Wishes
Post your wishes about Graphisoft products: Archicad, BIMx, BIMcloud, and DDScad.

Multiple Mark Distant Area's with Applicable Pensets

Anonymous
Not applicable
Is it just me or does it seem like a necessity to have the option for multiple marked distant area's on the section and elevation tools.

More often than not I can't use this aspect of the tools to the full advantage and do a bit of 2D tracing as there are "sections" or parts of the elevation that need to have different depths applied to them so they require different line weights.

Even if there was 2 or 3 marked distant area's, with the possibility to apply a completely different pen sets to each of them, as like in the dreaded autocad, you want to keep a proportion to you drawing the outlines of the building with be darker than the hatching.

So you could have all of your wall 'uncut pen lines' could be a pen 5, which in one pen set may be a 0.4 thickness, but in another pen set the same pen could be 0.3 and a different colour.

Now that my friends would be using it to its full advantage.

So what do you think?
18 REPLIES 18
Anonymous
Not applicable
Well either way, your right LINK, something needs to change.

There are many ways that you could get around many problems. One way in relation to the hip roof being divided by the marked distant area (MDA) would be for every element to have the ability to override the elevation assigned pen set. So everything in the elevation is being dictated by the (MDA), apart from, say, the roof tool where it's uncut pen line is overriding the (MDA).

That could work, and in a similar fashion to the Revit suggestion. But that is a continuant of the direction Archicad is heading as opposed to changing the whole dynamic of the program.

Either way there will always be problems, and we will be back here with the same dispute....


...I just want Graphisoft to make me happy
Rick Thompson
Expert
I would vote if you add Link's/Revit way. That makes sense. I do have issues with it.. roofs an easy target.. but this solution seems complicated compared to Link's/Revit solution. So, yes, needs attention, but not with a complicated solution.
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Anonymous
Not applicable
I'm sorry but I had to bring this old topic back, this would REALLY help, specially when dealing with large projects (multiple depth fields). Please Graphisoft, give us multiple marked distant areas for secions and elevations!
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
Since you woke this topic up again... 😉

There is a reasonable workaround: stack multiple sections/elevations on top of one another on your layout. You get two pens (near and far) for each elevation - so just keep cutting away. Everything stays "live".

I only needed this feature for one project - and for that project, I needed different angles at different depths because of the issues raised by Stuart and Link. That mostly gave me the control I needed.

Revit's solution as mentioned by Link is the most general - but I suspect would take more time since you have to manually select the items for which you want to assign a different weight: could be tedious in a huge project?

Cheers,
Karl
One of the forum moderators
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Anonymous
Not applicable
I'll try this method! Perhaps it would be so difficult in terms of coding to support multiple planes. I tried revit but I still think Archicad is more "architect friendly". And faster. I still miss some features, but that's another conversation. Thanks!
Anonymous
Not applicable
I support Link's suggestion, seeing a colleague do this in Revit made me green with envy!
Anonymous
Not applicable
What if you could add a filter on a view. Kind of like photoshop. With a gradual depth that could be controlled with a percentage. Perhaps define a range like the background colour filter. that way it wouldn't matter whether the surface was sloped or flat.
Apply this to our elevations and we could blow revit away.

At any rate this is something that needs to be addressed quickly . Stacking views is just too time consuming and creates more room for error.
Anonymous
Not applicable
I good idea at first a first glance, but usable to only the small group of very advanced users. I think it will overcomplicate the work process in an application that is getting more and more complicated already. According to me GS had more important issues to address first.
Gus
Newcomer
kliment wrote:
I good idea at first a first glance, but usable to only the small group of very advanced users. I think it will overcomplicate the work process in an application that is getting more and more complicated already. According to me GS had more important issues to address first.
I have to completely disagree on this one. I started using ArchiCAD about 9 years ago, and within the first week I was saying to myself "why can't we change line weights for things that are farther away. Line weights and colors are the primary graphical tool for elevations. There is little information on elevations besides graphical information. The main purpose is to visually show the building in an easy to read manner. When line weights and colors/hues/values cannot be used to distinguish how far away something is in elevation most of the purpose of an elevation is missing. I have resorted to placing a 3D rendering of the side of the building next to the elevations themselves so that people can understand what the elevation is actually representing (and this is 8 years later!) Even this is not that great because you have to keep looking back and forth at the two images, when one image with adjustable line weights would do that job for the viewer easily.
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