Question about Modules

[Conrado Dominguez]

I started a new project wherein the floor plans are the result of different parts (read AC Modules) placed together to form the Building Floor Plans.

As a result, I am able to modify the modules, open the Building Plans, update the modules and everything is as should be.

However, this procedure works well until is time to dimension the plans.
The dimensions disappear when the modules are updated. This is understandable since what I am doing is replacing one module with another one.

I am considering inserting hot spots at the point where I want to dimension, which is both tedious and requires careful visual checking every time after the modules updates.

Would anybody care to comment on similar experiences and how did you resolved the problem ?

Thanks a lot.

Conrado Dominguez
Hope to see you at ACU WEST

[TomWaltz]

we dimension modules all the time, and the dimensions update whenever the module updates. It's worked quite well for us.

Are you just updating modules? Or are you deleting the module and replacing it with another?

[Djordje]

Conrado wrote:
The dimensions disappear when the modules are updated. This is understandable since what I am doing is replacing one module with another one.

Don't replace, update. Whatever is in the module will come into the master; and vice versa. If there are dimensions in the master that refer to the parts of the module, IF the same module is updated, and those parts are still there, they will hold. Otherwise, if what is dimensioned goes, so does the dimension lines.

Strategy problem

[Miquel Garcia]

Usually I use modules to have the same drawing at different scales in different plans and with different dimensions without enlarge the number of layers (dimensions50, dimensions100 and so on). So, in a drawing that represents an apartment at scale 1/50 I have a layer combination set that allows me to copy only the parts of the drawing that I want and save as Clipboard Module.

This module is hotlinked in a general plan in a different scale (let's say 1/100) and is dimensioned in this scale. Thus I can have both drawings opened at a time (with different AC copies, of course) and work on the 1/50 and I only update the module when I want (significant changes), copying again and replacing the file.

The dimensions placed in the 1/100 drawing does'nt disappear and, if there are changes on the walls, are adapted to these changes. Sometimes we lose some dimension, but I think that it's a human mistake (deleting a wall and drawing it again changes the internal ID)

This method works well for us, although it needs a good previous planning. It's a workaround that allows to reduce the size or the extensions of the modules. If we use PLN to hotlink there are many things that we don't want to be part of the drawing where we place the module.

In AC81 it would be great if we were able to hotlink to a defined view on another file, like we do with PlotMaker. It would be great too to be able to 'fence' a module in ArchiCAD with a polygonal contour to hide undesired parts that are in the module (like we do with a placed drawings in PlotMaker)