Post & Beam Trusses - Modified Hammer Truss

This is all done in SoftPlan!

Start in Drawing Mode

Use lines & Arcs

Make sure Snap (F11) is on

Using Mirror Tool helps if you use a center line

Once shape is created, convert to Solid Polygon

To do this click Edit > Form Solid Polygon

Click on each Line and Arc

Right mouse click in Polygon when done

Give Polygon Height (Depth) as you are in Plan View

Create 3D Model - Assemble floor > Choose Render Mode

Export 3D Model as R14.dwg or 2000.dwg to desired location

Click on Plan Tab

Go to File System >System Library

Locate Symbol Library of choice or create new Library

Use Wizard, say no to on screen Symbol

Follow prompts

Orient 3D Symbol

It will create a 2D symbol for you.

You now have your Post & Beam Truss!

Fluted stock, board & batten siding, edge & center bead wainscoting!

This is all done in SoftPlan!

Click on image for larger view

Create a profile (or import one)

Explode (CTRL+C) so it is all lines, arcs, etc..

Go to Edit > Form Solid Polygon
click on all lines, etc.
When done, right click in middle of object
Give object height
Export as .dxf or.dwg give object a name


Go to System Options > Symbol Library > Symbols
Add object (symbol) to existing Library or Add Library
Click on Wizard button
Import newly created 3D Symbol
Put in Library of Choice (may need to create one)
Orient new symbol by following the prompts
Apply dimensions, colors, textures
Apply cuts countertop, slopes to ceiling etc...
save
Let it create 2D plan symbol for you

Done.

Window Stools and Aprons !

Ever wonder how to get window stools and aprons to show in 3D renderings ?
Use the Draw > Countertop Tool !

Drawing Mode

In plan view draw a wall and place a window if you have not done so already.

Stool or Stool Cap - Draw > Cabinet > Plan View > Countertop  or
click on the cabinet icon and select draw countertop.

Drawing Mode

Draw your apron (countertop) to the depth (bottom to top in plan view) as to what you want it to look like
EX: You want to show a 3" deep (not thick) stool cap.
Edit the Apron (countertop) set the thickness (height) to say 3/4"
Edit the window and note the bottom offset (height above floor)
Use that number, deduct (subtract) the stool cap thickness (3/4") in our case from the window bottom offset number.
Ex: bottom of window is 36" above the floor.  36 - 3/4" = 35-1/4"
Set stool to 35-1/4"
Go to Common tab of stool, and enter that number
Right click on left edge of stool cap.
Click on Edit Edge
Near the bottom of the popup window you will see Nosing with Profile Library and Profile Name
Click on Profile Library and select a profile for the edge of your stool cap.
Click OK
Repeat for front and right edges
Build your Model (Assemble Floors)
3Dimension choose render mode
I use textured
Give stool cap color / texture
Enjoy the view

Note:
Same principal applies for aprons.
Change thickness of apron to width of stock.
Ex: if you are using 3-1/2" casing set thickness to 3-1/2"
Remember to offset the apron so it lines up vertically correct

taoist

Canted Walls Tip ! Use profile in wall definition.

Think light house where the walls tilt inward to form a cone shape if you will.

In the wall definition table at the far right is the Profile column.
This is where you select the profile (you may need to create a profile) to have walls other than vertical.

For outside taper walls (from ground to top of wall) have profile base at bottom and slope (angle) at the right side.

Think of a right triangle with the 90 degree angle at the lower left and the vertical line on the left running up (vertical).

To get profile to show for the entire height of the wall, you must make the profile height 1.5 times the height of the wall.

Ex: You have a 2x4 wall 8' tall.  You want to show a canted / sloped wall with a 12" base tapered to 0 at the top.
Create your profile with a 12' tall vertical line a 12" long horizontal line at 90 degrees to the base (bottom) of the 12' vertical line and then a line for the right side of the 12" base line connecting to the top of the 12' vertical line.
Think of a gable end split into 2 vertical right triangles. The split line represents the vertical edge of both the left and right triangles.  You want your profile to be the right side triangle.

Have fun,

taoist

Beginners Tip !

Use Divide Segments (Misc) when placing posts, piers, etc.. Make sure to have Snap (F11 key) on

Beginners SoftPlan Beam Tip !

When drawing beams, remember where you want them placed vertically. In Drawing Mode, the top of the beam is flush with top of the wall. In Floor System Mode, the bottom of the beam sits on top of (flush) with the next lowest level wall. This will reduce the amount of adjusting and calculating the offsets (vertically up or down) for the beams

SoftPlan Tip !

Nudge Feature. Put cursor over item to move. Press Home key. Use arrow keys to move in 1/8" increments

SoftPlan Tip! Link Floors

If you have a plan with two floors, and you need to move stairs or such and it will alter the other floor, or the other floor needs to be in sync, link the (2) floors together before moving. Make sure both plans are in the Model section of the Navigation Window. Click Move or Move Block. On Status Bar, Click Link Floors Button, proceed to move the items.

