rotating

[Anonymous]

hi
is there any way to rotate an object(for example a lamp) round X or Y coordinate in 3D.

[Anonymous]

No.

Z-coordinate only for graphic rotation. Some library parts allow for parametric rotations around X & Y and you can script it in of course. Gravity is a powerful force in ArchiCAD.

[Anonymous]

thanks for your quick answer.
but how can i put a car on a slope?

[Anonymous]

Most of the car libraries include parameters for rotation in both X & Y.

The cars in the 8.1 library (at least the one I've got) can be adjusted for pitch (front to back) but not roll (sideways).

The 20th Anniversary ArchiCAD CD has quite a few vehicles, but (AFAICT) there is no way to adjust then to fit a slope.

[tsturm]

Perhaps Matt you could tell farzinassadi that he can simply go into the GDL code for the library part he wants to rotate and add a command(parameter) to allow the part to rotate.

For example, the car on a sloped hill need only to have a ROTX, ROTY or ROT command added to the 3D script to allow the car to be tilled to the road's slope. Remember to add the parameters to the user area so the angle of the car can be changed.

We do this a lot with AC parts for items such as bar joists and steel beams. Graphisoft completely forget that bar joists area sloped in their field application. So we open the GDL code and add in the ROTX or ROTY command to make the part have slope control.

Very easy to do. Just make sure the ROT command is in the rigth spot.

[Anonymous]

tsturm wrote:
Perhaps Matt you could tell farzinassadi that he can simply go into the GDL code for the library part he wants to rotate and add a command(parameter) to allow the part to rotate.

But you just did

Very easy to do. Just make sure the ROT command is in the rigth spot.

You are right to point out this option but it is not necessarily so easy. ROT commands can be some of the more mind numbing, especially in combination, and knowing the right spot takes more GDL expertise than many people have. I actually find it is easier for people to start creating their own new parts (either saving from the model window or writing GDL from scratch) than trying to figure and adjust an existing complex part.

[Dwight]

And what about the symbol once the object is tilted?

For reliability, when making edits to existing GDL objects with scripted 2D symbols, additional GDL is needed:

In the 2D Script window, at the very beginning of the script, add

PROJECT2 3, 270, 2
END

This code will substitute a hidden line analytical top view of the object.
The hot spots will still be screwed-up.

[tsturm]

I agree with Dwight and Matt.

Use the project2 command would be the fast way to show the true nature of the symbo in 2D. and the hotspots do get messed up.

And Matt. Sometimes it is best to start out by reading someone else's code as a way to learn how the whole process should be written out. I have seen people get frustrated with the white screen of a GDL page. I like to start people out reading a completed GDL code so they see the real world application of the commands. (as you may know, Graphisoft is not the best at giving all the facts or examples with the GDL commands).

Starting out with completed code allows the person to make a simple change and see what happens. If the command was in the wrong location, then they know exactly what the entered and where and what the result was. Then the move those commands to another spot to see if the new location gets them the result they want.

Dwight's suggestion is a great one for quick code to see the real result of an altered 3D object. I like to add this as part of the 2D code as an IF statement in the 2D script. Then I preserve the original code while adding the option to tweek the symbol's 3D nature without a lot of impact to the library part. (such as

IF car_pitch=0 then GOTO 1000 ! Skips PROJECT2 commands which are written below and continues symbol's 2D code)
PROJECT2 3, 270, 2 ! Will show orthogonal projection of 3D object from top view as hidden line.
END
ENDIF

1000:

However in the example of the CAR. starting from scratch just to rotate(pitch, yall or roll) the car would not be an efficient use of his time. I was just trying to provide him with a tool to get what he wanted to do done.

[Anonymous]

"Terence" wrote:
Sometimes it is best to start out by reading someone else's code as a way to learn how the whole process should be written out. I have seen people get frustrated with the white screen of a GDL page. I like to start people out reading a completed GDL code so they see the real world application of the commands.

That depends on the code. If they are good examples of simple well commented code then I certainly agree. But, as you point out about the Graphisoft parts, many objects are nearly indecipherable. It is very easy to get truly weird results or cascading errors when trying to tweak them.

[Dwight]

"Cascading errors."

Excellent!

I picture myself, were I preparing to edit a GS object, as an overweight man with a tiny mustache carrying a large flower-filled vase about to step into a half-filled water bucket at the top of a staircase and losing my balance.

In front of the female lead.