Drafting quality ugliness

[Ignacio Azpiazu]

About a third of the drawings I have been coming across recently have basic drafting problems --nobody seems to use geometry layouts, things that should be equal are not equal by 1/16", things start having funny dimensions, etc. *Very basic* drafting problems, coming from architects etc. And nobody seems to care.

About a year ago I thought such a situation scandalous and extraordinary, but now I am starting to assume it as ordinary and just the way some people do drawings. Was I lucky before? Am I being very unlucky recently? Is that just the way things are and I was not aware?

[Erika Epstein]

~/archiben wrote:


but i would go one step further than erika........

~/archiben

Nice try Ben, but I also do as you describe below. You owe me a step:D

~/archiben wrote:
i typically model my building ground floor structure at z = 0. project zero. it is also typically the case that a building is very rarely situated at the project zero reality: sea level or whichever surveyor's/ordance datum you use.

so by setting the reference levels correctly in 'Preferences>Working Units and Levels...' and then offsetting your copied sect/elevation by that amount you can take advantage of the various dimensioning tools and associated reference levels . . .

~/archiben

Also, wouldn't it be great if in the section settings we could reference our vertical limits to our choice of reference level like we do elsewhere? i.e. to project level or level....?

[__archiben]

Erika wrote:
Nice try Ben, but I also do as you describe below. You owe me a step

fair enough! i didn't get that from your post - thought you were copying them 25' as a standard procedure throughout your projects. i stand corrected!

Also, wouldn't it be great if in the section settings we could reference our vertical limits to our choice of reference level like we do elsewhere? i.e. to project level or level....?

yes . . . definitely!

~/archiben

[Anonymous]

As far as line weights and line types go in elevations or sections, has any one in this discussion used Autodesk Inventor? I use it only a small amount to prototype custom hardware, but it has a great feature that Archicad sorely needs.

When in the final layout, one can select any of an object's lines in any individual view and modify their (the line's) weight, type or just plain hide them without effecting that objects lines as represented in any other "view" of that object. A wish list item perhaps?

[Erika Epstein]

sounds like what we archicaddies do with layer combination management

[Anonymous]

Are you saying that with layer management you can select a particular line of say a foundation wall in one section, change its displayable linetype to dashed and not have it effect that foundation wall's display in any other section/elevation/3D/Plan? If so, please teach me.

[Erika Epstein]

Garrett.
Now that you have described what you are trying to accomplish, No.

I notice you are new to ArchiCAD. Please keep in mind that many of us on the forum may not have experience with your previous CAD program. To most clearly pose your question then, please phrase it such that it includes non-CAD specific terms.

Thanks,
and welcome to the forum.

[Anonymous]

Hehe, I may not be very good with Archicad, but I have been using it on and off for about 5 years. I usually have to work in autocad, but every once in a while we do a project in AC and I have to learn everything again.

...anyway, I thought I had asked for something similar on a different forum, but I now realize I asked here under a login I had forgotten I created.

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=971

Thanks for your help.