topic Re: plot maker is awful in Modeling

plot maker is awful

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 08:48:22 GMT

plot maker is the most awful program.... do i have to use it? is there something else... it's so frastrating and slow i've spent half my time setup drawings in plot maker, some times more time then to do the archicad drawing.. the commands do work the same etc... i think it would be quicker and easyier to use autcad in replacement of plot maker....

What do other people use.

Re: plot maker is awful

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 09:42:04 GMT

plot maker is the most awful program.... do i have to use it? is there something else... it's so frastrating and slow i've spent half my time setup drawings in plot maker, some times more time then to do the archicad drawing.. the commands do work the same etc... i think it would be quicker and easyier to use autcad in replacement of plot maker....

What do other people use.

Question number ...
1) what version are U referring to - 5.0?
2) have U done any training (= are you using PM correctly)?
3) are you sure you want to convert to ArchiCAD?

because ...
What are U expecting from a CAD program?
Dumb 2D drawings where you have to copy and paste to get any elevation and section information at all but with a "fast" print layout

or ...
an object intelligent 3D program that automatically gives U the 3D info (and calculations if needed) in any view but might be a bit "trickier" to do paper layouts in if no user training has been adapted?

In the scenarios above - where would U save the most time (again, with a bit of tutoring maybe)?
Hmmm, tough one ...

Re: plot maker is awful

Aussie John — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 10:19:52 GMT

dbroughton you havent indicated any detail of your system/ version etc so you arent likely to get many useful responses.
Personally i find plotmaker good and i am using it on a below minimum spec machine

Re: plot maker is awful

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 13:39:38 GMT

You made some good points but PM is just not fast enough for me... trying to grab the grip points, the images moving around inside the frame.. images not increasing in size when i stretch the frames.. commands and functions being different from standard archicad... lines not meeting up and going nuts on my title block drawing which i inserted from archicad.. not having setups save as per what i did last time.... maybe i do need training.... again... but i think that a great program like archicad should have a better less frustrating program then plot maker running the show, with so few options.

I did an experiment I drew the initial 3d drawings etc in archicad a used Autocad in replacement for plot maker it was 1/2 to 3/4 faster for a better result... it was eaiser more pricise... and i wasn't panicking to get my next job out... I xreffed the drawing into autocad in five seconds.. size raster images to size straight away... and easily noted my sections etc.

dale

Re: plot maker is awful

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 13:40:56 GMT

plot maker 9 is awful

Re: plot maker is awful

TomWaltz — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 14:13:00 GMT

You have to remember, Plotmaker is made for
(A) laying out Viewports
(B) Filling out Reference Markers
(C) Numbering Sheets in order and/or by subset
(D) Plotting them out.

It's lovely that you can XREF a single drawing into Autocad faster than you could with Plotmaker, but how long does it take you to plot a 50-sheet set? How long do you spend filling out reference bubbles? How long would it take you to insert a sheet in the set, renumber the affected sheets, and correct the reference markers to refer the the new location?

Sounds to me like you need to learn a little more before you display your ignorance for the masses. Anyone can blame the software for their lack of ability instead of learning how to use it. This kind of atttitude towards learning and improvement could explain why you are looking for work.

While I agree Plotmaker needs a lot of improvement, it is excellent at what it does, even if that is ALL it does.

Re: plot maker is awful

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 15:09:17 GMT

dbroughton wrote:
plot maker 9 is awful

You must be using a different program than I am, because I find plotmaker to be quite a good layout program. It has it's quirks, but have someone show you how it is intended to be used and you will never turn back.

Re: plot maker is awful

Dwight — Mon, 25 Apr 2005 20:18:02 GMT

Now that the Waltz/Hann tag team has kicked that whiny guy's ass-umption,

the big advantage to Plotmaker, regardless of quirks flaws, etc, is the second project - once you have synchronized your ArchiCAD template for a given building type with the Plotmaker template.

Then the links all work and update when you change the project.

Ba doo ba ding.

Slogan if they ever need to market Plotmaker, which they won't: "Plotmaker: It's a PLOT!"

Re: plot maker is awful

Djordje — Tue, 26 Apr 2005 18:15:59 GMT

dbroughton wrote:
You made some good points but PM is just not fast enough for me...
///
I did an experiment I drew the initial 3d drawings etc in archicad a used Autocad in replacement for plot maker it was 1/2 to 3/4 faster for a better result... it was eaiser more pricise... and i wasn't panicking to get my next job out... I xreffed the drawing into autocad in five seconds.. size raster images to size straight away... and easily noted my sections etc.

You did list all your gripes that objectively do exist in PlotMaker.

But, try to do the following in AutoCAD:

- automatically number all the sheets
- do the whole project in one file
- import DWF
- print to PDF without buying additional software
- open the same AutoCAD drawing on a different machine and find your placed images
- overlay as many drawings as you like, changing pens and colors and whatnot
- ...

Now again a quote from Murphy's Law:

- Everything works better if you switch it on
- Computers never do what we want, only what we tell them to do

As Miyamoto Musashi once said, you should study this.

Re: plot maker is awful

Stress Co_ — Tue, 26 Apr 2005 22:35:00 GMT

Dwight wrote:
"Plotmaker: It's a PLOT!"

Ahh, the Plot thickens........

