Tilted windows

[Anonymous]

Does anyone have any advice for modelling regular (orthagonal) windows tilted at an angle to follow the roof line above? The wall itself is a regular straight wall.

I'd appreciate any and all advice.

Thanks!

Jennifer

[Anonymous]

Hello S t u a r t,
Thanks for posting back.
This "sheared" window you show is an easy one to do in GDL.
It can be done with one XFORM command.
Rotating the window about the "Y" axis in elevation and 3D has it's problems.
To bad DWB can't do what Jennifer wanted
because I have heard that DWB is pretty good.
Thanks,
Peter Devlin

[Anonymous]

Hi Peter

Yes, I think D&WB is good. I haven't used any other windows for years. It does have a few peculiarities, though, and I don't know if they are things CadImage are ironing out or not. (Maybe I should put it to them).
Things like:
Sliding window - Plan shows sliding sash on inside, elevation has sliding sash on outside.
I've had some doors change their settings on me, frame widths, gaps introduced, door leaf sizes changing, but these have all been on doors created with an earlier version of DWB, then converted using the built-in converter. After converting, the first time I changed them they went haywire. Reset all the settings (I could find) to what I wanted, and they seem to have stuck this time.

Overall, though, it is very versatile, and covers most situations. I recommend it. (It also helps that we get it free with our Archicad purchase here in NZ, but seems like very good value to me just because of its versatility).

Cheers

[Anonymous]

Hello S t u a r t,
Do you know whether the objects that DWB makes are
editable in GDL or is the code hidden or locked ?

The reason I ask is that AC windows and doors have
always been buggy and in the past one could fairly easily
fix the code or add features so it worked the way one wanted.
Now, not only do they continue to be buggy but they all rely
on several levels of macro calls and these macros are very complex
and it is hard to predict the consequences of changing them.
For this reason and several others
I have not used AC library parts in years.

If DWB objects can be edited I might look into
buying it to either to use or learn some more GDL from.
Thanks,
Peter Devlin

[Anonymous]

Hi Peter

Do you know whether the objects that DWB makes are
editable in GDL or is the code hidden or locked ?

I don't know. How would I find out? Or is that a question you think Cadimage would be best to answer?

[Anonymous]

Hello S t u a r t,
The way to find out is to open one of DWB's library parts
(if they are lib parts) via file->GDL Objects->Open Object.
Open any one of the script windows and see if it is hidden and
if not hidden whether the text can be changed.
WORK ON A COPY
Except for one possibility, Dwight told me that ArchiForma makes
what he called a super object that is so complex it is impossible to figure out.
Similar to the code generated by TrussMaker.
You are probably right I should just ask Cadimage about DWB
Thanks,
Peter Devlin

[Anonymous]

Hello Peter

Looks like they're hidden...

[Anonymous]

Hello S t u a r t,
Thank you very much for checking on that for me.
You are absolutely right. They are all hidden.
To bad. I was sure I could learn a lot from DWB's code
which is, I guess, why it's hidden.
Thanks,
Peter Devlin

[Karl Ottenstein]

Back to Jennifer's question so she can get her job done... 😉

Yes, windows rotated within the plane of the wall can be inserted with ArchiCAD... but it requires modifying library parts as the standard windows were not designed to do this. I would imagine that this type of window is unique enough - ramps, clerestories, etc - that there are only a few specific window types/styles that you need to insert?

If so, then this offers a quick/dirty solution. I say 'dirty', because the rotated windows will not have hotspots in the proper places and you'll have to work a little harder in section/elevation to align them once they are placed. And... if the 2D must be precise, there are a couple of more tricks to be done (not shown here)...

Attached image shows the result of the changes I'll suggest in the subsequent two posts...

(part 1 of 3)

Karl

[Karl Ottenstein]

(part 2 of 3)

For each window library part for which you need rotated instances in a wall, open the library object in the GDL editor and follow these steps. The easiest way to do this, Jennifer, is to place the window in the wall, then select it, and finally press ctrl (cmd)-shift-O.

In the dialog that you see in the screenshot below, click on Parameters, then the New button, and then make the new parameter look as shown - to allow you to enter a rotation angle.

[Karl Ottenstein]

(part 3 of 3)

Finally, click on 3D Script as shown in the screenshot below and insert the line shown to make the 3D behavior of the window respond to the angle parameter that you just added.

Save with a NEW name (notice I just added "rotated" to the end of the name to remember what the original window was) and in your PROJECT library.

Now, change the parameter of the placed window as needed to get the desired rotation. Adjust the position in 3D and in section/elevation.

Karl