Attribute Styles

Bill Stanley, President of Engineered Software , posted a sneak peak publicly of the new Object Attributes Window in the soon to be released update for PowerCADD 7. Here's our take on things.

The new feature refers to Styles, specifically creating new Attribute Styles. Styles is a time saving feature allowing you to save specific attribute setting combinations as an Attribute Style. These Attribute Styles can then be applied by selecting them from Attribute menu > Styles or from a Contextual Menu when you Control+Click on an object.

Choosing Attribute menu > Styles > New... (a new menu command) brings up a new Attribute Style dialog. The new, Styles, feature appears to support saving various object attributes including Opacity^? (new!) among many other attribute options. You be the judge of just what all these neat new features can bring to your work flow!

[inline:AttrStyles-1.jpg]

We're looking forward to talking more about the new features of PowerCADD 7 as soon as the product is available.

caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Attributes Window

Bill Stanley, President of Engineered Software , posted a sneak peak publicly of the new Object Attributes Window in the soon to be released update for PowerCADD 7. Here's our take on things.

The Attributes Window (Window menu > Attributes) is a floating window which allows you to change the drawing attributes of specific tools or all tools available in the Tool palette quickly and easily. You may also use the Attributes Window to change the characteristics of existing objects just as you do using the Attribute menu. If you're a veteran PowerCADD or PowerDRAW user, think of this as the old Defaults Window on steroids.

Examine the diagram carefully; from the look of the new Attributes Window it appears we have some existing new features in store for PowerCADD 7!

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Layer Opacity

Bill Stanley, President of Engineered Software , posted a sneak peak publicly of the new Layer Opacity^? Attribute in the soon to be released update for PowerCADD 7. Read the rest of this article to get our take on things.

The new feature refers to Layer Attributes, and specifically being able to globally adjust the opacity of a layer. Layer Opacity allows you to specify to what degree information is hidden or revealed below the layer. For example, a layer opacity of 100% hides all information below the layer. A layer set to 10% opacity would appear almost transparent, allowing you to see through to objects below. Adjusting layer opacity affects the Pen and Fill opacity of all objects on a layer, as compared to adjusting an objects Pen or Fill opacity attributes separately using the Attributes window. It may be helpful to consider Layer Opacity as Global to everything on a layer, and cumulative with respect object opacity attributes.

To adjust the Opacity Attribute of a specific Layer (or selected Layers), do this:

1. open the Layers Window by choosing Window menu > Layers Window (or press the L)
2. click on a layer name in the layer list
3. double click the layer name or click Edit
4. the Layer Attributes dialog appears as shown below
5. drag the opacity slider left or right to change the layers opacity or enter a value in the Layer Opacity field
6. click OK to see the results

Keep in mind the effects of adjusting opacity at the object and layer levels are going to be combined as shown below. It's also important to remember that when a layer status is set to dimmed (it may be on, off or dimmed) the layer is rendered as transparent and that effect will be combined as well. In this example all the circles have a pen opacity of 100% (solid) and a fill opacity as noted. The horizontal line is on the bottom most layer and all opacity settings are 100% (solid). Observe how the circles show more or less of the line as the opacity settings are combined.

[inline:LayerOpacityDiagramD.JPG.jpg]

As you can see, Layer Opacity can be a great way to globally change all the opacity attributes of objects on the same layer, and it can be combined with other opacity attributes to create a variety of effects. Just how important will Layer Opacity be in your work flow? Well, consider things like existing verses proposed conditions of a building or site plan. Perhaps a demolition plan. Perhaps you need to illustrate another consultants imported layers for context while emphasizing your particular component of the work. The usefulness of Layer Opacity exceeds just illustration work; have fun and experiment!

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

PowerDWG Translator

Bill Stanley, President of Engineered Software , posted a sneak peak publicly of the new PowerDWG Translator in the soon to be released update for PowerCADD 7. Here's our take on things.

Part 1: File^? formats
Yes! PowerDWG will read AutoCAD DWG release 10 through release 2006 file formats.

While we can't discuss the particulars of the translation process until the product is released, suffice to say part 1 is some pretty big news that will be welcome by many long time PowerCADD users.

Part 2: Improved Translator interface
If a picture is really worth a thousand words then the new DWG Incoming Settings dialog is War and Piece condensed into a single window!

Remember the old way? Well, as James Caan said in Mickey Blue Eyes "Fuhgeddaboutit" (forget about it) No more guess work thanks to an improved interface that includes a live preview! Every change made in the Incoming Settings dialog is updated in the Preview Pane and the suggested drawing scale and page size update too! Here's a general breakdown of the new interface:

We can't wait to talk more about this new suite of features; these should be a time and money saver.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Scale Hatch Patterns

Bill Stanley, President of Engineered Software , posted a sneak peak publicly of the new ability to Scale Hatch Patterns in the soon to be released update for PowerCADD 7. Read the rest of this article to get our take on things.

There is a new Hatch Settings submenu in the Attributes menu! Among the new options available for Hatch Settings is the ability to specify a scale factor ( Hatch Settings > Scale... ) to enlarge or reduce the size of a hatch pattern! Look closely folks, because while the new feature sneak peak deals specifically with Scale... there are some other new items in the menu that warrant careful consideration which we're not at liberty to openly discuss.

[inline:H1.jpg]


What does this mean? Well, it's a pretty big deal really. Remember that hatch patterns in PowerCADD 6 and PowerCADD 7 are associative and behave much like fill patterns in that they reflow when objects are resized or reshaped. In PowerCADD 6, a hatch pattern had to be converted to objects (hardened) before it could be rescaled, thereby breaking the association with the source object. With Hatch Settings > Scale... the pattern can be rescaled so it can be tweaked to suit a particular drawing scale, and still maintain it's association with the source object.


[inline:Hatches2.jpg]


No more having to play around trying to get the hatch scale right! Just draw the object, hatch it, and choose Hatch Settings > Scale... to make it larger or smaller. That has to be a productivity increase and time/money saver for anyone who deals with hatches in their drawings. Don't forget, hatches also translate via DWG^? and DXF^? and with the associative nature of hatches and other features you have to wonder if they might supplant fill patterns for a lot of users. Particularly those who need to maximize DWG compatibility but still want all the benefits of Macintosh fill patterns.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

P.S.: Did you notice the New Hatch menu item has an arrow which represents a new submenu too. Makes a person wonder just what's behind that curtain! |:)

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank!

A Few Interface Basics

Topic

Sometimes we just can't get around to writing a whole article addressing a particular topic. However, we often toss together quick demonstration movies to help folks out. This article has some demonstration movies and slide shows for various bits related some of the basics of the PowerCADD Interface... they're not perfect but until we get around to dotting the i's and crossing the t's, these will have to suffice

Requirements

Minimum: PowerCADD v6, Mac OS^? 9 or OS X (movies illustrate PowerCADD 6 interface in Mac OS X)
Recommended: PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X
Need Movie Help?

Tangent Snapping [290KB]: This movie shows how Tangent Snapping works. Simply press the T key before starting the drawing process. Remember to watch the Snap Indicator Window at the top of the screen and look for the red dot on the circle -- this confirms Tangent Snapping is enabled.

Snap Indicator Window Settings [275KB]: Press the Control Key and click on the Snap Indicator Window to change it's font preferences.

Drawing Setup / Size Dialog [250KB]: You should review the PowerCADD Manual for a complete description of all the features of the Drawing Setup / Size settings but this quick flick shows you some of the neat features like the drawing preview, zooming and setting sheet sizes.

Page Setup Demonstration [1.1MB]: A quick review on how preform a page setup and choose a sheet size -- in this case up to 200 x 200 inches!

Layer Attributes (300KB downnload) Layer Attributes can be assigned to multiple selected layers. In this demo movie, we pressed the Command key as we clicked on each layer as it allowed us to select layers at random (i.e. the layers were not all in the same order)

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Arrow Heads on Rounded Rectangles

Question

When I draw a Round Rectangle in PowerCADD on the X, Y axis it looks correct. However, when I rotate the Round Rectangle it now renders to screen with arrow heads. Why did this happen and how do I fix it?

Requirements

PowerCADD v6 and Mac OS^? X Panther
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X Tiger (10.4.4) or newer recommended

Background

It is possible to assign an arrow style to a Round Rectangle after it's drawn. You can also assign arrow attributes to the Round Rectangle Tool itself. The same rules hold true for Rotated Rectangles and other PowerCADD objects.

Round Rectangles typically do not render to screen with arrow styles. There is, however, a unique condition that occurs when a Round Rectangles is rotated -- it becomes a Polygon. The Polygon is composed of numerous vertices which follow the shape of the original Round Rectangle. Like all closed polygons, there is a start point and an end point which are in the same X, Y position (obviously required to close the shape).

How could this happen?

There are two typical situations which can cause this condition. First, the Round Rectangle was accidentally assigned an arrow attribute after it was created. This might happen by using the PowerCADD Eye Dropper Tool, or WildTOOLs Needle Tool and you accidentally clicked on the Round Rectangle in the drawing. Another common situation is the object may have been accidentally selected as part of other objects to which the arrow style needed to be applied. Second, arrow attributes could have been assigned to the Round Rectangle Tool before drawing. In either case, you will not see the problem when a Round Rectangle is drawn on the X,Y axis since, when on axis, it is not described with the start and end points like a Polygon.

What to do

The fix is easy and there are two choices:

1. Select the Round Rectangle object that was rotated and exhibits the problem (which is now a Polygon) and assign an Arrow pattern of none.
2. Double click on the Round Rectangle Tool in the Tool Palette (this will deselect all objects) and make sure the tool is assigned an arrow style of none.

We've prepared this quick demonstration movie (1.7MB download) which shows many of the various conditions and the fixes. In this demonstration movie we are pressing the Control key and clicking on the objects or tool palette to assign attributes but you can also use the Default Window, Attributes Window or Attributes menu. In the end, it comes down to PowerCADD showing you exactly what attributes were assigned for the type of object created. (need movie help?)

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Bitmaps and Highlight Selection

Question

Should bitmaps be treated as a special condition when Highlight Selection (Choose PowerCADD menu > Preferences > View > Highlight Selection) is enabled?

Requirements

PowerCADD v6 and Mac OS^? X Panther
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X Tiger (10.4.4) or newer recommended

Discussion

A special condition doesn't seem necessary since the there are only a few conditions where a bitmap alone would want to be selected and the behavior now seems predictable when Highlight Selection is Enabled. Note that while the specific points below mention bitmaps, the same condition is true for PICT^? or PDF^? objects -- they all react in the same, consistent, fashion as noted here.

In looking at whether a special case exists for treating bitmaps uniquely when Highlight Selection is Enabled, it seems to a good start point is to evaluate how bitmaps are treated now in various common drawing conditions. A few of those conditions are discussed below.

multiple selections: A related article on this site describes that multiple selections (a bitmap plus an object( above it) behave correctly in that objects on layers above the bitmap will render to screen when selected. There is a nuance where objects on the same layer as the bitmap become obscured -- however for drawing management reasons large bitmaps are typically always on their own layer so this seems to be a non-issue in that context.

move by drag: These articles (here and here ) describe how to make the selected bitmap( transparent in that condition without turning off Highlight Selection.

resize: bitmaps becomes transparent during a drag to resize operation. This presumes PowerCADD menu > Preferences > View > Transparent Drawing is enabled which seems like a reasonable presumption since we can't have a discussion of Transparency^? of bitmaps or any object if those preferences are disabled.

crop: bitmaps becomes transparent during a crop operation

deleting: clearly not an issue for transparency -- select the item and delete it.

apply bitmap effect: (choose Tool menu > Apply Bitmap Effect...) Transparency when selected doesn't seem important in this condition since only the bitmap is selected for the effect and the preview is specific to the QuickTime window, not the entire drawing window. After applying the QT Effect the item is rendered to screen normally when deselected

applying bitmap transition tools: (Bitmap Effect Tool and Bitmap Transformation Tool) Transparency of the selected bitmap might be important if the 4 sided polygon it's being mapped to is above it. However it seems more likely the polygon being mapped to is either adjacent it or can be easily moved for this single condition

Print Selection: This is a bit of an odd one. Selecting only a bitmap to define the region to be printed (for example for Selected Object/Fit to Page) will obscure other data above it which will in fact be printed. One could argue it's not consistent with a WYSIWYG^? printing environment but this seems like a case where having a unique print region layer (with a rectangle or 2 snap points) fixes the condition and has other management benefits.

Consistency: This might be an issue as being a case for a special condition. A filled object (e.g. rectangle solid red) does not obscure data when selected and Highlight Selection is enabled. Then again, the rectangle can be edited (e.g. to change fill pattern or color) so one needs to see it in context. Since bitmaps become transparent when edited as described in other points above perhaps things are consistent in that context and the need for a special condition isn't necessary after all.

Other conditions may apply that aren't described above but it seems those are the majority of conditions which seem to work even if Highlight Selection is enabled.

The other part of the question

For the sake of discussion, let's presume a case can be made to treat bitmaps as a special condition. How should the bitmap be treated if not as described above?

Some immediate thoughts are:

Make the bitmap transparent: This already seems to be happening now but the bitmap could automatically be rendered as transparent when selected and Highlight Selection preference is enabled. The down side to this might be a significant performance hit since that transparent preview needs to be 'built' before it can be rendered to screen. In light of the fact many users now are running Mac OS X and PowerCADD 6 on legacy machines, this may not be a practical solution. In PowerCADD 7 running in OS X on newer hardware might not be adversly affected.

Show only a bounding box: When a bitmap is selected, a bounding box could be shown instead of the content of the bitmap. This solution has the potential of being very fast with respect to performance and could benefit users on new and legacy hardware. Further, it seems this could be an application level preference which is not directly related to Highlight Selection. That is, the preference would be a View preference which could allows users to always render selected bitmaps as 'bounding boxes only' (verses showing transparent content). This might have more merit that attempting to link things with the current Highlight Selection Preference. Clearly, if this feature were enabled, then one needs to go back and consider the implications of what happens when bitmaps are cropped or resized --a condition where a full verses bounding box only preview is essential to performing the task.

Low Rez Preview: Rather than a simple empty bounding box (which is potentially scary for a user to see) a low resolution preview might be the other model to consider. When a bitmap is selected, rather the rendering a high quality preview (currently the case), a low resolution - pixelated - preview may be faster to render. Of course this is also a potentially scary notion for many users since they click on an item and it changes on screen and they may think it's potentially destructive. Still, it might be worth considering - look at Apple's iPhoto for example which generates pixelated previews which become sharper after scrolling or loading has completed.

Similar to Hide Dimensions/Hatches/Text: (PowerCADD menu > Preferences > View // or // View menu > Hide Text / Hide Hatch / Hide Dimensions). The existing feature to hide Text, Dimensions and Hatching is currently in place to help tweak performance. Given this precedent, is the concept of a "Hide Bitmap" which would still render the bounding box (or some other mode of visual feedback) when selected any different? It seems they are all related at a conceptual level as they hide information from the user which is intended to help improve performance.

Summary

Based on the current behavior of bitmaps when Highlight Selection is enabled, there does not appear to be a case for treating them as special under those conditions. However, for general performance reasons, having a user preference which allows bitmaps to be displayed as transparent (currently the case) or as bounding box only or low resolution preview may be a direction worth pursing which would benefit system and application performance in general for every user rather than only those users who work with Highlight Selection enabled. Give we already have the ability to Hide Hatch/Text/Dimensions perhaps a logical precedent has been set and users would be comfortable (not surprised or shocked) with the idea of a 'hidden bitmap' which somehow shows only an outline.

Ultimately it comes down to clarity of communication with the user. The current model is very communicative and clear -- essentially not broken or lack of a better description. Still, there's always room for improvement and discussion is the only way to test ideas.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Dragging or Selecting Bitmaps Obscures Data

Question

When I drag or select a bitmap, it obscures all other data in my drawing. This is true even when the bitmap is on the bottom most layer of the layer stack. How do we correct the problem?

Requirements:

PowerCADD v6.0.8 and Mac OS^? 10.3.2
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS 10.4.4 recommended

Background

This related article in our Answer Archives : Preview When Dragging Objects : may also contain helpful information

To allow users to optimize their work environment, PowerCADD has several application level preferences allowing you to fine tune performance, particularly with respect to working with Quartz in Mac OS X.

What to Do

There are three options to address the screen redraw condition being described

Option 1: read this related article in our Answer Archives: Preview When Dragging Objects

Option 2: Adjust the Transparent Drawing Preference:

1. Choose PowerCADD menu → Preferences... → View Tab → Use Transparent Drawing settings
2. when Transparent Drawing = ON (checked), bitmaps render semi transparent and all data is visible when dragging
3. When Transparent Drawing = OFF (unchecked), bitmaps render 100% opaque (solid) and all data is obscured when dragging with the exception of the selected object

If you prefer to work with Transparent Drawing = OFF, then Option 1 may well contain the better solution.

Option 3: Highlight Selection Preference:

When Highlight Selection is turned on (checked), a selected bitmap will obscure all other data even when that bitmap is the bottom most object or on the on the bottom most layer. Disabling Highlight Selection corrects the condition, do this:

1. Choose PowerCADD menu → Preferences...
2. Click the View tab
3. Uncheck Highlight Selection
4. Result: When a bitmap is selected it will no longer obscure other data in the drawing above it

Note, if Highlight Selection = On (checked), and the bitmap is on the bottom most layer, selecting multiple objects which include the bitmap will still render all objects. That is, objects above the bitmap will be highlighted (grayed out) thereby allowing all objects to be seen. Objects on the same layer but on top of the bitmap will be obscured when they're all selected which is somewhat of an anomaly but may not be an issue as large bitmaps are typically always on their own layer for drawing management purposes.

The combination of preference settings noted above become important as they interact with each other during drag and selection operations. If you work with large bitmaps in drawings, looking carefully at how each combination works together will be important to find the best fit for your particular work flow. Don't forget to read the article described in Option 1 for additional information.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Drawing with a Touch Pad Feels Jumpy

Question

When I use the touch pad on my PowerBook to draw in PowerCADD the cursor feels jumpy and imprecise. This makes it very difficult or almost impossible to use snapping effectively, perform simple drag to move operations, or navigate using the interactive Pan Tool. How to do fix the problem?

Requirements

PowerCADD v6 and Mac OS^? X Panther or Mac OS 9
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X Tiger (10.4.4) or newer recommended

Background

The nature of drawing with a computer requires fine control in tracking the position of the mouse and cursor to achieve smooth and accurate results. Tracking accuracy with external mice or a tablet and stylus will typically provide better accuracy and improve the feel of drawing in any application. However, there are times when using the trackpad on a laptop is necessary.

Ignore Accidental Trackpad Input (a System Level Preference) is often checked ON to avoid those frustrating moments when the trackpad is accidentally touched during a typing or scrolling operation in traditional word processing or general use applications. The accidental touches cause significant frustration as the cursor moves or jumps to a new insertion point without the user recognizing what happened. However, PowerCADD (and other drawing applications) don't see those minor touches of the trackpad as accidental. Rather, the minor mouse movements are important nuances to how a drawing applications provides important visual feedback and is critical to the feel of the drawing process.

What to do

The fix for improving the tracking and feel of drawing with a trackpad is simple:

1. Choose Apple Menu > System Preferences > Mouse & Keyboard > Trackpad
2. Uncheck Ignore Accidental Trackpad Input (unchecked = Off)
3. Choose System Preferences > Quit System Preferences

Now, when you return to PowerCADD, the cursor should feel much smoother and more responsive.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

How do Key Commands Work

Question

I have key commands assigned to specific Line Weights, Dash Patterns and Arrow Styles. How does PowerCADD assign key commands to Line Weights and other object attributes?

Requirements

PowerCADD any version (version 7.0 or newer recommended)

Background

For a complete description on how to assign your own Custom Key commands to any PowerCADD menu item or tool, please reference the PowerCADD manual.

PowerCADD allows you to assign your own key commands to any tool or menu item in the application (PowerCADD menu > Preferences > Commands Tab), including Line Weights, Dash Patterns, Colors, and Arrow Styles, and so on. A printed list of these key commands is saved in the PowerCADD Key Defaults file (User Directory/Library/Preferences/PowerCADD/PowerCADD Key Defaults) that may be opened and printed for general reference.

Note: The PowerCADD Key Defaults is created when you add your first custom key command. If you never add your own custom commands, then the PowerCADD Key Defaults will not be created. In that case, for a complete listing of the default key commands reference the PowerCADD user manual.

Assigning a key command to a Line Weight, Arrow Style, Dash Pattern, or Colors actually assigns the key command to a unique position in the menu, not the actual value itself. For example, assigning the key command Shift + 1 to the 0.25 point Line Weight (Attr menu > Lines > 0.25 point) actually assign the key command to the first position of the Line Weight sub-menu.

But wait! You may have noticed, if you usually work in millimetres, the PowerCADD Key Defaults file lists your Line Weight key commands by numeric value (e.g. .18, .25, .35, etc). If the Line Weight key command were actually assigned by Position, shouldn't they read Line 1, Line 2, etc.?

