Miscellanea

A r c h iTools

PLUG-IN FOR ARCHICAD®

ArchiTools
© 2015 Cigraph Factory S.r.l.
ArchiTools “User Guide”
For Microsoft Windows and Mac OSX

Copyright
The contents of this manual and the software described therein are the sole property of
Cigraph Factory S.r.l. with all rights reserved.
As per copyright laws, this manual and the software programs cannot be copied either fully
or in part without the written consent of Cigraph Factory S.r.l., except during normal use
of the software to create a back-up copy. This exception does not allow the buyer to make
copies for others, even if the software is sold, traded or given away.

Cover Illustration: Marco Marella

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Even if Cigraph Factory S.r.l. has tested the software described in this manual and re-
viewed its contents, Cigraph Factory S.r.l. can give neither express nor implied guarantees
or statements with reference to the software, its quality, its performance or suitability for any
particular purpose.
Therefore, this software is sold “as is” and the buyer assumes all risks with reference to its
quality and performance.
In no case shall Cigraph Factory S.r.l. be held responsible for direct, indirect, special, inci-
dental or consequential damages deriving from any defect in the software or from errors in
the manual, even if Cigraph Factory S.r.l. is notified of the possibility of said damages. In
particular, Cigraph Factory S.r.l. shall not be held liable for possible loss of data or of the
program on computers, including the cost of recovery or the cost of data reproduction or of
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Licences and Trademarks

ArchiTools, ArchiTerra end ArchiSuite are registered trademarks of Cigraph S.r.l. ArchiCAD
and GDL are registered trademarks of Graphisoft. Other products and trade names may be
trademarks or registered trademarks of other companies and are used purely for demonstra-
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Internet: http://www.cigraph.com
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ArchiTools
Contents
The ArchiTools tool palette 1 Transom settings (parametric windows only) 33
Transform selection 2 Frame and sash settings (parametric windows only) 33
The settings window 3 Sash settings (parametric windows only) 33
The Pens, the Types of Lines, the Fills and the Characters 4 Parameters for listing (common to all three types) 34
Load/…Save Settings 4 Edit mode (common to all three types) 34
Line Types 5 Move node 35
Insert/Modify Supporting Points 6 Add node 35
Define/Modify Trilateration 8 Bend edge 35
Mode change cursor 36
Correct Image 11 Quit window editing 36
Delete Area Selected 12 Tabbed text import (Table object) 36
Create Wing/Silhouette Object 13 Header options 37
Create texture image 15 Table data options 37
Procedure for creating texture images 16 Table options 37
Bump map effect 17 Import list of points 38
Straighten texture image 20 Options 39
2D marker options 40
Delete marquee area 23
Coordinates content 40
Delete elements completely inside marquee area 24
Coordinates text options 40
Delete elements completely outside marquee area 24
Coordinates offset 40
Delete elements intersecting marquee area 24
Point code text options 40
Delete elements and parts of elements inside marquee area 24
Point comment text options 40
Delete elements and parts of elements outside marquee area 24
3D marker options 40
Divide elements intersected by marquee area 24
3D model 40
Simplify polyline 27 Triangulation options 40
Text on polyline 28 Triangulation options 41
Create text on polyline 28 Survey stations 43
Custom window 30 List areas 44
Creation of custom windows in the Plan view 30 2D options 45
Creation of custom windows in Section/Elevation windows 31 Calculation text options 45
Custom Opening – ArchiTools window configuration dialog 32 Dimension text options 45
General settings (common to all three types) 32 Header options: 45
Casing settings (common to all three types) 32 Help 47
Shelf settings (empty openings and niches only) 33

ArchiTools
User Manual

The ArchiTools tool palette

ArchiTools has been conceived as a sort of multipurpose Swiss penknife.
The palette is in fact designed to bring together a variety of different but
valuable commands and functions.

• Trasform Selection
• Insert/Modify Supporting Points
• Define/Modify Trilateration
• Correct Image
• Delete Area Selected
• Create Wing/Silhouette Object
• Create texture image
• Straighten texture image
• Delete marquee area
• Distribute
• Simplify polyline
• Text on polyline
• Custom Window
• Tabbed text import (Table object)
• Import list of points
• List Areas
• Help

Use of these commands is explained one by one below.

ArchiTools 1
 ArchiSketchy
This plug-in now included inside ArchiTools,
allow you to work on a 2D image and modi-
fy its appearance giving it the sensation of a
hand drawn design.
2 ArchiTools
Transform selection
This command let you customize line conversion in ArchiCAD drawings. It
can be re-call from the worksheet windows of ArchiCAD.
Select the areas you want to work on then click on the Transform Selection
icon on the tool palette.
A dialogue box will appear to let you configure the conversion parameters.
After having closed the settings window, the selected elements, will be sub-
stituted with new ones in the same place.
The lines will be always stretch over the original boarders, the fills will be
reproduced or not, due to the choice made inside the settings dialog.
It is important to remember that the final ArchiTools results are vectorial and
can be modified or re-elaborated with all the available ArchiCAD tools
including ArchiTools.
The command is activated only if the elements are individually selected (the
marquee area is not sufficient).
The settings window These controls are in relation to the Fills Settings. Selecting the “Take fills”
modality all fills are reproduced without modifications. Selecting the “Ex-
plode fills” modality the fields that represent the fills are squiggled in ap-
pearance.
Selecting the “Delete fills” modality the fills are skipped and the original fills
are deleted.

These controls are in relation to the Pens Settings. If checkbox state is on,
a single pen is used to draw the new elements. Pens inside divider on the
right are disabled and cannot be touched (pen’s divider is describe later).
If checkbox state is off, user can change pens inside the divider on the right
of the dialog.
We will now move on to describe the contents and functions located on the
right of the dialogue box.
We can see that it is divided into two parts: on the left there are the main
settings, while on the right there are various overlapping dividers that are
activated by clicking on the icons just above them.

These controls are in relation to the Stretch Settings. The first edit field indi-
cate the minimum size of the segments to be considered. The shorter lines
are not extended but they are elaborated according to line type and color.
The second edit field indicates the maximum oversize allowed for each line.
The actual oversize will be purely casual but will not go beyond the set limit.

