Wish List

Well I don't understand much of it - but I don't think that it is what I had in mind. In OpenGL there should be either a menu like the other menus, or perhaps buttons "cut plane X-Y" and "cut plane Y-Z" or whatever - or as intelligent as in Tekla, where you just push "p" on your keyboard and then you choose a cuttingplane. And to move the plane you grab the scissor. An easy way to turn the sections on and off would also be nice. Try it out your self here: Tekla-model.[url] Groupinclu/intranet_pi.../hom.html# [/url]

And see the attached pictures.
_________________
Sincerely Yours. M. Sc. E. Thorvald, Denmark
(Dietrichs version 7.03).

Hi Thorvald,
your link doesn't work, as we have no access to your hard disk or intranet.
_________________
Freundlich grüßt
Der_Planer

Ok - it might not be so simple as I thought. I will found out how, because it should be possible to view the 3D Tekla model in an normal internet browser. Because one thing is to see the picture, but once you try it on your own you will agree, that this simple to use function, is missing in Dietrichs OpenGL.
_________________
Sincerely Yours. M. Sc. E. Thorvald, Denmark
(Dietrichs version 7.03).

Hi Thorvald,

I looked at the tekla homepage, but the sample models cannot be shown in the firefox browser. You must use IE, and tekla will install a viewer plugin and needs ActiveX function. So I think they will use an own format for their files. I never heard about this before.

To share 3d models, there is an option for vrml export from dicam. There are viewers for different browsers available. But I guess, complete textured files are rather big.

Myself, I share models as 3d pdf that you can handle with the AdobeReader_ver_7. This is standard on most pc's. You can show the complete model, or predefined 3d sections.

Look at some of my client's pages:
www.abbund-cad-service.de/loseries

on this page you can see some sections, look at the pdf-model from 15.07.06 and open the list of different views:
holzbau-evertz.de/koelnstr
_________________
Freundlich grüßt
Der_Planer

Ok - sounds interesting that 3D PDF. I think you are right that you need IE to view Tekla models. My goal was just to show you the nice and easy way to make and show sections (and move sections through the building) they have in the Tekla viewer.
_________________
Sincerely Yours. M. Sc. E. Thorvald, Denmark
(Dietrichs version 7.03).

In Dicam it's only possible with the "wall-trick":
Create a temporare NOTEX-wall under your building, 2 cm high and f.e. 2,0 m thick. Then change to wall construction an click on OpenGL. As a result, you get a textured 2,0 m slice of the whole building (it's "Holznagel's" method from the German tipps & tricks).

Of course, a menu-/graphic-guided function would be great.
_________________
Freundlich grüßt
Der_Planer

I have assembled my wish list into one list - and added a few. Wishes from my old posts are italic, new wishes are normal formatted:

1. Saving pictures from OpenGL in the same way as you save a Word file - by opening the directories on the computer and giving the picture a meaningfull name.

2. In wall design - in stead of opening wall list to choose a wall - maybe in a area at the bottom or at the right side of the screen, all walls are shown in a list of sheets - like the worksheets in Excel, where you can choose a wall directly. And the ability to choose between to views - a simple list wall 1, wall 2 etc. and a list with a small preview. And of course still the preview of the building where you can see where is the wall.

3. Exporting wall design to drawings: It would be nice if it was possible to select all walls or a number of walls (for instance in the worksheet list as mentioned in (2) ) - and then export all wall designs to drawings with the same predefined settings. That is settings as scale, the position of the wall drawing at the sheet, the position of timberlist etc. Because making wall drawings now take some time and is a boring job if you have many, many walls.... And maybe even while exporting drawings a automatic headline text in the predefined page header like: "Groundfloor, wall 1" or "xxxxx, wall 1" where you self can define "xxxxx"

4. Intelligense betwwen the program (ground floor plans, wall design t.ex.) - when you make changes t.ex. in the wall design the changes are automatic updated in the drawing. And maybe adding an automatic text "this drawing was changed 18-09 2006, 10:37" so when you look through the drawings you can see where you should add revisions if necessary.

5. The possibilty to copy walls (with timbers) directly in ground plan. The function could be like wall macro that is a nice feature, just more automatic and working in ground plan.

6. In wall macro to get a warning when selecting a wall to copy - if the two walls are not exactly equal - and then you can choose to skip the function.

7. Automatic doing shoulders from posts in both beams in double beams (or maybe even trible beams).

8. A more flexible way to change projectnumber and name.

9. I don't like the Di-Cam view, it is (almost) useless, to my opinion. Why not put openGL view and Dicam together, to make it possible to work in the rendered mode.

10. More flexible when working with user defined templates in D-Cad. Maybe I am not doing it in correct way, but in the list of drawings the name of all drawings is just A3 template or something like that - I would like the name I define in Dietrichs program to follow into D-cad. And in some cases the scale factor is not a choice.

