How can I get quick info on each drawing tool?
Click on any tool button with the Right mouse button.
That will bring up extremely useful illustrated help on that tool and graphic links to many other tools and features.
How can I draw lines and other drawing elements at an angle?
Normally, the cursor is held at a horizontal or vertical angle to make drawing easier.
Is there a way to automate the tedious drawing of repeated lines, such as siding or stair treads?
The Clone tool and the Speed setting are made for this.
Can I draw more accurately somehow? It's hard to do it right with the mouse.
Yes, you can.
Use the arrow keys. The stand-alone keys move the cursor one pixel at
a time. The Number Pad keys (if Num Lock is on) move the keys a
user-set distance.
By pressing the Plus and Minus keys, you can
change that distance. The current setting is shown at the right end
of the Status Bar. Can I make custom pre-drawn figures?
You can't add figures directly to the figure menus, but you can draw
anything you like and save it to a clip file for re-use.
How can I re-size pre-drawn figures easily and accurately?
A fast but not very precise way to resize a pre-drawn figure:
To resize a figure more precisely:
To resize a figure that has already been placed in the drawing:
Sometimes I get lines across the drawing. For example when drawing a filled polygon, I get a line across it after clicking twice to terminate the polygon.
Occasionally,
drawing operations leave "artifacts" on the screen. The
example you give is due to a reaction from Windows filling the
polygon on top of the full-screen cross hairs. Clicking the
"Redraw" button removes artifacts. They are not part of the
plan, and will not be saved or printed.
We appreciate hearing about
conditions that create artifacts, so we can try to eliminate them. My biggest problem has been that I cannot figure out how to easily and accurately locate a door or window within a wall. I draw the wall then want to insert a window for example that's located 6"-0" down from the top corner of the wall and is 5'-0" wide. How do I position it so it is located dimensionally correctly?
One quick way
is to start a line from a known point and watch the
"Odometers" in the status bar. Instead of drawing the line,
press the Escape key when you have the cursor where you want it.
The
keyboard is better than the mouse for precise movement. The numberpad
keys explained below are also useful for this. I cannot write the necessary text in a single line.
The problem is
that the text is word wrapping in the entry window. It is too long to
fit on one line. Is there a default font for use in dimensions? Yes. Select the default you want to use in the Preferences screen on the Dimensions tab. When I select a number of walls with different thicknesses, then change the fill pattern, the thicknesses also change. How come? When multiple walls are selected and altered, all of the selected walls will be changed to the new settings. For example, if you select a wall that is 8" thick, then several that are 6", when you change the fill pattern, you will find the 6" walls are now 8" thick. The way to avoid this is to select walls one at a time. Or select all 8" walls, make the change, then repeat with 6" walls. Text must be handled in the same way. If you want to change the text font, but not the size (or the size, but not the font), select elements individually. Select a group of elements only when you want the same change applied to all elements selected. When I try to move or rotate some of the bathroom fixture's, like a toilet, there's no bowl. Is this a bug? No, it's not a bug. It's a problem only in figures that contain an ellipse. Windows takes a long time to draw "tilted" ellipses, those that have been rotated so the axis are not horizontal and vertical. This only happens when . . .
For a little while, under the above conditions, the toilet has no bowl in order to save drawing time. When you click to finish the insertion, the toilet is drawn completely.
Zooming is what enables you to see the entire plan at a small size, or a portion of the plan at a larger size.
Zooming is accomplished by assigning a distance to each screen pixel.
Home Plan Pro provides several pre-set zoom levels that use common distances per pixel in both US and metric modes.
An attempt is made to stay on the same area of the plan when you zoom in. In some cases, this doesn't work very well, and you can lose track of where you are in the plan. Zoom back out, or use the "Move to Upper left" button under the Zoom Bar. Can HomePlan Pro work in metric measurements?
You can switch between Metric mode and US mode from the Options menu.
