I've been playing around with the various settings for smart windows, doors, etc.
One thing that I have noticed when trying to do an arch top window when using a symbol for the sash (as arched windows are not yet supported), it makes a BIG difference where you place the insertion point. You need to reference the upper left hand corner of the window in plan view with the window in the proper orientation to sit within the wall (unlike DCPlus where you had to have the window symbol created lying horizontally, perpendicular to the wall.) If you create the symbol with the insertion point on the upper right corner (as I did originally when trying this), nothing would happen and the o2c window in the window manager would sort of freeze up. If you enter the insertion point for the symbol in the center, it sort of acts like there is only half a window (for lack of a better description.) This is the first thing to look out for.
I created the arch top window with sections of the wall made out of 4" slabs as Mark Toce mentioned on a post under another topic to square off the opening as arched openings are not supported in DC12 yet. This worked OK, but when inserted into a wall with a different finish on the outside than on the inside, it didn't match with the exterior wall rendered finish. Not great. So I exploded the slab fillers and made the exterior another color. This solved that problem as I was now able to assign a color to match and be rendered the same as the exterior of the smart wall.
The only problem now is that this window symbol appears to only work for that one wall thickness. So when I inserted the window into a 2x4 wall with a 4" brick veneer (8" total for this purpose, no airspace), it sat flush with the exterior and was inset 4" on the inside.
On that same theme, one of the standard smart windows will always end up with the same overall thickness as the wall into which it is inserted. Similar to the wall sample above, the window ends up being 8" thick. I have been trying to get the window to be 5" thick, flush on the inside, and be recessed about 3" from the face of the brick as an approximation of how a window would sit within the frame wall, bridge over the airspace, and sit back from the face of the brick. Is this even possible, or am I spinning my wheels? If this is not possible, I will have to create the brick veneer separately and just punch openings into it to get the correct appearance in 3D, much as I have done for the last 5+ years with DCPlus. I was hoping to get away from that. It's a real pain!
One thing that I have noticed when trying to do an arch top window when using a symbol for the sash (as arched windows are not yet supported), it makes a BIG difference where you place the insertion point. You need to reference the upper left hand corner of the window in plan view with the window in the proper orientation to sit within the wall (unlike DCPlus where you had to have the window symbol created lying horizontally, perpendicular to the wall.) If you create the symbol with the insertion point on the upper right corner (as I did originally when trying this), nothing would happen and the o2c window in the window manager would sort of freeze up. If you enter the insertion point for the symbol in the center, it sort of acts like there is only half a window (for lack of a better description.) This is the first thing to look out for.
I created the arch top window with sections of the wall made out of 4" slabs as Mark Toce mentioned on a post under another topic to square off the opening as arched openings are not supported in DC12 yet. This worked OK, but when inserted into a wall with a different finish on the outside than on the inside, it didn't match with the exterior wall rendered finish. Not great. So I exploded the slab fillers and made the exterior another color. This solved that problem as I was now able to assign a color to match and be rendered the same as the exterior of the smart wall.
The only problem now is that this window symbol appears to only work for that one wall thickness. So when I inserted the window into a 2x4 wall with a 4" brick veneer (8" total for this purpose, no airspace), it sat flush with the exterior and was inset 4" on the inside.
On that same theme, one of the standard smart windows will always end up with the same overall thickness as the wall into which it is inserted. Similar to the wall sample above, the window ends up being 8" thick. I have been trying to get the window to be 5" thick, flush on the inside, and be recessed about 3" from the face of the brick as an approximation of how a window would sit within the frame wall, bridge over the airspace, and sit back from the face of the brick. Is this even possible, or am I spinning my wheels? If this is not possible, I will have to create the brick veneer separately and just punch openings into it to get the correct appearance in 3D, much as I have done for the last 5+ years with DCPlus. I was hoping to get away from that. It's a real pain!
Tico McCready
Mark F. Madura