On Land

Two parameters added to the 'Plan' options in the Interior JAM9 door, so you can turn off either side of a cased opening. The parameters are 'Cased Op Line (Swing)' and 'Cased Op Line (Opp)'. Both are on by default. (Note: You will only see them in the parameter list, not the interface pages.)

This feature address this condition, where openings in each of two walls are supposed to look like one thick opening:

Swing = the clicked side when the door was placed. Yes, it can be tricky to tell which is the swing side of a cased opening, but there's nothing else to call it. If one switch doesn't do what you want, try the other one.

I'll probably add this feature to all the threshold lines when I next update the doors, which will be after the transition to 10 is complete.

(Again, pardon the 'a'. Some things can't be fixed in place.)

This object represents the available area of a detail sheet grid cell, or group of cells. Use it in your details to plan how the detail will lie in the cell. Very similar to Sheet Area RND10, which is used for plans.

More»

Turn on the Cover Fill to make the pieces opaque (White, pen 91). Useful for roof plans of a pergola. Stories below will not show the fill.

I Added an 'Eave Length' parameter to the plan options. This allows you to show a straight eave before the curve begins:

I also made the plan fill a cover fill, so it will respect the display/model view options.

In creative GDL, windows are about the most complex things there are. Yet to slabify a window is no harder than a regular object.

This example is for an silly piece of glazing, but you could use the same technique for a custom trim panel 'window'.

More»

Location: 01 General / 1 Graphic Symbols

A custom drawing title object for plans only. It's very similar to the old Drawing Title RND 9a.

As you know, in AC10 we use the new automatic drawing title marker objects. All drawings except full size plans should use the automatic titles.

Why do plans still use an object? Because we want the titles to stack through the sheets, and the best way is the multi-story feature of conventional objects. There's no easy way to align elements across layouts.

Since we're sticking with the object for plans, and not using the object for anything else, I decided to optimize the object for plans, so here we are.

In the templates, there is one of these guys for each plan. In setting up the project, you need to set up the plan titles. For example, turn the attic off if there's no attic. The best way to do this is all at once: Turn all the note layers on, select all the title objects, and change their story setup.

The different names for a given story are all hooked together, so if you turn 'Main Level' on, 'First Floor' will switch off.

Place the object on the lowest story that is in use. If that's the basement, turn 'Basement' on. If not, turn it off and 'First Floor' will take its place. Etc.

Location: 01 General : 1 Graphic Symbols

Replaces Elev Marker JM9. It's been bi-axially flipped around to make it more standard. The circle gadget is on the left, where it belongs, and the description is on the top, where it belongs.

Editing hotspots

First spot: beginning of bend. Second spot: End and depth of bend. End spot: depth of bend and length of object.

The length can be input directly with the Length (Paper) parameter. 2" is standard.

Archicad 10 provides automatic story levels in section, but you'll still need this object to call out other levels.

If you're local (in the same room), this won't make much difference to you. I have generalized the old CL symbol so I can offer it for download on the new Archicad Talk Object Depository. This means I'm enabling flexibility which I, and the locals, don't need.

For everyone else. This is your basic CL symbol, since most fonts don't have it. You can change the font and size, and apply bold formating. Now I'll copy and paste the helpful commenting from the 2D script:

!! The default font is Arial, since that
!! seems to be the default font of the
!! universe. If you have Gill Sans, use
!! that. It looks best IMO. It's the font
!! in the preview image. Full disclosure:
!! I'm not into the faux-hand lettering
!! thing.

!! If you put in a custom font, and you're
!! graphically particular, you might need to
!! adjust the Text Offsets to get the right look.

!! The top & bottom hotspot offset is
!! proportional to the point size. I don't
!! know what happens with very large sizes;
!! you might need to adjust 'spotY' as well.
!! Personally, I never mess with the size; I just
!! put it in for completeness.

!! Why aren't the offsets parameterized?
!! Because you shouldn't change them for
!! specific instances. They should be standards
!! that are invisible in regular use.

Placement tip: Set the object to insert by the top or bottom hotspot, and use the Rotated geometry method of the object tool.

Download (AC9)

Location: 01 General / 1 Graphic Symbols

An improved drawing list object, featuring any number of columns. You can also turn the heading off entirely. I ditched the vertical lines.

Two things you need to know. We are redesigning the standard cover sheet, and we have a couple of projects where the drawing list needs to be three columns in order to fit in its box. And, in 10, we have automatic drawing lists, so you're going to use the object only in unusual situations. (Too bad, it's one of my favorites.) With the auto list, the heading needs to be independent for technical reasons. For compatibility with the auto list, and the new cover sheet, we need to be able to turn the heading off.

All of this will make more sense when you actually start using 10. In the meantime, if you need to spread the drawing list over eight columns, go ahead.