ArchiTools 3
The Pens, the Types of Lines, the Fills and the Characters
First of all we see the four dividers, each containing a different icon. They
represent in order, the Pens, the Types of Lines, the Fills and the Characters.
In each of these dividers there is a list of features that correspond to all the
elements selected. For each element the user can suggest a change that
ArchiTools will apply to the result of the elaboration. For example, the user
can choose to change font with corrosive or handwritten ones, or apply
personalized types of lines that differ from those created by ArchiTools. The
dividers can only be accessed if their use is contained in the elaboration
method. For example if fills are deleted, the Fills divider is not available.
The Pens the Types of Lines
the Fills the Characters
4 ArchiTools
This substitutive function allows the add-on to be used in an alternative way
to simplify modifications to 2D drawings in relation to ArchiCAD proce-
dures.
Load/…Save Settings
In any case, it was decided to introduce the possibility of saving the current
settings, with the option of recalling and using them and avoiding having
to repeat the set up procedure in order to have the possibility of reproduc-
ing similar results and a series of graphically homogeneous drawings even
after a period of time.
To give a name to the current configuration, click on the Save Settings…
button. A dialog will appear.
The name has to begin with “askt_” and the configuration will be saved in
the z_DATA folder inside ASU_Library library.
By clicking on the Load Settings… button you are shown only the configura-
tion files inside the z_DATA folder.
 These Line Types can be modified to change the results by the user or it is
possible to create new Line Types using the substitution option.

How to do this
By using the Line Types command from the Options menu.
• You can change the thickness of an existing line by modifying the flags
or the numerical values after having selected it from the pop-up menu.

Selecting one of the configuration object the ArchiTools settings window

will immediately be update with the previously saved parameters.
The settings will be stored with an “askt_” file prefix to prevent any prob-
lems due to duplicate filenames. • To change its structure choose Copy line components, then close the dia-
We have reached the last command on the ArchiTools settings window... logue box and paste them on to the plan. Copy the modified segments
OK! after having made the changes and re-open the Line Types dialogue
box. Choose the type to edit and click on Paste line components.
When the settings window is closed elements are converted, old ones delet-
ed and substituted from converted ones in the same position. You can create personalized lines in the same way by clicking the New…
button and choosing the Symbol option.
Two types of fills are also created (Tolls_Solid and Tools_Empty. These are
Line Types
only Fills not constructing elements). They cannot be modified or eliminated,
The add-on supplies some new features to ArchiCAD, you will find 4 new but new ones can be created for use with the ArchiTools substitution option.
line types:
• Tools_Solid;
For further information, consult the ArchiCAD User Manual.
• Tools_Solid2;
• Tools_Dashed;
• Tools_Long_Dashed.

ArchiTools 5
 ArchiFaçade
This set of tools, now included inside ArchiTools,
allows you to modify a foreshortened photo-
graph to make it look like the result of an orthog-
onal projection.
6 ArchiTools
Insert/Modify Supporting Points
This is the first modality you can use to correct a photographic image (the
second Define/Modify Trilateration is explained in another paragraph). To
do this, we will have to place four hotspots in correspondence with four
“strategic” points of our image; for example the façade’s four corners.
We will place our hotspots in correspondence with the points as THEY AP-
PEAR in the image, i.e. distorted by the perspective. We will then attribute
the REAL coordinates to them, i.e. those that derive from the building mea-
surements carried out in practise.
Our program will correct the quadrilateral constructed from our points,
making them take on an orthogonal aspect.
Doing this, it will also modify the projective coordinates of EVERY point of
the figure contained on the same plane.
We will thus see all the parts contained in the photo of the façade appear
as if it were an elevation survey.
Of course, at the same time, all the points that do NOT belong to the plane
will be distorted to an even greater extent; starting from the edge of the
image that will be transformed from a rectangle into an irregular polygon.
Firstly you must open the image that you want to correct in the ArchiCAD
worksheet. To do this:
Double-click the Figure tool icon in the ArchiCAD toolbar.
The ArchiCAD “Figure Settings” dialog box will appear and ask you the
name and path of the image you want to open. The format of the image can
be: BMP, PGN, GIF, TIFF or JPG.
 Now you must define the four supporting points to correct the image. Click
on the Insert/Modify Supporting Points tool icon. The cursor will take on the
shape of a pencil. Click four times to define the position of the supporting
points.
In correspondence with every point selected, ArchiTools will make a hotspot
symbol appear, accompanied by a progressive letter (A, B, C, D).
It will also show a value in brackets; in this phase this value
is set at (0,00-0,00).
Click on Open… to show the system dialog that let you choose the image
to correct. Choose your image and confirm. You will see preview of the
chosen image and it’s data inside the ArchiCAD setting window. Click on
Note: Of course the smaller the distance between the points, the greater the
the OK button to close dialog.
margin of inaccuracy of the correction operation. It is therefore best
The cursor will change into a small cross and wait for you to indicate the to take into consideration the largest measurements possible, together
figure’s insertion point. with the building’s more difficult projectability. For example, if they
are accurate enough, the ground length and the eaves height of the
building.
At the end of the introduction of the fourth point, ArchiTool will activate au-
tomatically the Fit in Window function to display all four points at the same
time. Is will also open a dialog box, asking you to enter the values of the
coordinates of the supporting points.
Insert the “real” values of X and Y of each individual point, as they are in
your projection.

ArchiTools 7
In this case:
Define/Modify Trilateration
This is the second modality you can use to correct a photographic image:
the trilateration technique.
We can identify a segment that appears oblique in the photographic im-
age, and which we know belongs to a perfectly horizontal or vertical plane
in reality.
To be able to calculate its position exactly, we will select two points on
the façade and carry out its trilateration, with reference to the ends of the
alignment.
By inserting the real values - i.e. measured in practise - of the two triangles
that derive from it, we will give our program the necessary information for
modifying all the points of the plane considered, in such a way that it looks
to us like a elevation survey.
Once the reference data have been entered, the correction procedures are
the same as presented in the previous case.
Then click on OK.
Firstly, open the image that you want to correct by following the indications
The values in brackets next to the hotspot symbol will already explained in the “Insert/Modify Supporting Points” paragraph.
take on the value attributed by you.
Click on the Define/Modify Trilateration tool icon.
A dialog box will appear that will ask you whether the reference segment
must be horizontal or vertical.
If you have to modify the settings already inserted, the procedure is
extremely simple:
• Select the four supporting points.
• Click the Insert/Modify Supporting Points tool icon.
The previous dialog box will reappear, and you will be able to insert the
correct coordinate values.
In order to obtain the corrected image read the paragraph “Correct Image”
inside this manual. Select, for this example, the Horizontal alignment option, and click on OK.
The cursor will take on the shape of a pencil.