Pen Weight Tip! You can have multiple pen weight setups. You can save setups by job, by printer. Load them as you see fit. Here is where you make your changes. Notice the save and load tabs.

2012 Tip! Horizontal Lighting

2012! Lighting Tip Use Horizontal lighting to illuminate you ceilings. Make the pattern to cover the walls outside the room. Set Z to 1". Otherwise you end with a show cast line. Try using 45 degree angle, distance of 10' and brightness of 10 to start with. Set direction to up. Of course you have the color choices as well.

Beginners Tip! Box Tool.

Beginners Tip! Box tool (rectangle, square) edges can't be edited. That is, no deflection (curve) inward or outward. Use line or polygon tool instead. If you want to curve the corners, use curve fillet tool. Chamfer corners, use chamfer tool. You will find that these are very useful tools and can be used in ways you have not thought of yet. Hint! Not just limited to lines or shapes.

Beginners Tip! Set plan parameters first.

Beginners Tip! Define your Floor, Roof parameters 1st before drawing. Yes, you can edit them, but takes a lot of unneeded work because of improper setup or planning. Look at it this way. Would you rather have your ducks all lined up (plan in place, all parameters set) or fly by the seat of your pants. I for one, prefer to have a plan. Speed is not everything, efficiency is. Be organized.

Tip! Layers & Line Weights

When you create a cross section on SoftPlan the program (since version 14) creates these layers. I do not know about version 13 as I never had that version.  Create a cross section then save it. Hold mouse over Info at bottom of this window and it will tell you what layer this particular line/item is on. Go to Options>Layer Setup. Scroll down the list and you will find your layer. These "extra" layers are added by SoftPlan. You will never know they are there if you do not scroll through the list. Not all lines/items are in a different layer. You can verify this by right clicking on the items yourself in your cross sections.

Beginners Tip! Line Weights.

Beginners Tip! Line Weights. Go to System Options>Pen Setup>Configure Print Pens. You will notice 16 pens available. I use Remodeler's Wall definitions. I have existing set up as Yellow on screen, prints black. Red on screen for demo walls and print. Blue on screen and print for new walls. Also notice under Pen Setup, Group Pen...s and Item Group: This area controls a lot of the Pen Weights for what we draw. I suggest printing out the current pen weights. Change the weights as you see fit in configure print pens. The higher the number, the thicker the line. Experiment with the pen weights to suite your taste. Make sure under Options > Visible Items you check show print pen style. This way you can see the results of your line weight choices.

Softlist - Square Foot Cabinet Formulas

Here is a formula for calculating square foot costs for standard base cabinets.
I used 65 as the square foot cost number, substitute your own.

The report will give you the (width,depth,height) of the cabinet.
It will also give you the total square foot costs of the cabinet including labor.

You can input the labor cost (per cabinet) via the accounting button under billing.
The @cost local variable overrides the cost info in the accounting section.

Same principles apply to wall cabinets
Change if matches (type,wall)

Material name = Base Cabinet
Include = yes
Units = each
Custom Formula

if matches(type, base, tall)
   if matches(cabinet_shape,standard)
      if not is_counter
         @cost=(width*depth)*65
          set_dimens(inches,inches,inches)
          list(1,width,depth,height)
       endif
    endif
endif

Here is the formula for blind corner & diagonal cabinets

if matches(type,base,tall)
   if not is_counter
      if matches(cabinet_shape,blind)
         @cost=(width*depth)+depth*(width-depth))*65
         set_dimens(inches,inches,inches)
         list(1,width,depth,height)
      else
         if matches(cabinet_shape,diagonal)
            @cost=((width*depth)+(depth*(width-depth))+((width-depth)*(width-depth)/2))*65
             set_dimens(inches,inches,inches)
             list(1,width,depth,height)
          endif
       endif
   endif
endif

Technique -Cabinets

For those looking to have inset (flush) cabinet styles you can use SoftPlans cabinets to do this. Will take a little work. 

Method 1: Use open cabinet and place doors to fit. Can use all of SoftPlans door styles. Set depth of cabinet you want to use for doors to 1" (smallest you can go). Adjust size, set posit...ion and your done. You can use solids as well but they won't look as good.

Cabinets other methods: Method 2: Draw your own cabinets and use doors as described above. 

Method 3: Use combo of both methods. Use open cabs, draw face stiles, rails. Place doors as above and you now have framed and frameless cabinets.

 

Have fun!

taoist

Keyboard Shortcuts - Beginners take notice. Will reduce drawing time.

Softplan keyboard shortcuts.


Great for reducing mouse movement.

Begginers take notice: These are tips to help you increase drawing speed.

