toucanskeleton

30 minutes ago, Dermot said:

Regarding the block names...

 

Cad blocks can have a different name that is stored with the block then what is shown in the library browser.  You can specify the actual name of the block in the CAD Block Specification dialog or by renaming it in the CAD Block Management dialog. 

 

If you save a cad block from a plan into the library, the name in the library should be the same.  If you then rename the library object, then the block name will no longer match.

 

I think the program has always worked this way but it does seem like it is a bit confusing.

 

Thank you again! This is some very helpful insight.

1 minute ago, Dermot said:

Here is some more info...

 

That list will show all of the cad blocks that are currently stored in the plan.  It does not show any of the cad blocks that might be stored in your libraries or any other plans.

 

When you place a cad block from the library into a plan, then it will be stored in the plan.

 

When you place some other object from the library that owns a cad block (like a piece of furniture for example), then that cad block will also be stored in the plan.

 

When you save and reopen a plan, the program can remove unused cad blocks.  This depends on the "Automatically Purge CAD Blocks" setting in your CAD Block Management dialog.

 

This answers a few questions I've been having about where various assets "live" -- whether they're saved as part of the Plan/Layout file(s), or whether there's a library somewhere in the nethers of my hard drive. Thank you!

13 minutes ago, Chopsaw said:

The list should contain all the cad blocks that you have in your template plan in "Cad Block Management" as well as anything that you have active in the plan file.  So if you want to use the cad block from a symbol in your library place that symbol into your plan and the cad block should show in the Available Cad Block list.

Placing it on the plan did the trick, in a roundabout sort of way. It added the symbol I wanted to the list, but, confusingly, by a different name; I had to flip through all of them until I found the right one. I tested it again with a different CAD block from my User Catalog and it also added the symbol to the list under a different name. One wonders how it comes up with the new names, and why, but I guess if it works it works.

What determines which CAD blocks get shown on this list, under "2D Block" in the Symbol Specification window? Or, more to the point, can I affect which CAD blocks get included in that list? I have a symbol in my User Catalog that I'd like to replace this fixture's assigned symbol with, but it doesn't seem to have made the list. It's hard for me to intuit what criteria this seemingly-arbitrary collection of CAD blocks all meet that make them distinct from all the CAD blocks (like the one I want to use) that are excluded from the list.

Watercolor can do hand-drawn lines, but it comes out dark just like everything else except Vector, which does not seem to allow for hand-drawn lines. I have choices as far as hand-drawn lines are concerned, but only if I don't care that it's too dark. If there's a way to stylize the lines in a Vector view, I don't see it

12 minutes ago, joey_martin said:

Toggle the sunlight on and off and see what that does.

Turning the sun off makes it darker, maybe unsurprisingly. Adjusting the sun, even to its max lumens, fails to get the scene any brighter than where I started.

12 minutes ago, joey_martin said:

 

Then, forget that rendering technique exists and use the vector view for interior elevations.

That's plan B, I guess. The developers sure seemed to intend on their users having more than 1 display option for cross sections, to be fair -- what with their having created six others, each with its own little name, and settings, and what all. "Vector View" can't mimic hand-drawn lines, which is basically all I'm looking for here. Thank you though for your replies!

The title basically describes it. Is there a way to display a door as open in certain views (i.e. an elevation view), but not in others (i.e. on the floor plan, or a different elevation view)? And, if I want it to display halfway open in 3D views, but not on the floor plan, is there a way to do that?

4 minutes ago, joey_martin said:

Turn off shadows or adjust them accordingly.

They're not turned on

Why does it looks like we're in a dark room? No matter which rendering technique I choose (except for "Vector View" or "Line Drawing"), it comes out looking way too dim, and none of the sliders/settings seem to be able to brighten it up. Is this just how it is?

I'm trying to replicate a window sill I have on a model in SketchUp. I can import a .SKP file and convert it to a 3D symbol just fine, but then in elevation views, CA wants to show these CAD lines every couple inches for some reason. The 3D view looks just fine, but I do need to be able to create elevation views as well. Is there some checkbox I could toggle and solve this issue?