8 ArchiTools
Select the two points that represent the two ends of the segment to correct.
The cursor will transform into the vertex of an “elastic” triangle.
Select a third point for the first triangulation.
Select a fourth point for the second triangulation.
ArchiTools
When the fourth point has been inserted, ArchiTool will activate automati-
cally the Fit in Window function to display all four points at the same time.
Is will also open a dialog box, asking you to enter the measurements of the
sides of the triangles obtained. A letter (A,B,C,D) will appear next to each
point that will allow you to identify them.
Our segment will be identified by a red line and
the wording Hor.
9
Insert the real values. In this case:
Then click on OK.
If you want to modify the settings already inserted, the procedure is ex-
tremely simple:
• Select the object’s four reference points.
• Click the Define/Modify Trilateration tool icon.
A dialog box will appear that asks you if you want to modify the lengths
keyed in or move a node.
Select, for example, Modify typed lengths….
The previous dialog box will appear, and you will be able to insert the
correct measurements.
10
Otherwise, select Move node….
The cursor will again take on the shape of a pencil.
• Click on the node that you intend to move.
• Click on the point where you want the node to be moved to.
The configuration of the triangulation will be modified according to the new
indications.
This is a CYCLICAL command: once a modification has been intro-
duced into the configuration, ArchiTools always waits for you to
request another one.
To interrupt this procedure simply:
• Click the Cancel pushbutton on the ArchiCAD Control Box;
or:
• Click any tool in the ArchiCAD Toolbox;
or:
• Access the ArchiCAD Hierarchical Menu (in Windows: right mouse but-
ton, in Macintosh: mouse button + Ctrl),and select the Cancel command.
In order to obtain the corrected image read the next paragraph “Correct
Image”.
ArchiTools
Correct Image The cursor will take on the shape of a pencil and ArchiTools will wait for
you to select the insertion point of the corrected image.
ArchiTools allows you to modify a foreshortened photograph to make it • Click on the point where you want the corrected image to appear on the
look like the result of an orthogonal projection. worksheet.
This is based on the principles of projective geometry: through the appro-
A dialog box will then appear that will ask you if you want to save this
priate mathematical transformations, the points that make up the image
image onto the disk; and, if yes, you can choose where, with what name
distorted by the perspective can be modified to the point that the corrected
and format. If you click on the Cancel button, image won’t be saved onto
image can be created. The resulting image at the end of the process is
disk.
equal to a projection that has been performed point by point.
Since the procedure is based on the interpolation of the transformation of
coordinates of the so-called “supporting points” from their apparent posi-
tion to their real position, it is important to remember that the greater the
distance separating them, the greater the accuracy when the corrected
image is created.
This tool allows you to correct the image by supporting points, inserting four
hotspots, or using the trilateration technique.
• With the ArchiCAD Selection Arrow tool, select an area that includes all
four of our points and the image to correct.
Once the previous operation is completed , your corrected image will ap-
pear in the pre-selected point.

• Then press the Correct Image tool icon.

At this point, your façade will be shown as an elevation.

ArchiTools 11
Delete Area Selected
This tool allows you to cut out all that does not interest you from your figure.
First and foremost you must select the part of the image that you want to
keep. To do this:
• Click the ArchiCAD Fill tool icon, and cover the area that you want to
keep with the fill. The area covered by the fill must not have any holes.
• Click on the ArchiCAD Arrow Selection tool and select the fill and the
image at the same time.
• Now click on the Delete Area Selected tool icon in the ArchiTools bar.
The “Delete” dialog box will appear, asking you if you want to cut out the
surface that is inside or outside the fill.
12
Since you have covered the area that you want to keep with the fill:
• Select the Delete outside pushbutton;
• With a click, activate the Substitute original image option.
The cut image will be superimposed on the one selected in the previous
point, thus replacing it. To keep both the images, deactivate the Substitute
original image option.
The cursor will take on the shape of a pencil and the cut image will be insert-
ed on in the point where you click.
Your façade will finally appear as the projection of an elevation.
Note: Instead of covering the area that interests you with the fill and cutting
out what you do not want, you could do the opposite: cover the part
you want to remove with the fill. You must, however, remember to
select the Delete inside pushbutton.
ArchiTools
Create Wing/Silhouette Object • Insert in the Figure Sizes fields the measurements that you want to set; for
example, 1.70 m.
Now suppose that you have a three-dimensional model drawing of your
building in ArchiCAD and that you want to insert some digital images of
persons - or objects - into, or around it. This is useful for creating “wings”/
Silhouette similar to those used in a theatrical set.
By definition, all the digital images belong to a horizontal plane. To insert
them into your 3D environment, you may need to rotate them to the plane • Then click OK.
you want. For instance, a human figure will belong to a vertical plane, a The cursor will change into a small arrow and wait for you to indicate the
carpet to the horizontal one. figure’s insertion point.
The Create Wing/Silhouette Object tool has been created for this purpose. • Click the point where you want the image to appear.
By way of this tool, we will transform the image of a human figure that we At this point you must select which parts of it you want to keep and which
have in archive in to an ArchiCAD library element so that we can insert it you want to remove.
into any three-dimensional view of the drawing. • Then click the ArchiCAD Fill tool icon and cover the area that you want
To do this, after opening our image and sizing it to the scale of the drawing, to keep with the fill.
we will cut out the part of the image that we do not need. We will then give
the rotation indications to make it belong to a vertical plane, and we will
save it by transforming it into an object.
Firstly, in the ArchiCAD worksheet, you must open the image that you want
to transform into a wing. It is important to remember that this image must
already have been saved in the ArchiCAD library.
To do this:
• Double-click on the Figure tool icon in the ArchiCAD toolbar.
The “Figure Settings” dialog box will appear and prompt you to key in the
name and path of the image you want to open. The format of the image can
be: BMP, PGN, GIF, TIFF or JPG.
• Click Open… and select the file you want to open in the related window.
If the image is not already in the scale desired, you will need to modify its
dimensions. Since this is a person, insert the measurements that it would
have in real life; taking into account the fact that the figure will be cut, and
Note: In this case the surface covered by the fill can contain holes.
that the measurements that you enter refer to the complete image.
• Then select the whole image and the fill.

ArchiTools 13
• At this point click on the ArchiTools Create Wing/Silhouette Object tool
icon.
A dialog box will appear that shows you the name of the image and allows
you to insert the value of the angle of inclination that you want to give to the
figure.
Since the image is always horizontal in origin, and we want to position it
vertically, insert the value of 90 degrees into the field related to the angle of • Click on OK.
inclination. Your wing is now part of the library of objects. To display it:
• Double-click on the ArchiCAD Object tool and, when the dialog box
appears, follow in full the normal procedures for any object of theArchi-
CAD libraries.
You will be able to see your image from any angle through the ArchiCAD
3D display window.

• Click on OK.
A window will appear and prompt you to insert the path and name to save
the object as (for this object to be usable, you should save it in one of Ar-
chiCAD’s active libraries).

