What is the Force Guidelines keyboard key (for Mac)?

[Eric Bobrow]

In ArchiCAD 15, I am a bit frustrated at the moment because I cannot get a guideline to help me line something up with a node point. In ArchiCAD 10 through 14, you could hover over any node point, and temporary guidelines would show up, and if you gestured the mouse over one of them, you could use it as a reference.

In AC15, with the new methodology, you don't get guidelines when you hover over a node, only when you are on top of an edge (when you get the small translucent dot to click on). I'm assuming that the Force Guidelines command will help with this, but the keyboard shortcut is an odd character that I cannot find on my U.S. Mac keyboard. It is a § character, which I can find in Word, and even type in using Option-6, but that key combination doesn't work to elicit that character in ArchiCAD 15.

Does anyone know what the keystroke is for this unusual character is? And what the heck is this character called, anyway?

I guess I could add an alternate keystroke as a shortcut in the Options menu > Work Environment > Keyboard Shortcuts, but I'd prefer to find out what the keystroke is for the default shortcut key §.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Hi Eric,

There is a thread here that explains all! -

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=191491

I don't know exactly what that character is called, but the button that forces a guideline (rather than having to click the orange blob or hold and drag on a node) is the top left button under the ESC on a UK PC keyboard. (It sometimes has the ~ tilde character on.)

You are free to redefine it in the Work Environment keyboard shortcuts - List the commands alphabetically; it's under F - 'Force Guide Line Display'.

Here are the relevant GS videos on youtube -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlmcQfoglB0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdqlaw9r1KY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDNNe-rUmCI

[Eric Bobrow]

Peter -

Thanks for the link to the thread with the discussion about this topic. I am very happy to learn the option to create a guideline from a node point in the middle of an operation, by pressing and holding down the mouse while gesturing in the direction of the intended guideline. This works beautifully.

On my USA MacBook Pro keyboard, the top left key underneath ESC is a back-quote or back-accent ` and if you press the Shift key modifier you get a tilde ~.

When I tried to use that key for the Force Guideline option it didn't do anything. I have resorted to creating new keyboard shortcuts:
` - Force Guidelines
Shift-` - Remove All Guidelines (this is very necessary now that hitting Escape does not remove guidelines)
Control-` - Create Guideline Segment (Option-` did not work, it beeped at me)

I don't know if there is a conflict with the Mac OS with the default § key, or if this is a non-standard character that doesn't exist on keyboards in the U.S. (for Mac only?). It would be interesting to figure this out. Is there anyone from Graphisoft reading this who can clarify the cause of the issue? Can anyone else who is on a Mac (in the U.S. or elsewhere) verify if there is a key on an extended or full keyboard (not a laptop) that has this character?

[Anonymous]

Some more research for you - That symbol is called a Section sign.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_sign

which may be typed using the Option + 6 buttons on a US mac keyboard!

You learn something new every day!

[Eric Bobrow]

Peter -
Thanks for the additional notes and wikipedia link.
I had already figured out the Option-6 keyboard combination, which works in Word (that's where I discovered it) - however ArchiCAD beeps when you type this - I think this is because pressing the Option key brings up the eye-dropper, and that takes precedence over the Mac key combination...
Eric

[Dukatas]

Eric,

Did you get an answer back from Graphisoft on this?

Thx.

[Eric Bobrow]

It's been a while, but I recall that the issue with the built-in keyboard shortcut for the Mac was acknowledged as a bug (perhaps I saw this in the ArchiCAD Wiki). Since it has a simple work-around (creating your own custom shortcut) it hasn't been an issue for me.

I assume that it will be changed at some point, so that the built-in shortcut will use a different keystroke.

Eric

[Anonymous]

In Archicad 16 it would appear the new shortcut letter to force a guide line is 'Q'

[Katalin Takacs]

Thanks for your notice. The default shortcuts for "Force Guide Line Display", "Show/Hide Guide Lines" and "Create Guide Line Segment" were changed in ArchiCAD 16.
I have added the details of these changes to our http://archicadwiki.com/ArchiCAD16ChangesGuide collection.