Classic stair design tool

[Anonymous]

Please bring back classic stair design tool that has been used before archicad 21. To create a simple stair now takes a lot of effort especially for older people who are using the software and don't know english very well.

[Christophe Fortineau · Accepted solution]

1 - To lean once on the tool to get out its two or three stairs
2 - Save your favorite two or three stairs for reproductions or even adjust them according to the projects
3 - Enjoy

[Rex Maximilian]

Christophe wrote:
1 - To lean once on the tool to get out its two or three stairs
2 - Save your favorite two or three stairs for reproductions or even adjust them according to the projects
3 - Enjoy

.
Favorites are useful until they need editing, which most do. The current stair tool is great for extensive stair design, but for simple residential or commercial building core stairs, it has become a liability. There should be a toggle switch in the stair tool to switch between the two interfaces. I believe it is more of a GUI/UX issue than it is the stair (and rail) tool itself.

[Rex Maximilian]

We had a user group here about a year and a half ago. There was an ArchiCAD trainer and third party product developer who was here and he came to the meeting. He and I have probably close to 50 combined years experience with the software. We were discussing who would show what during the meeting. Neither of us (and we admitted it to each other) wanted to show the stair tool. You can show a cookie cutter demo, but when someone asks, "Can you show how to do this, or can you make it do that?" ...well, that's when the fun begins! 

[James B]

Rex wrote:
Favorites are useful until they need editing, which most do...

From the Favourites palette, right-click on any Favourite to "Edit", this brings up the relevant tool settings to edit the parameters. Then just need to click OK on the dialogue to update that Favourite.

[Rex Maximilian]

James wrote:

Rex wrote:
Favorites are useful until they need editing, which most do...

From the Favourites palette, right-click on any Favourite to "Edit", this brings up the relevant tool settings to edit the parameters. Then just need to click OK on the dialogue to update that Favourite.

.
I'm sorry, I wasn't clear in my original description. What I meant was placing a stair or rail system from a favorite in a project, and then editing the placed stair or rail system as it relates to the project. For instance, I had a "U" shaped stair I placed in a project. I needed to do minor tweaks to the flight widths and landing depths and heights. It was a much more involved task than necessary I feel.

[Barry Kelly]

Rex wrote:
For instance, I had a "U" shaped stair I placed in a project. I needed to do minor tweaks to the flight widths and landing depths and heights. It was a much more involved task than necessary I feel.

I don't really want this to get into a stair lesson (but it looks like it is heading that way), and I can understand you frustration with the stairs and rails as there are so many options and ways of doing things.

But it does depend on how you place the stair.
Favourites are good for setting your default stair.
So once you have one you like, save it as a favourite.

When placing the stair (U-shaped in this case), if you just click the ends and corners, without using the pet palette options, you will get a nice U-shaped stair but it will be hard to edit as it has no nodes for the landings.

However, place it using the pet palette and you will have nodes that you can stretch.
As you stretch them the treads will adjust as well.
To change the flight width use the settings dialogue and they will all change.
Or select the 'Boundary' and you can adjust just one flight.
Be sure to select the 'Baseline' when you want to edit the landings/flight lengths.

The landing heights will adjust as you change the tread configuration and the overall height of the stair is usually locked to the storey level above.

Barry.

[Rex Maximilian]

Thanks Barry. Truth be told my general frustration with the stair tool has affected my "curiosity" with learning all of the bells and whistles... to which I've applied that curious nature to other areas. To be fair I do know of this process, but still feel that editing it involves too many steps for simple edits. That's just my opinion.

On another note, I'll make an effort fully explore the bells and whistles as I do lack the more expert status with this tool in relation to most others. I'm still of the opinion that while the current interface is great for learned users of the tool, it would be a great option to use a simplified interface. The calls, emails and texts I received from my clients (local user base) needing assistance with this tool overwhelmed me in the first year.

Thanks again for your response!

[Hmooslechner]

The old stairtool should be here as addition to the new one - because its much faster to work with than the new buggy and "full of logical holes" one.

[Erwin Edel]

Getting something that looks 'ok' in 3D and fits to fixed size on three sides is an act in frustration.

Typical stair used in a family home in NL looks like this and requires a lot of work with special objects provided by our reseller to get something with a stringer on the side.


I should be able to just input A to D measurements and get something that looks good enough for a quick design stage. The only way I can get it to be quick is if I go for fixed going settings and just accept some non-round figure measurement on ussually at least two sides of the stair. The only option that doesn't screw this up makes the treads solve themselves in such a way that a simple stringer can't be added.

Stairmaker might have had a lot of flaws, but it would just give you something crude and good enough in 3D in a few easy steps.