In this case it's important to remember PowerCADD is putting a polite, user friendly, face on the database which actually makes up the Key Command lookup table. Since PowerCADD permits multiple Line Weights (and other object attributes) in a single drawing, and those Line Weights can be in any order with any unit (mm, inches, points), assigning values by name would quickly create an database list which would become impractical to manage.

What's Happening?

Behind every menu item name is a number. The text displayed in the PowerCADD Key Defaults file is all just a fascade for the database. To see physical proof of this, do this:

1. create two new, untitled drawings
2. in drawing one, adjust the Line Weight attributes to be in mm (millimetres)
3. in drawing two, leave the Line Weight attributes in points
4. with drawing two active, assign a key command to the 0.25 point line weight (first position in the Line submenu)
5. draw a line in drawing two and use the key command assigned in (4)
6. note the object is assigned a line weight of 0.25 point (first line weight position)
7. make drawing one active and draw a line
8. use the key command assigned in (4)
9. note the object is assigned the mm line weight value specified in the first position for that drawing

The same rules applies for Dash Patterns, Colors, Arrow Styles and other object attributes.

How does this work?

The entire menu structure could be likened to a cascading waterfall. For example, in OS^? X, to navigate to the First Line weight in the Attribute menu the waterfall, from highest level to lowest level, would look like (apologies to the programmers reading this - we realize the summary here is quite general in it's description) :

-application "PowerCADD" or any app. and this isn't even the top of the waterfall
---menu bar 1
-----menu title "Attr" (9) {Attr menu is the 9th position over counting the Apple menu}
--------menu "Attr" (1)
----------menu item "Line" (1) {First item in the Attr menu}
------------menu "Line" (1)
--------------menu item "0.25 point" (1) {1st item in the Line submenu}
--------------menu item "1 point" (2) {2nd item in the Line submenu}
--------------repeats for each item in the list

The same basic structure holds true for dash patterns, arrows, etc.

The Key Command is assigned to the specific part of the waterfall - whatever is in that position is what the Key Command goes and gets.

Imagine how complex the path would become if it was called by name - there would be a unique name for every possible size for each of the three units (points,mm,inches) - scary stuff!

Having said that - there can be times when it's advantgeous to call items by menu name instead of number. For example some items change position in the menus when an external is or isn't loaded. But that's starting to get a bit carried away.

We hoped that help lay the foundation for a more complete understanding as to some of the nuances with assigning key commands to Line Weights and other object attributes.

caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Keeping Everyone on the Same Page

Question

What are my options for keeping everyone in my office on the same page with respect to using the same line weights, colors, layers, etc.?

Requirements

PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS^? X ( OS 10.4.4 recommended)

Background

PowerCADD 6 used Stationery Pads as the primary method for keeping everyone on the same page. In PowerCADD 7, Engineered Software introduced a new feature, Global Attributes which can also be used (note: Stationery Pads still exist in PowerCADD 6)

The distinction between Global Attributes and Stationery Pads for keeping folks on the same page is distinct.

The Differences

Global Attributes (accessed by choosing PowerCADD menu > Preferences... > General tab > Global Attributes check box )allows you to create common attribute menu items for Line weights, Pen and Fill Color, Fill Patterns, hatch patterns, Dashes, Arrows and Attribute Styles. The settings are saved in a dedicated default file named Default Table which is stored in user directory > Library > Preferences > PowerCADD folder > Default Table file.

It would be possible for a user to seed the Default Table file, put that on a server, and let others copy that file to their location to see the same attributes.

If everybody does not have the Default Table then they will NOT all see the same menu choices for the above note attributes.

That could be an issue so proceed carefully to really understand what Global Attributes is doing before going whole hog. It's a great feature -- just move carefully is my advice

What Global Attributes doesn't do is allow you to setup standard Layers, Sheet Setups, source objects like Title Blocks, Drawing scales, etc. -- that's where Stationery Pads still have their place as they can contain custom Attributes and all the other items listed above. In the case of a single Stationery used in an office, it could be saved on a server and PowerCADD can be told to grab that file on launch. In the case of multiple stationery pads, an alias to that folder on a server can be used locally to link to the various files. Both of those methods can, in some circumstances, make it easier to keep multiple people on the same page.

The PowerCADD 7 manual has several pages on Global Attributes and it's worth reviewing that and playing with it at the same time to see the implications. I recommend starting with a single custom attribute (something obvious like a huge fat line weight or custom fill pattern) first to see how that works then build up from there.

There is no right or wrong answer with respect to which to use -- Global Attributes or Stationery Pads. Each have strengths and weakness. Best advice it to experiment and see what works best for your particular conditions.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Maximum Number of Layers

Question

Is there a maximum number of layers I can have in my PowerCADD drawings?

Requirements

Any version of PowerCADD and Mac OS^? (PowerCADD 7 or newer recommended, Mac OS X 10.4.3 or newer recommended)

Background

PowerCADD (and it's predecessor PowerDRAW) allow you create multiple layers in a single drawing (think of them as sheets of mylar or acetate for those of us old enough to remember manual overlay drafting).

In practical terms, there is no limit to the number of layers you can have in a drawing. Just how many are too many or too few layers is a matter of personal organization preference and the type of drawing one does.

In physical terms - sure, there is a limit. According to Engineered Software (authors of PowerCADD) that limit is 32,000 layers. Now, that's a lot of layers and we've been unwilling to take the time to try and physically test that limit.

Suffice to say that maximum of 32,000 layers , even if empty, would create a pretty darn large and incredibly slow drawing in terms of performance. We're also not sure how many monitors would be required to navigate that type of layer structure.

What to do

Take a common sense approach and create as many layers as necessary to organize your work for maximum flexibility. It's unlikely you'll ever hit that 32,000 layer limit - at least we hope you never hit it !

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Methods of Panning/Scrolling :: PowerCADD

Question

How can I pan or scroll in the drawing window?

Requirements

PowerCADD v6
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS^? X Tiger (10.4.4) or newer recommended

Discussion

Panning or Scrolling in a drawing window is the other side of the general drawing navigation coin (zooming in or out being the flip side of that coin). Here, in no particular order, are the methods available for panning (or scrolling) in a PowerCADD drawing (please reference the PDF^? or printed manuals for specific, step by step, instructions on using these methods):

(1) Pan Tool:
In the first row of the tool palette, choose the Pan Tool then press and drag in the drawing window to 'move the paper' so you can see the desired area. This has been a Mac OS standard for decades and is available in various drawing applications.

(2) Interactive Pan:
Similar to the Pan Tool only it goes to the next logical level! With any drawing tool selected, simply press the Space Bar. The cursor will change to the 'grab hand' - press and drag to pan - release the Space Bar and you're drawing tool is still active - how cool is that!

(3) Scroll Arrows:
Click on a scroll arrow will move you up, down, left or right one line depending on which arrow you press (again, this is a Mac OS standard but it's so common sense it's too easy to miss, especially for new users or Windows / AutoCad converts). Of course there are some creative twists that make this feature even more useful. If you'd like to tweak performance, choose PowerCADD menu > Preferences > View and specify a smaller or larger number in the Line Scroll field. The Mac OS typically allows users to put scroll arrows at the top or grouped together at only the bottom - however - did you know you can also specify 'double scroll arrows' at both the top/bottom/left/right of the drawing window? That's right - here's a screen shot of how they look. The amount of mousing around this saves is significant!

(4) Scroll Up/Down/Left/Right
You can assign custom key commands which perform the same task as clicking on an up/down/left/right scroll arrow. Choose PowerCADD menu > Preferences > Commands > Miscellaneous and assign a key command to Scroll Up, Scroll Down, Scroll Left or Scroll Right.

5) Scroll Bars
Press and drag on a scroll bar (vertical or horizontal) to reveal a different portion of the drawing area. Again this is a Mac OS standard which can be customized in PowerCADD to help you optimize performance for your particular hardware configuration. Choose PowerCADD menu > Preferences > View and specify a smaller or larger number in the Page Scroll field. (see previous image)

(6) Area Between Scroll Bars and Scroll Arrows
Here is yet another Mac OS golden oldie method of navigation. If you click in the grey area between a scroll bar and a scroll arrow, you will advance height or width of the drawing window. This can be a great way to surf around a drawing, one drawing window 'tile' at a time. Think of this as moving 'one page' at a time where a page is defined as what you can see in the drawing window (remember, the drawing window can be any size and this feature will behave consistently with respect to that size).

[inline:Scroll02.jpg]

(7) Page Up/Down/Left/Right arrows
There are key commands which are also available to move one drawing window at time in the direction specified by the arrow. This has the same effect as clicking in the grey area between scroll bars and scroll arrows described earlier. The default key commands assigned are Shift + [the arrow key] where [the arrow key] is left, right, up or down as shown on the keyboard. Like all other PowerCADD key commands, you may also assign your own custom values by choosing PowerCADD menu > Preferences > Commands > Miscellaneous and choosing Page Up, Page Down, Page Left or Page Right.

(8 ) Auto Scroll
When dragging to draw or move an object, the screen will automatically scroll when your mouse collides with an invisible barrier on all sides of the drawing window. If you are having a difficult time getting this feature to work correctly, choose PowerCADD menu > Preferences > General and uncheck the box next to Drag and Drop Enabled. There is a fine line between wanting to drag and drop information out of the drawing window and wanting to enable auto scroll and early versions of PowerCADD v6 had a smaller 'sweet spot'. We recommend making sure you have the latest version of PowerCADD v6 to ensure the drag and drop verses auto scroll interface is working correctly.

(9) Overview Window
Press and drag on the red zoom rectangle in the Overview Window to move it. As the red zoom rectangle moves the main drawing window is updated.

In addition to the zooming techniques described in our related article and panning/scrolling, Sheet Setups (Layout menu > Sheets) and Saved Views (View menu > Views and View menu > Store Views) are also excellent means of further optimizing your drawing navigation. We hope that's helpful and gives you a few ideas on how you can navigate your drawings quickly and easily. Remember, there isn't any single method that will work for every drawing situation so practice them all and before you know it they'll become second nature.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

New Quick Pan Feature

New Feature in 7.0.2

The ability to Pan has been improved in PowerCADD v7.02 with the addition Quick Pan.

Requirements

PowerCADD v7.0.2 or newer

Background

PowerCADD v7.0.2 builds on the previous Pan tool to now allow for Quick Pan. In effect, Quick Pan temporarily disables or modified the redraw the following items to screen:

• Hatch Patterns
• Opacity^? effects
• Shadows
• Text is Greeked (turned to gray boxes)

What To Do

There are two methods to enable Quick Pan which we'll describe here.

Option 1: Selecting the Pan Tool.
To enable Quick Pan do this:

1. Choose the Pan tool from the Tool Palette
2. Press Option as you drag the Pan icon on the screen
3. Observe: some items are not rendered to screen as you pan through the drawing but all primary drawing objects are there for navigation context
4. Release Option to restore the screen redraw to it's normal state

Option 2: Interactive Pan when another tool is selected
To enable Quick Pan do this:

1. With any drawing tool selected, press Option + Space Bar
2. The Pan tool is temporarily activated.
3. Drag the mouse to pan in the drawing
4. Observe: some items are not rendered to screen as you pan through the drawing but all primary drawing objects are there for navigation context
5. Release Option to restore the screen redraw to it's normal state and your previous tool selection is restored

What we'd like to see:
We'd like to see this same Quick Pan technology applied to all the various methods of Panning and Scrolling available in PowerCADD as described in the manual and in this article on our website.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Opacity verses Transparency

Question

With the introduction of PowerCADD 7, Engineered Software has introduced a new opacity feature which allows us to independently adjust pen, fill and layer opacity . Well, what is it and how does that compare to transparency?

Requirements

PowerCADD version 7.0 or newer and Mac OS^? X (v 10.4.4 or newer recommended)

Background

If you're already familiar with other applications such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, or if you've used Apple's Pages or Keynote applications, then you may already be familiar with the concept of opacity. However, the feature is new to PowerCADD 7 so let's begin with two simple definitions which lay the foundation for understanding the principles of opacity in PowerCADD 7

Opacity^?: The condition of lacking transparency or translucence. We cannot see through objects which are 100% opaque.

Transparency^?: The condition of being transparent or see through. An object which is 100% transparent is invisible.

In simple terms, transparency is the result of changing an objects opacity.

What does this mean?

In all versions of PowerCADD, prior to version 7, objects had two states. 100% opaque (we could not see through them) or 0% opaque (they were totally transparent). Think of a circle with a solid fill pattern. It obscured everything below it; the fill pattern was opaque. If that same circle had a fill pattern of Nil, we could see all objects below it; the fill pattern was invisible.

So, why is the new opacity feature in PowerCADD 7 referred to as opacity and not transparency?
In physical terms, we adjust opacity thereby determining to what degree information is hidden or revealed below. For example, an opacity of 100% hides all information below an object or layer . An opacity of 10% would appear almost totally transparent, allowing you to see through to objects below. In the example shown below, we adjusted the objects fill opacity from 100% (solid) to 0% (invisible); notice how we see more of the line below as the circles fill pattern becomes more transparent.





Why do the objects appear to fade to white?
In the above examples, the objects appear to fade to white because the background (in this case the PowerCADD drawing page) is white. However, if the objects below the transparent objects are colored, then the color tint will be different. Here's a simple example where the same solid blue fill object with a 40% or 20% fill opacity is overlaid on different colors and patterns. When compared to the white or black background on the far left, adjusting the objects opacity does not specifically fade to white. Rather, the color is a mix between the foreground (transparent) objects and background (opaque) objects.

While it's easy to confuse transparency and opacity, they are essentially opposite sides of the same coin. We change opacity to make something more see through, in effect making something more or less transparent. Put another way, adjusting opacity is like fading in or out. We fade in to solid, we fade out to invisible by adjusting an objects opacity.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Preference File Locations :: PowerCADD7

Question

Where are all the preference files stored for PowerCADD and WIldTools in Mac OS^? X?

Requirements

PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X Tiger or newer recommended

Background

Because Mac OS X is a multi-user operating system, application preferences are unique to each user not specific to the core operating system. In Mac OS 9, application preferences were part of the core operating system folder (assuming multi-user mode was not used).

There is one core set of PowerCADD preferences which holds both the PowerCADD and WIldTOOLs application level preferences.

When trouble shooting possible problems, it can often be helpful Quit PowerCADD and remove the PowerCADD Defaults file or remove the com.engsw.PowerCADD.plist file from their current locations to the desktop. The next time you launch PowerCADD new files are created with clean factory defaults. If the problem goes away, you can trash the old files you removed.

The PowerCADD Preferences folder, located at User/Library/Preferences/PowerCADD, contains the following folders and files the first time PowerCADD launches. If you are upgrading from PowerCADD 6 and used Mac OS X your folder may contain additional custom items from PowerCADD 6.

• Custom Tool Palettes folder: Your personal Custom Tool palettes.
• DWG^? Templates folder: Your personal Line Weight to Color or Color to Line Weight templates saved when using the PowerDWG Translator.
• Gradient Templates folder: Your personal Gradient Templates you save using the Gradient Tool
• Data Templates file: Your personal Database Templates you save using the Set Data command.
• Default Tables file: Your personal Global Attribute values.
• PowerCADD 7 Defaults file: Settings related to general application level defaults such as tool palette and floating window positions.
• PowerCADD 7 Key Commands file: contains internal information used by PowerCADD to allow key command shortcuts.
• Custom Color Palettes file: Your personal PowerCADD color palette information
• Custom.Dict file: any words you add using the PowerCADD spell checker.
• PowerCADD Key Defaults file: Your personal key commands. If you do not assign any custom key commands this file is not created.

What To Do

Your PowerCADD Preferences are stored in this path:
Startup Disk/Users/UsersHomeFolder/Library folder/Preferences folder /PowerCADD folder/. The PowerCADD folder will contain all the application level preferences, custom color palettes, etc, for PowerCADD and WIldTools as described earlier.

There is a second file stored in this location:
StartupDisk/User/UsersHomeFolder/Library/Preferences/com.engsw.PowerCADD7.plist. This file stores a variety of application level preferences such as layer names used for the Layer Tools function.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Preview when dragging objects

Question:

How can I see a preview of objects I'm moving when dragging them in PowerCADD v6?

Requirements:

Mac OS^? X 10.2.x and PowerCADD v6.0.4
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS 10.4.4 recommended

Background

Prior to version 6 of PowerCADD (and Mac OS X), you could press the Option key when dragging to move objects. With the Option key pressed you saw a preview of all the selected objects. When the Option key wasn't pressed you saw only a dimmed bounding box defining the extents of the objects selected.

With the introduction of Mac OS X and PowerCADD v6, pressing the Option key when dragging an object will now duplicate the selected object(.

When you have multiple objects selected in PCadd v6 and you begin a drag to move operation, the object you immediately moused down on will be previewed and a dimmed bounding box defining the extents of the remaining selected objects is displayed.

Note:in PowerCADD v6 you also have a preference allowing you to enable or disable High Quality Drags. Typically, High Quality Drags is disabled (unchecked as shown in this screen shot) to help increase application performance by simplifying the image redrawn to screen when moving objects.

What to do

If you'd like to see a preview of all selected objects when performing a move by dragging operation, press the Control Key. When the Control key is pressed, all objects are previewed. When the Control key is released, only the object you immediately pressed the mouse button down upon will be previewed.

This demo movie (296KB download) shows the differences when we did this: (need movie help?)

1. selected all the items to be moved
2. pressed the mouse button down on one of the selected objects and started to drag
3. notice the move cursor appears and only the object we moused down upon is previewed as we drag. All other objects are described by a dimmed rectangle defining the extents of the selected objects.
4. observe that pressing the cmd>Control Key as we drag the item causes all selected objects to be previewed as we perform our move by dragging operation

A special note regarding bitmaps:
If the selection set contains a bitmap then there are two important nuances to remember:

1. If a bitmap is part of the selection set and you mouse down on the bitmap to drag and move objects, then all objects are obscured by the bitmap. This is normal behavior. Simply press the Control key as described above and all objects will be previewed in the correct order.
2. If a bitmap is part of a select set and you mouse down on an object other than the bitmap to drag and move objects then only the selected object is previewed as described earlier. Simply press the cmd>Control key and all objects, including the bitmap, will be previewed in the correct order.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Show Location and Grid Snap Settings

Question

How can Show Location and Grid Snap settings assist me in my drawing and design process?

Requirements

PowerCADD v6 and Mac OS^? X Panther
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X Tiger (10.4.4) or newer recommended

Background

There are a wide range of conditions where Show Location and Grid Snap Settings can make the creation of accurate geometry quick and easy. The PowerCADD manual (Printed or PDF^?) has excellent descriptions of these core features and should be referenced for additional information. This article will provide some general information to spark your imagination and give you a sense of how the information might help speed up your drawing process.

Show Location: can be useful as it tells you where you are on the drawing page. This information can be useful for measuring distances without using drawing or dimension tools or to help create geometry in a particular location. (see Layout menu > Drawing Setup > Show tab > Location check box)

Grid Snap Settings: are useful as the set the incremental value by which an object's size will increase when it's drawn, resized or reshaped. To be of value, Grid Snap must be turned on. Note, we ALWAYS recommend having Grid Snap turned on when drawing, this is just one of the many reasons. (see Layout menu > Drawing Setup > Snap tab > Grid check box). This becomes particularly valuable when you need to create fast, accurate, design layout diagrams. For example, if you are drawing a floor plan or elevation to a scale of 1/2"=1'-0" , setting a grid snap value of 3" means objects are be snapped in 3" increments when drawn. Drawing a line, for example, would see it's length increase from 3" to 6" to 9", etc., as the mouse is dragged to define the objects length.

What To Do

In the following example we demonstrate how you could use the Show Location (when set to Delta X, Delta Y) and Grid Snapping can be used to draw a line which starts from the corner of a building and ends at a particular delta X,Y location. Grid Snapping allows us to draw the object simply by reading the values in the Edit Window and Show Location indicator. Please note, we are using this example for illustration purposes only of how the techniques might be applied together. If you are wanting to draw objects a specific offset distance, there are other techniques including using Offset Snapping discussed in this section of our website which are likely more efficient.

Demo Movie (500KB download) (need movie help?) As you watch the above demonstration movie, please pay particular attention to the following:

1. Show Location: We turn this on using the Drawing Setup settings and click on it to toggle between display states. Notice when we begin the drawing operation how the Edit Window and Show Location both tell us where we are in space and the objects size (in this case line length)
2. Snap Window: We have opened the snap window (top left) which provides visual feedback as to the current object snap state. Notice as we mouse over the Vertex snap is automatic. We could have also forced an End snap by pressing E on the keyboard
3. Drawing Setup Grid Snap: note we have set the grid snap to 3". As we draw, notice the Edit Window shows the object length jumping in 3" increments. Setting the value to 1" would jump object dimensions in 1" increments. For illustration we've shown a drawing setup scale of 1/2" =1'-0"
4. Visual Feedback: notice as we draw the Show Location zeroed the Delta X, Delta Y when we started to draw. Notice it displays the values on the fly as we drag the mouse to draw. We can simply read the values in the Show Status location and release the mouse when we have reached the desired location

This is one way - there are easier ways to achieve a similar effect but this should give you a sense on how the Grid Snap Settings and Show Location can provide important visual feedback and assist in data entry.

