CAD Zone and ARAS EOL

On June 1, 2021, Customer Support will stop being available for CAD Zone and ARAS products.

CAD Zone and ARAS users will no longer be able to contact FARO Customer Support via telephone or email to obtain product documentation or help with features. 

• FARO will no longer provide replacement license keys to CAD Zone and ARAS users for any reason, including, but not limited to computer replacement, hard drive failure, reinstallation of the operating system, and so on.
• No more software updates will be released, meaning there will be no updates to resolve bugs or add new features.

Users with existing licenses will be able to continue using the software. However, since it is not possible to predict changes made to future computer hardware and operating systems:

• There is no guarantee the CAD Zone and ARAS products will function properly when used with future versions of Microsoft Windows®.
• There is no guarantee the CAD Zone and ARAS products will function properly when used with future hardware, such as video graphics cards. 
• There is no guarantee the Google^® Map features will continue to function properly.

Yes. Users will still be able to obtain product information from the FARO Knowledge Base. 

• Legacy-CAD Zone - FARO Knowledge Base
• Legacy-FARO ARAS 360 - FARO Knowledge Base

Both of these legacy platforms were developed years earlier, using older software technology. To fully take advantage of current advances in video graphics, computer performance, and today’s superior user experience, it was necessary for FARO to develop a completely new forensics application.

The FARO Zone software products include the functionality of the CAD Zone and ARAS software plus many improvements and additional features. Those users who wish to create 2D diagrams of crash scenes, crime scenes, or for pre-incident planning are encouraged to try FARO Zone 2D. FARO Zone 3D is ideal for legacy users who want to create 3D diagrams, animations, and perform forensic analysis such as for blood spatter, bullet trajectories, or crash reconstruction. Users who use point cloud data from laser scanners or drones will want to switch to FARO Zone 3D Advanced. All versions of FARO Zone can import diagrams in the legacy file formats to ensure older diagrams are not lost. More 
information on FARO Zone is available from www.FARO.com and on the FARO Knowledge Base:
FARO Zone 3D Software | Software | FARO
FARO Zone 2D Software | Software | FARO

FARO Zone was developed by a team of software engineers who created the original CAD Zone and ARAS products. For the last 25 years, members of this team have been developing the world’s most popular software applications for public safety. Their combined experience ensures that FARO Zone contains the best of the legacy products.

FARO Zone is not an “upgrade” from any of the ARAS products, it is a completely new software platform. FARO Zone was newly developed, starting in 2015, by a team of software engineers from both ARAS and CAD Zone. It combines the best features and characteristics of all the CAD Zone and ARAS products. FARO Zone also is compatible with ARAS file formats so you can open your previous projects and edit them in FARO Zone. As an ARAS customer, you do qualify for an extremely large “loyalty discount” to make it affordable for you switch to FARO Zone.

From now until the loyalty discount is discontinued, CAD Zone and ARAS users can purchase one license of FARO Zone 3D Advanced, per license they have of the legacy software. This means even users of Quick Scene and Blitz can use the 68% discount to buy FARO Zone 3D Advanced. Of course, if they prefer, they can buy FARO Zone 2D, instead. Users can choose which version of FARO Zone best meets their needs. 

It has been more than 6 years since The CAD Zone and ARAS joined FARO. Since then, the developers of both The CAD Zone and ARAS software products have been working hard to create an amazing replacement product. FARO Zone 2D, FARO Zone 3D, and FARO Zone 3D Advanced have the same features as CAD Zone software, but they are easier to use, more powerful, and produce more realistic scenes that you will be proud to deliver. FARO Zone is similar to CAD Zone, with the same keyboard shortcuts and many of the same features including the ability to import total station data and open your .czd files. FARO Zone doesn’t stop there - it is much easier and faster to use and has many new features and improvements.

• Quickly stretch, resize, and move objects using the color-coded object grips.
• More Snaps make it easier than ever to attach, and line up objects perfectly.
• There is a huge library of 2D symbols and 3D models but if you don’t find exactly what you want, download it for free from 3D Warehouse.
• Fully document the scene by adding links to photographs and reports right on the diagram
• Package up all the case files into a “Zone 2Go” project that can be easily viewed by the jury from a flash drive – no internet required

FARO Zone 3D adds “Power Tools” for forensic documentation and analysis, including:

• 3D building tools to quickly create an accurate representation of a structure with doors, windows, textures like wood siding or brick, and a roof
• Expanded crash reconstruction tools, like the ability to import crash data from an EDR and automatically turn it into an animation
• Validated crime scene analysis tools, including placing bullet trajectories and analyzing blood patterns, even cast-off stains 

FARO Zone 3D Advanced adds the ability to reconstruct scenes using a point cloud, either captured with a drone or a laser scanner.

• Create accurate diagrams and place 3D models by snapping exactly to points in the point cloud
• Find exact measurements between any points in a point cloud
• Merge and align point clouds, such as merging a point cloud captured on the ground by a laser scanner with a point cloud captured above with a drone.
• Improve the look of a point cloud by adjusting the point size, brightness, contrast, light level, gap fill level, and more
• Perform targetless registration of scan data captured with a FARO laser scanner

Yes. Just fill out a short form on www.faro.com and provide your email address. You will receive a link to download the software and a 30-day trial license key. Be sure to create an account on FARO Academy and sign up to take the FREE Core Training course during your trial period. Let the instructor introduce you to the many benefits of using FARO Zone.
Software Trial (faro.com)

Several training options are available to make it easy to learn to use FARO Zone 3D. These courses are available to anyone with an account on FARO Academy, including:

• Free, self-paced video course available 24/7 for anyone with an account on FARO Academy
• Free recorded webinars that go into detail on how to use many FARO Zone features, 
• Free, eight-hour, online “Core Training” that is instructor led, available in English. There is no limit to the number of users who can attend this class from an agency. Even users participating in the free trial of FARO Zone can take this class for no charge.
• Additional online, instructor-led courses available to purchase on crash investigation tools, crime investigation tools, pre-incident planning, advanced diagramming, animation, and use of point clouds.

Product Training Offerings for FARO Zone - FARO Knowledge Base

Yes! Until July 31, 2021, FARO is continuing to offer a “Loyalty Discount” to all the CAD Zone and ARAS users who wish to purchase FARO Zone. This is a huge discount between 50% and 68%, depending on which version of FARO Zone purchased