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We have many different types of doors
and windows. Walls can be cut or doors and windows can be inserted in existing
openings. The door and window commands can break walls made up of any combination and/or number of
lines, plines, and/or mlines. All doors and windows are fully customizable and if you
don't like the way they look you can easily change them. The doors and windows can be configured to draw headers, sills and/or jambs and if
they are inserted in an "existing" wall can even be configured to automatically
draw the wall area removed on your layer for demolition.
Doors are inserted with several options for handing and swing type where
applicable. In the image shown here, the options for a single swing door are
shown. You simply select the handing and swing type you want. Pocket doors are also included in the choices.
We have limited the door and window insertion methods to two: centered and
offset. However these two methods are capable of locating your doors and windows
in nearly all the conditions you may encounter; greatly simplifying and speeding
the process of inserting doors and windows.
Centered
Offset
Base points for locating your doors and windows are very flexible and do not
need to be located on the wall that will receive the new door or window, they
can be any point in the drawing and will be projected perpendicular to the wall
where the door or window is being inserted. This flexibility allows you to stop
drawing "temporary" lines to locate doors or windows; greatly speeding things up
without sacrificing accuracy.
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We have two ways to note doors and windows:
Size and type notation
For jobs that don't require door and window schedules the size and type of
door/window can be noted as shown.
Door and window symbols
For jobs that are larger and/or require schedules we can insert symbols as
shown here. As with all of our symbols the fonts and symbol shapes are fully
customizable (just in case you don't like the looks of ours).
Both types of annotation allow you to place notes/symbols globally or by
selecting each door or window individually and when using symbols they can
be automatically numbered and/or lettered as they are inserted.
Of course once you add the door and window symbols to your drawing you will
want to extract their information and create a schedule with just the push of a
button.
The image above is an example of what a door schedule might look like.
No more fighting with OLE objects, no more drawing grid lines and trying to
get all the text centered just right. Our schedule commands take care of all the
mundane details for you.
- Information is extracted from door/window/room symbols in your drawing and
the schedules are created instantly.
- You may increase or decrease the number of columns shown and change the
titles so you show exactly the information you want. It will even create a
legend of abbreviations used in the schedule.
- The schedule is easily updated, run the schedule command again and any
changes to the data in the drawing will be updated in the schedule.
We have commands to create door, window, and finish schedules.
Creating door and window elevations has never been easier! All of our door
and window elevation blocks are created on the fly so you may specify any size
you need and the component dimensions, configuration, colors, and lineweights
are all specified by you (no thousands of door and window blocks for you to
change). We have two methods for creating door and window elevations:
- Select the type of door or window, specify the size and configuration, and
insert it manually.
- Select a door or window in your plan,
select the finish floor line...
and the door or window is created and
Continue selecting doors and windows from your
inserted
automatically into the elevation.
plan and the elevations are created automatically.
Doors and windows that have several style possibilities will bring up a dialog
to allow you to select the style you want.
Each of door and window types has configuration settings for things like
trim, window grids, grid styles, glazing size, color, lineweight etc.
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Layer control is so much more than layer states, or changing layer
properties. In addition to the "standard" layer commands we have a fully
automated layer control system that allows you to draw without having to worry
about layers. Objects "know" on which layer they should go.
In the APS system you may choose from three levels of layer control:
1. The first is for those who don’t want
APS-2008 to deal with layers at all. Known as
“No layer control” this method simply has all the APS commands create all new objects on the current
layer.
2. The second is for those who use just a few layers and want to keep it as
simple as possible. This method is known as “Direct
layer assignment” and it allows you to assign a single layer name to each
layer type or command.
3. The third method is known as “Layer scheme
control” it allows you to have a dynamic system that adjusts to the type
of drawing and/or floor level you are working on. It is powerful yet keeps things fast and simple.
A few of
its features are listed here:
• Your layers can be configured to show either in a pull-down (shown at
left) or on the screen menu (shown at right) so that when prompted for layer
name(s) you may select the name(s) from the lists (among several ways
to select layer names). Never type
a layer name again.
• When no command is active, clicking on a layer name will make that layer
current and (if configured) will start the line command.
• You may create as many layer schemes as you like and changing from one
layer scheme to another is as simple as one click. Layer schemes are
organized into scheme files. Each scheme file may have up to 16 layer
schemes in it and each layer scheme may have up to 200 layers in it. While
having this many layers may seem crazy to most, this system allows quick
access to all of your layers so even ridiculous numbers of layers become
manageable.
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• Layer schemes are fully customizable and are managed right from within
AutoCAD® using our layer scheme manager.
• All the APS commands automatically “know” on which layers to
draw/insert new objects. You will never have to worry about layers again. The layers used depend
on which layer scheme is current so things like stacking multiple floors in
a single file become quick and easy. When using the first floor scheme new
objects will be drawn/inserted on the “first floor” layers, when using the
second floor scheme new objects will go on the “second floor” layers, and so
on.
• Layers are automatically created either on an "as needed" basis or all
at once when you change schemes. You will never have to create a layer
again.
• The layer schemes work seamlessly with XREFerenced files and their layers.
See Using the screen menu with layer schemes or
Using the pull-downs with layer schemes
for more information.
Rather than provide stock details that may or may not be what you might need
(if you can find one close in a timely manner). We have focused on creating
tools and commands that can make creating a detail from scratch as fast or
faster than changing an existing detail. One such tool is the
DETAILER system. It is
comprised of many individual commands to create some of the more commonly used
materials in ways that make constructing sections and details easy, fast, and
accurate.
You may select these commands either from the
DETAILER main dialog (shown
above) or individually by selecting from the "Detailer" pull-down, one of the
toolbar buttons, or by entering one of the command names shown below:
The appearance of all the materials created by the
DETAILER commands are
customizable.
