automated wall?

[angelates]

is there a way stop all the connected walls changing size when i change a single wall's size?
i am really struggling to create accurate plans because my walls keep changing size by themselves...
i have exhausted "help: if someone could help me i would be most grateful

[Allan Chesney]

Hi and welcome to the forum,

By changing size I presume you mean changing the length, rather than height and thickness.

How are you actually changing the length?

Usually it is done simply by moving the attached wall (drag it by the centre blue marker and keep an eye on the dimensions until the wall connecting to it is the right length). Obviously if an interior wall is a certain length it has to move out any connected wall accordingly. To get the length of that wall very exact you can use the Nudge (arrow keys on your keyboard) and you can set the Nudge to just 1mm or fraction of an inch and have a second setting using the Ctrl and Arrow set to a larger distance. (see Settings / Program Setting / Drawing Aids).

You can of course type lengths of walls in but personally I never use this, I find dragging the wall far easier and I can see easily what else is moving , and stop it (as discussed next) if necessary. I find typing the wall lengths in very frustrating and time consuming, although accurate of course and a valid way of doing it.

If you find a wall is being moved that you don't want to move then just drag the red or green end marker in to temporarily shorten that wall. When it breaks contact with the other wall, you can move the wall you wanted to move and then go back to the one you shortened and drag the end back, so that it connects again. You must drag it at least half way into the other wall - or drag it right through and just delete the bit that sticks out the other side.

In my opinion, after using the progam almost daily for 15 years, the simplest way to draw a plan is to just draw a rectangle (assuming the design is just rectangular for this example), drag two of the walls so that the two outside dimensions are correct. Your exterior walls of your building are now the correct size. Now draw in any wall that goes from one side to the other and then move it so that it is exactly in the right positon between the outside walls. Now draw in any other interconnecting walls. If your original outside wall dimensions were correct and intersecting walls dragged to the correct position between the exterior walls, then you should not need to lengthen any walls at all, they will automatically be correct.

I don't know if that helps at all.

Allan