Note: Metric and US modes use a different scale. If that were not the case,
each screen pixel would have to represent a difficult distance. You
would have to move in increments of odd millimeters, or fractions of
an inch.
The F9 key will convert dimensions without changing modes. If you
just want to know what the true conversion would be.
I'm confused about zooming. Sometimes I lose my plan when zooming. Am I doing something wrong?
You are not doing anything wrong. "Zooming in" by definition means that you will see less of the plan, but what you do see will be bigger.
You can scroll to see the rest of the plan or zoom back out.
Click the "Fit Plan to Screen" button below the Zoom bar to see it all.
Note: If you lose track of where you are in the plan,
click the "Move to Upper Left" button below the Zoom bar.
The Zoom bar has several buttons, each selects a different zoom level. At each end of the Zoom Bar is a button with either a plus or minus sign.
You can also click directly on each of the buttons with round dots to select its zoom level.
The distance assigned to each screen pixel at the current zoom level is shown in a label below these buttons
Make Plan Fit Screen
Click this button to make Home Plan Pro select the zoom level that will come closest to filling the visible drawing area.
No changes are made to the plan.
Click on a Spot to Zoom
After clicking this button, click a spot on the plan.
The plan will be zoomed in to the next level.
No changes are made to the plan.
Move to Upper Left
Click this button to view the upper left of the plan. The plan will be moved to the upper left of the drawing area if appropriate.
The zoom level is not changed.
No changes are made to the plan.
How can I select a drawing size before starting a plan?
You can select a drawing size when starting a new plan.
Version 5 and later allow you to zoom to any zoom level regardless of the drawing size.
Selecting a drawing size simply selects a convenient zoom level for your new plan. You can change the zoom level at any time.
You can uncheck the "Always Show This Dialog" box on the Drawing Size form, if you don't want to select a
drawing size. You will just see a blank screen at a default zoom level.
How does zooming affect printing?
The size of the drawing on the screen has no effect on the scale that you use on your printouts.
Your plan, and the future print scale are not affected by the zoom level you use to draw.
Why do some lines/misalignments show when I zoom out on the screen but not when I zoom in?
There are just
so many pixels on your monitor. If we assign 1/2" per pixel when
zoomed in, and then zoom out so each pixel = 1", the monitor
isn't able to show the 1/2" accurately.
The actual distance is
stored in the plan, and when you print, it should print correctly.
Printers have much greater resoultion than your monitor, and print
much more precisely. I thought I could have more than one plan open in your new version, but I don't know how to do it. You can open as many as you like. However, only one at a time can be viewed in the work area. To select another plan already loaded, click on Windows in the main menu. Then click to select the plan you need. When I try to open one of my existing files, I get: "C:\HomePro\Data\ken2.pln is already loaded. Do you want to replace it with the version on disk?" What's happening here? You can have as many plan files open as are needed. But if you ask to load one that is already loaded, this is the message that appears. The reason for it is that the program wants to be sure it does what you want. If you load the disk copy, it will overwrite the one already loaded. And you may want to do this. For example, if you have made a lot of changes which you want to discard, reload the disk copy and let it overwrite the one you were working on. You can see a list of all plans loaded by clicking in Windows in the main menu. This message will also come up if you have "Load Last Plan" set in Preferences on the Start Up tab, then try to load the file again. That is, with this setting, the last plan you were working with is automatically loaded when you run the program. If you then try to load it again, you will get this message.
You can draw anything you like, select it, and save it to a clip file for re-use.
Can I back up my plans in Home Plan Pro?
The File menu has items to backup the current plan and to restore from the backups. It makes a standard "zip" file.
In addition, Home Plan Pro makes a backup of the current file every time you save it.
The backup is made before the regular save.
You can turn off or control this routine from the "Manage Backups" item on the Tools menu.
