Difference between Worksheet and Detail Tool???

[Anonymous]

In our office we typically do 1/4" floorplans then enlarge certain areas that need to show more detail (ie: kitchens, bathrooms, etc.).

For the enlarged plans, I use the Detail tool or the Worksheet tool, which brings me to my question...

What do you use for enlarged plans?

Is there a difference between the two? Should I use one vs. the other?

Please help as there is dissension in the ranks...

[Stress Co_]

TomWaltz wrote:
It will if you check the box to do so in the Settings Menu.

Oh, I see that now.
Looks like it changed between AC10 and AC11.
Never noticed as I only used that function with worksheets.
Thanks, Tom.

[Laura Yanoviak]

Karl wrote:
I too recommend only live views for all plans - enlarged or not.

Back to the question in the subject: the obnoxious but true answer is that the Worksheet Tool and Detail Tool have (1) different buttons in the tool palette, and (2) different folders in the Navigator.

Since a tool can have its own defaults, you can have different default settings for the Detail tool from the Worksheet tool. For organizing things, some might prefer to put Details in...Detail viewpoints. This leaves Worksheets to be anything you want to have its own 2D view.

For example: if you need to bring in an editable DWG (as opposed to importing onto a layout for reference), bring it into a Worksheet (assuming it is not an external Detail that should be a Detail viewpoint [just for organizational purposes]). In the 'old' days, we would bring in dwg plans into fake stories so that they could be ghosted for tracing/etc. With Trace & Reference, the fake story is not needed since anything can be a trace reference - so Worksheets are a convenient place to put this stuff.

Cheers,
Karl

Ditto on all counts. As the Worksheet tool currently exists, it serves merely as an organizational tool. We use the Detail tool strictly for details, and Worksheets for everything else (referenced Drawings, Legends and General Notes, Key Plans...)

[Ignacio Azpiazu]

Laura wrote:
As the Worksheet tool currently exists, it serves merely as an organizational tool. We use the Detail tool strictly for details, and Worksheets for everything else (referenced Drawings, Legends and General Notes, Key Plans...)

Worksheets + Trace Reference are a very powerful combo. Layers, layer combos and fake stories needed when all the data was 'modelspace' based are not needed any more (like: the keyplan drawings can go to the ArchiCAD layer; 2D project geometry can go there; the referenced drawings thing is huge; etc.). And also in terms of workflow and team training/organization (probably even more so with Teamwork), there is a 2D/annotation territory clearly separate from the model, even in terms of the tools available. Only now I am starting to get it.

[Laura Yanoviak]

Ignacio wrote:
there is a 2D/annotation territory clearly separate from the model, even in terms of the tools available.

This is a really great idea -- I'm a bit embarrassed that I hadn't thought of it myself (possibly because this imitates the old AutoCAD workflow???).

I like using Worksheets for Key Plans, because I can create them from the Story window, but don't need to create additional Layer Combinations for the different conditions.

[David Shorter]

there is one difference (in addition to Karl's two), the Detail tool doubles the scale whereas the Worksheet maintains the same scale.
The other thing is that both tools give a clipped view of the model for the unique annotation territory as Ignacio mentioned.
The worksheet should (of course) be a clipped AND live view of the model

[cremsberg]

David wrote:
the Detail tool doubles the scale whereas the Worksheet maintains the same scale.

But can't you control a detail to be any scale you want, even maintaining the same scale as the original view from which the detail is taken?

[Karl Ottenstein]

cremsberg wrote:
But can't you control a detail to be any scale you want, even maintaining the same scale as the original view from which the detail is taken?

Yes. There is essentially no difference between the two tools. The difference is that as two tools, each can have its own customized settings, and any views created are segregated in the view map.

You could use Details for everything or Worksheets for everything without suffering any consequences.

Cheers,
Karl

[Andrew Swenson]

I'm sure I'll get told this should be in a wish list or something, but it would be nice if the Worksheet had the same status functionality as Elevations & Sections, in that you could choose to have the worksheet auto update from the model, manual update from the model or make it into a 2D drawing.

That way you can crop areas of the plan to create part plans and have dimensions in the worksheet that relate to walls etc and when the wall moves in the model the dimension updates itself. The opposite would also be useful, being able to move walls etc in the worksheet and have them move in the model.

Or is there a better way that I haven't discovered yet?

[Barry Kelly]

Forget the worksheets and just use layers and layer combinations.
As a very simple example.
One or more layers for your model - but no text or dimensions in these.
A separate layer for your dimensions and/or text for a plan at a particular scale - say 1:100
More layers for dimensions and/or text at other scales - 1:50, 1:200.
Create even more layers for dimensions and/or text if you want alternate plans at the same scale - electrical plan, site plan, landscaping plan, stormwater, services, etc.

So basically you end up with one model and alternate layers for text/dimensions that you need for all the various plans you want.
I'll stress again that layer combinations are important to control it all.

Save views for each of the layer combinations and you can then simply add these to your layouts as drawings.
You can even save separate veiws for the model and the text/dimension layers on their own.
This allows you to overlay the two drawings in the layout book cropping the model view as tight as you need to show just one room or area and then cropping the text/dimension drawing to show the extent of all the text/dimensions around that room.

The dimensions are all linked to the actual model regardless of the view (layer combinations) you are using and therefore will all be live.

Barry.

[Andrew Swenson]

Hi Barry

Thanks for the suggestion.

I have used that technique for other plans such as site services plans, ie building & site shown grey & services lines shown in black etc, but I hadn't ever thought about using it for part plans.

I suppose if you never ask you'll never discover better way's of doing things, particularly when flying solo!!!