Each month there are one or more coaching calls; this is a recording of the session on March 21, 2013Thank you for visiting the Best Practices Course website.
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Eric Bobrow, Creator of the Best Practices Course
SPECIAL NOTE: This coaching call was focused entirely on Detail Drawings and detail management.
ArchiCAD Training Session Notes
| QUESTION | ANSWER SUMMARY AND NOTES | START TIME |
| Description of the uses and differences between – Details and Worksheets. | There are hardly any differences between the two | 0:02:07 |
| Eric shows how to create a new independent detail. Right click on “Details” (in the navigator project map) and then click on new independent detail. | 0:03:25 | |
| How to create a detail of part of your completed building | In other words creating a callout. Eric puts the callout where it needs to go and then he opens it up – select the callout by clicking on one of its hotspots, then>right click>and open detail drawing. Note: make sure the infobox has been set to – “create new detail viewpoint” – and not, “place linked marker”. You would use “place linked marker” when you are placing a callout that is linked to an existing detail. | 0:05:38 |
| How to change the scale of your detail | 0:08:30 | |
| How to turn off the detail callout boundary box | options>work environment>more options>create detail/worksheet boundary in detail/worksheet (un-check the tick box) | 0:09:38 |
| Cleaning up a detail | There is a tool in ArchiCAD 12 and later at – edit>reshape>linework consolidation and another at – edit>reshape>fill consolidation these can be used to clean up a detail that has overlapping lines etc. | 0:10:00 |
| Problem shooting when a detail isn’t showing | 0:18:00 | |
| Putting details onto a grid layout and quick explanation about detail settings | 0:28:50 | |
| Eric shows how using the trace reference can help when drawing details | Eric whilst in a detail view uses the trace reference palette to bring up a section view (as a trace reference) that shows the changes that he had made to the model. This allows Eric to match the detail view to the changes made in a section view | 0:34:25 |
| Eric shows how the split command can enable you to break a line up into being part solid and part dashed | This is useful when you are in a detail and what the line to show that it is partially behind something. | 0:44:24 |
| Cleaning up sections. Using solid element operations in a section view and changing the fills on certain elements to stop them merging together as one. | Solid element operations is useful when cleaning up your model in section. Eric also shows how giving items different fills can stop them from merging together, if that is what you require e.g. stopping a floor joist and rafter merging together. | 0:45:45 |
| Explanation on details and clone folders and how they work together | Note: Beware if you delete one of the items in a clone folder you will end up deleting the whole clone folder. | 0:49:00 |
| Drawing a double wall plate in a detail view using line and fills. And a look at ArchiCAD’s inbuilt 2d details library | The 2d parts used in this coaching call are from the American Library of ArchiCAD, and may or may not be available in other versions of ArchiCAD | 1:02:30 |
| Creating a bird’s mouth in ArchiCAD | 1:08:40 | |
| What is the best way to use photographs as details | Eric discusses bringing the file size down in Photoshop, and labeling in ArchiCAD. Eric also mentions when placing the photo onto a grid layout you might have to set the settings to “fit frame to drawing”, in order for the photo to be able to be seen. Eric also explains how to link your drawing to the photo detail, so it will refer to and link to it (as a callout). Eric describes the settings for markers and how you can change them for your photo callout. Note: bringing in photo’s as a detail allows you to make a callout that is linked to it. Next topic was putting a detail callout on a plan, so it lets you know where the photo was taken | 1:33:50 |
| Detail management strategies | What the caller wanted to know was how to set up a detail library that he could access as necessary. So the details used in his current project would be embedded rather than an external source being referenced. Eric approaches the topic “detail management” from two directions and he says that if you want to bring in something that you don’t need to then modify, you can then bring something in simply, but if you need to bring something in that will eventually need modifying, then it gets slightly more complicated. Eric first talks about bringing in an external file such as a dwg and then placing a detail marker on it. Eric then moves on to bringing in or importing certain views from an un-opened ArchiCAD solo project onto a layout sheet. Eric discusses maintaining the details in another ArchiCAD project and then bringing them in as required. Eric talks about how the organizer fits into detail management strategies. Eric talks about exploding an external drawing (detail) into the current view to enable him to edit it. | 1:58:00 |
ArchiCAD Training – Coaching Call – March 21, 2013
Let us know how you feel... (5 comments so far)
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Andrew Polkinghorne
12 years ago-
Andrew –
Creating your own detail library as objects is certainly an interesting idea. You can place them, and if needed, explode them to rework them.
Some cautions: I believe that if you save the 2D info as an object that the labels may become independent text and lines (thus harder to edit), and dimensions may become lines and text that are not associated with the original elements (thus if the size changes, you would have to replace them manually). Also, arrowheads may not come across properly, you’d have to test that.
Eric
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Andrew Polkinghorne
12 years agoText works OK but you are right, arrow heads may be an issue as they become lines and fill and can’t be moved easily. But, this strategy may have some limited uses.
All the best to you, and yours for Easter.Andrew
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Andrew Polkinghorne
12 years agoHi Eric,
Just finished watching the recording – 2.5 hours plus, great effort! I thought from the note of frustration in your voice that you might have been a bit embarrassed when things weren’t working correctly first time, but you needn’t worry – it’s heartening to know that even a guru has to work to get things to come out the way he wants sometimes and it is helpful to see your thought processes as you try to nut it out. BTW I thought the single-topic call was brilliant.
The last bit you were working on when the caller said he wanted a repository of details to access – would it work to create your detail and then Save Selection as Object (as it is only fills and lines and text) and it would then be stored in the Object Library for further use? Just a thought.
Thanks for all your hard workCheers from Far North Queensland, Australia
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Andrew –
Thanks for your kind words. I’m glad you found my struggles interesting rather than supremely frustrating…I hate to waste people’s time, and hold myself to a very high standard! But of course, I can’t know everything, and sometimes even if I “know” something I can’t quite execute it!
Eric
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Update – simple tests of my detail suggestion seems to work fine!
Cheers,
Andrew