Undo=backspace

Redo=shift+backspace

Cursor Lock=Ctrl+A

Cleanup=Ctrl+C

Divide Segments=Ctrl+D

Multi Drawing=Ctrl+G

Floor System Mode=Ctrl+J

Calculator=Ctrl+K

Locate=Ctrl+L

Profile Mode=Ctrl+P

Do not include item in CLeanup under cursor= Ctrl+N

Redraw=Ctrl+R

Quick 3D=Ctrl+V

Show Paint=Ctrl+W

Ceiling Mode=Alt+J

Roof Mode=Alt+R

Zoom Out=Alt+X

Shortcut command list=Ctrl+/

Also remember the functions keys are shortcuts to the menu tool bar

F1=Draw Menu

F2=Erase Menu

F3=Move Menu

F4=Dimenesion Menu

F5=Note Menu

F6=Edit Menu

F7=Zoom Menu

F8=Build Menu

F9=Options Menu

F11=Cursor snap on/off

F12=Cursor Lock



taoist

SoftView - Lighting Attributes & how to use

I use Spot lighting for undercabinet lights and indirect lighting

Can also use for lighting up paintings on walls
Good for recessed ceiling lights as well

Atmospheric is great for wall/ceiling type lighting
Pay attention to the brightness factor and light color
For softer lighting try changing light color to suit your mood

For any additional lighting that you need, you can add individual lights to your model.
There are 4 different types of lights that can be added:

Point - It casts light in all directions like a light bulb or a fluorescent fixture.
Spot - It throws a cone-shaped beam of light.
Direct - Like the sun, it emits a direct ray of light from one direction.
Atmospheric -It throws a cone-shaped spotlight beam both up and down from the source as would a lamp or wall mounted fixture.

To Edit a Light Source
1. Click Edit from the camera control panel.
2. In the Plan view section of the control panel, select the light you want to edit. The Light menu opens.
3. Edit any of the following light settings from the Light tab:

Brightness
Use this setting to increase or decrease the intensity of the light source using the slide bar or enter a number from 1 to 20.

Decay (Applies to Spot and Point light sources only)

This setting defines how quickly the light source fades over a certain distance. You can set a value from 1 (the slowest rate) to 100 (the quickest rate).

Position
X - Move the light source horizontally to the left, from the center of the Workspace, by entering a negative measurement. Move it horizontally to the right by entering a positive measurement.
Y - Move the light source horizontally forward, from the center of the Workspace, by entering a positive measurement. Move it horizontally back by entering a negative measurement.
Z - The value set for this menu item, moves the light source vertically up or down from the baseline (0") of the building. To set the light source up 12' from the baseline, enter 12' in the Z field. To set the light source down 1' from the baseline, enter –1' in the Z field. The light source in the Elevation View will move to the vertical position you have set.

Target (Applies to Spot and Direct light sources only)
Target X - Move the target point of the light source horizontally to the left, from the center of the Workspace, by entering a negative measurement. Move it horizontally to the right by entering a positive measurement.
Target Y - Move the target point of the light source horizontally forward, from the center of the Workspace, by entering a positive measurement. Move it horizontally back by entering a negative measurement.
Target Z - The value set for this menu item, moves the target point of the light source vertically up or down from the baseline (0") of the building. To set the target point up 12' from the baseline, enter 12' in the Target Z field. To set the light source down 1' from the baseline, enter –1' in the Target Z field. The target point in the Elevation View will move to the vertical position you have set.

Color
Click the Color Box to open the Color menu and select a color for the light radiating from the light source.
Distance (Applies to Point lights only)
This setting defines how far the light travels before it begins to fade.
Angle (Applies to Spot lights only)

The two lines radiating out from the Spot light indicate how much of the drawing is being illuminated by the light. Use this item to change the angle of these radiating lines to include a wider or a narrower field of light. To change the angle, enter any angle of 89-degrees or less.

On
Turns a light source on or off but does not remove it.
By default, all newly added light sources are enabled

Shadows
When you check this item, if you are displaying the image in Rendered mode, objects receiving light will inherit shadows from the light source.

Note:
In order to display the shadows that will occur on objects in the 3D model, Shadows must also be selected in the Lighting options menu for a mode.
The shadows generated by the light will now be calculated and shown on your image.

Diffuse
Check this item to reflect light in all directions.

Specular
Check this item to bounce light off the objects receiving light.

Soften Edge
Check this item to soften the edges of a Spot light's illuminating light.

Direction
This is available for Atmospheric lighting only. You can choose to have the light shine Up, Down, or in Both directions.

4. The information in the Common tab is specified in the same way for all editable items. To learn how to set this information, see Setting Information in the Common Tab.
5. Select ok when all necessary changes have been made.

