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the best way to show floor slabs on an upper storey

Anonymous
Not applicable
I'm struggling to find the best workflow for modelling floor slabs on an upper storey. If I show it on the upper storey then i accidentally always seem to select the floor slab when working on that storey.
I get around this on the ground floor storey by putting the floor slab on the foundation plan.

As always thanks in advance for your help!
11 REPLIES 11
Graham Whipple
Enthusiast
I've had the same problem in workflow over the years. I have found that if I have a designated layer for floor slabs (and perhaps related zones) then I set the layer combinations to lock those layers. I find (in versions up through AC16) that once I've defined a floor slab I don't frequently modify the slab, so if I do need to modify the slab I simply toggle that layer to unlock temporarily while I make the modification.
I am still learning a good workflow in AC17 with the smart joining materials in the assemblies, so I have been working with slabs a bit more than normal in AC17. Perhaps my behavior with slabs will change a bit with the new functionality of assemblies.

I hope perhaps that my suggestion is helpful.
Graham Whipple
Resin Architecture

Idaho USA
Vitruvius
Booster
I simply Lock the object (not the layer). It'll still highlight it if the cursor is on top but you won't move it accidentally. You can also disable the cursors magnet function by holding down the space bar.
Cameron Hestler, Architect
Archicad 27 / Mac Studio M1 Max - 32 GB / LG24" Monitors / 14.5 Sonoma
Anonymous
Not applicable
Cameron

I like the idea of locking the object rather than the layer. How do I do this?
I dont see anything in the slab selection settings
Erwin Edel
Rockstar
That function is a bit buried: edit > locking > lock.

Can't say I ever used it and I will probably annoy my co-workers if I start using it now! 😉
Erwin Edel, Project Lead, Leloup Architecten
www.leloup.nl

ArchiCAD 9-26NED FULL
Windows 10 Pro
Adobe Design Premium CS5
David Maudlin
Rockstar
Erwin wrote:
That function is a bit buried: edit > locking > lock.
Can't say I ever used it and I will probably annoy my co-workers if I start using it now!
A really good feature when, for example, importing pdf files of site plans, getting them the right size and location, then locking them down so they can't be accidentally moved.

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
Barry Kelly
Moderator
Lennox wrote:
I get around this on the ground floor storey by putting the floor slab on the foundation plan.
Do exactly the same on the upper floor as you do for the ground floor.
If you use a separate layer for the floor slab on the ground floor then use the same layer and layer combinations on the upper floor.
Then you can turn on/off the layer as required (this is what I do).

Or if you have a separate storey for the slab (foundations) on the ground floor then set up a separate storey for the slab on the upper floor.
I don't like to do that as it can affect the display of elements when you want to show on home storey and one storey up/down.
With the extra storeys you need to be able to skip a storey up/down.

Barry.
One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
i7-10700 @ 2.9Ghz, 32GB ram, GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11
Anonymous
Not applicable
Erwin wrote:
That function is a bit buried: edit > locking > lock.

Can't say I ever used it and I will probably annoy my co-workers if I start using it now! 😉

Very good new feature that would have saved me lots of time in the past. I liked working in teamwork solo just because I could easily duplicate the locking of an object by "releasing" the objects that I wanted to be "locked".

Will use often. Now if it would only default to last object in the order of section instead of the 1st.
Graham Whipple
Enthusiast
I forgot about just locking the object. That is also a solution, but finding that lock object is a few more steps than simply locking the layer. I've done both in the past, but I must have found the lock layer to be easier over time because this is the approach I use most often and have since tailored my workflow to that method.
Graham Whipple
Resin Architecture

Idaho USA
Anonymous
Not applicable
between every 2 story in your projects you can have a ghost story like a recycle bin for unpleasant but necessary elements (like slabs , hidden structural elements , unwanted beams... ) necessary for 3d model but hidden on relevant plans . . this way you will have nice plans on your architectural important story without messy things .
This ghost story must have always 0.00m height to be neutral your project and placed under your architecture relevant story to keep your plans clean , only with walls and essential elements . All the 3D garbage is under this story at ghost sub-story ..