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Modeling
About Archicad's design tools, element connections, modeling concepts, etc.

how do i precisely input 3d cut plane values?

Bill
Booster
In v14, when trying to input a precise value for a cut plane (e.g. EXACTLY 6'-3" A.F.F.) you could 1) hover the cursor above one of the top two windows in the 3D Cutting Planes dialog box, 2) press 'Z' and 3) input the correct elevation.

in v15, this doesn't work... so how do I do it?

Thanks!

Bill
Bill Szustak RA

Principal, Springboard Design

ArchiCAD 25, macOS Ventura 13.4.1
12 REPLIES 12
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
Bill wrote:
in v15, this doesn't work... so how do I do it?
Can you not enter values in the x/y/z boxes at the bottom right of the dialog, or am I not understanding what you're trying to do? You press the letter button (x/y/z) to lock the entered value(s). Or, as with the (somewhat deprecated) coordinates palette, press alt-x, alt-y, or alt-z to lock.

Cheers,
Karl
One of the forum moderators
AC 28 USA and earlier   •   macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB
Bill
Booster
Nope, if I type in 'Z' I used to then be able to type in a new z-value. Now, however, the cursor goes to the z-value for a split second but doesn't stay there. If I am able to get it to stay in the z-value input area and actually type in a new value and press return (or type 'x' or 'y' or anything) it loses the value I inputted.

I've tried lots of different sequences but nothing seems to work. It's frustrating because for certain renderings I need the cut plane to be at a specific elevation.
Bill Szustak RA

Principal, Springboard Design

ArchiCAD 25, macOS Ventura 13.4.1
Anonymous
Not applicable
Bill wrote:
Nope, if I type in 'Z' I used to then be able to .....


Actually press the 'Z' button next to the value box - not the Z on your keyboard.

The process -
- Press 'Z' button,
- type in the height into the value box,
- move cursor to one of the side views and click once, you will find cursor is restrained to that height,
- click to one side of first click to confirm a horizontal cut,
- click above or below to select side to be hidden.
Anonymous
Not applicable
Bill wrote:
Nope, if I type in 'Z' I used to then be able to type in a new z-value.
It's working for me. Could it be a WE setting?
David Maudlin
Rockstar
Matthew wrote:
Bill wrote:
Nope, if I type in 'Z' I used to then be able to type in a new z-value.
It's working for me. Could it be a WE setting?
WE > User Preference Schemes > Dialog Boxes and Palettes > Dialog Box Auto-Update Delay, but that would affect all dialog box input. Works as expected here also.

David
David Maudlin / Architect
www.davidmaudlin.com
Digital Architecture
AC27 USA • iMac 27" 4.0GHz Quad-core i7 OSX11 | 24 gb ram • MacBook Pro M3 Pro | 36 gb ram OSX14
Bill
Booster
Peter Clark's suggestion of clicking on the 'z' instead of typing it in works!

Thanks!

Bill
Bill Szustak RA

Principal, Springboard Design

ArchiCAD 25, macOS Ventura 13.4.1
David Maudlin
Rockstar
Bill:

You might want to check that the "z" key is used for accessing the "z" value in your Work Environment > Shortcut Schemes > Keyboard Shortcuts > Application Commands (List: All Command by Theme) > 13 Numeric Input > Z Coordinate.

David
David Maudlin / Architect
www.davidmaudlin.com
Digital Architecture
AC27 USA • iMac 27" 4.0GHz Quad-core i7 OSX11 | 24 gb ram • MacBook Pro M3 Pro | 36 gb ram OSX14
Bill
Booster
David, I checked there and Z (global) and Shift+Z (global) are both assigned to Z coordinate... so I assume that's what it's supposed to be?

Bill
Bill Szustak RA

Principal, Springboard Design

ArchiCAD 25, macOS Ventura 13.4.1
David Maudlin
Rockstar
Bill:

Those are correct, so should work. Does the "z" key work for the Coordinates palette and/or Tracker?

David
David Maudlin / Architect
www.davidmaudlin.com
Digital Architecture
AC27 USA • iMac 27" 4.0GHz Quad-core i7 OSX11 | 24 gb ram • MacBook Pro M3 Pro | 36 gb ram OSX14