sitemaster 4 manual english - mobile cad surveying and_ts... · sitemaster™, powercad™, ......

PowerCAD SiteMaster Building 4

PowerCAD SiteMaster BuildingTS 4 Covers also PowerCAD SiteMaster Office 4

i

Sales: 0871 789 [email protected] www.mobilecadsurveying.co.uk

PowerCAD SiteMaster 4 Manual

Disclaimer and Warranties

Documents

This document and the software contained herein may not be reproduced in any fashion or on any media without the explicit written permission of GiveMePower GmbH (GiveMePower).

Product

The Software Product described herein, as with all technical software, is a tool intended for use by trained professionals only. It is not a substitute for the professional judgment of trained professionals. The Software Product is intended to assist with product design and is not a substitute for independent testing of product stress, safety and utility. Due to the large variety of potential applications for the Software Product, the Software Product has not been tested in all situations under which it may be used. To the maximum extent allowable under law, GiveMePower GmbH make no warranty whatsoever as to the operational capacity of the Software Product and shall not be liable in any manner whatsoever for results obtained through the Use of the Software Product. You agree that you are solely responsible for determining whether the Software Product is appropriate in your specific situation in order to achieve your intended results. You are also responsible for establishing the adequacy of independent procedures for testing the reliability and accuracy of any items created or designed by using the Software Product.

Agreement

Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement, GiveMePower GmbH owns and retain all title and ownership of all intellectual property, including but not limited to all software and any and all derivative software; all documentation, manuals and related materials; all master diskettes or CD ROMs on which such software may be transferred, and all copies of any such diskettes or CD ROMs, and any and all derivative works of a GiveMePower GmbH Product. GiveMePower GmbH does not transfer any portion of such title and ownership, or any goodwill associated therewith; and this Agreement shall not be construed to grant any right or license, whether by implication, or otherwise, except as expressly provided herein.

EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE PROVIDED IN THIS AGREEMENT, GIVEMEPOWER GmbH SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TO DEFECTS IN THE DISKETTE OR OTHER PHYSICAL MEDIA AND DOCUMENTATION, OR TO OPERATION OF THE PROGRAMS AND ANY PARTICULAR APPLICATION OR USE OF THE PROGRAMS. IN NO EVENT SHALL GIVEMEPOWER GmbH BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT OR ANY OTHER COMMERCIAL DAMAGE INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR OTHER DAMAGES. ALL LIABILITY BY GIVEMEPOWER GmbH HEREUNDER IS EXPRESSLY LIMITED TO ANY AMOUNTS PAID TO GIVEMEPOWER GmbH PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT.

Trademarks SiteMaster™, PowerCAD™, PowerCAD Pro™, PowerENGINE™, PowerCAD® Graphic Developer’s Engine, Power Developer Network™, FCAD and FLX™ are either registered trademarks or trademarks of GiveMePower GmbH.

ACIS® is either a registered trademark or trademark of Spatial Technology, Inc., Three-Space Ltd., and Applied Geometry Corp. All other product names or trademarks mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Adobe Acrobat and PostScript are trademarks of Adobe System, Inc.

AutoCAD®, AutoCAD Development System®, ADS®, AutoCAD LT®, AutoLISP®, DWG®, and DXF® are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc.

MS, Windows®, and WMF are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

ii

Table Of Contents

Table Of Contents Welcome to PowerCAD SiteMaster 4 .....................................................................................1

Program Overview...........................................................................................................1 Functionality of PowerCAD SiteMaster in Summary...............................................................2 PowerCAD SiteMaster Office..............................................................................................3 What's New in SiteMaster Building 4 ..................................................................................4 Input/Output Capabilities and Compatibility ........................................................................5 Further Documentation ....................................................................................................5 Contact Information ........................................................................................................5

Installing and Activating PowerCAD SiteMaster.......................................................................6 Installing and Activating PowerCAD SiteMaster ....................................................................6 Installing/Reinstalling PowerCAD SiteMaster........................................................................6 Activating PowerCAD SiteMaster........................................................................................6

Measurement Device Setup .................................................................................................7 Measurement Device Setup ..............................................................................................7 Connection Setup: Selecting a Measuring Device .................................................................7 Connection.....................................................................................................................9 Program Configuration ................................................................................................... 11

Basic Concepts ................................................................................................................ 12 Basic Concepts ............................................................................................................. 12 Icon Menus, Toolbars and Pulldown Menus........................................................................ 12 Object Selection............................................................................................................ 12

Object Selection ......................................................................................................... 12 Selecting objects ........................................................................................................ 12 Grid, Snap, and Ortho Settings..................................................................................... 13 Selecting a wall element.............................................................................................. 13

Command Options......................................................................................................... 14 Positioning Info Blocks ................................................................................................... 15 Floor Management - Layer Control ................................................................................... 15 Tips On Using PowerCAD SiteMaster ................................................................................ 17

PowerCAD SiteMasterWorld Portal ...................................................................................... 19 SiteMaster Portal........................................................................................................... 19 Login / Logoff (SiteMasterWorld Portal) ............................................................................ 19 User Interface (SiteMasterWorld Portal)............................................................................ 20 Projects (SiteMasterWorld Portal) .................................................................................... 21 Documents (SiteMasterWorld Portal)................................................................................ 22 Client Administration ..................................................................................................... 22

Administration (SiteMasterWorld Portal)......................................................................... 22 Role Management (SiteMasterWorld Portal) .................................................................... 22 User Management (SiteMasterWorld Portal).................................................................... 23

iii


PowerCAD SiteMaster Icon Menus ...................................................................................... 25 SiteMaster Icon Menus................................................................................................... 25 Entering PowerCAD SiteMaster Icon Menus ....................................................................... 25 Leaving the SiteMaster Icon Menus.................................................................................. 25 General Icon Menus Layout............................................................................................. 26

Main Menu ...................................................................................................................... 28 Main Menu ................................................................................................................... 28 New ............................................................................................................................ 29 Open........................................................................................................................... 29 Save As ....................................................................................................................... 29

Plan Menu....................................................................................................................... 30 Plan Menu.................................................................................................................... 30 Walls / Columns............................................................................................................ 31 Rooms / Areas.............................................................................................................. 31 Openings ..................................................................................................................... 32 Symbols ...................................................................................................................... 34 Staircases Menu............................................................................................................ 34 Dimensioning ............................................................................................................... 35 CAD Draw .................................................................................................................... 37 CAD Edit ...................................................................................................................... 38

Walls / Columns .............................................................................................................. 40 Walls / Columns............................................................................................................ 40 Walls........................................................................................................................... 41

Drawing Walls – General Procedure............................................................................... 42 Drawing Walls – Additional Options ............................................................................... 43 Wall Start Options ...................................................................................................... 43 Wall Start: Connect .................................................................................................... 44 Wall Start: Triangulate ................................................................................................ 45 Drawing Walls – Exit Options........................................................................................ 45 Arc Option: Curved Wall Section ................................................................................... 47 TriDraw Option: Triangulation ...................................................................................... 48 Direct Mode Operation ................................................................................................ 50 Walls: Current Position................................................................................................ 50 Walls: Alignment ........................................................................................................ 50 Walls: Display and Zoom ............................................................................................. 51

Columns ...................................................................................................................... 52 Rectangular Columns .................................................................................................. 52 Circular Columns ........................................................................................................ 53 Column Array ............................................................................................................ 54

Recess/Chimney ........................................................................................................... 56 Join Walls (Heal Walls)................................................................................................... 57

iv

Table Of Contents

Rooms / Areas................................................................................................................. 58 Assign Room ................................................................................................................ 59 Record Height............................................................................................................... 61 Refresh All Room Infoblocks ........................................................................................... 62 Assign Room Number .................................................................................................... 62 Export Room Data......................................................................................................... 63

Openings ........................................................................................................................ 64 Basics ......................................................................................................................... 65

Case 1: Openings in Single Line Walls ........................................................................... 65 Case 2: Openings in Walls with varying width ................................................................. 66 Case 3: Multiple Openings From a Corner....................................................................... 68 Types of Openings ...................................................................................................... 70

Door Opening ............................................................................................................... 72 Door ........................................................................................................................... 74 Door with Sill................................................................................................................ 75 Window Opening ........................................................................................................... 76 Window ....................................................................................................................... 77 Window with Retainer .................................................................................................... 78 Recess/Chimney ........................................................................................................... 79 Walls........................................................................................................................... 80

Symbols ......................................................................................................................... 82 Symbol........................................................................................................................ 83 Radiator ...................................................................................................................... 85 Camera Function........................................................................................................... 86 Document .................................................................................................................... 87 Update IDs................................................................................................................... 88 Attribute Visibility.......................................................................................................... 88 Layer Off ..................................................................................................................... 89 Export Symbol Data ...................................................................................................... 89

Staircases....................................................................................................................... 91 Staircases Menu............................................................................................................ 91 Staircase ..................................................................................................................... 91 Line of Travel ............................................................................................................... 92

Dimensioning .................................................................................................................. 93 Linear Dimension .......................................................................................................... 94 Adding Definition Points ................................................................................................. 95 Total dimension for an existing dimension......................................................................... 96 Opening Height Dimension ............................................................................................. 96 Erase Dimension ........................................................................................................... 97 Update Dimension......................................................................................................... 97 Copying Dimension........................................................................................................ 98

v


Offsetting Dimension ..................................................................................................... 98 Duplicating Dimension ................................................................................................... 98 Arc Dimension .............................................................................................................. 99 Diameter Dimension .................................................................................................... 100 Radius Dimension........................................................................................................ 100 Angle Dimension ......................................................................................................... 101 Edit Dimension Text .................................................................................................... 101

CAD Draw..................................................................................................................... 103 CAD Draw .................................................................................................................. 103 Line .......................................................................................................................... 104 Arc............................................................................................................................ 105 Circle ........................................................................................................................ 107 Polyline ..................................................................................................................... 108 Text .......................................................................................................................... 109 Callout (Marker Text)................................................................................................... 111 Hatch ........................................................................................................................ 111 Redline (Freehand Sketch) ........................................................................................... 112

CAD Edit....................................................................................................................... 113 Copy ......................................................................................................................... 114 Move......................................................................................................................... 114 Rotate ....................................................................................................................... 115 DOffset...................................................................................................................... 115 Corner....................................................................................................................... 116 Fillet ......................................................................................................................... 116 Delete ....................................................................................................................... 117 Extend....................................................................................................................... 117 Trim.......................................................................................................................... 118 Stretch ...................................................................................................................... 118 Scale......................................................................................................................... 118 Array......................................................................................................................... 118 Mirror........................................................................................................................ 120 Properties .................................................................................................................. 120 MultiEdit .................................................................................................................... 121 Undo and Redo ........................................................................................................... 122

Totalstation Menu .......................................................................................................... 123 Station Manager ......................................................................................................... 124 Draw......................................................................................................................... 127 Symbol...................................................................................................................... 128 Import Stations (Totalstation) ....................................................................................... 128 Export Points.............................................................................................................. 129

Inspection Menu ............................................................................................................ 131 vi

Table Of Contents

Distance .................................................................................................................... 132 Area.......................................................................................................................... 132 Identify Coordinates .................................................................................................... 132 Check Dist / Distance Control........................................................................................ 133 VoiceNotes (Audio Comments) ...................................................................................... 133 Redline (Freehand Sketch) ........................................................................................... 134 Callout (Marker Text)................................................................................................... 135 Camera Function......................................................................................................... 135

Setup Menu .................................................................................................................. 137 SiteMaster Defaults ..................................................................................................... 138

SiteMaster Defaults: Wall .......................................................................................... 138 SiteMaster Defaults: Opening..................................................................................... 139 SiteMaster Defaults: Door.......................................................................................... 140 SiteMaster Defaults: Dim 1 and Dim 2......................................................................... 140 SiteMaster Defaults: Radiator..................................................................................... 141 SiteMaster Defaults: Heights ...................................................................................... 142 SiteMaster Defaults: Room ........................................................................................ 142 Customization of SiteMaster Default Values .................................................................. 143

SiteMaster Layer Configuration...................................................................................... 144 Layer Off ................................................................................................................... 145 Connection................................................................................................................. 145 Configuration.............................................................................................................. 148 Settings..................................................................................................................... 149 Units ......................................................................................................................... 150 AutoSave ................................................................................................................... 151

Export Menu ................................................................................................................. 152 Export Room Data....................................................................................................... 153 Export Symbol Data .................................................................................................... 153 Send Current Drawing ................................................................................................. 154 Save As DWF File ........................................................................................................ 154 WMF Export................................................................................................................ 155 Bitmap Export ............................................................................................................ 155 Print.......................................................................................................................... 156 Print Setup................................................................................................................. 156

SiteMaster Toolbars........................................................................................................ 158 Standard Toolbar ........................................................................................................ 159 SiteMaster Toolbar ...................................................................................................... 159 Options Toolbar .......................................................................................................... 159 Properties Toolbar ....................................................................................................... 160 Snap Toolbar .............................................................................................................. 160

Pulldown Menus............................................................................................................. 162 vii


Changing Pulldown Menus ............................................................................................ 162 Simplified Pulldown Menu ............................................................................................. 162

File (Pulldown Menu)................................................................................................. 162 SiteMaster (Pulldown Menu)....................................................................................... 163 Help (Pulldown Menu) ............................................................................................... 163

Extended Pulldown Menu.............................................................................................. 163 File (Pulldown Menu)................................................................................................. 163 View (Pulldown Menu)............................................................................................... 164 SiteMaster (Pulldown Menu)....................................................................................... 165 CAD (Pulldown Menu) ............................................................................................... 166 2D Draw ................................................................................................................. 166 Tools (Pulldown Menu) .............................................................................................. 168 Help (Pulldown Menu) ............................................................................................... 168

viii

Welcome to PowerCAD SiteMaster 4

Program Overview PowerCAD SiteMaster Building is a product that revolutionized the recording of detailed measurement for Architects and Engineers.

PowerCAD SiteMaster Building programs are architectural surveying applications that come on two platforms:

• PowerCAD SiteMaster Building XP runs on 32 bit Windows computers and notebooks as well as pen-based Windows XP Tablets.

• The other version of the program PowerCAD SiteMaster CE is available for Windows CE devices running the operating systems Windows Mobile 6, Windows Mobile 5, Windows Pocket PC 2003 and Windows CE.NET.

These programs accept precise distance measurements directly from laser measuring devices, such as the Hilti PD 25, PD 30, and PD 38, Leica Geosystems DISTO Pro, Plus, and A6 making it possible to quickly develop complete as-built drawings while on-site.

With direct communication between the laser device and the program, transcription errors and delays are completely avoided.

The simple user interface is arranged intuitively so that Architects, Engineers and others in the building industry can work effectively with the product after a short familiarization period.

PowerCAD SiteMaster offers both simplified and advanced menus to meet the varying needs of program users and includes the full functionality of PowerCAD Pro, if additional functionality is needed.

Content marked like this shows functions and screens as seen in PowerCAD SiteMaster Building TS only.

Content marked like this shows dialog boxes, screens and special functionality as seen in PowerCAD SiteMaster Office which differs from PowerCAD SiteMaster Building as communication with a laser devices are not supported in this version.

1


Functionality of PowerCAD SiteMaster in Summary • A Simplified pulldown menu and an Extended CAD pulldown menu for beginners

and advanced users

• Wall command, which can automatically read results from laser measuring devices or accept manually entered distances

• Drawing individual rooms. Distances can also be determined using the laser device or input manually.

• Detailing building columns

• Other functions accepting distances from a laser measurement device

• Door and window openings that automatically read distance measurements from a laser measurement device

• Presetting of individual layers, colors, wall thickness, aperture angles etc.

• Associative floor plan dimensioning

• Automated area calculation and notation for rooms

• Export of symbol data and window/door schedules

• Floor copying capability

• 2-D furnishing library with 132 standard architectural symbols

2


PowerCAD SiteMaster Office PowerCAD SiteMaster Office is the perfect and reasonable priced office companion for your mobile PowerCAD SiteMaster solutions.

When doing your survey out in the field you should concentrate on the basic measurements regarding the surveying to create the digital floor plan. Back in the office you can complete the drawings with extra details using SiteMaster Office. PowerCAD SiteMaster Office has the same user interface allowing you a smooth connection between out in the field operations and the office environment. Make use of bigger screens and compatible AutoCAD commands back in the office.

In the office you can dimension your drawings, determine room areas, create parts lists or start planning ahead how to integrate i.e. kitchen equipment, installations, furniture, or changes in the structure.

With PowerCAD SiteMaster you can communicate back with the office during your surveying operation out in the field by sending out emails with attached drawings. This allows you to control and monitor drawings more efficiently. Or you can send drawings to an employee out in the field with PowerCAD SiteMaster Office optimising your workflow.

PowerCAD SiteMaster Office offers the same functionality that the mobile solution is offering except for the integrated Bluetooth connection that is needed to transfer measurements from the laser devices.

3


What's New in SiteMaster Building 4 PowerCAD SiteMaster Building 4, the successor of PowerCAD SiteMaster Pro 3.3 offers our users new features in the XP and CE version:

• Through the preview of symbols the insertion of symbols in your plans has been simplified. The extension of our symbol library is now controlled through dialogs. Editing of parameter files is unnecessary.

• The functionality and options when creating wall openings have been extended: the door types have been supplemented with be-folded doors, revolving doors, door with panels. Doors with retainers can now be created in door openings.

• In the latest release of SiteMaster a new command for measuring and drawing stairs has been integrated. Line of travel and railing can be created optional.

• Many new features have been integrated through the input of our SiteMaster users: i.e. an offset command that works with laser measurements. A feature useful for the insertion of measured distances as plain text. (helpful when sketches are created just through measurements). Another feature added by our users is a “layer set tool” to fulfill the requirements of architect and engineers or any other contractor.

• Supports reading and writing DWG 2007 and 2008 file format.

• Now support Microsoft Vista operating system (XP version)

• Now supports Microsoft Mobile 6 operating system (CE version)

• A user interface with a new icon menu design makes this release of PowerCAD SiteMaster „a must have“ for all SiteMaster users.

4


Input/Output Capabilities and Compatibility Drawings

PowerCAD SiteMaster XP is able to open and save in (DWG) drawing file formats AutoCAD R12 to R2007/2008, as well as DXF and FLX and is the perfect mobile component for any desktop drawing or graphics solution also providing these industry standard compatibilities.

PowerCAD SiteMaster CE has most of these same capabilities and is able to open and save in (DWG) drawing file formats AutoCAD R12 to R2002.

Images

SiteMaster’s Image function permits the importation of digital photography directly into the drawing file, where it can be moved, rotated and scaled to meet requirements, using the program’s standard edit functions. Graphics formats supported include .BMP, .JPG, .TIF (including GeoTIFF), and .PNG.

Further Documentation PowerCAD SiteMaster is an Architectural program built upon PowerCAD Professional (www.givemepower.de/PowerCAD) and this user manual file primarily documents these Architectural functions.

Please refer to the PowerCAD Pro documentation available at the GiveMePower website (www.givemepower.de/documentation.html) for user information on the underlying CAD program.

Except where PowerCAD Pro functionality might conflict with the Architectural functions, these documented features of PowerCAD Pro program are also available to PowerCAD SiteMaster program users.

