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COMPLIMENTARY ISSUE! DATACAD 12 FAQ See BACK for DISCOUNT

© 2009 Shu Associates, Inc.

November2009

Vol. XIX:11

VOLUME 19, NUMBER 11PRICE: $7.50

CADD for Clunkers:a DataCAD 12 FAQ

With a success of DATACAD’s current“DataCAD 12 for Clunkers” sale (whichends 12/31/09), we are seeing a lot ofrenewed interest in the features added withDataCAD 12 — not to mention featuresadded with DataCAD 10 & 11 for thoseupdating from older versions of DataCAD.For this reason, we thought we’d devotesome space in this issue to help those whoare trying to catch up with DataCAD 12.Even for those of you who have beenusing DataCAD 12 now for awhile, itshould be a good refresher to make sureyou are using the full potential of thispowerful version.

INSTALLATION: I have Vista on mycomputer station, does DataCAD 12play nice with Vista? How about withthe new Windows 7?

Yes, definitely, DataCAD 12 will workwell with both. But the most importantthing to remember in installing DataCAD12 is NOT to override its default installa-tion to your C:/DataCAD 12 folder. Youmay be tempted to put it under C:/ProgramFiles/DataCAD 12 but that is a recipe forVista’s infamous User Account Control

“feature” to mess with DataCAD’s need towrite to its files. Also, make sure that onceyou successfully install DataCAD 12 thatyou go to “Check for Update” in the Helpmenu and download the absolute latestversion available. Depending on when yougot your DataCAD 12 CD, it may not betoday’s most current version of 12(12.08.03.07).

KEEP MY OLD VERSION WORKING?I’d still like to keep my old DataCAD (9/10/11) version working as a securityblanket until I’m feeling secure aboutDataCAD 12. Will the new installationoverwrite my old copy?

No, it will not overwrite your oldDataCAD version as long as it is installedto a different folder. You can operate bothfreely as long as you have both versiondongles plugged in or are ready to swapthem. DataCAD 12 can open anyDataCAD 10/11 file. But if you work inDataCAD 12, you have to “Save AsDataCAD 11 AEC” to have the filereadable in DataCAD 11 and it will alsolose the “smart” aspects of any entities,plus they will not “roundtrip” back intoDataCAD 12. DataCAD 12 will also openDC5/DC3 older file versions of DataCADbut will not save out to DC5 (use DWGexport/import if you must). A nice feature

Figure 1: a) 4 line cavity "dumb" walls (upper right) yield barely usable 3D results,but in DataCAD 12 similar b) 4 line "smart walls" (lower pair) deliver 3D renderable results.

a) "Dumb" Walls inearlier versions

b) Smart Walls inDataCAD 12

DataCAD 12 for Clunkers!

November 2009 © 2009 Shu Associates, Inc.

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WHAT’S UP WITH TEXTING? Did Ihear that somehow text can now wrapand be reflowed within a drawing file inDataCAD 12?

Yes, you now have 3 different types oftext that can be used from your Textmenu. Basic Text is the same as always, sono difference there. But down near thebottom of the Text menu at the S7 and S8slots, you will find ParaText(PText) andMText. As we described more fully in ourApril 2007 issue, both are multi-line wordwrapping versions of text input, where youcan change the boundaries of the text boxboth before and after you place the text.ParaText (for both CHR and TTF fonts) isa very popular, flexible, no frills versionthat doesn’t allow features such as boldingand italics while MText allows all thosefancy features but can only operate usingTTF fonts — although DataCAD hasconveniently translated most of your CHR

fonts in TTF formats for use both insideand outside of the DataCAD program.Plus PText and MText can now (with12.08) be used inside symbols. Also,check out the new DataCAD.TTF font(issued with DataCAD 12.08 and locatedunder C:/Windows/Fonts). You’re goingto want to use it in your other programs.

SYMBOL PLEASURES: What!? I cannow edit symbols within a drawing file?Tell me how, quick!

Yes, with DataCAD 12, you can now editunexploded symbols on the fly, so that youdon’t lose their databasing ability. Basi-cally it opens up the symbol in a newdrawing file which, when saved, automati-cally updates all instances of that symbolonly in your drawing file. To edit anysymbol, you use the CTRL-right clickcommand with your mouse hovering overthe symbol you want to edit. Select“Symbol Tools” from the Context menu,then from the submenu, pick “EditSymbol” and it will open your symbol anew drawing window. After you makeyour changes, you close the window byclicking on the corner “X” and answer“Yes” to the question of saving thesechanges to your current drawing. Or, youcan pick “Save As” from the File menu tosave this symbol file either to a new namefor future use in other files.

Figure 2: MText (above) offers text formatting,while PText (below) is simple version of

allowing reflowable text paragraphs.

Figure 3: (left) "Auto3D" button turns on "smart" walls, "Manage"opens dialog menu, (below) make sure external wall types areloaded in Wall Types Manager.

(loaded)

(unloaded)

of this installation is that it will ask you ifyou want to copy your various usercustomization files (keyboard shortcuts,linetype files, even the “Moolbox” MSGfile customization) to DataCAD 12. But,in any case, don’t worry about multipleinstallations, DataCAD 11 (or any earlierversion) will still function and can serve asyour security blanket while you transitionto DataCAD 12.

NOT READY TO BE SMART? I amnot sure if I am ready to use SmartWalls/Windows/Doors, since I’ve beenso productive without. Do I have to usethem? How do I turn them on and off.

Smart walls are turned on/off via yourregular Architect/Walls menu via the“Auto 3D” button. If this button is off,your walls will function exactly as theydid before. You can tell if you aredrawing “smart” walls because they willautomatically clean up at intersections andthey will have little “X” indicators at eachcorner.

