Relocate floor plan to the centre of the terrain

[cric]

Hi all
When i started my drawing I plotted the walls in the middle of the blank screen without realising that there was a box (terrain??) out of site.
Now when I come  to print my drawing it is a small speck in a large frame. I have managed to reduce the size of the frame but I can not centralise the plot in the frame, so again when looking at print preview my building is stuck in the top left hand corner!
Also is there any way of actually copying a floor plan like cut and paste?
Thanks
Cric

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Cric,

You do not need to move the whole model in order to print just the plan.  If you fill the screen with what you want to print, then choose Display in the print dialog dropdown list, it will print just what you display.

A better option is to choose Window and click the Window button and it will take you to the plan again, where you draw a 'window' around what you want to print (click at the two opposite corners to select the area).

If you still want to move everything, you first need to go to Settings / Program Setttings / Building Aids and untick the box "Select elements on current location only while in plan view", then go to Edit / Select All (Control+A), then right click and \select Move. If it still will not move turn Collision off (Status bar lower left).

You cannot Cut and Paste between files, only save the file with another name. You can in effect cut and paste between different Locations in the same model - select the things you want to copy to the new location, then right click and select Duplication To Location - then choose the new location.  You can make another copy of something on the same location by choosing the objects you want to replicate, then right click and choose Duplicate.  The objects are duplicated in exactly the same place so just move the mouse and the duplicated objects will be move with the mouse - click to 'paste' them.

Hope that helps,

Allan

[cric]

Thanks Allan.
Beginning to understand how this programme works! Still a long way to go.
Most of what I do is conversions of  redundant stone barns into accommodation, hence drawings are not straight forward, which brings me to my next question!
Is it possible to show more than one plot on a drawing, i.e. an existing floor or elevation and the proposed plan, and is it possible to label elevations ,so that they can be printed to a cute PDF writer to send to my clients?
Thanks again
Cric

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Cric,

Is it possible to show more than one plot on a drawing, i.e. an existing floor or elevation and the proposed plan, and is it possible to label elevations ,so that they can be printed to a cute PDF writer to send to my clients?

If by this you mean that you want to put a plan or two (or an elevation or two) on one PDF, then you need to read the PDF attached to this article: http://forums.turbofloorplan.com/index.php/topic,877.0.html.

In very simple terms, what you do is:

1. Display the elevation on screen, do a File / Export as a DXF and give it a name (eg Front Elevation.dxf).
 
2. Display the side elevation and File/ Export again (as Side Elevation.dxf) and so on with all the plans/elevations/sections you want.

3. Start a new project (just for printing).

4. Go to File / Import / Object Wizard and import the DXF files you exported - they will attach to your cursor and can be placed anwhere on the 'page'. You can then add any dimensions, labels or text etc that you want and print or save to a PDF.

Hope that answers your question.

Allan

[cric]

Sounds perfect thanks very much again!

[cric]

Hi Allen.
I think I have almost got to grips with the drawing scenario!.....But I am struggling with three things!
1. Is there any way of keeping the dimensions on the exported drawings or do I have to insert them all manually  when I have re-imported them.
2. How can I get rid of all the surplus lines? Hopefully you might be able to see what I mean in the attachment.
3. How can I make the wall lines heavier?
Thanks
Cric

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Cric,

You are doing well!

Re your questions:
1.  The dimensions and any other text etc that you added to the plan should automatically be exported in the DXF file and should be there when you import them. I exported the plan in the image below as a DXF, (although converted here to a JPG to use on the forum) and you will notice it has all the dimensions, text etc

2. The surplus lines you refer to appear to be the Terrain boundary. If you turn this off before you do the export they should not be there.

3. There is an option to 'Print Line Weights' which will use the line thicknesses selected for each object. The line types can be changed if desired but generally 'line weights' can make the drawing cluttered. In Settings / Program Settings / Workspace tick Show Line Weights box.  The same option is in the print dialog. However I don't think the line weights like this are exported, as the DXF format is vector based and all line thicknesses are uniform I think. 
Maybe line colours are the problem. In the attached image the guttering and lights for example are yellow and would come out pale when printed in Greyscale. The colours can be change in the object's Properties.
Try turning on Line Weights for the project after importing the DXF files and see if improved the darkness of the lines - I have not tried this.
Your PDF seems to print OK for me when printed at 100%. For clarity I would go to the dimension settings and adjust the dimension lines so there is a gap between them and the building, as this is making it hard to tell the dimension lines from the wall lines, which agrivates the problem.

