issue with default view ..

[Hickson]

please see the attached with issues  that I do not seem to be able to resolve.

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Hickson,

Re your view issues:

Zoom Extents
The Zoom to Extents button will show EVERYTHING that is in the model.  This behaviour indicates the you have accidentally inserted somthing way outside the terrain, obviously in the upper area of the screen and it is trying to show you this also. If you are not careful this can easily happen if you are in the habit of using the mouse wheel to zoom in and out, especially if you do this while inserting an object. You will have to find the object (which can be hard) and delete it. You can find the type of object by using the View Filter to turn off various elements and then Zoom to Extents. When it zooms to just the Terrain, the last object you filtered off is what the type of object is but finding it is the problem, as it may be very small. Sometimes draging the mouse over the blank areas and deleting will pick it up. The highlighed object will be pale blue on a white screen. Changing the background (Program Settings) to black can help to show it up easier, as can zooming in on the blank areas. Unfortunetely it is trail and error to find it.

Print Extents
The Print option is doing the same of course. If you select Display or Window and select the area you want to print it will overcome that problem and is generally best for printing anyway.

DXF Import
To import a DXF file use File/ Import Wizard or go straight to the Catalogue on the right of the screen, select a category (eg Exterior Accessories) and import it on the right click Add New Element.

File Names
Using a dot within the file name causes some versions of Windows to see anything that follows the dot as being part of the extension, not the name of the file itself. In this case it would see the file type as "2.jpg" and says thinks there is no such file type. If you use "-2" (or just a space) it will be OK - anything as long as only JPG follows the dot.


Hope that solves some of these issues.
All the best finding the stray object (hopefully only one!)

Allan

[Hickson]

Allan, thanks for the instructions ..

re zoom extents .. This exists in several of my models .. but I have not been successful in finding the object. I use several CAD programs and thought that the selection process would help me with finding the "thing" whatever it is ..

Any other suggestions ...

re DXF adn DWG .. sorry, my point was that the TFP dropdown only displayed one and not both file types (as being possible).

re Filenames .. you are correct .. however I found it interesting that TFP indicates it is a dup .. not that it is a bad file type.

Onward to find the elusive object .. tanx. .

[Allan Chesney]

Hi again,

Re the stray objects - try this.

Save the model first AND save a second copy just in case.
Next do a Control A (Select All). This will highlight everything in the model. Now hold down the Shift key and drag the mouse over the terrain area only. This will unselect everything on the terrain. Now everthing outside the terrain only should still be selected. Press the delete key.

You will have to repeat this for the other locations if you have more than one, or you can go to Settings / Program Settings / Building Aids and untick the box "Select elements on current location only while in plan view". It will then select all locations at one. Don't forget to turn it back on again though!

Hopefully that will fix it!

I suspect that DXF does not appear in the dropdown selector for Import CAD File because that particular import function is only for 2D files, while TFP will import a DXF file in 3D format so uses different functionality (as in the Import Wizard). If however, the DXF happens to be 2D, it will still import it.

All the best with the UFO (Unidentified Foreign Object!!)

Allan

[Hickson]

Allan, thanks ... .but no enchilada ...

Oh well .. I will keep trying ..

[Draftcad]

Hi Hickson,

Suggestion --> You can post your bld file, so we can check the issue

Pat

[Hickson]

okay .. thanks for the help ..

Hope you see something that I have missed ..

[Allan Chesney]

Well I did not find the problem but it is fixed.  

Tried the things I suggested before and a few others but could not find anything. All I did in the end was to move the whole model into the middle of the Terrain area and the Zoom to Extents was then OK.  

I have absolutely no idea why that worked - any suggestions from anyone are very welcome. It implies the cause was not a stray object, as it would have moved with the 'Select All' anyway, so should not have made any difference. If there is some other cause we need to find it so it can be fixed, so all suggestions welcome.

The fixed file is attached.

Allan

[Draftcad]

Hi,

Interesting.... As Allan stated, there is nothing obvious to delete --> I exported the file to DXF, and the Zoom to fit works without problems
However, I'd like to add a comment --> For some reason, the old file and Allan's file have different sizes (I know, it is a small difference, but IMO it means something)

Pat

[Hickson]

To both gentlemen .. thank you for your help .. I have been in IT for over 47 years ..and have had CAD software development and usage experience for over 35 .. so usually we can recognize a not so simple issue ...

These are the ones that we all hate .. as there is no known logical reason for them ..

To Allan, I have tried to move a model to the centre of the terrain before .. and had no luck .. how did you do this???

Thanks again

[Allan Chesney]

To move the whole model:

1.  Go to Settings > Program Settings > Building aids and untick the first and second boxes (Collision & 'confine selet to location')

2.  Turn off Ortho on the Status Bar (lower right) - that allows you to move in any direction instead of just right angles.

3.  On the File menu choose Select All (or Conrtol and A) and everything will highlight.

4.  Right Click and choose Move.

You can now drag the whole model anywhere.  I found by moving it twice, as close to the centre of the terrain as possible, the zoom issue went.

Finally:  Go back to point 1 again and re tick the two boxes (certainly the second one (!) or you will find it very difficult to select the exact thing you want).

In the process of investigating this I have found another issue also unexplained at present but apparently not the cause of the zoom problem.

If you click the Display Framing button, you will notice lines extending to the left and right of the model.  These appear to be a corruption in the floor framing. The floor appears as though it was Automatic (was it?) so you have not caused the issue apparently. When I deleted the floor in the lower left room and the passage/ centre room, the line 'extensions' disappeared but reappear if you add floors back into these rooms. 

This may cause other problems later so I would suggest you delete all the floors and insert a Floor By Perimeter, or if you want different floor types in differetn rooms, select the floors and on the right click select Replace, and replace the existing floor by one of the Slab (concrete) floors.  These do not have framing specified, so seem to work OK.  You can change the surface texture to wood or whatever you want for display purposes.

Will keep investigating this further as something is still odd here.

Pat: Yes I noticed and wondered about the size difference too! 

Allan

[Hickson]

Allan, you are a wealth of info .. do you spend all your waking hours with TFP ...

Again .. thank you so much ..

[Allan Chesney]

No I don't spend ALL my waking hours with TFP - I occasionally pause briefly to eat! 

Allan

[Allan Chesney]

Well, in consultation with the Cadsoft, we are hopefully getting somewhere with this one.

If you go to Building Locations and Framing Options, the three options for your two locations are set to NONE. Did you change this somehow? I can't see how it can be set to none anyway.

You will find, if you go into Framing Options for each floor and double-click the None, you can change it from None to Default (the only option anyway). If this is done the Zoon to Extents will work properly.

It just comes back to the question why did it have None there in the first place. If you did not chane it to None, was there anything else you did that was unusual. Did you for instance, actually Add these locations in yourself. I notice if I Add a new location these framing settings are set to None. Obviously that should not happen, it should be filled with Default.

Can you please just confirm if you added them in (or did something else happen)?

Thanks,

Allan

[Robert W - "robban"]

Hi Hickson!
You have trouble some connection error between the walls  so you got a perpetual wall. It was the walls between the garage and closest connection 8" brick wall and 6" stucco wall, and between 8" brick wall and 6" wood wall. If you drag in this walls so they reconnect to the brick wall will fix the problem.


 I  found it by help of View filter, and turn on and of  selection and deleted the the on selection to the problem to I got a OK "zoom to fit".
And I also use a color on my work area and then I look at the print view it was a small area with same color as my work area in the region of the default place from bottom to the top in print area all other was default color.

/Robert