Make 2D graphic follow an elevation change... possible?

[Jimmy Vikstrand]

In all of my projects I always use 2D graphics in sections and facade views. It could be people, trees, lines of grass, lines for land, text and arrows for descriptions and so on. Sometimes when the project is almost at its end (or earlier), I have to change the elevation of the building in story settings... the problem is that the 2D graphic doesn´t follow the change of height, I need to do this manually in all affected views.

Is there a setting or workaround to make the 2d graphic that I want to follow the move with the change of elevation? Or will I continue to be punished in the future for every change of elevation?

Operating system used: Mac Intel-based Sonoma 14.5

[Barry Kelly]

No, 2D elements are not linked to storey heights.

The question is why are you adjusting the storey heights?

If you are tweaking individual storey floor to floor levels, then that is fine and there is nothing you can do except adjust the 2D elements, and also the 3D elements if they are not linked to the storeys.

Try to do it as early in the project as possible before you start adding 2D annotation.

But if you are leaving the storey floor to floor levels as they are, but adjusting them all up or down the same amount (effectively moving the entire building up or down), you don't need to do that as there will be no change to your model. You can use reference levels if you need to set heights above a datum.

Barry.

[Jimmy Vikstrand]

I´m not tweaking floors individually, I adjust them all up or down the same amount to let the building land on the correct level (height over sea level) for elevation dimensions to be correct, to get new and old ground lines correct out from my mesh, to see how my building fits in the terrain etc. And when I do so I also want all the other 2D graphic to follow along no matter how high or low I adjust the building(s). I don´t know how other archicad user work but I don´t always know what level the residence should be at and I´m happy to be able to adjust that afterwards... but I do also want my graphics to come along and avoid having to sit and adjust afterwards.

But there is no way to connect 2D elements to storey heights or from ground zero? If I put a line in a section or fasade then it´s more or less locked there?

[AllanP]

yes, by adding a small bit of gdl code,

you can have it match the story settings (done all the time in my company).

you can have it static, floor 0  or floor 1 , or have a drop down to  select a particular floor

n = REQUEST ("Story", "", index, story_name)

or

n = REQUEST ("Story_info", expr, nStories,
index1, name1, elev1, height1 [,
index2, name2, ...])

and then

add2 0, 0-SYMB_POS_Y+elev1

it sets the bottom of the object at the height of the story level 1

[Barry Kelly]

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@Jimmy Vikstrand wrote:

But there is no way to connect 2D elements to storey heights or from ground zero? If I put a line in a section or fasade then it´s more or less locked there?

---

There is no need to.

If you are moving the entire model up or down, don't.

You can set reference levels and Sea Level in Options menu > Project Preferences.

Leave your ground storey at zero height to floor.

Set your Sea Level reference to minus actual floor level (i.e -10000).

EDIT : you can't actually set the Sea Level in reference levels.

You must do it in Options menu > Project Location you would set your Altitude (Sea Level) reference to 7.300

Note the height is in metres or decimal feet (if imperial measurements are used) and you enter a positive value.

The reference levels will automatically show it as a negative value.

Now your level dimensions can all be referenced from Sea Level and the should show the actual level required.

If you have a 3D mesh for you site, all of the contour levels can be based on sea level, or you can simply move the mesh up and down to where you need it.

Barry.

[Barry Kelly]

---

@AllanP wrote:

yes, by adding a small bit of gdl code,

---

Jimmy was talking about lines and annotation drawn in elevation, not objects.

Barry.

[Jimmy Vikstrand]

Ok, I´m not really sure if I understand you correctly and now I'm starting to wonder if I'm doing something wrong when modeling...

This is a reconstruction/extension I´m working on for the moment, here is my story settings right now:

Here is a clarification from one section:

Now... if my customer comes to me after I have worked with his model for a while and says he want´s the building to be a meter higher.

Sigh, of course, no problem, I´ll just do this:

I change the height to next to 7300 from 6300 on my ground 0 floor, I have this plan named "Plus height zero" all the time and it´s based on sea level (at least in my world).

 Volá! My client is super happy...

Now I just need to manually move all my 2D graphic such as ground lines, measurements (that haven´t snapped), plot boundary, text, covers for the ground etc. as you can see, in all of my section/fasade views.

Why can't there be a setting where I can decide how my graphics should move when raising/lower my levels?

Or am I doing this wrong in the first way and there is no solution to my "problem".

 

 

 

[Barry Kelly · Accepted solution]

What you have done is move the entire model up (except the annotation), and it is exactly the same model - just higher in the air.

You will probably need to adjust all of the section and elevation views on the layouts as well.

All that has changed in your model is the storey heights.

Seems logical enough, but as you have noticed the annotation in elevations does not move.

All you really need to do is set your ground floor (what you are calling 'plan 1') as storey 0 (it is storey 1 in the USA template).

In Options menu > Project Location you would set your Altitude (Sea Level) reference to 7.300

Note the height is in metres.

I said before set it as a negative value in Projects and Preferences > Reference Levels.

You can't actually set it there but it will automatically show as a negative level.

Now all of your level dimensions and storey heights, you can set to reference from Sea level.

If you need to adjust the floor level, you just adjust the Altitude (Sea Level) again in location Settings, and all of your linked heights will automatically change, but you are not physically raising or lowering the model and all of the annotation.

Barry.

[Jimmy Vikstrand]

You mentioned this before with minus level and what I reacted to then was that at the beginning of my career I was taught by an experienced architect who has worked in many offices both in Sweden and England and he said that it is not possible to have a minus value in modelling, you don't do that was the answer. You start from sea level, which is always zero, and everything above is then of course a plus. Seems fair to me I thought and have always done so ever since.

Is there or could there be a problem with having a minus value?

Will try your solution and see if it can be applicable for a simpler modeling.

Many thanks Barry for your explanations. I promote you to Archicad Ninja!