AC9 - Library parts and cursor effect

[Anonymous]

I read that in AC9 one of the new features is that lines displayed as part of a library part's 2d representation will trigger a mercedes cursor when moused over (forgive the weird construction).

I hope this behaviour is optional! I really like being able to limit cursor response to complexity in a library part. For example, my structural grid has intersecting lines for the grid and fill shapes representing columns. I want my cursor to click to the intersection every time. It would be murder if every line and vertex of the column affected the cursor as well.

Any insights?

[Karl Ottenstein]

RobertNichols wrote:
I read that in AC9 one of the new features is that lines displayed as part of a library part's 2d representation will trigger a mercedes cursor when moused over (forgive the weird construction).

I hope this behaviour is optional! I really like being able to limit cursor response to complexity in a library part. For example, my structural grid has intersecting lines for the grid and fill shapes representing columns. I want my cursor to click to the intersection every time. It would be murder if every line and vertex of the column affected the cursor as well.

Any insights?

Here is an excerpt from the updated 9.0 GDL help that answers your question:

Selecting Objects

Normally, you can only select objects by clicking on the hotspots of the 2D symbol in the plan. If your hotspots are in an illogical place, or are on the bounding box, you may have to drag the mouse in a small marquee in your attempts to find those elusive hotspots.

In ArchiCAD 9 you can make the job easier for users of your object. In the 2D drawn symbol, you should provide a fill over the area of your object. In a 2D Script, you should provide a filled POLY2. If you do this, your user can click anywhere in the fill and they can select the object easily.

Another AC9 idea is that of making specific lines sensitive to your mouse. In a 2D Script, you can duplicate instances of LINE2 and ARC2 with HOTLINE2 and HOTARC2 (using the same syntax) and the mouse will detect the object anywhere along the line. Even in an object with PROJECT2 as the main way of drawing the symbol, you can inject a few HOTLINE2 commands to make it easier to pick up.

As you can see, you have full control by the use (or omission) of the new HOTLINE2 and HOTARC2 commands. I would urge providing the (optional of course) cover fill which then allows the selection of your object by clicking anywhere within the cover fill boundaries when QuickSelect is enabled for the arrow tool.

Karl