What do we want in Plotmaker 4?

[tsturm]

1) Active Hot Linking to outside sources----
I want the ability to link details and sections created in other PLN or PLP files to section markers and detail holders in plan or section drawings.

I want linking like that of GO Live or InDesign. You create a series of reference marks in the plan file. Then you can link drawings created elsewhere to that reference, then Plotmaker connects the two and fills in the appropiate informtion.

2) Picture Holders---
The new colored vectoral image is nice. I however liked the bitmapped version from PM2 which allowed for fast panning around of the drawings with no wait for double screen redraws. OK, you can keep the feature around for those who want to see all the color. But for the rest of us not using 6 Ghz machines make the default the bitmapped like that of PM2.

3) Multiline Auto Labels----
I want to have Autotext which can be bound to a text wrap box. I want to be able to enter First Floor Plan and General Notes without having my text run beyond my label box. I want it to read

First Floor
Plan and
General Notes

4) Layout Names----
I want to be able to name my drawing using more than 31 characters. If I am stuck to 31 characters then don't let me enter more than that and drop them off when I close the file.

Everyone else jump in here. I am sure there are more.

[Vitruvius]

At the very least:

1./ Automatic Drawing List
2./ Keystrokes the same as ArchiCAD (don't know how GS slipped up here?)

And optimistically:

3./ Insertion of PDF files (great for manufacturer cut sheets etc)

Generally, I find PM to be a great programme and a vast improvement over its earlier incarnations.

[Anonymous]

Lateral thought -

GS drop PlotMaker and develop a plug-in to In-Design to handle auto linking with ArchiCAD files.
+
GS also reach a commercial agreement with Adobe to bundle In-Design with ArchiCAD.
=
Happy users who can do most of what is on this list (and a lot more!)!!!

Sadly, I suspect this would be unlikely as GS would lose revenue to Adobe, and they wouldn't do it because it ties them to another vendor...but it would be nice...!

Only other nice feature (with normal PM or In-Design) would be the "auto" creation of transmittals simply listing the drawing name, number and revision (of course this alludes to the ability to have sheet specific info. - e.g. a revision number - that can be referenced elsewhere).

[Anonymous]

Three major requests from my perspective:

1) A column in Drawing Usage for path/source file (bronze medal)
2) Import PDFs (silver medal)
3) OLE on Mac (gold medal)

Thanks

[Anonymous]

I'd like to be able to import, then "bind" a drawing. When I first starting importing our borders from Autocad, it made a link to the drawings, but did not make it part of the drawing itself. It remained a link. In AutoCAD, one of the options is to take and XREF and bind it to the drawing, making it a permanent part of the drawing. This feature would be nice in Plotmaker.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Marquee Printing from PlotMaker.

Would save a lot of time and paper, allowing me to proof sections of a layout, without having to set up a 'mock-up' A4 layout for printing small sections.

[Djordje]

SCSCadMan wrote:
I'd like to be able to import, then "bind" a drawing.

Break the link in Navigator. Done.

As for the titleblocks, they belong in Masters, and should not in principle be brought in as drawings.

[Anonymous]

This can also be accomplished without breaking the link(s) by selecting "Include all linked files." in the save (or save as) dialog.

[Anonymous]

Break the link in Navigator. Done.

As for the titleblocks, they belong in Masters, and should not in principle be brought in as drawings.

I don't see an option in the Navigator to break the link. I select the imported drawing, open Drawing Settings (which show the link), but the link is greyed out.

I tried the Save As... with "Include Files" and the link is still there.

I had imported the AutoCAD drawing into the Master.

[Anonymous]

My List (much the same as other peoples!)

- Contents Page creation
- Drawing List - To print a separate A4 list to send out with documents
- Revision Numbering & comments - via drawing database as per drawing list above
- Auto-referencing between files from different sources.
- Teamwork
- Be able to Create a series of individual PDF's via publisher naming each as per its Layout name (if this can be done on a Mac please tell me!)
- GDL or API able so others can add this kind of thing or customise it
- PDF import or some other way of bulk text import into PM (on Mac)
- Match keystrokes
- Load .PMK (separate PM drawings) files in the background on open, ie when you open the LBK load current pages PMK's first and then others in background rather than have a stream of progress dialogs

cheers