If you do start using Smart Walls, a crucialconcept to understand is that various smartwall types must be loaded into the drawingfile. When you first open a new drawingfile, you may be puzzled that you onlyseem to have one smart wall type option,the two line wall. If you hit the Managebutton, you can see other default walltypes, but they will have a little drive iconbeside them to indicate that they exist onlyoutside your drawing file and thus cannotbe used. Click on any of these other walltypes and it will be loaded into yourdrawing file and then be available as anoptional choice. Load in a bunch of themright away, so you can see how they affectyour drawing file operation.

Once, you load in a variety of smart walls,you can choose which one to draw withusing the new Types Toolbar (below) thatlets you select any loaded wall type, doortype, window type. This toolbar can beturned on/off via the View/Toolbars menu.

November 2009© 2009 Shu Associates, Inc.

DON’T FENCE ME IN: Isn’t there aFence type of ClipCube in DataCAD12? I can’t find it.

The fence-type clip function works foronly two specific cases: Symbols andXREFs. You can access these two newfunctions SClip and XClip from the ClipCube menu. Or easier still, for any symbol,CTRL-right click on it and pick SymbolTools/SClip then New Cube/Polyline. Thesame goes with any XREF: CTRL-rightclick, XREF Tools/XClip then New Cube/Polyline (Figure 4).

WHERE ARE MY SYMBOLS?! Howabout using my template and symbollibrary that I have built up over theyears? Do I have to worry abouttransferring or rewriting all my tem-plates (again) to use them in v12?

Yes, and no. If you have been using thefull path method of template writing, youcan access your template wherever it islocated in your old version of DataCAD12 and it will still work to call up yoursymbols. Unfortunately, if it doesn’t work,the templates were written using therelative path method. See this month’sQ & A for an easy way to reset yourpathnames to find your old templates andsymbols. But the real question is, whyaren’t you using the Symbol Browser(CTRL-T) instead? Oh, you don’t knowabout it? It was only the best new featureadded in DataCAD 11! With the SymbolBrowser (Apr 04), you are free of tem-plates, you can browse to any folder youlike and it will display all the symbolswithin it, and you don’t have to worryabout templates or pathing anymore.

FLYS ON MY NERVES: At first, Ireally liked the dynamic flyouts forsnapping points (Fig. 5) & the snapindicators thingies, but now, they arestarting to get on my nerves. How do Iturn them off or tweak the look?

Remember, the flyouts only display thesnapping points that you have called forunder the Object Snap menu. To change

how these flyouts appear, go to the Toolspull-down menu, then Interface/Tooltipsand check Object Snap. Now you can setbackground color, Display Delay (howlong it takes to appear), and Hide Delay(how long it displays before it disappearsagain). In the Dynamic Snapping section(lower right) of the same dialog, you canalso choose to turn off dynamic snapindicator, or turn off the tool tip hint, orchoose the type of snap indicator (Style 1is an asterisk, Style 2 is a little circle).Speaking of snapping, you can now snapto points within XREFs, symbols, andplotting details!

TRYING TO BE SMART: I created afew smart walls. Cool. But now, how doI change a smart wall?

You can move or stretch wall corners andintersections using your normal editingfunctions, but if you wanted to make awall thicker, for example, you can’t dothat with stretch as you might with a“dumb” wall. To DataCAD, a dumb wallis two separate lines, while a smart wall isa new entity and not really a pair of linesat all. To change any wall section, CTRL-right click on it and select “Wall Proper-ties” (Fig. 6) & you will see a whole menuof possible changes you might make. Ifyou select Wall Type,” you will see a listof all the different wall types that you havepreviously loaded. You can change thewidth of the wall here along with linetype,z-height, material or just about any otherparameter you can imagine.

One crucial difference is that while youmight think of a wall as the whole linkedseries of wall segments that you drew inone step, DataCAD 12 smart walls nowoperate on a section by section basis. Butyou can change the whole wall type in onestep, using a new Search and Replacefunction in the same Architect/Wallsmenu. Once you pick a wall type to findand a wall type to replace it with, you canuse your typical Entity/Group/Area/Fenceselection means to pick the walls you wantto swap.

KNOCKING ON THE DOOR: Okay,now I’ve got a smart wall, is there anytrick to inputting smart doors andwindows as well?

It’s pretty straightforward once youunderstand the concept of loading “types”(see more under Computerese) into adrawing file before they can be used. Also,you obviously can’t put a smart door into adumb wall and vice-versa, so be aware ofthe status of the Auto 3D button in yourArchitect menu. If you try to input a smartdoor into a smart wall, it will default to a3-0" single swing door. If you want anyother door, like with walls, you must firstselect the Manage button and load anydesired external door type into yourdrawing file. Also, if you want to deter-mine the width of the door as you draw it,then uncheck the “Fixed Width” selectionin the Wall Type Manager dialog box.

Now, input a smart door in by clicking ona spot in the smart wall, but before youclick down for the second side, move yourmouse around a bit. You will see that now

Fig. 4: CTRL-right-click onSymbol canaccess SClip

function.

Fig. 6: CTRL-rightclick on any smartwall brings up WallProperties menu forchangeable items.

Figure 5: Dynamicflyouts and SnapIndicators may notbe your cup of tea.

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you can dynamically and visually seewhich swing direction to use. You can alsoswitch horses in midstream by clicking onthe “By Strike” option to swap the hingeside of the door. Excellent! To change aDoor type, you use the same CTRL-rightclick on the door to access the DoorProperties menu to change door type,swing direction, opening angle, etc.

Inputting smart windows works in prettymuch the same way. Just remember thekey step is to use the Manage button toload in external window types before theycan be used within a drawing. Also in thesame Window Type Manager, you cantake any existing window type, change anynumber of parameters around (muntins,casing, trim, etc.) and save it as a newwindow type for future use.

