• Improved Marker Management

Improved Marker Management

This project provides a unified logic for all the ArchiCAD tools which involve placing a marker into the project. Markers can be placed using any of the following tools:

• Section
• Elevation
• Interior Elevation
• Worksheet
• Detail

These tools (along with the Camera tool) are grouped as “View” tools in the Toolbox

Note that Sections and Elevations are now created by separate tools. Moreover, the analogous Interior Elevation function is also a new, separate tool in ArchiCAD.

The Default Settings dialog box of each of these tools allows the user to define the type of element to be created:

• Create a model-based viewpoint by placing a “source marker”; the marker will refer to this viewpoint or to the first drawing created from it.

• Place linked marker that does not generate a viewpoint. A linked marker contains text referring to an existing viewpoint/view/drawing in the project.

• Place unlinked marker. This marker does not generate a viewpoint, nor does it contain a link to any other element in the project. You can, however, create a custom, static text to display in the marker.

(“Independent” viewpoints, with or without a marker, can be created in some windows. These viewpoints have no model source; they are listed as “Independent” viewpoints in the Navigator.)

The linking mechanism and interface is largely identical for all the marker types.

The user can use the markers to navigate in the project. The Check Markers palette provides a way to validate links between markers and drawings.

The “Marker Outlines” On-Screen View Option defines whether Marker polygons of all types and the Section Depth Outline should be displayed on screen.

Defining the Marker

In the Default Settings dialog box of each of these tools, choose the desired action from the pop-ups:

Create New Viewpoint: Placing this marker (“source marker”) will create a new viewpoint (e.g. a Section, Elevation, Worksheet, Detail). These all involve the model as their source.

• Depending on the tool, you will make further choices in the Settings dialog box to define the resulting viewpoint.
• Source markers are distinguished on screen by an optional semi-transparent solid fill. (use On-screen View Options to enable or disable this distinguishing fill for all source markers; color and transparency can be set in the Work Environment.)
• Source markers can be set to display information either about the viewpoint, or about the first drawing that is created out of this viewpoint. (After the marker is placed, the user can later re-link this reference to a different drawing if necessary.)

Place Linked Marker: Such markers have no model source and do not generate a new viewpoint. Instead, they are placed in the project, then linked by the user to an existing viewpoint, view or drawing. This information is displayed in the marker.

Note: The option to link to a view is available in case the desired Drawing is located in a different project’s Layout Book (and is therefore not listed in the “Define Marker Reference” dialog box). Since you cannot link to the actual drawing, you can link to the View (in the current project) from which the Drawing was created (in the other project). The marker will display the drawing data (layout number and drawing ID) of the first drawing (in the order of the Layout Book list) created out of this view. The linked marker will show the following information: #Drawing Name, #DrgID. Once the Layout Book that contains the reference drawing is opened alongside the project containing the marker, the marker will fill in the correct drawing data.

Place Unlinked Marker: Such a marker displays no linked information. You can define any custom text for the marker using the “Marker text” field in the Marker Panel of the Settings dialog box.

For all marker types, the “Linked to” field previews the data you have chosen for display in the marker.

Create an Independent Viewpoint

“Independent” viewpoints, with or without a marker, can be created in some windows. These viewpoints have no model source; they are listed as “Independent” viewpoints in the Navigator.

You can use 2D tools to create or add new content in the independent viewpoint. Use copy-paste and/or transfer selected Reference items into the drawing window in 2D form for further editing.

To create an unmarked independent viewpoint, use the “Create New Independent S/E/IE/Detail/Worksheet” command. This creates an empty viewpoint without a marker, but listed in the Navigator. This command is accessible from the Navigator. Select the folder of the Viewpoint type you want to create (e.g. Sections folder), and choose the “New Independent Viewpoint” command.

Creation of independent viewpoints with a marker differs depending on the tool.

• Independent Detail with Marker: Use the single-click geometry method to create this viewpoint. It will be an empty window until you add 2D content.

• Independent Worksheet with Marker: Use the single-click geometry method to create this viewpoint. This process “captures” the full contents of the window and recreates them as exploded 2D elements in a Worksheet window. These elements have no connection to the model.