Select, therefore, one of the active libraries and key in the name.
• Lastly, click on the Save pushbutton.
A window will confirm that the saving has been successful.

14 ArchiTools
ArchiMaterial
ArchiMaterial functions are now included inside
ArchiTools, allow you to generate seamless tex-
ture images together with images to be used for
the effects of bump-mapping, transparency, etc.
ArchiTools
Create texture image
When managing materials, users often find it difficult to create seamless
textures starting from an original image.
Here is a specific example:
The image below must be used to create a material with a texture repre-
senting pebbles:
If the image is used like this, the result is unacceptable as the seams be-
tween the various tiles of the texture would be very obvious:
To obtain a result usable as a texture, the image must be modified using
specific programs or photo retouching applications to modify the original
image and transform it into an image which can be repeated horizontally
and vertically without visible seams.
15
The result would be as follows:

Which would give the following result when used in PhotoRendering:

ArchiTools makes it extremely easy to obtain an image which can be seam-
lessly tiled.
The first step is to open the image by clicking on the Open new image…
button.
A standard dialog box enables the image to be located on the hard disk
and selected. When selected, the image to be processed appears in the
preview window on the left.

Procedure for creating texture images

This is how the above result can be obtained starting from a simple digital
image.
Firstly, click on the Create texture image icon in the ArchiTools
palette. ArchiTools opens a create texture image dialog box.

The dialog is divided into two parts. The original image to be processed is
displayed on the left and the image resulting from the ArchiTools process
on the right.

Above the image is the name of the file and size of the image in pixels.

16 ArchiTools
On the right of the dialog, a pop-up menu (in every similar to the ArchiCAD
material definition pop-up window) enables you to define the preview dis-
played. You can view one single image or a mosaic of the image made up
of the number of elements defined in the pop-up menu.
Immediately below, the Process image button launches transformation of the
selected image.
No further configuration by the user is required. Just click on the button to
see the resulting image in the area on the left:
Under the Process image button, the Use original image button enables the
selected image to be used as it is, without processing.
It is easy to explain why you might want to use the image without further
processing… you may have an image which can already be used as a
texture (suitable for obtaining seamless tiling), but from which you want to
generate an image to be used for the bump map effect.
ArchiTools
Bump map effect
Together with the resulting image, under the Use original image button, a
check-box enables a second greyscale image to be obtained for use to
create a bump map effect during materials definition.
This second image is formed by emphasising the light and shade of the
main image and can be used whenever you want to define a texture repre-
senting a rough, relief surface.
The Bump Map Settings… button opens the dialog to configure calculation
of the image to be used for the bump map effect. If you do not customize
the configuration by means of this dialog, ArchiTools simply creates a grey-
scale duplicate of the main image, improving the levels to accentuate the
light and shade.
Note: the Bump Map Settings… button is not enabled until you have
processed the image (using the Process image button).
When you click on the Bump Map Settings… button, the following dialog
box appears:
The preview displays your image (not the original image, but the image
processed to obtain seamless tiling).
17
As described above, if you do not use the settings proposed in this window
(by using the Process… button) or if, before exiting by clicking the Cancel
button, you click the Restore button (cancelling the calculation performed
with the Process button), ArchiTools produces the image to be used for the
bump map effect by simply creating a greyscale duplicate of the image,
improving the levels to accentuate the light and shade.
In this latter case (no personal configuration) you will obtain an image sim-
ilar to the one below:
Below are two materials illustrating the result, on the left using just the main
image created by ArchiTools (processed to obtain seamless tiling) and on
the right, also using the image for the bump map effect:
18
As can be seen, the texture with bump map enhances the relief effect, add-
ing “roughness” to the surface of the material. Although this uses the stan-
dard configuration without user intervention, the depth effect of the image
has nevertheless been improved.
However, the surface of the tiles is also rough and this may not be the de-
sired effect.
To assign the relief effect without making the entire texture rough, the user
must intervene by means of the Bump Map Settings dialog.
This is how.
At the top left, the eyedropper can be used to select the
parts of the image with the same color.
When the button with the eyedropper icon is clicked and the cursor is
moved over the image preview area, it turns into a eyedropper.
Click on the image to define the color to select, in this case, the joint be-
tween the tiles:
When you click on the image, the small sample square along side the
eye-dropper button is updated with the colour acquired from the image
and, on the image itself, the selected areas are highlighted in red.
ArchiTools
By clicking on the image with the eyedropper again, you can modify the
sample colour used for the selection and therefore the selection itself. Only
one colour can be used at a time with this procedure.
Under the button with the eyedropper there is an editable
number field (values from 0 to 255) and a slider enabling
you to define a threshold for the maximum colour differ-
ence.
A value near zero reduces the selection filter, a value near 255 extends the
selection range.
Click on the Process… button and the image created by the current selection
is displayed: As you can see, the “depth” effect is now applied to the joints only, while
the surface of the tiles still retains the original characteristics of the texture.
Attention:
You cannot access the Bump Map Settings dialog box until you have
used the Process image… or Use original image buttons. The image
for bump map is, in fact, an elaboration of the final image on the
right (or the original image if you click the Use original image button).

If the result is not what you want, just click on the Restore button to reset the
configuration and modifications made.
Now let’s look at the different result obtained in the PhotoRendering by
using this customized image instead of the default.
On the left, the material using the default image for the bump map effect,
on the right, the material using the customized image just created:

ArchiTools 19
Straighten texture image
Sometimes the images you want to use as textures for PhotoRendering come
from photographs (perhaps taken on site) and therefore have an unwanted
perspective effect which prevents them from being used easily for this pur-
pose.
The ArchiTools straighten texture image function helps resolve this problem.
Let’s take the image below:

This is how ArchiTools can correct this photograph.

Click on the Straighten texture image icon in the ArchiTools pal-
ette. ArchiTools immediately opens the following dialog box:

It is a photograph of a majolica tiled wall taken in a historic building.

When the photograph was taken, despite efforts to take as frontal a view
as possible, the result is still not suitable for creating a tileable image to be
used as texture.
The lines drawn on the photograph show how the perspective angle makes
the image unusable for this purpose.

The large area (now white) on the left will contain the image to be pro-
cessed. Click on the Open new image… button and select the photograph
to be straightened. It immediately appears in the preview area.

20 ArchiTools
 You can use the enlarge/reduce/panorama functions to make define the
shape more precisely. It must follow the outline of the section of photograph
to be straightened as accurately as possible.

