"Ortho" function in Archicad?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,
I've been working in Archicad (12, 13, 14) for the last 2-3 years after a 10+ years of Autocad.

I have to say, the feature I miss the most from Autocad it the "F8" function to switch on/off the ortho mode.

Is there anything like that in Archicad? Have I missed something so basic in the last few years?

Thanks!

[TMA_80]

The shift command is the only way I know.

[Anonymous]

Yeah... I was hoping for something that I could just swithc on and off, like the groups.

[Dwight]

I am almost certain that you can master this simple Archicad aspect. It is very natural unless your mind is terminally corrupted by archaic Autocad methods.

[Anonymous]

But the left hand usually serves the purpose of supporting the head, so having to click on the shift now and then is very disruptive.

[Anonymous]

I don't think my mind is that great in general, but do I really have to use two hands to keep it orthogonal?

[Anonymous]

You can activate the guidelines (Q).

[Anonymous]

there's really nothing similar to the "Ortho On/Off" option?

[Dwight]

Well, if you are using Archicad correctly, it is already drawing most elements - roofs, walls, slabs, polylines, fills, etc, orthographically. Consider building your 'drawings' with these things instead of mere lines.

Also as colleague Krippahl indicates, turning on guidelines acts as an on-the-fly constraint for any number of references and orthographic controls.

These tools are adequate for anyone willing to consider alternatives to what they expect to draft.

[Dwight]

And another thing:

I sympathise because it took me some time to accomodate the idea that detailing with linework was silly. Using elements with 'thickness' and 'sides' like poylines and fills really speed up details since, even though 2D, the elements are faster to edit than linework.

Enrico - try it our way.....