To create an independent S/E/IE with a marker requires a two-step process: first create an unmarked independent viewpoint, using the command, then place a linked S/E/IE marker into the project and link it to this independent viewpoint.

Also, when deleting the source marker of a viewpoint, the warning dialog box gives you the option of deleting the marker but retaining the viewpoint as an unmarked independent viewpoint.

Placing the Marker

Markers can be placed into the following viewpoints: Floor Plan, Section, Elevation, Interior Elevation, Detail or Worksheet.

With the Interior Elevation tool, only source markers can be placed; the other tools can place both source and linked-type markers.

The input methods vary depending on the tool. Section and Elevation tools will place section-type markers along a line; the Interior Elevation tool has both linear and polyline markers.

Detail and Worksheet tools place area-based markers. The Detail tool’s “single-click” input method creates an empty, independent detail viewpoint. The Worksheet tool’s “single-click” input method “captures” the contents of the current viewpoint and produces the elements in exploded form in an independent Worksheet viewpoint window.

Pre-selection highlights are shown for every marker.

Defining the Marker Reference:

Changing Marker Type

You can change the type of an already placed marker.

To change a linked marker to a source marker:

• Select the marker.
• Use the “Set as source marker” command from its context menu;

OR

• Open the marker’s Settings dialog box and choose the Source Marker option

The linked marker becomes the source marker, while the original source marker becomes a linked marker.

This function is available for:

• Linked markers which are linked to a viewpoint/view/drawing that is located within the current project. The linked marker must have been placed using the same tool as the item to which it was linked (e.g. a Section marker linked to a Section viewpoint).
  • Note: A section’s cut/model attributes are defined by its source marker. If a linked marker becomes the source of a section, that marker’s cut/model attributes are now applied to the section viewpoint.
  • Note: If you change a linked detail marker into a source detail marker, the new source detail marker will have the same defining polygon as the detail marker which created the detail (or resulting view/drawing) to which the original linked marker was linked.
• Linked markers linked to an independent viewpoint of the same type.
  • If you change a linked detail marker to a source detail marker, the source will be determined by the boundary of the original linked marker. The independent viewpoint is deleted and replaced by a source viewpoint. (If the original linked detail marker had no boundary, the source will take on a default boundary value.)

Markers linked to an external drawing cannot be changed to a source marker.

To change a source marker to a linked marker:

• Select the marker.
• Use the “Set as linked marker” command from its context menu;

OR

• Open the marker’s Settings dialog box and choose the Linked Marker option

The original source marker becomes linked. A follow-up dialog appears, in which you can decide what to do with the viewpoint of the original source marker. (The same dialog appears when deleting a source marker.)

If the viewpoint was formerly an Autorebuild Section, its contents will disappear immediately.

Update Detail Marker Boundary

If you redraw the boundary of a source detail or worksheet marker, any markers linked to this marker’s viewpoint will not be updated until you issue the “Update Linked Marker Boundaries” command from the Detail/Worksheet viewpoint item’s Navigator context menu. This command affects the shape of marker boundaries only, not any associated model content.

Copying a Marker

Any interaction (Copy/Paste, Drag/Rotate/Mirror Copy/Copies) that results in creating a new copy of a marker will have the following results:

Copying a source marker (Section/Elevation/IE or Worksheet) results in a second source marker, which creates a new viewpoint having the same parameters as the viewpoint associated with the original marker. The new viewpoint’s name, however, has a distinguishing suffix. Moreover, the Marker Link information is not copied; it will be set to “first drawing from viewpoint” by default.

Copying a source Detail marker will create a new linked Detail marker, which is linked to the original detail viewpoint.

Saving Marker Information as Favorites

A new “Marker Link” element in the Group By Parameter list (Favorite Preferences) gives you the option to include marker link parameters as part of a tool’s Favorites (for tools that have markers: S/E/IE, Detail, Worksheet).

If a tool’s Favorite settings do include the Marker Link parameters, then its source marker whose link type is set to “first drawing from viewpoint” will NOT include the current value of that link (i.e. the currently linked drawing). The marker will be linked to the current drawing that fits that criteria.