If you move the cursor over the image it changes into a small hand.
When the Shift button is pressed, the cursor changes into a magnifying If the result is not what you wanted, don’t worry. After completing the poly-
glass with a plus sign. gon, just drag the corners to position them as required:

When the Ctrl button is pressed, the cursor changes into a magnifying glass 1. move the cursor over a corner and it changes into a checkmark symbol
with a minus sign. 2. click once and drag to the required position (the cursor turns into four
The use of these three functions is obvious: small arrows)

• when the cursor has the form of a small hand, you can move the image 3. click on the point where you want to reposition the corner.
to frame the part you are interested in; When you have defined the polygon to be straightened to
• when the cursor has the form of a magnifying glass with a plus sign, you your satisfaction, use the two editable fields at the top right
can click on the image to zoom in on the area indicated by the click; to define the actual dimensions of the resulting rectangle.

• when the cursor has the form of a magnifying glass with a minus sign, Note: These two numerical fields define the proportions between the two
you can click on the image to zoom out on the area indicated by the dimensions of the resulting straightened rectangle only. The actual
click. dimensions of the image will be defined during configuration of the
texture to be associated with the material only.
Now you must define a four-sided polygon on the photograph.
Configure the dimensions and click on the Straighten button to begin pro-
This polygon will be straightened to form a rectangle (or square, depending cessing the image which will be immediately displayed in the preview area.
on the dimensions of the sides). This straightening will correct the perspec-
tive distortion.
Click on the Polygon button and then on the image as shown below to de-
fine the polygon to be straightened.

ArchiTools 21
As you can see in the image below, the processing involves two operations:
1. it straightens the photograph according to the shape of the polygon you
defined and the dimensions of the resulting rectangle
2. it crops the original image so that the final result coincides with the
straightened rectangle (the areas outside the rectangle would be too
distorted).

After saving, you can repeat the procedure with another image to be
straightened or exit from the dialog using the Done button.

Finally, click on the Save result… button to save the resulting image (with
the required name and format) for use as a texture in your PhotoRendering:

22 ArchiTools
ArchiRuler
In this section you find some tools, useful for 2D
drawing, that were part of ArchiRuler. This tools
allows you to creare design details and working
drawings for the building site.
ArchiTools
Delete marquee area
This tool groups together a number of very useful functions associated with
use of ArchiCAD’s Marquee Area tool.
Important:
if the marquee area defined is in multi-story mode, the procedure will
be performed on all stories in the project.
Only the 2D primitives are deleted. ArchiCAD 3D construction elements are
not affected in any way.
To use the command, a marquee area must already have been defined on
the plan worksheet using any of the methods offered by ArchiCAD:
• polygonal marquee area
• rectangular marquee area
• rotated rectangular marquee area
As explained above, the procedure is available in both single and multi-sto-
ry mode.
Once the area concerned has been defined using the Marquee Area tool,
click on the Delete Marquee Area tool icon.
The following dialog box appears listing the various options provided by
the programme:
23
 Delete elements and parts of elements outside marquee area
This command deletes all the elements completely outside the marquee area
and parts of the elements partly outside the area. In practice, elements inter-
secting the marquee area will be divided at the intersection points and the
part outside the area will be deleted.

Divide elements intersected by marquee area

This command cuts/divides elements intersected by the marquee area.
Important:
To function correctly, the edge of the marquee area defined using
previous ArchiTools functions must not coincide with the outlines of
any element on the current worksheet.

The six buttons each run one of the six procedures available, while the Can-
cel button closes the dialog without continuing the procedure.

Delete elements completely inside marquee area

This command deletes only the elements completely inside the marquee
area.

Delete elements completely outside marquee area

This command deletes only the elements completely outside the marquee
area.

Delete elements intersecting marquee area

This command cancels only the elements intersecting the marquee area.

Delete elements and parts of elements inside marquee area

This command deletes all the elements completely inside the marquee area
and parts of the elements partly inside the area. In practice, elements inter-
secting the marquee area will be divided at the intersection points and the
part inside the area will be deleted.

24 ArchiTools
Distribute • Click on the Distribute tool icon in the ArchiTools palette
This command is similar to the ArchiCAD “Multiply” command. • the cursor changes shape to show that ArchiTools is waiting for data
input from the user: click on the reference point of the selected element.
In common with this familiar command, it multiplies the selected element. This will be the insertion point of the element to be distributed, in other
In this case however, a path (straight and/or curved) along which the ele- words, the point which moves along the path:
ments will be distributed must first be defined and assigned. The distribution
method is configured in a special dialog box.
Let’s take a look at how it works:
• First use an ArchiCAD line/arc/circle/polyline/spline to define the path
along which the element will be distributed:

• Finally, click on a vertex of the path, or near the vertex where you want
distribution of the selection to begin:

• Select the element (or elements, as you can also distribute a number of
elements simultaneously) you want to distribute along the path

ArchiTools 25
A dialog box where you can configure the distribution parameters now
appears:

And here is the result of the distribution:

First define the distribution of the selection:

• by the number of elements along the path, or
• by indicating a spacing which must be less than or equal to the maxi-
mum dimension proposed by default
When the approximate size check-box is enabled, the distance d set by the
user is “adjusted” to distribute the elements along the entire path.
If this check-box is disabled, all the elements will be spaced at exactly the
If “constrain angle” had been enabled, the distributed selection would no
distance set by the user.
longer be oriented along the path, but would always retain the same orig-
The three buttons at the top right can be used to offset the element along the inal angle:
Z axis during distribution. You can assign the spacing, or a total height
over which the elements will be distributed.
Finally, when “constrain angle” is enabled, during processing, roto-transla-
tion (in other words, placement at a tangent to the path) will not be allowed
and the distributed elements will have the same orientation as the original
selection.
When the dialog is closed, a further click defines on which part of the path
the element to be distributed should be placed:

26 ArchiTools
 A dialog box allowing the filter distance to be set will be displayed:
Simplify polyline
This command allows a selected polyline to be “simplified” by filtering the
individual nodes and eliminating those within a certain minimum distance
(filter) defined by the user.
This procedure is extremely useful when, for example, drawings are im-
ported from other CAD programmes where the splines or curves are often
converted into thousands of small successive segments.
Managing and viewing these groups of thousands of individual elements
make the drawing slow and difficult to manipulate. Simplifying these ele- When the filter distance has been defined and the configuration confirmed
ments greatly reduces processing times, lightens the drawing and often has with the OK button, processing of the selection begins and the simplified
no noticeable influence on the graphic quality of the result. polylines are produced immediately:
Proceed as follows:
Select the polyline (or polylines) to be simplified