WALL CLEANUP: Sometimes I getweird wall cleanups, what am I doing?

This question came up frequently duringthe first release of DataCAD 12, but if youhave updated to DataCAD 12.08, a lot ofthose bugs have been fixed. However, iftwo smart walls won’t clean properly, it isprobably because their “control lines”don’t meet (see more in Computerese).Remember that to DataCAD 12, a smartwall is really a single entity as defined byits control line (usually the line you drew)with various wall type parameters (doubleline, triple line, etc.). So, it might look liketwo smart walls intersect but if youreduced each to its single control line, theywouldn’t touch. Note that you can alsochange the way two walls clean up witheach other by control-right-clicking on anintersection and picking wall propertiesand then selecting yes/no on the “Clean”and “Cap” options. However, note thatyou can only change cleanup option onhard “node” conditions and not virtualnode conditions (see more under Comput-erese). This means that if you want to havean unusual cleanup condition, you willhave at use the “Add Node” button underEdit Walls, which is just like adding avertex in a polyline.

MSP TO DWG? Am I hearing right,DataCAD 12 can really export a Multi-Scale Plotting (MSP) sheet now toDWG? Yippee! Tell me how.

Yes, this limitation has now been elimi-nated by essentially creating a functionthat makes a “one-scale” version of yourMSP sheet by enlarging the other scaleddetails to match. Get all the details in ourDataCAD Tutor column this month.

SKETCHUP BACK & FORTH: I useSketchUp a lot for design modeling. Aretransferring models and materialseasier now with the new version?

Yes, now you can both import SketchUpfiles and now (with DataCAD 12.08) alsoexport DataCAD 12 files directly toSketchUp. Another big plus aboutimporting SketchUp models is that anyassociated materials or bitmap texturescome along for the ride and get embeddedin your drawing file, where they can besaved for use in other drawing files aswell. When you select SketchUp (seealternate option below) from the Insertpull-down menu and pick your file, youcan check boxes that include a) Extracttextures – takes the SketchUp textures aswell; b) Overwrite existing textures –places textures into DataCAD and asksyou to specify storage folder; c) Extractfront material(s) first – materials areextracted from front to back (not quitesure why that is important, but youmodelers must know); d) Preview (showsthe SketchUp file); d) Isometric view, or f)Object Viewer – shows a 3D raytracedview. Once selected, the SketchUp dataappears in a box on your cursor just like asymbol (which it now is!) with the samesymbol menu placement options.

You can also import the SketchUp modelas an XREF, instead of as a symbol asoutlined above. From the Insert menu, youpick SketchUp XREF (instead of just plain“SketchUp” and now the SketchUp file isplaced like an XREF instead and can becontrolled (layers on/off, highlighted, etc.)via the Reference File Manager.

SPREADSHEETS: How about import-ing Excel files?

Excel spreadsheets can also be importedvia the Insert menu, then Excel. Youbrowse to your desired spreadsheet file,pick it, and it appears on your cursor (youcan also choose to place it by center orabsolute zero.) One placed the ReferenceFile Manager comes up because yourExcel file is now an XREF, which can berefreshed to match up with any changesmade in the originating spreadsheet.

THERE’S MORE? Well, we don’t wantto overload you with all the new featuresthat you have missed in not upgradingsooner, but just so you are aware of whatelse DataCAD 12 can do, here are a fewmore highlights.

1) You can now use more than onedimension type within a single drawingfile (CTRL-right click on any dimension);

2) PenStyles (aka Windows line types,look under Linetypes) are scale indepen-dent linetypes (dashed, dotted, etc.) thatwill look “right” no matter what scale youprint at (Fig. 7);

3) Multiple Pen Tables can now beused on scale by scale basis, so that anMSP sheet can use one Pen Table for 1/4"scale details, and another for 1 1/2" scaledetails (Print/Plot menu and Scale to Pen).

4) 3D Boolean modeling (see Oct 09);5) Lot of great new rendering material

libraries are provided!6) PakNGo (12.08) is a feature that

makes sure all the associated files you mayneed (XREFs, materials, pen tables,bitmaps, fonts, etc.) are included when yousend off a file to a consultant.

7) Help is available. See the links inthe box at Figure 9 for more helpfulresources that you should access.

Yes, you Clunkers have a lot to catch upwith — but don’t be shy, give these greatnew features a try. Soon, “you’ll be lovin’it” (as the slogan goes) and all these newDataCAD features that will help yourproductivity even more!

Figure 7: use of Dashed Pen Style together with InsulationLine type will display dashes properly at any print scale.

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UPDATE RESOURCE LINKS

1) DataCAD 12 Update page (make sure you have the latest update):<www.datacad.com/update/update_dc12.htm>.2) DataCAD 12 Reference Manual (10.3MB) (if you CD installed version is corrupted):<www.datacad.com/support/down/DataCAD_12_manual/DataCAD_12_Manual.pdf>.3) DataCAD 12 What’s New? Manual (516KB) (if you CD installed version is corrupted):<www.datacad.com/support/down/DataCAD_12_manual/Whats_New_in_DataCAD_12.pdf>.4) DataCAD 12 Smart Entities Tutorial (404KB):<www.datacad.com/support/down/DataCAD_12_manual/Smart_Entities_Tutorial.pdf>.

Going Further Back5) What’s New in DataCAD 11? (2.36 MB):<www.datacad.com/support/down/Whats_New_in_DataCAD_11.pdf>.6) DataCAD 11 Before You Begin (36 KB):<www.datacad.com/support/down/Before_You_Begin.pdf>.

Always eye-opening, even for gurus (bookmark it!)7) DataCAD Revision History<www.datacad.com/update/downloads/RevHist/DataCAD/RevHist.htm>

8) More Help at<http://forum.datacad.com> or <www.tinyurl.com/DBUGforum>You can post questions at either forum for specific problems.

