COMPUTERS in PRACTICE

IT Support and Servicing

 

 

HOME    INFORMATION     CONTACT    NEWS

 

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

 

 

 

By using this site you are agreeing to respect our copyright
© 2009 COMPUTERS IN PRACTICE