HINTS & REMINDERS
GENERAL
***This programme uses Windows dialogue boxes to get your drawing instructions,
***Press the enter key instead of clicking the default button (the button with a darker outline)
standard on all these dialogue boxes
*** Fill the input parts of the boxes first - the cursor is pre set on the first input
***You can type input directly to the first input of a dialogue box - it will be highlighted
*** Use the tab key to move the cursor down a series of inputs,
*** You can also move the mouse cursor to the input you want to change and click the left button
the cursor MUST be at the extreme left of the input box.
*** If the warning bell rings, check your input number - replace it if is too large.( or too little)
*** To finish, if the button you would use has a darker surround - just press the enter key
*** Click means using the left mouse button
*** Take the time to read the dialogue boxes - most of them contain alternatives that we may not
use in these simple examples.
*** Normally the enter key is used where accurate positioning is required, the left mouse button
is only used where some movement or mouse wobble is allowable.
If your NUMLOCK is off, number input will be with the MAIN keyboard only, but the num pad
can be used for the arrow keys and fine tuning the cursor position.
*** When you have a plan or layout view, the programme uses the top left corner of the
external walls (plan view) or boundary rectangle (layout view) as the reference point that the
current cursor position is measured from
***** If at any stage you go wrong*****
just click File/New and start again using the same drawing name to overwrite your previous work.
FAST PLANS DRAWING
In the FILE / NEW dialogue box there are 2 design options :-
1/ 'layout design rooms' - put some rooms on the screen, move, rotate, shrink, expand,
(providing the rooms are within the merging distance, the rooms
will self align with each other or with a boundary formed by the
extents of all the rooms). When ready mark the inside of the
external walls in a CLOCKWISE direction - making sure you finish back at the starting point,
and press enter on that point again. A layout grid is available,
and boundary sizes and area show at all times
2/ 'draw the external walls' - once you have drawn the floor plan base external
walls, you can shrink and expand them, use design rooms inside
the walls, or use the fixed room function, add windows, doors etc.,
Input the base external wall lines consecutively (CLOCKWISE )
and FINISH BACK AT YOUR STARTING POINT (otherwise the programme
does not know you have finished ) - watch the
cursor position box and the guide line at the bottom of the screen
to give you the figures back to the starting point
NOTE
When you start any floor you MUST draw each floor plans external walls
consecutively (clockwise ) and finish back exactly on your starting point,
BEFORE you do anything else.
HINTS
Once you have a basic layout, quickly draw as many variations as you like by
using file/save asà and nominating a different name for each variation you want to try
If your design room layout will be larger than the screen, you can auto scroll
by holding down the left button and moving the cursor to the screen edge, or use the
same method instead of the scroll bars in most functions, or use zoom/fit on screen
TUTORIAL :-
EXAMPLES