Multiple Cabinet Layouts, Same Room

[MichaelaS]

What is the best method for displaying preliminary design concepts to clients of the same room? An example being kitchens; I want to show multiple cabinet layouts but would rather not have a multitude of plan sets for their project from doing a "Save As" method. 

[glennw]

It is possible to have 2 kitchen designs in the same location.

You can place the cabinets on different layers and control their display with Layersets/Plan Views.

There are some minor problems when placing a cabinet over an already drawn one (even if it's on a different layer and hidden), but this can be overcome by placing the cabinet and then dragging into place.

[rgardner]

I personally like to have multiple floors so you have kitchen option 1 on floor 1 kitchen 2 on floor 2 etc.  easy to flip between them and keeps them in same location.  But that is if you are presenting several options.  Otherwise I use an as built as the starting point then from there we have proposed version 1.0 then small changes are .1 .2 etc. or a major change goes to 2.0 3.0 etc.

[Alaskan_Son]

7 hours ago, glennw said:

It is possible to have 2 kitchen designs in the same location.

You can place the cabinets on different layers and control their display with Layersets/Plan Views.

There are some minor problems when placing a cabinet over an already drawn one (even if it's on a different layer and hidden), but this can be overcome by placing the cabinet and then dragging into place.

 

I don't disagree with you very often Glenn, but trying to put cabinets in the same space is asking for all sorts of problems relating to countertops, room moldings, cabinet moldings, backsplashes, electrical outlets, etc.  For these reasons and others, I don't recommend anyone use this method except for the rarest of occasions like maybe for the occasional freestanding unit.  I would instead suggest either using multiple plan files, multiple floors, or multiple side by side rooms as was already suggested above by others.

[glennw]

I did say it was possible - not the best way.

[Dermot]

Here are some other ideas that don't involve using save as.

 

You can put all of the different kitchen layouts into separate architectural blocks.  This makes it pretty easy to swap them out or put them on different layers  Objects in architectural blocks can behave a bit differently then objects in the plan and that can solve some problems but may cause others.

 

You can use edit area to cut and paste different layouts from plan to plan, floor to floor, or to a different area of the same plan.  When going to a different plan or floor, you can use hold position to make sure things are always in the right spot.  When going to a different area of the plan, I like to use point to point move to make sure things go where I want them.  You can also use edit area with pretty much any shaped polyline that you have and this can make it easier to keep things lined up.

 

[Dermot]

First, I can't repro the problem you are showing.  You should probably report this to our technical support team and include the plan that demonstrates it.

 

Second, I don't think this layout is a very realistic case of what a kitchen designer would normally do.  The front corner attached cabinets will create dead spaces and have no support for a finished back.

 

[MarkMc]

On 10/16/2020 at 12:17 PM, Dermot said:

The front corner attached cabinets will create dead spaces and have no support for a finish

Have done it often, most often in small kitchens. There are plenty of situations where the net storage is greater killing the corner, as when it allows for a decent size drawer base for pots. Just a matter of doing the math for sq inches of shelf/drawer space. Cleats at wall for counter support of course. 

Im no help on the OPs question since I use save as (happily)

[Dermot]

I think I would use a blind corner cabinet in the situation you are describing.  When you only attach the cabinets at the front corner (which is what I think Eric has shown), you literally have nothing in the corner but dead space.  The program will automatically extend the counter and back to cover it but you can't really use it for storage.

 

Also, I think you could use a normal base cabinet, facing out of course, for the island situation shown above.  This would give you some extra storage that could easily be accessed from the back side.

 

Regardless of how you or I might design this kitchen, I could not duplicate the problem where putting the cabinets into an architectural block would lose the connections.

 

[Alaskan_Son]

16 minutes ago, Dermot said:

Regardless of how you or I might design this kitchen, I could not duplicate the problem where putting the cabinets into an architectural block would lose the connections.

 

Can't speak to what Eric did, but it's easy to reproduce by blocking one of the corner cabinets without the other.  If a corner cabinet is blocked without it's connected cabinet, you won't get the automated corner filler.

[Dermot]

When you put cabinets into architectural blocks, they are supposed to keep their connections with the other cabinets that are within the block.  They are currently not designed to keep their connections with things that are not in the architectural block.  So what Michael is pointing out is what I would consider a known limitation of the program and what Eric has found is what I would consider a bug in the program.  They should not lose their connections when you save them in the library and then place them back into a plan.

 

Regardless of what I think, if either of these things are important to you, then you should report them to our tech support so that we can evaluate them further.  And, as always when reporting problems, please include any plan files along with clear instructions for how to reproduce the problems and how you would like the program to work differently.

 

[Kbird1]

22 hours ago, Dermot said:

Regardless of how you or I might design this kitchen, I could not duplicate the problem where putting the cabinets into an architectural block would lose the connections.

 

It appears to me that your Cabinets are actually touching in the Corner ( have a connection ) whereas Eric's don't, they are 1"- 2" apart , and would require a Filler in the Real World and maybe in Chief too? ...to get the "connection"

 

M.

 

 

[Alaskan_Son]

On 10/18/2020 at 9:16 AM, Dermot said:

When you put cabinets into architectural blocks, they are supposed to keep their connections with the other cabinets that are within the block.  They are currently not designed to keep their connections with things that are not in the architectural block.

 

On 10/18/2020 at 9:16 AM, Dermot said:

Regardless of what I think, if either of these things are important to you, then you should report them to our tech support so that we can evaluate them further. 

 

Just to be clear, I personally don't care.  I know the reason for the limitation I pointed out.  I was just highlighting a potential issue.