →
Presenting design work
- Can architects present Revit or Rhino models online?
- Yes. The standard approach is to export geometry from Revit, Rhino, or SketchUp to an interchange format such as glTF or GLB, which a web browser can render efficiently, and present that model at a link. The client explores the space without installing Revit, Rhino, or any viewer application. What this does not provide is a live connection back to the authoring file, so the exported model reflects the design at the moment it was exported. How to present Revit and Rhino models online →
- How do architecture firms share projects with clients?
- Most commonly by emailing a PDF, or by sending a file transfer link when the PDF is too large to attach. Some firms share a cloud folder of images and videos, and some present live over a video call and send a deck afterward. The browser-based alternative is to send one link that holds the whole submission, which avoids attachment limits, keeps a single current version, and makes it possible to see who opened it.
- What replaces PDFs for design proposals?
- A browser-based interactive proposal is the usual replacement: one live link carrying the narrative, team, fee, and schedule, along with video, imagery, and 3D where a project calls for it, that a team can keep updating in place and that reports engagement back to the sender. The PDF does not disappear entirely, because public and institutional procurement frequently mandates a paginated document, so platforms in this category export one on demand. The practical pattern is a link for everyone who will read it on a screen and a PDF where the rules require a file. PDF alternatives for architecture proposals →
- Does the client need to install anything or create an account?
- No. A Foveate proposal opens in any modern browser on a laptop, tablet, or phone, with nothing to download and no account required to view it. This matters most for the stakeholders who decide the outcome but never touch design software, such as finance leads, board members, and procurement officers.
- Can a proposal still be exported as a PDF?
- Yes. Foveate exports a PDF from the same content, which is necessary because a large share of public and institutional work is governed by submission rules that mandate a paginated document with prescribed formatting.
Proposal analytics
- How do proposal analytics work?
- Instead of attaching a file, the firm sends a link. Because the proposal is served from the web rather than sitting in someone's inbox, each open can be attributed to a person and time can be measured per section. That produces a record of who engaged, with which parts, and for how long. A PDF cannot do this, because once it is delivered it is a file on someone else's device with no way to report back. Proposal insights in detail →
- Can you tell whether a proposal was forwarded?
- Not by inspecting anyone's email, which would not be possible or appropriate. It works in the opposite direction: when a forwarded link is opened by a new person who identifies themselves, that person appears as an additional viewer. In practice this is how firms discover stakeholders who were never named in the RFP.
- What information is not collected?
- Engagement reporting covers activity inside the proposal itself: who opened it, when, and how long they spent in each section. It does not read anyone's email, monitor activity elsewhere on the web, or reveal the contents of a recipient's device. Details of data handling are published in the privacy policy and the trust center. Trust center →
- What can a firm do with the data that it could not do before?
- Replace the generic follow-up. Rather than sending a note that says you are just checking in, a firm can respond to what actually happened, such as a procurement lead spending most of their time on the schedule section. Engagement data also reveals when a proposal has gone entirely unopened, which is a signal worth having on day three rather than week three. How to stop sending 'just checking in' emails →
Foveate and other tools
- Is Foveate a replacement for Enscape, Twinmotion, D5 Render, or Lumion?
- No. Those are rendering tools that produce imagery and animation from a design model, and Foveate is not a rendering engine. The two are used together: the firm renders in whichever visualization tool it prefers, then brings that output into Foveate to assemble the full submission, deliver it as a link, and track engagement. See the tool comparisons →
- How does Foveate compare with PowerPoint, Keynote, or InDesign?
- Those tools produce a fixed artifact, a deck or a laid-out document, which is well suited to a live presentation or a printed submission but has to be re-sent as a new file whenever it changes and is authored by one person at a time. Foveate produces a browser-based proposal that a team can collaborate on together, updates in place rather than being re-sent, carries richer media including navigable 3D where a project calls for it, and reports which stakeholders engaged with which sections. Firms that need a paginated document for procurement export a PDF from Foveate rather than maintaining a separate layout file. PowerPoint compared with Foveate →
- Which 3D file formats does Foveate support?
- Foveate reads glTF and GLB, the interchange formats designed for delivering 3D efficiently over the web. Geometry is exported to one of those from an authoring tool such as Revit, Rhino, or SketchUp. Foveate does not open native Revit or Rhino files and does not maintain a live link back to them, because its role begins once a design is ready to be presented.
- Does Foveate connect to Revit or Rhino directly?
- No. There is no live plugin link to the authoring model of the kind Enscape provides. Geometry is exported to glTF or GLB and brought into Foveate, which means the presented model reflects the design at the point of export rather than updating automatically as the model changes.
Practical questions
- Who is Foveate built for?
- Architecture firms, architectural visualization studios, interior and experiential designers, creative agencies, design-build and construction firms, real estate developers, and the business development and marketing teams inside them. The common thread is a firm that wins work by presenting design ideas to a group of decision-makers, needs more than one person collaborating on that presentation, and wants to know how it landed after it was sent. Solutions by firm type →
- How long does it take to produce the first proposal?
- The first one takes longer than subsequent ones, because firm content such as project sheets, team bios, and standard approach language has to be entered once. After that, most of a new proposal is assembly rather than authorship, which is where the recovered time comes from. Firms with a large back catalogue usually start by loading a handful of recent projects rather than the whole archive.
- Is the work secure? These are unbuilt designs.
- Proposal links can be password protected and set to expire, so a proposal that has served its purpose does not remain open indefinitely. Security posture, subprocessors, and data handling are documented in the trust center rather than summarised here, so the published detail stays authoritative. Security and trust center →
- What does Foveate cost?
- There is a free tier that anyone can sign up for, and paid plans above it for firms that need more seats, storage, and the intelligence features. Every plan includes a monthly allowance of AI credits. Because plans change, the pricing page rather than this answer is the accurate source. Pricing →
- Is there a free trial, or do I have to talk to sales first?
- You can sign up and start using Foveate straight away without talking to anyone. The free tier includes 200 credits so you can try the AI features on your own work. Booking a demo is optional, and it is the better route if you would rather have the team walk through a live pursuit with you than start from a blank workspace. Pricing →
- Can I see a real proposal before committing to anything?
- Yes. A live example proposal is linked from the platform pages, and a walkthrough with the team can be booked from any page on this site. Nothing needs to be installed to look at the example. Explore the platform →
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