Graphical attributes

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marr
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2006 4:49 pm

Graphical attributes

Post by marr »

Hi

I bought a student license of High design a couple of years ago, but never really got around to use it. (stuck in AutoCad and VectorWorks) Now that I have finished school I'm checking out the demo again to see if this would be a good option for the occasional freelance project in my spare time.
One thing I am curious about. Is it not possible to assign graphical attributes to layers? I'm thinking about line weights and fills and line types. At first glance the only way of controlling these attributes was to select them before drawing each line. And that seems quite time consuming. Of course I am used to this by layer /by class approach from AutoCad and VectorWorks but perhaps there is a different approach in High-Design. How do you people go about controlling your graphic attributes.

marr
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2006 4:49 pm

Post by marr »

OK, After messing around for a few hours I found out that it is indeed possible to assign a line thickness to a color, so that's kind of what I was looking for. Then I can choose that all colors are printet black, so thats pretty handy. Is that the method other people are using?
I still wonder, if I want all the lines to print black, except 1 that I want to keep green or something, can I do that without changing the actual colors of the lines?

marr
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2006 4:49 pm

Post by marr »

..

macitect
Posts: 618
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2004 10:52 pm
Location: California

Post by macitect »

Hey marr,

In many countries yesterday was a holiday, but yes it is true this forum isn't hopping with activity. I think you'll find that is because HD is straight forward enough and when you get going you'll have very few questions... The learning curve isn't like a 3D software or something like that.

HD's approach is far different from ACAD or Vectorworks. Yes, you can give pen weights to colors, but that means that when you go to print you will have to check the "all colors to black" option. This can get complicated if you like to use colors for certain elements. Generally when I draw I use the layer's colors in the preliminary stages. With the find tool it is really easy to change the attributes of large groups of items at the same time so it becomes very easy to do that at any stage of your project.

One of the great things about HD is the ability to bind tools to layers...

When I have everything blocked out and it is a matter of adding detail I turn everything to black on a white background so that what I see on the screen closely resembles what I will print. I use most often the "actual pen weight" display.

I'll add more info and try to be a little more clear when I don't have other things to do...

cheers,
macitect

marr
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2006 4:49 pm

Post by marr »

Thanks for the reply.
I still think it would be handy if line weights could be assigned to layers (and still being able to print lines in different colors). That is because that way you could reuse all your graphical attributes on different projects easily. I know I'm probably being a stiff conservative Acad user but I Think it would be better that way.

macitect
Posts: 618
Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2004 10:52 pm
Location: California

Post by macitect »

Don't think anyone would disagree... if you've not been active on the forum since initially buying the educational version then you probably haven't yet witnessed how open ilexsoft is to good ideas.

Post this (or a link to this thread) in the WISH LIST area... there's a very good chance it would be done (and quickly too!)... (ie the idea about linking layers to pen weights instead of colours.)

marr
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Aug 18, 2006 4:49 pm

Post by marr »

will do

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