Command similar to Autocad Tracking?

[Anonymous]

Is there a command in ArchiCad similar to the tracking command in AutoCad? I liked to be able to move something and tell it how far away to be from another element all in one command. (Versus moving an element to one spot and then moving it again to get it in its final spot.) It's hard to explain unless you've used the AutoCad tracking command!

Thank you to anyone who may have some insight.

[jbArch]

You can do this in a way that's pretty simple... simpler than it sounds in my explanation:

1. Let's say you want to move a dining table to be 5'-0" to the right of a wall corner.
2. Grab the dining table by a corner, then enter the 'Drag' command (or choose 'Drag' from the menus, or just drag it using the pet palette).
3. Drag the dining table to the wall corner, and just hover it at the corner.
4. Type X5-0+ which will move the table in the x direction 5'-0" positive (to the right). To move it to the left you would type X5-0- (negative direction).

You can combine this with the Y coordinates too, so you'd enter X5-0+ and then Y5-0+ to move it 5 feet over and 5 feet up... make any sense?

This thread discusses a few other ways to do this.

[Anonymous]

You can also 'Drag' (ctrl/cmd+d) the entity up to the reference point, press TAB (or R if the tracker is hidden) input the distance (in jbArch's example 5') and press - then Enter.

[Anonymous]

That makes sense. Thank you.

Do you know if it's possible to do something similar with the dimension tool? When I make a string of new dimensions I want them to be 1' away from another string of dimensions (on a 1/4" scale architectural drawing). I drag my string after I've made it and I want to tell it to be 1' away from the next string. Now I make the dim string, draw a reference line 1' away, and then go back and drag my dim string to the reference line. That is too many steps! 🙂 I'm still new to ArchiCAD dims and I know they operate differently that AutoCAD dims.

Again, any help appreciated.

[David Maudlin]

JenSaysLessIsMore:

After placing the dimension points and double-clicking to get the Hammer icon to place the dimension string, move the cursor to the existing dimension line you want to measure from (the cursor will change to the mercedes icon when you are on this existing dimension line), then use the techniques mentioned earlier in this thread to move the cursor to the desired location, then hit the Return key to place the dimension string.

You should add a Signature to your Profile (click the Profile button near the top of this page) with your ArchiCAD version and operating system (see mine for an example) for more accurate help in this forum.

David

[jbArch]

Also I often will simply 'drag a copy' of my first dimension string, then edit it as needed by adding or subtracting points to the string.

If you haven't already figured it out, you can select only a tick-mark and delete it, and then AC will clean it up for you. For example, if you have a 4' and a 6' dimension (10' overall) then you can delete the tick-mark and it will automatically clean up as a 10' dimension. Maybe obvious but some people will work a long time without knowing this trick.

Conversely, if you select an entire string and then command-click on a new point, it will add a tick-mark in between, turning your 10' string into 4' and 6'.

[Anonymous]

David wrote:
JenSaysLessIsMore:

You should add a Signature to your Profile (click the Profile button near the top of this page) with your ArchiCAD version and operating system (see mine for an example) for more accurate help in this forum.

David

Thank you. That is helpful. I will look into doing that!

[Anonymous]

jbArch wrote:
Also I often will simply 'drag a copy' of my first dimension string, then edit it as needed by adding or subtracting points to the string.

If you haven't already figured it out, you can select only a tick-mark and delete it, and then AC will clean it up for you. For example, if you have a 4' and a 6' dimension (10' overall) then you can delete the tick-mark and it will automatically clean up as a 10' dimension. Maybe obvious but some people will work a long time without knowing this trick.

Conversely, if you select an entire string and then command-click on a new point, it will add a tick-mark in between, turning your 10' string into 4' and 6'.

Yes. I love this feature!

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

JenSaysLessIsMore wrote:

David wrote:
JenSaysLessIsMore:

You should add a Signature to your Profile (click the Profile button near the top of this page) with your ArchiCAD version and operating system (see mine for an example) for more accurate help in this forum.

David

Thank you. That is helpful. I will look into doing that!

Ok...I think I got it? Maybe? 🙂

[David Maudlin]

JenSaysLessIsMore wrote:

JenSaysLessIsMore wrote:

David wrote:
JenSaysLessIsMore:

You should add a Signature to your Profile (click the Profile button near the top of this page) with your ArchiCAD version and operating system (see mine for an example) for more accurate help in this forum.

David

Thank you. That is helpful. I will look into doing that!

Ok...I think I got it? Maybe? 🙂

Yup. Thanks.

David