DataCAD 12 Terminology

DataCAD 12 introduces some new termsinto our CAD lexicon. Here are few of themost crucial ones that you should under-stand.

Control Line is the single line used todefine the beginning node, end node, andall other aspects of a given smart walltype, which exists in relationship to theControl Line. By default, it is the line theCAD user first draws but it can be shiftedto other lines in the wall type (Fig. 8).

CTRL-right click is the combinationsimultaneous CTRL keystroke with theright mouse button after the cursor isplaced on a desired entity. Most com-monly, it will cause a pop-up contextmenu (often the Properties manager)associated with the entity to appear.

Dynamic Snapping (aka Snap Tips).Indicator of defined points within a given

entity, such as end point, midpoint, centerpoint, which appears when the mousecursor is close to such a point. Pointsindicated are those selected from the ObjectSnap menu, and dynamically will appear onthe display with an asterisk or small circlealong with a label indicating what type ofpoint is being displayed (Fig. 5).

Lock Scale is a way of ensuring that agiven dimension type (architectural, metric,decimal, engineering) stays set even ifdiffering from the global or default drawingfile settings. It allows a mixed variety ofdimension types (e.g. decimal on propertylines, architectural on plans, etc.).

MText is a multi-line word-wrappingmethod of inputting text into a CAD filethat allows specific formatting of text intobold, italics, and strike-through modes aswell as reflowing into different boundaries.It utilizes TrueType format fonts only andcorresponds and converts to the sameMText feature found in AutoCAD (Fig. 2).

Node. A (hard) node is a point inputted bythe user and defines an end point of a wall

segment and includes parameters that canbe set by the user to determine thebehavior and appearance of wall ends,corners, and intersections. See differencewith Virtual Node, also see Figure 8.

Paragraph Text (PText) is a simplerversion of MText, this feature alsoprovides multi-line word-wrapping,reflowing and editing flexibility but doesnot provide for font highlighting. It canutilize either CHR (vector stroke) as wellas TrueType (TTF outline/infill) fonts.

Pen Styles (aka Windows Line Types). Aline appearance, such as dashed or dottedthat will appear properly-sized no matterat what scale or format a drawing isdisplayed, printed, or plotted at. This“scaleless” linetype is called a Pen Style inDataCAD 12 to differentiate it from theDataCAD line types, which do vary basedon scale. Windows line types, or PenStyles, can be used in combination withDataCAD’s linetypes to take advantage ofboth of their desirable qualities (Fig. 4).

Properties Manager is a dialog box thatindicates all the parameters of a givenentity which can be altered via menuselection. It is most commonly invoked byCTRL-right clicking on any given entity.

Smart Entity (aka BIM feature or ObjectOriented Entity): is a specific use entitywhich has a sense of association and rulesof behavior that govern in what specificways it can be used and how it can change,e.g. a set of lines that understands that it isa “door,” that can only exist within a walland has a defined “swing” path. Users canalter variables of the smart entity (e.g.door type, door opening angle, doormaterial, door width) through menuselection in either Properties or TypesManager dialog boxes.

Smart walls will have userinputted hard nodes andautomaticvirtual nodes.

Control Line if wall drawn by center.

COMPUTERESE

FIGURE 9

Figure 8: Smart Wall Terms

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Type is a named set of settings and theircorresponding values for smart entities,such as a wall, door, or window. Typescan be saved to and loaded from externalfiles, or they may be stored within adrawing file exclusively. Any externalsmart entity type usually must first beloaded by the user into a drawing file inorder for it to be available for use.

Type-dependent settings are shared by allinstances of a given type.Modifying a type-dependent setting willautomatically affect all instances ofthat type.

Type-independent settings may bemodified on a per-entity basis, in spite oftheir common entry in the Type Manager.

Type Manager, such as Wall TypeManager, Door Type Manager, WindowType Manager is the dialog menu thatallows user to load various types andadjust their various parameters. It isinvoked via either the “Manager” buttonon that functions menu or else the “S”button on the Context (Architect) toolbar.

Types Toolbar. New Toolbar inDataCAD 12 showing currently availableloaded types for wall, door, and windowfor menu selection.

Virtual Node: a virtual node defines theintersection of two wall segments, or thesides of a door or window as they relate toa wall segment — sometimes on atemporary or changeable basis. Virtualnodes are automatically generated whenwalls on the same layer intersect, or whena door or window is placed in a wall. Thebehavior of virtual nodes is predefined andcannot be customized by the user forvariable end conditions. However, virtualnodes can be converted to (hard) nodes bythe users for this purpose.(see Fig. 8).

Binding MSP sheets for DWG

For those of you who struggle withconsultants who use AutoCAD, DataCAD12 goes a long way toward solving yourproblem of getting your MSP (MultiScalePlotting) sheets to consultants in a formthey can view properly and use inAutoCAD.

In a nutshell, what DataCAD does isadjust a copy of all the various plottingdetails, so that they are all in the samerelative plot scale. For example, if on aMSP plotting sheet, you have combined a1/2" scale drawing detail and a 1" scaledrawing detail, along with a 1/4" scaleplan and are plotting the sheet at a 1/4"scale, then it will double the 1/2" scaledrawing in size and enlarge the 1" scaledrawing by 4.0 and place them into theirproper relationship as defined by yourMSP layout. Then DataCAD makes thatwhole sheet a big ol’ symbol on its ownseparate layer, which you can then exporton its own to DWG and keep yourconsultants happy (Figure 10).

For you grizzled old veterans of DataCADbefore MSP, this method is how we usedto do multiple scale detail sheets byenlarging or reducing various details to getthem to plot correctly at one overall scale.There was always a danger associated withthis practice if you didn’t remember thatyou had enlarged or reduced a detail, youmight add to that detail with a new partthat wasn’t sized properly — relativelyspeaking.