Note:
Any lights that have been added to illuminate the generated 3D image are shown in the camera control panel. These lights positions may be turned off to allow for better camera positioning. Note that when light positions are turned off, they will still affect the illumination of the 3D image. For details on turning off and on light sources, see Viewing Light Sources in the Camera Control Panel.

When in Rendered mode, you can use the Lighting Options menu to add soft lighting to the interior of the 3D model using the environmental light mapping command. This will add irregular light and shadow patterns to the ceiling, walls, and floor of the interior space giving it a more realistic appearance without the need to add a lot of additional lighting.

How to Draw Cabinet Elevations

There are several methods for drawing cabinet elevations.

Method 1:
In plan view place your cabinets then
Go to Draw > Cabinet > Elevation Cabinets
Click on cabinets in plan view, this will give you elevation view of your cabinets. Locate these elevations above your plan view on a wall by wall basis.

Method 2:
You can draw your cabinets in elevation view from the start
In Plan view,
Go To Draw > Cabinet > Elevation View
Select cabinet, door style, size, etc. then draw line verticallly for placing them vertically. If you draw line horizontal, cabinets get placed on their sides.

Method 3:
In Plan view,
Draw cabinets then go to
Build > Section Line
Draw your section line just in front of the cabinets
move the mouse in the direction to view cabinets (usually front to rear)
Go To Build > Cross Section
Choose section letter you just created
check background box, click OK
You now have an interior section (elevation) view of your cabinets
Repeat these steps for evey wall that has cabinets.

Have fun.

taoist

Layers - how to use them

Layers are a great tool for managing various items in your drawings.
You can use them as little or as much as you like.
You can have an unlimited number of layers.
SoftPlan gives us 20 layers.
One of the advantages of Layers is you can control how much or little of an item(s) are visible.


Example: You have a drawing and want to be able to turn on/off the visibility of dimensions.
You would draw your plans and then assign the dimensions to a Dimensions Layer
Then you select the Dimensions Layer and check or unckeck the visibile box to turn on / off the Dimensions

Step #1:
To start, you need to set up your layers for use.
At the Menu Bar
Go To Options > Layer Setup
The Layer Setup window opens

Note: You will notice that the first layer name is default.  Do Not Change!
In the layer name fields below (1-20) you can change the Layer names.

Change Layer 1 to Dimensions
Double left click on the name field, then type in the new name.
In this case we will type Dimensions
Check the visible box to the right of the name
Check the lock box

Note: Checking the lock box prevents the layer from being changed

Assign a color to the layer.  The normal layer color is set from File >System or Drawing Options.
To do this, leave the box checked in the Use Item(s) Color to the right of the lock box.

To assign a custom color, uncheck the lock box by double clicking on it.
Next change the color by clicking on it and the color menu appears

Note: When you assign all items (dimensions in this case) the same color, the layer they are in is easily identified.

You can assign a new Pen type in the Pen field to be used with the Layers you create.
When done, click the OK button.

Step #2:
Set the visibility of the Layer
Go To Menu Bar, select
Options > Visible Items
The Visible Items menu opens showing whats visible for the curent Mode.
In the Group Visibilities section of the menu (middle) highlight the Layers group.
In the Group Items Type section (right) is a list of available layers.
To have a layer with the associated items that will be placed in the Layer visible on the drawing, check the Layer name.
In this case check the dimensions box, and the extensions box.
Uncheck everything else.
This is so we see only the dimensions and extensions in the dimensions Layer.

Note: If any Layer is checked as visible, the Select Active Layer field becomes available on the Status Bar.
Layers can be made visible in any Mode.

Step #3:
Adding Items to the Layer.
There a various methods to adding items to a Layer.
The Default layer is where all items are normally added.

Method 1: Before drawing an item, choose the Layer you want to put the item in (Dimensions) by using the Select Active Layer field on the Status Bar.
All items you draw (Dimensions) are now added the the selected Layer.

Method 2: To add the item to any layer, right mouse click on the item (Dimension), click on the Common Tab
In the Layer field, select the Layer you want the items put in.
Click OK

Method 3:  Add item(s) to the drawing in any Layer then use  Set Layer command to choose Layer for the items are in.
Go To Edit > Set Layer
Form an expanding box (marquee) to surround the item or group of items (Dimensons) to be added to the Layer.
The Layer Menu opens.
Select the Layer name you want to use for the item(s) (Dimensions)
Click OK.

Step #4:
Using Layers to control visibilty.
At Menu Bar Go To Options > Visible Items
The Visible Items menu opens and shows what is visble for the current Mode
Use the Visible Items menu to show / hide Layers from the current Mode

Note: Item visibility is set on and individual basis for each Mode. If you select a Layer to be visible in one Mode, the items placed in that Layer are not visible in other Modes till they are set as visible.
You control what Layer(s) are visible in what Mode(s).
A single Layer is not visible in all Modes unles you set the Layer to be visible in all Modes.