How much space (bytes) does the program take up? The installation takes about 2.2 megabytes. Plans you draw run from 20k to 200k each depending on the number of drawing elements. How does the "Snap Grid" work? You can use a grid to force the cursor to stop in regular increments. Most drawing probably doesn't lend itself to restricting cursor movement, but there are times when drawing in modules such as two feet or 100mm is desired. This is when the snap grid comes in handy. From the View menu, you can
Or you can click the snap labels in the Status Bar. You will use the Snap Grid Settings form to adjust the grid spacing. See Preferences Snap Grid for other options. I cannot get the area calculation to work nor can I find a way to have it post the square feet as I go along. The Calculate Area tool is under Tools in the main menu. Click on the corners of the area to be calculated. Click twice on the last point. The area is filled in with a grid, and the total area is displayed. You can repeat this process with another area. Both the current and total area are shown. When you cancel the tool or select another tool, only the total is saved. The next time you select the tool, you are asked if you want to add to the total, or start over. How does "View Alter" on the Tools menu work?
View / Alter is a handy tool to allow you to scroll through your plan one element at a time, and delete or alter any of the drawing elements.
A View / Alter tool bar appears. (You can drag it out of the way with the mouse).
I
want to make a material list to estimate costs. Can I do that?
Home Plan Pro
does not generate material lists. To do so, would require much more
information from you while drawing, and defeat our purpose of
providing a way to quickly produce straightforward working drawings.
I'd
like to have Home Plan Pro automatically create an elevation view of
my floorplan.
The program
provides the tools needed to draw elevations. It does not draw them
automatically. To do so would require much more information from you
while drawing.
For example, when you insert a window, you would need
to provide such things as the height of the window and the distance
above the floor. This would slow down drawing. And keeping track of
such information would slow down the program, particularly when
redrawing.
Since our customers want to draw quickly, Home Plan Pro is
designed for them to do so. How does this evaluation process work?
Our programs are provided for your use to determine whether they fill your needs.
There is no obligation on your part for trying this software, unless you decide to purchase.
We have no way of even knowing that you are trying our software, unless you explicitly order the Unlock code. ($39.00)
When the thirty day period expires, the program will cease functioning.
You can remove it from your machine, or revive it by purchasing an unlock code.
How do I know I won't be charged for downloading?
You can not be
charged for trying the program. We do not ask for your
credit card information. While some sites do require this information
before you download, we do not.
We don't even ask for your name or
email address. So we don't know anything about you at all.
We invite you to try it. You buy if you
like it. If you decide not to buy, just use the Windows' "Remove
Program" option to delete the program from your disk. I have tried your software and like it. My question is after I have drawn the floor plan, would your company draw a set of blueprints per my specs? Or should I look elsewhere for this service? Producing blueprints is a photographic process, and there are blueprint shops that do this. It probably won't be necessary. Most building departments will accept plans on plain paper. You may need to have the drawing enlarged, if your printer does not support large enough paper to get the appropriate scale (usually 1/4" per foot). Check with your county building department. A copy shop should be able to do the enlargement. How do I set a printing scale?
The print scale settings are at the lower left of the printing screen.
The largest possible scale of the printout is determined by the
actual size of the structure drawn and the size of the paper you are
printing on.
If your printer doesn't support larger paper, you can print on
regular paper and have it enlarged at a copy/print shop. If you put
something on the drawing four feet long, you can ask them to blow
it up until it is one inch long. That will provide 1/4" per ft scale.
My plan prints tiny in the corner of the paper. How can I fix this?
This condition is an indication that there is a drawing element
somewhere beyond the area you consider to be the plan.
Commonly, it is an erasure, or a tiny dot that is hard to see, but that
nevertheless, convinces Home Pro that it needs to be printed.
The actual plan has to be made smaller In order to fit this unwanted
drawing element on the paper.
I would like to send plans to customers and builders. How can they view and print them?
Home Plan Pro provides a free plan viewer that anybody can download and use to view or print plans drawn in Home Plan pro.
Send your people the following link:
http://www.homeplanpro.com/files/hppview.exe
After they download and run the installation, the can load plans that you email them. They can view and print, they just can't draw.