11. As there is a wall macro a "ceiling macro" could also be very useful!!

12. I have thought about a new wish - something that could be very useful: A possibilty to define a cutting plane (horizontal or vertical) in OpenGL and in D-cam in future OpenGL mode. This is useful if you are talking with a costumer about his house and you are showing him the house in OpenGL. Then it can be useful to be able to show a section. The Software "Tekla Structures" have this option - and there is also a special webviewer, that perhaps could be useful for Dietrichs as well.

13. In PlanCad: It would be nice if text stays in position, when you want to edit it. It is a bit irritating that it is moved out of the position so you have to move it back to the place where it was. It is unecesarily time consuming.

14. In PlanCad: The possibility to create tables, like in Word.

15. In PlanCad: The possibility to copy a whole drawing into a new drawing.
_________________
Sincerely Yours. M. Sc. E. Thorvald, Denmark
(Dietrichs version 7.03).

It's already possible: after editing, leave the menu with "position", then rightclick! (also read the help line ;-) )

It's already possible: look at the gif!

It's already possible, there are even different ways to do this:
- "Save as..."
- or use 1-5-1 / 1-5-2 (bibliothek)

Many of your older wishes have already come true
_________________
Freundlich grüßt
Der_Planer

Really?! Sounds good - will take a look next time I am in PlanCad. Wich of my old wishes are already implemented and in what version and in standard modules or not??
_________________
Sincerely Yours. M. Sc. E. Thorvald, Denmark
(Dietrichs version 7.03).

#9 has come true. You can work in OpenGL in Dicam now (at least in 6.01). It is an option, but, I know a lot of people have said how great it was. I've tried, and I guess I'm old school and prefer the wireframe view...

Hi jmiller,

first time I worked in OpenGL mode, I thought like you, but only some days later, I totally changed my mind!!

This feature is not expensive, and it's worth every cent!
I can not only see, what I'm doing, also my 3d-measurement is visible
_________________
Freundlich grüßt
Der_Planer

Hi jmiller and der Planer

I was exactly the same. I thought I would never use the OpenGL workspace, but I find myself using it more and more.

With complex frames it makes a huge difference. Having said that I am glad I can work in wireframe too.

Cheers

Rob

I've found setting the view distance (1-7-2) to something short (~5'), it provides enough perspective to make seeing through the wireframes a lot easier. When I tried using the openGL, it switched it back to a parallel perspective.

I can see its usefulness, just change comes so very hard.


Joe

It aqtual works!!
_________________
Sincerely Yours. M. Sc. E. Thorvald, Denmark
(Dietrichs version 7.03).

A couple of new requests/queries - these might have been covered before!

1. In "Single Beam Processes" when you have lots of processes (which we commonly do) then it can be quite tricky to identify process which needs to be changed - could not the process concerned be highlighted on the beam when the process is clicked within the edit command? I usually only edit it "Single Beam Processes" once "Edit Single Process" command has not picked up process (for whatever reason).

2. Once, say, a mortice/tenon joint has been inputted between two beams then why can't the settings used to input such a joint be highlighted when the process picked up in "Edit Single Process" - currently I explode/check/undo. This would be handy when proximity of joints has meant that lots of offsetting required.

3. Overlaid processes - toggling(switching) between - we commonly have to put in dummy pieces to, say, put motice/tenon into angled face - frequently to then put notch off tenon into original piece the dummy piece has to be hidden to pick up correct process to notch off - could program not have toggle between overlaid processes (used to do this in CATIA) to make this more convenient?

4. From (3) above if putting mortice/tenon into beam with angled face then could not there be a function to pick up faces on beam (rather than base piece) upon which you want joint junction to lie?

5. We put lots of curves on timbers - frequently on both front and rear faces - and tend to be split 50/50 in the office between using offset general cuts parallel to front face and copying brace/collision test to produce rear curves. Is anyone producing (parallel) rear curves in other (better) ways? Is there any intention to introduce such a command into program? Furthermore what pros/cons of producing curves on machine (K2) and even rear curves. How do most of you do curves on (real) timbers - bandsaw/chainsaw/spindle moulder(with profile)? Realise this might be more of a machine interface question - but it all stems from design side.

6. Upgrades - is there any guide to what functionality has been improved/significant bugs ironed out - at each release? Not asking for a listing of every minor bug or "formal" document. I'm now running 6.02 which has fixed a problem with angled notches - which is great - but only discovered this by chance after spending a day manually adjusting notches in the previous version (6.01) which I could have done in a few minutes in 6.02!

7. When we have lots of processes in beam we sometimes "lose" these visually - although still in "Single Beam Processes" log - these can sometimes come back if process re-prioritised, but this frequently causes another process to drop-off visually. Is this a computer memory/graphics issue or a Software "buffering" issue? The danger of "invisible" processes is that you might not want it.

Thanks

Piers