Demo Movie (180KB download) to start drawing a line from a specified delta x, delta y offset. (need movie help?) In this example we did this:

1. turned on show status as per pervious example
2. clicked the mouse at the corner of the building (notice delta x, delta y were zeroed in the show status field, bottom left of screen)
3. we positioned the mouse on screen where delta x, delta y were at the desired spot and clicked the mouse
4. we choose the Continuous Line tool
5. notice were we put the curser - far away from the spot we clicked in step (3)
6. we mouse down and drag to start to draw - the line automatically started from the x,y location specified in step (3)

Since the Continuous Line tool starts drawing from the last place we clicked (the last mouse down location), setting the start point was as simple as reading the values in the Show Location indicator and clicking the mouse (again, an Offset Snap is likely the better choice for this type of operation but it does allows us to demonstrate the Continuous Line tool which is rare).

We hope that helps provide you with a few options on how to Show Location might be useful. We also suggest you experiment with the different Show Location states. For example how setting Show Location to length and angle could be used, in conjunction with Object Snapping, to accurately measure distances in a drawing without drawing objects. We also suggest you try different Grid Snap settings to see just what a huge time saver they can be in creating modular geometry --this feature alone is a valuable timesaver once you understand the implications!

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Simulate Thin Lines :: PowerCADD

Question

My coworker doesn't like the Simulate Thin Lines feature and I do. Is there any way to have my Simulate Thin Lines setting override someone else's when I open their drawing?

Requirements:

PowerCADD v6 or PowerCADD v7
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS^? 10.4.4 recommended

Background

The short answer to the question is No. The same answer would also apply to any setting that is part of Drawing Setup and here's why.

With the introduction of PowerCADD 6, Engineered Software introduced the Simulate Thin Lines feature to take advantage of how Quartz graphics in Mac OS X can render objects to screen. That feature is still there in PowerCADD 7 (for specifics about this feature review your PowerCADD user manual).

It's important to remember Preferences and Drawing Setup settings are fundamentally different in where they are stored and how they affect a drawing. Understanding the fundamental differences between the two tells us why the simple No answer to the question is what it is:

Preferences:

Settings assigned in PowerCADD menu > Preferences... are saved at the application level and are stored locally with a specific Mac OS X user ID on your computer (User/Library/Preferences/PowerCADD/PowerCADD 7 Defaults). Those settings are applied to every drawing opened under that Mac OS X user ID.

Drawing Setup:

Settings assigned in Layout menu > Drawing Setup... are saved at the drawing file level. These values are retained when the file is opened by anyone else, on any computer or under any Mac OS X user ID.

What To Do

In this particular set of circumstances, the Simulate Thin Lines option is a Drawing Setup setting in both PowerCADD 6 and PowerCADD 7. As such, there is no way to automatically replace your Simulate Thin Lines setting with someone else's.

For example: If you coworker opens a drawing and changes Layout menu > Drawing Setup > Show tab > Simulate Thin Lines to Off and Saves the drawing. Then the next time you open that same drawing, the settings are remembered. You will physically have to turn Simulate Thin Lines back On again if that's how you like to work.

The only work around we can offer is chatting amongst yourselves, and agreeing on a standard. Hopefully understanding why the situation is the way it is will be of some help. Aside from using Applescript and GUI^? scripting tools to automate the process (which we don't think is practical), unless Engineered Software physically moves the Simulate Thin Lines settings from Drawing Setup to Preferences there's no way to automatically change that settings once a drawing is saved.

Hint: There have been some big improvements with respect to the saving of Window positions being OS X user ID smart in PowerCADD 7 that are worth exploring in the manual.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Switching between Open Drawings

Question

Is there a shortcut I can use to switch between the drawings I have open in PowerCADD?

Requirements

PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS^? X Tiger or newer recommended

Background

PowerCADD let's you switch between open drawings by choosing a drawing from the Window menu. However, there is an even easier way!

Mac OS X has several hidden gems that apply to every application. Using a key command shortcut to switch between open files in any application is one of those hidden gems. What we'll describe here is an easy way to toggle (switch) between the open drawing windows in PowerCADD, but the same technique also works with other applications in Mac OS X; give it a go

What To Do

When you have multiple drawings open in PowerCADD, do this:

1. Press Command + Tilde

The Tilde key is that funny squiggly symbol that is just above the Tab key and just below the Esc key in the upper left corner of your keyboard.

2. Result: The next drawing in the list is made active. The previous drawing window remains open.
3. Repeat the key sequence in step (1) to toggle/switch/cycle through each open drawing

As simple as that is; it's easy to miss and is real time saver if you need to work with multiple drawings open at the same time.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Can't Import Sheet Setups when Referencing Drawings

Issue

When Referencing other PowerCADD drawings you can no longer choose to reference/import the Sheets Setups after upgrading your copy of PowerCADD 7.

Affects

PowerCADD v7.03 in Mac OS^? X

Description

In versions of PowerCADD prior to version 7.03, it was possible to also import Sheets Setups that were associated with the Referenced drawing. The manual describes the condition and the dialog box used to look like this:

After updating your version of PowerCADD v7 to PowerCADD v7.03 that feature is no longer available. The dialog box now looks like this:

[inline:PCD703References.jpg]

Work Around

There is no work around for this condition; Sheet Setups are simply ignored when Referencing a drawing which is how they were treated in versions of PowerCADD prior to release 7. After Referencing the file you will have to manually recreate the Sheets Setups in the master drawing.

This was a rolling design change implemented by Engineered Software.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Can't Tab into Edit Window

Issue

When I select an object in my PowerCADD drawing and press Tab the Edit Window doesn't activate. Instead the controls for Sheets, Layers, etc., in the bottom left of the drawing window activate. How do I fix the problem?

Affects

PowerCADD all versions in Mac OS^? X

Description

Apple Mac OS X takes control of various key command assignments which affect all applications. In this case the Keyboard & Mouse settings have been setup on your system to use All Controls as shown below:

If things were working fine in PowerCADD (that is you could press Tab to get into the Edit Window) then the most likely cause of the problem is either the setting shown above was changed by clicking in the dialog, or perhaps you were in the Finder and pressed Control+F7 which would automatically changed the setting between the two available options. Regardless of the cause, the fix is easy.

The Fix

To restore PowerCADD's normal behavior of being able to press Tab to access and/or activate the Edit Window, do this:

1. choose Apple menu > System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse
2. press the Keyboard Shortcuts Tab
3. press the Text Boxes and Lists Only radio button
4. close the System Preferences dialog

The results should look the same as this JPG file:

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Can't insert a window or door into a wall from Symbol Library

Issue

When using Wall Tools > Window Insertion Tool or Wall Tools > Door Insertion Tool to insert a window/door into a drawing from a Symbol Library, the resulting object is not inserted into the wall correctly and the wall is incorrectly trimmed.

Affects

PowerCADD v7 in Mac OS^? X

Description

In previous versions of PowerCADD (that is prior to PowerCADD v7), the user could use the Window Insertion Tool and Door Insertion Toolto insert a objects from a Symbol Library into a plan and have the walls automatically trimmed.

In PowerCADD v7, attempting that operation does not insert the objects correctly, nor is the wall trimmed correctly.

Note: This problem ONLY affects using the Window Insertion Tool and Door Insertion Toolwhen the tools are set to accept objects from a Symbol Library. If the tool is set to Window or Door the operation works correctly.

Reminder: You can press Option when clicking on either of these tools to specify whether it is set to Window (inserts a generic PowerCADD Window or Door object) or to Symbol (inserts a custom, user defined, window or door object from a custom Symbol Library

To See the Correct Condition

We'll illustrate the condition using the Window Insertion Tool, however the same problem exists with the Door Insertion Tool
In PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X, do this:

1. Create a New Untitled document
2. Set the drawing scale to 1/4" =1'-0" (or your scale and units of choice)
3. Draw a series of lines which represent the walls in plan view
4. Open the Wall Tools floating tool palette
5. Press Option and click on the Window Insertion Tool
6. Click on the Window radio button, set the desired window values and press OK
7. Click and drag between two wall lines to insert the window
8. Observe: The window is inserted between the wall lines and the wall is correctly trimmed
9. This is a correct result as shown below

To See the Incorrect Condition

In PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X, do this:

1. Create a file and select the tools as described in the steped noted above
2. Create a custom window and put it into a Symbol Library
3. Press Option and click on the Window Insertion Tool
4. Click on the Symbol radio button and press OK
5. Click and drag between two wall lines to insert the window
6. Observe: The window is not inserted between the wall lines and the wall is notcorrectly trimmed
7. This is an incorrect result as shown below

Note: the position of the incorrectly inserted window will vary depending on the position of the wall you tried to insert it into. In the example shown below it barely on page (top right). In some cases it's possible the inserted window will be entirely off page.

[inline:WindowInsertBroken.jpg]

Work Around

There is currently no direct work around to correctly insert a window from a Symbol Library into a drawing. One option to consider is to insert the symbol using the Symbol Tool and manually trip the wall lines; however this can be time consuming. If you have purchased and installed WildTOOLs, another option is to consider using the WildTOOLs Door and Window Tools for inserting windows as that tool allows a high degree of customization and you may find one that closely matches your personalized symbol library or you may find a suitable substitute which inserts and trims the walls correctly.

This issue has been reported to and confirmed by Engineered Software.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Compatibility with Mac OS X Leopard

Issue

I'm having problems with PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS^? X Leopard (10.5.x).

Affects

PowerCADD v7.04 or older and Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.x)

Description

Here is a recent listing of issues that Engineered Software has addressed with respect to PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X Leopard

Many users have stated that after updating to Leopard 10.5 PowerCADD 7 is substituting fonts unnecessarily. Engineered Software has listened to those comments and updated PowerCADD to address several reported Leopard 15 issues.

Font names will be used to locate the correct fonts in drawings instead of font numbers. OS 10.5 Leopard changed the font numbers on many common fonts and PowerCADD was substituting fonts unnecessarily.

Several dialogs were not displaying their graphic elements under OS 10.5 Leopard and are now displaying correctly in their respective dialogs.

The Export dialog for Bit image exports was not updating at all. The Advanced dialog for Export was virtually a blank dialog. Both of these issues have been corrected.

We have added a user-selectable font replacement dialog for missing fonts when a file is read.

We have added a Find and Replace Font item to the Text menu.

We have fixed a crash condition when reading some PowerDraw 6 files containing symbols.

We have fixed a number of memory leaks when PowerCADD was idle and the active application.

Please report any other issues that you might find with System 10.5.x and PowerCADD to Engineered Software at engsw.com.

Work Around

The fix is to update PowerCADD to version 7.0.5. Visit this link at Engineered Software for update details. You can also choose Help menu > Update... from within PowerCADD v7. For details on how to update you can also visit this page on our website or review all the articles on our site related to updating PowerCADD from this page and it's related links.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Dynamic Snap with Object Snap off

Issue

Dynamic Snapping does not work if Object Snap is turned off in the Layout menu > Drawing Setup > Snap Tab. This condition is the opposite to how things worked in PowerCADD 6 and earlier.

Affects

PowerCADD v7.00, v7.0.1 in Mac OS^? X

Description

In previous versions of PowerCADD (that is prior to PowerCADD v7), the user could force an object snap to occur by pressing the associated key command, even when Object Snap had been turned Off in the Layout menu > Drawing Setup > Snap Tab. This was a helpful feature since it allowed automatic snapping (which is what occurs when Object Snap is On to be turned off in crowded drawings but still gave the user complete manual control over the dynamic snapping process.

In PowerCADD v7, turning Object Snap off completely disables object snapping entirely for the specified drawing. This condition is contrary to how it worked in PowerCADD v6 and earlier

To See the Correct Condition

In PowerCADD v6 and Mac OS X, do this:

1. Create a New Untitled document
2. Draw an object
3. Choose Layout menu > Drawing Setup > Snap tab, uncheck the Object snap box, and click Ok
4. select the Line tool and try to perform an End snap by pressing the E key and putting the mouse over the End Point of the object drawin in (1)
5. Observe: the new line is drawn and snapped precisely to the end point of the existing object
6. This is a correct result

To See the Incorrect Condition

In PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X, do this:

1. Create a New Untitled document
2. Draw an object
3. Choose Layout menu > Drawing Setup > Snap tab, uncheck the Object snap box, and click Ok
4. select the Line tool and try to perform an End snap by pressing the E key and putting the mouse over the End Point of the object drawin in (1)
5. Observe: the new line is not drawn from the precise end point of the existing object
6. This is an incorrect result

Work Around

One work around is to keep object snap on for all drawing situations. While this is typically the default condition for the vast majority of drawings and users out there, it could be a production slow down for some users who typically ran with object snap off in previous versions of PowerCADD.

The second option is to use a new PowerCADD v7 feature and turning Layer Snap Off for the desired layer[s] thereby reducing the number of objects that PowerCADD will automatically snap to in a crowded drawing.

This issue has been reported to Engineered Software by PowerCADD Canada.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Key Command Conflict with Show/Hide OS X Dock

Issue

The default key command assigned to Duplicate... in PowerCADD conflicts with the Mac OS^? X preset key command Option + Command + D which is used to Show/Hide the Mac OS X Dock.

Affects

PowerCADD v7.00, v7.0.1 in Mac OS X

Description

Mac OS X has pre-assigned the key command sequence of Option + Command + D to Show/Hide the Mac OS X Dock. PowerCADD has also pre-assigned the same key command sequence to bring up the Optional Settings dialog for the Duplicate... command.

In this instance, the Mac OS X, system level, key command over-rides PowerCADD's internal key commands and pressing Option + Command + D will not open the Optional Settings dialog for the Duplicate... command. Rather, the Mac OS X Dock is hidden or shown. Another example of Apple grabbing yet another key command sequence at the system level which creates a conflict with any applications (not just PowerCADD) that wants to use that same key command sequence.

To See the Condition

In PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X, do this:

1. Create a New Untitled document
2. Draw an object and select it
3. Press the default key commands Option + Command + D
4. Observe: the Mac OS X Dock is hidden or shown (depending on it's previous status)
5. This is an incorrect result, the Duplicate.. settings dialog should have opened

Recommended Fix: The default key command for Duplicate... should be changed from
Option + Command + D to Shift + Option + D or some other non-conflicting sequence such as Control + Command + D.

Screen shot updated below to show how the dialog would look after making the recommended change to Shift + Option + D

Work Around

Fortunately PowerCADD makes it easy to fix the condition. To get around the conflict, do this:

1. Choose PowerCADD menu > Preferences... > Commands tab
2. Scroll down the list to locate Duplicate...
3. Click on Duplicate... and the current key command is listed on the right of the dialog
4. Select the current key command and press Delete
5. With Duplicate... still selected in the left hand scroll panel, press Add
6. Press the desired key command sequence on the keyboard. To assign multiple key strokes press the keys at the same time. In our example, press Shift + Option + D
7. The new command appears in the list on the right (see image above for an example of what the dialog should look like). Press OK to accept the changes.
8. Result: now, when you select an object in the drawing and press Shift + Option + D the Duplicate.. settings dialog open allowing you to customize the Duplication operation.

Remember: When assigning a custom key command sequence, the sequence must include the Option key in order to open the optional settings dialog.

For more information on assigning custom key commands, review the PowerCADD user manual.

This issue has been reported to Engineered Software.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Layer Color Attributes and Move To Layer Cmd

Issue

When I use Move To Layer (a new feature in PowerCADD), and the destination Layer has a Layer Color Attribute, the relocated object does not adopt the Layer Color.

Affects

PowerCADD v7.00, v7.0.1

Description

The Move To Layer command let's me move objects from one layer to another. However, when the destination layer (layer I'm moving the object() to has a layer color, the moved object doesn't adopt the layer color. If I use Cut or Copy and Paste to move the object between layers, the object I Pasted (i.e. Moved) correctly adopts the destination Layer Color.

To See the Condition

In PowerCADD v7, do this:

1. Create a New Untitled document
2. Create a new layer, Layer 1. Do not assign any attributes to that layer
3. Create a new layer, Layer 2 and assign a Layer Color Attribute of red
4. Draw a Line on Layer 1
5. Press Control and click on the Line in step 4 and choose Move to Layer 2 from the Contextual menu
6. Observe: The Line does not adopt the red Layer Color Attribute assigned to Layer 2
7. This is an incorrect result, the Line should have changed color

To see the correct results use Copy or Cut and Paste:

1. Create a New Untitled document
2. Create a new layer, Layer 1. No not assign any attributes to that layer
3. Create a new layer, Layer 2 and assign a Layer Color Attribute of red
4. Draw a Line on Layer 1
5. Select the line in step 4 and choose Edit menu > Cut
6. Make Layer 2 active and choose Edit menu > Paste
7. Observe: The Line does adopt the red Layer Color Attribute assigned to Layer 2
8. This is a correct result, the Line changed color

Work Arounds

Unfortunately, even forcing a redraw (pressing the 0 (that's zero) key) doesn't force the object to adopt the correct layer color if the Move to Layer command was used. The best method is to use Cut or Copy and Paste or Paste Special to move the objects between layers if the destination layer uses a Layer Color Attribute.

The issue has been reported to Engineered Software for action.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Magnetic Window Preference not shutting off

Issue

Floating windows are still stuck together after I shut off PowerCADD menu > Preferences... General Tab > Magnetic Windows.

Affects

PowerCADD v7.00 and v7.01

Description

Turning off PowerCADD menu > Preferences... General Tab > Magnetic Windows does not automatically 'unstick' or 'free up' all the floating windows and tool palettes that were previously stuck together.

What To Do

After turning off the Magnetic Windows Preference, press Command while dragging the floating windows apart. The window will not stick to other floating windows on subsequent moves.

Alternatively, leave Magnetic Windows Preference On, Control+click on a specific floating window to shut off Magnetic Windows for that specific window. While you'll still have to press Command while moving the floating window the first time, it will not stick to other windows on subsequent moves.

This issue has been reported to and confirmed by Engineered Software and we understand a fix is in progress.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Nil Pen Patterns Change Color

Issue

Objects with a Nil Pen Pattern change color when they are copied from their source layer and pasted onto a new layer that has a Layer Color Attribute assigned. This did not occur in PowerCADD v6.

Affects

PowerCADD 7 all versions

Description

The Pen Pattern and Pen Color of objects with a Nil (No) Pen Pattern are changed when pasted onto a new Layer with a Layer Color Attribute assigned. This has the net affect of making it appear as if the Nil Pen Pattern object is now assigned a color. In fact it appears the Pen Pattern attribute is being overwritten when the object is pasted onto the New Layer with a Layer Color Attribute assigned.

To See the Condition

In PowerCADD v6, do this:

1. Create a New Untitled document
2. Layer 1: no layer attributes assigned
3. Layer 2: assign red as the Layer Color attribute
4. Draw a Circle on Layer 1 and assign it a Pen Pattern = Nil and a solid fill color of your choosing
5. Copy or Cut the object drawn in step four onto Layer 2
6. Note the Pen Pattern is still Nil. That is , it did not change
7. This is correct behavior

In PowerCADD v7, do this:

1. Create a New Untitled document
2. Layer 1: no layer attributes assigned
3. Layer 2: assign red as the Layer Color attribute
4. Draw a Circle on Layer 1 and assign it a Pen Pattern = Nil and solid fill color of your choosing
5. Copy or Cut the object drawn in step four onto Layer 2
6. Note the Pen Pattern is still no longer Nil. That is , the object now has a pen color and pen pattern assigned
7. This is incorrect behavior

The issue can be a subtle but important one with some smart object tools such as the WildTOOLs door and window tools which give you the option to use white filled objects (with Nil Pen Patterns) to mask out other objects such as wall lines.

The bottom line is the object Pen Pattern Attribute is being modified and thereby adopting the color assigned to the destination layer.

Work Arounds

Unfortunately, there isn't an elegant work around other than resetting the pen pattern of the copied/pasted objects back to Nil. That work around clearly has a problem in that if the object being moved between layers is composed of groups, every object in the group would then have a Nil pen pattern which is clearly not the desired intent. Bottom line at this stage is to be careful.

The issue has been reported to Engineered Software for action.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

No Support for Spotlight

Issue

The text content of PowerCADD drawings cannot be indexed (searched) by the Mac OS^? X Tiger Spotlight search engine.

Affects

PowerCADD v6 or 7 in Mac OS X Tiger (10.4.x)

Description

PowerCADD v7 does not have direct plug-in support for Apple's Spotlight search technology. While you can still use Spotlight to search for PowerCADD documents based on file name, creation and modification date, and similar functions, the physical text based content of the PowerCADD drawing is not indexed for spotlight searching.