Click on the Simplify Polyline tool icon in the ArchiTools palette

ArchiTools 27
Text on polyline
This command is used to simulate text along the path of a line, arc or
polyline. The result will not, in fact, be a text element, but a parametric
object representing the text.
This tool in the ArchiTools palette can be used either to create a new ele-
ment or edit existing elements.
If you click on the tool icon with no active selection, the command will be
interpreted as a create new element command and you must then click on
the polyline the text must follow.
If on the other hand before clicking you have selected one or more Polyline
Text – ArchiTools object/s, then the object configuration dialog will be dis-
played and you can edit the elements present in your project.
Create text on polyline
Without an active selection, click on the Text on Polyline tool icon in the
ArchiTools palette
The cursor changes shape and waits for you to click on the polyline the text
must follow.
Be careful where you click. The nearest end will be interpreted as the start-
ing point of the text to be generated:
When the polyline to be used as a path has been defined, a dialog box
is displayed where you can configure all the characteristics of the element
being created:
28
In the first field, enter the string of text to be displayed.
Immediately beneath, a pop-up menu allows you to define the font to be
used.
Immediately on the right you can define the pen used and the size (in milli-
metres) of the character.
The controls at the bottom define:
• the style of the text (bold, italic, bold+italic)
• the position of the text with respect to the path (above, in the middle,
below)
• the alignment of the text with respect to the polyline
You can use the scale sensitive option (enabled by default) to control the
appearance of the text:
• when the option is enabled, the size of the text will automatically be
adapted/resized when the scale of the model changes.
• when the option is disabled, the size of the text will remain constant
even if the scale of the model changes. In this case, the size of the text
is given by the unit of the sheet.
ArchiTools
The following example shows two text on polyline elements, the one on the
top is scale sensitive, the one on the bottom is not.

Their appearance at the original scale (1:100) is shown on the left, while
their appearance after changing to a scale of 1:50 is shown on the right.

The last option is only relevant when the length of the text string set exceeds
the length of the polyline used as a path.
In this case, the text is cut until it fills the entire space of the path.
When the lengthen original polyline to fit to text option is enabled, the entire
string will be displayed as though the last segment of the polyline used as
a path were prolonged as a result.
Here is an example illustrating the two different results obtained with the
option enabled and disabled.

ArchiTools 29
 ArchiTools Custom window
This function creates openings of any shape for use as normal ArchiCAD
Window objects.
Now we are going to explain those tools that
complete ArchiTools. The tool can be used with slightly different procedures in both Plan view
and Section/Elevation windows.
The shape of the window is defined using an ArchiCAD fill. Curved sides
can also be used, but any holes in the selected fill will not be considered.
The window used will always be the same, a parametric window (Custom
Opening – ArchiTools) which can assume any shape and be used to repre-
sent empty openings, complete windows and niches.

Creation of custom windows in the Plan view

• Use an ArchiCAD fill to define the shape of the window to be inserted:

• Select the fill and click on the Custom Window tool icon in the ArchiTools
tool palette;
• ArchiTools acquires the necessary data from the shape of the fill and
opens the ArchiCAD Window Settings dialog box with the Custom Ope-
ning – ArchiTools window selected and already configured to correspond
to the shape of the selected fill;

30 ArchiTools
• Configure the various options for this window element as for any other
window in the ArchiCAD library, then confirm with the OK button;
• Insert the window in any of the walls present in the Plan view:

• Then select both the fill and the wall and click on the Custom Window
tool icon in the ArchiTools tool palette
• ArchiTools acquires the necessary data from the shape of the fill and
opens the ArchiCAD Window Settings dialog box with the Custom Ope-
ning – ArchiTools window selected and already configured to correspond
Creation of custom windows in Section/Elevation windows to the shape of the selected fill
With some differences, the same procedure can also be used in ArchiCAD • Configure the various options for this window element as for any other
Section/Elevation windows. window in the ArchiCAD library, then confirm with the OK button
In this case however, the fill not only defines the shape of the window, but • ArchiTools immediately inserts the window in the selected wall:
also its position in the wall where it will be inserted.
To use this procedure, the Section/Elevation must be parallel to the wall
where the window will be inserted and the host wall must not be curved or
trapezoidal (in these two cases, the concept of parallelism to the section
line would not, in fact, make sense).
• Use an ArchiCAD fill to define the shape of the window and its position
in the wall where it will be inserted:

ArchiTools 31
Custom Opening – ArchiTools window configuration dialog General settings (common to all three types)
As described above, the Custom Opening - ArchiTools window used by
this tool is a window type library part, like all other windows used in the
ArchiCAD Library.
It can be configured in the ArchiTools Parametric Window Configuration
Custom Panel.
The first page selects the type of element:

Casing settings (common to all three types)

The three buttons select one of the three options provided:

• Empty opening
• Parametric window
• Niche
At the top of the panel, a pop-up menu and two navigation buttons provide
access to the other configuration pages.
The number and type of configuration pages depend on the type selected.
The various options relevant to the type selected are then displayed.

32 ArchiTools
Shelf settings (empty openings and niches only) Frame and sash settings (parametric windows only)
This panel displays and configures the shelves to be inserted in the window
element:

Transom settings (parametric windows only) Sash settings (parametric windows only)

ArchiTools 33
Parameters for listing (common to all three types) If you need to edit the geometry of a previously inserted window, deleting
the window and repeating the element definition procedure from the begin-
ning would be inconvenient.
This panel comes to your aid. Select the window to be edited, then access
the Edit mode panel and enable editing in plan using the first check-box at
the top, then close the dialog by confirming with the OK button.
Display of the window in the Plan view will be modified as below:

Edit mode (common to all three types)

As well as the normal symbols, you also see the front view of the window
and immediately below, a button panel with four options and a red cursor
indicating the active function.
The editing functions provided are:
• Move node
• Add node

In this last panel, you can edit the geometry of a previously defined win- • Bend edge
dow. • Quit edit mode (OK).