In addition to this documentation, instructional movies on PowerCAD SiteMaster use are also provided on the GiveMePower Website: www.givemepower.de/movies.html.

Contact Information For more information on purchasing PowerCAD products and services, locate a Selling Agent or enroll in the Developer Network:

GiveMePower GmbH

Nestorstrasse 36a 10709 Berlin Germany

Phone: +49 30 89 69 03 - 89 Fax: +49 30 89 69 03 - 12

Email: [email protected]

Visit: http://www.givemepower.de/

5

Installing and Activating PowerCAD SiteMaster

Installing and Activating PowerCAD SiteMaster

This chapter contains information about

• Installing/Reinstalling PowerCAD SiteMaster

• Activating PowerCAD SiteMaster

Installing/Reinstalling PowerCAD SiteMaster PowerCAD SiteMaster is installed as a 30-day demo program that is then activated using an activation code to convert the installed program to licensed operating mode.

With SiteMaster XP you will copy the installation program to your Tablet PC or Notebook where you run the install program.

SiteMaster CE's installation program is run on the device's host PC with the device connected and an ActiveSync connection in effect.

During installation you are asked to select either metric, imperial or millimeter units of measure. This determines which dialogs are installed for use with the program.

If you are reinstalling SiteMaster it is recommended that you backup any customized configuration files you may have created and then uninstall the program before reinstallation.

Activating PowerCAD SiteMaster As with other PowerCAD products, PowerCAD SiteMaster installs as a 30-day demo, which can be converted to licensed operating mode through program activation. Activation can be performed at any time during or after the 30-day period, as may be required.

To activate PowerCAD SiteMaster, use the button Register your Copy of PowerCAD SiteMaster Building on the programs startup screen.

6

Measurement Device Setup

Measurement Device Setup When you first run PowerCAD SiteMaster, you should setup your Laser Distancemeter or Total Station. However, you can alter your measurement device or switch from one to another device any time, even in the mids of running PowerCAD SiteMaster.

Measurement Device Setup and connection settings for the device are described in detail in the sections

This is described in detail in the this chapter.

Connection Setup: Selecting a Measuring Device To connect PowerCAD SiteMaster to your laser measuring device, you need a serial cable connection or a Bluetooth connection. This Bluetooth connection will be made to the Windows operating system independently and you don't need any additional customisation in the Windows Control Panel. Only with the connection setup dialog, which appears after the program start, you can make this connection.

Additional notes for handling and to the current state of the connection setup dialog can be found in the comment line below the list box.

Bluetooth connection / Serial cable connection

The connection dialog allows the following setup options:

'Search...' for Bluetooth

If Bluetooth connectivity has been found on your computer by the program, the list item 'Search...' for Bluetooth appears in the list box. When you select this option and you click the button Search the program will search for existing Bluetooth devices automatically. After some seconds all Bluetooth laser devices will be listed. In the example below two Leica DISTO Laser measuring devices have been found. If multiple laser devices have been found, maybe you have to check the device ID of the laser to be sure that the correct device will be connected. Where you can find the device ID at the laser can be found in the device manual of the respective manufacturer.

7


Is the correct device been found and marked in the list box, you can select the button Connect to activate the connection between PowerCAD SiteMaster and the laser measuring device. Here a Leica DISTO Plus Laser has been selected.

Serial connection Some Laser Distancemeters and especially the Total Stations (modern Tachymeters) can be connected to your computer via serial cable. Over this option and the button Settings you can select a device type and a COM port number. If a laser measuring device has been selected out of the list and a port has been specified, then the Connect button appears after closing the dialog via the OK button. After the selection of this button, the serial connection will be activated and the connection setup dialog will be closed.

No Bluetooth This entry in the list of the dialog indicates that there is no Bluetooth connectivity available on your computer. PowerCAD SiteMaster can be started via the OK button directly.

No Connection Over this option PowerCAD SiteMaster can be started directly without using any surveying device. In the surveying related dialogs of PowerCAD SiteMaster distances and angles have to be input via the keyboard.

Note

After a Bluetooth or serial connection has been made, the text "Connected to DeviceName " is shown in the status line. Now you can close the dialog via the OK button and the Plan

8


icon menu comes up. Some measurement devices send an acoustic signal (beep), when they connect and disconnect to the PowerCAD SiteMaster.

Disconnect

To reset the connection you can press the button Disconnect. After the disconnection the dialog will appear in the previous state (see figure above).

Remove a device from the list

To delete not used devices from the list, select the device and click the Remove button .

Show dialog at startup

At the lower edge of the connection setup dialog you will find a check box to control the appearance of the dialog during the startup. If this option is activated then no connection dialog is displayed and no connection to the laser measuring device will be made. The Plan icon menu comes up directly. To activate a connection afterwards, you can reconnect to an already found device over the Setup icon menu and the option Connection again.

Connection

The Connection settings dialog is accessible from the Setup icon menu.

Specify settings for Bluetooth Connection of your Pocket PC with PowerCAD SiteMaster and your handheld laser distance meter.

The Connection dialog is presented automatically the first time you start PowerCAD SiteMaster after installation.

You can call it any time from the icon menu Setup > Connection, alternatively from the Extended Pulldown Menu: Tools > Configure > Connection Setup.

These settings are also available from the dialog boxes where distances can be entered through a laser distance-measuring device, e.g. the Settings button in Wall generation (or the Options button in the Openings dialogs):

Selecting the Settings button (or Options button) opens the Device Settings dialog box:

The meaning of the buttons and options of this dialog are as follows:

9


Select Device

Opens the Connection Setup dialog.

Delay

Set the measurement delay here. This only has an influence on measurements taken from the PC.

2 Click Measure

If checked, the behavior of the program after clicking a measure button in a dialog box

(like the button when a Leica DISTO laser distancemeter is connected) changes: you will now be able to release a measurement from inside the software (instead of pressing the distance button on the laser device). The procedure is then the following:

The laser beam is active after selecting a measure button and on the screen of your computer this panel is displayed:

The measure is taken the moment you click or tap the panel und the distance is shown in the input box of the dialog box. You can combine the 2-Click-Measure mode with the Tracking mode (see next).

Tracking


(like the button when a Leica DISTO laser distancemeter is connected) changes: you will now be able to get distance values by using the tracking mode of the distancemeter from inside the software (instead of invoking tracking on the laser device). The procedure is then the following:


10


The distance meter is collecting continuously distance data while tracking and stores the nearest and the farest distance. When selecting the Stop Tracking panel, you will be presented to choose either the minimum distance or the maximum distance:

Click to one of the icon buttons so that the selected value is shown in the corresponding input field of the current dialog box.

Beep on Measurement

Check this box if you wish to receive audio confirmation of measurements.

Reset

Resets your laser device to default settings.

Help

Calls this topic in the Help file.

OK and Cancel

Applies settings changes or quits without making settings changes.

Program Configuration PowerCAD SiteMaster will open, using the most commonly used operating parameter defaults, however you may wish to change these defaults to suit your operational needs or preferences.

The most important settings can be changed using the SiteMaster Icon Menus > Setup, see section "Setup Menu".

Also, you can access the complete set of settings – including expert settings – through the Extended Pulldown Menu > File > Config, see section "Extended Menu".

11

Basic Concepts

Basic Concepts

This chapter contains information about

• Icon Menus, Toolbars and Pulldown Menus

• Object Selection

• Command Options

• Positioning Text Blocks

• Floor Control

• Tips On Using PowerCAD SiteMaster

Icon Menus, Toolbars and Pulldown Menus In PowerCAD SiteMaster the process of measuring and drawing is streamlined with Icon Menus, Toolbars and Pulldown Menus:

Icon Menus Icon Menus lead you through all main processes of surveying and drawing, such as the drawing of walls, openings, dimensions, rooms, and symbols. All CAD commands, inspection functions as well as file functions (New, Open, Save As) and configurations can be accessed this way, as well. They are designed to help you measure and draw most efficiently. They contain the most commonly used features in an easy-to-use format, with sufficient help information on the spot when you need it. We recommend you to start using Icon Menus right from the beginning.

Toolbars Toolbars provide speedy access to commonly used functions while you work in the program.

Pulldown Menus Conventional pulldown menus are available in two formats: Simplified and Advanced CAD Menus. Your choice between them will be determined by your needs and familiarity with CAD. Pulldown Menus contain functionality from the essential to the complete set.

Object Selection

Object Selection PowerCAD SiteMaster contains multiple selection aids:

• To select one or more entities, see section "Selecting objects".

• For Grid, Snap and Ortho settings, see section "Grid, Snap, Ortho and Grips settings".

• To select a wall segment, see section "Selecting a wall element".

Selecting objects Most editing commands require that you select one or more entities in the drawing. This happens any time you see the following prompt:

12

Basic Concepts

Select objects:

PowerCAD SiteMaster provides a rich variety of methods for selecting multiple objects. The option bar displays selection options on the right side of the Options Bar, where they can be directly selected.

You can also pick one or more entities onscreen at the Select objects prompt. The prompt keeps repeating until you press OK or Enter. All entities you select are added to the selection set that will be acted upon by the current command.

Multiple object selection options include:

1. Window Polygon – Selects all objects lying entirely within a polygon defined onscreen

2. Crossing Polygon – Selects all objects lying entirely or partially within a polygon defined onscreen

3. Fence – Selects all objects crossing a series of line segments defined onscreen

4. Last – Selects the last drawing object created

5. Previous – Selects all objects in the previously defined selection set

6. Remove – Removes objects from the current selection set

7. Window – Selects all objects lying entirely within a rectangle defined onscreen

8. Crossing – Selects all objects lying entirely or partially within a rectangle defined onscreen

9. Single – Limits the selection to the next single entity selected.

10. All – Selects all objects in the drawing

11. Group – Selects all objects included in a previously defined and named group

Selected entities are highlighted in color (magenta, by default) during the selection process.

Grid, Snap, and Ortho Settings In the Properties Toolbar you can easily toggle the following options:

• Ortho Mode

• Snap Mode

• Grid Display

You can adjust all options for Grid, Snap, Orthogonal drawing mode, Grips, and drawing, editing, and display settings in the Settings dialog box, accessible through:

• The Icon Menu: Main Menu > Setup Menu > Settings or

• The Pulldown Menu: File > Config > Precision Settings

Selecting a wall element When selecting a wall and a distance from a corner (of this wall), take care to select the wall element from the correct side.

PowerCAD SiteMaster will ask you for the distance from the corner that is nearest to your selection point.

13


So, always select the wall close to the corner that is easier to measure to.

Command Options Many commands allow you to specify command options during command input. These options are presented on the right side of the Options Bar when the associated commands are being run.

These are some Examples for Options toolbars:

14

Basic Concepts

Positioning Info Blocks In several cases info blocks are drawn to display additional information or values of elements right in the drawing.

A dialog will give you different editing options for these info blocks. This dialog keeps coming back until you click OK.

The following options are available for the placement and appearace of the attribute blocks:

Move - Move the attribute block to a new position

Rotate - Rotate the attribute block

Scale - Dynamic scaling of the attribute block

Show Text - Show the attribute block

Hide Text - Switch off the attribute block

OK - Exits the dialog box

Note: If you selected Autoplace Text in the SiteMaster Defaults dialog box (Icon Menu Setup Menu > SM Defaults), PowerCAD SiteMaster will place the info blocks for you.

Floor Management - Layer Control The floor management take place over the caption of the icon menus. Here you can select the desired floor. After the startup of PowerCAD SiteMaster with an empty drawing, the current floor is GROUNDFLOOR. Out of this floor ID and the predefined Layer prefix (can be set under SM Layer Setup) the final layer names will be created. A layer is a kind of foil, on which the drawing entities e.g. all lines or symbols of a floor will be placed to allow a separate display and selection.

The created wall layer is named 2D_WALL_GROUNDFLOOR. Below the property bar of PowerCAD SiteMaster.

Create a New Floor

To create a new floor you have to select the entry *New Floor* in the dropdown list of the icon menu caption.

15


The Floor Manager Over the entry *Edit* you reach the floor manager.

The floor manager is used to control the layers of the single floors. The line in the list box, marked with the arrow, shows the currently active floor. You can set the currently active floor either by setting the arrow to another entry of the list box or any time a SiteMaster icon menu is active by selecting a floor name from the dropdown list (located at right top of the dialog).

You can rename a floor names by overwriting entries in the Name column. Simply double click (left mouse button) the entry (which will be highlighted blue with the first click then go into an editing mode with the second click) and then type in the new name. Any layers already created using the old floor name will also be renamed with the new floor name. i.e 2D_WALLS_1STFLOOR will be renamed to 2D_WALLS_FIRST if you changed 1STFLOOR to FIRST.

Floors can be switched on or off entirely via the bulb symbol in the On column. The column with the caption Locked allows to lock or unlock floors. Drawing entities of locked floors can't be changed, you can only refer to its geometry (like endpoints, intersection points, etc.).

The number specified in the Index field defines the base for the incrementation of symbol indentifiers (IDs). Symbol IDs are created (together with information attributes) when generating doors and windows in the floor plan, inserting radiatiors or funiture symbols etc. Please note: when you change the base index of floors, you should subsequently perform an Update IDs from the Symbols icon menu.

• Copy Floor Copies the selected floor to a new position and renames all layer names for the new floor.

• Layer Over the Layer button you will reach the layer manager dialog. Here you can switch on or off layers of a floor separately. Further you can lock or unlock single layer and change their colour.

16

Basic Concepts

• Delete Floor From the popup menu you can select the Delete Floor option for any floor except the current one. Choosing this option deletes also drawing objects placed on this floor and removes the floor name from the floor list. Because this function implies erasing of drawn entities, the user is requested to confirm the deletion.

Tips On Using PowerCAD SiteMaster 1. SiteMaster comes with common default values for all configurable values. Before commencing your drawing, however, we recommend you check whether the program setup fully fits your needs:

• Drawing units: can be setup in the Icon Menu > Setup Menu > Units, alternatively from the Extended Pulldown Menu File > Config > Drawing Units

• Precision settings: can be setup in the icon menu Setup Menu > Settings > Snap/Grid, alternatively from the Extended Menu File > Config > Precision Settings

• Default file format as preference for Open and SaveAs: These are specified in the icon menu Setup Menu > Configuration > Common > File Formats, alternatively in the Extended Pulldown Menu File > Config > Program settings > Common > File Formats.

2. Develop your drawing in stages, completing walls, windows and openings and drawing details in sequential order.

3. Be aware that SiteMaster relies on a specific drawing environment in order that the Architectural functions operate correctly. If you experience difficulties using these functions or are opening non-SiteMaster drawing files for updating, try opening a new drawing and inserting your current drawing (exploded) into it, to re-establish the needed environment.

4. At appropriate points in floor plan generations, consider copying common elements to create the basis for floor plans of other building levels in multi-story building plans, see section "Floor Management - Layer Control".

5. To speed up note taking onsite, consider using embedded VoiceNotes. You can start

taking VoiceNotes with the VoiceNote icon in the SiteMaster toolbar. Alternatively, you can use the symbol from the Icon Menu CAD Draw > VoiceNote or from the Extended Pulldown Menu Draw > VoiceNotes. VoiceNotes can be recorded, edited and played in any PowerCAD product when used on a PC or device with audio in/out capabilities.

17


6. If you use standard unit settings, title blocks, layer naming convention, text styles, etc., consider using a template drawing containing these definitions. All new drawings that are opened will contain these definitions when a template drawing is set. Typing TEMPLATE at the command prompt will allow you to specify a drawing file to be used as a template. Thereafter, each time you begin a new drawing, all of the template drawing contents and settings will be immediately available to you. Be sure to ensure your template drawing conforms with Item 3 requirements, however.

7. For short distance measurements, use of a tape measure and manually input distances can sometimes be more convenient than laser measurement entry. SiteMaster allows you to mix entry methods to suit the circumstances.

18

PowerCAD SiteMasterWorld Portal

SiteMaster Portal

www.sitemaster-world.com - under this Web address GiveMePower provides with SiteMaster Portal a platform for users who need the mobility and flexibility of surveying, drafting and managing projects. SiteMaster Portal enhances collaboration and communication between office and field.

The Internet based system allows companies and public authorities, engineering offices and architects to organize and share drawings, documents, forms, reports, photos and other conceivable team information internally or with partners all over the word.

SiteMaster Portal is easy to use with a clear structure tailored to the needs of surveying, inspection, maintenance, and planning projects.

SiteMaster Portal is an ideal platform to hold information actual for work groups and all team members.

SiteMaster Portal is accessible both from office PCs as well as from mobile devices (Pocket PCs). The interface of the Pocket PC client software is designed especially for mobile devices.

In the new releases of the PowerCAD SiteMaster Building series the user can logon to the portal, download and open, save and upload his surveying drawings.

The portal is accessible directly in your web browser.

Portal Application Features

SiteMaster Portal

• enables the user to access a complete facility hierarchy (in the scheme: campus - buildings - floors - rooms) in the depth whatever the project requires

• stores the project relevant documents like drawings, forms, reports, tables photos etc. on a server

• allows the user to download digital documents of any kind to the client computer to view, read, investigate, and proof data as a team member

• allows the user to upload the collected data (if the permission to write is provided)

• allows to update documents (if the permission to write is provided)

Administration comprise

• management of access permissions to user groups and individual users

• creation, modification, and deletion of tree-structured project management hierarchy

• creation, modification, and deletion of file folders for each node and entity of the project hierarchy

SiteMaster Portal is your powerful communication center between office and field, minimizing long distance ways, misunderstandings, and mistakes.

Contact GiveMePower to find out what kind of usage of the SiteMaster Portal platform suits best to your needs. GiveMePower also provides corporate licensing in the frame of Support Plans.

Login / Logoff (SiteMasterWorld Portal) To work with the Document and Drawing Management System of the SiteMasterWorld Portal you need to log on to the system as a registered user.

19


To log on

• Start your Web browser and enter the web address of the SiteMaster Portal login site: www.sitemaster-world.com/portal.

• Type in the Client-ID of your company, your user name and your password.

• Click the Login button to enter the workspace of the document and drawing management system.

Note: If you encounter a problem logging in, click to "Please contact our support team" to send a email to the PowerCAD SiteMaster support team.

User Interface (SiteMasterWorld Portal) The SiteMasterWorld Portal user interface is subdivided into four main panes:

• a Sidebar (2)

• a Project Navigation with a hierarchical tree structure and a details information area (2)

• a Document Folders pane (3)

• a Documents List (4)

20


Sidebar

The sidebar allows to select administrators and users to select the main options of the application

• Home – Returns to the start screen

• Administration – Allows to create projects and their entities on different levels (for administrators only)

• Document Mangement – Allows the administrator to create folders for each node of project hierarchies and to save or delete files in these folders. Administrators also may edit permissions for users and user groups here. The user at the client side can download or upload files into or from these document folders.

• System – Manages user related tasks (for administrators only)

Project Navigation

This area serves to select projects. Projects are subdivided into locations - buildings - floors (and probably rooms). In the Details area below the tree-structure, additional information for the selected node is displayed.

Documents (Folder Area)

The Documents area shows the folders of the current node of the current project.