Work Around

Fortunately there is a work around which, while not perfect, does allow you to create additional keywords and comments that be added to any PowerCADD drawing which are indexed for Spotlight searches.

To add comments to any PowerCADD drawing, do this:

1. Click once on the PowerCADD drawing in the Finder to select it
2. Choose File^? menu → Get info (or press Command+I)
3. Enter your keywords in the Comments at the top of the Get Info Window
4. Press the Close button in the top left corner of the Get Info Window or press Command+W
5. The comments are saved with the PowerCADD drawing and are indexed by Spotlight

The work around can be time consuming if you have more than one file you'd like to apply the same comments to; for example you might have a dozen drawings for a particular project that need the same comments applied to. While it is possible to use Copy & Paste to apply the same comments to each file, even that is time consuming.

A fast solution for single or multiple files:
Fortunately, Apple has a solution for that too; it's called Automator. Rather than get into the specifics on how to make the Automator workflow, we've done the work for you, do this:

1. Click here to download our AddSpotlightComments Automator Workflow Action
2. That will download a zipped archive to your desktop; double click the archive AddSpotlightComments.zip to extract the contents
3. File the extracted item someplace handy on your computer

To use the AddSpotlightComments workflow, do this:

1. Drag and Drop a PowerCADD file onto the AddSpotlightComments icon
2. Enter the comments in the dialog and press Continue
3. To add new comments to existing comments, check the box Append to Existing Comments (recommended)
4. The comments are appended to the file
5. this operation cannot be undone

[inline:AddSpotLightComments.jpg]

Hint: If you'd like to add the same comments to multiple files, just select all the files and drag and drop them onto the AddSpotlightComments Icon. Enter your comments as described above and that content is added to all the files at the same time -- a true time saver! For example, you might want to add a note to multiple files that were "Issued for Construction" with a specific date and project number or other important keyword or date criteria.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

PCadd7 Demo re-writes PCadd6 Custom Tool Palettes

Issue

Launching the PowerCADD 7 Demo on a machine with PowerCADD v6 already installed modifies the Custom Tool Palette resources. The Custom Tool Palettes originally created in PowerCADD v6 will not load the next time you launch PowerCADD v6.

Affects

• Mac OS^? X Tiger
• PowerCADD v6 (any version)
• PowerCADD v7.00 Demo as described here
• PowerCADD v7.00 Shipping version

Description

Launching the PowerCADD v7 Demo or PowerCADD v7 Shipping version re-writes Custom Tool Palettes such that they can not be opened in PowerCADD v6. This condition may also be true for other resources such as Custom Color Palettes, Dictionaries DWG^? Templates, Gradient Templates and Data Templates which are also stored in the PowerCADD Preferences folder but we have not tested those specific additional conditions. The PowerCADD v6 Key commands file is not affected as a copy of that resource is made when PowerCADD v7 Demo or Shipping is first launched.

To See the Condition

In PowerCADD v6 and PowerCADD v7 Demo or Shipping, do this:

1. Launch PowerCADD v6make a new custom tool palette
2. Quit PowerCADD v6
3. launch PowerCADD v7 Demo
4. Observe: In PowerCADD v7 Demo the custom tool palette created in step (1) appears in the Windows menu and can be opened and displayed normally.
5. This is Correct behavior
6. Quit PowerCADD v7 Demo
7. Launch PowerCADD v6
8. Observe: In PowerCADD v6 the original custom tool palette created in step (1) will not appear in the Windows menu and cannot be opened and displayed normally.
9. This is incorrect behavior. The Custom Tool Palette has been modified by the launching of the PowerCADD v7 Demo and cannot be displayed

What To Do

PowerCADD v6 users should follow the following procedure to backup their PowerCADD Preferences before running the PowerCADD v7 Demo or PowerCADD v7 Shipping versions:

To backup your PowerCADD v6 Preferences, do this:

1. open your User Folder > Library Folder > Preferences folder > PowerCADD folder
2. make a copy of all the information in the PowerCADD folder noted in (1) and keep it in a safe place (your Desktop would suffice or some other logical location)

Backing up the entire PowerCADD folder will keep a copy of all your PowerCADD Preferences described earlier, including your Custom Tool Palettes. With that backup safe, you can now use the PowerCADD v7 Demo.

To restore your PowerCADD v6 Custom Tool Palettes or other Preferences, do this:

1. Quit the PowerCADD v7 Demo
2. open your User Folder > Library Folder > Preferences folder > PowerCADD folder
3. use the backup copy of our PowerCADD Preferences folder described earlier to replace the item described in step (1).
4. Launch PowerCADD v6 for production use as you would normally

Note: We're recommending backing up the entier PowerCADD Preferences folder as a simply and effective safe guard. It is easier and safer to backup all the resource files and know their safe verses backing up only selected resources and hoping the other ones are safe.

Another option: create a unique user ID in Mac OS X to run the demo in. This creates a distinct set of preferences for that use and protects your PowerCADD v6 palettes.

If you have already seen this problem and can't load your Custom Tool Palettes in PowerCADD v6, do this:

1. Restore your Custom Tool Palettes from a backup copy
• or
2. Recreate the Custom Tool Palettes from scratch in PowerCADD v6

We realize that item (2) above isn't the most convenient process but it's currently the only method we're aware of, other than restoring from a backup, which fully corrects the problem. If we find any additional information or work around we'll post them here.

We still recommend PowerCADD v6 users download the PowerCADD v7 Demo to evaluate it as part of the upgrade decision making process, or use it get a leg up on it prior to your shipping version arriving.

The issue has been reported to Engineered Software for action.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Problem with Spaces and Mac OS X Leopard

Issue

PowerCADD v7 doesn't work and often crashes when switching between Spaces in Mac OS^? X Leopard.

Affects

PowerCADD v7 any version up to and including v7.0.5 and Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.x

Description

PowerCADD v7.x (any version) is not compatible with Mac OS X Leopard's Spaces feature. This is a significant problem and can cause crashes in PowerCADD v7 which will result in losing unsaved changes in your drawings.

Work Around

The only known fix as of the date of this writing is to disable Spaces in Mac OS X Leopard:

1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences > Expose & Spaces
2. Click on the Spaces Tab
3. Uncheck the check box next to Spaces to turn the feature off
4. Optional: Also Uncheck the check box next to Show Spaces in Menu bar
5. Close the System Preferences window

The issue has been reported to Engineered Software and we understand they are investigation what can be done to address the condition. We'll post any additional information or fixes on this subject in this thread.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Slow down on Copy/Cut and Paste

Issue

I notice a significant slow down, the spinning colored wheel often appears, when selecting large numbers of objects and performing a Cut or Copy and Paste operation.

Affectcs

PowerCADD v7.00 and v7.01

Description

When selecting thousands of objects, and trying to Cut or Copy those objects to Paste onto a new Layer or into a new Drawing, there is a significant slow down. If the Activity Monitor Application is running, it shows PowerCADD as not responding for the time that the spinning beach ball is present. After several seconds (+30 seconds or more depending on the number of objects and computer speed) the operation completes.

What To Do

If your object is is/was to Cut all the objects to paste them onto a new layer, use the Move to Layer instead. That command typically doesn't exhibit the same problem. If the object was to use the data moved onto a new layer as reference or background data (perhaps it's a translated AutoCAD drawing), try using the Reference command instead for added drawing management flexibility.

If the object was simply to move the data into a new layer or use Paste Special : Through layers to get the data into a new drawing, then the easiest method for now is to reduce the number of objects being selected. For example only select data on 2 or 3 layers and perform the Paste Special multiple times. We realize this isn't an ideal situation but until a fix is provided by Engineered Software we're not aware of another fix but if we come across any ideas we'll post them here.

The issue has been reported to and confirmed by Engineered Software and a fix in progress.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Spell Checker and Numbers

Issue

The spell checker keeps finding numbers, example 12.25, when checking a document. This wasn't the case in PowerCADD v6

Affects

PowerCADD v7.00, v7.0.1

Description

When spell checking a document in PowerCADD v7, numbers such as 12.25 are always checked. In PowerCADD v6 those types of numbers were ignored which made more sense.

To See the Condition

In PowerCADD v6, do this:

1. Create a New Untitled document
2. type one piece of text, example 12.25
3. deselect the text block
4. choose Text menu > Spelling...
5. the spell check completes without finding 12.25 as a spelling error
6. This is correct behavior

In PowerCADD v7, do this:

1. Create a New Untitled document
2. type one piece of text, example 12.25
3. deselect the text block
4. choose Text menu > Spelling...
5. the spell check considers the text 12.25 a spelling error
6. This is incorrect behavior

Work Arounds

Unfortunately, there isn't an elegant work around. Choosing Ignore All in the spell checker dialog only ignores that specific number instance for that pass of the spell checker. Choosing Add, to add the number to the dictionary, is time consuming and is required for every possible number combination that might be in a technical drawing and isn't a practical long term solution.

The issue has been reported to Engineered Software for action.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Drawing an Isometric (3D) cube

Question

How can draw an isometric or axiometric cube (or other shapes) in PowerCADD?

Requirements

Any version of PowerCADD and the corresponding most recent Mac OS^?
PowerCADD 7 and Mac OS X Tiger (10.4.4 or newer) recommended

Background

PowerCADD's Shear menu item (choose Edit menu > Shear...) let's you create a variety of isometric and axiometric views based on simple plan/section/elevation components.

What to do

Demo Movie(750KB download) illustrates the steps involved to create a simple '3d' cube. The steps to create more complex shapes are the same and they enable you to create a whole host of isometric, axiometric or even exploded isometric drawings! ( having problems playing the movie? )

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

New Print feature in PCD7.0.6

Question

New Printing feature for Layer Opacity^? Attributes (transparency).

Requirements

PowerCADD 7.0.6 and Mac OS^? X Tiger or Leopard (10.5.2 or newer recommended)

Background

Engineered Software issued an update to PowerCADD 7 bring it up to 7.0.6 as we noted in this article. As part of that general update, there is new feature related to printing of drawings using Layer Opacity settings other than 100%. Adjusting the Layer Opacity is a common technique to reduce the visual impact of content and help increase readability of drawings. However, in the Postscript printing world, transparency effects require the image to be flattened and rasterized (converted to pixels) which can lead to artifacts or a fuzzy looking image for all objects, on all layers, which might overlap with the transparent objects.

This article briefly describes that new feature and how it's intended to help address that printing condition.

What To Do

Choosing File^? menu > Print..., then choosing PowerCADD Options opens the dialog pictured above.

Gray Pattern for Dimmed or Transparent Layers is an application wide setting to help address Postscript and PDF^? workflows and flattening of transparent objects. Due to limitations in how transparent content is flattened (rasterized) at the operating system level during the Postscript and PDF printing process, the output may appear to become fuzzy or less sharp.

When checked On (enabled) the WYSIWYG^? relationship between screen display and printed output is affected for objects with a Dimmed layer status or objects residing on layers with a Layer Opacity setting other than 100%. Filled patterns are not printed, and text, bitmaps and placed objects are printed as if their opacity were 100% (solid); objects on these layers are printed with a gray pen pattern instead. Settings applied for Color printing options in Drawing Setup, Print tab still apply.

When unchecked (off or disabled) the transparency setting set when a layer status is Dimmed or Layer Opacity settings are changed will be applied to all objects when rendered to screen and when printed. In the case of non-postscript printers, leaving this box unchecked (off) is recommended to maintain the WYSIWYG relationship between the screen display and printed output.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

New Replace Font command in PCD7.0.5

Question

How do I replace one font family (e.g. Arial) for another (e.g. Helvetica)?

Requirements

PowerCADD 7.0.5 and Mac OS^? X Tiger or Leopard (10.5.2 or newer recommended)

Background

Engineered Software issued an update to PowerCADD 7 for Mac OS X Leopard compatibility as we noted in this article. As part of addressing a font substitution issue in Leopard the update added a new menu item (Text menu > Replace Font...) that appears in all versions of PowerCADD v7.0.5 running in Mac OS X Tiger (10.4.x) and Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.x). Using the menu item is a snap but we've put together this simple set of instructions just to be thorough.

The uses for this new menu item go beyond addressing the OS X font substitution issue. Imagine being able to globally change your mind after entering all the text in your drawing in one font type, and quickly change it to another. How about changing all the text from an Imported *.DWG^? file in one shot. There are several possible uses, all of which are real time savers!

What To Do

Replace Font... allows you globally change one font family to another. For example, you can change all text blocks in your drawing from Geneva to Times.

To use the Replace Font... menu item:

1. Choose Text Menu > Replace Font...
2. The Replace Font dialog will open as pictured below.
3. Font to Find contains a list of all fonts currently used in your document. Click on the first font name in that popup list and selected the desired font that is going to be replaced.
4. The Replace With list contains a list of all fonts available in Mac OS X. Click on the first font name in that popup list and select the desire font to be used as a replacement.
5. Click Replace All and all fonts are updated in the drawing.

You might notice a delay in the dialog box opening because it's checking the fonts used in your drawing so it can generate the appropriate Font to Find list. The length of time it takes will vary with the speed of your computer, the number of text blocks in the drawing and how many fonts were used. In simpler drawings it may take only a few seconds to being almost instant. In others it may take 5 to 15 seconds. Be patient, the time it takes to generate the Font to Find is nothing compared to the time it would take to make the change manually in a complex drawing.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

------
If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Select objects based on attributes

Question

How do I select objects by color and line weight in PowerCADD? Does this option exist?

Requirements

Mac OS^? 9 or Mac OS X : PowerCADD version 1 through version 6
PowerCADD 7 and Mac OS X Tiger (10.4.4 or newer) recommended

Background

PowerCADD's Select Special... in the Edit Menu was intended specifically for what you need to do. Select Special... allows you to select all visible objects on all editable layers by any attribute of Line Weight, Dash pattern, line ends (Arrows), Pen or Fill Color, Pen or Fill Pattern, and/or Object Type, or any combination thereof.

Select Special... works with the Pointer tool's Selection Filter hierarchial fashion to allow the selection of specified object types that bear the specified attribute values.

What To Do

If you do know the specific attribute values you want to match:

1. Choose Edit Menu > Select Special...
2. Choose the specific attributes in the dialogue.
3. Click OK

All objects matching your attribute criteria will be selected.

If you do not know the specific attribute values, but have an object in the drawing that bears those values you wish to match:

1. Select an object in the drawing that bears the attributes first
2. Choose Edit Menu > Select Special...
3. Click Get Object Attr to set attributes to precisely those of the selected object.
4. Click OK

All objects matching the attribute criteria will be selected.

Notes:

1. To select only certain object types (example: Lines only) choose Window menu > Selection Filter and set the Selection Filter check box options for Lines only, then use Select Special... as described above.
2. Ensure Edit ALL is ON to select objects on all visible layers.

We hope that helps
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AutoCAD DWG font translation

Question

When I open a PowerCADD drawing, saved as DWG^?, in AutoCAD (ACad), the fonts always default to ‘standard’. Is this normal and if so is there an easy way to reformat the fonts in AutoCAD to make the drawing look better?

Requirements

Miinimum: PowerCADD 2000 (v5) and PowerDWG v5 with Mac OS^? 9 or newer
Recommended: PowerCADD v7 (included PowerDWG v7) and Mac OS X

Note: PowerCADD v7 and the related PowerDWG v7 translator external do a MUCH improved job handling fonts. Proportional and non-proportional fonts are supported, as are Bold and underline type faces. There are other numerous improvements which make PowerDWG v7 (and PowerCADD v7) much more user friendly when it comes to mapping fonts for In and Out bound DWG translations.

Background

What you are seeing when opening the PowerCADD 2000 *.DWG file in AutoCAD is in deed 'normal'.

In preparation of translating PowerCADD to AutoCAD, one must first recognize that AutoCAD does not have calligraphy like the "real world". It has polygon's in the shape of letters. That's why ACAD calls they shape (.shx) files. These shaped letters are square - same height as width - totally unlike a proportionate font like the Helvetica that you are using. Further, the text justification options of ACAD is different from that of PowerCADD and the Mac OS in general. While recent updates to AutoCAD can make use of TrueType, OpenType and Postscript fonts the legacy of .shx files to mimic fonts is still commonly used.

What to do

All *.DWG files saved from PowerCADD 2000, or if you used a mono-spaced font such as Monaco in PowerCADD v6 or PowerCADD v7, have the following font attributes when opened in AutoCAD:

• Font Style = PC_Mono_Text
• Font Name / Type Face = Courier New

This is consistent for ALL fonts, regardless of what font style (ie. bold) or font family (ie. times) was used in your PowerCADD 2000 drawing. If you PowerCADD v6 or PowerCADD v7 drawing used styles such as Bold or underline, then they are mapped to an appropriate proportional or fixed width font in AutoCAD with the style entact (note that not every font style is supported). For example Arial or Helvetica Bold in PowerCADD becomes Arial Bold in AutoCAD.

As such, the fastest and easiest method is to update the font style in AutoCAD. If you're familiar with AutoCAD, simply use the Font Styles... command and change the Font Style and Name noted above to anything you like. If you're not familiar with AutoCAD, click here to read our free step by step guide to illustrate the process.

If you're still having problems you may want to take advantage of our File Translation Services.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

DWG or DXF Files dimmed in Open Dialog

Question

I tried to open an AutoCAD DWG^? file using the PowerDWG translator. However the file is dimmed (grayed out) when I choose File^? menu > Open in PowerCADD. If I double click on the file I receive an error dialog box stating the file cannot be opened the PowerDWG translator. What's going on? I've used the PowerDWG translator before and didn't have any problems. How do I get the file open?

Requirements

Minimum: PowerCADD v6 and PowerDWG v6 and Mac OS^? X or OS 9
Recommedned: PowerCADD v7 (includes PowerDWG v7) and Mac OS X Tiger or newer

Background

In order to open AutoCAD DWG files in PowerCADD you need the PowerDWG Translator External (XTNL) installed and loaded when PowerCADD is launched.

If you're using PowerCADD v6, then remember PowerDWG is a separate add-on to PowerCADD. It's also important to note to simple facts about the PowerDWG 6.1.1 Translator:

1. The PowerDWG translator reads and writes to release 10 through release 2000 *.DWG files.
2. The files must have the correct three letter 'dwg' suffix (example: filename.dwg) in order for the file to be displayed in the File menu -> Open... dialog
3. DXF^? files follow the same general guidelines

If you're using PowerCADD v7, then the PowerDWG Translator was included with your original PowerCADD purchase. It's also important to note to simple facts about the PowerDWG 7 Translator:

1. The PowerDWG translator reads and writes to release 10 through release 2006 *.DWG files.
2. The files must have the correct three letter 'dwg' suffix (example:filename.dwg) in order for the file to be displayed in the File menu -> Open... dialog
3. DXF files follow the same general guidelines

What To Do

There are two basic causes and approaches to the problem. The first, most common problem, is a file does not have the correct three letter file suffix. The second is the file might be an AutoCAD 2004 file and you're using PowerCADD v6 with PowerDWG v6. We'll cover both aspects next.

There is also a another possibility -- the file was corrupted during internet file transfer, particularly if the file was sent via email. If you suspect that is the problem (or have tried these two options and the problem still persists) please read this article on our website if you received the file via email.

We'd also be remiss if we didn't mention that, after updating a version of PowerCADD v6, a manual update of the PowerDWG v6 Translator XTNL is also required. If there are multiple installations of PowerCADD on a computer, it's easy to loose track of which ones have or have not been updated. When all else fails, do a clean install / update to PowerCADD and PowerDWG -- we've caught ourselves forgetting on more than occasion to install the PowerDWG external and being confused when we couldn't open any DWG files |:) In PowerCADD v7 this isn't an issue since the PowerDWG Translator External is bundled with the application.

Option 1: Rename the file:
The simple solution/fix is to check the file name. It must have a DWG suffix. For example filename.dwg (filenames and suffix's are not case sensitive). If the file does not have a *.dwg suffix, PowerCADD will not display that file in the File menu > Open... dialog. The filenames will be dimmed as shown here:

Typically renaming the file by adding *.dwg will correct the problem. To rename the file, do this:

1. click once on the file icon in the Finder
2. press the Return key. The text is selected and ready to edit.
3. the text of the file name will be selected.
4. add .dwg at the end of the file name (note there is a dot before dwg)
5. press the Return key

The file is now renamed and should appear in the File menu > Open... dialog . Proceed to open and translate the file as ususal.

Hint: If you try to double click a dwg file which does NOT have a *.dwg suffix, PowerCADD may try to open it and will display this warning dialog:

[inline:PowerDWGwontopen02.jpg]

This is a bit misleading as even if the file is a DWG version that the Translator can open, that warning dialog still appears. To correct the problem simply rename the file as described earlier.

Option Two: An Incompatible Drawing: PowerCADD v6 only

This condition only applies if you are using PowerCADD v6 and PowerDWG v6. PowerCADD v7 can open AutoCAD release 10 through release 2006 file formats. Upgrading to PowerCADD 7 will correct the issue and is the most effective solution in the long run.

If, after adding the *.dwg suffix you see this error message when opening the file then you have an AutoCAD v2004 DWG file which the translator cannot open.