The exact methodology is as follows.Create one or more MSP sheets inDataCAD as you normally would.

Now in Print/Plot menu, select Multi-Layout, then Sheet, then Bind One. (orBind All if you want to do all the sheets atonce.)

Pick the sheet you want to bind. Now pickthe plotting scale that you want the overallsheet to be plotted at. You are given achoice of two methods to pick the scale.You can just pick one of the plottingdetails as your master scale. Hover yourcursor over each detail and a flyout willtell you what the plotting detail’s scale isset for. The other method is to select theScale button to pick the scale off yournormal scale list.

For example, if you have various planenlargements situated around a 1/8" scaleplan, you might pick 1/8" = 1'-0" as themaster scale. Or if you have 8 details on asheet and half of them are at 1" scale, youmight pick 1" as your master scale tominimize the number of details that needenlargement or reduction. In reality, itdoesn’t matter which scale you pick,because all your plotting details will endup in the same relative size to each other.However, if your title block and border areone of the plotting details, it makes senseto pick that detail’s scale as your masterscale.

Once you complete those two steps (picksheet, pick scale), your sheet details are

Fig 10: Binding willcreate a singlesymbol on a newlayer to mimic yourMSP drawing sheet.

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1 In DataCAD 12, CTRL-A is now akeyboard shortcut for Select All (see Q &A), and CTRL-Z is for Undo (same ascurving arrow icon). Undo will now workalso for Layer on/off, and will restoreyour entities after you have made asymbol.

2. From Rick Gleason: If you really musthave your old templates in DataCAD 12,you can repath them easily under theTools/Preferences/Pathnames. Lookunder the “Classic Symbols” and “ClassicTemplates” headings, and you can setthese choices to your old path, e.g.C:\Program Files\DataCAD 10\Templatesetc.) One you “exercise” the templatesthree or four times to get the path setproperly, the symbols will appear as inyour old version.

3. From Oran Woody: Ever need to bisectan angle, quickly? Try using the 2 pointarc command between the angle endpoints, then middle snap to pick the arccenter, and then snap to the two endpoints (or mid-points) of the relevantlines of the angle. With that arc in place,I (Object) snap to the mid-point of the

arc, touch the comma to erase the arc, andthen snap to vertex of the angle. Done!

4. From Dick Eades and RogerDonaldson: Another quick way to bisectan angle is to hit B (Tangents), F1 (Bisect)and pick the two angle lines, then thecursor is rotated to bisectthe angle and you can draw your line oruse it to mirror entities. Remember toCancel tangents (B, F3) when done.

5. From Neil Blanchard: To print out theDataCAD pathnames list, open the Infomenu under Tools/Program Preferencesand make sure that Program Paths ischecked off. Then use the Export buttonon the lower left corner to export theDrawing Information to a text file. (FYI:This procedure did not change withDataCAD 12!)

6. From Daniel Kaczor: Another way toprint out pathnames is to openDCADWIN.INI in Notepad, scroll downto the [Paths] section, copy that sectioninto another Notepad window and print itfrom there. Make sure you don’t changeanything in DCADWIN.INI.

bound as a single symbol and placed on anew layer, named after your sheet name.You should now make this layer “activeonly” and rename the layer, so youremember what’s on it. You might want todo a Quick Layout to confirm what theplotting scale should be for this layer/symbol. You are also free to add anythingelse you might want to add to this layer(e.g. notes to consultant on plotting scale,entities as AutoCAD block, etc.)

Now, you can go about your business andgo to File/Export to DWG and pick “OnLayers,” if you just want to send off thatMSP sheet. Now, you go through yourstandard dialogs to create your new DWGfile to send to your consultant.

The process is simple, fairly intuitive, butthere are a few concepts to make sure youunderstand. First of all, this new layer is acopy of the state of your MSP sheet at thatparticular time and not tied to the actual

entities themselves (unlike XREFs). If yousubsequently change any aspect of theplotting details, they will not automaticallyupdate to your new layer.

Secondly, this MSP layout on the newlayer is a Symbol — with all that being asymbol entails. It all moves, rotates,enlarges/reduces as a single symbol. Youcan only edit any aspect, if you use theSymbol Tools/Edit Symbol procedure. Ifyou explode it, it does not explode intoseparate plotting details at their originalscales and layers but as all individualentities on a single layer, so you are notlikely to want to take that step unless it isan emergency recovery type of operation.

If you keep those caveats and concepts inmind, you will find that this method toexport MSP sheets to DWG is great — nomuss, no fuss. Now, if AutoCAD only hada similar way to send us their PaperSpacesheets, we’d be all set.

DBUG ForumNow Playing on Google Groups

It was with some reluctance, this pastsummer, that we switched the e-mail hostfor the DBUG forum and DBUG TechDigest from the World to Google Groups(Mar 09 for instructions on setting up yourown Google Group). After all, the Worldhas served DBUG well for 15 years,through thick and thin, as we all havegrown up with this medium.

The way the old DBUG forum was set up,it didn’t let subscribers use rich (format-ted) e-mail, or attach files, nor was there abulletin board to look up or searchthrough old postings. That was reasonenough for the DataCAD Forum to stepinto that gap four years ago (Feb. 2005) toprovide those missing features as anotherresource.

Even so, we held on and kept using themajordomo software at the World for theDBUG forum, periodically weatheringstorms of lost service or otherwise wonkybehavior from time to time. We certainlydidn’t trust Google Groups so much thatwe leaped in without hesitation. Instead,we gradually moved our subscribers overbit by bit — first the Tech Digest sub-scribers, then the DBUG forummitesgroup by group.

