New Door Symbols Libraries

[Joe_Carrick]

I was kind of excited to see some of the new Door Symbols Libraries.  There are some "Bookcase Doors", a "Vault Door" and a few more that looked like they would be useful.

Unfortunately when I tried to use them I found they didn't behave very well.  In 2D particularly they didn't show the correct thickness and didn't hinge as you would expect/need.  I tried using the door dbx to force them to display properly in both 2D and 3D but wasn't satisfied with the results.  

 

If I could place the actual symbol in a plan without having to put it in a wall I might be able to make adjustments in the Symbol dbx that would work but there's no guarantee.  

 

The problem is essentially that the Door Tool has several built-in limitations and just doesn't allow much variation from a simple 1"-3" thick door with the hinge point located at the outside face of the door.

 

If we are going to be able to use such cool door symbols, the Door Tool will need to be tweaked to deal with them.  So far this has been disappointing.

[SNestor]

Joe - I agree with your assessment.  I tried one of the round top doors...and the radius of the jamb did not match the door radius...leaving a gap.  

 

You would think someone at Chief would check these items out thoroughly prior to release.  

[Chopsaw]

1 minute ago, SNestor said:

I tried one of the round top doors...and the radius of the jamb did not match the door radius...leaving a gap.  

 

That actually sounds like progress as it used to be a square door in a arched frame. 

[SNestor]

1 minute ago, Chopsaw said:

 

That actually sounds like progress as it used to be a square door in a arched frame. 

 

Actually that is how it looked when I started, rectangular frame with an arched door.  You would think the software in 2018 could be smart enough to detect this but alas we must just want too much. 

[Joe_Carrick]

I think the problem is that the Door Tool was:

• originally written to deal with just rectangular slab doors.
• modified to provide for arches, trim, etc.
• modified to use door symbols - but assuming the Door Tool would deal with the details.

Unfortunately there's nothing in the Symbol itself to tell the Door Tool what to do about thickness, hinging, irregular shapes, casings, frames, hardware, etc.  The Door Tool simply doesn't have any way of knowing what the detail should be for a given symbol.  As long as the door symbol is designed so that it fits within the settings in the Door dbx it works fine - beyond that it's a mess.

[Joe_Carrick]

The same basic problems exist for "Sliding Barn Doors" in that they are just symbols attached to the wall and not really doors that the Door Tool understands.