[inline:PowerDWGwontopen03.jpg]

If this is the case, the best thing to do is contact the original file author and have them perform a Save As in AutoCAD where they can specify Save As R2000/LT2000 by simply selecting it from the drop down menu. Alternatively, we can take care of the translation for you . This isn't an uncommon problem even when sending files back and forth between consultants using AutoCAD. Not everyone uses the latest version of AutoCAD and older versions cannot open AutoCAD r2004 files. The problem and solution is the same for them as it is for folks using PowerCADD and PowerDWG.

Confirming if you have an AutoCAD r2004 or R2000 file:
How do you tell the difference between an AutoCAD r2000 verses r2004 file? If you suspect there is a file version problem, it's very easy to check manually even if you don't have a copy of AutoCAD. This technique works for both Mac OS and Windows Users. Mac OS X users can use TextEdit, Mac OS 9 users can use SimpleText and Windows users can use Note Pad or Word Pad. Of course, you can use any other type of word processor you like too, on any platform.

In Mac OS X the easy way to confirm it is in fact an R2004 file is to Drag and Drop the *.DWG file onto the Text Edit Application Icon. If the first word in the file is AC1018 you in fact do have an R2004 file. This picture is an example of what you would see:

[inline:PowerDWGwontopen04.jpg]

In Mac OS X the easy way to confirm a file was saved as R2000 (aside from the fact the translator can open it) is again to drop the file onto TextEdit. The first word would read AC1015 and here's an example of how that would look:

[inline:PowerDWGwontopen05.jpg]

We realize there appears to be little logic in what the first few characters read. Really -- does it make sense that an AutoCAD 2000 file would have AC1018 in the first line or would AC2000 make more sense? You be the judge, but in our view it's just one more example of the AutoDESK Wily E. Coyote approach to problem solving.

Still having problems?

If you've tried all these techniques and have reviewed the related links noted at the start of this article, all still isn't lost. You may want to take a look at our fee based File Translation or CADDcare services. The solution to the problem may be as simple as a phone call or email.

We hope that helps explain what's going on, why, and how you can work the problem with relatively little effort.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Flatten a Multi Layer DWG file into a single layer

Question

How do I flatten a multi-layer *.DWG^? file into a single layer in PowerCADD?

Requirements

PowerCADD v7 , version 7.02 or newer recommended to use Move to Layer
PowerCADD v6 or newer to use Import...
Any version of PowerCADD to use Copy/Paste

Background

Typically AutoCAD DWG files contain data on multiple layers. While typically it's important and desirable to retain the layer structure, there can be times when it's convenient to have all that data flattened to a single layer in PowerCADD.

What To Do

All of the methods we'll describe here are available in PowerCADD v7 -- and some methods are available in PowerCADD v6 or earlier versions as noted at the start of this article.

Method 1: copy and paste
This method is available to all versions of PowerCADD. Simply translate the *.DWG file, then:

1. Turn Edit All Layers ON in the Layers Window
2. Choose Select All and choose Edit menu > Cut
3. Choose Edit menu > Paste
4. All the data is flattened to a single layer

If you wanted the data in a different file (perhaps your own drawing) simply activate that drawing before choose Paste and the data is inserted onto the active layer in the active drawing.

Method 2: Import the file
This method is available to PowerCADD v6 and v7 users. To translate the *.DWG file into a single layer:

1. Open the drawing you'd like the *.DWG file to appear in
2. Make the layer in the drawing the *.DWG data should be on Active
3. Choose File^? menu > Import... and choose the desired *.DWG file
4. Specify your translation settings in the Incoming DWG Settings Dialog and press Ok
5. Result: the multi-layer *.DWG file is collapsed onto the active layer specified in step (2)

Method 3: Use Move To Layer
This method is available in PowerCADD v7 only. The technique can be applied to any drawings with objects you'd like to now appear on a single layer. In the case of translating a *.DWG file, you could use this technique to flatten the drawing after you translate it but before pasting it or referencing it into your primary drawing. You could also use this technique after you've combined the multi-layer DWG file into your drawing and now you want it on a single layer.

1. Turn on the layers in the drawing to be flattened
2. Choose Edit menu > Select All (Cmd+A)
3. Choose Arrange menu > Move to Layer > The Layer name you want the data on
4. Result: all the selected objects are moved to the specified layer

Note: In step 3 you could also press Control + Click (or Right Click with a multi-button mouse) on any object, then choose Move to Layer from the contextual menu -- the results would be the same.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Paper and Model Space :: PowerDWG

Question

I know the PowerDWG translator will translate information from AutoCAD Paper OR Model Space but the manual says I need to perform two translations. It is possible to translate both Paper and Model Space at the same time?

Requirements

Minimum: PowerCADD v6 and PowerDWG v6 with Mac OS^? X or Mac OS 9
Recommended: PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X (PCadd 7.01 and OS X 10.4.4 or newer recommended)

Background

In AutoCAD, information can be drawn in one of two drawing spaces. Model Space typically contains the primary object data used to create the content of a drawing: for example all the information in an architectural plan or site plan. Paper Space typically contains all the secondary object data used to describe things like the title block, notes or related annonations in a drawing.

When you open a DWG file in PowerCADD containing both Model and Paper Space information, the Incoming DWG Settings dialog box displays two radio buttons at the top of the dialog as shown here:

The PowerDWG Translator can translation information both Model and Paper Space and typically it requires two translations to get all the content. One translation for Model Space and another for Paper Space. Then the two drawings must be copied and pasted together to form a single drawing.

However, it is possible to translate both Model and Paper Space objects at the same time.

Caution: this is a hidden and UNSUPPORTED feature so proceed carefully. While we've generally have had excellent success, we have also found the odd file which has not translated correctly using this hidden feature. Please proceed with caution and examine the resulting translation carefully. In the cases where we've had problems, the condition has been very obvious. The process described in the manual, to translate Model and Paper Space separately is the official, fully supported method.

What To Do

To translate AutoCAD Model and Paper Space information at the same time using the PowerDWG translator, do this:

1. Choose File^? menu > Open... to open the DWG file in PowerCADD
2. The data will be processed and the DWG Incoming Settings dialog will open with a preview of your drawing
3. At the top of the screen, click the Model Space radio button
4. Make the desired translation settings for scale, paper size, etc. in the body of the Incoming Settings dialog
5. Press Option and click OK
6. The DWG file will be processed and the resulting translation will contain both Model and Paper Space objects.

Notes:

• In step 3, if the Paper Space radio button is dimmed, then your drawing only contains information in Model Space and that radio button is selected by default
• In step 3, you can preview the data in Paper Space by clicking the Paper Space radio button prior to proceeding with the translation. We recommend previewing the data so you have a sense of what the finished translation should look like
• In step 3, the Model Space radio button must be selected if you intend to translate both Model and Paper Space information at the same time

For more information on using the PowerDWG translator, the PowerCADD user manual has examples which are worth taking the time to review.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Read/Write Version Support: PowerDWG7

Question

What release version (version) of AutoCAD does the PowerDWG Translator support?

Requirements

PowerCADD version 7 and Mac OS^? X Tiger (10.4.4) or newer recommended

Answer

Read/Opens
The PowerDWG Translator reads (opens) AutoCAD release 10 through release 2006 *.DWG files.

Writes/Saves
The PowerDWG Translator writes (saves) to AutoCAD release 10 through release 2000 *.DWG files. The lack of formal support to write (save) to AutoCAD release 2006 isn't critical since newer versions of AutoCAD (example release 2006) can open older versions of the *DWG file format (example release 2000)

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Xref and View Port Support :: PowerDWG

Question

Does the PowerDWG translator support AutoCAD Xrefs and View Ports?

Requirements

PowerCADD version 7 and Mac OS^? X Tiger (10.4.4) or newer recommended

Answers

Xrefs
No, the PowerDWG Translator, bundled with PowerCADD v7, does not support AutoCAD Xrefs. Each AutoCAD Xref is a unique file and it would have to be translated separately. Ttranslating each file separately isn't recommended as the files typically don't contain a common reference set of objects to reassemble them in the right location. The best solution is to have the AutoCAD user perform a Bind Xrefs command to create a single, self contained file, then translate the bound file.

View Ports
No, the PowerDWG Translator, bundled with PowerCADD v7, does not support AutoCAD View Ports. The PowerDWG Translator lets you see and translate all data in Model Space, which is the true drawing environment in AutoCAD containing the actual objects used in the file. You can also translate any data in Paper Space separately using the PowerDWG Translator and reassemble the two files in PowerCADD later if necessary.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Adding Symbols to Libraries

Question

Each new job I start needs new symbols added. Can I add symbols to and existing Library ? Can the symbols include my special data tags so I don’t have to reenter that information on each job?

Requirements

Any version of PowerCADD and the corresponding Mac OS^? to run it on

Background

There are three fundamental things to remember about PowerCADD Symbol Libraries:

1. Symbol Libraries are not linked to a specific drawing file. Libraries can be used with any PowerCADD drawing. Set it up once and use it as often as possible
2. Symbol Library content may be added or deleted at any time. This makes it keep ‘master libraries’ current by adding new content and deleting obsolete information
3. Symbol Libraries can contain any PowerCADD object. This means if you used Obj. Text or Set Symbol Data or Set Symbol Fields (pre PowerCADD v6) or Set Symbol Tags (PowerCADD v6) to add your own ‘data tags’ of special information, that information is included with the object when it’s added to the library

What To Do

To add an object to your existing Symbol Library, do this:

1. open the Symbol Library
2. create the object in PowerCADD (add any required data tags using Set Symbol Fields, Set Data or Obj. Text)
3. copy / paste the object into the Symbol Library
4. Name the item
5. press the Rename button
6. Save the Library

PowerCADD 2000 and earlier Hint: When using the Set Symbol Data command to set the Data Tags before adding an item to a Symbol Library only fill in the first 4 fields. Use the Name Field, Field 1, Field 2, Field 3, leave Field 4 blank. When you paste the item into the library and name it, the field order is modified. The Name assigned in the Symbol Library always causes the list to bump down ‘one position’ as such, any data entered in Field 4 will be lost.

PowerCADD v6 and newer Hint: The nuance noted above with respect to symbol data on longer applies. In PowerCADD v6 or v7 simply use the Set Symbol Tags menu item to assign all the available fields. The order will NOT be change when you assign a name in the symbol library. Instead, a new field Symbol Nameis added to the top of the dialog box. This is a significant and welcome improvement

If you require further assistance or clarification to the information listed here, why not put our extensive experienced with creating, managing, reporting and analyzing PowerCADD symbol data to work for you. Email Us for no obligation fee quotation for a training consultation.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Adjusting the Opacity of Symbols

Question

I've inserted a graphic from a Symbol Library but I can't adjust it's opacity. What's wrong, how do I adjust the opacity of an object inserted into my drawing from a Library?

Requirements

PowerCADD version 7 (7.01 or newer recommended)

Background

In all versions of PowerCADD, objects in Symbol Libraries can be inserted into a PowerCADD drawing in one of two states:

• As a Group
• As a Symbol

The attributes of items inserted into a drawing as Groups can be adjusted. That includes the opacity attribute. The attributes of items inserted ito a drawing as Symbols cannot be adjusted. Those are two fundamental rules that have always applied in PowerDRAW and PowerCADD.

What To Do

There are two methods available to adjust the opacity of items inserted into a drawing as either a Group or as a Symbol that we'll describe here.

Option A: Insert items as Groups

1. Open the Symbol Library containing the graphic to be inserted
2. Scroll to the desired symbol and click on the main drawing window
3. Press Option and click on the Symbol Tool
4. Click the Group radio button and press Ok
5. Click the mouse to insert the graphic into the drawing
6. When the object is selected, observe that the Edit Window displays Group in it's title bar confirming your settings in step 4
7. Choose Windows menu > Attributes to open the Attributes Window
8. Drag the Pen or Fill Opacity^? slider to change the opacity of the selected object(

In this situation, you can simply drag the Pen or Fill Opacity slider in the Attributes Window to change the opacity of each item. If multiple items are selected, the opacity of all items is changed at the same time. It's important to remember that since the object is in fact a Group that dragging either the Pen or Fill Opacity sliders will change both attributes. That is to say, the Pen or Fill Opacity settings are linked.

One primary advantage to inserting the items as a Group is you can adjust the opacity (or other attribute settings) of each item on the layer independently. Of course, you can also use the Layer Opacity Attribute to adjust all the opacity settings globally (as describe in Option B below) if that's more efficient.

Option B: Insert items as Symbols

1. Open the Symbol Library containing the graphic to be inserted
2. Scroll to the desired symbol and click on the main drawing window
3. Press Option and click on the Symbol Tool
4. Click the Symbol radio button and press Ok
5. Click the mouse to insert the graphic into the drawing
6. When the object is selected, observe that the Edit Window displays Symbol in it's title bar confirming your settings in step 4
7. Choose Layout menu > Layers... to open the Layers Window
8. Double click on the Layer Name onto which you inserted the Symbols in step 5
9. Drag the Layer Opacity slider and press OK
10. The opacity of all objects on the specified layer are adjusted

In this situation, because the Attributes of a Symbol are locked (cannot be changed or unlocked), using the Layer Opacity Attribute is the most efficient way to make the change. The other alternative is to use Tool menu > Replace Symbol... to globally replace all the items with Groups but that seems like a lot of additional adminstrative work but may be necessary depending on your drawing condition.

For more information on working with Symbols and the various optional tool settings and what they mean, please reference your PowerCADD user manual.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Converting an Ellipse to a Polygon

Question

How do I draw a polygon with segments of equal length that follow the shape of an ellipse?

Requirements

PowerCADD, any version
PowerCADD version 7.0.1 and Mac OS^? X Tiger 10.4.5 or newer recommended

Background

There isn't any single, one step, method or tool to create the geometry you're describing. However PowerCADD does provide various simple techniques that can be combined to create the geometry you're describing.

What To Do

Here's one way to create the geometry you're describing that looks like this:

We've elected to draw the ellipse first, as shown in the screen shot and as illustrated in stage one below for general reference. However, it's important to note you do not need to draw the ellipse first! You could simply draw the multi-sided polygon and use the Edit Window to specify your desired Height and Width values (they don't have to be equal), then proceed directly to stage two. That saves you some steps and is the more likely procedure to be used during production. Click Here to see a Demonstration Movie (2.6MB Download) of the quick way to see just how easy it is! (need movie help?), Read on to see all the detailed, step by step instructions.

To create an elliptical polygon with segments of equal length, do this:

Stage One: Draw a multi-sided polygon that matches the shape of an ellipse

1. Draw an ellipse with the general desired proportions
2. Option click on the Polygon, Regular tool and specify 12 for the number of sides and click the by vertex icon. You could enter any number of sides you like but it's important to select the by vertex radio button since we're drawing one perfect quadrant of the polygon.
3. use Center Snap to start drawing the polygon from the center of the ellipse.
4. use Vertex Snap or End Snap to complete drawing the polygon along the Y axis. In effect the height of the new polygon matches the height of the ellipse
5. drag the mid point control handle bar and snap it to the right most end point of the ellipse

repeat step 5 for the left hand mid point. The result is a polygon that now matches the width and height of the ellipse. Notice the polygon segments are not of equal length

Stage Two: Set the polygon segments to the desired length

1. select the polygon and choose Tool menu > Polygon > Distribute Points
2. Use the Knife tool to break the polygon so you're only working on one quadrant of the ellipse.
3. select the polygon and choose Edit menu and the Poly Edit... dialog will open
4. Delete the extra point (point 5 in our example) by pressing Delete
5. Click the AngleRadio button. Observe the length of each segment of the polygon is displayed
6. Enter a value in the Length field and press the >> button to advance to the next segment
7. Enter the same value for this segments length
8. Repeat for each segment and press Ok
9. Observe: the result as shown in the earlier screen shot.

Wow! that sure is a lot of steps and it's probably pretty hard to follow. Not to worry, Click Here to see a Demonstration Movie (2.7MB Download) of those steps and you'll realize just how fast and easy it is to do! (need movie help?)

In our example we added a few objects such as center lines to make it clearer and we've worked in millimetres to 12 decimal points of accuracy to illustrate how accurate this technique can be. We've also dimensioned the segments and used Edit menu > Mirror to complete the entire shape which could then be Attached to create one contiguous polygon.

Clearly the dimensions we selected for the segment lengths are arbitrary and you may need to be more precise in selecting your segment lengths to suite your particular drawing circumstances.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Created Dotted Patterns using Objects On Path

Question

How do I draw a dotted line? The dash patterns and dash pattern editor only allow me to create very short, square, dash patterns and I'd like dots instead.

Requirements

Any version of PowerCADD running OS^? 9 or OS X.
PowerCADD 7 and Mac OS Tiger recommended

Background

While it is possible to easily create custom dash patterns in PowerCADD ( by choosing Attr menu > Dashes... ) the segments are typically rectilinear in shape. The best we can therefore create is a very short dash segment and white space which is square. The dots are very fine and might be a reasonable approximation of a 'dotted' line. However, if you truly want a dotted line which is composed of round dots (verses small squares) then a multiple step process is required.

While there are some disadvantages to a multiple step process, the level of control provided is considerable thereby making it a technique well worth considering. In this article we discuss how to create a dotted line effect using PowerCADD's Objects On Path... menu item. PowerCADD users who also own WildTOOLs may also want to consider using the WildTOOLs Linear Patterning Tool which also provides a great deal of control and excellent visual feedback.

What to do

To create a truly dotted line pattern (that is, a series of true circles representing the dots), do this:

1. draw the path defining where you want the dotted pattern to follow
• (the path may be a line, polygon, bezier curve, circle, or other PowerCADD object)
2. draw the circle representing the dot with the desired attributes (color, line weight, etc.)
3. select the circle drawn in step (2) and choose Edit menu > Copy (or Cut)
4. click once on the path drawn in step (1) to select it
5. choose Tool menu > Objects On Path... , a dialog box will open
6. click the Clipboard^? radio button
7. choose the desired Placement options for spacing or quantity of objects
8. press the OK button
9. the object selected in step (2) is applied to the path

From here, you may choose to group the dots for easier editing later. The original path drawn in step (1) can be deleted or moved to it's own layer for save keeping in case it needs to be edited later.

Demo Movie (1.1MB). In our example we insert dots along a path defined by a bezier curve to give you an idea of how smoothly the dots follow even complex paths like bezier curves. Please note, the demonstration movie does not contain audio and is converted to grey scale (no color) to increase internet performance ( need movie help? )

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Deleting Part of a Circle

Question

How do I delete just a portion of a circle between two tangent lines?

Requirements

PowerCADD 6 or WildTOOLs 7 and OS^? X
PowerCADD 7 or WildTOOLs 8 and Mac OS X Tiger recommended

Background

There are at least four methods to delete just a portion of a circle using PowerCADD, and even more when using WildTOOLs and PowerCADD. We'll cover the basics here and give a demonstration of a few methods.

The two most efficient methods are to use either the PowerCADD Break Tool or WildTOOLs Scissor Tool.

The PowerCADD manual describes the Break Tool and techniques in more detail and gives several examples including circles, lines, and tips on how to make sure you are going to break or delete the correct portion of the desired object. The WildTOOLs manual also includes some important tips.

It's important to remember that all Modifier Tools, including the PowerCADD Break Tool or WildTOOLs Scissor Tool, also work together with PowerCADD's Dynamic Snapping to ensure a clean, precise operation. For more on Dynamic Snappingplease review Chapter Two of the PowerCADD manual.

What To Do

Demo Movie (792KB) illustrating how you can delete just a portion of a circle using either the PowerCADD Break Tool or WildTOOLs Scissor Tool. Note the Snap Indicator is used to confirm X (intersection) and V (Vertex) snapping to create a clean, precise, trim operation. When using either the Break or Scissor Tools, pressing Option and clicking on the object ensures the desired object is being edited -- this can become important in crowded drawings or in complex plans when working with Edit All Layers On. In our example movie we pressed Option and clicked on the circle before completing the break and delete operation. ( need movie help? )

While you can use the Break Toolto delete the entire segment of the circle you don't want, the other choice is to simply cut the circle. That creates a 360 degree arc. You can then use either the PowerCADD or WildTools Trim/Extend Tool to cleanup the intersections. The above noted link demonstrates that technique using the WildTOOls Trim/Extend Tool to cleanup the bits of the arc we don't want.

There are several ways to achieve the result you're looking for, those a few of them.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Drag and Move a Specified Distance

Question

I know I can move objects by dragging them with the mouse. However, sometimes I start moving an object by dragging and I change my mind -- and I need to move it a specified distance. Is there an easy way to do that?

Requirements

Any Version of PowerCADD or PowerDraw
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS^? X Tiger recommended

Background

Recent versions of PowerCADD have a Move Window -- allowing users to specify a variety of move values and providing different methods for moving objects. However, one of the fundamental benefits of working with a Macintosh, and PowerCADD, is the ease with which we can simply move objects by dragging them around on the screen. Often, there are times when we need to move objects precisely, and sometimes that occurs after we've started to simply drag them around the screen.