34 ArchiTools
When the window is selected, graphically editable hotspots appear allow- Add node
ing you to edit the window and move the cursor to the position required: In add node mode, you can add nodes by dragging the graphic hotspots
by the median points (shown by small circles) to the required position:

You can also move the nodes to the required position by dragging the rela-
tive graphic hotspots (as if you were in move node mode):

Bend edge
In bend edge mode, you can bend the sides by dragging the graphic hot-
spots by the median points (shown by small circles) to the required position:

Move node
In move node mode, you can move the nodes to the required position by
dragging the relative graphic hotspots:

You can also move the nodes to the required position by dragging the rela-
tive graphic hotspots (as if you were in move node mode):

ArchiTools 35
Mode change cursor Tabbed text import (Table object)
You can move the cursor easily by its hotspots to go from one editing mode
to another: The tabbed text import procedure allows you to import files of tabbed text
and display them as customisable tables in the ArchiCAD work environ-
ment.
The link to the original file is maintained. If the imported file is changed, you
can therefore display the updated table by simply updating the link.
This tool can again be used to either create or edit tables:
• if you click on this tool icon with no table object (Data Table - ArchiTools)
selected, you will import a tabbed text file and therefore insert a new
table object
• if on the other hand you select one or more table objects before clicking
on the tool icon, you can edit the selection options
The procedure is extremely simple. Click on the Import Tabbed Text tool icon
in the ArchiTools palette and select the file to be imported in the standard
Open dialog box displayed.
After briefly reading and interpreting the file, the following dialog box is
displayed to configure the table object to be inserted:

Quit window editing

When you have finished editing, you can go back to the normal view in
two ways:
• by moving the cursor to the OK position
• by using the window settings dialog and deselecting the enable editing
in plan option used previously.

36 ArchiTools
 Table data options
In the table data options section, you can configure the characteristics of
the text used for the cells containing the data, define the alignment for
numerical and text data and set the number of decimal places used for
numerical data.

Table options
In this section you can manage the graphic appearance of the table object:
types of line, pen and fill used for the cells.
In the right hand section, you can assign independent colours to the head-
ing, first row, and first column.
After configuring the table object, confirm the settings with the OK button.
The cursor changes shape and waits for you to make two clicks:
• the first click defines the point (left hand corner) at which the table object
will be inserted
The path of the imported file (the file to which the table object to be inserted
• the second click defines the orientation of the table (in other words, the
refers) is displayed in the first row at the top.
angle at which the object will be inserted)
The data update button is immediately on the right. If you have modified
the original tabbed text file (important: without changing the position, in
other words, overwriting the previously imported file) and want to update
the data in the table inserted in the ArchiCAD work environment, click on
this button and the data will be read from the reference file again, updating
the inserted table.
On the far right, the Open… button lets you change the reference file linked
to the table by selecting a new one.

Header options
In the header options section, you can decide whether to display or hide a
heading (and then whether to use the filename or a user-defined string as
the heading) and configure the characteristics of the text used.

ArchiTools 37
Import list of points
The import list of points procedure lets you import survey files (point clouds)
into an ArchiCAD worksheet.
The procedure is identical to the ArchiTerra procedure, but in ArchiTerra the
user imports a list of coordinates describing a terrain and the aim is there-
fore to obtain a terrain as the final result.
In this case, the point cloud could describe, for example, the façade of a
building or a 3D element which has been surveyed using specific instru-
ments.
Once again, this tool can be used to both create or edit a point cloud:
• if you click on the tool icon with no point cloud object (Point Cloud - Ar-
chiTools) selected, you will import a file of points and therefore insert a
new point cloud object
• if on the other hand you select one or more Point Cloud – ArchiTools ob-
jects before clicking on the tool icon, you can edit the selection options
The procedure is extremely simple. Click on the Import List of Points tool
icon in the ArchiTools palette, then select the file to be imported in the stan-
dard Open dialog box displayed.
After briefly reading and interpreting the file, the following dialog box is
displayed to configure the table object to be inserted:

As in ArchiTerra, a preview of the first rows of the text file being imported
is displayed at the top.
To make the syntax of the text to be imported easier to comprehend, meta
characters are used to represent certain special characters:
• the » symbol indicates a tab
• the • symbol indicates a space
Immediately beneath is a preview of how the data will be imported accord-
ing to the configuration set in the area below which provides a series of
import options.

38 ArchiTools
Options Select the Point Cloud – ArchiTools object and click on the Import List of
In this section, you can choose the file format (in other words, the order in Points tool icon to edit the parameters.
which the data to be imported will appear), the character separating the The following dialog box will be displayed immediately:
fields to be imported (using the first preview area as a reference), the deci-
mal separator used in the file and the filter distance.
Remember that point clouds including tens of thousands of coordinates
could slow ArchiCAD down (surveys performed using the so-called total
stations could even include millions of points!).
We cannot obviously lay down any general rule. The performance depends
on your software/hardware configuration and the configuration of the final
object (for example, 3D markers or text displayed in Plan view greatly slow
down ArchiCAD).
Always bear in mind that appropriate use of the filter can often give excel-
lent results, even when the points “discarded” may seem excessive.
At the bottom of the dialog, you can choose the layer on which to insert the
object and the pen.
After confirming the import options with the OK button and brief processing
(again, the performance will depend on your configuration and the number
of coordinates imported), ArchiTools will insert the Point Cloud – ArchiTools
object representing your point cloud:

ArchiTools 39
2D marker options 3D model
In this section, you can define the 2D marker used to represent each indi- This section of the dialog allows you to manage an approximate triangu-
vidual point in the survey. lation of the point cloud in order to display in 3D images not just a simple
point cloud, but a 3D object based on triangulation of the imported points.
Coordinates content Here you can enable/disable display of the triangulation, choose the pen
and material used in the 3D view and define the approximate triangulation
Here you can decide the composition of the string to be displayed along-
parameters using the Triangulate… button.
side each point.

Coordinates text options Triangulation options

In this section you can enable/disable display of text alongside each point Clicking on the Triangulate… button accesses the following dialog box:
(the text configured in the coordinates content section) and define the graph-
ic characteristics of the text used.

Coordinates offset
In this section you can decide whether or not to apply an offset to the co-
ordinates. Application of an offset does not in fact have any effect on the
position of the point cloud object, but simply on the data displayed in the
coordinates text. The offset values set here will be applied to the data.

Point code text options

In this section, you can enable/disable display of the point code (obviously
if the imported file includes this information) and define the graphic charac-
teristics of the text used.

Point comment text options

In this section, you can enable/disable display of the point comment (obvi-
ously if the imported file includes this information) and define the graphic
characteristics of the text used.

3D marker options
In this section, you can define the 3D marker used to represent each indi-
vidual point in the survey in 3D projections.

