On Land

In Model View Options

Among the least heralded new features of Archicad 11, tucked into the bottom of the Model View Options dialog, is the modestly named 'Story Viewpoint Type'. Not heralded at all, in fact; there's no mention of it in the New Features Guide. I understand why they don't want to call it out too loudly. Its impact is rather narrow, and the Archicad library itself makes very limited use of the feature.

Right, what is it. It's the long-awaited (by me) environment switch to put the floor plan window in 'Ceiling Plan' mode. Wouldn't it be nice if things could draw themselves dashed in plan and solid in RCP or vice-versa. Less tracing, less maintenance, more unity. This is a pet issue of mine, so I'm happy to see it, even in its narrow, modest, unheralded current state. I'm calling it the 'ceiling switch' because no one knows what 'Story Viewpoint Type' means.

The switch gives the opportunity to have objects draw themselves one way in plan and another way in RCP. But: Only objects, which includes doors, windows, and lamps. It does not apply to regular modeling elements such as slabs and beams. Keep hope alive.

I've made several objects which take advantage this tech, and I plan to retrofit more as we go.

The first one is, a line! Haha! I know, if things are more unified you should draw... less! It's ironic. But there's more to come and this serves to illustrate the basic idea.

You could do the reverse: Let the RCP use the object settings and customize the plan parameters. Either way.

What's it for? Roof overhangs. You have to draw them anyway, because showing the roofs themselves is a mess. Use this object instead of a line, and get the overhangs in plan and RCP simultaneously. And: Miscellaneous ceiling lines such as those in an attic.

We need a new layer, which is A Ceiling All. This layer shows in plan, RCP, and all the model combinations.

To handle the ceiling switch itself, we need a new Model View Option combination, which is A4 RCP. In previous versions, the RCP used A4/S0/M/P; now that one's just S0/M/P. When migrating a project, you'll need to create this model view combination and assign it to the RCP views.

Automatic titles are not new to 10, but title objects are new, and now that they are objects, we can use them, which is new.

A drawing title is essentially a marker for a drawing element. Like section markers, detail markers, symbol labels, and door/window markers, you choose the title from a popup menu rather than from an object-type browser.

As with all markers, there's no way to restrict the list. It shows all the loaded drawing titles, and it's up to you to pick the right one.

Elevations, sections, site plans, and details should all use automatic titles. Plans are the only drawing which has an object (Plan Title RND10) in the window. PDFs placed for notes ordinarily shouldn't have a title. Scanned details might, it depends.

Since the title and its settings are part of the drawing element's settings, you can change them in groups using the Drawing Manager. (Note: You must have a layout as the frontmost window to do this; otherwise the title tab is grayed out.)

Drawing Title RND10a is very similar to Drawing Title RND9a. There's a couple of 10-specific changes:

• By default, the title uses the name of the drawing (which should come from the name of the view, which should come from the name of the window). You can put in a custom text under the 'Title' tab in the drawing settings dialog.

• Titles don't have a length parameter like a regular object. So the Length parameter controls the length. You would normally adjust this graphically:

The length still has a minimum equal to the title text length.

Again I have to apologize for issuing a '10a' revision. There was one issue with Drawing Title RND10 that I couldn't fix in place. That title would appear right on the corner by default. The new one appears 3/8" below the corner, which makes it easier to move the title as needed. Note the 'move marker' palette button:

And, full disclosure, I broke the minimum length thing, but now that's fixed.

UPDATE 2007-12-11:

• You can set the Orientation of the title. You can have the title rotate to align with the Drawing (default), the Layout, or a Custom Angle. Use the Layout option to keep the title horizontal when you rotate a drawing. This is optional, and it's not always right. For example, if you rotate a wall section to fit on the sheet, the title should rotate too. I can't think of a purpose for Custom Angle, but it wasn't hard to put in there. If you do ever use it, the angle is graphically editable.

• You can choose a manual scale from a list. Leave the field empty to use the drawing's true scale. This is usually correct. To show no scale text, choose 'blank' from the list. You need to set a manual scale for a scanned detail PDF; now you can choose it from a list.

The templates have a fax transmittal as part of the layout book.

More»

There are the layer combinations for work and the layer combinations for output. In the past, the output LCs have had all their layers locked. The only reason for this was make clear to the user that they're not in a working combination. Not a critical point but there it is.

Now there's a stronger reason to have the layers unlocked in output LCs. In AC10, you can right-click on a drawing and choose 'Open source View' to, right, open the source view. (In AC/PM9, this command existed but it never worked as far as I could tell.)

In the architectural LCs, all the visible layers are unlocked. In the specialized plans (electrical, e.g.), only the special layers are unlocked.

In the templates for 10, I've modified the layer combinations as suggested here. There's a couple of tweaks since then.

Changing the LCs is a minor change compared to changing the layers themselves, which can be very perilous. (There are a couple of layer changes in the new templates. Just a little peril!)

In this theory of layer combinations, there are three main types, and then a couple oddballs. The three:

• Output. Used by publication views.

• Working. Where you spend most of your time.

• Special Tasks. Unusual LCs for doing a certain task once in a while. E.g., Site cutting, building stretching, elevations with just notes.

The new LC arrangement makes these categories clearer. The working LCs begin with numbers. The output LCs begin with the letter of their sheets. The specials begin with x. The oddballs: The binder LCs begin with z. Since they're not used until the very end, they have to be last. 'zzz All' is sort of administrative, and you never use it in real life.

I've tried to make the purpose of each LC self-evident in the name.

Here's the list. (Existing/addition-only LCs are indicated by '*'.)

