Following the Outline of a Mesh with 3D Profiler

As you may know, the 3D Profiler tool can extrude a profile along a path. This path can be drawn on the fly, or you can draw a path with polylines and extrude along that.

But did you know that it can extrude a path along the edge of a Mesh? All you need to do is select any mesh you have drawn, and choose the Extrude along Selected Elements command from the 3D Profiler menu.

After you’ve chosen which profile you want to use, it’ll create an extrusion all the way around the edge of the mesh, following any contours you have in it.

As usual with 3D Profiler, the extrusion is done using the anchor point you select in the settings, and the profiler remains vertical all the way along the mesh edge. This makes it ideal for things like fencing around the edge of a site, but can also be used to more easily create complex extrusions by creating a mesh outline first instead of having to trace a path and then elevate each point.

Tags: extrude, mesh

The Help Centre – Installation

The Help Centre isn’t just an online version of the Manuals for the Tools, it’s more like a Knowledge Base for everything about the tools. Whether you want to find out what was fixed in a certain version of the tools, how to set up and use Presets, activate your tools, or Download & Install them – the Help Centre has you covered.

The Installation section of the Help Centre walks you through getting the Tools onto your computer, from registration to logging in, then downloading and activating. Each page gives you step-by-step instructions on how to do it all so that you can get from Zero to One Hundred with as little hassle as possible.

Click Here to go there now, or just visit the Help Centre, and have a look at the ‘Installation section.

Tags: Help, installation

3D Profiler Dynamic Editing

As you probably know, the 3D Profiler tool allows you to extrude a profile along a path. But did you know that once you’ve done that, you can also Dynamically Edit the path?

To do this (edit dynamically that is), you need to use the 3D Profiler’s Edit Modes, which you get to from the Cadimage – 3D Profiler menu.

There are several different edit modes, each for doing a different operation.

XY Edit Mode lets you shift nodes around in Plan view.

Planar Arc Edit Mode lets you do the same, but with Arcs instead.

Spline Edit Mode lets you edit the path as a spline, letting you do crazy stuff like this.

For more information on the Edit Modes, check our Help Centre here, or just have a go yourself. Once you’ve tried using them, you’ll figure them out pretty quickly.

Tags: editing, profiler

Revision Manager 12.7 Released

This is an update to the Revision Manager for ArchiCAD 12.

An issue was found that causes ArchiCAD to crash when linking a new revision cloud to an existing revision. Version 12.7 fixes this issue.

We recommend that all version 12 Revision Manager or Documentation Suite users upgrade as soon as possible.

Tags: update

Cadimage Preset Manager – The Screenshot Tour

If you’ve stopped by the blog anytime in the last couple of months, you will no doubt have seen one or two posts about the new Profile Management system.

“I realize that you guys think this new system is amazing guys, but honestly, what does this thing even look like?” is a question that you may have been asking yourself at the time.

Well, wonder no further dear readers! I present for you, in spectacular technicolour, the screen-shot tour!

(Click on an image to see it full sized)

Figures 1 & 2 show that creation of a new Profile, which so far looks the same as it always has. However, after entering a Name for the profile (no file saving necessary, just give it a name), you can see in figures 3 & 4, how to get to the Preset Manager and what it looks like.

Figure 5 shows the dialog that is displayed when clicking the ‘Edit’ Button, and figure 6 is just showing off the profiler in 3D.

Finally, figures 7 & 8 illustrate the Import/Export system, which works by allowing you to import or export multiple profiles (or the whole set) into or out of just 1 DAT file. This means you can easily send sets of Profiles to others, or move them between projects!

Tags: preset, profiler

Get Two Online eClasses for the price of One!

The team here at CadimageTools are pleased to announce the availability of a program of Online eClasses, which can be ordered through our website as of now.

To get you started, we’re going to be giving away a second eClass to everyone one who purchases one from now until the 19th of February. All you need do is email customer.care@cadimagetools.com to let them know which eClass you’d like free once you’ve purchased one.

To find out more about the eclasses, follow this link to our website.

Tags: eClass, promo, training

The Help Centre – Frequent Questions

When you’re struggling to get ArchiCAD or one of the Cadimage Tools to do what you want, do you ever think to yourself, “Surely somebody else has wanted to do this?”.

We sure do, that’s why we’ve created the Frequent Questions section in the Cadimage Tools Help Centre. It’s a repository of answers to questions we get asked a lot.

It will be expanded continuously based on feedback from you, our users, so if there’s anything you want to know how to do with the Tools, contact us (through the Online Support System or via email). Once we’ve got you sorted, if we think the solution will help others, we’ll add it to the Frequent Questions section to save everyone else some time.

As the list there is based on real questions from real users, it’s your best first-stop when looking for help with the tools.

Tags: Help Centre