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AEC

Creating Concise Documentation, Part 4 (ArchiCAD Insights Tutorial)

30 Apr, 2007 By: Angi Izzi

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Set up View Map to navigate your model.

Now that you understand the element attributes and how they can be set for different types of drawings to display appropriately, you need to know how to easily access these settings that we covered in the last three columns. More importantly, you want to be able to control them for each drawing instance. We will use View Maps in the Navigator to achieve this goal.

The Navigator has four tabs at the top.

Using the Project Map tab lets you easily move between drawings, but the layers don't change automatically. You must continue to change your model views to show the correct view of your drawing. The Project Map is an easy way to go back and forth between stories if you're viewing the same type of drawing. It's also the place where all views of the model are stored.

If you want to work very quickly between different types of drawings, you'll want to use the View Map. The View Map is structured so you can easily manage your drawings to eventually place them onto sheets in the Layout tab.

Once you have a view you want to save for future reference on your screen, save it as a View Map by simply selecting your layer combination, scale and your Model View at the bottom of the Navigator or you can use the pull-down menus.

After you have everything set, right-click on the floor in your project map. You are prompted to Save Current View.

Next, you can select the layers, dimensions and model view options here if you haven't saved any yet.

When you click Create, you can find your new View under the View Map Tab as shown here.

You can drag and drop your drawing to a new location, or you can add folders by right-clicking on the drawing. This should assist you in keeping your drawing types organized. You can use this same method for plans, elevation, sections, details and even 3D views.

If at any point in your documentation process you want to change the way a View Map drawing appears, right-click on the drawing in the Navigator with the View Map Tab activated and choose View Settings.

From there, choose the Custom option under Model View Options at the bottom of the dialog. This lets you change your view based on selecting the proper model view options, dimensions and layers. If some of this view information, such as changing one layer or changing the dimension is preset manually, you can click the Get Current Window's Settings button. This lets you use the settings of the current window and overrides any options you may have previously selected allowing for an option to show as custom instead of a preset option.

That covers how you can quickly move between views in your model making it easy to place drawings on sheets in your layouts.