Each month there are one or more coaching calls; this is a recording of the session on April 17, 2013January – June 2013
ArchiCAD Training – Coaching Call – April 17, 2013
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Eric Bobrow, Creator of the Best Practices Course
ArchiCAD Training Session Notes
| QUESTION | ANSWER SUMMARY AND NOTES | START TIME |
| In the renovation palette how can one default all elements being created to new rather than existing | Eric does a quick demonstration on the basics of the renovation palette and how to set it up. Eric also shows how to set up the palette’s default to show everything you draw as new rather than existing. The renovation palette is found at window>palettes>renovation | 0:03:56 |
| How to apply 20mm thick plaster on “L” shaped column as skin/fill | Eric goes to the profile manager at design>complex profiles>profile manager and whilst in the profile manager Eric creates an “L” shaped column using the tools available to him. After creating the L shaped column Eric stores it by clicking on “store profile”. Eric then shows how to create a 20mm plaster layer on the column and again he clicks on “store profile” to keep the profile. | 0:09:00 |
| Caller wants to know if he can add element ID and control the parameter when he hovers over an element with the arrow and information pops up | Unfortunately you can’t add element ID. But there is very limited control of the parameter if you go to options>work environment>selection and element information>element information>show short info only – then you can reduce the amount of information that is shown on screen when you hover over an element with the arrow key. | 0:15:00 |
| How to adjust the infobox so that the items that are most important to you appear at the start of the infobox toolbar rather than at the end e.g. moving the ID from the back of the infobox to the front | options>work environment>infobox | 0:17:50 |
| How to change the units from cubic metres to squared metres in schedules scheme settings | The caller wanted to work out the areas of component fills. Eric tells the caller if he wants to get information (size, height, area, volume etc) from any element he can go to windows>palettes>element information this is an excellent aid for working out quantities of various items. Eric then shows how to undertake this process (of setting up to show areas) in schedules. In this case Eric uses fills to illustrate how to do it. He shows how to set out schedules to get the information required and neatly put into a table the information. Eric advises the caller that in the “best practices course” there is a tutorial made by Eric in week 11 “conceptual design strategies” that might help the caller to understand how to use the fill tool and get area text (see link on right) | 0:19:28 |
| How to make zone area show metres squared | Go to options>project preferences>working units. And options>project preferences>dimensions is where you go to change the units. Eric shows how to have the area in metres squared show up with the fill tool. In the info tool bar go to the box that says “show area text” and check it. To make the area in metres squared show up when using the zone tool – open up Zone selection settings, go to zone stamp and scroll down until you see “show area on/off”. | 0:26:48 |
| Eric mentions a website (“masterscript” see link on right) that sells ArchiCAD add-ons and they produce something called “total zone” that allows you to have a lot more options and flexibility with the zone tool. | 0:33:00 | |
| Is it possible to have another type of label frame other than rectangular? | Eric opens up label selection settings. Some label markers have options to change the shape of the label frame for instance for label “door marker” you can change the shape of the label frame by going through – label selection settings>parameters>options>polygon shape – you can choose from circle, rectangle, triangle hexagon etc. Eric also goes through how to change the shape’s size and the size of the text within the frame. | 0:35:30 |
| How to create your own fill | The caller wanted to be able to create advanced fills because he felt ArchiCAD was poor on the choices of fills available.Eric shows how to edit fills already available in ArchiCAD and create entirely new fills and save them in ArchiCAD. Fills are found at options>element attributes>fill types. Eric then goes on to show how to make fills look more random (at time 0:54:10). The caller wanted to be able to create little dots in his fills, although there is no button for creating dots, Eric suggested to create really small circles, or use the fill tool and manipulate the shapes you create as alternatives. | 0:44:48 |
| The caller wanted to show a type of fill in a wall at a certain scale and a different fill in the wall when he changed the drawing to a different scale | Quite a complex topic area and needs more time than this coaching call can give. Eric just gives some quick tips. He sets up a fill showing insulation in a wall and then he creates a different penset using just white coloured/colored lines, which he assigns to the insulation, and thus whenever this penset is switched on it effectively hides the insulation. So just by changing the penset he can either have the insulation showing in a view or not. Remember each view has settings so you can control the scale, the penset style etc. so effectively you have the ability to control what is seen and at what scale. Another tip would be to use layers that you turn on/off at different scales. | 1:08:25 |
| In schedules is there a way to list demolishing of door openings with their area or volume? | Eric shows how the renovation palette allows you to do this. You would then set the scheme settings in the schedule to “renovation status” and then tell ArchiCAD whether it is existing or new etc. For a more detailed explanation on schedules see the next coaching call below as it was entirely based around schedules. | 1:18:20 |
| In the renovation palette what is the icon to the far right used for? (the caller describes it as looking like a series of files on top of each other) | Basically you click this button when you want to place something say for example a text note on one of your default elements (existing, demolished, new). This provides additional information to the viewer what the person doing the drawing wants to convey. If you then open up the text selection settings you can control what filters the text note will show up on (go to tags and categories>renovation>show on renovation filter). | 1:36:50 |
| The objective addon | Eric talks about an addon that is called objective and he says it is a really powerful tool for creating shapes (see link far right) | 1:41:40 |
| Using solid element operations in conjunction with the renovation palette | Eric points out that there is a limitation in ArchiCAD. When excavating some of the soil using “solid element operations” on the mesh and classifying it as “new” in the renovation palette everything works fine. But, having done this, for some reason it will also show the soil as excavated in “existing”, (in the renovation palette) and this is obviously a problem as “existing” (in the renovation palette) is supposed to be showing what is there before the excavation has taken place. Eric relates the renovation palette to hiding layers because here too the excavated parts would still show when hidden. The only work around Eric can think of is create two versions of the terrain, and pin one version to existing and one version to new. Eric goes through what to do. Eric says look at his tutorial see link far right for help in cut/fill calculations | 1:46:30 |
ArchiCAD Training – Coaching Call – April 17, 2013
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