And when I drag it, I will move it horizontally, hold down the Shift key to lock it, and then snap that center point in line. Now I would like to center this text, so I’m going to drag this. So I’ll just click where would put the text in, click twice, and type some letters. Let’s make it a little bit more complicated by putting in some text. I will just use the Line tool and draw a simple line here. So let me just draw a box of walls here, which will give us some context, and zoom in on a corner like this. We’ll be going through a little bit of GDL editing, but I promise you, it will be very easy to follow and you will be able to get a lot of mileage or a lot of value out of some very simple modifications that I will show you. And how you can take any combination of 2D and 3D elements and create a compound object, a new one that will have all the information you need for placing it into a schedule an appliance or equipment schedule that has all the listing parameters just like the standard library parts. How you can add intelligent controls for let’s say text so you can have text with a symbol that changes as you need it each time you place it, and even the size of the text can be adjusted.
In this ArchiCAD video tutorial, I will show you how you can create your own custom 2D symbols or 3D library parts, and how you can optimize and fine tune them so they have selection handles that make it easy to precisely placing into your model. PART 1 – Creating Basic Objects Optimizing Handles, Adding Parameters If you are not currently a member, please visit the following pages for more information and to sign up for the Best Practices Course, the QuickStart Course or for the Best Practices ArchiCAD Coaching Program.Įric Bobrow, Creator of the Best Practices Courseīest Practices Course – Week 21 Part 1 – © copyright 2013 by Eric BobrowīEST PRACTICES COURSE – WEEK 21 – Creating and Customizing Library Parts If you are an active member and would like to watch the ArchiCAD training video on this page, please login to the website. The video lessons are available for members only. (Note: if you have an object already placed, you may not see the updated symbol until you refresh the view by zooming in or out.) Thank you for visiting the Best Practices Course website. When you have hotspots included in the selection, you may turn off the bounding box handles by unchecking the Details > Compatibility Options > Bounding Box Hotspots checkbox, then resaving the object. To optimize these handles, simply draw in your own hotspots on the plan with the hotspot tool, then select these hotspots along with the 2D or 3D elements when you are creating the object. The hotspots or selection handles of new objects are created automatically by ArchiCAD, and by default will include the bounding box corners and geometric center of the element. The basic process is simple: draw or model whatever you’d like to turn into an object, select these elements on the floor plan, then use the File menu > Libraries and Objects > Save Selection As > Object command and give the new object a name.Īfter a new object is created, it can be made more flexible by adding parameters and editing the GDL script to make it more parametric, allowing it to change with each instance or insertion into the project.
In this 16 minute video, we look at how to create a basic 2D symbol as well as a quick way to save a new 3D object.
This ArchiCAD training is the first in a three part series on creating custom objects for the ArchiCAD library.
Creating Basic Objects Optimizing Handles, Adding Parameters ArchiCAD Training (Best Practices Lesson 21-1)