Layers, Stories and View Sets

[Anonymous]

Hello from a newbie. I'm new to these forums and also fairly new to ArchiCAD. While I am a quick learner (or at least I like to think so) and I'm catching on quick, there is one part that I am having a heck of time 'getting'.

Layers, Layer Combinations, Stories and View Sets. (and the relationship amongst them)

I searched these forums and did a bit of reading, but what I am really looking for is a comprehensive look at how the three work together. A step by step would be great in setting up a basic one, because I can build easily on that.

I know how layers interact with Stories and I am working on a decent template that I can use effectively, I also studied ArchiCADs template but that is well beyond what I am going to be needing.

The thing that I just can't get my head around is the view sets. I want to be able to set up multiple drawings of my main floor plan, with different information (ie. door/window markers on and off) so that the whole thing can be imported into plotmaker for ease of plotting. But when I try and do that, I end of saving my drawing with the wrong changes and......

Well - you get the idea. Anyone got any good tutorials on layers, layer combinations, stories and view sets?

[TomWaltz]

Starting at the top and working down:
A View Set is a collection of Defined Views, usually separated into Folders for organization. Our office maintains that a View Set has only 1 Export format(so there is a Viewset for Plotmaker and a Viewset for DWG exports), and often has a Schematic Design Viewset which is expanded into Design Development and Construction Documents. All these viewsets and their Folder Framework can be in your template.
A Defined View is a single "view" of your project, which saves the working window, Layer Combination, Display Option Combination, and Scale. ( all the settings you see when in your "Project Map" view.)
The Working Window is the Plan, Section, Detail, or 3D window which you actually "drag" to create a Defined View in View Editor.
A Layer Combination saves all layer settings, including on/off, un/lock, intersection value, and solid/wireframe. For sanity, you should always use named combinations (1/8" Plan), not use the Archicad "custom" setting.
A Display Option Combination includes all Display Options, including 3D rendering settings and dimensional rounding values.

This means you will need one Defined View for each floor plan type. One for first floor, 1/8" scale, one for enlarged, one for ceiling plan, etc, then another group for second floor, third floor, etc. Projects can easily have dozens or hundreds of Defined Views.

Hopefully this makes sense, and helps!

Graphisoft does not include the word "defined" when they refer to views, but the term came up in our office, and seems to help people understand.

[Anonymous]

sirduncan wrote:
The thing that I just can't get my head around is the view sets. I want to be able to set up multiple drawings of my main floor plan, with different information (ie. door/window markers on and off) so that the whole thing can be imported into plotmaker for ease of plotting. But when I try and do that, I end of saving my drawing with the wrong changes and......

I think you've got a better idea of what you need to do than you realize

Think of creating View Sets as cartooning out the drawing set. So for example, set up the first floor plan with Display Options set to show Window markers and the layer set you have created for floor plans and save that as a view.

If you go to the ArchiCAD help menu and choose ArchiCAD help; click the search button and type in "view sets"; look at the topics "Views and View Sets" and "View Editor Palette" and I think you'll get it.

woodster

[Anonymous]

ok - now the cobwebs are fighting removal but.....

So I make changes to my drawing and use the little right arrow and choose 'Save Current View' I name it what I want (FLOOR PLAN or ELECTRCAL - whatever...)

Then, when I import into Plotmaker, I import the pln file and only choose the ones I want, (FLOOR PLAN, ELECTRICAL etc. etc.).

Ok, that makes sense, but why does it create all of my stories in my view sets over and over and over?

Why does G-101 Site Plan have Stories and Sections/Elevations and under those have all of my stories?

Does ArchiCAD set these up by default in an attempt to help me? Because those views I am finding useless. I'll define my own views and end up saving them what I want to name them.

Is this right?

[TomWaltz]

Archicad creates those in its own template.

They are pretty useless (I think).

You will also get faster results if you drag/drop views in the View Editor instead of Clicking the "Create new view button." This makes it a lot easier to create views in different folders.

[Anonymous]

Ok, let me see if I am catching on.

I build my model/house whatever - in my Project Map.

I then open my Project Editor and start creating view sets by using my layers, layer combinations and stories.

At the end of that, I should be able to import those view sets into plot maker and (in essance) be almost ready to print?

that makes sense - does it work like that?

[Anonymous]

sirduncan wrote:
Ok, that makes sense, but why does it create all of my stories in my view sets over and over and over?

Why does G-101 Site Plan have Stories and Sections/Elevations and under those have all of my stories?

Does ArchiCAD set these up by default in an attempt to help me? Because those views I am finding useless.

Sounds like you are creating clones. If you use clones to create views it will duplicate everything in the project map with the settings in use at the time the view is created if the clone title is highlighted (1. in picture) and will only duplicate each Story's view if that is selected(2. in picture).

If you look at the View Editor in the picture, the floor plans and Electrical Plans (3. in picturE)are clones. Every time a story is added to the project, the Floor Plan and Electrical Plan view will automatically be created.

If you look at the RCP or Furniture Plans (4. in picture), these have been created by dragging the floors for which we want these plans over to the proper folder in the view set.

Notice that in the cloned views ALL stories show up and in the non-cloned views, only those we choose show up.

Hope this helps.

woodster

[Anonymous]

I see - hmmmm

And the purpose of the cloning?

I am reading in the help text that using a clone will automatically update any changes that I make. Does that mean that if I drag and drop a particular story (with its current settings), I am simply creating a 'snapshot' of that moment? Changes that then occur within the project map are not automatically updated to that 'snapshot'?

If that be the case, then I guess I need to decide what, exactly, I am looking to do. I want to be able to have different views of, say, the floor plan with info on here and off there. But if I have to move an interior wall for some reason, I need that to update in all those views. Is this possible?

Or am I to guess that changes like that probably (moving walls) should all be done prior to setting up construction drawings?

[Anonymous]

While searching the web, I found this article:

http://www.digitalvis.com/pdfs/archicadtocd.pdf

This, combined with the information provided here, really helped me understand how these work together. I can see that this goes far beyond what I am going to be needing ArchiCAD for, so its just a matter of defining what I need, and getting it set up.

I've gots lots to learn.

[Anonymous]

sirduncan wrote:

And the purpose of the cloning?

Cloning can be useful if you are going to do a large building and have no idea of how many stories there will be... or for starting to develop a template.
For smaller projects they might be most useful for Sections and Elevations or Details.

sirduncan wrote:

I am reading in the help text that using a clone will automatically update any changes that I make. Does that mean that if I drag and drop a particular story (with its current settings), I am simply creating a 'snapshot' of that moment? Changes that then occur within the project map are not automatically updated to that 'snapshot'?

Whether it's a clone or views set up within a folder structure views always reflect the content of the project. Views are about the way you look at the content. The View Set in the previously posted picture is a part of my template. When a project is begun I don't need to worry about what layers are on or off, what the display options are, etc. That's already taken care of by the View Set.

sirduncan wrote:

If that be the case, then I guess I need to decide what, exactly, I am looking to do. I want to be able to have different views of, say, the floor plan with info on here and off there.

Exactly... as I said before; think of it as cartooning out the CDs.

sirduncan wrote:

But if I have to move an interior wall for some reason, I need that to update in all those views. Is this possible?

No; that's the beauty of it. You create the model, ArchiCAD creates the views you have defined in the View Set.

woodster