Before there was the Move Window there was the Edit Window and Tab key-- This tip is taught as part of fundamental training by the folks at PowerCADD Canada (the source of this tip - Thanks!) and by caddpower.com trainers and consultants. It's such a fundamentally simple approach it easy to overlook but an important fundamental skill to have at your disposal.

What to do

The following technique involves two simple, and fundamental, strengths of PowerCADD. First, we can use snap commands to precisely grab objects when moving them. Second, we can use the Tab to suspend the mouse up operation and enter specific values in the Edit Window to specify the move distance.

Using the Edit Window interactively while dragging the object to invoke the offset move:

1. start the drag of the object
2. press Tab. This suspends the mouse operation and activates the Edit Window
3. edit the move length and angle directly - or - edit the delta X or delta Y
4. press Enter or Return.

This demo movie illustrates the above technique. (need movie help?) In this example, we did this:

Stage one: drew the red rectangle

1. started to draw the rectangle
2. pressed Tab to suspend the drawing operation. Note, the Edit Window activated
3. press Tab to navigate into the height and width fields and entered the desired values
4. pressed the or Return key to complete the drawing operation

Stage two: moved the rectangle using delta X, delta Y

1. pressed the E key (End Snap)
2. pressed our mouse down near the top left corner of the rectangle
3. started to move by dragging
4. released the E key
5. pressed Tab
6. entered values in the Edit Window. Note; we used addition and subtraction but could have used any mathematical formula or combined metric and imperial units
7. pressed the Return key complete the move

The steps noted above sound like a lot of work but remember we're being thorough. As you'll see in the demonstration movie, the entire process takes only seconds to complete

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Drawing using Pixel Units :: PowerCADD

Question

I'd like to draw in PowerCADD with the Units set to pixels (for example to draw web ready graphics) but don't see that as an option in the Drawing Setup Dialog. Can I draw in pixels in PowerCADD and if so, how?

Requirements

Any version of PowerCADD or PowerDRAW
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS^? X Tiger or newer recommended

Background

PowerCADD let's you customize the Drawing Setup for Scale and Units. All that's really required is getting the scale and units set correctly and you're away to the races. The real piece of missing information is that 1/72" is the magic number. We won't get into the specifics as to why and how pixels can be different sizes for output nor will we review the interesting history behind how a postscript printing pixel came to use the standard of 1/72" (let us know if you are really interested and we'll consider putting together an article on the subject). Suffice to say that for our purposes a pixel is 1/72" or 0.013889" and if we work from that math, the rest is easy

We'll describe the steps to create the appropriate drawing setup and scale settings in PowerCADD v6 (the latest version as of this writing) but the same fundamental steps apply regardless of what version of PowerCADD or PowerDRAW you're using.

What to Do

To draw using pixel units in PowerCADD, do this:

1. choose File^? Menu > New
2. choose Layout Menu -> Drawing Setup -> Units tab
3. set the drawing units to decimal inches
4. set the unit accuracy to zero decimals (after all, we can't have a decimal of a pixel, we're drawing to the nearest whole pixel which seems logical)
5. in the first Scale field enter a value of 1
6. in the second scale field enter a value of 72
7. set the grid spacing to 1" x 1"
8. the remaining values don't really matter and may be set to anything you'd like. The dialog should look something like this:



9. Click on the Show Tab and make sure the Units check box is NOT checked
10. Press OK to close the Drawing Setup Dialog

You have successfully setup a drawing to create objects based on pixel units! Great and now is likely a good time to save this drawing as a Stationery Pad so you can use it again and again.

To see how it works, do this:

1. choose Window Menu -> Edit to make sure the Edit Window is open
2. click on the Rectangle Tool and start to draw
3. observe the Edit Window is displaying values in pixel units. For example use the Edit Window to enter a width of 320 and a height of 240 to create a box which is 320 x 240 pixels.

And that's all there is too it, once we realize that 1/72" is the magic number it all falls together.

Now that you've read all these steps, it seems like a good time to mention can also click here to download a pre-made PowerCADD stationery pad which is already set to draw in pixels. The file is a PowerCADD v6 Stationery pad and requires and can be unzipped using Stuffit Expander or Mac OS X Panther or Tiger utilities.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Attachment	Size
PixelStationery.zip	37.08 KB

Email my entire drawing as a PDF file

Topic

How do I send my PowerCADD drawing as a PDF^? file attached to an email message?

Requirements

PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS^? X Tiger recommended

Background

Adobe Acrobats PDF file format has been around for a long time and it's a great cross platform format to use when sending drawings by email. Because the PDF format is based on Postscript, you can be assured it will be a high quality reproduction of your PowerCADD drawings. In fact, using PDF files is a great way to issue drawings for review and coordination and when sending content to reprographic service bureaus for color or black and white printing.

Prior to Mac OS X, creating PDF files required purchasing Adobe Acrobat Pro. With Mac OS X Apple has included built in support for the PDF File^? format which makes it as easy as choosing Print... to get the job done. We'd be remiss if we didn't point out there are differences between the version of PDF that Apple implements and the one used by Adobe; you can review this caddpower.com article for some additional information and search this site for additional information on PDF and PowerCADD.

What to do:

We'll explore two basic methods of generating a PDF file of your drawing and attaching it as an email method; one method uses Adobe's Acrobat Pro to do the task, another uses Apple's built in support for PDF. There are also other third party applications on the market that allow you to create PDF files, one in particular we like is PStill by Stone Studio and we recommend visiting their website for additional information (when time permits we'll try to create a tutorial on PStill and PowerCADD as it really is a wonderful workflow tool!).

Method: Use Adobe Acrobat to create a PDF
This method presumes you've paid for and correctly installed Adobe Acrobat Pro on your computer.

Do This:

1. Open the PowerCADD drawing you'd like to email as a PDF
2. Perform a Page Setup for the correct sheet size
3. Choose File menu > Print...
4. Select Adobe Acrobat from the Printer menu and press Print
5. Choose Standard from the Adobe Print Options popup menu
6. Specify a location to save your PDF file in the dialog box and press Save
7. Result: the PDF file is saved to your hard drive
8. Open our email application and attach the PDF file from (7) and send it

Adobe provides a whole variety of options you can select when creating the PDF file using the above method. They range from the type of document security you might want to the level of compression and how fonts are embedded with the file. We encourage you to take a look at Adobe Distiller which is the core application used to create the PDF files. IT's installed in your Adobe Acrobat Pro folder. There is a wide range of options and settings that help you manage the quality and file size of your PDF output.

watch this demo movie (18MB - 7 minute tutorial) to see the above process in action and learn more.

Method: Use Apple's Print to PDF option
This method is essentially the same as using Adobe's PDF printer with one twist. Rather than pressing the Print button you choose PDF > Save as PDF. Rather than writing out all the steps we've just tossed together this quick demonstration movie

watch this demo movie (6MB - 2 minute tutorial) to see the above process in action and learn more.

Method: Use Apple's PDF Services to immediately create the PDF and email it
Here's a case where saved the best method for the end If you've read this caddpower.com tutorial you've already seen how easy it is to use PDF Services to send just one part of your drawing as a PDF file. Well, it's even faster to do the same thing for the entire drawing, here's how:

Do This:

1. Open the PowerCADD drawing you'd like to email as a PDF
2. Perform a Page Setup for the correct sheet size (that was likely already done when you started the drawing but it's worth double checking)
3. Choose File menu > Print...
4. From the PDF menu choose Email PDF.workflow (if you don't see that option read this caddpower.com article on how to correctly setup PDF Services and add that item to the PDF Workflow)
5. The drawing is processed and a new email message is created in Apple's Mail.app with your PDF in the body of the message window
6. Compose the message and send it

watch this demo movie (14MB - 5 minute tutorial) to see the above process in action and learn more. This tutorial also has a little extra on how to create custom sheets sizes in Mac OS X

Not only is the PDF Services process very convenient -- it also does not write (save) a PDF to your hard drive. It simply creates the PDF and attaches it directly to the email message. While there's a temporary file written to the hard drive which is typical of many Mac OS X operations but you don't have to do the housekeeping so we're not counting that file

As you can see there are plenty of methods to get the job done -- each has a specific place in the drawing production workflow so it's worth knowing about all of them

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Email part of my drawing as a PDF

Topic

How do I send part of my PowerCADD drawing as a PDF^? file attached to an email message?

Requirements

PowerCADD v6 or v7 and Mac OS^? X Panther or Tiger
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X Tiger recommended

Background

With PDF Services integrated with Apple's Mac OS X and PowerCADD's Print command (and related options) sending all or part of your drawing as a PDF email attachment is a quick and easy task. To take advantage of the steps noted here you need to have Apple's PDF Services enabled and a PDF Workflow file designed to email files -- please visit this caddpower article for details on how to setup PDF Services in Mac OS X and for a free Email PDF Workflow file that does the job.

What to do:

In this example we're going to review the steps to email part of a drawing that is automatically scaled to fit an 8.5x11 sheet of paper. Typically drawings are larger than 8.5x11 and sending just a portion of the information is all that's need for coordination in our example.

To Email part of your drawing as a PDF attachment, do this:

1. Open the PowerCADD drawing
2. Choose Layout menu > Drawing Setup > Size tab
3. Click Page Setup and specify an 8.5x11 sheet of paper and press Ok
4. In the Layout menu > Drawing Setup > Size tab click and drag to select enough 8.5x11 sheets of paper to cover your drawing and press Ok
5. draw a rectangle in the drawing that contains the frames or enclosed the content you'd like to email
6. With the rectangle selected, choose File^? menu > Print...
7. Choose PowerCADD from the pop-up menu and choose Selection and Fit to Page
8. Click on the PDF button in the bottom left of the dialog and choose Email PDF from the list

A new email message is created in Mail.app and your selected area is included in the body of the email message as a PDF file

9. Address and send your email message as usual

Now, that may seem like a lot of steps -- but only because we were describing every stage of the process. In reality it's very quick and takes only a few moments to complete the process. The bottom line is you need to only choose one menu command (Print...) to get the job done. The reason we performed the extra page setup steps was to have the image fit on an 8.5x11 page.

watch this demo movie (43MB - 8 minute tutorial) to see the above process in action and learn more.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Factory Default Untitled Document :: PowerCADD

Question

I have customized PowerCADD so it always opens my own custom stationery pad every time I choose New from the File^? menu. However, there are times when I'd like to use the 'factory default' untitled document. Is there an easy way to do that?

Requirements

PowerCADD v6 or v7
PowerCADD v7 in Mac OS^? X Tiger or newer recommended

Background

PowerCADD v6 and v7 allow you to choose your own custom stationery pad as the default file when you choose File menu -> New. However, there are times when you might need to use the Factory Default Stationery file, for example if need you're performing trouble shooting operations. Here's an example of PowerCADD menu -> Preferences -> General -> Default Stationery looks when set to open a custom stationery drawing file:

What to Do

To open a New, Untitled Document with the factory default settings, press the Option key as you choose File Menu -> New. A new, untitled document will be open with factory default settings as setup by Engineered Software, temporarily bypassing all your custom stationery settings.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

General Methods & Techniques

Insert Door and Heal Wall Demo [110KB]: This brief movie demonstrates how doors can be inserted into a wall. The door is inserted onto it's own layer and the wall lines are automatically healed to provide a clean opening. This type of opening is essential when sending data back and forth via DWG^? or anytime a true opening is required. To learn how the door was inserted onto it's own layer read about the Layer Tools feature in the PowerCADD manual.

New Hatch Tricks in PCadd 6 [490KB]: We don't show you all the tricks about what's new, but this is worth looking at. It shows a few key things. In particular, notice we're using contextual menu's (control click on an object or right click with a multi button mouse) to assign the various hatch patterns and we're changing the hatch origin! In case you're wondering, the hatch pattern is something we created using a Wacom Tablet and PowerCADD and Mac OS^? X (WildTOOLs Sketch Tools was not required) --interested to find out how we did it? Drop us an email.

Change Hatches and Filling Walls [1.1MB]: This quick flick demonstrates a few key elements. First, we use the parallel line tool and door tool to create a quick and dirty floor plate. You'll note the hole is automatically cut in the wall and the ends are healed when the door is inserted. Second, we used the Selection Filter window to select only lines (we pressed Option and clicked on a check box - read the manual for more info). Third, with only the lines selected, we were able to create a hatch which filled the wall voids. Last, we selected the hatched polygon and changed the pattern to something different by pressing Control and clicking on the polygon to bring up the contextual menu.

Export Graphics Demo [1.7MB]: This was one was created in PowerCADD 2000 (v5) but the same basic approach applies today. Notice we can specify the region we want to export and we can choose from a variety of QuickTime file formats when saving. By the way, the renderings were prepared for the most part in PowerCADD -- we did some tweaking in PhotoShop for a special client presentation and to show off how PowerCADD and PhotoShop can work together. This movie uses the Mac OS X Victoria voice for the english voice over and has french subtitles. The reason for a computer voice? It uses less bandwidth and we used Applescript to convert our type written script into French and to create the spoken text!

Hatch a Region [320KB]: This was prepared in PowerCADD 2000 (v5) but the same technique applies in PowerCADD v6 or v7. You do not have to create a single polygon to define a region to be hatched. In fact the region to be hatched can be composed of any type of boundary as this movie shows.

Swimming Pool Demo [11MB]: We had someone ask us how to do a free form, arc/tangent and arc/arc pool layout. They also wanted to find quantities for different materials. This is a very quick and dirty demonstration where we simply captured our screen as we created this shape live for the client. This movie starts from the basics of performing a drawing setup and choosing a scale so if you're new to PowerCADD this may be worth a look. We also demonstrate how the edit window can be used to enter data on the fly and even accepts formulas for converting units. Notice we change our mind and delete items which is a natural part of the digital design process. We use snapping, trimming, lines, arcs and even use the Set Data menu item to insert a small table with key data for area and perimeter of the pool deck. This can be confusing without the live audio but it's worth a look as it uses a variety of tools and techniques and applies them to a real world situation.

Creating an Oval Mask [2MB]: We use a few different techniques using PowerCADD or WildTOOLs to mask out part of a photograph. Sure we could have cropped the photo or applied a bitmap effect to mask it. Truth is for square or rectangular shapes, cropping is better (and non destructive in PowerCADD). For special shapes, bitmap effects are good but the modify the original bitmap. So, when a client asked how to mask part of a photo with an oval, and still keep the original, we tossed together this demo.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Guidelines & Adopting the Angle of Objects

Question

How do I set a Guideline to an angle other than vertical or horizontal?

Requirements

PowerCADD 2000 (version 5) through PowerCADD v7
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS^? X Tiger (10.4.4) or newer recommended

Background

Guidelines can adopt the angle of any line , rotated rectangle or polygon face in the drawing. PowerCADD’s drawing rulers and the Option Key are key (sorry for the pun) to making things happen.

What to do

To have a Guideline adopt the angle of an object in your drawing, do this:

1. Choose Layout Menu > Drawing Setup > Show tab and make sure the Show Rulers box is checked (in PowerCADD 6 or 7 you can also Control + click in the drawing window and choose Show Rulers from the contextual menu)
2. Draw a Line (or polygon, or other object of your choice)
3. Move the mouse over the rulers, the cursor will change
4. Drag a Guideline off the ruler
5. Press the Option key (cursor will change to a target cursor)
6. drag the mouse & guideline and touch the line drawn in (2)
7. the guideline will adopt the same angle as the line

Demo Movie (220KB Download) (need movie help?)

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

How do I create a grid paper layout?

Question

How do I create a traditional graph paper or grid paper type layout in PowerCADD?

Requirements

PowerCADD v5 or newer
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS^? X Tiger or newer recommended

Background

One of PowerCADD's greatest strenghts has always been it's paper paradigm. Simply put, PowerCADD works on a computer just like you did with real paper, only with all the computer aided benefits.

There are a few different methods of creating a traditional grid or graph paper type layout using PowerCADD which we'll cover here. Which technique is right for you will depend on your own unique requirements.

What To Do

In all the methods we describe here, it's important to always remember:

• PowerCADD works to scale. That means the grid spacing will depend on your drawing scale and unit of measure. In our examples we'll work at a drawing scale of 1:1. You could also use a scale of 1:100 or 1/4"=1'-0" or anything other value with the techniques described below.
• Grid Snapping must be On: Choose Drawing Setup > Snap and make sure
  Grid is Checked ON. You can always press the Command key to temporarily override the Grid Snap during a drawing, moving or editing operation. Setting a drawing grid and turning Grid Snap Off is nothing less than a complete waste of time and energy.

Method One: An Invisible Grid
Let's assume we simply need an invisible grid. The Grid does not need to print nor be seen on screen, we simply want whatever we draw or move to snap to the grid.
Do This:

1. Choose Layout menu > Drawing Setup > Units
2. Set the drawing scale to 1:1, Fractional Inches (or your perferred unit of measure)
3. Set the Grid Spacing to 1/8" in the X field and press Tab. Notice the Y value is automatically entered
4. Press OK
5. Result: We are returned to the drawing window. All objects we draw now will snap in 1/8" increments

Hint:If we had wanted the grid paper to be a 1/4" grid, we would have specified 1/4" in the X Grid spacing field.

Metod Two: A Visible Grid that doesn't print
Let's assume we want to draw to a preset grid snap interval and we want to see the grid lines on screen but we don't want them to print.
Do This:

1. Choose Layout Menu > Drawing Setup > Units
2. Set the drawing scale to 1:1, Fractional Inches (or your perferred unit of measure)
3. Set the Grid Spacing to 1/4" in the X field and press Tab. Notice the Y value is automatically entered
4. Press OK
5. Choose Layout menu >GuideLines > Make Grid...
6. Enter a value of 1/4" in both the Horizontal and Vertical Grid spacing fields. Leave the Angle field set to 0 degrees, 0 minutes, 0 seconds to keep the grid perfectly horizontal and vertical and press OK
7. Result: We are returned to the drawing window. A series of blue grid lines appear in the drawing window at the specified spacing. All objects we draw now will snap in 1/4" increments and will snap to the blue guideline grid.

Hint: If you would like the grid of guidelines to be a different color, or to appear behind the objecs you draw, simply press Option as you click on a drawing ruler and choose the desired options from the dialog box.

Method Three: A Visible Grid that will print
You can probably already guess how this one will play out. We're going to set the grid spacing, but this time we'll draw real lines so the objects will actually print. To keep things organized, we'll put the grid lines on their own layer.
Do This:

1. Set your drawing grid to 1/4"
2. Press L to open the Layers Window
3. In the Layers Window, press New to create a new layer. Name the layer Grid Lines and make that the active drawing layer
4. Select the Constrained Line Tool from the tool palette and draw one vertical and one horizontal line across the top and left hand edge of the drawing page
5. Press Option and click on the Parallel Line Tool. In the dialog box, enter a value of 1/4" for the offset. Check Single Increment and enter a value for the desired number of times you'd like the line offset and press OK. hint: the number will vary with your sheet size. You can always enter a rough guess, apply the offset more than once, and delete the unwanted lines
6. Click and drag on the vertical and horizontal lines you drew earlier to create the grid
7. Start drawing your objects on a new layer to keep them separate from the drawing grid

These are just three core methods for drawing using a grid in PowerCADD. Clearly there are other combinations of these basic techniques you can apply, along with other standard PowerCADD editing and object attribute features to create some interesting effects.

Don't forget, if you use the grid paper a lot, Save As... and choose PowerCADD Stationery and keep that Stationery Pad file in a central location. The next time you need to work with the same grid line settings, simply double click the Stationery Pad file and you'll automatically be working on a copy, protecting the original stationery pad drawing for use again later.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Importing Excel Data as Real Objects

Question

How can I import my Excel formatted data so it's real objects in PowerCADD which can be edited or exported (Save As) DWG^??

Requirements

PowerCADD v6 , Excel v10. , Mac OS^? X
PowerCADD v7, Excel v10 or newer, Mac OS X Tiger or newer recommended

Background

There are several methods to import formatted data from Excel into PowerCADD. Typically, most import methods use PICT^? or PDF^? which work fine for printing and internal management but do not export via DWG.

Methods such as Drag and Drop or traditional Copy and Paste methods work and produce real text objects in PowerCADD. However, the data Copied to the Macintosh ClipBoard in Excel is not retained when the contents is transfered to PowerCADD and other applications.

However, there is a Copy and Paste method which does allow you to bring data from Excel into PowerCADD as real objects which can be edited and retains formatting.

What To Do

This a fairly easy two stage process:

Stage one: get the data from Excel into PowerCADD

1. Open the Excel File^? containing the formatted information
2. Drag to Select the data to be copied
3. Press the Shift Key and Choose Edit menu > Copy Picture...
• (note: you must press the Shift key to see Copy Picture. Otherwise you simply see the Copy menu item which will not retain the formatting when Pasted into PowerCADD)
4. At the screen prompt, click the As Shown On Screen radio button
5. Make the PowerCADD drawing window active
6. Choose Edit menu > Paste

The result is a PICT file which retains all your formatting (the Edit Window will display the object type). This is a great format for internal use, but if the file is destined for a Saved As DWG , the table will not be exported.

