What features would you like to see added to a future version of DataCAD?
#61251 by Mark Bell
Thu Aug 08, 2013 4:42 pm
yep, but at least DataCAD would have the ability to output to a single file.

Reminds me, another wishlist - when we add a bitmap/jpg image(s) to a drawing the PDF increases dramatically. Doing the exercise in other programs doesn't create the same oversize PDF file. Is there a way to look at outputting smaller PDF files where images have been added to drawing sheets?
#61254 by joshhuggins
Thu Aug 08, 2013 7:00 pm
FWIW, we are getting ready to abandon Datacad's PDF output in a week or two because of the output size and use PDF Xchange Tools PDF print driver. The files are about 1/2 - 1/8 the size and the quality is as good or better. IU just have to add the custom paper sizes to the print driver and update our Print/Plot settings files.
#61259 by galenanderson
Fri Aug 09, 2013 10:57 am
joshhuggins wrote:FWIW, we are getting ready to abandon Datacad's PDF output in a week or two because of the output size and use PDF Xchange Tools PDF print driver. The files are about 1/2 - 1/8 the size and the quality is as good or better. IU just have to add the custom paper sizes to the print driver and update our Print/Plot settings files.


Can you batch plot to PDF this way?
#61261 by joshhuggins
Fri Aug 09, 2013 1:45 pm
galenanderson wrote:Can you batch plot to PDF this way?
Yup, and the Tracker PDF Xchange print driver gives you TONS of options!
Image
#61342 by joshhuggins
Wed Aug 21, 2013 1:15 pm
Would be nice if we could resize mutlitple MText all to the same point. Say Text, MText, Resize, Point, (pick a point), and then select via EGAFM to pick.
sched.JPG
sched.JPG (184.27 KiB) Viewed 14142 times

resized.JPG
resized.JPG (132.77 KiB) Viewed 14142 times
(I cleaned the schedule vertically before the screen shot to avoid confusion)
#61378 by Dave
Wed Aug 28, 2013 1:59 am
Smart Free Trim (or Smart Trim)

With free trim you need to
Select the entities to trim to and trim using F1,F2,F3 etc
Select Begin
Select entities to trim

With a Smart free trim you could assume everything is selected.
Select Smart Free Trim
Select entities to trim

The only option required would be Layer Search

Dave
#61382 by joshhuggins
Wed Aug 28, 2013 11:28 am
Dave wrote:Smart Free Trim (or Smart Trim)

With free trim you need to
Select the entities to trim to and trim using F1,F2,F3 etc
Select Begin
Select entities to trim

With a Smart free trim you could assume everything is selected.
Select Smart Free Trim
Select entities to trim

The only option required would be Layer Search

Dave
So just start free trim and then start selecting. I think this even make more sense to me.
#61428 by Mark Bell
Tue Sep 03, 2013 12:44 am
1. Add the ability to display door handles in 2D plan view om smart doors,

2. Add the ability to display 'percentage open' for garage doors (this is a small bug as there's no effect when adjusting a garage door from 0 - 100% open/closed in plan view),

3. Further develop the 'intelligence" of the smart doors/windows to include the ability to display more detail the closer you zoom in to a drawing. This may include mapping selected presaved views of door and window sections so that:

a) at scales 1:200 and larger only a simple rectangle is displayed,

b) at scales between 1:50 - under 1:200, a basic door or window profile is shown,

c) at scales 1:25 to 1:1, the actual manufacturer profile can be displayed,

In each situation, the user would presave selected scales to each door or window profile so that when a drawing is displayed at the various scales, the relevant level of detail is also displayed. I imagine it could be achieved in a similar way to how the smart symbols have been created only that users have the ability to assign a presaved symbol/linework to different scales as part of the smart door/window entities? It would allow us to use DataCAD into construction documentation using the smart parametrics used in the concept drawings rather than converting to 2D linework.

4. The above can also be adopted with smart symbols, ie. landscaping: at larger scales a tree can be shown as a simple circle with crosshair for the trunk, at intermediate scales, tree symbols with more detail, at smaller scales, detailed symbols of trees can be displayed. This ability to pre-assign scales to entities to allow varying levels of detail to be shown, once set up, would allow a lot of flexibility in how a drawing is structured.
#61430 by joshhuggins
Tue Sep 03, 2013 11:35 am
Mark Bell wrote:3. Further develop the 'intelligence" of the smart doors/windows to include the ability to display more detail the closer you zoom in to a drawing. This may include mapping selected presaved views of door and window sections so that:

a) at scales 1:200 and larger only a simple rectangle is displayed,

b) at scales between 1:50 - under 1:200, a basic door or window profile is shown,

