On Land

Location: 12 Furnishings/Casework

• Obviously, set the number of shelves and the number of vertical divisions. You can also set a maximum height for the shelves and have the quantity calculated. The height of the bottom shelf can be set independently, or not.

• For odd values of horizontal divisions, the width of the center shelves can be set independently.

• There are separate thicknesses for the box, base, shelf, and vertical divider.

• You can choose to start with a shelf or a space (eg, to place on top of a counter).

• For shelves which will be cased like a door, you have the option of using door dimensions for easier alignment.

• All the trim options of a typical door are available, and should behave consistently.

• You can place a 'transom' section on top, which can be divided separately.

• In plan, you can choose a simple rectangle or 'poche' mode, which shows the cut profile of the shelf, including the vertical dividers.

That's all I can think of.

Note: This object is pretty OK, if a bit glitchy, but I'm really enjoying the Cabinet Opening in thick wall method for bookshelves.

All the pocket doors now have a line representing the extent of the void in the wall. Now you know if the door really fits.

Location: 12 Furnishings / Casework

You can miter it, like a trim object. No big deal.

Location: 08a Windows

A window for placing a wall of screen panels at once.

The vertical panels are limited to 3. The rail height and the transom height can be set where these panels are used. These two heights are also graphically editable in 3D, so you can line them up with railings or doors.

You can have any number of horizontal divisions. You can put in the quantity or have it calculated from a maximum width.

Location: 08b Doors

A screen door. Optional screen transom.

Location: 06 Wood & Plastic/Railings & Stairs

Railings and posts in one object. The available settings are the same as 'Rail Level JAM8' and 'Deck Post JAM8'.

The starting and ending posts can be controlled independently of the typical (inside) posts, and of each other, or not. It is possible to build a multi segment rail to allow for posts, and leave the posts themselves out.

Location: 16 Electrical/Elec Symbols.

Replaces 'SwitchMulti JAM8'. Improvements: Bigger 'S'. Any switch can be shown as a dimmer. The extent of the switch plate is shown as a line at the base. This line can be stretched to add or subtract switches. The limit is 6. Probably enough?

It retains the optional 3D. It should be placed on the layer 'E Fixt3' or 'E Fixt2'.

Location: 11 Equipment.

Dishwasher JAM8 is a dishwasher. Fridge UnderCounter JAM8 is an under-counter refrigerator. Pretty simple really.

All the JAM8 windows have a parameter called 'Mode' which allows you to tell the object how to interpret your width and height dimensions. (Then there's schematic mode which draws a glass box. More of a bar stunt than a feature, but it does work.)

The default is for the windows to treat the height and width as the frame size, the outside measurement of the unit. I chose this behavior because it is the most objective overall measurement for a window, when you consider different manufacturers. The other option is 'Jamb', which treats the height and width as the inside dimension of the frame instead of the outside. When measuring an existing window, this is the measurement you'll have.

Both the frame and jamb modes place the window so that the INSIDE of the head is at the head height as given in the settings box, which is the sill added to the height parameter. That is, switching from frame to jamb DOES NOT move the window in Z. The head height in the settings box always reflects the finish head height (above the subfloor, of course).

Reread the preceding paragraph several times.

Window companies are notoriously idiosyncratic about sizes, dimensions, standards, and terminology, to the point that the statement, "I want a 2-8 double-hung" is almost meaningless. Weathershield, for example, refers to its frame size as 'Jamb-to-Jamb', where normal people would think that meant the inside jamb dimension. Not helpful.

You have to develop a knowledge of what the different manufacturers mean by their terms. The only way to do this is to study their details and find the relationships among the various size definitions.

One of my more ambitious goals for the next version of the windows is to teach them the technical differences among the manufacturers, but it might be more trouble than it's worth. In the meantime, as usual, there is no substitute for understanding what you're doing. You might have to put in counterintuitive values to get the windows to behave correctly in a given application. I do it all the time.

BORING!

(Did you know April is national sheet setup month?)

I've modified the drawing area object. Whee! It is simpler, clearer, and just a bit more spacious. It also allows you to disregard the grid in PlotMaker, which allowed me to cut the layout book templates from 5 to 2.

The rectangle is the available drawing area. The ticks on the corners line up with the title block, and set a 3/16" margin around the sheet. Alignment hotspots should be placed on these ticks. The ticks along the edges at each corner are for aligning plan dimensions.

Note: This is superseded in AC10 by Sheet Area RND10.

Note: Superseded in AC10 by this.

Location: 01 General / 3 Drawing Tools

You can't do a detail grid without it. Put in your sheet size. The object knows how big a grid cell is, and how many are on a sheet. Arrow-stretch the object around big details; it will snap to the next size up. At the maximum size it will show the actual grid. This is to place in a master layout to assist drawing the grid in PM.

You must place hotspots at the corners to detect them in PM.

There are guide points for placing the note column, and the note column width can be adjusted. There is an anchor point for the drawing title. The drawing title should extend to the right note margin. Don't adjust the margin or the drawing title elevation unless you have to.

There are detectable points at the midpoint of each side to help with alignment with other details. In addition, there is an editable alignment point with a numeric index of eighths of an inch. Align one detail to a given index, then use that index to align the adjacent ones.

Now that you've fully realized the potential of the current windows and doors, please let me know what you'd like them to do.

This isn't something that will happen overnight; I'm thinking a 6-12 month timeframe, very likely coinciding with Archicad 9. I am only doing the groundwork for the next version, but now is the time to build in big changes. So speak up!