Re: plot maker is awful

Dwight — Tue, 26 Apr 2005 22:45:05 GMT

like making gumbo

Re: plot maker is awful

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Apr 2005 14:55:16 GMT

I have some sympathy with D Broughton. It's all very well that Plotmaker can arrange your 3d views, jpegs etc, but eventually the demands of any projects is a lot of 2D construction drawings - in a hurry!

Like D Broughton, I find it a chore to finish a drawing and then have to spend time in Plotmaker before I can plot it. And how often do you have to go back into Archicad to make an amendment, re-publish it, go back into Plotmaker, go back into 'Drawing Usage', force an update audit and then update the modified drawings (phew!) Has anyone ever tried amending a .PMK file from within Plotmaker - forget it!

Djorde says, try opening "the same AutoCAD drawing on a different machine and find your placed images", but has he tried moving a layout book to a different location on the Network and then finding the placed images?

Also: am I right in thinking that publisher (in Archicad) will only publish different storeys at the same scale? I've tried setting the scale within the publisher window - but it always seem to revert to the scale of the first storey in the set.

Re: plot maker is awful

Anonymous — Mon, 02 May 2005 06:44:55 GMT

Hi Keith,
some answers to your wonders ...

Djorde says, try opening "the same AutoCAD drawing on a different machine and find your placed images", but has he tried moving a layout book to a different location on the Network and then finding the placed images?

That would not be a problem if you have checked the box for "Include all linked file", or you could always re-direct the links under the "Drawing Use Mode" in PM.
As long as there is a functioning file structure at the office, this should not be very traumatic either

Also: am I right in thinking that publisher (in Archicad) will only publish different storeys at the same scale? I've tried setting the scale within the publisher window - but it always seem to revert to the scale of the first storey in the set.

Whatever View Sets you have saved will also be available for the Publisher function. Save sets in different Scales with your choice of Display Option settings/Layer Combinations and - if crucial - Zoom degree to then be able to Publish them all or just a few of them ...
Why not put some time in to adding all the Combinations needed for a typical project at your firm, and then save the empty project (with the Cloned std. views included) as a Template file?

Re: plot maker is awful

Anonymous — Mon, 09 May 2005 11:14:01 GMT

Thanks, Susanne - still a bit confused, though.

The save option 'Include Linked Files' seems to embed the links - so that they have to be updated manually (like binding an XREF). I wouldn't want to have to do that, at least at the drawing development stage.

However, although the 'help' file tells me that, if I don't check this option, the links will always be in updated state, I still have to update them manually every time I change the model, even though I haven't checked the 'Include Linked Files' box. Maybe there's something wrong with our system?

I tried publishing differently scaled views from the same model again - and it worked! There's something very odd about the publisher dialogue box in which the scale box reverts to whichever scale was chosen last - not the scale at which the view will plot.

Re: plot maker is awful

Anonymous — Tue, 10 May 2005 12:08:35 GMT

I back,

I have been using Autocad instead of plot maker for creating layouts with images and one plan see attached... this works great.... i don't use standard view sets because the don't look as good... however i have to render each view which takes time... if i was to do a house plan etc. or another type of drawing i would use plotmaker for elevations, sections and plans... but then use autocad to do image presentations such as this.... i'm still learning PM but for now i need productivity which PM does not have...

dbroughton

Re: plot maker is awful

Anonymous — Tue, 10 May 2005 12:41:39 GMT

If I had my way...I prefer Bentleys Microstation......Plotmaker comes close but no cigar....for example....why are we dimensioning in AC and not Plotmaker....why can't you resize something in Plotmaker....what happen to break lines....yada yada...but I would agrees that Plotmaker is far better than Autocad....I mean c'mon....how many different types of drivers do you need to plot with...lets see...CTB, STB, PCP, PCP2 and CFG....shyt my wife shops faster than that....lets face it, Autodesk is doomed with out 3 Studio.... ...I will vote for Graphisoft on this one

Re: plot maker is awful

TomWaltz — Tue, 10 May 2005 20:20:43 GMT

why are we dimensioning in AC and not Plotmaker

Why would you WANT to dimension in Plotmaker/Paper space? Shouldn't you be concerned about being able to see the text/dimensions/etc while you are working on your plans/elevations/etc?

Re: plot maker is awful

Dwight — Tue, 10 May 2005 20:23:50 GMT

Autocad is twice doomed once Graphisoft gets hold of this:

http://www.military.com/soldiertech/0,14632,Soldiertech_DREAD,,00.html?ESRC=soldiertech.nl

Re: plot maker is awful

Rob — Wed, 11 May 2005 01:15:14 GMT

but then use autocad to do image presentations such as this.... i'm still learning PM but for now i need productivity which PM does not have

mate, can you send me a little bit of that stuff that you are raving on? It seems to be hell of a good one.

Re: plot maker is awful

__archiben — Wed, 11 May 2005 02:34:31 GMT

dbroughton wrote:
however i have to render each view which takes time... if i was to do a house plan etc. or another type of drawing i would use plotmaker for elevations, sections and plans... but then use autocad to do image presentations such as this.... i'm still learning PM but for now i need productivity which PM does not have...

which version of archiCAD/plotmaker are you using?

it also sounds as though a couple of days training would be a very worthwhile investment . . .

~/archiben