Why are windows & doors not on separate layers ?

[mthd]

Can anybody give me a valid reason as to why windows and doors are not on their own separate layers yet ?  If they were, we could manipulate them and turn them off and on as needed without using MVO’s and GO’s.

Why not just consolidate all the lines that make up a window or a door into one line type controlled by the layer ? Then if you needed a detailed window or door with different lines types you could switch the layer setting to detail and get a sub-menu turned on for the extra layers making up the different lines of these elements.

Sorry but I am flat out confused by Archicad’s current methods and approach to lines that make up elements. I am confused by the complicated GO’s system. GO’s has its place but I would like a very simple method to change any line types of elements as I choose without having to scroll through endless dialogue boxes. 

Please help us make Archicad much easier to use. Older users like me would very much appreciate it. I don’t have time to solve the puzzles inside the program like younger ones do.

You can do it !

[DGSketcher]

I don’t disagree with the question, and I have had similar concerns in the past. I believe the current arrangement is one that may not change soon, primarily because doors & windows are “hosted” by walls, which has a degree of real world logic e.g. no wall, no window.

Could doors & windows be “associated” and have independent layers? Possibly, much like the opening tool, but the arrangement becomes more complex when you consider the various alignment parameters that are applied on placement. You may find on balance the workflow is far more complex the more you move away from hosting.

Out of curiosity, how does CA manage doors & windows?

[mthd]

Ahh ! The operation of the opening tool may hold the key or the scaffolding for changing how the doors and windows work and how they could actually be placed on their own respective layers.

CA is really easy to use and very logical and straightforward. Very easy to learn as well. I think it might be a bit too simple for most of us who want a mental challenge. There are Architects who are in their eighties still working using CA. I am not that old BTW lol.

Here is how CA layers work for simplicity sake. Please watch this short video.

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/watch/4/understanding-layers.html

Me, I would much rather have more time for designing in Archicad than looking for silly lines just to change their display type. I certainly do not want to be obsessed with creating GO rules because I don’t really have time for that. I think it’s because I come from a building background and they always want things done by tomorrow and yes many builders in the US use CA for its simplicity.

[Tim Ball]

I have experimented in the past with separating windows and openings, because that’s the way we build. I can see a logic to creating an opening, with decent 3D closure options and then placing a window object in that opening. However the current system, flawed as it may be, is quick and so I have stuck with it.

Whilst I appreciate getting MVO/GO settings takes some effort, once you have them in your template, applying them is easy and quick.

[mthd]

Yeah thanks, I will definitely have to update my template file to speed things up. It’s good to recognise that Archicad could do with some house keeping here and there as well. 

It appears that having windows and doors in the same wall assembly is good for demolition and renovation projects. There must be more reasons behind keeping them altogether and not separating them for now ?

looking for individual element line types and changing their weight and styles is a real time consumer for me at present. I don’t like having to change a line to white, just to stop it from displaying. There should be a line type in drop down list that wipes the line from even showing at all. Anyway we keep working with it.

I must say that I much prefer doing 3D modeling of a home in Archicad than I do in CA.

[Barry Kelly]

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@mthd wrote:

There must be more reasons behind keeping them altogether and not separating them for now ?

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I assume the logic is simply that a door/window must belong to a host wall.

Therefore make them belong to the same layer.

That way you can never have the situation where you turn the wall layer off and leave the door/window layer on.

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@mthd wrote:

I don’t like having to change a line to white, just to stop it from displaying. There should be a line type in drop down list that wipes the line from even showing at all.

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There is always the old tried and true method of using an widely spaced dotted line.

You will hardly see the dots (especially with a thin pen) and if widely space enough you may not see them at all - but the line will still be there.

Barry.

[mthd]

Yes I have tried the fine dotted line but shouldn’t it be possible to have a blank line in the list that tells the program to omit that particular line ?

[Barry Kelly]

A 'phantom' line might sound nice, but logically why would you want to draw a line that you can't see?

With objects (doors & windows), if they are scripted correctly, you should be able to change the pen colour. line type or simply turn on/ff any line.

Objects have a command (HOTLINE2) that allows a line to be scripted that is invisible but can still be selected.

Barry.

[mthd]

I couldn’t find a way to turn off the offending line from an old Australian Essential library part. I will update my template for the latest CI tools window object for AC27.

Thanks once again for the tips.