Stage Two: convert the PICT table into real objects

1. Select the table in from step (5) in stage one
2. Choose Tool menu > Convert to Objects
3. Press the OK button in the caution dialog
• (note: the object is now a group as confirmed by the Edit Window)
4. Choose Arrange menu > Ungroup
5. The table is now converted to it's core objects

It's important to pay close attention to the conversion process as some formatting may be lost. However, since we now have real PowerCADD objects, it's a simple matter to use various techniques such as Selection Filter settings, or Select Special... to make the desire adjustments. The finished result may be Grouped for positioning on screen.

The above method takes advantage of some simple techniques which produce a table composed of Text, Lines, and Rectangles. All of which will be included when you save your drawings as DWG or DXF^?.

Demo Movie (815KB download). (need movie help? )

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Key Command to open Optional Settings Dialogs

Question

How do I assign a Key Command to Paste Special (or other PowerCADD Tools and Menu Items) which will bring up the Optional Settings Dialog box?

Requirements

Any version of PowerCADD (version 7 or newer recommended)

Background

Any Tool or Menu Item in PowerCADD which has an Optional Setting dialog can be called with a custom key command sequence which includes the Option Key. The 'key' (sorry for the pun) is to remember the Apple Keyboard Ergonomics is designed around the concept of the Thumb being on the Apple (Command) key. This provides maximum flexibility in creating key assignments which automatically bring up Optional Dialogs.

Using the Function keys along the top of the keyboard requires more hand movement and is generally slower than the method we'll describe here. In addition, Mac OS^? X reserves many Function Key assignments (or combinations of the Function Keys and other Modifier Keys like the Option or Apple Keys) for use across all applications. As such, custom PowerCADD key commands which include the Option and Function keys may not work. Please choose your custom key commands carefully and consider any Mac OS X operating system default commands which may cause a conflict.

What To Do

Let's follow one simple example, Paste and Paste Special..., to illustrate the process which can be applied to other menu items and tools which have optional settings.

Given the basic Paste command is Apple + V, we recommend assigning key commands which are logical progression of the OS Standard Apple + V. Not only will this make the key sequence easier to remember but it will allow the Option Key to correctly bring up the Optional Settings Dialogs. Here is an example on how to do that with Paste Special...: (note, while we refer to the Apple Key, many manuals refer to it as the Command Key. We call it the Apple Key since it has an Apple Icon on it, making it simple to distinguish and remember):

1. Choose PowerCADD menu > Preferences... > Commands Tab
2. choose Paste Special from the Menu pop-up
3. press Shift + Apple + V at the same time to assign that key command combination to Paste Special...
• (will invoke the Paste Special... command with it's last assigned optional settings)
4. Also assign Shift + Option + V to Paste Special...
• (will bring up the Paste Special Optional Settings dialog box)

For more on how to assign custom key commands reference the PowerCADD user manual.

Why did we recommend the above key sequence ?

1. Any conflict with OS level Function Key assignments (F1 through F12) are avoided so you’ll have consistent results when applying the key command in PowerCADD.
2. Keeping the Apple Key as part of the Paste Special command key sequence makes it easy to remember we’re wanting to do a Paste operation (remember, a normal Paste operation in any Mac OS application is Apple + V
3. A normal Paste operation (Apple + V) is ‘constrained’ in that it always pastes the new object at the same X,Y position as the original
4. In the Mac OS and PowerCADD, the Shift Key is traditionally a toggle switch used to Constrain or Un-Constrain an operation.
5. Since Paste Special is an ‘Un-Costrained’ version of a normal Paste Operation (i.e. The object will be pasted anywhere you like), the Shift Key as a Modifier to ‘Un-Constrain’ the Paste Operation is a logical progression. As such we recommended Shift +Apple+V for invoking the Paste Special Menu Item which will always use the last specified optional settings.
6. The sequence Shift + Option + V is used for Paste Special as the logical extension to open the Optional Settings Dialog box.
7. When following correct drawing keyboard ergonomics (the thumb over the Apple Key) the Pinky Finger is, for most people, already hovering over the Shift Key. As such the amount of hand movement required to invoke either a Paste Special or to open the Paste Special Optional Settings Dialog is minimized as it can be applied without moving one’s hand from the keyboard. Further, it can also be applied by ‘touch’ verses having to divert attention from the drawing screen to the keyboard.

We hope that helped and we have a booklet detailing OS 9 Keyboard ergonomics which will also provide useful information as the fundamentals it covers also applies to Mac OS X. The Booklet can be found in the Mac OS 9 Section of our Learning Center, look for Mac OS 9: Optimizing your Mac Desktop.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Measuring Lengths of Polygons & Béziers

Question

Can I measure the length of a Polygon or Bézier curve in PowerCADD for doing quantity take-offs?

Requirements

Any version of PowerCADD (version 7 or newer recommended)

Background

The perimeter of a polygon, or bézier or a line = it’s length.

A polygon or bézier curve might represent a contour line or wall in a drawing and knowing it’s perimeter (length) can be important for cost estimating / quantity take off purposes.

PowerCADD’s Area.. Menu Item (Tool Menu > Area.. ) provides the simplest options to calculate the perimeter (length) of a single object or the cumulative length of multiple selected objects. For a single selected object, the perimeter (length) calculation may be displayed in the Edit Window or inserted into the drawing. In the case of multiple selections:

1. The cumulative perimeter (length) of all selected items may be inserted into the drawing.
• Or
2. Each objects perimeter (length) may be inserted into the drawing

PowerCADD’s Export Data.. Menu Item (File^? Menu > Save As > Export Data) also provides advanced options for reporting the length of multiple items. A report of the selected items may be exported, then imported into a database. The perimeter (length) for each item is one of the reported fields and maybe used to perform detailed value added analysis.

PowerCADD’s Set Data Menu Item (Edit Menu > Symbol Data > Set Data...) may also be used. This method allows each object to be named and reported internally in PowerCADD using Edit Menu > Symbol Data > Place ReportMenu Item. Items with the same name will show the cumulative perimeter (length). Items with different names will report their unique perimeter (length). These reports may be updated in PowerCADD after an object is edited and new perimeter (length) is reported.

What To Do

We’ll cover the simplest method here using the Area.. Menu Item as it’s the most commonly used item and addresses most drawing conditions.

Option A: Display the perimeter (length) in the Edit Window for a Single Object:

To see the area and perimeter of a selected objects in the drawing, do this:

1. choose Window menu > Edit Window to open the Edit Window
2. draw an object (example: polygon, line, bézier or rectangle)
3. when the object is selected the Edit Window displays the area and perimeter automatically

Note: Option A is unique to PowerCADD 6 and PowerCADD 7. In versions prior to v6 or v7 you should use Option B described below

Option B: Insert the perimeter (length) into the drawing for a Single Object:

To measure the perimeter (length) of a single polygon, bezier or line and have the value inserted into the drawing do this:

1. select the object
2. press and hold the OPTION key
3. choose Tool Menu > Area..
4. check the Place Perimeter box
5. press the OK button

The perimeter (length) of the item is inserted into the drawing.

Option C : Getting perimeter (length) for multiple selected objects

To measure the perimeter (length) of multiple objects and find the cumulative perimeter (length) do this

1. select all the objects you want to know the perimeter of
• (Note: the selected items may be a combination of polygons, lines and beziers, they do not all need to be the same type of object)
2. choose Tool Menu > Area..
3. The Area.. Dialog will open automatically
4. check the Place Perimeter box
5. check the Cumulative Total box
6. press the OK button

The cumulative perimeter (length) of all selected objects is inserted into the drawing.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Options for Databases, Schedules, Bills of Materials, Etc.

Question

What are my choices when using PowerCADD to create schedules, lists and build a database of text data for drawing, project and facility management?

Requirements

PowerCADD 2000 (v5) through PowerCADD v7
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS^? X Tiger (10.4.4) or newer recommended

Background

What you're describing is database creation and database management and yes, you can use PowerCADD to just that. Unfortunately there is no one click answer and a sound understanding of the fundamentals is critical to success in this type of situation. The trade off is some time and effort is required on the part of the user to learn the available methods and how they can be applied to their specific needs.

The key to remember is PowerCADD is a 'graphic' interface to the 'drawing database'. Every object in the drawing already contains a variety of information (e.g.it's x,y location and 'size' among many other attributes). You can also assign your own unique text attributes to special objects using a variety of techniques. The PowerCADD database, both the standard and your own specially added data, can be imported into other applications to perform 'value added analysis'.

In essence , PowerCADD has provided several solutions which are in need of a problem( to solve.

What To Do

We can't really tell you what to do as it depends on your specific drawing and data management needs. However, we can give you an overview of your available options which may get you started. In all cases, it's important to clearly understand and plan out in advance just what your data management needs will be, then compare those needs to your available choices. There is rarely a single automagic solution to a particular data management situation. Rather, you may need to look at using several techniques to meet your project needs.

Here's a basic breakdown of the current features and what they do to help guide your decision making process. Each feature has a unique and valuable place in the database work flow.

1) Object Text:
Lets you assign any type of free form text to any object or group of objects in a drawing. Example, Object Text can be assigned to a snap point or any object or group of objects in a drawing.

Window Menu -> Obj. Text window

Behavior / Qualities:

• very easy to use
• data does not print
• data does not export via DWG^? or DXF^?
• plain text only
• use object text export command to generate text file reports
• can be applied to any object at any time in the drawing process
• no particular 'pre planning' involved to use this database feature, free form in that regard
• copy/paste of an object with 'object text assigned' retains the object text data

2) Symbol Libraries:
Libraries may contain any PowerCADD object or collection of objects. A symbol may be as simple as a snap point containing text attribute data or as complex as a master construction detail, site plan or wall assembly.

File^? Menu -> New Library

Behavior / Qualities:

• very easy to use
• library can be used on multiple projects (i.e. it's not linked to a specific file)
• drawing data will export via DWG or DXF once in the drawing (not including raster based data)
• can contain any valid PowerCADD object(
• can be applied at any time in the drawing process
• automatic scaling of objects when inserted into drawings
• may contain additional attribute data in addition to 'name'
• best applied with some 'pre planning' to maximize it's power
• symbol library object may contain special user defined text assigned using Object Text Window, Set Symbol Tags command or Set Data command.

3) Symbol Tool:
This tool contains two optional settings and works in conjunction with Symbol Libraries and the Set Symbol Tags Command and Set Data Command

Behavior / Qualities:

• very easy to use
• option click to set tool for inserting objects as groups or instances
• symbol instance creates a one to many relationship for updating Set Symbol Fields
• ability to use Replace Symbol to globally replace symbols inserted into a drawing with this tool speeds up drawing management / increased productivity
• ability to Set Data Fields (as opposed to Set Symbol Fields) when objects inserted into the drawing

4) Set Symbol Tags:
This command permits data tags to be set for any existing object in a drawing or for objects inserted from Symbol Libraries. Data tags can be reported and opened in other applications for value added editing and analysis.

Edit Menu -> Set Symbol Tags...

Behavior / Qualities:

• moderate to easy to use
• requires pre-planning to make best use of this feature
• use Save As... Symbol Report to get a report of objects in a drawing and their data
• up to 4 unique data fields in addition to one Name Field
• when objects are inserted as Symbol Instances, the data fields have a one to many relationship (edit one data field will update all data fields of symbol instances with the same name)
• best applied to items inserted from Symbol Libraries
• may be applied to any object in the drawing, changes object (e.g. a line) into a named group
• reporting feature can discriminate to report all symbols in drawing or only selected symbols
• data does not print or export unless included as a table in the drawing

5) Replace Symbol:
This commands permits global replacement of symbols in a single drawing.

Tool Menu -> Replace Symbol...

Behavior / Qualities:

• very easy to use
• works across all layers, whether layer status is on,off, grayed or locked
• remembers scale and automatically re-scales objects to correct % during replacement
• works with symbols inserted as groups or instances (keys on group name)
• very fast !

A template of up to 15 fields can be used to carry any type of data. The templates can be customized and allows carrying all 15 fields with a single object (eg a Snap Point).

Edit Menu -> Symbol Data -> Set Data / Search Data / Place Report / Update Report

Behavior / Qualities:

• moderate to difficult to use
• requires pre-planning to best use this feature
• placed reports auto update for area, quantity and perimeter fields only
• can be assigned to any object currently in the drawing, original object hierarchy is retained (not converted to a group, see Set Symbol Fields for a comparison)
• data does not print or export unless reported and inserted into the drawing as a table
• data templates can be shared with multiple users for consistent data entry
• search feature finds objects with data tags in the drawing.
• data can be exported using Save As Symbol Data Report command
• may be used in conjunction with Symbol Libraries and Symbol Tool

7) Export Data External:
Exports the entire PowerCADD drawing database (or just selected objects). Every object on every layer can be exported , then imported into other database applications like FileMaker Pro. A variety of analysis and calculations can be carried out against the data such as extracting object sizes, locations or the specific contents of a text block.

File Menu -> Save As -> Export Data

Behavior / Qualities:

• easy to use but requires moderate to expert specialty skills with other applications to best use this feature
• consistent reporting model makes automated data filtering and calculations possible
• very robust reporting permits extensive value added data analysis
• creating templates in Database Applications (e.g. FileMaker) speeds up data filtering and analysis
• exported and filtered data can be used to generate sophisticated reports , letters, etc.

Summary:
There are several components to database creation and management in PowerCADD. Each feature will have pros and cons depending on your particular needs. Remember, each feature fits a specific niche in the work flow and they can be used alone or in combination with other tools and commands to solve a variety of reporting needs. The learning curve is a bit steep in some respects but time and costs invested in self study and training in the short term pay off dividends in the long run.

We hope this comprehensive overview gives you some general understanding as to how these solutions might fit in your work flow. To arrange for additional help or arrange a consultation visit us at our web site or contact us by email at the address listed below.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Rotating Reference Files

Question

Is it possible to rotate a drawing placed using the References menu item (often called an X-ref^? or Xref drawing)? That is, can I rotate a Referenced Drawing?

Requirements

PowerCADD v5 or newer
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS^? X Tiger or newer recommended

If you used References in PowerCADD prior to version 7, we recommend you review the PowerCADD 7 user manual for some important tips and information on improvements made with respect to References.

Background

PowerCADD's References menu item allows you to place an external drawing file (the Source Document) into your current PowerCADD drawing (the Destination Document). This feature has been around for several versions but there are some twists that are easy to miss, particularly when it comes to rotating reference drawings.

After you have placed a Reference Drawing (the Source Document) in your Destination Document you can rotate the Reference Drawing to any angle. The dynamic / automatic links for updating are retained. Note, in versions prior to PowerCADD 6, rotating a Reference Drawing to angles of 90 or 180 would result in a rotation that slightly off by a few seconds. In PowerCADD 6 and 7, this has been fixed and rotation of Reference Drawings are accurate regardless of what rotation angle is specified.

What to Do

To rotate a Reference Drawing, do this:

Stage One: Placing the Reference Drawing:

1. open your Destination Drawing (the drawing you want place the Reference drawing into)
2. Choose References menu -> Place Reference...
3. locate the Source Drawing on your hard drive (the drawing you want to reference)
4. Follow the screen prompts to Place the Reference drawing into your Destination Drawing with the desired options

Stage Two: Rotate the Referenced (X-ref) drawing:

1. Select the Referenced Drawing to be rotated by choosing Reference menu -> The Reference name -> Select (note, in versions prior to PowerCADD 7 the Reference name is a numbered item which appears at the bottom of the Reference Menu)
2. Choose Arrange menu -> Rotate
3. In versions prior to PowerCADD 7 You are prompted to Unlock the Reference Drawing , Press Unlock
4. Complete the rotation operation just as you would with any other object (note, you can dynamically rotate items or specify an exact amount)

You cannot use Edit menu > Undo to undo the rotation operation. We recommend saving your drawing before rotating referenced drawings and keeping a written record of the rotation angle used so can always rotate the drawing file back to it's original angle if you made a mistake

The result:
The Referenced Drawing is rotated the specified angle. The next time the saved drawing containing the Rotated Reference (X-ref) is opened, the Referenced Drawing is automatically rotated to the previously specified (saved) rotation angle and any revisions made in the Source Drawing are included.

Demo Movie (895KB Download) of the above stages and steps using PowerCADD v6. (need movie help?)

This can be a very handy technique to speed up drawing production on large projects where site plans, road layouts or building designs are at odd angles. You could do your general drawing in the traditional vertical and horizontal layout, then use References and rotate the reference drawings to suit a particularly unique angle into one master drawing.

Don't forget, the active Destination Drawing may contain more than one Referenced Drawing (X-ref) and they could all be rotated to different angles. This article doesn't address how to manage multiple references but some simple planning and layering techniques can go a long way to make working with single or multiple references a very cost effective drawing management feature.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Schedules for Doors, Windows, Plants, etc

Question

Does PowerCADD do schedules? Does PowerCADD provide the capability to do material take-offs, such as door and window schedules and other schedules?

Requirements

Any version of PowerCADD and the corresponding Mac OS^? to run it on

Background

PowerCADD, like all computer programs, creates documents that are actually databases with graphical representations.

All databases are not intended to do the same thing. Typically they have a specialty. PowerCADD's database specialty is in providing accurate object descriptive data plus provide user access to the object database to add textual descriptions. Data can be transferred from one database to another, either through tabbed or comma delimited formats. PowerCADD currently provides this capability and more.

PowerCADD documents contain a database describing all the objects drawn including their location, their object type and geometry, their physical and rendering attributes, and their status as a group or symbol instance. PowerCADD also provides the ability for the user to add textual "descriptive" data to objects, grouped objects, and symbols, the ability to browse, review and report such data.

PowerCADD provides these capabilities through a set of 15 fixed formatted fields with the ability of the user to determine their own templates and set of templates. You even have the capability for the user to attach textual Notes to objects.

To assign textual "descriptive" data to symbols and grouped objects, PowerCADD provides a choice of tools to satisfy the various user needs; a Set Symbol Fields function, a Symbol Data Tool and Symbol Data functions .

To browse and review the assigned textual "descriptive" data, PowerCADD provides a Symbol Data Browser function and a Symbol Data Search function.

To report (export) the assigned textual "descriptive" data, PowerCADD provides Symbol Report , Export Data Report , and Symbol Data Report functions.

Please reference your PowerCADD user manual for full descriptions of the various options noted above and in the rest of this article.

What To Do

Learning about Databases requires diligent study. Having more than one database tool in one's "software tool chest' is as good an idea as having more than one screw driver in one's tool box.

Review the following to gain a perspective on the intended purpose of each of PowerCADD's functions towards providing you with the scheduling capabilities that you require. Just remember, it helps to use the right tool for the job.

Assigning Text Notes to Objects Obj. Text External
Obj(ect) Text Notes is an XTNL that enables you to "attach" freeform text notes to an object or group of objects. Its intent is to provide a hidden "stickies" capability, so that the user can attached reminders notes and follow up notes to any object or group of objects and then browse and review the notes at anytime. Excellent for reminding you that this particular door needs to be a fireproof door with a 3 hour rating.

Assigning Data to Objects
The intent of these tools is to enable the user to assign textual "descriptive" data to objects groups and symbol instances.

The Set Symbol Fields (Tool Menu) function is available to allow some of such data to be assigned to an object BEFORE it used in a symbol library. You may also want to review information posted in other articles on our web site.

The Symbol Data Set Data... Function (Edit Menu) is available to allow such data to be assigned to objects, object groups, and symbol instances present in the drawing, and to apply different data templates.

The Symbol Data Tool is available to allow some of such data to be assigned to an object BEFORE it used in a symbol library.

Review Data Assigned to Objects
Symbol Data Browser External (XTNL) enables the user to view the assigned textual "descriptive" data of objects, groups and symbols and enables the display of such data whether an object is directly selected or whether the object is found using Symbol Data - Search.

Symbol Data - Search (Edit Menu) enables the user to search the drawing for objects by user prescribed template and bearing specified data . It works in conjunction with Symbol Data Browser.

Exporting and Preparing Schedules
In addition to this information included in your PowerCADD manual. You may also want to review information posted in other articles on our web site.

Export Data Reportis a Save As... function that enables the user to save all the base attribute object data including area and perimeter to a text file that can be imported to any database or spreadsheet.

Data Report is a Save As... function that enables the user to save textual "descriptive" data assigned to drawing objects through a report writing filter. The file saved is a text file that can be imported to any database or spreadsheet. This report may be placed back into the drawing as a schedule using Edit menu > Data >Place Report and once placed, it can be updated using Data > Update Reports.

