Offset Tool like Autocad

[archislave]

This is the one command I miss most about Autocad. If you don't know what I am talking about then next time you are able to access autocad the select a line, polyline, or polygon and press offset. See how simple it is and can be repeated over and over!

[Anonymous]

Don't take offence I know there is tool called "Offset" in ArchiCAD, and it is right in front of me on the "tools" panel since I started using ArchiCAD many years ago, but I still use AutoCAD for drafting masterplans and this is one of the main reasons - it is still very uncomfortable for me to use it. I can do it way much faster in AutoCAD. Don't take offence, please

The way it works - not quite logical - maybe this is because I've started to draft in AutoCAD.
The situation usually is following: I have some configuration of roads, pedestrian walks and any other objects over the ground (2D). This is called in my explanation "masterplan", excuse my English. Now I have to draw some additional lines that represent concrete frames around the road, so called in my country "border stones" - usually piece of concrete 300(height)x150(wide)x1000(length) mm AND - what is very common for masterplans - they change often - before I give out final version there is usually some 10 sub-versions. Now every time senior architect changes the configuration of these objects on the plan - it is chain reaction I have to change all the configuration of "border stones", pedestrian walks that go parallel to the road, and in masterplans which I work with the common length of these lines is kilometers. If there is change in the building shape I have to change some additional parallel lines and so on. I mean it is easier to make offset of ready polyline which is editable and I can change it many times then to draw new kilometer of brand new polyline and only then - make new offset for border stones, for example. And, I can offset splines. And sometimes the shape of the road or horizontal mark of the relief is represented by spline.
Huh I wrote too much. Hope you understand. I'm sorry if I misunderstood something and for I still don't use "offset" tool.

[Anonymous]

kliment wrote:
Finally:
Stop looking for the old commands in the new application
LEARN THE NEW ONES!

And that's the truth and nothing but the truth. (or what you englishtalkingpeople says)

[Laura Yanoviak]

Olga_Berd wrote:
I mean it is easier to make offset of ready polyline which is editable and I can change it many times then to draw new kilometer of brand new polyline and only then - make new offset

I don't understand -- polylines are editable in AC (and one-heck-of-a-lot easier to edit than in ACAD), why would you need to draw a new one? What's so different about "magicwanding" a polyline to offset vs. the ACAD procedure?

[Anonymous]

Laura wrote:

Olga_Berd wrote:
I mean it is easier to make offset of ready polyline which is editable and I can change it many times then to draw new kilometer of brand new polyline and only then - make new offset

I don't understand -- polylines are editable in AC (and one-heck-of-a-lot easier to edit than in ACAD), why would you need to draw a new one? What's so different about "magicwanding" a polyline to offset vs. the ACAD procedure?

Yes, they are. Editable. But not the way I need. "magicwanding" is cool but sometimes does not work properly. (when offset distance becomes greater then smallest radius of polyline segment - it will graphically just stop process of offsetting, AutoCAD in this case just ignores arc segment and takes it off from the offsetted copy of original polyline)
What happens in my process: when changes of masterplan are announced, 1) I isolate layer with polylines for example - the contours of the road, then I explode the polyline, change basic points, directions, radiuses, crossroads, parking places, bus stops and so on - and yes it is easier to make with exploding to primitives. (This is specific of my job - drawing masterplans.*) Then when changes are ready I 2) assemble these primitives again into polyline and then - tadaaa! 3) I make offset for new border stones and pedestrian walks which are parallel to the road. Steps 1 and 2 I can make in ArchiCAD without pain as easy as in AutoCAD, the sequence of my actions is identical. But, step 3 is easier and much faster in this particular case to do in AutoCAD. I just give on keyboard command "o", select by mouse pointer object, give numerical meaning of distance on keyboard, and point by mouse - which side should program create new object.
Else, as I mentioned before, sometimes the contours of some objects are given by splines in this case I can make offset only in AutoCAD unfortunately.

*Here is one little problem, if you would ask me why I explode polyline. Because with the fillet tool in ArchiCAD I will fillet all segments of polyline with same radius, but I need many different raduses for different segments. Thats why I would explode it first and then assemble agian. Why I need polyline instead using just segments - I will need total length of polylines in one particular layer for calculation of amount of concrete side stones of the road (I tried to explain about them in my previous post)

[Anonymous]

Olga, I still cannot understand your problem with offset. It seems you do not take advantage of the full capacity of the command.