The walls themselves can be made "solid" if you turn on Enable Solid Fill (Settings / Program Settings / Building Aids).  For this to work however the Solid Fill setting must also be enabled in the Wall Properties.  Select a walls, right click, Select All Similar, right click Select Properties. On the Appearance tab go to 2D Core and the the Solid Fill - Enable box. This will fill the wall with the selected colour. This option is ideal for printing but again the solid fill does not export as DXF, so may be of no use in your case either.

Allan

[cric]

Hi Allen.
Not sure if I am about to post this for a second time.
Thanks for your answers I was heading in the right direction but not quite there yet!
Without appearing to be very dense how do I turn off the terrain?
I have sussed the lines out and am happy with that.
I am still struggling with the export I am export as 2 dimensional drawing, is this correct if so,  not only am I  loosing the dimensions but also text that I have put on the drawing!
Sorry to be a pain!
Cheers
Cric

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Cric,

You can turn off the Terrain, or any part of the model, using the View Filter. The icon has an eye on it I think (can't check as I am away from the house at present) - you should also find it on the View menu.

Sounds like you are exporting correctly - File / Export /2D Drawing and choose DXF (it defaults to DWG I think - must be DXF). If this is what you are doing, try turning off Hardware Acceleration (Settings /Program Settings / Graphics). That should not affect it but try it anyway (turn it back on if it makes no difference, as it will slow things down).

Have you altered the default text style, size or dimension settings at all?

Allan

[cric]

Hi Allen.
I think I am very close to becoming competent!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I seem to be doing everything right, the accelerator makes no difference that I can  see!
When I use the import object wizard I can see the dimensions are there in the preview pane but when it re-appears on the drawing they have gone, I have tried reducing the no. of dimensions shown but that doesn't help, the lines for the dimensions show up fine!
cheers
Cric

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Cric,

I am afraid I cannot see why the text/dimensions is not appearing in the imported file, if, as you say, it appears to be there during import.

I notice when I do it that the text, although black in the original, is red after import.  Sounds silly but I dont suppose yours is becoming white! What happens when you select the imported object - does the text show then in green like the rest of it?
What about attaching you DXF file here so I can try it?

Allan

[cric]

Hi Allen.
I have attached the DXF file, I am a bit flummoxed by this!
Once I have mastered the loss of text there is a little refinement that would be helpful.
When I import the file with the wizard what should I import it as  an appliance, structure or what and then which scale should I choose, it doesn't seem to make any difference concerning text but It seems whichever I use it ends up very large and I have to zoom out to see it?
Cheers
Cric

[cric]

Hi Allen.
Just a couple of other things, s it possible to set metric units as default instead of imperial and to turn elements on or off e.g terrain, permanently ?
Cheers
Cric

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Cric,

Your DXF file imported fine for me. As you can see in the image it has all the dimensions and text so I am at a loss as to why you are not getting this.  It appears you left the Terrain on for this one but no problem. I notice too that the wall in the image tapers from one end to the other.  This indicates a wall corruption somewhere that is causing this and it could lead to further issues later. Try File / Repair project - this may delete the wall. If not check all the joins - something is causing it to break. The wall seems to taper from the mid point so I would look for an issue there.

When I import the file with the wizard what should I import it as  an appliance, structure or what and then which scale should I choose, it doesn't seem to make any difference concerning text but It seems whichever I use it ends up very large and I have to zoom out to see it?

What you import it as makes not difference really - it only refers to the section of the catalogue where it will be save IF you added it ot the catalogue (which you would not logically do).

If you trun the Terrain off the imported object should be the same size as it is in reality. If it was created in metric and imported in metric it should be correct. If Feet and Inches show up you wuld just change that to MM (or whatever other setting - even Custom) so that the Resultant Width is the actual width of the model. I just changed yours to mm and it measures correctly when I apply a dimension to one of yours - that is the way to check that you got the scale right.

Just a couple of other things, s it possible to set metric units as default instead of imperial and to turn elements on or off e.g terrain, permanently ?

You can set metric in Settings / Program Settings / Units of Measure and you need to select the Metric Catalogue also (File / Catalogues).
If you go through the Settings menu and set things how you want, turn off Terrain in View Filter and save the blank project into the Templates folder (See Settings / Program Settings/ General for the location on your PC) then you can choose that Template when opening a new project - it will keep all your settings. You can also set it as the default in Settings / Program Settings/ General.

Hope that helps.

Allan

[cric]

Hi Allen.
I have spent for ever trying to solve the mission dimensions problem still can't fathom it out and now I have lost my metric catalogue!
When I open the metric catalogue the box to the right continues to show imperial sizes but if I select an item and go to its properties they are in metric!?******?!!!!
In particular, when I first downloaded the programme, I was amazed and delighted to find a 600mm masonry wall which was just perfect for me! And now it has gone!!!!!!!
There I was thinking I had mastered it!
Cheers
Cric