Symbol Report provides an inventory report of the count of Symbol Instance and Groups by name.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Sketching Basics

Topic

Sometimes we just can't get around to writing a whole article addressing a particular topic. However, we often toss together quick demonstration movies to help folks out. This article has some demonstration movies and slide shows for various bits related to sketching... they're not perfect but until we get around to dotting the i's and crossing the t's, these will have to suffice

Requirements

Minimum: PowerCADD v6, Mac OS^? 9 or OS X
Recommended: PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X

Basics of Sketching

Here are several slide shows outlining just some of the basic approaches to sketching in PowerCADD (many of these examples also use the WildTOOLs Sketch Tools add-on)

Need help playing a movie: click here

Learning the Basics [507KB]: When learning to sketch in PowerCADD, start by creating the same basic forms and doodles you did when learning to draw by hand on paper. This sequence of slides gives you an idea of some of the things you can try and tools to consider.

Building a Bubble Diagram [645KB]: Bubble diagrams, or concept diagrams as they're often referred to, can be a lot of fun. This slide show illustrates what can be done using WildTOOLs Sketch Tools and PowerCADD. Try recreating the look and feel in these slides to get a feel for how the tools work.

Plan Graphic Sketch [405KB]: Another quick example of what can be produced using WildTOOLs Sketch Tools and PowerCADD. Once you have a feel for building bubble diagrams, try doing something just a little bit more detailed. Keep it simple so you can concentrate on how the tools feel verses trying to tackle a huge project.

Sketching on top of a Photo [590KB]: This example was prepared using PowerCADD 2000 (or PowerCADD v5 if you prefer) in OS 9. It should be noted, the technique of assigning a bitmap a pen color illustrated in this slide show is no longer available in PowerCADD v6 or v7. In PowerCADD v6 or v7, you would use the Apply Bitmap Effect to tint the bitmap instead. The possiblities are fun. Hint, In PowerCADD v7 you can adjust the opacity of a layer which will fade the photo!

Apply QuickTime Effects to Sketches [540KB]: Somewhere we have a slide show of how this sketch was originally created using PowerCADD and WildTOOLs - when we find it we'll post it here. Until then, here are some examples the impact QuickTime effects can have when applied to your PowerCADD drawings.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Snapping Techniques

Snapping and Efficiency

Without question, snapping is one of the most important skills to master to become efficient when drawing with a computer, and PowerCADD makes it easy.

The range of dynamic snapping features is impressive and we recommend doing the exercises described in Chapter Two of the User Manual for an overview and some related exercises.

This chapter also contains articles with examples of how snapping can be used in various drawing production situations. Remember -- even if you're sketching -- it's always easier to loosen up a tight (i.e. well snapped geometry) drawing than it is to tighten up a loose one. Snapping is where it's at!

Watercolor or other Rendering Techniques

Question

What is the best method to go about achieving Watercolor or other rendering effects?

Requirements

Any version of PowerCADD (version 7 or newer recommended). Additionally: Corel Painter Essentials (formerly Painter Classic), Corel Painter IX , Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements or other image editing applications of your choice

Background

As a reminder, we offer custom rendering services where we use some or all of the above applications. In some cases, we also use 3D modeling and rendering applications as part of the above work flow to achieve the desired look and feel to renderings. Links to some of our examples can be found here:

• Engineered Software's Drawing Room: Huculak (examine all the links, there are a variety of examples)
• Engineered Software's Drawing Room: Durante Kreuk (describes one possible digital workflow)
• Engineered Software's Drawing Room: Presentations (describes one possible digital workflow)
• Digital Doodles Pages including digital Water Color and other natural media and related examples.

With almost over two decades of experience with creating digital renderings with PowerCADD and related applications including Painter, Piranesi, PhotoShop and other early Mac OS^? 6 painting applications, we've come to a few rules of thumb you may find helpful:

1. In all cases, there is no single button - press R for Render - type solution. This is true no matter which rendering tool is being used nor how fancy the filtering effects may be.
2. There is no one method or application which will always achieve the desired result. Sometimes you'll need to combine multiple effects or effects from different applications to achieve the best results.
3. Which methods are best is a question of style preference and individual skill sets.
4. It's easiest to start with a quality PowerCADD object type rendering first.
5. A good quality PowerCADD rendering may mean only portions need additional effects using Painter, PhotoShop or other raster editing applications.

In many cases, when presented with options, clients often prefer the PowerCADD only rendering or PowerCADD rendering with portions filtered in Photoshop or Painter . This, despite the fact they originally envisioned something more artistic (whatever 'more artistic might mean).

It should be noted, when we're discussing rendering in the context of PowerCADD, Painter, Illustrator, Photoshop, etc., we're dealing with a purely two dimensional (2D) rendering environment. This is true whether the graphic is a typical plan, elevation or section drawing, or something generated with WildTOOLs perspective or 3D tools to have the appearance of a 3D rendering (often referred to as 2 1/2D). There are 3D painting and rendering products, such as Piranesi , which are very impressive applications however they require a 3D data set to work with. As such, in the 2D context of this article, such products are of limited value. The problem lies not with the product( themselves but with the fact the data set used in PowerCADD is 2D and as such lacks the 3D materials and spacial references which make products like Piranesi effective. We encourage readers who use 3D modeling products such as Sketch-up or Form-Z (and others) to explore using Piranesi as a possible solution for perspective renderings, the product merits serious consideration.

What to do

As you can likely already tell, we can't recommend a single method, tool or technique. However, here are few thoughts to help you get started.

Paper is just as important as any other component of the the rendering. In many cases, simply using the appropriate textured paper will go a long way to generating a water color, pastel or other effect. The trick is to get multiple paper samples (they are typically free if you know a good paper supplier). Don't forget to consider hand made papers too. Some hand made papers are specifically designed for inkjet printers, others aren't but that doesn't matter - don't be afraid to experiment as the results can be outstanding! (remember, failures can be the most valuable learning experiences).

A Wacom tablet (or other manufacturer of your choice) is a required tool to unlock the workflow and rendering style benefits and features of applications like PhotoShop and Painter (and to a lesser degree PowerCADD for some operations).

Photoshop effects are typically very good or excellent but no match for the true watercolor rendering effects which can be achieved using Painter. In fairness, Painter is designed to mimick natural rendering mediums, Photoshop is an image editing application - two very different things Wacom tablets all ship with Painter Classic which works quite well even in Classic/OS X and is an excellent place to start learning. Corel Painter 8 is significantly better and is native to Mac OS X.

It is often necessary to blend different effects, from different applications, to achieve the desired result which can be automated using Photoshop Actions or Painter Scripts. Typical workflow approaches include:

Option A:
PowerCADD object type rendering and stop there (or include some minor elements which take advantage of PowerCADD bitmap effects for highlighting)

Option B:
PowerCADD rendering ->Painter->Back to PowerCADD

Option C:
PowerCADD rendering -> Painter-> PhotoShop -> Back to PowerCADD

Option D:
PowerCADD rendering -> PhotoShop -> Back to PowerCADD

Here's an special tip for Wacom Intuos2 Tablet users and a perk for taking the time to visit our website and read this article - visit this link at Wacom's web site where you can get special pricing on purchasing our upgrading your copy of Painter and other perks! Instead of paying the typical retail price of ± US$300, you can pickup a copy of Painter for US$ 130 (or less - follow the ilnks as Corel will often knock off a few more dollars from the prices when purchased on-line!)

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Working with PDF Files

Question

I have a PDF^? file I need to use in PowerCADD but I want to get rid of the white space around it. Can I do that in PowerCADD or do I need to use a different application?

Requirements

PowerCADD v6 or newer and Mac OS^? X
PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS X Tiger recommended

Background

Mac OS X has native support for PDF and PowerCADD 6 or 7 in OS X takes advantage of that fact. So the direct answer to your question is yes, you can handle all the general PDF cropping chores directly in PowerCADD and more!

In fact, we have recommended using PDF for many years (since Mac OS 8 and Adobe Acrobat 2.x) as one of the best methods of bringing formatted data into PowerCADD. For example, using PDF is a great method to imported formatted text and tables from Excel, FileMaker Pro, Word or page layout information -- anything that has high level formatting you want to retain.

The key is in using PowerCADD File menu -> Place... (or Import... menu item and the Command Key for cropping!

PowerCADD allows provides:

1. non destructive cropping of Placed or Imported items.
2. rotation of Placed or Imported images including PDF
3. scale Placed or Imported images including PDF
4. because this process is non-destructive, the above operations can be applied multiple times!
5. all of those features apply to ANY Placed or Imported image, not just PDF (See the PowerCADD manual for more on what types of files may be placed in a drawing)

We'd be remiss if we failed to point out that if the PDF file has multiple pages, only the first page is visible when it's placed in PowerCADD. Don't worry though, there is an easy fix if you have a plant list, bill of materials, large door/window schedule or multiple pages of specifications you'd like to Place. Simply use a BIG sheet of paper when you make those PDF files. Remember - you're NOT tied to 8.5x11 in any of those applications. All you need to do is perform a page setup for a sheet of paper bigger than you need, then make the PDF, place it PowerCADD and crop away the space you don't need. It's that easy! Again, we've used this technique long before Mac OS X had PDF -- so this isn't speculation!

Read this article on our website to learn more about how to make Virtual printers for large sheet sizes make make Postscript of PDF files.

What to do

Create your PDF file:
The PDF file may be something you created using Apple's Print to PDF feature , Adobe Acrobat Pro , PStill (and others) or a PDF you received via email or downloaded from the internet. The source of the PDF file really doesn't matter.

Get the file into PowerCADD:

1. open your PowerCADD document
2. choose File menu -> Place...
3. locate the PDF file to be placed in the Open dialog
4. click once on the file name and press Open (or simply double click the file)
5. The insertion cursor appears
6. click in the drawing window to insert the PDF about it's top left corner

Don't worry if you placed the PDF in the wrong spot. Remember, it's just a regular PowerCADD object and can be moved by dragging it on screen.

Cropping the file in PowerCADD:

1. click once on the PDF to select it
2. press the Command key
3. place the mouse over any of the object handle bars
4. the cursor will change to a Crop cursor
5. drag to crop the object

If you make a mistake, simply choose Edit menu -> Undo to reverse the steps. Remember, since the cropping operation is non-destructive, you can restore the original object at any time (even after saving the file) by simply reversing the steps noted above to performing an 'uncrop' operation.

This demonstration movie (7.8MB - no audio) shows just how much you can accomplish with cropping, uncropping, scaling and rotating of a Placed PDF file. In this example we placed one page of a newsletter which contained formatted columns and rows of text along with photographs. Notice how we're able to crop, uncrop, scale, re-scale, rotate and crop the object again. The quality of PDF is still maintained! (having problems playing the movie? )

The above technique is significantly MORE efficient that using other applications such as Preview or PhotoShop Elements or Photoshop to perform the cropping operation before placing the file in PowerCADD. Other applications perform destructive cropping (you can't go back in time like you can in PowerCADD) and it takes extra steps.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Perference Settings

Question

Are there any PowerCADD 7 Preference settings that can I can adjust to help tweak performance?

Requirements

PowerCADD 7 and Mac OS^? X Tiger (10.4.4 or newer recommended)

Background

PowerCADD 7 is a high performance application optimized for Mac OS X. However, there is no way to predict the type of drawings everyone might be producing nor now new or old their hardware might be. With that in mind, there are a variety of perference settings in PowerCADD that may affect performance in your particular hardware or drawing situation. Note we say may affect performance; we really don't know but at least you can try various combinations of items to see if they actually make a difference for you.

For detailed explainations of the features and settings described below, reference your PowerCADD user manual.

What To Do

We can't guarantee anything -- but here are some things to try.

Preference Settings: General:
This feature allows floating windows in PowerCADD to become transparent, allowing you to see through them to the drawing below. Some computer hardware may not be sufficient to efficiently support this feature.

1. Choose PowerCADD menu > Preferences... > General Tab
2. Click on Window Fading to uncheck (turn off) that setting

Preference Settings: View:
There several settings in the View Preferences that you can try adjusting to affect performance. To turn any of these preferences off, do this:

1. Choose PowerCADD menu > Preferences... > View Tab
2. Click on check box next to a feature named below to uncheck (turn off) that setting

Some computer hardware may not be sufficient to efficiently support the following features:

• Uncheck the Use Transparent Drawing box. When checked on, objects with a solid fill or line pattern are transparent when dragging them on screen.
• Uncheck the Scale Patterns box. When checked on, fill patterns are scaled up or down when zooming in or out in a drawing. The performance of Fill Patterns is very fast and generally this feature doesn't affect performance to any measurable degree. However, as general rule we prefer to work with this perference off simply because patterns can look coarse on screen when zoomed in and they enlarge. Fill Patterns are also best viewed when the zoom level is set to View menu > Normal (100%) since that's the scale the pattern will print at.
• Uncheck the Mouse Wheel Zooms box. If you have a multi-button mouse with a center scroll wheel, when checked on you can use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out of a drawing. If you're using a third party mouse or third party (non-Apple) mouse drivers (software used to make the mouse work), you should make sure you have the most current drivers available. The quality of the mouse driver can directly affect performance at the Mac OS System level which will also affect performance in PowerCADD
• Adjust the Greek Text setting for the Point size. This is also a settings that should be checked on to help performance. Greeking text renders the text to screen as a grey box when the display font size is equal to the value shown in the Greek Text field. Since Mac OS X performs anti-aliasing (smoothing) of text when rendered to screen, rendering the text as a grey box eliminates the need for the operating system to try and smooth the text display. Some computer hardware may not efficiently support Mac OS X level text smoothing. Try increasing the point size at which text will be greeked. Also check your font smoothing options in the Mac OS X System Panel (choose: Apple menu> System Preferences > Appearance and adjust the Font Smoothing Style pop-up setting and Turn off Text Smoothing for fonts sizes pop-up menu. You will need to experiment.)
• Uncheck the High Quality Drags (slower) box. This box is unchecked by default to help increase performance by simplifying the image redrawn to screen when objects are moved by dragging them in a drawing. Also reference our articles in the PowerCADD 7 : Interface section for more on this feature.

[inline:pcd7performance02.JPG]

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Random Access Memory (RAM)

The amount of RAM^? installed in your computer can directly affect performance.

Just how much RAM should you have installed is quite a subjective matter as it depends on the type of work you do, how many documents and applications you have open at one time, what version of Mac OS^? X you're running and your type of hardware. While PowerCADD does an excellent job working the Apple's Mac OS X modern memory manager, having sufficient RAM installed is still important for general productivity.

Since the Apple Macintosh IIci and IIcx, there has been one rule of thumb we've always followed:

Take whatever Apple's current minimum recommendation is for RAM and double it when you buy your computer.

Now, that may seem like an extreme statement but history has proven time and again that rule of thumb to hold true. While it may seem high for what you think you're doing today it gives you some room to grow and grow quickly you will.

That rule of thumb will help you with PowerCADD and all your other Mac OS applications.

Minimum Recommended RAM for PowerCADD
The manual for PowerCADD 7 recommends a minimum of 1 Gigabyte (GB^?) of RAM be installed for optimal PowerCADD performance. That's a pretty reasonable recommendation but remember, that doesn't take into consideration other applications or widgets you may have running at the same time! So, take that recommendation with a grain of salt and look at your specific local needs. Start by looking at our rule of thumb noted above -- and adjust that value UP if you're not sure. More will always be better.

Type or Speed of RAM
We can't get into the details of that conversation here since the type of RAM and speed of RAM will vary depending on your current hardware. Suffice to say get the fastest and best possible quality RAM you can as it will make a difference.

Testing RAM
Yes, it's important you TEST your RAM before putting a computer into production. This isn't just a rule for using PowerCADD, but when using your Mac in general. RAM can be bad and bad RAM can produce all kinds of system level problems. Apple does provide a Hardware Test application and we recommend running in Loop Mode for at least 24 hours to thoroughly test your RAM before putting a machine into production. That recommendation also holds true if you've upgraded or added RAM.

Speeding up the Drawing Setup: Size Dialog

Question

When I perform a page setup for a new sheet size (File^? menu > Page Setup...) or change the sheet size in the Drawing Setup, Size Tab (Layout menu > Drawing Setup > Size) PowerCADD seems to be taking a long time to open the Drawing Setup Dialog box. Why does that happen and how can I improve performance?

Requirements

PowerCADD 6 or PowerCADD 7
PowerCADD 7 and Mac OS^? X Tiger or newer recommended

Background

PowerCADD version 6 and version 7 include a drawing preview feature when adjusting the Drawing Sheet size. The preview must be made before the dialog box can open and display its contents.

Depending on how complex the drawing is and what type of hardware you're using, the amount of time to build the preview will vary. That's why some drawings seem to exhibit the problem while others do not, and why the problem may not seem the same (or even be evident) on every computer.

The Drawing Setup: Size dialog is a drawing level (verses application level) preference setting. Therefore, you will see this condition every time you open the Drawing Setup: Size dialog or change printers and perform a Page Setup.

What To Do

The easiest way to increase performance is turn the preview feature off:

1. open a drawing
2. choose Layout menu > Drawing Setup > Size tab
3. Uncheck the Preview Drawing box
4. Press OK

(Note: these settings are remembered when the drawing is saved)

Now - each time you access the Drawing Setup: Size dialog (either directly or when it's forced open after changing printers and performing a Page Setup), the dialog will open faster because it does not have to build a preview.

The Preview Drawing settubg is dynamic so it can be turned on or of on-the-fly. For those rare times when you need to see the drawing preview, simply check the Preview Drawing box, make the desired setting changes, and uncheck the Preview Drawing box.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

Video RAM

Video RAM^? affects performance overall in Mac OS^? X

With the introduction of Mac OS X several years ago, Apple also introduced their Quartz and Quartz Extreme technologies.

Apple has spelled out the system requirements for Video Boards and Video RAM in this article and it's worth reviewing. Because PowerCADD is optimized for Mac OS X, anything you can do to increase the overall performance of Mac OS X, including video board performance will help.

Hardware support for Quartz Extreme graphics becomes even more important in PowerCADD 7 if you start to use the new shadow and opacity attribute features.

To check the type of Video Board and amount of Video RAM you have installed on your computer:

1. From any application, choose Apple menu > About this Mac
2. The About This Mac dialog will open. Click More Info...
3. Apple's System Profiler application will present a dialog allowing you to access information about your computers hardware and software configuration
4. click the Hardware reveal triangle in the left hand Contents panel to display the list of hardware items for your computer
5. click Graphics/Displays to view the details of your computers Video Board including the make and model of the video board, amount of VRAM^? and various other hardware specifications
6. compare the hardware configuration to those recommended by Apple in the links provided earlier in this article

Aside from physically changing the video board, there is little that you can do increase compatibility with Quartz or Quartz Extreme. However, knowing what you have installed is an important first step to help determine where you may have a performance bottle neck that might be affecting your screen redraw or display performance in PowerCADD and other Mac OS X native applications.

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak

View Menu Items :: PowerCADD7

Question

Are there any performance suggestions you can make for PowerCADD 7? I've noticed there is a delay when I have drawings that contain lots of objects with Transparency^? and Shadow attributes.

Requirements:

PowerCADD v7 and Mac OS^? X (10.4.4) or newer recommended

Background

PowerCADD 7 is a high performance application optimized for Mac OS X. However, there is no way to predict the type of drawings everyone might be producing nor now new or old their hardware might be. With that in mind, there are a variety of View menu items settings in PowerCADD that may affect performance in your particular hardware or drawing situation. Note we say may affect performance; we really don't know but at least you can try various combinations of items to see if they actually make a difference for you.

For detailed explainations of the features and settings described below, reference your PowerCADD user manual.

What To Do

We can't guarantee anything -- but here are some things to try.

The View Menu has specific items which allow you to turn off certain types of objects in a drawing. In addition to making it easier to work on a drawing by removing visual distractions, turning off some of these items can also increase performance.

Choosing any of the following items from the View Menu will turn the designated items off or on in a drawing. The display in the View Menu will update when an item is hidden. For example, if you choose Hide Text, the status of the View Menu will change to Show Text.

• Hide Text hides all the text in a drawing.
• Hide Dimensions hides all of the dimension lines and dimension text in a drawing.
• Hide Hatches hides all of the hatches in a drawing.
• Hide Transparency makes all transparent objects in a drawing opaque.
• Hide Shadows hides all shadows in a drawing.

Note: The redraw performance of Hatch patterns has been significantly increased in PowerCADD 7.

We strongly recommend assigning a custom key command to Hide Transparency and Hide Shadows (the custom key command will toggle the item between the menu Hide/Show state). Even on a 2 Ghz dual processor PowerMac G5 tower, with 64MB of VRAM^? and 3 GB^? of RAM, there can be a measurable delay when opening or editing files that contain large number of objects with Shadow and Transparency attributes. Shadow Attributes in particular can be a significant performance draw during redraw. A custom key command (choose: PowerCADD menu > Preferences > Commands tab) will go a long way to making switching these features on and off on the fly second nature. Trust us: we use a LOT of these two attributes and have learned alot during Alpha and Beta testing of PowerCADD 7 over the past two years prior to release!

We hope that helps
caddpower.com

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If you found this article or the website in general to be helpful, educational or a time and money saver you can show your support by buying us coffee, lunch, or dinner. Thank you ~ Brian (huc) Huculak