What is the largest sheet size you can print on?
You can print
on any size sheet your printer supports. Click the "Paper
Size" drop down list to see what sizes your printer supports.
Some printers also support a "User Size" function. If yours
does, you can set the paper size from the "Custom" menu
item on the Printer Screen.
Kinko's ™ has a free
printer driver
that might help. Although it installs like, and looks like a printer driver, it actually makes a file that you can upload or take to their store and have them print a large copy.
I am having trouble with font sizes while printing. Sometimes the text is too big or too small to read. Sometimes it runs over the rest of the drawing. Trying to decide how to size text is tricky. Typically, you don't want text to keep getting bigger or smaller in proportion to the drawing size, else the text would be huge when drawing tiny things, and tiny when drawing huge things. However, some text scaling is needed. You should use the Detailed Print Preview prior to printing.
Any area which I fill with the Fill drawing tool looks great on the screen. But it looks awful when I print it. What gives? The fill patterns will not scale to the printer resolution. The higher the printer resolution, the tinier the spaces in the patterns become. This is a Windows thing, and there is no known way to beat it. You can use "Scalable Patterns" from the tool bar button and select a pattern there (Fifth button in the right column). These patterns do scale to the printer. The Preference "Drawing" Tab has a setting for scaling text. What's that about?
On the "drawing" tab of the Preferences screen:
How can I keep text from being so big on some printouts?
Use the "Detailed Print Preview" prior to printing.
Use the "Set Text Limits" button to select a maxmium font size.
Can I use my Wheel Mouse to move the plan?
Sure. By default, it scrolls the plan vertically. Press the Control key to cause it to move the plan horizontally.
How can I draw something to the left or top of what I have already drawn? The scrollbars stop there.
Each scrollbar has a red arrow in front of it.
Use these red arrows to shift the plan toward the right or toward the bottom of the drawing area to create drawing room.
Later, click the "Move Up Left" button to move everything to the upper left corner.
I see on the Preferences form that we can choose between two navigation methods. Which should we use?
It's simply a matter of personal preference.
Can you explain the use of the numberpad and the "Speed" setting?
Use the Number pad keys to move the cursor a calibrated distance.
The distance the cursor will move is displayed at the lower right, labeled "Speed".
How can I move to the end of a previous line?
It isn't always easy to place the cursor exactly on a previous drawing element.
When I want to move a drawing element, especially if I can't see it all without scrolling, it is very difficult to move it precisely. After selecting such an element, click the "Properties" button instead of the "Move" button. You can move the element by changing its distance to the left and top of the plan in inches or millimeters. Is there an easier way to quickly select a drawing element for moving, etc.?
If you want to quickly select just a single drawing element, click the right mouse button on its perimeter
(Click pre-drawn figures on their centers. Bezier curves on their ends).
No matter whether I use the selection tool or the Group Selection tool, I can't select pre-drawn figures.
All drawing elements except two are selected by clicking on their perimeter.
The software creates problems with my keyboard, and I can't use most of the letters. (The Text function is therefore unavailable!) If you are using a laptop without a number pad, you need to un-check "Turn Num Lock on when starting" on the Preferences "Startup" tab. This handy feature provides number pad users with a neat way to move measured distances, but interferes with the combination keyboards found on many laptops. Every file I open, opens with a "fill pattern" texture filling the whole screen!!! What's wrong? It sounds like the snap grid is turned on. Home Plan Pro remembers the setting, and so it comes back on each time you start up. Uncheck "Snap On" and/or "SnapVisible" under View in the main menu. What is the "internal" folder for? The program uses it to decompress the text for the "How to" menu pop up messages, and a few other things. We were using "\work" but some users started saving plans there and they got deleted. We switched to a more unique folder name, and added a cautionary message if users try to save there. I keep getting an error when I call up the print menu. It says "Invalid Floating Point Operation". What does this mean?
It's probably a corrupted element in that plan.
|