• ! Ex1 Existing Plan*
• ! Ex2 Existing Elev*
• ! Working Existing Model*
• ! Working Existing Plan*
• 0 Working Model
• 1 Working Floor+Roof Plan
• 2 Working Elev+Sect+Detail
• 3 Working Wall Section
• 4 Working RCP
• 5 Working Interiors
• 6 Working Site 120
• 6 Working Site 240
•  
• A1 Floor+Roof Plan
• A2/3 Elev+Sect+Detail
• A3 Wall Section
• A4 RCP
• A5 Interior Elevs
• A5 Enlarged Plan
• C1 Site Plan 120
• C1 Site Plan 240
• D1 Demo Plan*
• E1 Elec Plan
• F1 Furniture Plan
• M1 Mechanical Plan
• P1 Plumbing Plan
• S0 Foundation Plan
• S1 Structure Plan
• S2 Structure Model
• S3 Structure Wall Mask
• View 3D
• View LW Render
•  
• x Background Plan
• x Elevation Notes
• x Gross Area
• x Object Lab
• x Shoot RCP
• x Shoot Roof Plan
• x Site Cutting
• x Stretch House
• x View Chimney
• x View Flues
• x Working Dims Plan
• x Working Trim
• x Zones
• z Binder Elevation
• z Binder Plan
• z Existing Binder Elevation*
• z Existing Binder Plan*
• zzz All

The current standard for library loading is to load only the folder specific to the project. That is, don't load the entire 2 Project LIB 9 folder. I updated the templates so that the only libraries loaded by default are 1 Rill & Decker LIB 9 and AC9 Library Special Edition.

When the time comes that you need project specific objects, create a folder in 2 Project LIB 9 with a name like Projectname LIB.

When the project is completed and moved to Past Projects, the project library should be moved to 2 Libraries / Other LIBs / Past Project LIBs.

If you know of an object in a project library that you could use, ask the person who made it to move it into the standard library. Or, remember that you can load objects individually.

The idea is to not load objects that you will never use, such as other people's patches.

To facilitate the creation of post-project binders.

More»

Starting with AC 10, we will use 'real' section markers.

When we started with AC 5.1, there were fixed section marker styles. (Like the fixed dimension ticks and arrowheads to this day.) We didn't like the available styles, so we adopted the policy of showing sections in plan with an object, independent of the SE cutting element. The independent object also means we can fudge the placement of the marker, rather than being bound to its actual extent. And we can have that two-headed marker option.

In 8 (I think), they instituted GDL section markers, so we can in principle make markers any way we want. In practice, scripting SE markers is rather quirky, and I decided to punt, waiting to see if it would improve.

The main disadvantage of the independent object is that you need a workaround to refer to the drawing in the set.

More»

This layer is for operator elements which you would like to show in plan.

Example: You can use the filleted disc and box objects to cut a ceiling, and display those cutting elements in the plan with a dashed line. You still have to draw them over in the RCP, but two elements is better than three.

Another example: A slab subtracted from a wall to make a niche.

I've added an 'Alternates' folder to zTemplate folder, in 1 Design. It should have been there before, sorry.

It gives me an opportunity to discuss alternate handling, or at least to give you one case study. Vassos, although it's under construction, has occasional lapses into design development. The clients were interested in seeing alternatives for one part of an elevation. We offered two, which forked into three.

I saved a copy of the project for each alternate, with a descriptive name, in that Alternates folder. I developed the model for each alternate. We wanted to present a perspective and an elevation for each choice. Since the alternates are in separate files, and all the alternates are separate from the main PLN, it's easy to simply use the views you already have. You can't mess anything up.

To present the choices, I created a new subset in the main layout book. There's no reason to create separate 'books for each. Within the new folder, there are two layouts for each alternate. I hooked the new layouts to the 11x17 Master. Then I imported the perspective and elevation views from each PLN.

Once the decision had been made about which version to use, it was time to begin treating that scheme as the real project. I renamed the main PLN, which had been untouched, with a date, and moved it to the '6 Old Files' folder. I saved-as the anointed alternate with the original name of the main PLN, at the top of the project folder. This means the layout book never knows anything happened. If you change the name of the project, you will need to re-link your views.

In the end, we have three alternate PLNs set aside, the pre-alternate version of the project intact, and the layout book not disrupted. And a compact record of the alternates' presentation. Pretty good.

In this case I was fortunate that, since the project was 'done', there was no other work going on anywhere. Presenting alternates in the DD phase is trickier, especially if the design decision is slow in coming. If you need to keep the main project moving while the alternates are being developed, it is better to merge the chosen alternate elements back into the main project.

This isn't a new layer so much as a fork of the old A Roof layer.

In AC9, as everyone knows, model polygons can have a cover fill. This means generally much less drawing, and more showing of those model elements in plan. It also gives the opportunity to 'stack' model elements in plan using Display Order (Send forward/back.)

In AC8.1 and earlier, you might have placed a counter slab on a A Cabs3, and a fill on A Cabs2, now you can have just the slab on A Cabs2. This promotes unity.

This ability, of course, extends to roof elements. It is possible, with some work, to show a roof plan built from actual roofs. This technique will have its own post.

Where we used to have one layer for roofs, because they were all 3D-only, now we have two, so we can choose to show roofs in plan, or not. We maintain the pattern of other 2D/3D layer pairs: Deck2/Deck3, Cabs2/Cabs3, Stair2/Stair3, etc.

The layer +Z Room Name is no longer with us. Dust to dust. Polvo a polvo. Room name objects in plan should go on the layer +Z Zones. This is the layer for zones of rooms. If you use zones, the stamp becomes the room name. If you don't, you can still use that layer for the object.

In passing, I will encourage you again to use zones.

Room names in section still go on +A Arch Note Reg Scale.