We were able to make this gradualtransition by the simple trick of makingthe Google Groups new posting address<datacad-dbug@googlegroups.com> oneof the subscribers to the DBUG Forumservice at the World. Therefore, any postsent to DBUG at World would also beposted at Google Groups. For the reversetrip (since Google Groups does not allowany mailing list addresses nor any

QUICK TIPS

DR.DR.DR.DR.DR. OP OP OP OP OPsssss

November 2009 © 2009 Shu Associates, Inc.

“postmaster@”, “webmaster@”, or“info@” e-mail, we manually forwardedany Google Group post back to the DBUGforum at World.

We describe all these machinations to you,not to confuse you further, but to simplysay “it’s safe now!” For all of you whomay have left the DBUG forum or DBUGTech Digest forum over the years becauseof inability to post or receive e-mail orbecause of its lack of features to supportrich e-mail or attachments, please feel freeto come back now and check out the newDBUG forum on Google Groups.

You can first see how all the posts areautomatically archived and threaded attheir Google Group Bulletin Board(s):

<www.tinyurl.com/DBUGforum>or

<www.tinyurl.com/DBUGtech>.If you are already a member of eitherforum, you know that you are still receiv-ing the usual DBUG forum posts but nowwith some rich e-mail and attached file e-mail mixed in with the typical traffic. Ifyou would like to join either forum, youwill now need a Google Account to do so.But bear in mind, you do not need a newGoogle gmail account to have a GoogleAccount as many people believe. You canuse your regular e-mail address to create aGoogle Account. Go to the mainGoogle.com page and click on Sign-in,then Create a New Account — the directlink is <https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount>Follow the steps outlined, and you willreceive a e-mail with a subject heading“Google Email Verification” and once youclick the link in that e-mail, your accountwill be created.

Once your account is created, you cansign-in, then go to the bulletin board pageof any public forum and click “Apply forgroup membership.” You may be asked asimple question or request, e.g. “please tellus your interest in DBUG or CAD” — wefigure most spammers won’t be able tosatisfactorily answer this request. Do not

leave this request blank as most spammersdo leave it blank and hope their silencewill be rewarded with approval. Yourapplication for group membership will beacted on usually within a couple of hours(unless we are sleeping at the time!) andyou will start receiving DBUG e-mails.

And, if you have troubles with thatprocedure or are philosophically opposedto creating a Google Account, we bothunderstand and sympathize. Send us ane-mail at <evanshu@comcast.net> and askto join either the DBUG Forum or theDBUG Tech Digest, and we will add youin directly--no need for a Google Account.

Now, the way of the world being what itis, the biggest change we have had toinstitute is the need to approve all e-mailsbefore they are posted. Otherwise, it leavesa hole where “spoofed” e-mail aliases canbe used to get through membershiprestrictions on any group. We’ve alsoexperienced cases where even non-member spammers still manage to findbackdoor ways of posting to a member-only forum. So, with some reluctance, we

have changed to an “approve all posts”system, which means that some of you willexperience longer delays in posting,especially those of you from the other sideof the world from us who work and e-mailwhile we sleep. Our apologies in advancefor these delays, but at least you know why.

So, all in all, we think the new features andthe more reliable service and automatedbulletin board have made the move toGoogle Groups for DBUG well worth it.And don’t worry about forgetting what theposting address for the DBUG forum is, westill have it setup to accept either (althoughthe old one will still block attachments andrich text e-mail). The footer on DBUGforum e-mail now reads:

To Join or view DBUG Bulletin Bd:http://www.tinyurl.com/DBUGforum

New Posts-> datacad-dbug@googlegroups.comOR datacad-dbug@world.std.com

So, please, do give the new DBUG forumor DBUG Tech Digest a try — especially ifyou left it due to posting/receiving issues.It’s safe, the temperature’s warm, and theDBUG forum is cooking again.

Fig. 11: DBUG Forumsnow have their own bulletinboard archives on GoogleGroups.

Page Eight

November 2009© 2009 Shu Associates, Inc.

IMPORTING BATCH OF LAYERS:Can I import an extensive series oflayers that I’ve created to serve muchlike symbols? If so, where to and howdo I access them?

If you just want the entities on the variouslayers and don’t care about the layernames you can use the Layer Sets (LyrSets) function in DataCAD’s Layers menuto both save them into a set and load themfrom a set. But we are guessing youprobably do want the layer names loadedas well. By saying “like symbols,” you areon the right track. A cheap tricks way todo it, is draw a little marker on each layeryou want to save out, and then create asymbol (using Layer Search) of all thosemarkers on all the layers. Now in any newdrawing, place that new symbol andexplode the symbol with the optionOriginal Layers (OrigLyrs) picked. Nowall your named layers will be (re)createdin your new file.

MOVING MENU TOOLBAR: Nowthat more of us have upgraded toDataCAD 12 via the clunkers program,we have some elementary questions.I’m not finding an option in the Prefer-ences/Interface tab to move the F keymenu to the right hand side like inprevious editions.

Go to the View pulldown menu and makesure there is no check by “Lock Toolbars,”if checked, uncheck it. The top of your Fkey menu should have a dotted line alongthe top. Put your cursor on that line andclick and hold and just drag the menu overto the other side of the screen and bump itinto the side and it will dock into a sidebar. You can move around all your othermenus and toolbars that same way untilyou get an arrangement you like. If youwant to keep it that way, go back andcheck “Lock Toolbars.”

CTRL-A CHANGEUP: I updatedDataCAD to the latest version to haveaccess to the SaveAs SketchUp fileexport. I loaded the latest SU. Then, I

found that my CTRL-A key combina-tion no longer works as it did before totaking me to the draw Arrows com-mand as I have set in myDCADWIN.MNU file, it now takes meto the Windows command of “SelectAll.” Is there a setting in Windows thatI can re-set to make everything work asit did before?

