July – December 2012
ArchiCAD Training – Coaching Call – July 10, 2012
Thank you for visiting the Best Practices Course website. The video lessons are available for members only. If you are an active member and would like to watch the ArchiCAD training video on this page, please login to the website. If you are not currently a member, please visit the following pages for more information and to sign up for the Best Practices Course, the QuickStart Course or for the Best Practices ArchiCAD Coaching Program. Eric Bobrow, Creator of the Best Practices Course
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 ArchiCAD Training Session Notes

QUESTION ANSWER SUMMARY AND NOTES START TIME
Morph tool Eric talks about how good the new morph tool is, and says he will eventually demonstrate the tool in the Best Practices Course. He doesn’t demonstate the tool on this occasion though. If anybody needs a demonstration of the tool now, then they should look up the morph tool on YouTube (see link on right). 0:00:00
Issue with the transparency setting in elevations The questioner has created an elevation and wants to be able to see tiling on an interior wall when looking through a window. He is able to see the tiling (through the window) in the 3d window, but when he creates a 2d elevation for some reason he is unable to see the tiling through the window. Eric demonstrated a workaround to this problem: he created an editable line/fill snapshot and pasted it in the 2d elevation (see below for more details at time 0:19:10) 0:06:55
  Eric demonstrates how to alter the transmittance of glass (transparency settings) in the material editor. 0:13:31
  ArchiCAD tip: If you need to see a true elevation in the 3d window, then click on view>3d navigation extras>look to perpendicular of clicked surface. 0:15:40
  How to take a snapshot of something in the 3d window, and bring it into a 2d elevation as editable fills/lines. Note: you can also use this procedure to export something to another programe such as PhotoShop. Note: before you do this create a true elevation in the 3d window; the procedure is shown above. 0:19:10
  Eric shows how to not have items that are behind a window showing up. Open up an elevation>right click mouse and elevation settings>model display>uncut elements>and from here turn off transparency 0:30:46
  ArchiCAD tip: you have made some alterations to an object such as a window, and you want to change it back to the default window settings, but are finding that the undo button won’t go back far enough.Then use the info box palette (window settings) to change your window to a different type of window; using the backward and forward arrows, you can then get it back to your original default window. If this explanation is confusing watch Eric demonstrate it. 0:38:50
3d documents Eric shows how to make a 3d document. 3d documents allow you to place text, labels and dimensions on created views from the 3d window; once created the 3d view can’t be rotated. 0:40:28
Ideas for creating 3d planting e.g. hedges Issues with the hedge being too straight and regen time left this questioner frustrated with ArchiCAD planting objects. Eric showed how to make your own personalised hedge using the slab tool with a leaf material, and then he turned it into a (curvy) complex profile, and finally he used solid element operations to create an attractive natural shape.The biggest advantage with this method is when a lot of hedging is needed, because it is all just one object the rendering time won’t be affected. ArchiCAD tip: save the profile as a wall object and this will enable you to create a curved hedge if needed (using the curved wall setting of the wall tool). And if you create a few different hedge profiles you then will have a completely random pattern that has a fast rendering time. A caller also comments that the new morph tool may help in creating random patterns, but this hasn’t been tested by anybody as of yet. 0:46:37
Issue with scaling when bringing in a DWG. into ArchiCAD There was a problem when bringing in a DWG into ArchiCAD the drawing was about a 1000 times to big. The issue was ArchiCAD was getting information from the DWG that was in paper size.The strategy for dealing with this issue is to import it whilst paying attention to what the drawing unit size is (is it a mm or an inch) then when you brinh it in measure if it is correct. If it is not correct make a note of the ratio (is it for example a 1000 times to big or small), then undo the import and import it again with the correct number. 1:12:57
  Eric demonstrates how to manually resize a drawing. Note when doing a manual resize make sure that “grouping” is turned off, as this will prevent resize from working. 1:15:50
  Eric demontrates using the ArchiCAD translator for sending back the DWG file (at the correct scale) when you have finished editing it in ArchiCAD 1:38:28

 

ArchiCAD Training – Coaching Call – July 10, 2012

Let us know how you feel... (2 comments so far)

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  1. leduc
    11 years ago

    this site existing in français ?


    • Eric Bobrow
      11 years ago

      Hello Leduc –
      I am sorry, but the lessons are in English only at this point. We are working on a Spanish translation for the Best Practices Course (available through http://www.acbestpractices.es), and may do a French translation next year if there is enough interest. There are PDF versions of each lesson (in English, of course) which may make it easier, since you can read the lesson contents (or have it translated roughly using http://translate.google.com), and refer to this PDF while you watch the videos.
      Eric