Anyway, I would suggest a tip for your case - model the "border stones" with a wall. Thus you will not need to offset anything!

[Anonymous]

- In AC offset is rarely used in a project, which is different from a coastline modelling.
- Let me disagree. We are making site plans constantly where splines, polylines and offsets are needed badly
- 90% of offset usage in Autocad is not for tracing a curve at a given distance, but simply for making temporary giudelines for placing other objects and then deleted. In AC there are much better ways to do this and REAL TEMPORARY GUIDELINES!
- I would say that 90% of offset usage is exactly for tracing a curve for given distance, and 10% are for some construction tricks and in AutoCAD as temporary guidelines, I use special primitive called "xlines"
- Autocad cannot offset splines and ellipses. AC cannot offset splines.
- It does. Both spilnes and ellipses since hmm... probably version 2000 I'm not sure, but for a long time ago. But, the offsetted objects become polylines, so it does not makes identical object, to be completely honest.
- In AC you can offset ANY contour, made of lines and arcs, which are not a polyline! In Autocad you have to transform them into a polyline and then offset the contour. And making a polyline form a set of lines in Autocad is one of the worst-made and most stupid commands I've ever seen in any CAD application!
- you can offset lines and arcs in AutoCAD, it goes since 10 th version definately
- In AC you can offset a closed contour just by clicking inside it! And offset fills too!
You can offset closed polyline in AutoCAD as well, but no hatches - this is great advantage of ArchiCAD. I think hatches is weak side of AutoCAD.

I talk too much

[Laura Yanoviak]

Olga_Berd wrote:
But, the offsetted objects become polylines, so it does not makes identical object, to be completely honest.

So this is no different from AC, where you can offset a spline by "magicwanding" with the polyline tool (as demonstrated earlier in this post). I really think it's just a matter of practice and becoming familiar with the process (AC vs. ACAD) -- I don't think it's any "easier" with ACAD, just different, and ultimately it's about personal preference. I used ACAD for over 10 years, found that offsetting in AC was a bit quirky in comparison, but quickly adapted once I practiced a bit.

[Anonymous]

The only gripe I have with the magic wand method, be it to offset or not, is it doesn't stop when it gets to the end of the ployline you select if there is something (another line, for instance) connected to its endpoint. Saying that, you don't have to make a polyline to be able to offset all connected lines / arcs.

Olga_Berd wrote:
I explode the polyline

A tip for you, Olga: instead of exploding your polyline to fillet with arcs, just select the polyline, pick a corner node (not along a section of line) and use the pet palette option to fillet with an arc. You can disable the "apply to all corners" option and set the radius for each junction. The next node you pick will have the fillet option ready to go in the pet palette.

[Anonymous]

s2art wrote:
A tip for you, Olga: instead of exploding your polyline to fillet with arcs, just select the polyline, pick a corner node (not along a section of line) and use the pet palette option to fillet with an arc. You can disable the "apply to all corners" option and set the radius for each junction. The next node you pick will have the fillet option ready to go in the pet palette.

Thank you. I didn't knew about this feature.

[Anonymous]

What a lot of talk there is about this one. I was at a seminar relating to Release 11 last week, and a new user asked the same question.

I'm not a new user. But there isn't a day goes by when I don't wish for a simple offset feature. I know Archicad has one. Say what you like, it is not as quick and simple as Autocad's.

And what a load of rubbish about not being able to change the distance without re-invoking the command. Isn't that the whole point? You can offset at a given distance (say, 1000mm) to your heart's content (Compared with Archicad - Click on offset, trace the line, R, 1000, click on offset, trace the line, R, 1000 etc.)

Everyone I've spoken to about has suggested a workaround of some kind or other. How do you create a wall parallel to onel which is at an ange to the grid? Reset the grid to the angle, then drag a copy? How many steps is that? Why not just offset (a line or a wall)?

Enter the distance, select the object, click on the side to offset. Done. Select another object, click on the side. Done. I wish.

Keith

Archicad 10 (11 pending) on Mac OSX 10.4