Documents List

In this area at the bottom of the workspace of the portal you find a list of the documents available in the current folder and its subfolders. Files that have been deleted into the Recycle Bin folder are not shown in the documents list.

Note:

The potential of viewing and editing capabilities of the portal users depends on the permissions given to the actual user for the whole or parts of a project and its folders and files.

Projects (SiteMasterWorld Portal) SiteMasterWorld Portal serves to organize documents like drawings, reports, forms, manuals etc. in project structures.

21


Projects are organized in a hierarchical structure. The typical hierarchy is adapted to surveying projects. Therefore the levels of the project hierarchy are:

• project

• campus

• building

• floor

• room

Documents can be associated to any level of the project tree structure. For example, there could be the

xxx.

Documents (SiteMasterWorld Portal) To be supplied ...

Client Administration

Administration (SiteMasterWorld Portal) To be supplied ...

Role Management (SiteMasterWorld Portal) Selecting the Role Management option from the Client Administration menu or from the sidebar will show the user groups which have been defined for the use the portal. Primarily, assigning users to work groups facilitates management of permissions for projects.

Once you have selected a group name from the Roles list, the Details area is displayed beneth the list. The Details list ist subdivided into two parts: the upper area lists all the users who are menber of the selected group and the lower area lists all users who are not member of the selected group. You may then change the member status of users. To do so, select a user name and click the Add user option and the Remove user option respectively.

22


New role

To create a new user group of the portal select the New role option which will display the New role area where you can specify the name of the new group. Click the OK button to add the group to the roles of the system.

Edit role

The Edit role option allows to rename the name of the selected user group. Click the OK button to make the change valid.

Delete role

If you want to remove a user group that have been formed before, select the Delete role option. You are then requested to confirm the deletion to avoid removing a role from the system by inattention. Note that you cannot delete the ADMIN role.

User Management (SiteMasterWorld Portal) Selecting the User Management option from the Client Administration menu or from the sidebar will show all the users who are allowed to use the portal. Choose a user from the list to display the details of the user and (if assiciated) the groups the user belongs to. The Role Management option of client administration allows such grouping of portal users.

Add new user

To add a new user to the community of the portal, click the Add user option. Then type in the login name, first name, last name, e-mail address, phone number and password of the new user.

23


Edit user

If you want to change or add a users data, click the Edit user option. You can modify or add the information in the edit fields.

Change password

To change the password of a user click the Change passord option. You may then type in a new password for the user highlighted in the Users list.

Change password

To remove a user from the list of the portal users, click the Delete user option.

24

PowerCAD SiteMaster Icon Menus

SiteMaster Icon Menus PowerCAD SiteMaster contains an Icon Menu System that guides you through the complete measuring and drawing process.

This is an example of a icon menu:

Entering PowerCAD SiteMaster Icon Menus At any time you can open/reopen the SiteMaster Icon Menu System

• through the PowerCAD SiteMaster Toolbar

,

SiteMaster button , or

• through the pulldown menu SiteMaster > Start Icon Menu ...

This function will always take you back to the most recently used icon menu.

After canceling an operation PowerCAD SiteMaster icon menus will take you back to the next logical step.

Leaving the SiteMaster Icon Menus

To leave an Icon Menu, you can always use the Close button in upper right corner of any PowerCAD SiteMaster icon menu.

25


General Icon Menus Layout These are the components of the PowerCAD SiteMaster icon menus:

Icon Menu Navigation

• Current icon menu symbol; for example .

• Title with the name of the current icon menu:

• Goto Menu dropdown list : allows you to switch or jump between different dialog menus without using the predefined structure. When you pull down the menu list, you can select a new icon menu dialog. The arrows in front of the menu texts show the depth of the nesting. The base menu is the Main Menu. It has the lowest nesting level and from here you can reach all other items of the icon menu system.

• With the Back button you can go back to the icon menu one level up.

• Close button:

Drawing Commands Icons

• The Undo button reverses the last commands.

• The Pan button moves the visible portion of the drawing to any direction indicated by two points. In contrast to the zoom commands, the drawing scale does not change.

• The Zoom Window button zooms to two selected points.

• The Zoom Extends button zooms the drawing to fit completely on screen.

• Save button : With the Save button you can save your drawing to disk. A progress bar in the command line area signals the progress of saving. During long stretches of work with a certain drawing, it is recommended that you save your work periodically to avoid possible loss of data due to unforeseen events. - If the drawing has already a name: just save. - If drawing has no name yet, Save behaves like the Save As dialog and will ask you for a new drawing name.

26

PowerCAD SiteMaster Icon Menus

The Floor Name should be used to separate and structure your drawing. It is appended as extension to all layer names. In all menu dialogs with drawing or editing commands you have the possibility to pre-select a floor name.

27

Main Menu

Main Menu The Main Menu is the top level icon menu.

PowerCAD SiteMaster BuildingTS Version:

Accessible from the Main Menu are:

• Plan Menu – the actual drawing starts here

28

Main Menu

• New – Begins with a new drawing

• Open – Lets you open an existing drawing

• Save As – This lets you save your current drawing under another name and/or in another file format

• Totalstation Menu

• Inspection Menu

• Setup Menu – Lets you adjust configurations, settings, defaults for PowerCAD SiteMaster, printers, connections etc.

• Export Menu – Leads you into Icon Menus for printing, sending via Email and file export options

The Floor Name dropdown list should be used to separate and structure your drawing. It is appended as extension to all layer names. In all menu dialogs with drawing or editing commands you have the possibility to pre-select a floor name.

New

The New command is accessible from the Main Menu.

The New command creates a new drawing and opens the PowerCAD SiteMaster Main Menu.

Open

The Open command is accessible from the Main Menu.

This command will open the Open dialog. You can open an existing drawing file and edit it.

If used when another drawing is open, you will be prompted to save the open drawing.

You can also open files as read-only.

Save As

The Save As command is accessible from the Main Menu.

The Save As command lets you save your current drawing under another name and/or in another file format.

The Save button , that is available on all Icon Menus, uses the current name and file format.

29

Plan Menu

Plan Menu

The Plan Menu is accessible from the Main Menu.

The Plan Menu guides you through the actual process of measuring and drawing a site.

Accessible from the Plan icon menu are:

• Walls, see section "Walls and Columns"

• Openings, see section "Openings"

• Dimensioning, see section "Dimensioning"

• CAD Draw, see section "CAD Draw"

• CAD Edit, see section "CAD Edit"

• Rooms, see section "Rooms"

• Symbols, see section "Symbols"

• Staircases, see section "Stairs"

The Floor Name dropdown list should be used to separate and structure your drawing. It is appended as extension to all layer names. In all menu dialogs with drawing or editing commands you have the possibility to pre-select a floor name.

30

Plan Menu

Walls / Columns

The Walls/Columns menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.

This icon menu is a central function of PowerCAD SiteMaster as a building surveying solution and allows you to work in many ways with walls and columns:

• Walls, see section "Walls"

• Columns, see section "Columns"

• Recess/Chimney, see section "Recess/Chimney"

• Join Walls, see section "Join Walls"

Rooms / Areas

The Rooms/Areas icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.

31


For options are available on the Rooms/Areas icon menu:

• Assign Room, see section "Assign Room"

• Record Height, see section "Record Heights"

• Refresh All Room Info Blocks, see section "Room Update"

• Assign Room No. to Attributes, see section "Assign Room Number"

• Assign Room No. to Attributes, see section Assign Room Number

Openings

The Openings icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.

32

Plan Menu

PowerCAD SiteMaster contains common types of wall openings.

These door and window openings are attached to a wall line or arc. All functions will ask for an insertion point that is selected by measuring the distance to the nearest corner.

The described standard case are openings in walls with two parallel lines. Tree special cases are described in this chapter:

• Openings in Single Line Walls,

• Openings in Walls with varying width, and

• Multiple Openings from a corner.

Accessible from the Openings menu:

• D.Opening, see section "Door Opening".

• Door, see section "Door".

• Door+Sill, see section "Door with Sill".

• W.Opening, see section "Window Opening".

• Window, see section "Window".

• W.+Sill, see section "Window with Retainer".

• Recess/Chim, see section "Recess / Chimney".

All openings have a common chain of action but differ in the degree of detail necessary to complete the insertion.

All openings are dimensioned and numbered for later analysis.

Note: If the wall has been created with the PowerCAD SiteMaster wall program then it is not necessary to select the second wall line segment. The respective opening program will find the associated wall line automatically.

33


Symbols

The Symbols icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.

The commands accessible from the Symbols menu are:

• Symbol, see section "Symbol"

• Radiator, see section "Radiator"

• Camera, see section "Camera"

• Document, see section "Document"

• Update IDs, see section "Update IDs"

• Attribute Visibility of infoblocks, see section "Attribute Visibility"

• Layer off, see section "Layer off"

• Symbols Export, see section "Symbols Export"

Staircases Menu

The Staircases icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.

34

Plan Menu


• Staircase, see section "Staircase"

• Line of travel, see section "Line of travel"

Dimensioning

The Dimensioning icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.

35


The specific commands of the Dimensioning icon menu are:

• Linear dimension, see section "Linear Dimension".

• Add dimension points, see section "Add Dimension Points".

• Total dimension, see section "Total Dimension".

• Opening dimension, see section "Opening Dimension".

• Erase dimension, see section "Delete Dimension".

• Update dimension, see section "Update Dimension".

36

Plan Menu

• Copy dimension, see section "Copy Dimension".

• Offset dimension, see section "Duplicate and Offset Dimension".

• Duplicate dimension, see section "Duplicate and Offset Dimension".

• Arc dimension, see section "Arc Dimension".

• Diameter dimension, see section "Diameter Dimension".

• Radius dimension, see section "Radius Dimension".

• Angle dimension, see section "Angle Dimension".

• Edit dimension text, see section "Edit Dimension Text".

These are PowerCAD SiteMaster dimensions that consist of text entities and marker blocks. PowerCAD SiteMaster offers the opportunity to insert multiple architectural dimensions with a single operation. Individual CAD dimensions can be used also.

CAD Draw

The CAD Draw icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.

Use CAD functions from this menu. You can

• Draw lines, arcs, circles and polylines;

• Type text to be set in the drawing;

• Create hatches;

• Add VoiceNotes, i.e. voice/text comments that can be placed anywhere in the drawing;

• Sketch freehand lines; and

37


• Insert digital images, e.g. photos into the drawing.

The various settings for snap, grid, orthogonal mode etc. apply, when you place elements.

CAD Edit

The CAD Edit icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu:

38

Plan Menu

From the CAD Edit icon menu you can deploy advanced CAD functions to edit your drawing.

• Copy, Move, Mirror and Rotate elements,

• Use DOffset and Corner, Fillet functions for corners,

• Delete elements,

• Extend, Trim, Stretch, Scale elements,

• Create Arrays of elements,

• Break elements in order to delete parts of lines, circles or arcs,

• Mirror objects,

• Explode blocks in order to work with their individual parts,

• Change Properties of elements,

• Multi Edit elements; and

• Undo and Redo recent operations.

39

Walls / Columns

Walls / Columns

The Walls/Columns menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.

This icon menu is a central function of PowerCAD SiteMaster as a building surveying solution and allows you to work in many ways with walls and columns:

• Walls, see section "Walls"

• Columns, see section "Columns"

• Recess/Chimney, see section "Recess/Chimney"

• Join Walls, see section "Join Walls"

40

Walls / Columns

Walls

The Walls function is available from the Walls/Columns icon menu.

The Walls function draws the walls around a room or around the whole site. It contains a number of tools to aid the construction of the wall shape.

Common handheld distance laser are tightly integrated with the operation of the function to rapidly create exact floor plans.

The command contains features to draw in a single line mode or to alternatively set the width of each segment at a time.

Each section of a wall has three parameters:

• Length

• Angle

• Width

Length

The length of a wall section can be taken from a handheld distance laser by pressing the

laser button on the device or by pressing the button on the wall dialog box. Also, length values can be entered manually.

The Next Point button lets you specify a point in the drawing, or – by selecting a wall line – the end of an existing wall section as next end point of a wall section.

Angle

If known, the angle can be typed in manually. Known angles of multiples of 45° can be set by the arrow buttons on the left hand side.

In Direct Mode (indicated by the yellow arrows on the angle buttons) the next wall segment is drawn automatically as soon as an angle button is pressed.

For a description of the Direct Mode Input see section "Direct Mode Operation".

Note: PowerCAD SiteMaster follows the accepted CAD convention of measuring angles 360 degrees counter-clockwise from the "3 o'clock" direction. "Up" would be 90 degrees and "down" would be 270 degrees, for example. When you pick the angle buttons, the correct angle is placed in the input box for you.

Width

41


A width value can be chosen from the list box. An arbitrary value can be typed in manually. The width of a wall can change from segment to segment.

Set the width to None to draw in Single Line Mode. This will suppress the second line.

The width of a wall can change from segment to segment. In Single Line Mode only one line is drawn to represent the wall.

The terms Width and Thickness of walls are used synonymously.

The default value of the Width dropdown list is set in the SiteMaster Defaults dialog box, Walls tab.

Drawing Walls – General Procedure To measure and draw walls in your current drawing

• Click on the Walls icon in the Walls/Columns Icon Menu.

• Click into the drawing where you want to place the first end-point of the wall. See also section Wall Start Options to connect the wall to existing geometry or to triangulate the start point of the wall.

• Add the values for the first segment of the wall for 90° Input:

Measuring from a Leica DISTO A6 or Leica DISTO Plus:

• Switch to 2nd Mode on the laser.

• Laser the distance to the next corner.

• Select an angle button on the laser.

• The next segment is drawn automatically.

Measuring from other distance lasers:

• Laser the distance to the next corner.

• The value is transmitted to the length field.

• Select one of the angle buttons on the wall dialog to draw the segment.

Measuring from the wall dialog:

• Press the DIST button ( on a Leica DISTO) to issue a measurement on the device.

• The measured value appears in the Length field.

• Select one of the angle buttons to draw the next segment.

Drawing without a laser:

• Type the length in the length field.

• Type the angle in the Angle field or press one of the angle buttons.

• If the angle value was entered manually, select the Draw button to draw the next segment

Creating segments by selecting significant points:

• Press the button to select the position of the next corner in the drawing. Snaps are switched on to aid selection of helper points in the drawing.

When the first segment is drawn, the wall function requests the side of the second wall line. This is the side that is not measured and gets added whenever a new segment is measured. (This request only shows if a width bigger 0.0 is selected).

42

Walls / Columns

Continue until the shape is complete and then press Done for ending options. See section "Wall Exit Options".

For every wall in double line mode you have to select the side of the second, i.e. the "outer" wall line. This second line will be added automatically while proceeding drawing the wall.

Drawing Walls – Additional Options Draw

The Draw button adds the next wall segment with the specified distance and angle. On the Leica DISTO A6 or Leica DISTO Plus, pressing the ENTER button the Draw click can be issued.

TriDraw

Use Triangulation to pinpoint the next corner from two known stations. This is useful for Odd-shaped rooms, see section "TriDraw Option - Triangulation".

Arc

Create an arc-shaped segment, see section "Arc Option – Curved Wall Section".

Undo

Go back step-by-step. The Undo button can be called repeatedly to step back and delete wall sections, one at a time, while the wall creation command is active.

If you want to cancel the complete Wall instead, press Done and then Delete Complete Wall as described in section "Wall Exit Options".

On the Leica DISTO A6 or Leica DISTO Plus, Undo can be issued by pressing the DELETE button.

Done

Once you have added all segments of a wall, press Done. This will give you six Wall Exit options to end (or delete) this wall.

Alignment

Select the Alignment button to align the current view to a wall line. See section "Alignment".

Wall Start Options SiteMaster gives you different options to start drawing a wall, depending on the prerequisites:

1. The drawing is empty: You can click into the drawing to place the first end-point of the wall.

43


2. The drawing already contains elements: SiteMaster offers you two more options to start this wall: Connect and Triangulate

• You can still click into the drawing to start the new wall at any point

• You can connect to an existing wall (Connect option).

• You can triangulate from two existing points to specify the starting point of the new wall (Triangulate option).

• You can cancel the wall command here.

Wall Start: Connect If your drawing contains any elements, you have the option to connect your new wall to any existing wall point.

To connect the first point of the new wall

• Click on the Walls icon in the Walls/Columns icon menu

• Select the Connect option now available in the Wall Start Options dialog box

• The cursor changes to the shape of a select box:

• Now select the wall segment to connect to. Select it near the end of the segment that is more convenient to measure.

• Enter the distance from that corner.

• The current position will be set (see the red circle) and you can continue drawing the new wall. The starting segment will be chipped out of the existing wall as soon as the new wall is completed.

44

Walls / Columns

Wall Start: Triangulate If your drawing already contains elements, you have the option to triangulate the first point of the new wall from two known points in the drawing.

To triangulate the start point of a new wall

• Click on the Walls icon in the Walls/Columns icon menu.

• Select the Triangulate option now available in the Wall Start Options dialog box.

• Now you can triangulate by selecting two known points (called Stations) and measuring the corresponding distances. For details see section "TriDraw Option: Triangulation".

• The Current Position will be set (see little red circle) and you can continue drawing the new wall.

Drawing Walls – Exit Options To finish a new wall you can do two things:

• Close the Add Wall dialog by clicking the button of this dialog;

• Press the button on the Add Wall dialog.

Either action will lead you to the Wall Exit Options dialog:

45


Now you can

1. Close Ends – Terminate the wall and close end points.

2. Leave Wall Open – If you want to add more wall segments later on, select this option, as it will leave the ends open.

3. Connect Right Angles – Add a last wall segment that connects perpendicular to an existing wall segment.

4. Connect from Corner – Add a last wall segment that connects with a given distance to an existing wall segment.

5. Close Wall – Add a wall segment that will close the last wall segment to the first end-point. This option requires at least two wall segments. If the Connect option was selected as a starting option, this button is disabled.

6. Delete Complete Wall – This will erase all segments of this wall. For undoing segments of the wall one by one, use the Undo button during the Wall command.

Close Wall Options

When you select Close Wall from the Wall Exit Options, the dialog shown will open.

You will have the choice to close the walls in two ways:

1. The end segment will be drawn directly to the first drawn wall segment (that means, to starting point of wall generation).

2. Two ending segments will be drawn to solve closing the room, the first perpendicular upon the last drawn segment and the second also in a 90 degree angle, so that the last segment ends at the starting point of wall generation.

Thus, especially collecting data of rectangular rooms is made easy.

46

Walls / Columns

Closing Tolerance when Creating Rectangular Rooms

If the last wall segment is not measured, but inserted automatically to close the wall contour, you can force the perpendicular closing to create a rectanguar room. The request shown above appears only, if the difference to the rectangle does not exceed a defined limit.

This closing tolerance can be changed over the Wall Parameter Settings dialog box. Its default value is 0.5 percent.

Arc Option: Curved Wall Section From the Add Wall dialog you can step into the Arc (Arch) mode to draw round wall sections.

Arches can be drawn from three points. The starting point is the current position on the

wall . The second point is any significant point on the arc and the third point is the end point of the arc.

To measure and draw a curved wall section

• Press Select Stations.

• The cursor changes into a Snap Box and lets you select the two known points in the drawing.

• Cursor and tool tips give you helpful additional information, e.g.

• After you have selected both Stations choose the side where the arch shall be drawn.

47


• Both Stations will be marked in the drawing with red blue circles and Roman numbers.

• Now you can measure (or type in) the distances. The Help button (? button) shows you how the values are numbered.

• Alternatively you can pick one or both arch points from the drawing. This is useful e.g. when connecting other known wall points with this arch. Click on the Pick

buttons to do so:

TriDraw Option: Triangulation The TriDraw or Triangulation function calculates a new point in the drawing from two known (wall) points.

TriDraw is used in various contexts of PowerCAD SiteMaster. Here the basic principle is described in the Wall context.

• First click Select Stations to select the two known points, called Stations.

• The cursor changes into a Snap Box and lets you select the two known points in the drawing.

• Cursor and tool tips give you helpful additional information, e.g.

48

Walls / Columns

• After you have selected both stations choose the side of the new point:

• Both Stations will be marked in the drawing with red blue circles and Roman numbers:

• Now you can measure (or type in) the distances from Station I and Station II to the new target point.

• After pressing Draw the position of the new – triangulated – point is marked as

Current Position

• The Select Stations button remains available. So you can change the Stations when proceeding to new segments of your wall.

49


• You can toggle between TriDraw mode and the normal mode, called "90°Draw" with the buttons TriDraw and 90°Draw in both dialogs.

• The Helppoint button creates a reference point in the drawing. Such a point can be used to position the next reference station or the next wall segment by picking

in the main wall dialog.

• The Settings button leads you into a dialog for connection settings for the laser-measuring device: set the type of device and how to interact with this device. See section "Connection".

Direct Mode Operation

Add wall dialogs in Direct Mode and Legacy Mode

• Direct Mode: direction arrows in orange – This mode draws the next wall segment as soon as one of the angle buttons or Draw is pressed. Direct Mode is enabled by default.

• Legacy mode: direction arrows in black – This mode draws the next wall segment only when Draw is pressed.

The check box AutoDraw on the Wall tab of the SiteMaster Defaults dialog enables or disables Direct Mode. See section "SiteMaster Defaults".

Walls: Current Position

A red circle marks the current position as you precede drawing the wall

The drawing display will change as you draw the walls, to give you a clearer picture of the current wall location in the drawing, so always rely on the red circle to see your current drawing location.

Walls: Alignment It is sometimes convenient to use the 90° Drawing mode from a wall that is not directly

aligned to the drawing view. The Alignment button rotates the current view to align it to a reference wall.

The option is issued by pressing the Alignment button . This will ask for the reference wall:

The drawing is then rotated so that the selected wall points upwards.

50

Walls / Columns

The UCS icon in the bottom left corner shows the current alignment and the Alignment

button shows Unaligned . Pressing the Unaligned button , a new reference wall can be selected or the view reset to original viewing settings by selecting the option Reset_View.

Walls: Display and Zoom The drawing behind the dialog box will be updated step by step and show the last drawn wall segment. To change which part of the drawing is displayed, you can use the Zoom buttons on the Add Wall dialog:

• The button Zoom Window lets you pick two opposite corners of the new display.

• The button Zoom to Drawing Extents changes to display the entire drawing in the window. It is now easy to look at objects that were previously not visible because they were off the viewing surface.

51


Columns

The Columns function function is available from the Walls/Columns icon menu.

The Column command supports both rectangular and circular columns.

Both types of columns require two stations for triangulation.

The Multiple option of the Column dialog box opens the Column Array dialog.

Rectangular Columns

To measure and draw a rectangular columns

• First select the two stations by clicking the Select Stations button. The stations will be marked in the drawing with I and II.

• Find the corners (P1 and P2) of the column that can be reached from both stations.

• From these corners laser back to both stations for values d1, d2, d3, and d4.

Alternatively, the two corners can also be positioned by clicking the buttons.

52

Walls / Columns

• Now measure the width of the column. The width is indicated in the image below:

Pressing OK inserts a single column into the drawing:

Example


Circular Columns

To measure and draw a circular column

• First select the two stations (S1 and S2) by clicking the Select Stations button in the Columns dialog box. These will be marked in the drawing with I and II. The choice of the stations is significant for column array (button Multiple) as it determines the arrangement of the following rows.

53


• From Station I and Station II laser towards the center point of the column. The direct route to the center of the column is automatically the shortest distance from the station to the column. If your laser distancemeter supports Minimum Distance Tracking, use this mode to determine the distance.

• The circumference of the column is entered in the Value field at the bottom. This is typically best measured manually with a tape measure. If the radius of the column is known, change the mode to Radius and enter the value in the Value field.

• Alternatively, the column can also be positioned by pushing the button. The selected location is the center of the column. The distances to the stations are automatically entered into the edit fields. These distances are not to the center though but to the outer rim of the column. If the circumference or the radius is changed the column center point has to be re-selected to calculate the new values.

• Pressing OK inserts a single column into the drawing.


Example

Column Array Instead of measuring a large number of similar columns individually, the column array option can create a field of columns automatically.

The columns need to be arranged in a rectangle and evenly spaced.

• The array of rectangular columns is aligned along the axes of the first column and continue further away from stations S1 and S2.

• The array of circular columns is aligned along the stations S1 and S2. The next rows are positioned with increasing distance from S1 and S2.

54

Walls / Columns

55


Recess/Chimney

The Recess/Chimney function is available both from the Walls and the Openings icon menus.

This function not only does it create Recesses and Chimneys but also Niches and Ducts.

The difference between the two types is that Recess and Chimney run from floor to ceiling and Niche and Duct have heights associated with them.

The difference between Recess and Chimney is simply which side of the inner wall the object is drawn. If it is facing away from the outer wall line, it is a Chimney; facing towards the outer wall, it is a recess.

Examples

Chimney

Slot

Every opening gets an attribute block for identifcation and for later evaluation.

56

Walls / Columns

Join Walls (Heal Walls)

The Join Walls function is available from the Walls/Columns icon menu.

When a wall segment contains a wall opening such as a windows or door, the wall is broken and the symbol inserted.

If the symbol is placed incorrectly, it can be erased with the Delete command in the CAD Edit icon menu. This leaves behind the two halves of the original wall. The Heal Wall function can rejoin the two parts to create one complete wall.

Delete the opening components with the Delete command.

Now select Join Walls and select the two lines that were originally one wall line.

Carry on with other wall lines until all wall lines are connected again.

57

Rooms / Areas

The Rooms/Areas icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.

For options are available on the Rooms/Areas icon menu:

• Assign Room, see section "Assign Room"

• Record Height, see section "Record Heights"

• Refresh All Room Info Blocks, see section "Room Update"

• Assign Room No. to Attributes, see section "Assign Room Number"

• Assign Room No. to Attributes, see section Assign Room Number

58

Rooms / Areas

Assign Room

The Assign Room function is accessible from the Rooms/Areas icon menu.

With the Assign Room function you can place relevant room data into your drawing.

The function also caculates the area of the room where you place the the room data info block.

This will calculate room area and perimeter and insert a text block with room number, name, area, volume and perimeter. The hatch pattern indicates the area calculated. It disappears in the next step.

59


On a layer named 2D_BOUNDARY_XXX (where XXX stands for the floor postfix like GROUNDFLOOR) a closed polyline is generated when the Assign Room command is executed. This layer is turned off normally, but if you may want to make it visible to check the area calculation, you can do so by using the Layer Manager dialog.

You can always verify the area calculation using the functions of the Inspection icon menu.

60

Rooms / Areas

Record Height

The Record Height function is accessible from the Rooms/Areas icon menu.

The Record Height function inserts a room height symbol into the drawing.

Select the location for the measurement in the drawing.

Once a symbol is placed the dialog show up with a number of options. The symbol can be rotated and moved on screen. Measure the height at that location and select the room number in the dropdown list.

This information is shown on screen with the symbol and can be exported with the Symbol Export function.

61


Refresh All Room Infoblocks

The Refresh All function is accessible from the Rooms/Areas icon menu.

Refresh All lets you update room data in the drawing once you have changed relevant room borders.

To export room data for processing with a text or spreadsheet application, use the Export Rooms function.

Assign Room Number

The Assign Room Number function is accessible from the Rooms/Areas icon menu.

This function assigns a room number to information blocks. First select all info blocks that need to be updated, and then enter the room number in the following dialog:

The two images below show symbol attributes before and after assigning a room number.

62

Rooms / Areas

Export Room Data

The Export Rooms function is accessible from the Export icon menu.

This function lets you export room data into a csv file to be used with a spreadsheet program, e.g. MS Excel or Lotus.

By default, the CSV file will use the current drawing file name and the file will be found in the PowerCAD SiteMaster program folder.

In your spreadsheet program the exported csv file will show you a listing of rooms as well as their individual and total areas and perimeters.

Example of a CSV file:

63

Openings

The Openings icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.

PowerCAD SiteMaster contains common types of wall openings.

These door and window openings are attached to a wall line or arc. All functions will ask for an insertion point that is selected by measuring the distance to the nearest corner.

The described standard case are openings in walls with two parallel lines. Tree special cases are described in this chapter:

• Openings in Single Line Walls,

• Openings in Walls with varying width, and

• Multiple Openings from a corner.

Accessible from the Openings menu:

• D.Opening, see section "Door Opening".

• Door, see section "Door".

• Door+Sill, see section "Door with Sill".

• W.Opening, see section "Window Opening".

• Window, see section "Window".

• W.+Sill, see section "Window with Retainer".

• Recess/Chim, see section "Recess / Chimney".

All openings have a common chain of action but differ in the degree of detail necessary to complete the insertion.

64

Openings

All openings are dimensioned and numbered for later analysis.

Note: If the wall has been created with the PowerCAD SiteMaster wall program then it is not necessary to select the second wall line segment. The respective opening program will find the associated wall line automatically.

Basics

Case 1: Openings in Single Line Walls You can draw walls as double lines or single lines. When placing openings in single line walls you have various options to add width information.

Window Opening, Window, Window with Retainer:

Simply specify the width in the Enter Opening Width dialog. PowerCAD SiteMaster assumes that the outside wall line extends as wide as the inner line and adds it to the drawing together with the Window Opening, Window or Window with Retainer.

Door Opening, Door, Door with Sill:

Other than with windows a door is assumed to lead into another room. So you have the option to specify how far the wall extends on the other side. With that you can easily connect to another room on the other side.

65


Case 2: Openings in Walls with varying width There are cases when two lines of a wall are not exactly parallel. This can easily happen e.g. when two adjacent rooms have been measured and drawn with single line walls.

66

Openings

This case is handled by SiteMaster in an appropriate way. The procedure is similar to drawing any opening. The difference is: In the dialog Enter Opening Width you have to use

the Pick Other Wall Line button to select the other wall line.

SiteMaster will fit the opening into the wall. It will be aligned to the wall line that was picked first. The result can look like this:

67



Case 3: Multiple Openings From a Corner In some situations it is helpful to create multiple openings from a corner or wall of the room. This make it easier to target your laser, because you don't need an additional stop at each opening to measure the distances between them. You can create multiple openings for all opening types. Below it is described for the window opening.

1. Start W.Opening from the Wall Openings Icon Menu.

2. Then select the wall that should get the window opening and measure the 1. distance with the laser from the corner.

3. Now the main window opening dialog appears and you can specify all opening parameter.

68

Openings

4. After that the text positioning dialog comes up and you can place your attribute block.

5. he first finished window opening will look like this:

6. Then the distance input dialog appears again and you can measure your next distance d1 with your laser from the corner.

69


7. Now the main window opening dialog appears again with the previous entered values.

8. This procedure can be continued until you press the Cancel or Exit button.

9. In this example two window openings have been added to the wall. Below the result:

Every window opening gets an attribute block for identifcation and for later evaluation.

Types of Openings All openings have a common chain of action but differ in the degree of detail necessary to complete the insertion:

Door Openings

1. Select the distance from the door opening to the wall corner

70

Openings

2. Enter the opening width

3. Enter the opening height (not available in SiteMaster LT)

4. In single line mode add optional next room values

5. Place the dimension block (not available in SiteMaster LT)

6. Enter a new distance from the wall corner to create an additional door opening or exit the program

Door and Door with Sill

1. Follow the steps of the Door Opening.

2. Select the door type (single door, double door, one-and-a-half door, or sliding door).

3. Select hinge point.

4. Enter a new distance from the wall corner to create an additional door opening or exit the program

Window and Window Opening

1. Select the distance from the window opening to the wall corner.

2. Enter the opening width.

3. Enter the opening height (not available in SiteMaster LT)

4. Enter the sill height (not available in SiteMaster LT)

5. Place the dimension block (not available in SiteMaster LT)

6. Enter a new distance from the wall corner to create an additional window opening or exit the program

Window with Retainer

1. Follow the steps of the Window.

2. Enter optional retainer.

3. Enter retainer type.

4. Enter a new distance from the wall corner to create an additional window opening or exit the program

71


Door Opening

Select D.Opening from the Wall Openings icon menu.

To insert a door opening in a wall, select the wall element the door opening shall be placed in (select near the corner to which you can obtain the distance, see section "Selecting a wall element").

Measure, type in or pick the distance from that corner.

The Enter Opening Width dialog box lets you complete the values for the opening:

� Wall thickness: You can select it from the dropdown list, you can type it in, you can

measure with your distance laser or you can pick the other wall line from the drawing . (The selected wall can be tapered).

72

Openings

� Opening width: You can select it from the dropdown list, you can type it in or you can measure with your distance laser.

� Opening height: You can select it from the dropdown list, you can type it in or you can measure with your distance laser.

� Comment: Enter a comment for this opening. A list of previously used comments is displayed. This information is part of the dimension block and can be exported.

� Room number: Enter the room number that this door opening is associated with. This information is part of the dimension block and can be exported.

Now you have to specify the direction to the second wall line, either by typing in L or R or by clicking into the drawing.

The door opening is now drawn together with the text block containing opening number, room number, opening height (OH) and width (W)

A finished door opening can look like this:

An attribute block with the entered values is created for each opening in the drawing. Later you can export these attribute blocks into a CSV-file and you can edit it in Mircosoft Excel.

73


Door

Select Door from the Wall Openings icon menu.

A Door is a Door Opening plus the door itself.

Compared to the Door Opening the door will draw a single, a double door, a one-and-a-half door, or a slideing door into the opening.

The Door dialog looks like this:

Together with the values for wall thickness, opening width and height you can select a door type from the dropdown list.

When you click OK, subsequently you can select the side of the wall where the hinge(s) and the doors will be displayed. It is always safe to select the corresponding wall line for the hinge. If you select the line of the door frame make sure to select it near the correct end. See also section "Selecting a wall element".

A finished door can look like this:

Each opening has an attribute block for its identification and later control.

74

Openings

Door with Sill

Select Door+Sill from the Wall Openings icon menu.

This Door with Sill function follows the same sequence as the Door function but draws an additional sill line.

75


Window Opening

Select W.Opening from the Openings icon menu.

To create a window opening in an existing wall, select W.Opening from the Openings icon menu.

Compared to the Door Opening the function Window Opening has one more parameter: Sill height.

You can select the sill height from the dropdown list, you can type it in, or you can measure it with your distance laser.

A finished window opening can look like this:

For completeness both head height (HH), opening height (OH) and Sill Height (SH) are added in the text block

76

Openings

Window

Select Window from the Openings icon menu.

A Window is a Window Opening plus the window itself.

Drawing a window is the same procedure like drawing a window opening. The difference is that an additional line is drawn representing the actual frame of the window.

A finished window can look like this:


77


Window with Retainer

Select W.+Retainer from the Openings icon menu.

The W.+Retainer function draws a window opening and a window with retainer.

First you can specify the type of the retainer and the two opening widths:

• If you select "Draw Retainer? No" an English style window will be drawn

• If you select "Draw Retainer? Yes" you can choose Angular or Rectangular retainer type.

Inner and outer opening width: You can select it from the dropdown list, you can type it in or you can measure with your distance laser.

Then you can give the values for the window opening. This is the same as for drawing a Window or Window Opening.

Additionally, the Distance d2 can be selected. This is the offset from the inner opening edge to the frame of the window.

The value for Distance d2 proposed in the edit box is calculated: the value results from substracting the given window thickness from the retainer depth specified in the SiteMaster Defaults dialog settings for openings.

78

Openings

Finished windows with retainer can look like this:

An attribute block with the entered values is created for each opening in the drawing. Later you can export these attribute blocks into a CSV-file and you can edit it in Mircosoft Excel.

Recess/Chimney

The Recess/Chimney function is available both from the Walls and the Openings icon menus.

See "Recess/Chimney" topic in the section "Walls/Columns".

79


Walls

The Walls function is available from the Walls/Columns icon menu.

The Walls function draws the walls around a room or around the whole site. It contains a number of tools to aid the construction of the wall shape.

Common handheld distance laser are tightly integrated with the operation of the function to rapidly create exact floor plans.

The command contains features to draw in a single line mode or to alternatively set the width of each segment at a time.

Each section of a wall has three parameters:

• Length

• Angle

• Width

Length

The length of a wall section can be taken from a handheld distance laser by pressing the

laser button on the device or by pressing the button on the wall dialog box. Also, length values can be entered manually.

The Next Point button lets you specify a point in the drawing, or – by selecting a wall line – the end of an existing wall section as next end point of a wall section.

Angle

If known, the angle can be typed in manually. Known angles of multiples of 45° can be set by the arrow buttons on the left hand side.

In Direct Mode (indicated by the yellow arrows on the angle buttons) the next wall segment is drawn automatically as soon as an angle button is pressed.

For a description of the Direct Mode Input see section "Direct Mode Operation".

Note: PowerCAD SiteMaster follows the accepted CAD convention of measuring angles 360 degrees counter-clockwise from the "3 o'clock" direction. "Up" would be 90 degrees and "down" would be 270 degrees, for example. When you pick the angle buttons, the correct angle is placed in the input box for you.

Width

A width value can be chosen from the list box. An arbitrary value can be typed in manually. The width of a wall can change from segment to segment.

80

Openings

Set the width to None to draw in Single Line Mode. This will suppress the second line.

The width of a wall can change from segment to segment. In Single Line Mode only one line is drawn to represent the wall.

The terms Width and Thickness of walls are used synonymously.

The default value of the Width dropdown list is set in the SiteMaster Defaults dialog box, Walls tab.

81

Symbols

The Symbols icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.


• Symbol, see section "Symbol"

• Radiator, see section "Radiator"

• Camera, see section "Camera"

• Document, see section "Document"

• Update IDs, see section "Update IDs"

• Attribute Visibility of infoblocks, see section "Attribute Visibility"

• Layer off, see section "Layer off"

• Symbols Export, see section "Symbols Export"

82

Symbols

Symbol

The Symbol function is accessible from the Symbols icon menu.

The symbol library has furnishing objects, design elements and other symbols for PowerCAD SiteMaster drawings. This library can be called from the pulldown menu and toolbar.

For example, if you choose the entry Sanitary in the pulldown menu, the following picture menu is displayed which inserts the selected symbol into the current drawing. You can move forward or back in the picture menu with the arrow buttons Right and Left on your keyboard.

In addition to the symbol library, parts libraries are available.

The Symbols function inserts a symbol from the drawing library. PowerCAD SiteMaster comes with a set of predefined symbols to start with. These symbols are categorized into libraries. Select the desired library from the drop-down list and then the specific symbol from the second drop-down list. A preview of the file is shown on the right.

One special library is Recent. This library contains all symbols already inserted in this drawing session. Inserting a common set of symbols with this method is very quick.

PowerCAD SiteMaster leads you through the placement process:

Choose from four insertion modes: Triangulated, Centered, OnWall and Free Positioning.

Triangulated

This mode is useful for exact insertion of symbols. Similar to the triangulation mode used in the Wall command, two stations are selected first. (Marked in the drawing with I and II). Then use the distance laser to determine the distance from the two stations to the insertion point of the symbol. Finally press Insert to show the Location dialog.

83


Centered (on a wall)

Select this option to insert a symbol in the middle of a wall segment. Press the button Select Wall to pick the wall and show which side of the wall the symbol is on. Press Insert to show the Location dialog.

OnWall (with distance from corner)

Select this option to insert a symbol attached to a wall segment. Press the button Select Wall to pick the wall and show which side of the wall the symbol is on. Measure the distance from the corner to the insertion point of the symbol. Press Insert to show the Location dialog.

Free

Use this mode to click in the drawing for the location of the symbol. Press Insert to select the location and to show the Location dialog.

Once a symbol is placed the Location dialog shows a number of options. The symbol can be rotated and moved on screen. Further, exportable information can be added to the symbol. A text comment, the room number and the height can be entered.

Show Library

The Show Library button opens an icon menu showing thumbnails of all the symbols available in the current symbol library. The image below shows as an example the Sanitary symbol library:

84

Symbols

Radiator

The Radiator function is accessible from the Symbols icon menu.

Radiators are aligned to a wall segment.

To insert a radiator into the floor plan

1. Select the wall element for the radiator.

2. Measure and input the distance from the corner of that wall to the start point of the radiator.

3. Measure length and width of the radiator.

4. Top height and bottom height are measured to the floor, as opposed to sill height and window height for windows.

5. Optionally add a comment and a room number.

6. If you want to modify the separation width between wall and radiator, click the Options button.

7. Indicate the side of the wall, where the radiator will be placed.

8. Finally, place the dimension block attached to the radiator.

The default value for the separation between wall and radiator can be set on the Radiator tab of the SiteMaster Defaults dialog box (icon menu Setup Menu > SM Defaults). During the execution of the command, you can click the Options button in the Radiators dialog box to modify the value for the separation:

85


Camera Function

The Camera function is accessible from the Inspection icon menu and the Symbols icon menu.

The Camera function is a special symbol function that associates filenames of images with a symbol in the drawing. The information of where a photo was taken, the direction and the filename is shown in the drawing.

1. First select the location of the camera symbol in the drawing. Selecting an existing camera symbol shows the associated information in the camera dialog for editing.

2. The camera dialog is displayed:

3. Press View to launch the standard viewing application for images on your computer. The optional room number and comment are shown on the dimension block associated with the camera object.

4. Rotate the camera symbol to show the viewing direction of the camera.

86

Symbols

Document

The Document function is accessible from the Symbols icon menu.

The Document function is a special symbol function that associates filenames of documents (like word processor files, spread sheet files, or PDF files) with a symbol in the drawing. A document symbol and the filename is shown in the drawing. The optional room number and comment are also shown with the document symbol in the drawing.

Referencing and viewing of documents is done in these simple steps:

1. First select the location of the document symbol in the drawing. Selecting an existing document symbol shows the associated information in the Document Symbol dialog for editing.

87


2. The Document Symbol dialog is displayed:

3. Press View to launch the standard viewing/editing application associated with the document type.

4. When clicking the OK button, the subsequent Text Placement dialog provides to move, rotate and scale the symbol and to hide or show its text attributes.

Update IDs

The Update IDs function is accessible from the Symbols icon menu.

This function updates the block IDs of symbols.

All information blocks have unique IDs. After copying or removing blocks it may be necessary to update their IDs.

Attribute Visibility

The Attribute Visibility function is accessible from the Symbols icon menu.

Windows, doors, radiators, sanitary and furniture symbols, camera position inserts and other objects have associated text information in the drawing. These objects are called infoblocks in SiteMaster, and the text information are called attributes. Each SiteMaster infoblock insertion has an unique identifier (ID) and some additional attributes with information about the object like the room number where it has been placed, dimension information etc.

The function Attribute Visibility allows to switch on and off displaying these information in the drawing. IDs and common text attribute can be separately controlled. The bulb icons in the dialog indicate the current state of the visibility. From the dropdown list you may select a layer name to filter the symbol list entries by layer specification. The default filter (All) shows all infoblock insertions in the drawing.

88

Symbols

Layer Off

The Layer Off function is accessible from the Symbols icon menu.

To turn the visibility of layers off

1. Click on the Layer Off icon.

2. Select an entity in the drawing. The layer of this entity is turned off immediately.

The command is mainly used to turn off the layers which contain symbol attributes.

To turn on layers, select the Layer Manager button in the Properties toolbar.

Export Symbol Data

The Export Symbols function is accessible from the Symbols icon menu and from the Export icon menu.

You can export a list of your symbols found in the current drawing into a CSV file (comma separated values file) to be used with a spreadsheet program like MS Excel, OpenOffice Calc.

89



90

Staircases

Staircases Menu

The Staircases icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.


• Staircase, see section "Staircase"

• Line of travel, see section "Line of travel"

Staircase

Select Staircase from the Staircases icon menu.

You can draw straight staircases with or without hand rail and line of travel.

To measure and draw a staircase

• First, select a wall line. This defines a wall to which the staircase is constructed at.

• Next, the Distance specification dialog box appears. Measure the distance from the end of the selected wall to the starting point of the staircase.

91


• With the assistance of the Staircase dialog measure or calculate the distance from the start point of the staircase to the last riser. Also measure the the width of the staircase. In another input field please type in the number of risers. If you want a landing to be drawn, the depth of it can be measured and transferred to the corresponding input field.

• When you want to draw a hand rail with the staircase, click the Options button. This will open another page of the Staircase dialog box which allows you to specify the parameters for one or two handrails (on the left, on the right, or on both sides).

Note, that the outline of the line of travel is influenced by the the default values of the Staircase tab of the SiteMaster Settings dialog box.

Here is an example of a stair created with the Staircase function:

Line of Travel

Select Line of Travel from the Staircases icon menu.

To be supplied.

92

Dimensioning

The Dimensioning icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.

93


The specific commands of the Dimensioning icon menu are:

• Linear dimension, see section "Linear Dimension".

• Add dimension points, see section "Add Dimension Points".

• Total dimension, see section "Total Dimension".

• Opening dimension, see section "Opening Dimension".

• Erase dimension, see section "Delete Dimension".

• Update dimension, see section "Update Dimension".

• Copy dimension, see section "Copy Dimension".

• Offset dimension, see section "Duplicate and Offset Dimension".

• Duplicate dimension, see section "Duplicate and Offset Dimension".

• Arc dimension, see section "Arc Dimension".

• Diameter dimension, see section "Diameter Dimension".

• Radius dimension, see section "Radius Dimension".

• Angle dimension, see section "Angle Dimension".

• Edit dimension text, see section "Edit Dimension Text".

These are PowerCAD SiteMaster dimensions that consist of text entities and marker blocks. PowerCAD SiteMaster offers the opportunity to insert multiple architectural dimensions with a single operation. Individual CAD dimensions can be used also.

Linear Dimension

Select Linear from the Dimensioning icon menu.

To create a linear dimension, first select the position of the dimension line.

Two methods are available:

1. With point selection and alignment

Select the position of the dimension line and the alignment (horizontal, vertical or aligned).

2. With base line, direction und dimension line offset.

Press return when asked for the position of the dimension line to enter this mode. This way a new dimension line can be added at an offset to an existing dimension or building side. First select the base line, direction and dimension line offset. The dimension offset entered the last time, will show as a default; for the first call, the parameter is read from the dimension style file. (This value can be adjusted in the SiteMaster Defaults).

Selection of objects

It is best to use the window mode for selecting the building lines. The option bar shows a number of default selection option (WPolygon, CPolygon, Fence etc. ) which can be used to select the relevant objects. The command dimensions all line elements that are on the current elevation and not on either a dimension or auxiliary layer.

94

Dimensioning

No Object Selection

Instead of selection objects, definition points can be picked on screen to create the dimension. Press Return during the selection of object to add further definition points.

To accurately select the definition it is important to switch on object snaps (in particular the Endpoint (end) and Intersection (int) snaps). Press Return to finish selection points and to start generating the dimension line.

Editing Options

If more than required dimension points are added to the dimension line, the "incorrect" dimension can be deleted by deleting the dimension symbol of the definition point. Afterwards, the dimension chain has to be updated. Missing definition points and opening dimensions can be added with Adding Dimension Points and Opening Dimension.

All dimension texts can edited with the standard commands. To change the text value, it is recommended to use the Edit Dimension Text as it will automatically format the new value according to the current dimension style.

Adding Definition Points

Select Add from the Dimensioning icon menu.

Changes in the layout of the floor plan might require adding new objects to an existing dimension chain. This function adds definition points to the dimension chain without having to delete and recreate it.

First select the dimension chain, which will then be highlighted.

Then select the new entities to add to the dimension chain.

If no object is selected and Return is entered, new definition points can be added one by one.

95


Before

After

Total dimension for an existing dimension

Select Total from the Dimensioning icon menu.

Select the dimension line to add a total dimension.

Select the side for the total dimension and enter the offset distance to create the new total dimension.

The definition points for the associativity are on top of the selected dimension.

Opening Height Dimension

Select Opening from the Dimensioning icon menu.

96

Dimensioning

The function Opening Height Dimension adds the opening height value to an existing dimension text. This new value is added underneath the dimension text. It is possible to select multiple dimension texts, the opening dimension height is added to all these values.

Before:

After:

Erase Dimension

Select Erase from the Dimensioning icon menu.

The Erase Dimension command erases all components (including definition points) of one or more dimension lines.

Update Dimension

Select Update from the Dimensioning icon menu.

If a dimension symbol or definition points are deleted from the dimension line, or if geometry of the floor plan is changed through the Stretch and Move command, it is necessary to update the dimension chain. During the update, all definition points are read in and the dimension chain is recreated.

For an update to be successful, it is necessary that modifications of the drawing always include the necessary site points and/or definition points. It is important to note that different dimension commands place the definition points either on the dimensioned objects or on the dimension chain itself.

Subsequent Changing of the Dimension Settings

To subsequently change the dimension style/unit/symbol/text height/scaling factor, set the values in the SiteMaster Defaults dialog and then update the dimension lines.

Update Example:

1. Original dimension chain

97


2. Dimension chain with some dimension points deleted (See section Erase Dimension)

3. Dimension chain after the update

Copying Dimension

Select Copy from the Dimensioning icon menu.

PowerCAD SiteMaster has a separate command specifically for copying dimension lines. This command ensures that all dimension entities such as definition points, texts and symbols are copied and the associatively remains.

Note: Do not use the standard Copy command to copy dimension lines as the associatively is lost for the new dimension.

Offsetting Dimension

Select Offset from the Dimensioning icon menu.

The Dimension Offsetting function offsets a dimension line to either side.

The Duplicate Dimension function leaves the original dimension chain in place and the Offset Dimension does not.

The functions Offset Dimension and Duplicate Dimension are very convenient when a second dimension line is needed with only very little changes to the original dimension line. The procedure for these commands is very similar to the function Copy Dimension.

Duplicating Dimension

Select Duplicate from the Dimensioning icon menu.

This function offsets a dimension line to either side.

98

Dimensioning

Duplicate Dimension leaves the original dimension chain in place and the Offset Dimension does not.

The functions Offset Dimension and Duplicate Dimension are very convenient when a second dimension line is needed with only very little changes to the original dimension line. The procedure for these commands is very similar to the function Copy Dimension.

Arc Dimension

Select Arc from the Dimensioning icon menu.

To create an arc dimension, first select the position of the dimension line.

Two methods are provided for determining the center of the dimension arc. Either enter a coordinate for the center point or select the center point of an arc element (object snap CEN). Alternatively, press Return to add a new arc dimension at an offset to an existing arc dimension. Select the existing arc dimension and how direction and offset for the new arc dimension.

Now select the side of the arc being dimensioned on which the dimension will be drawn.

Before selected the objects for dimension, enter/select the dimension radius. A rubber-band line to the center point will show the current radius to the cursor location.

To select all necessary drawing objects, use the window mode for the selection to make sure that all relevant objects are dimensioned.

99


Diameter Dimension

Select Diameter from the Dimensioning icon menu.

The operation of the diameter dimension is very similar to the Radius Dimension.

This command creates a diameter dimension for an arc or a circle. The dimension line is located at the pick point and the opposite point on the circle. The dimension text automatically contains a diameter sign and is positioned in the middle of the dimension line if the parameter "Text-Origin Position" is selected in SiteMaster Defaults.

Note: The command does not create definition points. The dimension line is directly connected to the arc or circle segment. If only the arc or circle is moved, the dimension line is automatically redrawn at the same angle position after a Dimension Update. If a diameter dimension is copied with Dimension Copy, the circle or arc is copied also. This ensures that the associativity between the dimension and the object remains.

Radius Dimension

Select Radius from the Dimensioning icon menu.

100

Dimensioning

The operation of the radius dimension is very similar to the Diameter Dimension function.

Note: The center point symbol is shared between all radius dimensions on the same arc or circle. The center point symbol is associated with the first radius dimension and needs to be recreated with an Update Dimension if the first dimension is deleted.

Angle Dimension

Select Angle from the Dimensioning icon menu.

Select two reference lines for the angle dimension. Select the desired side for crossing lines as it will affect the shape of the dimension. The angle dimension is placed on the angular point of the two lines.

Composition and Update

The information for the angle dimension is saved in the dimension arc of the symbol. Call the function Update Dimension to place the dimension symbol after moving the dimension arc. Additionally, the dimension arc is connected to three definition points that are used a basis for calculating the enclosed angle. Update the angle dimension after moving or stretching the definition points to show the new angle.

Edit Dimension Text

Select EditText from the Dimensioning icon menu.

101


The edit dimension text command changes the selected dimension text.

The current dimension style and dimension unit is then used for the new value. See section "SiteMaster Defaults" to adjust the current dimension style.

102

CAD Draw

CAD Draw

The CAD Draw icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu.

Use CAD functions from this menu. You can

• Draw lines, arcs, circles and polylines;

• Type text to be set in the drawing;

• Create hatches;

• Add VoiceNotes, i.e. voice/text comments that can be placed anywhere in the drawing;

• Sketch freehand lines; and

• Insert digital images, e.g. photos into the drawing.

The various settings for snap, grid, orthogonal mode etc. apply, when you place elements.

103


Line

Select Line from the CAD Draw icon menu.

The Line command draws lines and line segments. You specify the line by two points: the starting point and the ending point of the line. The Line command displays four choices on the option bar:

Continuous Option

Continuous is the default option when drawing lines; this option is used when no other option is chosen. The Continuous option allows you to draw line segments in sequence until the Line command is terminated.

The Line command requests a "From point:” (start point) for the first line segment, and continues to request “To point:” until the command is terminated. Each subsequent point is connected to the previous point by a line.

When continuous line mode is chosen, the Undo and Close options are added to the option bar.

The Undo option can be used repeatedly to erase the previous line segment, until the line is completely gone.

The Close option connects the last drawn point with the start point, to create a closed shape.

Segments Option

The Segments option creates single line segments, as opposed to a multi-segment (continuous) line.

As with continuous lines, the Line command prompts for the start and end points of the first segment. The program then repeatedly asks for start and end points. Note the difference: the lines drawn have start points independent of the previous end point; segments are usually not appended to previous line segments.

Append Option

The Append option allows you to connect a new line to the end of an existing line or arc. Users familiar with AutoCAD will find this similar but exactly the same as joining a line segment to another with the PEDIT command and 'join' option. When prompted, select the line or arc to connect.

The new line is connected to the end of the line or arc nearest to the pick point.

When appending the line to an arc, you are prompted the length of the line. The appended line is drawn tangent to the end point of the arc. You can either type the length, or pick the length with the cursor; for precision, it is better to type the length.

Close and Undo Options

After you select one of the Line command’s option listed above, PowerCAD displays the following options on the option bar:

104

CAD Draw

The Undo and Close options are available on the option bar when drawing a line, chain, 2D polyline, or 3D polyline.

Undo

The Undo option allows you to undo the last step taken. In other words, the last-drawn segment is erased. The end point of the last line segment may then used as a starting point of another segment if required. Undo can be repeated as long as a segment of the line exists. The last segment is erased with each successive Undo. The end point of the previous segment can then used as a starting point of the next segment.

Close

This option allows you to draw a closed polygon. Choose the Close option from the option bar or type C at the keyboard. PowerCAD SiteMaster draws a line segment that connects the end point of the last line to the start point of the first line.

TT Option

The TT option is short for “Tangent Tangent”. It allows you to draw a line tangent to two arcs or circles. The TT option is useful in creating compound or reverse curves with a line segment in between the arcs.

After picking the two arcs or circles, the Line command continues with the “To point:” prompt.

Arc

Select Arc from the CAD Draw icon menu.

The Arc command draws arc objects. There are many ways to geometrically describe an arc. PowerCAD SiteMaster provides you with these options:

• 3Point: specify three points, the starting point, a second point, and the end point.

• SEnd: specify two points and the radius, or the angle of the arc, or a tangent through the starting point.

• SCenter: specify two points and the center point.

• CStart: specify the center point, the starting point, and the angle.

• CRadius: specify the center point, radius, the starting angle, and the ending angle.

• Append: continue an arc from an existing arc or line.

Note: Arcs are measured counterclockwise (to the left), starting from the positive X-axis.

To pick points for the construction of arcs, we recommend that you use object snaps to ensure accuracy. The Arc command displays these options on the option bar:

3Point Option

The most common method for drawing arcs is to select three points on the arc. The arc is defined by three points: the starting point, a second point on the arc circumference, and the end point of the arc. This is the default in PowerCAD SiteMaster; it is used if you chose no other option. Remember the direction convention: the arc is drawn counterclockwise starting at the positive X-axis. In other words draw the arc right to left if the arc opening is

105


"down" and left to right if the opening is "up" - always anticlockwise from one end of the arc to the other.

SEnd Option

The SEnd option creates arcs with the starting and end point defined. After that, you can specify a radius, an angle, or a tangent. The defaults of this option simply follow the prompts: entering the starting point, end point, and the radius of the arc by picking or by entering coordinates at the keyboard.

Instead of the radius, you can enter an angle or a direction (from the starting point) by selecting Angle or Direction from the option bar.

Angle Option

The Angle option defines the arc by the included angle. The included angle is the angle between the starting point and its end point; the vertex of the angle is at the arc’s center point. Enter the value through the keyboard or by picking points on the screen. When picking a value, remember that the X-axis is the point of reference, not the last point entered.

Direction Option

The Direction option defines the arc by a tangent that touches the arc at its starting point. Since the starting point of the arc is already defined, you need only define a tangent by keyboarding or picking another point on the entity to be tangent.

SCenter Option

The SCenter option draws the arc based the starting point, the end point, and a center point.

You may enter the coordinates of the center point manually or pick them with the cursor. The arc is defined when the end point is entered. It is possible to end the arc by entering an angle manually or picking it instead of the end point. The program expects a closed angle and defines it as the angle between the starting point, the center point, and the end point of the arc.

CStart Option

The CStart option draws the arc beginning with the center point, followed by the start and end point.

After choosing CStart from the option bar, define the center point. Then enter the starting point and the end point of the arc. It is possible to enter a closed angle instead of the end point.

CRadius Option

The CRadius option starts an arc by defining its center point. After that, you specify the radius, and the starting and ending angle of the arc. A rubber band line helps you to visualize the arc.

Append Option

The Append option appends an arc to lines and other arcs. The arc is determined by two points: the starting point is the connection with the existing line or arc; the end point belongs to the new arc. First choose a line or an arc to which the new arc should be appended. Then determine the end point of the arc to be drawn.

106

CAD Draw

Circle

Select Circle from the CAD Draw icon menu.

The Circle command draws circles. There are several ways to geometrically describe a circle. PowerCAD SiteMaster allows you to choose from among several methods to draw the circle in the most convenient manner. A circle can be drawn by any of the following options:

• Specify the center point of the circle, and the radius or diameter. (center plus radius is the default).

• Specify three points on the circumference of the circle.

• Specify two points on the circumference (and, hence, the diameter) of the circle.

• Specify two points tangent to other lines, arc, or circles.

The following options appear on the option bar when calling the Circle command:

Center Option

Since the Center option is chosen most often in drafting, it is the default: it is activated automatically when no other option is selected. You are first prompted for the location of the center point; the second prompt asks for the radius. To enter a diameter value, select the Diameter option from the option bar.

3Points

The 3Points option draws a circle that passes through three points on its circumference. This option is convenient when the circle must intersect three tangent lines, or when drawing a circle within a polygon.

2Points

The 2Points option draws a circle whose diameter passes through two points:

Radius Option

The Radius option is useful when the radius of the circle is a known, but the center point is undefined, or when the radius follows from geometry already established. This option repeatedly draws circles based on the center points that you pick.

Diameter Option

The use and the implementation of the Diameter option follows exactly the Radius option, except that you specify the diameter.

Tangent Option

The Tangent option is used to draw a circle of given radius or diameter tangent to two lines. The first prompt asks for the tangent elements. First, select these entities. After choosing the second object, enter the radius of the circle to be drawn. The radius of the last circle drawn is displayed as the default value by the program. The circle is placed so that it touches, tangentially, the two chosen entities. If the chosen radius is smaller than the distance of the two objects to each other, the circle is moved in the direction of the imaginary point of intersection, so that the defined radius

107


touches the extension of the elements. If the specified radius for a tangential construction is not valid, the program gives the message: Circle does not exist!

TTT Option

This option will draw a circle that is tangent to three selected linear objects, typically lines, circles or arcs.

Polyline

Select Polyline from the CAD Draw icon menu.

The Polyline command draws 2D entities that consist of connected line and/or arc segments. Each segment can have a different width; in addition, the width of each segment can be tapered. Polylines are always drawn with solid fill.

A polyline is defined as a single object and is treated as such for editing operations, in contrast with entities drawn with the Line and Arc commands.

After you select the Polyline command, the option bar has these options:

Polyline segments are always drawn by defining their start and end points, and their width, regardless if they are arcs or lines. After drawing the first segment, you are prompted for the endpoint of the next polyline segment. (The start point becomes the end point of the segment last drawn.)

Width and Halfwidth Options

The Width and Halfwidth options assist in defining the width of a polyline.

Width defines the entire width of a polyline segment, whereas Halfwidth defines the width from the centerline to one side of the polyline segment. Accept the default (last entered) value by pressing Enter or enter a new width manually or by picking it.

The following rules affect both width options:

• Uniform Width: When you choose the Width or Halfwidth option before picking the start point of the first polyline segment, then the width is in effect for the entire length of the polyline.

• Tapered Width: When you choose the Width or Halfwidth option after picking the start point for the first polyline segment, you may enter different values for the width at the starting point and end point.

• Changing Widths: The most-recent width is used for all following polyline segments – until you change the width by selecting the Width or Halfwidth again.

Arc Option

The Arc option lets you include one or more arcs in the polyline; you may give the arc(s) a width. The methods for drawing a Polyarc are identical to drawing arc with the Arc command.

To draw polyline arcs with a line width, follow these steps:

108

CAD Draw

1. Pick the first point of the arc. This can be the end point of the previous polyline segment.

2. Select the Width or Halfwidth, option, then specify the starting width and ending width.

3. Determine the other parameters for drawing arcs using the same procedure as drawing regular arcs.

Append Option

The Append option starts the polyline at the end of another line, polyline, or arc. Choose the element (line or arc) to which the polyline still to be drawn is to be appended. Select the Width or Halfwidth options, if required, and determine the starting and the ending width.

Polyline to Line Option

To choose an object, select an existing line or polyline. Remember that the polyline is connected to the end point of the line closest to the point selected.

Polyline to Arc Option

To append a polyline to an existing arc, enter the polyline length after selecting the existing arc. A polyline with the specified length is drawn tangent to the end of the arc.

TT Option

The TT option allows you to draw from a tangent of one arc or circle to a second tangent of an arc or circle. See the Line command’s TT option for more information.

Text

Select Text from the CAD Draw icon menu.

The Text command allows you to add text to the drawing via the Text dialog box.

Text is entered into the edit box in the upper half of the dialog box. The cursor is positioned here upon the opening of the dialog box, so you may start immediately typing text. This dialog box offers the basic functions for editing text: the cursor keys, Page Up and Down, Home and End, and so on, work as you expect them to. Incorrectly entered text can be selected and deleted, just as with a word processor.

Insertion point

There are two methods of defining the insertion point. The insertion point may be entered using (absolute) coordinates via edit boxes for X, Y, and Z. The second option is to define the insertion point interactively on the screen. Click the Interactive button to define the insertion point after you click OK. PowerCAD SiteMaster will prompt you “Insertion point:”.

Options

The Options section aids you in determining the height, the rotation, and the font (type style) of the text object.

Height

Entering a numeric value for Height gives the font a fixed height, which can no longer be changed when creating the text using this style. If you think that a change in the font

109


height might be required, keep the height parameter set at 0 (the default).; you may change the font height later in the Text dialog box.

Angle

Specify the insertion angle of the text. The default value is a rotation angle of 0 degrees: the text object is inserted horizontally. Any positive or negative value between 0 and 360 is possible. Use this option to create text at right angles (Angle = 90) or to align the text to vertical and sloping objects.

Font

A drop-down list allows you to select a font (text style) for the text. The list of available fonts is displayed in this drop-down list. New text styles can be directly created while executing the TEXT command (and ATTDEF command, see below). The FONT command can be started by clicking on the Font button beneath the current font list box.

Alignment

The alignment of the text object is specified by using the options Align, Fit and Center.

Align

Text is aligned between two points, with proportionate text height. The Angle and Height options are ignored. After you click OK to exit the Text dialog box, PowerCAD prompts you for the “First point:” and “Second point:”. The two points define the rotation angle and the text height.

Fit

Text is fit between two points, at the specified height. The Angle option is ignored. After you click OK to exit the Text dialog box, PowerCAD prompts you for the “First point:” and “Second point:”. The two points define the rotation angle.

Center

Text is centered on the insertion point.

Insertion Reference

The Insertion Reference section specifies the position and the alignment of the text object in relation to the insertion point of the text object. During insertion of the text object, this reference point is coordinated with the insertion point. If the reference point is, for example, situated at the lower left corner of the text object, the text will run to the right. In total, there are twelve reference points available for your choice. They are represented by the initials of the locating corner (or center) of the text block.

Vertical Alignment

T (top): the insertion point is located at the top of the text. C (center): the insertion point is located at the center of the text. B (baseline): the insertion point is located at the baseline of the text. U (underneath): the insertion point is located at the bottom of the text.

Horizontal Alignment

L (left): the insertion point is located at the left of the text. C (center): the insertion point is located at the center of the text. R (right): the insertion point is located at the right of the text. UL, for example, represents the upper left corner of the text. Select the position for the reference point by clicking a radio button.

Special Text Characters

Special characters are available for use with text entities. They are written in the text dialog box one way, yet appear on the screen and printed versions in the desired format. See table below.

110

CAD Draw

Special Character

Text Written in Text Dialog Box

Uses

∅ %%c Used in place of

DIAMETER or DIA

°C

°F

%%d C

%%d F

Used to indicate temperature

Overlined Text

%%oOverlined Text%%o -

Underlined Text

%%uUnderlined Text%%u

-

Callout (Marker Text)

The Callout function is accessible from the Inspection icon menu.

The Callout command offers an easy way to place boxed mark-up text in your drawing, that has an arrow pointing to a reference object. All of this can be accomplished with a single Callout command.

After issuing the Callout command, you are asked to specify the arrow (point) location and then the other end of the arrow. You are then prompted to insert your text in the dialog box presented, after which the command terminates and the Callout is placed on your drawing.

Hatch

Select Hatch from the CAD Draw icon menu.

Applying hatching or area fills using distinctive patterns increases the clarity and legibility of a drawing. Hatching (or cross-hatching) an object adds meaning to the drawing, and helps differentiate between materials, areas, or other unique attributes.

Associative Character of Hatch Patterns

A hatch pattern is described as having an associative character when it is positioned so that it adjusts to changes in location, size and design of the hatched area. To use the associative character, the hatch pattern must be attached to objects in the drawing.

111


Hatch Pattern Definitions

A hatch pattern is comprised of a pattern of line segments. PowerCAD includes a number of typical hatch patterns used by various disciplines. You may choose to use other hatch patterns for specialized circumstances.

The command prompts you to select an object. The Options toolbar contains a list of object selection functions. Select the object(s), then terminate object selection process by pressing Enter.

The Hatch command opens the Cross Hatching dialog box, which allows you to select a pre-defined hatch pattern, change its parameters, or to create your own pattern. In the center of the dialog box, the preview function lets you see the effect of your choices.

Select the pattern and confirm your selection with OK.

The Associative button allows the hatch pattern to update automatically when the boundary of the hatch is changed.

Note: Hatching Open Areas

You can hatch open areas (not fully closed). The hatch pattern is only applied to the extent of the selected contour line area.

Redline (Freehand Sketch)

The Redline function is accessible from the Inspection icon menu.

The Redline command allows you to quickly mark areas of the drawing or draw a continuous line on the current layer. When the pen is lifted, the continuous line will be approximated by polyline segments. This allows you to make even handwritten notes.

112

CAD Edit

The CAD Edit icon menu is accessible from the Plan Menu:

From the CAD Edit icon menu you can deploy advanced CAD functions to edit your drawing.

113


• Copy, Move, Mirror and Rotate elements,

• Use DOffset and Corner, Fillet functions for corners,

• Delete elements,

• Extend, Trim, Stretch, Scale elements,

• Create Arrays of elements,

• Break elements in order to delete parts of lines, circles or arcs,

• Mirror objects,

• Explode blocks in order to work with their individual parts,

• Change Properties of elements,

• Multi Edit elements; and

• Undo and Redo recent operations.

Copy

Select Copy from the CAD Edit icon menu.

The Copy command duplicates objects within the drawing. The copies created by this command are exact copies of the selected entities. All entity attributes such as layers, line type, color, etc. are copied as well as the outline of the objects.

To copy drawing entities

• First, from the Copy Entities dialog box, specify if you want to copy only visible drawing objects, or if you want to copy "All". All means that those lines and arrows on the hidden layer where the measurements retrieved from a surveying device are reported will be copied in the same operation.

• Then select the objects to be copied, and end object selection with Return (respectively OK on a Pocket PC).

• You are then asked to select a basepoint and a secondary destination point that determines the angle and distance that the new objects will be placed at, relative to the original drawing objects.

Move

Select Move from the CAD Edit icon menu.

The Move command moves drawing objects to new locations within the drawing.

114

CAD Edit

To move drawing entities in the current drawing

• First, from the Move Entities dialog box, specify if you want to move only visible drawing objects, or if you want to copy "All". All means that those lines and arrows on the hidden layer where the measurements retrieved from a surveying device are reported will be moved in the same operation.

• Then select the objects to be moved, and end object selection with Return (respectively OK on a Pocket PC). You may select more than one object and they will be moved to the new location, maintaining the same relative location with each other.

• The next prompt asks for the location of the basepoint. This is the reference point that you choose as the base from which to calculate the direction and distance of the move. The second point that you select will determine this from its direction and distance from the basepoint. If, however, you need to move the objects a specific distance from their current location, select the Rel.Point option from the option bar. The prompt asks for distances in the X, Y, and Z directions.

Rotate

Select Rotate from the CAD Edit icon menu.

The Rotate command rotates entities through an angle about an axis point. After issuing the command, select the objects to be rotated.

The command then prompts for a Basepoint, which is the point about which the entities are rotated. You may wish to use the object snaps on the Snap toolbar or input precise point coordinates if an exact rotation point is required, however in many cases the Basepoint can be an arbitrarily selected point in the drawing. When prompted, enter the rotation angle. Rotation takes place to the specified angle. Remember that by default, anti-clockwise rotation is a positive value and a clockwise rotation is negative in value.

DOffset

Select DOffset from the CAD Edit icon menu.

The Doffset command creates a copies of linear entities and aligns them parallel to the original entities at a specified distance. You can offset lines, arcs, circles and polylines. You can create multiple offsets within one operation. If you want, you can place the parallel drawing object onto a layer different to the entity to offset.

Offseting curved entities creates larger or smaller curves, depending on which side of the original entity the copied entity is placed.

To create parallel objects of a drawing entity

• Specify the offset distance, the layer for the paralell entities and the number of offsets in the Offset dialog box:

115


Instead of typing in the offset distance you can click to the DIST button to get the distance from the measurement device. You may also press the d button to define the distance by picking two points in the current drawing.

• Then you are requested to select an entity in the drawing to offset.

• Finally, at the "Offset direction:" prompt, identify the side to offset.

The Doffset command can be used to draw lines indicating a changing room hight parallel to a wall line, or podiums, or stairs in the floor plan.

Corner

Select Corner from the CAD Edit icon menu.

The Corner command creates a corner from two non-parallel lines. If the two lines already intersect, only the selected ends remain on screen. If the two lines do not intersect, both lines are extended to the theoretical intersection point.

Fillet

Select Fillet from the CAD Edit icon menu.

The Fillet command rounds the intersection of two lines. These can also be lines of an object such as a rectangle.

The Fillet command treats 2D polylines differently from lines: every vertex of the polyline is filleted. The command cannot fillet curved objects, such as arcs.

When the fillet radius is 0.9 (the default), this command precisely cleans up the intersection of two lines.

Then these options are shown in the options bar:

116

CAD Edit

Polyline

The Polyline option fillets a single polyline. Every vertex of the polyline is given the fillet radius.

Radius

The Radius option allows you to define the radius for the fillet. By default, the radius is 0.0. When you change the radius, PowerCAD SiteMaster remembers it for the next command operation.

No_Trim

The Trim option functions as a switch: it decides whether or not the lines beyond the fillet are erased. When the options bar displays Trim, you switch off the trimming by clicking the word; it then changes to No_Trim.

Delete

Select Delete from the CAD Edit icon menu.

At times during drawing production, it becomes necessary to delete certain drawing objects and this function is provided for that purpose.

As many objects can be selected as the user desires. When the object selection is complete the selected entities will be deleted without another confirmation, by simply pressing OK.

Extend

Select Extend from the CAD Edit icon menu.

Extend functions very much like the Trim command, except that instead of selecting cutting edges, you select objects that serve as boundaries to extend to. Extend prompts first for the selection of one or more drawing objects as extension boundaries. Press OK or Return when these objects have been selected. Next the command asks you to select objects to be extended. Note that no extension will occur if the extended object cannot intersect with the selected boundary objects. In other words, implied intersections are not presently supported in the program.

117


Trim

Select Trim from the CAD Edit icon menu.

The Trim command prompts first for the selection of one or more drawing objects as cutting edges. Press OK or Return when all cutting edges have been selected. Next the command asks you to select objects to be trimmed. The trim will occur at the intersection of the object with a cutting edge and the section of the object being discarded is determined by the point at which the object is picked. If you pick the object to the right of the cutting edge, the right side of that object will be deleted, for instance.

Stretch

Select Stretch from the CAD Edit icon menu.

Selected drawing objects can be stretched (distorted) from their current drawing shape as specified by both direction and distance determined from a two-point pick in the drawing. The first point selected will be the Basepoint of the distortion and the second will determine the direction and distance of the distortion from the basepoint.

Scale

Select Scale from the CAD Edit icon menu.

The scale function simply expands or shrinks selected objects in size about a selected base point.

Array

Select Array from the CAD Edit icon menu.

118

CAD Edit

The Array command creates multiple copies of selected entities at random or in a pattern. The pattern may be in horizontal rows and vertical columns, in a circle, or in an arc. In addition, the entities can be rotated when arrayed in the circular or arc patterns.

After entering the command and selecting the entities, select an option:

Individual

The Individual option copies the selected entities repeatedly, just as if you were to use the Copy command over and over. This option is the default for the Array command. Until you terminate the command, you keep placing a copy, as required.

Rectangular

The Rectangular option arranges the array in rows and/or columns, called a rectangular array.

Start the Array command, then select Rectang from the option bar. After selecting the entities to array, specify the number of the columns and rows. Finally, define the distance between the columns and the rows.

Note: The rows and columns are normally array up and to the left. To array the entities down and to the right, use a negative number for the distance.

Circ.NRot & Ci.Rot

The Circ.NRot and Ci.Rot options copy the selected entities in a circular path, called a circular array. The copying can be around a full 360-degree circle, or a partial circle (an arc).

The Circ.NRot option creates a circular arc without rotating the selected entity.

The Ci.Rot option rotates the selected entities so that they always "face the center".

When creating a circular array, the command uses a reference point on which to position the entities on the circumference of the circle, as shown in the following table:

Entity Reference point

Arc Center of arc

Circle Center of circle

Line Start or end point

Part Insertion point

Point Insertion point

Rectang Start point

Text Insertion point

For example, when you array a circle entity (to represent bolt holes around a pipe flange, for example), the Array command arrays the circle at its center point.

If you wish to change this reference point, the Basepoint option lets you define an alternate reference point on the entity to be array. Remember to use an object snap mode with this option.

Note: Circular arrays are constructed counterclockwise from the starting point. For a clockwise rotation, enter negative values for the angle.

119


Mirror

Select Mirror from the CAD Edit icon menu.

Mirroring drawing objects produces identical copies of selected entities that are placed in a ”mirrored” position about an axis specified by the user. The selected objects have, after ”mirroring”, the same relative position to the symmetry axis as they had prior to ”mirroring”.

The mirror axis can be defined freely, or parallel to the X-axis or the Y-axis.

In order to use the command the user must select an object to be mirrored. Select the object or objects, remembering that the selection of multiple objects will result in the treatment of the objects as one.

The next prompt will ask for the definition of the mirroring axis.

Options

Mirroring With a Free Axis

The Option Axis allows the user to freely define the mirror axis. It is the standard option for mirroring objects and is used when no other option has been selected.

Select this option, then define the position of the mirror axis. This can be made by indicating two points or by inputting their coordinates. The mirror axis can have any alignment with regard to the objects to be mirrored as well as with regard to the axes of the coordinate system.

If the mirror axis should run through points of an existing geometry (for instance, along a solid edge), the user should employ the object snap options for precise definition.

Mirroring on a Horizontal Axis

To choose a horizontal-mirroring axis, select the option Horizontal. This option creates a mirror axis that runs parallel to the Y-axis of the coordinate system. Its exact position is indicated by a single point.

Mirroring on a Vertical Axis

To choose a vertical-mirroring axis, select the option Vertical. This option creates a mirror axis that runs parallel to the X-axis of the coordinate system. Its exact position is indicated by a single point.

Note: Mirroring Text

If there is text associated with the selected object or objects, it is likely that the user does not want to mirror that text. In order to mirror the text it is necessary to activate an option called Text Mirroring. Activating this option will result in the text also being mirrored.

Properties

Select Properties from the CAD Edit icon menu.

120

CAD Edit

The Properties command changes the characteristics of objects within a drawing. All of these characteristics are automatically associated with an entity when it is created. You may want to, in some cases, to change (or override) these parameters. The Properties command allows you to make these changes:

• Objects may be placed on a different layer.

• Objects may be given a different color.

• Objects may be given a different line-type.

• The thickness of objects may be modified.

You may change any or all of these properties at a time. The changes apply to one, several, or all objects in the drawing.

Select the entities whose properties you want to change. Remember that all selected objects are changed. If three objects are selected, all three receive the same changes.

MultiEdit

Select MultiEdit from the CAD Edit icon menu.

MultiEdit changes the specific properties for a number of entity types. The supported entities are text and multiline text, polyline, tolerance, block attributes, hatches and images. This function be used to edit the properties of symbol and opening text blocks.

Select the entity and a dialog with the entity properties is displayed.

121


Undo and Redo

Select Redo from the CAD Edit icon menu.

Select the Undo button to withdraw the last command made and all changes in the drawing caused by this command to be canceled. The command can be repeated until all working steps stored in the Undo List have been canceled. The program will then send out the message "Undo List is empty".

Note: The command U allows you only to reverse drawing database modifications. It does not undo modifications of the view. Use ZOOMBACK to restore previous views.

The command REDO offers the ability to Redo an Undo. The state of the task is restored to the last state prior to issuing the Undo command.

This is only possible if no other command has been executed between the commands Undo and Redo that have changed the drawing database.

Undo Walls

Walls can be undone segment by segment. To undo an entire wall contour you have to execute the U command multiple until all segments are deleted.

122

Totalstation Menu

The Totalstation icon menu is accessible from the Main Menu.

The Totalstation menu allows to enter all menus related to measuring and surveying with totalstations:

• Station Manager

• Draw

• Symbol

• Import Stations

• Export Points

123


Station Manager

The Station Manager dialog is accessible from the Totalstation Menu.

The Station Manager dialog allows to determine the position of totalstation devices in the drawing in real world coordinates.

The menu Station Manager contains the following options:

• New Station

• New Free Station

• Save Station

• Delete Station

• New Orientation

At every new station of the total station a new position and orientation hast to be determined. This is done in the Station Manager. The functions Save Station, Delete Station and New Orientation are greyed out as long as there is no station available yet, e.g. in the beginning of a drawing.

New Station

New Station is used to enter or measure new stations.

124

Totalstation Menu

If there are no stations with coordinates yet, the station number and the coordinates have to typed into the corresponding text boxes manually. As an alternative you can pick a point in the drawing. The coordinates of this point will appear in the text boxes. To confirm the new point click the Add button. It will appear in the Occupied Point drop down list.

You can select other stations (if already existing) in the Occupied Point drop down list. The current instrument height is shown below.

To measure new stations from the occupied point simply assign a new station number,

adjust the reflector height and trigger the measurement by clicking the button. With the measured angles and distance (Measured Data) the new point is calculated.

After clicking the Add button, the coordinates of the new station are saved, to return to the station manager click the Close button.

The instrument height can now be entered in the Inst.H: text box and saved with the Save Station button.

A total station can be positioned above a known point and orientated via another known point using the New Orientation function.

125


Station Orientation

In the first row the occupied station and instrument height are displayed. In the next row you can select a known point from the drop down list which will be used as the reference station for the orientation. Below the station number the reflector height hast to be entered.

As soon as the measurement is taken a windows pops up which shows the differences between the calculated and the measured values of the known points. This check is used to be sure that the right point on the site was targeted.

When station position and orientation are defined other points can be polar calculated.

Free Station

A free station is possible when two or more known points are in the station list .

In the menu Free Station (see below) the respective points are choosen from the drop down list, the reflector height is entered and following the measurement is triggered. At the bottom of the window a new station number (e.g. 104) and instrument height (e.g. 1.73) has to be entered. Next to the text boxes the coordinates and the orientation of the new station are shown.

If the position of station is calculated with three known points the accuracy of the new station is shown when clicking Show Error. The new station is saved by clicking Add .

On the sketches you see (sketches not scaled):

• Reference Stations (100, 101, 103) as triangles

• New Station (104) in the middle

• on the plane are the New Station (104) and the green circles and lines (Horizontal angle)

• the plane lies on VA=90

126

Totalstation Menu

Draw

The Draw function is accessible from the Totalstation Menu.

The Draw dialog box enables you to measure and draw points, lines and arcs. There has to be an occupied station to enable drawing elements.

It shows the occupied station and the instrument height. When using a reflector it is possible to enter the reflector height. Below the reflector height are buttons for the different drawing methods. The active button has a yellow background:

• A point is drawn after the measurement is taken.

127


• A line is drawn which starts at the active point (commonly the last measured point) and ends in the new measured point.

• It requires three points to draw an arc: start point (can be the active point), a point anywhere on the arc and an endpoint.

The measurement is triggered by clicking the symbol . The measured horizontal angle and vertical angle as well as the sloop distance are shown.

The configuration to the totalstation is accessible via the Settings button.

Symbol

The Symbol function is accessible from the Totalstation Menu.

The Symbols dialog box enables you to insert symbols based on totalstation measurements into your drawing.

Import Stations (Totalstation)

The Import Stations function is accessible from the Totalstation Menu.

128

Totalstation Menu

The file to be read in must have a format as follows:

1. Point number

2. X coordinate

3. Y coordinate

4. Z coordinate

Export Points

The Export Points function is accessible from the Totalstation Menu.

129


The file to be written must have a format as follows:

1. Point number

2. X coordinate

3. Y coordinate

4. Z coordinate

130

Inspection Menu

Here you can

• Check distances,

• Check areas and

• Obtain coordinates (X, Y, Z) of points.

Further it is possible to

• insert voice notes,

• mark important areas with the redline command,

• or insert callouts.

• Verify distances that have been measured before.

• Via the Camera function you can insert links and show external images to the drawing.

Note: Both the Check Distance and Check Area command can be called transparently, i.e. while executing other commands.

131


Distance

The Distance command is accessible from the Inspection icon menu.

When checking distances, PowerCAD SiteMaster will write out distance and angle between the two selected points in a dialog box.

Area

The Quick Area command is accessible from the Inspection icon menu.

When checking areas, you are asked to pick inside room, i.e. to point and click with your mouse into the room to check. Then PowerCAD SiteMaster will display room area and perimeter in a message box.

For inserting and updating room information in your drawing see also section "Rooms".

Identify Coordinates

The Point Coords command is accessible from the Inspection icon menu.

The coordinates selection identifies the X,Y and Z coordinates of any point picked onscreen.

To obtain co-ordinates of points, just click on the icon and select (point and click with your mouse) the point. The coordinates of the point will be displayed in a dialog box.

132

Inspection Menu

Check Dist / Distance Control

The Check Dist function is accessible from the Inspection icon menu.

You can verify distances in your drawing with the Check Dist / Distance Control command. You pick the first and the second point in your drawing. Then measure or type in the new measurement. Then PowerCAD SiteMaster lets you place a text block containing the Checked Distance (CD), Measured Distance (MD) and the resulting DELTA (difference).

In order to refer to existing geometry in the floor plan, it is recommended to make use of the object snap options (see section Grid, Snap, Ortho and Grips settings).

VoiceNotes (Audio Comments)

The VoiceNOTE function is accessible from the Inspection icon menu.

VoiceNotes may be embedded into a drawing by using a feature that attaches audio and text to a special comment entity.

Adding VoiceNotes

Select a point in the drawing where you would like to place the VoiceNotes icon. The dialog box Comment… is then displayed allowing you to enter text and/or to record your voice. Once a VoiceNote is entered, select the OK button to place your comment in the drawing.

133


In the dialog above, simply type your text in the window, or use the recorder buttons to record an audio VoiceNote.

Recording Your Voice

Note: To record your voice, you will need a microphone, audio hardware and audio software installed and properly configured. To playback your recording, speakers are also required.

To record your voice as a VoiceNote, either add or retrieve an existing VoiceNote icon after issuing the VoiceNote command. In the dialog box Comment… there are four audio controls: Record, Play, Pause and Stop. Selecting the record control will record audio until the stop control is pressed. Each new recording completely removes the previous recording. You may playback a recording by selecting the play control. When recording or playing back audio, the pause and stop controls can be used as needed.

Retrieving or Changing VoiceNote Comments

VoiceNotes can easily be retrieved for reading, listening or also editing. After selecting a VoiceNote icon in the drawing, the dialog box Comment… is display with the attached text and/or audio recording. You can read the text message (if there is one) in the dialog window, or you can click on the play button to play an audio recording. Alternately, the text edit box may now be edited or a new speech recording made that overwrites a previous recording. The text or audio recording is updated when the OK button is selected.

Removing VoiceNotes

VoiceNotes can be removed by selecting Delete from the icon menu CAD Edit. Select the VoiceNote icon containing the comment to be removed. Removing this icon will remove the attached audio and/or text comments.

Note: VoiceNotes are primarily for use when the drawing file is loaded in PowerCAD. The drawing file can be saved in DWG or DXF format, without losing the recorded information, however this information is not directly addressable from the AutoCAD program. AutoCAD simply ignores their presence in the drawing file.

Tip: In complex drawings, placing VoiceNotes on a unique layer can make them easier to locate, especially when the drawing will be shared with mobile PowerCAD CE users.

Redline (Freehand Sketch)

The Redline function is accessible from the Inspection icon menu.

134

Inspection Menu

The Redline command allows you to quickly mark areas of the drawing or draw a continuous line on the current layer. When the pen is lifted, the continuous line will be approximated by polyline segments. This allows you to make even handwritten notes.

Callout (Marker Text)

The Callout function is accessible from the Inspection icon menu.

The Callout command offers an easy way to place boxed mark-up text in your drawing, that has an arrow pointing to a reference object. All of this can be accomplished with a single Callout command.

After issuing the Callout command, you are asked to specify the arrow (point) location and then the other end of the arrow. You are then prompted to insert your text in the dialog box presented, after which the command terminates and the Callout is placed on your drawing.

Camera Function

The Camera function is accessible from the Inspection icon menu and the Symbols icon menu.

The Camera function is a special symbol function that associates filenames of images with a symbol in the drawing. The information of where a photo was taken, the direction and the filename is shown in the drawing.

1. First select the location of the camera symbol in the drawing. Selecting an existing camera symbol shows the associated information in the camera dialog for editing.

2. The camera dialog is displayed:

3. Press View to launch the standard viewing application for images on your computer. The optional room number and comment are shown on the dimension block associated with the camera object.

4. Rotate the camera symbol to show the viewing direction of the camera.

135


136

Setup Menu

The Setup icon menu is accessible from the Main Menu.

The following options are provided by the Setup icon menu:

• Config, see section Configuration.

• Settings, see section Settings.

• Connection, see section Connection.

• SM Defaults, see section SiteMaster Defaults.

• SM Layer, see section Layer.

• Layer Off , see section Layer Off .

• AutoSave, see section AutoSave.

• Printer, see section Printer.

• Units, see section Units.

137


SiteMaster Defaults

The SiteMaster Defaults dialog is accessible from the Setup icon menu.

Standard parameters for walls and columns, openings and dimensions can be set here.

You can also set the default settings for radiators, heights and rooms.

These settings are saved in configuration files and will be saved for new drawings also.

If you want to customise PowerCAD SiteMaster defaults please click here.

SiteMaster Defaults: Wall Accessible from the Setup Menu.

138

Setup Menu

Wall Thickness – Set the default wall thickness

Column Thickness – Set the default column thickness

Closing Tolerance – Tolarance for creating a perpendicular closing in a rectangular room. See also Wall Exit Options.

Automatic Wall Cleanup – clipping wall connections of walls being attached to other walls.

Direct Mode – Setting for the Walls dialog box

Autoplace Texts, see also Positioning text blocks

SiteMaster Defaults: Opening Accessible from the Setup Menu.

• Settings for opening commands.

• In addition to setting default values for opening commands, opening lines can be drawn either parallel or conical when created.

139


SiteMaster Defaults: Door Accessible from the Setup Menu.

Default settings for doors and other openings commands.

SiteMaster Defaults: Dim 1 and Dim 2 Accessible from the Setup Menu.

The tabs Dim 1 and Dim 2 define default settings for all dimensioning commands.

· Angle Line

· Dimension Radius

· Dimension Space

· The distance between the measurement marks (Dim. Chain sep).

· Dimension Type/Unit Representation of units for dimension.

140

Setup Menu

Value Dimension Unit/ Dimension Type

0 Architectural dimension with raised five, rounded the next half centimeter

1 Architectural dimension with all millimeters raised

2 Meter dimensioning

3 Centimeter dimensioning

4 Millimeter dimensioning

· Symbol used in dimensioning Either line or circle.

· Opening height Default height for openings.

· Text color Set 1 for red text.

· Scaling Factor Default 1.0, set this higher if the measuring unit is higher.

· Text Height for dimensioning text

· Angle Decimal Places

· Text-Origin Position If this option is unselected, dimension texts moved by the user will not be moved back to the dimension after an update.

· Current Dimensioning Style

· Save Style Dimensioning settings can be saved and restored. (The STANDARD dimensioning style is always defined.)

- To save a new style: Set the dimensioning fields (on Dim 1 and 2 tabs), type in the name for the new dimension-style name in the editable combo-box "Current Dimstyle" and select Save Style.

- To restore a style:

· Delete Style

- To delete a dimension style (other than STANDARD), select the style in the combo-box and select Delete Style.

SiteMaster Defaults: Radiator Accessible from the Setup Menu.

141


• Enter default values for Radiators.

• The Separation determines the distance between the radiator and the reference wall.

SiteMaster Defaults: Heights Accessible from the Setup Menu.

• Enter default values for walls and opening heights.

SiteMaster Defaults: Room Accessible from the Setup Menu.

142

Setup Menu

• Alternative Unit for the room definition and area calculation commands

Customization of SiteMaster Default Values PowerCAD SiteMaster provides the possibility to customize default values like wall thicknesses, opening widths, opening heights etc. which are selected out of a pulldown list. For this purpose you can select the entry *Edit* at the end of the pulldown list.

Thereupon the following dialog box appears for editing the default values. Over the buttons New, Delete and Edit you can customize the default values to your needs.

143


SiteMaster Layer Configuration

The SiteMaster Layer configuration dialog is accessible from the Setup icon menu.

The dialog allows you to specify your own naming conventions for the functional PowerCAD SiteMaster layering system and to assign colors and linetypes to them.

The first column contains the descriptions of the PowerCAD SiteMaster layer system. The second column contains the layer name prefix actually used by the program. The third and fourth columns contain the color and the linetype associated to the layer.

To change one these attributes double-click to a line from the table of the SiteMaster Layer dialog box in the column of the attribute you want to alter (colum Layer, Color, or Lintetype).

When you double-click inside the layer column, a dialog box will open allowing you to change the name to be used by certain PowerCAD SiteMaster function. In the dialog box example below, the name of the layer where doors are created on can be modified:

144

Setup Menu

You can group your own naming conventions to individual named Layer Configurations. To create, save, or delete a layer configuration, click the Manage button in the SiteMaster Layer dialog box. This will open the following dialog box:

Layer Off

The Layer Off function is accessible from the Symbols icon menu.

To turn the visibility of layers off

1. Click on the Layer Off icon.

2. Select an entity in the drawing. The layer of this entity is turned off immediately.

The command is mainly used to turn off the layers which contain symbol attributes.

To turn on layers, select the Layer Manager button in the Properties toolbar.

Connection

The Connection settings dialog is accessible from the Setup icon menu.

Specify settings for Bluetooth Connection of your Pocket PC with PowerCAD SiteMaster and your handheld laser distance meter.

145


The Connection dialog is presented automatically the first time you start PowerCAD SiteMaster after installation.

You can call it any time from the icon menu Setup > Connection, alternatively from the Extended Pulldown Menu: Tools > Configure > Connection Setup.

These settings are also available from the dialog boxes where distances can be entered through a laser distance-measuring device, e.g. the Settings button in Wall generation (or the Options button in the Openings dialogs):

Selecting the Settings button (or Options button) opens the Device Settings dialog box:

The meaning of the buttons and options of this dialog are as follows:

Select Device

Opens the Connection Setup dialog.

Delay

Set the measurement delay here. This only has an influence on measurements taken from the PC.

2 Click Measure


(like the button when a Leica DISTO laser distancemeter is connected) changes: you will now be able to release a measurement from inside the software (instead of pressing the distance button on the laser device). The procedure is then the following:


146

Setup Menu

The measure is taken the moment you click or tap the panel und the distance is shown in the input box of the dialog box. You can combine the 2-Click-Measure mode with the Tracking mode (see next).

Tracking


(like the button when a Leica DISTO laser distancemeter is connected) changes: you will now be able to get distance values by using the tracking mode of the distancemeter from inside the software (instead of invoking tracking on the laser device). The procedure is then the following:


The distance meter is collecting continuously distance data while tracking and stores the nearest and the farest distance. When selecting the Stop Tracking panel, you will be presented to choose either the minimum distance or the maximum distance:

147


Click to one of the icon buttons so that the selected value is shown in the corresponding input field of the current dialog box.

Beep on Measurement

Check this box if you wish to receive audio confirmation of measurements.

Reset

Resets your laser device to default settings.

Help

Calls this topic in the Help file.

OK and Cancel

Applies settings changes or quits without making settings changes.

Configuration

The Configuration dialog is accessible from the Setup icon menu.

This is where you set the basic configuration for your PowerCAD SiteMaster, like the AutoSave interval, standard directories and colors. In the Colors tab you can e.g. change the background color of your drawing screen.

148

Setup Menu

Settings

The Settings command is accessible from the Setup icon menu.

General settings for your drawings can be changed in this window. Snap and grid settings, draw modes, construction points, view and edit parameters as well as grips can be changed here.

149


Units

The Units dialog is accessible from the Setup icon menu.

The command allows to set parameters of the linear and angular unit system to be used when creating a drawing:

Linear Units

• Format: can be set to Scientific (decimal), Decimal, Engineering (Feet and Inches), Architectural (Feet and Inches), or Fraction.

• Decimal places: can be set from 0 to 0.00000001

Angular Units

• Format: can be set to Decimal degrees, Degrees-minutes-seconds, Grads, Radians, or Surveyor's Units.

• Decimal places: can be set from 0 to 0.00000001

Orientation

• Can be set clockwise or counter-clockwise.

Angle 0 Direction

• Can be set Up, Down, Left, or Right.

150

Setup Menu

AutoSave

The AutoSave function is accessible from the Setup icon menu.

The AutoSave dialog lets you specify directory, file prefix and frequency for automatical savings of the current drawing. This will automatically save a backup file every e.g. 20 commands. Setting this value to 0 will switch off AutoSave.

151

Export Menu

PowerCAD SiteMaster drawings can be exported in various ways:

• Send Email of current drawing, see section "Send".

• Save as DWF file, see section "DWF".

• Save as WMF file, see section "WMF".

• Save as Bitmap, see section "Bitmap".

• Print the current drawing, see section "Print".

• Export Room Data, see section "Room Export".

• Export Symbol Data, see section "Symbol Export".

152

Export Menu

Export Room Data

The Export Rooms function is accessible from the Export icon menu.

This function lets you export room data into a csv file to be used with a spreadsheet program, e.g. MS Excel or Lotus.

By default, the CSV file will use the current drawing file name and the file will be found in the PowerCAD SiteMaster program folder.

In your spreadsheet program the exported csv file will show you a listing of rooms as well as their individual and total areas and perimeters.


Export Symbol Data

The Export Symbols function is accessible from the Symbols icon menu and from the Export icon menu.

You can export a list of your symbols found in the current drawing into a CSV file (comma separated values file) to be used with a spreadsheet program like MS Excel, OpenOffice Calc.

153



Send Current Drawing

The Send function is accessible from the Export icon menu.

Send can open an Email window with the drawing file attached. This lets you email your drawing.

Save As DWF File

The Save As DWF function is accessible from the Export icon menu.

PowerCAD SiteMaster can export your drawing into DWF format (Design Web Format).

DWF is a vector graphics format to store DWG files in a compressed way. It keeps layers and views and can be viewed e.g. with viewing solutions like PowerCAD DWFAnywhere.

To create a DWF file

• Give file name (and folder).

• Select whether you want to store ASCII or Binary file format.

154

Export Menu

WMF Export

The WMF export function is accessible from the Export icon menu.

With this function PowerCAD SiteMaster can export your drawings into Windows Metafile Format files.

WMF is graphic file format used by Microsoft to transfer graphics between Windows applications. It supports both bitmap and vector graphics. There are many programs that will view WMF files. Many that edit them will convert all components to bitmap before allowing you to edit the file. Its vector characteristics make WMF files scaleable.

1. You can first choose the region to be exported:

2. If you have selected Window, select two opposite corners of the region to export.

3. Choose whether you want the output WMF to be saved as file or to be sent to the clipboard (for immediate import into another Windows program):

4. If you export all or part of your drawing into WMF format you have to specify a full file name.

Bitmap Export

The Bitmap export function is accessible from the Export icon menu.

With this function PowerCAD SiteMaster can export your drawings into image files of BMP format.

BMP is a common graphic file format. Its raster has a fixed width and height. It can be used the display does not need to be scaled, e.g. for fixed size screen display or fax.

1. You can first choose the region to be exported:

2. At the command line specify width and height of the bitmap to be produced. The defaults shown in brackets are derived from the drawing, they can be accepted with Enter.

155


3. Choose whether you want the output the BMP to be saved as file or to be sent to the clipboard (for immediate import into another Windows program).

4. In the Save Bitmap As dialog box you can change bitmap specific parameters:

o File Type: RGB (Red Green Blue), or RLE4 or RLE8 (Run Length Encoding for compression)

o Number of colors (1, 16, 256, or 16 Mio. colors)

Print

The Print command is accessible from the Export icon menu.

The options of the Print command let you first specify the region to print: Window, Extents, View, or Named View.

The detailed Print dialog lets you scale the print, set margins etc. to produce exactly the printout needed.

Print Setup The Print Setup command is accessible from the File pulldown menu or from within the Print dialog box via the Setup button.

156

Export Menu

It shows the Print Setup dialog of your operating system. Select the printer and the paper settings in this dialog.

157

SiteMaster Toolbars

PowerCAD SiteMaster comes with a number of toolbars, however only a few of these are opened for use by default.

Besides the default toolbars described below, you will find the following:

Toolbar Description

Standard Toolbar

Standard Windows functions: New, Open, Save, Cut, Copy, Paste, Print, Help

SiteMaster Toolbar

Start SiteMaster, Pan, Dynamic Zoom, Zoom to drawing extents, Zoom in on Window, VoiceNotes

Options Toolbar

Cancel, Undo, Redo and command specific options, see also section "Command Options"

Property Toolbar

Ortho mode, Snap mode, Grid display toggles, Layer, Color and Linetype Managers

Snap Toolbar

Precision point selection of geometrically definable points on drawing objects (endpoint, midpoint, …)

Depending upon the operations you are performing and your working style, you may wish to change the toolbars that are open and available for use.

Toolbars can be loaded using the File > Config > Load Toolbar menu selection (in the Extended Pulldown Menu).

Toolbars can be toggled on and off using File > Config > Configure Desktop > Toolbars:

158

SiteMaster Toolbars

Alternatively the context menu (right mouse button) in one of the active toolbars can be used for this.

Standard Toolbar

The buttons of the Standard toolbar cover mainly commands from the File menu that refer mainly to the opening, saving and output of drawings. The fourth to the sixth button allow to cut, copy and paste portions of the current drawing. The question mark button on the right opens the help system of the application.

SiteMaster Toolbar

The initial button of the SiteMaster toolbar invokes the SiteMaster icon menu which assembles all the measuring and surveying functions to create floor and site plans.

The next four buttons let you pan and zoom in the current drawing (pan dynamic, zoom dynamic, zoom to the extents of the drawing, zoom window).

To record or replay voice notes of the current drawing click the button with the loudspeaker icon.

The button on the right executes a Return at the command line. This one mainly serves to finish a command sequence.

Options Toolbar

The options bar contains context sensitive option buttons. Using these buttons enables you to call options when a command is performed. For example, if you have started the Line command, the options bar appears as shown above.

A group of three initial buttons in the options bar pertain to execution of commands. These are from the left:

• Cancel the execution of the current command (Escape)

• Nullify the withdrawing of the last work step (Redo)

• Withdraw the last work step (Undo)

After a command has been invoked, the options currently available are displayed in the option bar. Clicking on the desired option will select that option. Hotkeys may also be used, if they are assigned to the options.

The option fields will be changed to correspond with the current status of the drawing. Doing this keeps the number of options shown manageable. If there are no options to the command, these option fields are empty. The option field may change as often as after each step in the drawing.

159


Properties Toolbar

The property bar gives you a quick and comfortable way of setting some main properties for further construction and drawing.

The first three buttons in this area serve to directly control the use of the Orthogonal mode as well as the Snap and Grid status. These modes (O = Ortho, S = Snap, G=Grid) can be activated, or disabled, by clicking on the appropriate button. The active respectively non-active condition is indicated by the appearance of the button.

The further elements of the property bar allow setting current entity properties for further drawing: Layer, Color and Linetype.

The first button of this area opens the Layer Manager dialog box that permits to create new layers, to specify their properties, to rename them, and so on. Beside this button a drop-down list is found containing all the layer names of the current drawing. From this list you can choose the layer you want to set current.

Next, a square displays the color of the current layer, or, if set so, the current explicit color. You can click to this square to open the Color dialog box for setting the color applied when creating new entities.

Another drop-down list contains the linetypes defined in the current drawing. From this list you can choose a running linetype for further drawing. Please notice that usually it is a wise practice to set both the current color and the current linetype to the logical BYLAYER property. This means that the corresponding properties associated to the current layer are applied.

Snap Toolbar

Object Snapping allows geometrically significant points of existing drawing entities to be found. These points are then used as inputs for a new drawing step.

The object snap functions can be activated permanently or be called for a single operation. The easiest way to access object snaps for single operations is to click to the appropriate option of the Snap toolbar.

From the left to the right these object snap options are available on the Snap toolbar:

END - Endpoint

The object snap function End snaps to the end point of a line or of an arc. Planes or the edges of solids are also interpreted as lines, and end points of planes and solids can be trapped by the end point snap.

MID - Mid Point

Snaps to the center of a line or an arc. Planes, or the edges of solids, are also interpreted as lines, and may be snapped by the mid point snap.

INT - Intersection Point

Snaps to the intersection points of lines, arcs and circles, or any other combination of them.

CEN - Center Point

160

SiteMaster Toolbars

Snaps to the center of a circle or an arc.

QUA - Quadrant

Snaps to the nearest quadrant of a circle or an arc. Quadrants refer to the points of a circle or an arc, situated on the circumference at 0, 90, 180 and 270 degrees. These are the intersecting points of the axes of a coordinate system upon whose origin lies at the center of the circle or the arc with the circumference of this circle or arc. Only the next visible quadrant of an arc can be snapped.

INS - Insertion Point

Snaps to the insertion point of a part insertion, an attribute or a text object.

TAN - Tangent

Similarly, this mode requires that a starting point for a function that has already been selected. Activating the object snap mode will relate this point to the snapped point. For instance, when a tangent to a circle is desired, the ending point for the tangent line is picked, and the object snap mode Tangent is chosen. The result will be a tangent line from the ending point to the chosen entity.

PER - Perpendicular to...

This mode requires that a starting point for a function has already been selected. Activating the object snap mode will relate this point to the snapped point. For instance, when a perpendicular is desired, the ending point for the perpendicular is picked, and the Perpendicular object snap is chosen. The result will be a perpendicular line from the ending point to the chosen entity.

PNT-Point

Snaps to a point that was created by the drawing command POINT.

NXT - Next Point on Entity

This mode snaps to the next situated point of an object, when at least one point of this object lies within the borders of the selecting cursor window. This ensures that entities that are designed or modified by use of the object snap function share actually a point with the selected object. If the user selects a point on the space without using this object snap function it is possible that the selected point is not on the desired object. The two objects would not have a common point, or a ”closure”.

161

Pulldown Menus

PowerCAD SiteMaster lets you choose between different pulldown menus (the graphics show the first level of each):

Simplified Pulldown Menu

The Simplified Pulldown Menu is loaded when you start your PowerCAD SiteMaster for the first time.

Extended Pulldown Menu

The Extended Pulldown Menu holds numerous CAD functions to post-process your drawings. Most of these features are known from PowerCAD Pro and PowerCAD CE. The Extended Pulldown Menu contains options for adapting the system to your own needs.

Hint

You can perform all essential measure and draw activities using the PowerCAD SiteMaster Icon Menus. We recommend to use first the icon menus, as they are made to support you best in your work process.

Changing Pulldown Menus You can change between a Simplified Menu and an Advanced CAD Menu through the pulldown menu File > Load Menus. The option shows Load Simplified Menu or Load Advanced CAD Menu depending on which one is in use at the moment.

Simplified Pulldown Menu The Simplified Menu only contains file operations and the PowerCAD SiteMaster Start button.

A larger menu can be loaded by selecting the Extended Menu.

File (Pulldown Menu) The File pulldown menu of the Simplified Pulldown Menu contains the following topics:

• New

• Open

• Save

• Save As

• Save to DWF File

• Email Current Drawing

• Print

• Print Setup

• Load Menus (see section "Changing Pulldown Menus")

162

Commands and Command Customization

• Exit: Ends your work on a drawing and closes the program. If the current drawing has been changed since the last Save operation, you will be asked whether you wanted to save your changes.

Most recently used drawings are added at the bottom of the File pulldown menu.

SiteMaster (Pulldown Menu) In the Simplified Menu the pulldown menu SiteMaster simply contains one item: Start Icon Menu. This will open the PowerCAD SiteMaster Icon Menu. If you have already used the Icon Menus during this session, the most recently used icon menu will show up again.

Help (Pulldown Menu)

The Help ("?") pulldown menu contains two items:

Online Help

... will start the built-in help of PowerCAD SiteMaster. The help system includes descriptions on how to use the program as well as a reference table for the commands available in PowerCAD SiteMaster.

About

... opens the About box, with information on version number for the program, the serial number of the license, the licensee company and a user name, an internet address for PowerCAD SiteMaster and the current memory use for the program.

Extended Pulldown Menu PowerCAD SiteMaster is built upon PowerCAD Pro and offers full capabilities to program users requiring this functionality, either through the CAD menu or through the use of typed commands and aliases.

Please refer to the CAD Command Reference for a listing of these functions and to the PowerCAD Pro documentation, available for download at the GiveMePower website (www.givemepower.de/documentation.html) for detailed information on program functionality.

File (Pulldown Menu) The File menu of the Extended Pulldown Menu contains the following topics:

• New

• Open

• Save

• Save As

• Save to

o DWF File

o BMP File

o WMF File

163


• Email Current Drawing, see section "Send"

• Print

• Print Setup

• Load Simplified Menu

• Exit: Ends your work on a drawing and closes the program. If the current drawing has been changed since the last Save operation, you will be asked whether you wanted to save your changes.

Most recently used drawings are added at the bottom of the File pulldown menu.

View (Pulldown Menu) The View pulldown menu of the Extended Pulldown Menu contains the following commands:

• Redraw - Refresh current drawing window.

• Regenerate - Regenerate current drawing.

• 3D View - Select one of 10 predefined views or individually set your 3d View.

• Planview - Set current view to Plan View.

• Zoom

Realtime Realtime (or dynamic) zoom can zoom in and out nearly seamlessly in the current drawing window. The cursor changes to a magnifying glass with a plus sign and a minus sign. To start the dynamic zoom process, click the left and drag the mouse, either up or down. Whether you zoom in or out depends on the movement of the cursor. To zoom in, drag up (in the direction of the plus sign). To zoom out, drag down (in the direction of the minus sign). If you reach the edge of the drawing window, you can release the mouse button, move the cursor away from the edge, and left-click and drag again. To exit the Dynamic Zoom mode, press Esc or Enter.

Previous Allows you to undo the last Zoom and recreates the prior drawing portion. The deleted scale is saved as the last used scale and may now be called again.

Window Zooms into a rectangular area specified by two opposite corner points.

In Enlarges the viewing window with each successive use by a factor determined by a given value.

Out Is the opposite of the zoom-in function. It reduces the viewing window with each successive use by a factor determined by a given value.

Extents Zooms to the extents of the drawing, displaying the largest possible view of all the entities.

• Pan

o Realtime Realtime (or dynamic) pan can move the current display in smooth operation until the resulting view fits to the needs to continue drawing or editing. The cursor changes to an icon symbolizing a hand. Place the cursor

164


in anywhere in the current drawing, then left-click. Now drag in the direction you want the drawing part to move. If you reach the edge of the drawing window, release the mouse button, move the cursor away from the edge, and left-click and drag again. To exit the Dynamic Pan mode, press Esc or Enter.

o Point Moves the visible portion of the drawing to the right, to the left, upward or downwards. It is now easy to look at objects that were previously not visible because they were off the viewing surface. In contrast to the Zoom command, the drawing scale does not change. Select two points to indicate the Pan direction.

o Left, Right, Up, Down After selecting this command, the visible drawing portion will immediately be moved in the appropriate direction. The amount of movement is determined by a factor that is saved as a system variable that can be specified with the Settings command.

• Model/Layout Mode

• Viewport (Layout Mode)

• 3D Render, allows you to create a realistic 3D image of your drawing.

o Render

o Global Ambient Light

o Light

o Edit Light Parameters.

o Preferences

• 3D AutoRender

• Hidden Lines. To create a more realistic visualization of your drawings, you can represent the drawings without showing the lines that would be hiden in real life.

o Hidden Line Drawing

o Fast Hide

• Inquiry

o Distance

o Area

o Coordinates

o Check Distance

SiteMaster (Pulldown Menu) The SiteMaster menu of the Extended Pulldown Menu offers the same surveying and measuring functions as the PowerCAD SiteMaster icon menus:

• Start Icon Menu This will open the PowerCAD SiteMaster Icon Menu. If you have already used the Icon Menus during this session, the last open Icon Menu will show.

• Walls/Columns – contains the same commands as the Walls/Columns icon menu:

• Rooms/Areas – contains the same commands as the Rooms/Areas icon menu:

• Openings – contains the same commands as the Openings icon menu

• Symbols – contains the same commands as the Symbols icon menu

• Dimensioning – contains the same commands as the Dimensioning icon menu

165


• Inspection – contains the same commands as the Inspection icon menu

CAD (Pulldown Menu) In the pulldown menu CAD you can find the usual CAD-Program functions, e. g. insertion of blocks or symbols from the extense symbol libraries, as well as commands for creating and editing objects in the drawing.

• Markup - for Freehand Sketch, Callout and VoiceNotes

• 2D Drawing

• 3D Drawing

• Text. Creates a text objects: Standard, Multiline or Dynamic. You can also select the text style here.

• Dimensioning

• Modify

• Modify Object. You can change Hatches, Polylines, Text objects, and the Properties and Attributes of an object in the drawing.

• Hatch...

• Blocks/Parts and XRefs. You can manage your internal and external blocks and external references and insert them in your drawing.

2D Draw Enterpoint (ENTPT Command)

The Enterpoint function is provided here for use with the standard drawing functions on this menu (it is integrated in the architectural wall-drawing functions). Essentially it is used to simplify point entry and distance angle inputs to these commands, however it is also used in conjunction with laser distance meters and contains the configuration parameters for the meters on the Enterpoint Options tab.

166


Laser distance measurement is enabled by checking the "Distance from device" checkbox. This will also activate the other applicable configuration selections.

• Line

• Circle

• Arc

• 2D Polyline

• Rectangle - to draw rectangles

• Freehand Pline

• Ellipse

• Bound Polyline

• 2D Filled Faces

• Construction Points

167


Tools (Pulldown Menu) The Tools menu of the Extended Pulldown Menu contains the following topics:

• Drawing Xplorer

• Layer Manager

• Set Layer

• Set Drawing Modes: Allows you to turn on/off the precision help.

• Load Linetype - Load a Linetype File

• Set Linetype

• Set Color

• Linking/Embedding

• World Coordinate System

• User Coordinate System

• Configure

• Resource Manager

Help (Pulldown Menu)

The Help ("?") pulldown menu contains two items:

Online Help

... will start the built-in help of PowerCAD SiteMaster. The help system includes descriptions on how to use the program as well as a reference table for the commands available in PowerCAD SiteMaster.

About

... opens the About box, with information on version number for the program, the serial number of the license, the licensee company and a user name, an internet address for PowerCAD SiteMaster and the current memory use for the program.

168

Mobile CAD Surveying LtdSales: 0871 789 2609

[email protected]

www.mobilecadsurveying.co.uk