40 ArchiTools
The preview area on the right shows the 3D model resulting from
triangulation of the point cloud.
When you first access the dialog box, the preview is blank (as the user has
not yet entered any configurations in the left-hand section). To display the
model with the current parameters, click the update triangulation preview
button and after processing (the time taken depends on your configuration
and the complexity of the point cloud), a preview of the model will appear:
ArchiTools
Triangulation options
The top section allows the survey stations to be filtered.
The point clouds may in fact also contain the coordinates of the survey
stations which obviously must not be included in triangulation of the model.
The coordinates of the survey stations are usually marked (or can be marked)
with a code/ID contained in the information imported.
Enter the search string in the field and use the pop-up menu at the top for
the search criterion.
Obviously the filter survey stations check-box will not be enabled until you
have defined a valid search criterion (in other words until you have defined
the search string in the field).
For example, suppose that all survey stations in your file have a code con-
taining the string “station” followed by the number of the station:
• station 001
• station 002
• station 003
• tree – station 005
To filter these coordinates, you simply need to write the string “station” in
the field and choose the string contains from the pop-up menu.
The following field defines a further filter, while the number of points to be
processed is displayed alongside.
The operation of this filter is appreciably different from that described
during the initial point import phase.
During importation, the filtered points are discarded, in other words, they
are not read and saved in the Point Cloud – ArchiTools object.
In this case, however, the points are filtered during triangulation only but
continue to exist and be represented as coordinates in both the Plan and
3D views.
The information will therefore not be definitively lost, the model generated
will merely be simplified.
41
Immediately below, a slide lets you manage the resolution of the resulting All the other commands present in the dialog should be familiar as they are
model: more or less the same as those used in ArchiCAD.
• move the slide to the extreme left for a very coarse model
• move the slide to the extreme right for the greatest possible level of detail
• in intermediate positions the resolution will obviously be somewhere in
between.
The same model triangulated with different resolutions but using the same
point cloud is shown below:

The top section shows the position of the camera. From the pop-up menu,
you can choose the type of projection to be used in the preview area.
The button panel on the left of the preview provides access to a number of
navigation commands:

define zoom with marquee area

zoom in

zoom out

pan

orbit mode
fit in window

The filter triangles check-box allows “isolated” triangles to be “cleaned up”.
The aim of the procedure is to obtain a solid (obviously where possible) at
the end of triangulation. If this option is enabled, all the triangles calculated
will be reviewed and “isolated” triangles (in other words those not contrib-
uting to creating the solid) will be eliminated.
The two buttons with arrows immediately below the preview area on the
right allow you to rotate the model.
In orbit mode, you can in any case click and drag the cursor to rotate the
model interactively.
When the dialog is closed with the OK button, you go back to the survey
settings dialog with the show triangulation check-box enabled.

42 ArchiTools
Survey stations
As described above, the imported point clouds may also contain the coor-
dinates of the survey stations.
The coordinates of the survey stations are usually marked (or can be marked)
with a code/ID contained in the information imported.
Enter the search string in the field and use the pop-up menu at the top for
the search criterion.
For example, suppose that all survey stations in your file have a code con-
taining the string “station” followed by the number of the station:
- station 001
- station 002
- station 003
- tree – station 005
To filter these coordinates, you simply need to write the string “station” in And in the 3D window:
the field and choose the string “contains” from the pop-up menu.
Once the filter identifying the survey stations has been identified, you can
use special markers and colours to identify the survey stations in both the
Plan and 3D views.
You can also display projections from these stations to the corresponding
surveyed points (again in both 2D and 3D views).
The logic used by the data in the imported file must follow a very common
standard: the first point listed is the point at which the survey station is locat-
ed and all the following points (until the next survey station) belong to this
first station (thus each of the points is connected to that station).
Below is an example of the result obtained from the above configuration in
the Plan view:

ArchiTools 43
List areas
This command operates in exactly the same way as the ArchiCAD com-
mand with the same name. It basically calculates the surface area of a
polygon with graphic demonstration of the calculation performed based on
break down of the polygon into triangles and circular segments (if curved
sides are present).
Heron’s formula is used to calculate the surface area of the triangles.
In geometry, Heron’s formula states that the area of a triangle whose sides
have the lengths a, b and c is given by:
Where p is the semiperimeter:
For circular segments, the surface area is given by the following formula:
The substantial difference between this and the ArchiCAD procedure with
the same name is that demonstration of calculation of the surface areas is
not linked to the zones defined in the project, but to a fill drawn by the user
(in any ArchiCAD work window).
44
Once again, the tool can be used to both create and edit:
• if you selected a fill (note that the procedure can be used to process just
one fill at a time) before clicking on the List Areas tool icon, then you are
in creation mode;
• if you selected one or more List Area – ArchiTools object(s) (the library
part used to represent the graphic demonstration of the calculation) be-
fore clicking on the List Areas tool icon, then you will edit the configura-
tion of the selection.
The procedure is very simple to use:
• draw a fill representing the surface area to be calculated (the fill may
have curved sides and include holes, there is therefore no limitation):
• click on the List Areas tool icon in the ArchiTools palette
• ArchiTools immediately displays a dialog box where you can configure
the result:
ArchiTools
 Dimension text options
In this section you can customise the characteristics of the text used for the
values indicating the dimensions of the triangles and circular segments into
which the original polygon has been broken down.

Header options:
In this section you can define the strings used for the list heading and the
characteristics of the text used for the strings.
If the strings are left empty, the row corresponding to the empty value will
obviously not be processed by ArchiTools.
Finally, the usual pop-up menu at the bottom allows you to choose the layer
on which to insert the object.
When you have finished configuration, close the dialog with the OK button.
After a short period of processing, the cursor changes shape and waits for
you to define the point at which the object representing the calculation of
the surface area of the polygon is to be inserted.
When you click, the object is inserted immediately:

2D options
In this section you can configure the pens and background colour for the
polygons used to graphically represent the calculation.

Calculation text options

In this section you can customise the characteristics of the text used to graph-
ically represent calculation of the surface.
As you can see, the original polygon has been broken down into triangles
and circular segments.

ArchiTools 45
The relative dimension appears on each side and at the centre of each
component there is an ID number in a circle.
On the right, there is a list of the individual components (recognisable by
the ID number) with the formula used to calculate the surface area and the
surface area calculated for each element.
The algebraic sum of the surface areas of the individual components (repre-
senting the total surface area of the polygon) is shown at the bottom.
Below is an example using a fill with a hole:

In this case, the calculation is rather more complex to represent. First, the
surface area of the principal polygon will be calculated (as if there were no
holes), followed by the surface area of the individual holes.
The surface areas of the holes will be subtracted from the principal surface
area:
As can be seen, the individual holes are broken down and calculated one
by one. The result will be a negative surface area which will be added
algebraically to the surface area of the principal polygon.
Note: When you select an Area List – ArchiTools object, graphic hotspots
will appear allowing you to drag the various parts of the image to
move them to the desired position.

46 ArchiTools
Help
In common with all other Cigraph add-ons, ArchiTools is accom-
panied by a help file.
Click on the last button on the right of the palette to display the
user manual in PDF format.

ArchiTools 47