From Dave Giesselman, DATACAD: Ifyou don’t want to use CTRL-A for SelectAll (such as after setting a Move distance),then Open your DCADWIN.INI file inNotepad and search for the following keyin the [General] section: Select All Character=aYou may change the “a” to any othercharacter of your choice or change it to: Select All Character=to disable the command completely.

LOCKED OUT: I have installedWindows 7 Professional and haveinstalled DataCAD 12 and am nowgetting the message that HLVDD.DLLis missing

From Nick Pyner: The “HL” tells you it’sabout the hardlock. Try loading yourDataCAD 12 CD again and running thesetup just for the Hardlock as that some-times works. [Editor: also, to make sureyou have administrative privileges underWindows 7 (or Vista), you can right-clickon the hardlock setup execution file anduse “Run As” then pick “Administrator”.]Many people find it easier to just down-load the latest hardlock driver fromDATACAD’s website at<http://www.datacad.com/update/update_hardlock.htm>.

DATACAD 12 GROUPIES: I am tryingto get used to DataCAD 12 and it lookslike you have to check “keep groups”every time you use the copy command.I was used to setting this once in eachdrawing. I did not see it addressed inthe manual. Anyone know how to getthe “Keep groups” on as a default/permanent setting?

From Brian De Coster: Open theDCADWIN.INI file (found in the folderyou installed DataCAD in) with Notepadand find the line near the top that reads“Copy Keeps Groups=FALSE” andchange to “Copy Keeps Groups=TRUE”and save the file and you will get what youwant.

BLUEPRINT DREAMS: Do you haveany ideas on how to produce a PDF fileor other image that looks like a blue-print, i.e. blue background with whitelines? I’d like to use a few as backdropson a web page.

From Daniel Kaczor: Make a new filewith a layer for a Blue SPB fill which is atleast the size of your sheet. Make addi-tional layers for all the drawings you wantto blueprint. XREF in the desired files andhighlight the XREF using a near whitecustom color (I use color 254 mapped toR:254, B:254, G:254). Use MSP to layoutsheets with the blue layer included. Thenyou can save as PDF or EMF and convertto JPG or GIF for the web. You will needto make some pen assignments in the pentable to make the blue and near-whiteprint, but, you know what to do there.

From Oran Woody: If all you want issome web backgrounds, after you havewhat you want using the XREF method,just use a screen capture program to grabwhat you want for a quick and easy JPG orGIF image (see below).

From Wayne Allen: Another way is toexport the drawing file to Sketchup. Thensimply select a “style” that suits the effectyou desire. There are several blueprintstyles there, even those that will give thedrawing a hand drawn effect.

Page Nine

November 2009 © 2009 Shu Associates, Inc.

Page Ten

Podium for SketchUp

As many of you now use SketchUp as acompanion modeling program toDataCAD, we wanted to tell you about avery powerful and simple to use SketchUpadd-on utility called Podium. Podium is arendering program and works in SketchUp(5/6/Pro) in a similar way that the Object(o2c) Viewer works in DataCAD. But thepotential for high quality renderings,especially interior renderings, is muchgreater.

Our thanks to Eric H. Gjerde, AIA of theMZO Group Architects in Stoneham,Mass. for bringing this powerful utility toour attention via the September DBUGmeeting presentation and demonstratinghow easy it is to use and what impressiveimages can be obtained from it. Heanswered the following questions for thegroup about Podium.

1) Where do you find SU Podium?<http://www.suplugins.com/>.

2) What does the Program do? It addsreflections, lights & realism to the model.

3) Is it hard to learn? No.

4) Does it cost a lot of money? No, it’sfree for the limited 500x500 output imagesize version. $179.00 gets you the fullworking version for image output over3000 pixels.

Once you have downloaded Podium at<www.suplugins.com> and installed it youwill see it in SketchUp under the Plug-inpulldown menu. The amazing thing aboutthis utility is that it is controlled by oneultra-simple menu (Figure X). The upperpulldown menu sets the rendering quality,and then you just have two toggle slidersthat control Light and Reflection. That’s it!

Podium will use SketchUps own textures,backgrounds, views and shadows toproduce photorealistic renderings, so theplug-in is fully integrated with SketchUpitself (Figure 12).

Now, as Eric further explained, it is notquite that simple, but it is certainly simplerthan any other photo-realistic renderer hehas ever worked with. He found it lessuseful for exterior renderings (too stark,not realistic) but extraordinarily useful forinterior renderings (very realistic!).

To get started with a simple exercise, pullup any Sketchup building model, and openthe Podium menu (Plugins).1. Click on to select any surface or face inthe model.2. While the surface is highlighted, pick avalue for reflection by moving the Reflectslide bar in the Podium menu.3. Paint a texture or color to the surface.4. Check the Preview box, then click onthe Render button and you will see theresults in the Preview box below. ClickSave if you want to keep that image. Clickon the arrow button in the top right cornerto change any of the rendering settings forpixel size, quality, or folder it is saved to.

Podium creates renderings of theSketchUp model by simulating thereflection of light on each SketchUpsurface. By default, Podium appliesSketchUp’s default “Sky Light” source tothe scene. By varying the amount ofreflection on various surfaces, you cancreate a photorealistic effect. You canalso change the lighting and reflection bychanging SketchUp’s background color(darker for evening shots) or shadows.

But, as we suggested, the more impressiveuse for Podium is with interior renderingsnot exterior ones. For this purpose, youwill generally need to add at least someinterior lumination in addition to anynatural daylighting that may be available.

