Computer aided design. Just the mention of those three words strikes fear into the hearts of men.

Traditionally, any computer aided design program, more affectionately known as CAD, has been hard to use and forced many of us to regress back to the age of pen and paper.

Even the ones with the words "easy" or "smart" before their names were almost impossible for anyone without an engineering degree to use.

The CAD Pro 4 Platinum Series ($79.95) from Delta Software International has broken the mold with an easy to use program that comes with a tutorial that even I could understand. In fact, I was able to design a couple of rooms of my new house only a couple of hours after installing the program. And that's quite an accomplishment from someone who doesn't know the difference between a philips-head and a hammer-head.

A few of the more interesting features of the program include:

• You can sketch your plan on a piece of paper, scan it in and trace it, so it can be modified within the program
• You can add and edit photographs, showing exactly how you want something to look.
• The program includes hundreds of "auto shapes," making it easy to add a wide variety of shapes to your designs.
• It includes more than 5,000 free architectural, electrical and landscaping symbols.
• You get 24/7 free online support and a free monthly newsletter.
• You can attach your drawings to emails.
• Smart Dimensioning Tools automatically create all of the dimensions of objects with just a few mouse clicks, even updating dimensions "on the fly" as you make changes to your design.
• You can trace over photos with the program's design tools.
• The program includes pre-designed plans for lake houses, garages, patio barbecues, shade arbors, decks, and tree houses, which can be easily modified.
• A bonus CD includes additional home improvement projects, plans for one- and two-story houses and other structures.

More information can be found at www.cadprosoftware.com.