COMPUTERS in
PRACTICE
IT Support and
Servicing
Inserting Windows and Doors Really Quickly
One of
the most tedious parts of drawing production is in placing windows and doors in
walls, cutting back the opening and forming a return in the various layers of
wall. It’s even worse when you have to move or change the size of the
opening and have to extend lines and cut others.
Here is
what a drawing looks like when the window is moved along just a few
millimetres.
It
should be easier.
Why
can’t we just slide the window into place and have all the wall lines
sort themselves out? Ten seconds instead of a minute or two. One or two button
hits instead of twenty or thirty.
We can.
Here is
a method.
First
the wall. It can, with this method be as simple or complex as necessary, and
can be changed during the life of the drawing from a pair of lines to a dozen
or more. Just draw it without openings.
Next the
window. Again this can be as detailed as you need, and you can change it later
when you know more about the construction.
It’s
already obliterated some of the wall.
Now that
its in place, its completely removed the brickwork, the insulation and the
hatching.
When we
move the window, its just a matter of moving it to another place, and the wall
is repaired and a new ‘opening’ formed. Just as we want: two button
hits not two or three dozen.
Its
quite a simple technique, where a rectangle of black is placed under the window.
The black rectangle covers the wall, and the window shows on top.
A black
rectangle doesn’t show against a black drawing background so nothing
shows on the screen or final drawing.
METHOD
·
First draw the window frames in the usual way.
·
Now draw a black rectangle to cover the window, and make it deep
enough to completely cover any wall it might fit into.
·
Fill the rectangle with black ink.
·
Send it to the back, so we see the window lines on top.
·
Lock it all together as a group or a single component.
Attach a
couple of green window opening edges to finish the technique.
Try it a
few times to get the effect just right, and test it with doors too.
The same
effect works to hide a floor pattern under a piece of furniture. So where you
have a lot of tiling showing in a bathroom or kitchen, add a black background
to any items you want to place on top of that tiling, and the lines will be
appropriately concealed. What’s more, you can move the furniture or
fitting easily without having to replace all the missing lines.
Its not
magic, and its not difficult. In fact its easy, and effective, so try it. This
has been tested to work on lots of 2D systems : Intellicad, Autocad,
Powerdraft, Turbocad, for example.
OTHERS IN THIS SERIES
·
Parametric Window Frames
·
Staircases
·
Hatching
·
Designing Using 2D CAD
·
Elevations Without Effort
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