Favorite tool settings that include a Linked marker will include the ID of the linked view/drawing.

Navigation Using Markers

Select a source marker or a linked marker linked to a viewpoint or view. Use the context menu to open the referred viewpoint/view.

Select a linked marker linked to a drawing. Use the context menu (“Go to Drawing”) to open the layout containing the referred drawing. From the same context menu, the “Open/Open in new window” commands will open the source viewpoint/view of the linked drawing.

To find all the markers linked to a particular viewpoint/view/drawing, select the item from the Navigator. Use the Find Linked Markers command from the item’s context menu.

For Drawings placed on Layouts, the Find Linked Markers command is also available if you select the Drawing itself, then open the context menu.

The Find Linked markers dialog box lists all the linked markers:

• By marker subtype (shown as an icon)
• Placed to: ID and name of the viewpoint in which the marker is placed. (If the marker is a source marker, this will be indicated as well.)

Clicking either column header will sort the list accordingly.

Click “Go to Selected” to zoom to the selected marker. (The button is disabled if multiple markers are selected.)

Check Markers Palette

The Check Markers function lists which marker-referred items are missing from the project.

The modeless Check Markers Palette lists (upon command) all the markers in the project which the user has automatically or manually linked a viewpoint, drawing or view, but whose referred viewpoint/drawing/view has since been deleted from this project. (In this case, the marker will display Autotext in place of the missing data.)

Markers that are linked to items whose contents have changed will also be listed in the palette. For example:

• The selected drawing has been linked (in Drawing Manager) to a different view
• The selected drawing has been relinked to an external file
• The selected drawing, earlier linked to an external file, has been relinked to an internal view.

To execute the command, click the Check Markers button at the top of the palette.

If no such marker exists, the Palette will display this message: No unlinked markers in this project.

The Check Markers Palette:

Markers are listed, and can be sorted, according to the following:

• Marker subtype: Section/Elevation/Detail/Worksheet/Interior Elevation (shown as icon)
• Placed to: ID and Project Map path of the viewpoint in which the marker is placed
• Approve: Editable checkbox for each marker.

An icon at the bottom of the palette allows the user to zoom to the selected marker. (The zoom button is disabled if multiple markers are selected.)

For each problematic marker listed, the user can click Marker Settings to re-link the marker or otherwise modify it.

The user may decide that the marker is OK the way it is (even though it continues to display undefined Autotext). In this case, the “Approve” checkbox can be used as a sorting criterion; check the box for these markers, and if you don’t want the palette to re-list them as problems after the next Check Markers command, use the “Hide Approved Markers” option from the pop-up at top right of the dialog box. Otherwise, use the “List all items” option.

Deleting a Viewpoint/View/Drawing

If you delete a viewpoint, the program will first check whether its source/linked markers are located on a locked layer or in a different Teammate’s workspace. These markers include:

• The viewpoint’s source marker
• Markers linked to the viewpoint
• Markers linked to views created out of the viewpoint.

If none of these markers is locked or reserved, then the program displays a Warning dialog box informing you that proceeding with the Delete procedure will delete all of the following:

• The viewpoint (even if its source marker displays the data of a different viewpoint)
• Any views created out of the viewpoint
• All the source/linked markers listed above.

If you delete a view, any markers linked to that view will remain in place. However, they will no longer display any linked information, just an undefined Autotext. These markers will be listed as problematic the next time you run the Check Markers function.

Markers linked to the deleted drawing with “first drawing from viewpoint” will henceforth be linked to the next drawing created out of the same viewpoint.

If you delete a drawing, any markers linked to that drawing will remain in place. However, they will no longer display any linked information, just an undefined Autotext.

Markers linked to the deleted drawing with “first drawing from view/viewpoint” will henceforth be linked to the next drawing created out of the same viewpoint.

Deleting a Marker

If you delete a source marker, a dialog box appears informing you that deleting a source marker will also delete the viewpoint and any markers linked to it.

However, the same dialog box gives you a different option: delete the source marker, but keep the viewpoint as an “independent” viewpoint with no model source.

Deleting a linked marker has no effect on any other element.