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1. 
   RJ Dial
   14 years ago

   Audio on the recordings and Webinar is great now, whatever format you have settled on is perfect.

   I also have figured out why I like the course so much. As an advanced user, the topic may be of no interest to me, or I already now the practice or method, but along the way to getting there, you are constantly showing tips and tricks and explaining the inner workings of ArchiCad. An example is the simple trick of quickly invoking the eyedropper before going to Materials and having that material be the one that is selected was priceless…

   • 
     Eric
     14 years ago

     RJ –
     Thanks for the feedback on the audio quality and the value of the little tips I throw in whenever I can…I’m glad to hear some of them are “priceless”!
     Eric
2. 
   Diana
   14 years ago

   Maybe a suggestion… Would be very useful to attach to the video, a brief list of questions and the minute when the question is starting to be answered by you on the video.

   Hope I have explained myself clearly. Thank you.

   • 
     Eric
     14 years ago

     Diana –
     That’s a great idea. I am thinking about offering a work-study scholarship that would allow someone to take the course partially in exchange for doing some work for me. This would be an ideal task to include, since it is best done by someone who understands what is being discussed.
     Eric
3. 
   Jim Lohmeyer
   14 years ago

   Eric,

   I missed most of the coaching call on Thursday. I downloaded the video and the recording stopped at ~ 1hr45min. Is that a problem with my download or the webinar recording. I am very interested to know if you got to Mr. Oluf’s question on custom doors. I’m having a similar issue with controlling the width of the stiles and rails individually using std v14 door objects. When I use the slab tool to create a custom door component with the correct widths/heights the floor plan display is correct but the doors in elev and 3D are ‘scrunched’.

   Enjoying the course. Thanks.

   Jim

   • 
     Eric
     14 years ago

     Jim –

     I noted above in my description of the coaching session that the recording ended at 1 hour 45 minutes when the other computer (the one that was recording the session) had a problem. So it is not a problem with your download – unfortunately, we didn’t get the last 25 or 30 minutes recorded.

     I demonstrated a couple of things in response to Dave Oluf’s question on custom doors. One part of this was showing how to create a custom door component, similar to what you described. I have not noticed a problem with the component being scrunched, so I’m not sure what is happening with your process that makes it go wrong. As you may know, the component (e.g. door panel) will be stretched to fit the available panel width, so if you want to make it appear exactly accurate, you’ll need to create the component exactly to size so that it doesn’t get resized.

     I will be covering this in a course lesson on creating your own objects, but am happy to look at it during another coaching session.

     Eric
4. 
   Christopher Ellis
   14 years ago

   Eric,

   Thanks for your exhaustive evaluation of my technique of adding framing stories question yesterday. As you suggested, I do place the stair on the framing story only and then use virtual trace and line work to show the stairs above and below. Many clients do not like any of the extensive choices offered by Archicad to show the stairs in plan, so this provides a solution for them.

   In thinking back on your question as to why I use separate framing layers for each story’s framing: it derives from the desire to be able to show a quick construction simulation for clients. Starting at the foundation, I created framing layer combinations that reveal more and more framing components on a story by story basis. This can show the process of the “frame” going up. Turning on additional layers for walls, trim and then roofing complete the “construction”. Many clients find that fascinating and instructive.

   I am enjoying your course very much. I also appreciate the fact that you are expanding as needed to cover everything in sufficient depth. Out here on the front lines, that thoroughness is very much appreciated. I have recommended you to several other users on Cape Cod, so you may have a waiting list of my neighbors when you reopen the class.

   Regards,
   Chris Ellis

   • 
     Eric
     14 years ago

     Chris –

     Thanks for sharing a little more insight into why you have been adding framing stories. As I said, there are many ways to do things in ArchiCAD, and often it is not a question of “right” or “wrong”, merely a comparison of “pros” and “cons” of different approaches. If your method works well for you, then please continue to use it.

     However, it seemed like you were unaware of the possibility of using Virtual Trace with a different View and Layer setting, so you were missing the option to get your alignment information showing just the framing information of another story. Now that you know how to do that, you may want to reconsider your approach.

     As a side note – in general, the representation of elements by ArchiCAD in 2D and 3D can be manipulated to get satisfactory or excellent results. However, in some cases (e.g. stairs) it may be desireable to use the stair object for 3D and draw the linework manually. I would look carefully at the possible settings for the stairs to see if you can get it looking good directly, but of course, if you choose, you can hide the stair on the plan and only show the linework that you draw that represents the stair.

     Construction simulation is a great communication tool. You may want to create a series of 3D Views that are put into a folder in the View Map, each with different settings for layers and filtering elements for particular stories. There is a free Goodie you can download from the Graphisoft website specifically for construction sequencing, which allows you to set specific dates when elements appear or disappear (go to the ArchiCAD Help menu > ArchiCAD Goodies or ArchiCAD Downloads, depending on which version of ArchiCAD you’re in). If you can set this up in the way you need, then it becomes very quick to show live (updated, rotatable) views of the model in sequence.

     Eric

     • 
       Christopher Ellis
       14 years ago

       Hi Eric,
       Thanks for the tip about the construction simulator. I’ll check it out.

       What software do you use for recording your lessons and coaching calls ? I’d love to add some videos to my website or alternatively to You Tube. I did the Lower Cape Expo yesterday on Cape Cod, and did a presentation there. It would be great to duplicate that and put it on the website.

       Thanks again for all you are doing. It is inspiring.
       Chris

       • 
         Eric
         14 years ago

         Chris –

         I use Camtasia to record my onscreen presentations. There is both a PC and a Mac version, and it’s a great tool. If you’re on Mac, there is another one that a lot of people use, I think it’s called ScreenFlow. In either case, you simply tell it to record while you do things, and have a good microphone. When I’m on the coaching calls, I’m talking on a regular telephone headset, but when I record the lessons, I use a USB podcaster microphone called the Blue Yeti, which gives somewhat better quality than my previous mike, a USB headset by Logitech.

         The coaching calls are recorded using Camtasia on a second computer which is signed in to the GoToWebinar call purely to watch and listen.

         I’m using EasyVideoPlayer 2 to create the video player on the web page, and hosting the videos on Amazon S3 – a powerful yet inexpensive cloud-based solution for videos and other media.

         Eric