The user has requirements. The software has capabilities. Where the capabilities end and the requirements keep going is a limit. To get beyond the limit requires workarounds. Some limits are harder than others and all we can do is wish (beg) them removed. Here's a rich example concerning structural posts (columns) in residential construction. These are things like 4x4s, multiple
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Pen 50 is the poché pen. It is gray (80% +/- I think) in model and layout pen sets. It should be the background color of any cut fill in new construction. (Existing condition elements are white.) That said, one of the advantages of pen sets is having black+grayscale output while the much more colorful model pens help you stay
Standard pens updated for AC11. Changing the pens is a pain, and it's potentially disruptive. I try to avoid it. With this update, I'm trying to minimize disruption while building a system that can adapt in the future. It should hold us for a while.
Summary: With the model and the layouts in one file, pen sets manage the difference between the model pens and the output pens. In addition, they can do view-option-type tricks. Background: In Archicad 9, there was one set of pens. In PlotMaker 9, there was also only one, and it could be different from the set in AC. Or, each
The workflow: Build the model, fill it with information, decide what you want to show, and get the drawings out as automatically and predictably as you can. We want to focus on the model; that's where the building is. We want the output to just work. Modeling and annotation is craft. Output is for robots. This duality is evident in
Standard pens updated for AC10. Changes: • Pen #1 is not a good choice for a cut pen. Use 15,25,35,... • There's a new typical row: The 160s. They're blue-gray. I recommend them for use with doors and windows. Use the 20s for stair elements. • Pens 191-196 are the 'white-out' pens. They can be used to mask unwanted lines
MacDonald is a long-completed new home project. I don't know how long, but the important thing is that it's an AC7 project. We are reviving it for the purpose of some interior renovation. Naturally, we want to use the data we have. There are a few issues in working on a project of this vintage: • All of the elements
In framing plans, it's often helpful to show the walls on stories below with dashed lines. Especially roof framing. Well how do you do that.
Another thrilling episode of Template Update. • I put autotexts in the Project Title detail window. Instead of defaulting to 'Somebody Residence', it says {CLIENT} {PROJECTNAME}*. Similar for the address. • I changed the weights of the white pens (10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 91) to 0.0 mm. This shouldn't have any negative side effects. The idea behind white pens
You need a PMK which has the pen settings you require. If you are changing the pens in order to plot, or toggle between printing and plotting, use the PMKs located at 3 Resources : Attributes. If for some reason you need ArchiCAD pens in Plotmaker, save any PMK from AC. Import the PMK to your layout book. Place the
(I solved the screenshot problem by taking fewer screenshots.) Pen table in ArchiCAD...PM... • Most work is done using the typical rows. The first pen is thinnest, at 0.04mm. Each sucessive pen is slightly thicker, up to 0.8 mm. The pens darken very slightly from left to right. The color change should not be apparent in general use. For typical
One more change resulting from the new plotter: To go along with the dedicated poche pen, 50, we have a dedicated Material fill pen, 150. On the same principle as the poche pen, this gives us specialized control over the material fill color without changing a lot of settings. I thought 150 and 50 kind of went together. The pen
Composites allow you to show multiple cut fills in a wall, slab, or roof. I can think of three reasons to use them. • To display multiple fills. Example: Masonry veneer on a stud wall. This is the most obvious, and probably original, reason to have them. Ironically, such composites don't work at all unless you've made your own windows
PLN: Poche Pen: Instead of using a pen from the gray region, we have a dedicated poche pen. This should make changing the color of poche easier in the future, if we ever have to do it again. It's pen 50. All the model tool defaults and composites are updated. (This change is optional for current projects, but it is
This is an unpleasant task you should never have to do, unless we get a new plotter. You don't even have to do it then. On the Options menu, All Pens And Colors. You get this: A pen has two attributes, color and width. Set the width using the field marked "Pen". Make sure the units are mm, not Pt
Note: This is obsolete starting with AC10. Use pen sets instead. Now that you've had a look at the Attribute Manager, here's a move that would be almost impossible without it: Flip all your ArchiCAD pens to PM settings, then flip them back, and it doesn't take all day. Why? To print, especially to print PDFs. (PM is more capable