There are two main methods of addinglight in Podium: one (LEM) is sparinglyused, and one (Omni) is almost always tobe used. LEM stands for Light EmittingMaterial and you create one by selectingany surface or face and moving the lightslider to say, 20. LEMs are good for lineartype lights (fluorescents, etc.). Theproblem with them is that they take a lotof rendering time and processing re-sources. Using 1 or 2 LEMs per renderingis about all a typical scene can handlewithout taking forever to process. (Youcan download a library of LEM lightsfrom the Podium Users download area.)

So, if LEMs are to be used sparingly, if atall, what is a Podium renderer to use? TheOmni light comes to the rescue. The Omnilight is an invisible point source type oflight that is created by making any objectinto a Group (Select/Edit/Make Group)and then applying the same Light slidersetting to it from the Podium menu. With aLEM, the surface stays in view and emitslight. With the Omni, the object or surfacedisappears but light is created. The biggerthe surface, the bigger the area around itthat is illuminated. So, you can put in a bigfloating square in the middle of your roomand it will light up the room quite suffi-ciently — but not evenly, since it works asa point source of light.

So, the next step in your quest is todownload a utility for Podium, calledOmni Grid. You can get it for free at

Fig. 12: Podium's ultra-simple menu (left) can still createultra-realistic renderings (above). Images by Eric Gjerde.

November 2009© 2009 Shu Associates, Inc.

From the Editor:

The DataCAD 12 for Clunkers promotion(turn in any old dongle-hardware key in fora new copy DataCAD 12 for only $295) isgetting another welcome jolt of publicityas DATACAD’s 50,000 postcards arrivedin the mailboxes of current and formerDataCAD users this past month. And theresponse has been strong. Amazingly, ithas even gotten many DataCAD DOSusers (5/6/7/8) from way back to upgradeto DataCAD 12! It is, after all, a tremen-dous once-in-a-decade offer that is toughto resist. But don’t procrastinate, thinkingthat DATACAD will keep extending thatdeadline. We have it on good authority thatthe CADD for Clunkers sale will definitelyend on December 31, 2009. See moredetails at <www.datacad.com/trade-in> ore-mail <sales@datacad.com> with anyquestions (or even creative alternatescenarios for trade-ins that you would liketo propose, e.g. “can I trade in my dog forDataCAD 12?”)

To help with the inevitable flurry ofquestions in this upgrade transition, thismonth we have provided a DataCAD 12FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) issueto help you DataCAD 12 Clunkers (youdon’t mind being called that, do you?)catch up with all the new features. There isa lot there to absorb (and more we haven’teven covered yet). In fact, as we wereputting this issue together, we realized thatthere were several great new DataCAD 12features that we had completely forgottenabout and haven’t really tried out ourselvesyet (Pen Styles, PakNGo, the newDataCAD font among others). So even foryou gurus, we hope this issue is a goodrefresher/reminder course on DataCAD 12.

Hopefully then, a strong finish for theCADD for Clunkers promotion will be just

<http://www.suplugins.com> but you haveto register as a Podium user. But then youcan go to the Registered User area, andlook in the index of available utilities todownload Omni Grid.

What Omni Grid does, as the namesuggests, is create a grid of omni lights.Once this utility is installed, you can selectany planar surface and a grid of omnilights is created parallel and sized to thatplane (you can reset the grid settings to getmore or less lights, Figure 13). You thencan use SketchUp’s Move tool to reposi-tion this omni grid of lights anywhere youlike in the room. It is already set to createan even illumination of light, so be carefulof adding any more light to it.

So, here it is in a nutshell. Create aninterior scene in SketchUp, complete with“painted on” materials from SketchUp’slibraries. Add in bitmap images of people(use the Face Me command to get them toalways turn to your point of view). Add inan Omni Grid of lights. Hit Render, andyou will soon get images as impressive asthese shown by Eric Gjerde (Fig. 12-15).

When it seems too good to be true, itusually is. But Podium for Sketchup mayactually be the exception to the rule. Itreally is a fairy tale simple solution tocreating photorealistic interiorrenderings.

what the doctor ordered to giveDATACAD the impetus and time it needsto get the work done on DataCAD’s nextmajor version. DATACAD is gettingready to give its first public BETAshowing of that upcoming X3 version ofDataCAD at their annual appearance at theBuild Boston tradeshow at Boston’sWorld Trade Center. The X3 version issaid to include such major new features asSmart Symbols, Scale-independent Text,2D/3D View-dependency, and Sun/ShadowStudies. If you missed the October 23rddeadline for free registration, you can stillregister for an exhibit hall pass ($10) andthe 22nd Annual DBUG (DataCADBoston Users Group) Meeting (EventSA15)on Wednesday, November 19, 2009at 6 p.m. at <www.buildboston.com>.

Don’t look for any more advancedproductivity training sessions to comefrom DATACAD at least for the nearfuture. That ship has sailed for now, so ifyou procrastinated or your wallet pre-vented you from taking advantage of thoseexcellent training sessions, you will needto look for other alternatives (like sub-scribe to Cheap Tricks!) until at least nextyear.

It was just one year ago that the economywas in freefall and all of us were startingto wonder if there was any bottom to therecession. Now, most would agree thatwe’ve at least hit bottom overall but whenand how strong the bounce back will beremains to be seen. We especially empa-thize with all of you middle managers whohave been squeezed out of many firms inthe downsizing process. We hear stories ofhow you’ve been faced with the difficultchoice of competing for entry leveldrafting positions versus somehow strikingout on your own. It’s certainly still not aneasy time for any of us. But we areencouraged by the sense of communitythat remains strong among DataCAD folk.Hang in there, we see light at the end ofthe tunnel and better days ahead.

— Evan H. Shu, FAIA

Fig. 13: Omni Grid Utility light grid.

Fig. 14: Podium rendering by Eric H. Gjerde.

Fig. 14: Podium rendering by Eric H. Gjerde.

Page Eleven

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