c) at scales 1:25 to 1:1, the actual manufacturer profile can be displayed,

In each situation, the user would presave selected scales to each door or window profile so that when a drawing is displayed at the various scales, the relevant level of detail is also displayed. I imagine it could be achieved in a similar way to how the smart symbols have been created only that users have the ability to assign a presaved symbol/linework to different scales as part of the smart door/window entities? It would allow us to use DataCAD into construction documentation using the smart parametrics used in the concept drawings rather than converting to 2D linework.
This ultimately should be linked to the scales and probably done with the symbols existing symbol min/max scales found in the symbol editors layer editor, not GTV's I think to make sure things stay set accordingly and to limit having to babysit symbols/smart entities via GTV's. With that said, this is another shining area where the scale file REALLY needs to be expanded to allow this type of control over the range of scales.

Mark Bell wrote:4. The above can also be adopted with smart symbols, ie. landscaping: at larger scales a tree can be shown as a simple circle with crosshair for the trunk, at intermediate scales, tree symbols with more detail, at smaller scales, detailed symbols of trees can be displayed. This ability to pre-assign scales to entities to allow varying levels of detail to be shown, once set up, would allow a lot of flexibility in how a drawing is structured.
This is exactly what the symbol min/max scale settings allow you to do now. Open a symbol in the symbol editor, open the layer manager. So you can create a symbol with a layer called 'Low Detail' which could have the entities draw as you would want them to be for the range of say 1:10 to 1:1000 scale. Then you set the scale range accordingly for that layer using the drop downs. So whenever the plot scale in the main drawing's plot scale is within that range, it will display that layer. Then you would create a layer for 'Med Detail' and could set that layers scale range say from 1/4"-1/16" (sorry, metric right?). So when the drawings plot scale is with that range, it will display the layers set to use that corresponding plot scale range.

The problem with this setup is that it's not really setting the symbol to display the symbol layers using the scale values in the drop downs, it's using the scale list's scale position. So say you set a symbol layer to display a layer at a certain scale range, say you set the min scale to 1/4" which is at scale list position scale position F3 and set the Max to 1/16" which is at scale list position F6. If you need to make any changes to your scale file later, say you need to add 3/32" because it doesn't exist currently in your scale file, so you pick the lowest scale in your position list to overwrite, it would push the scale list down pushing 1/16" into scale list position F7 since 3/32" is between 1/4" & 1/16", and since your symbol is set to only display the layers when using one of the scales between F3-F6, it will no longer show the layers at 1/16" scale since 1/16" is now in position F7. Hope this makes sense. It's kind of hard to explain without visual keys. This is probably my biggest wish for Datacad, that the scale file could get expanded enough so we don't have to worry about scale positions changing. You can already see how powerful this feature could be, but as it is now, it's unused able for us because we use such a range of scales we can't rely on a single scale file. I said I would stop harping on this topic because it must be much harder to program than just allowing more lines in the .SCL files, buuuut since you kind of brought it up, I thought I'd squeak a bit more and see if I could get some others to squeak with me. If Datacad is going to have a future with it's 2D&3D smarts which we know will have to be scale aware, I can't see things getting much further without addressing this key issue.
#61432 by Mark Bell
Tue Sep 03, 2013 4:48 pm
Hi Josh,

Yes, your explanation is where I was heading. The existing settings/Scaletype menu is probably the key to making this work. The challenge is allowing more scales and inserting/changing scales so that the MSP layouts are not affected. A parallel scale system may be needed? A lot of time goes into placing multiple details on multiple sheets and these are all jumbled around when a scale is changed or added in the list (....hint for a plot sheet manager similar to the layer manager :D ). The symbol min/max scale is half way there and could achieve the outcome through further enhancements. The benefit to allowing the level of detail to automatically change to fit preset scales will be a huge time saver both with the parametric entities and symbols and I see this as another major step forward in DataCAD productivity.
....now about your use of metric....I can't say too much about the fractions as I was in Primary School the last time I used them, but....I always scratch my head in understanding whose feet you use when working in feet and inches :roll:
#61488 by joshhuggins
Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:44 am
Would it be possible to get filled dot arrows to show the dot outline when moving them, like the non-filled arrows do? It makes it a bit slow to locate when the dot is missing.
#61489 by David A. Giesselman
Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:03 pm
joshhuggins wrote:Would it be possible to get filled dot arrows to show the dot outline when moving them, like the non-filled arrows do? It makes it a bit slow to locate when the dot is missing.

Seems easy enough. Done for the next update.

Dave
#61490 by joshhuggins
Fri Sep 06, 2013 1:58 pm
Thanks boss!

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