The House Template tools are used to create a new house type, or to modify a house type.

To create a new house type:

To modify a house type:

You will see this toolbar appear on the top left of the plan view window:

House Template Tools New wall button Add wall point button Add wall curve button Move wall point button Delete wall point button Add house door button Add house drainage connection button Add house utility button Add house annotation button Edit house item properties button Set insertion point button Set insertion rotation button Delete house item button House properties button Apply changes button Close toolbar button

Note: The big Edit house template button indicates which type of options the toolbar is for. Moving the mouse over this big button also restores the visibility of the toolbar when it has hidden itself (The toolbar will slide out of view after a period of inactivity).

Note: If defining a new house type, all the buttons will initially be inactive except for the Start New Wall button. An outer wall is required.

Note: If modifying a house type, the Start New Wall button is inactivce, as it will already have its outer wall.

Note: When defining a house template, all other drawing features are faded to make it easier to see the house you are working on.

The house template tools allow you to define the outer wall of the house and set positions of levels, annotation, doors, drainage and other service connections.

New wall button Start the Outer Wall
Add wall point button Add a Point into the Wall
Add wall curve button Add or change a curve
Move wall point button Move a Point on the Wall
Delete wall point button Delete a Point from the Wall
Add house door Add Door
Add house drainage connection Add Drainage Connection
Add house utility Add Utility Connection
Add house annotation Add Annotation
Edit house item properties Edit House Item Properties
Set insertion point Set Insertion Point
Set insertion rotation Set Insertion Rotation
Delete house item Delete Annotation or Symbol
House properties House Properties
Apply changes button Finish and apply the changes to the template

New Wall button Add Outer Wall

A house template must have the outer wall defined. Click round the outer wall positions on the plan view. Use the snap tools and the construction line tools for accuracy. Right-click and select the Finish option to close the outer wall line.

You can add, move and delete wall points using the Add Wall Point button, Move Wall Point button and Delete Wall Point button options, and you can add a curved section of wall using the Add Wall Curve button option.

Add house door Add Door

First choose which type of door you are specifying:

House door window

Then use the mouse to position the door - it will be locked onto the outer wall. Click to place the door.

House door window

Front doors automatically have a landing created once the house is inserted onto the drawing. These are intended as a flat or shallow graded pad outside the door levelled to the house FFL for level access. A landing's width, grade and depth can be modified per house by using the Edit house item value Edit House Item Value tool.

Add house drainage Add Drainage Connection

First choose which type of drainage connection you are specifying:

House drainage window

Then position the drainage connection symbol in the required location on the house.

Add house utility Add Utility Connection

First choose which type of utility connection you are specifying:

House utility window

Then position the utility connection symbol in the required location on the house.

Add house annotation Add Annotation

First choose which type of annotation you are specifying:

House annotation window

Then position the annotation text in the required location on the house.

Then specify the desired rotation of the annotation text by moving the mouse around the insertion point. The text will rotate with the mouse, snapping to 5 degree intervals. Click to set the angle.

Edit house item Edit House Item Properties

Use this option to modify the properties of external levels, doors or service connections. This will set the default item properties that are adding the template to the project. These properties can be overridden per house once inserted into the project.

Any editable item within a house will highlight as you move the mouse near. Click to select the item and modify its properties.

Set template default insertion point Set Insertion Point

Choose a position on the building template that will be used as the insertion point when inserting this building onto the drawing.

Set template default rotation Set Insertion Rotation

Select which wall of the building template should be considered to be the front of the building. This will then ensure the building is shown with a standard rotation when first inserted on a drawing.

Delete house item Delete Annotation or Connection Sysmbol

As you move the mouse over the house template, the nearest annotation item or service connection symbol will highlight. Click to delete the highlighted item from the template.

House properties House Properties

House annotation window

Finish and Apply Finish and apply the changes to the template

When you have finshed defining and making changes to the house template, click this button to come out of the house template options. The rest of the plan view will re-display at normal brightness, and any houses on the drawing whch are of this type will update to reflect the changes to their template.

Background Dimming

Right click whilst editing or creating a house template to show the menu below.

Dim background right click menu

From here you can choose the prefered level of background dimming, ranging from 0% for full colours to 100% to effectively hide all layout lines.

See Also: