Anwar Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 I've been using formZ 8.5.6 side by side with 6.7.3 trying to learn how the program has changed. It seems that without the old drafting module there is no way to permanently "bake" a hidden line drawing. This is a major feature loss, unless I am wrong and missing something about how this new Layout program works. Can anyone clarify what is going on here? Thanks, Anwar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Hi Anwar, If you are using the current formZ Layout mode, and you have Referenced a FMZ file with the Content: Frame tool, all you need to do is to UnGroup it in order to convert it to individual lines (that no longer reference the original FMZ file). Is that what you want? Make sure to also keep the Content: Frame (even though you UnGrouped) as this will control the scale for the dimensions added to that area. Does that help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anwar Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 But then there would be no way to edit those lines in a scale-less environment if I understand your reply correctly (and the formZ hidden line algorithm is not bullet-proof, occasionally manual editing of its output is necessary)? Also there are a number of things that drafting in formZ 8 does that are not ideal, the most important of which I can think of at the moment is that if you have a closed polyline, formZ 8 treats that like a plane geometry and fills it with a surface style. In a drafting environment that area of the screen should not be filled in unless a hatch is specifically applied. Also, and its been a long time since I tried this so I may not be remembering it correctly, but I believe it used to be possible to use the Imager application to batch render out a bunch of hidden lines as .fmz draft files, is there an Imager in formZ 8? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHTOH Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I have been bubbling about superiority of Drafting over Layout for years. Nothing seems to be heard by ADS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anwar Posted January 6, 2017 Author Share Posted January 6, 2017 That is too bad, because, for the reasons I mentioned above, I really miss the old drafting module. It looks like I will have to keep using v 6.7.3 when I need this functionality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
¢hris £und Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Personally, I like the new way. Though, I don't use the Layout Module at all. I really like having the ability to dimension in 3D space. I just build everything in that I want, then hidden Line render and Export for further editing in Illustrator. I did try to work with the Layout Module, but found it pretty useless for my working style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugo Posted January 7, 2017 Share Posted January 7, 2017 Me too, not using layout at all and work only in 3D, then export my information I want to communicate with export an image in 300dpi in PNG lets say 200x200mm, and use Indesign to prepare my drawing. I found out that layout is too bad to trust. Hopefully the option copy and paste the hiddenline from fmz 3D to another cad program or into another 3D fmz model will be possible as a simple option in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatMNTishman Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 I've tried it and followed the tutorials, but find it almost impossible to use for doing design documents of any real quality, at least for my workflow. I would like to see ADS partner with one of the BIM solutions out there, and have "export to" menu with all the options that Layout aspires to. I think its a wider CAD industry problem? No one seems to have it all where robust modeling and visualization works seemlessly into design documents. Sketchup is getting there, but their models? Oh boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AHDD Designer Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Yes, I miss it too +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archigraphica Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 yes. Drafting has always been a lost opportunity for ADS. Look at how many use Draftsight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darwin06 Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 The Layout module is nice when you make quick changes in the model and it is immediately reflected in the Layout Frame. But, sadly, the cumbersome (and frustrating) line editing tools keeps me from using formZ/Layout for my 2D needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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