Creating walls with varying heights

[Anonymous]

I am currently designing a new building and in certain areas I need to create a wall such that the height at the beginning is floor level and rises at some angle (not known yet) until it reaches the next floor up. Are there any methods inwhich to create a wall like this or do I have to create a profile? It would be so easy if it was possible to put a wall in place and then while in 3D just grab the upper corner and drag it to the appropriate location like most 3D MCAD programs do. Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

SEO the wall to the floor/roof, or create an SEO using a roof plane set on a layer to be switched off.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the help Rogerdodge. I made followed your idea of using a roof for "clipping" the unwanted part of the walls but I found out that the method is not perfect. In my case the portion of the wall to be trimmed was less than the total length of the wall. When I created the roof for trimming I only made if for the area to be trimmed. The result was that not only was my wall trimmed along the bottom of the roof the portion of the wall that went beyond the top of the roof was also trimmed away. After fiddling for a while I decided to just extend the highest point of the roof until it was beyond the end of the wall being trimmed. That allowed the whole wall to show with only the unwanted part being removed. Personally I think the requirement to over extend the roof so that it only trims the area necessary and not any of the wall that is beyond the end of the roof is a flaw in the software (not a bug). It is also burdensome to have to create fake features to allow components to be created or modified and it would better if Archicad programmers could make component modifications easier by just altering the locations of the component handles/hotspots/etc.

[Barry Kelly]

As Rogerdodge said use SEO (Solid Element Operation) to trim your wall.
This will only trim the portion directly above/below the roof.

If you use the connect > trim to roof command it will use the roof trimming body to control the cut and anything inside/outside the trimming body will be removed.

Barry.

[Anonymous]

Something else that could help, is to use a shell instead of wall, and define contour. It will depend on others factor around the project but this could work.

If you are going to add windows check one of the tips I have in video.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the assistance Barry in understanding how trimming with an SEO is different than with a roof. I actually tried to do that but got frustrated as the SEO tool allowed me to pick the wall to be trimmed it never gave me a chance to create the cutting shape. It only seemed to want me to provide the cutting shape based on the shape of another object which I would have had to create. I tried to find a step by step tutorial (written or video) to allow me to understand the SEO tool better but I couldn't seem to find anything using the search box on the website. Do you know of any links?

[Anonymous]

There are a few videos on Youtube, did you try those?

[Barry Kelly]

DrWho wrote:
Thanks for the assistance Barry in understanding how trimming with an SEO is different than with a roof. I actually tried to do that but got frustrated as the SEO tool allowed me to pick the wall to be trimmed it never gave me a chance to create the cutting shape. It only seemed to want me to provide the cutting shape based on the shape of another object which I would have had to create. I tried to find a step by step tutorial (written or video) to allow me to understand the SEO tool better but I couldn't seem to find anything using the search box on the website. Do you know of any links?

It is pretty simple.
Model everything first (i.e. walls and whatever you want to use to trim them with).
Open the SEO tool.
Select the wall and press the "Get Target Elements" button.
Select the roof (or what you want to do the cutting) and press the "Get Operator Elements" button.
Now choose how you want the cut to happen - subtract or subtract with upwards (or downwards) extrusion and then press the "Execute" button.

You can select more than one target or operator at the same time so you can trim a hole bunch of walls with as many roofs (or other elements) as you want.


It is a 'live' connection so as you adjust the target or operator elements, the resulting SEO will adjust automatically as well.
Hide the operator in a hidden layer if you don't want to see it - you can't delete it because there will be nothing doing the cutting any more.

Barry.

[Anonymous]

Thank you Barry:
Base on the directions you supplied I was able to trim the walls without the roof but even then it was not perfect. In my case I have a section of seating and it takes a couple of stairs to go from one level to the next. I used the stair tool create those steps which means there is a space between the bottom of the steps and the seating walls and floors. If I use the seating structure to trim the wall the result does not fill in under the steps. Worked but not as well as I would have liked. It would be better if the user could modify the operator elements (that is change the shape) as that would make sure the trim is exactly what the user wants. I did notice what I think is a drawback to the SEO tool. I noticed that the "execute" function only works when the operator actually crosses into the item to be trimmed. If the operator abuts or does not intersect the target the operation will fail. Obviously the tool does not "Project" the features/shape of the operator onto the target but if it did then it would make some of the work go quicker and easier. Maybe one of the GS programmers could look at adding these capabilities.

[Barry Kelly]

DrWho wrote:
In my case I have a section of seating and it takes a couple of stairs to go from one level to the next. I used the stair tool create those steps which means there is a space between the bottom of the steps and the seating walls and floors. If I use the seating structure to trim the wall the result does not fill in under the steps. Worked but not as well as I would have liked. It would be better if the user could modify the operator elements (that is change the shape) as that would make sure the trim is exactly what the user wants.

If existing elements are not suitable for the operation then feel free to add other elements that can be placed in a hidden layer that can be the exact shape for what you want to trim to.
Usually the existing elements are fine.
Maybe a picture of what you are trying to do will help explain?

DrWho wrote:
I did notice what I think is a drawback to the SEO tool. I noticed that the "execute" function only works when the operator actually crosses into the item to be trimmed. If the operator abuts or does not intersect the target the operation will fail. Obviously the tool does not "Project" the features/shape of the operator onto the target but if it did then it would make some of the work go quicker and easier. Maybe one of the GS programmers could look at adding these capabilities.

Yes SEO only happens when the elements intersect.
If they don't intersect they will not be extended - but the SEO is actually still in effect - you just won't see anything.
For example if the wall is below the roof the SEO will have no effect.
But adjust the wall height and you will now see the SEO.
So you have to manually extend the elements yourself.

You can tell if an element is part of an SEO when you select it.
You will see a small square icon that you can click on to see a list of trims.
They can be cancelled by clicking the cross at the end of the name.

Also the effect of an SEO will not be seen in the plan view.
i.e. the wall may trim in 3D but will not show that trim in plan.

Barry.