How to keep the navigator organized? What is the naming system for viewpoints and views?
Layouts we will deal with with separately.
Propagation of drawing titles
Let’s review.
Project Map name becomes the
the Viewpoint name, becomes the
Title on the drawing.
The attitude: Name it once, Name it Well, and Move On.
Exception: story names in the Project Map have nothing to do with output and must be named manually at the view level.
ID’s organize the project map list
ID’s have nothing to do with output; they organize the viewpoint list in the Navigator.
The Name Table
Herewith the rules for naming within the Navigator:
| type | create with | navigator ID | navigator name (and output name) | examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| story (plan) | story settings | story index number [delete the trailing "."] | the story name [output name set at the view] | 3 | roof 2 | attic 1 | level 1 -1 | basement -2 | footing |
| site section | section tool | ss | compass direction | ss | n-s site section |
| building section | section tool | bs | compass direction | bs | n-s building section bs | e-w building section |
| wall section | section tool | ws | plan location | ws | typical north wall section ws | typical south wall sectioin |
| detail section | section or detail tool | ds | description | ds fireplace section ds stair section ds eave |
| exterior elevation | elevation tool | xe | compass direction | xe | east elevation xe | south elevation |
| partial elevation | elevation tool | pe | compass + description | pe north wall pe west wing |
| interior elevation | i/e tool | room number | auto-text from the model | 401 | north 401 | south |
| detail | detail tool | two-digit csi division prefix | detail name as printed | 31 | footing 61 | typical base 91 | ceramic tile 84 | door head 85 | door jamb |
| working section | section tool | z + two-digit csi division prefix | [no name] | z12 | [no name] z13 | [no name] |
| worksheets | worksheet tool | two-digit csi division prefix | names not often used but if used, the name as printed | 24 | plant key 22 | survey dwg 61 | wall type key |
“working” sections
Used just for working on the model, should have the ID x[number].
Example: x1, x56, x317. They don’t need names, but name them if you want. Don’t give working sections the names of real sections; this will be confusing and cause errors when importing views. Never drag-copy or opt-click an output section/elevation to make a working section. Use another working section or the ‘Working Section’ favorite. It’s often better to move working sections around rather than make new ones.
Interior Elevations
An Interior Elevation is a set of viewpoints associated with one room. The IDs and names can be assigned to the viewpoints using a pattern that keeps them related.
ID: The ID is allowed to be blank, so you could skip the ID and simply have an alphabetical list of room names. Or you can can use the ID to organize the list by story using a number or name for the ID.
The name should be the room name and direction. Helpfully, Interior Elevation viewpoints can use autotext in their names. If the IE is associated with a zone, use the ‘Zone Name’ autotext. Use the ‘Orientation’ autotext to automatically assign the compass direction to each elevation.
You can also manually name the whole room group or an individual elevation.
For a single wall elevation, you can use the Elevation tool if you like. Don’t use a Section, it won’t give you the right kind of marker. Be aware that IEs created via the “section” tool won’t appear in the clone folder with the real Interior Elevations.
Details
As much as possible (and it should never be impossible) detail windows should have a one-to-one correspondence with a single detail drawing. Remember, the name of the detail window propagates through to the printed sheet.
When aligning and designing the detail itself, guidelines, work lines, and other relevant details of adjacent construction can be copied and pasted into your window on a temporary basis, or you can turn on a trace reference to either the destination layout or another detail window.
It is highly recommended that you use a detail layout key, so that when detail blocks are stacked on a sheet, the text, dimensions, and content align nicely both vertically and horizontally.
Worksheets
Worksheets are for 2D data that is not really a detail, such as:
- keys and legends
- vicinity maps
- code and zoning data
- sheet indexes
- schedules other than internally generated
Note: keys and legends do not originate in floor plan views. They belong on a worksheet.
A Worksheet ID need not be unique, and in fact it can be blank, which I prefer. The name should describe the content, but the name will usually not be seen in output.
View Names
Use cloned folders for output views. With clones, as new project map viewpoints are created, the views are created automatically. This means you can crank out interior elevations and then drop views in layouts without having to create new views yourself.
Cloned viewpoints automatically are added to the View Map. One default setting for the view is allowed. This will not be enough in practice, so within the clone folder, you’ll need to re-define the view settings, or create a sub-folder to keep things clear. A strong ID system will obviate the need for multiple sub-folders, in my opinion, and this is a better situation than having to click through a hierarchy of sub-folders. ArchiCad is already too “clicky” as it is.
It should be said, however, that the primary benefit as we see it is knowing that every viewpoint will be found inside the appropriate cloned folder. No more lost or duplicated details or view points.
Case and Spaces
all lower case is preferred for drawing titles. Otherwise, Capitalize Words.