Tired of drawing cabinetry elevations from scratch? We have some tools that
can help. Each of the cabinetry elevation commands creates cabinetry blocks on
the fly so you can create cabinets of any size and are not limited to “what's in
the block library”. The blocks can be inserted manually or by projecting the
cabinetry location from your floor plan. Don’t like the way our cabinets look?
Change them, the appearance and common dimensions of the cabinetry are
customizable. Three cabinetry command dialogs are shown here:
There are commands to draw base cabinetry...
Base cabinetry consisting of just drawers, and...
upper
cabinets that can draw range hoods and microwaves if desired.
There are (3) hatch palettes: one for details and sections, one for
elevations, and one for plans (shown below). Each allows you to set up a standard set of 40 hatch patterns and
you are
able to predefine each pattern's properties so the trial and error of hatching is
eliminated.
The dialog above shows the hatches that the "Plan Hatches" palette comes
configured with out of the box. We also have included over 80 hatch patterns
that are not typically a part of everyone's library but that we've found quite
helpful. An example is our four shake hatches. Why four? Because as you can see
above they are the same width but the height is different so you can show
different roof pitches on the same elevation and have it look right. There are
also some of the more common hatches like our stone and wood hatches as well as
some less common material hatches like straw and stone in section.
Each of the 40 hatches selected for use in each palette can have several
properties edited to speed insertion. When you press "Customize" and then select
one of the hatch patterns in a palette you will see the following:
For each of the 40 hatches for each palette you may configure:
 Hatch pattern
Hatch relative to a selected
base point Great when doing brick hatches etc.
Prompt for scale/rotation prior to hatching Some hatches should
always be the same scale time after time, others may need to change
scale/rotation
Default/Preset rotation and Default/Preset scale factor Depending on
what is checked above this sets either the Default rotation/scale that can be
changed prior to hatching or sets the Preset rotation/scale that will be used
every time.
Adjust hatch scale w/ drawing scale Once you have figured out the
perfect scale factor for a specific hatch pattern you can have the hatch scale
factor adjust with the scale of the drawing so it will always be perfect no
matter what drawing you are in.
Hatch color/Lineweight This is usually set to "Bylayer" but dot
hatches and some others often need to be a heavier or lighter than the standard
"Bylayer" color/lineweight so you may set that here so you save a step not
having to change it after the fact.
The door and window headers are drawn automatically by the door and window
commands so if we were drawing an office building or other space with an
acoustical tile ceiling we could just use our ceiling grid command and
automatically center your ceiling grids with just a couple of clicks.
Then use
dozens of other commands to insert lighting, electrical, mechanical, and other
items to complete your RCP plan.
We have commands to help make laying out a roof plan quick and easy
and when you want to show the framing we have commands to help with that too.
We are proud of our block library system. It allows you quick access to blocks, commands,
and more. The block library system is divided into two sections:
PLANBLKS
and ELEVBLKS.
 
Plan Block Library - Main Menu
Elevation Block Library - Main Menu
These fully customizable block libraries come stocked with the basics to
get you started (approx. 350 blocks) and also use commands that create
thousands of door, window and cabinet elevations. These expandable libraries can
easily grow to accommodate adding your existing block library but are not
limited to just inserting blocks. Each menu
consists of 40 cells that can each be configured to do one of the following
actions:
Each of these actions (except "do nothing") can be customized to
fit your needs. Select an action above to see more on set-up and
configuration.
In addition to our block libraries we've also got a full array of commands that
make working with blocks and XREF's simpler and more efficient.
There is a
wide variety of annotation symbols and symbol commands available. Many are a part
of the Architectural Symbols
 portion of the block
library (shown here).
These commands and blocks allow you to quickly and easily reference your
drawings and all are fully customizable so they can be changed to match your
graphic standards.
Below is a small sampling of commands to give you an idea of the types of
commands we have to help you...
Layer Commands like...
-
 all ON,
 All OFF, Pick Off, Pick
Freeze, Pick Current, Copy to Layer, Offset to Layer, Layer Isolate etc...
- Since our layer schemes allow easy stacking of multiple floor levels in one
drawing we created a command to copy objects from one floor to another simply by
selecting objects (even if on multiple layers: walls, windows, etc.) and then
the floor level to copy them to; keeping all the objects on their respective
layer but on the new floor level.
- Explode blocks to the layer that the block was on. No more exploding blocks
and having all the objects go to layer "0".
Tools to help with entering numbers,
angles and locating points...
- Dialog driven tools to enter distances, numbers, and angles quickly.
- Locate a point a given distance/angle from a
reference point
- Locate a point midway between two selected
points
- Locate a point using a distance & angle
dialog i.e.: "@3'<45" or "@9,7" Angle format is based on current angular
units value. Very handy for entering property lines of a site plan using
surveyors units.
Text Commands
like...
- A single command to edit
attributes, text, mtext, dimensions, door symbols, window
symbols, room name symbols, door blocks (plan), window blocks (plan), hatch,
or an attribute definition.
- Convert standard text to Mtext.
- Create left or center justified notes, small titles, and large titles that
automatically scale to the correct size for your drawing. The size, style and
other properties are predefined by you so you never have to worry about your
text being the wrong size or style.
- Change selected text so it is all uppercase,
all lowercase, only the first character of each word is capitalized, or so
only the first character of each sentence is capitalized.
- Create a new line of text below another and
move text below if needed to make room for the new line.
- Add surveyors distance and angle text for a
line by selecting it.
- Align the left side of multiple lines of text
at once.
- Copy the text value from one text object to another, the objects can be
different types of text, dimensions etc.
Residential Commands
like...
- Draw medicine cabinets, toilets, tubs, single
& double sinks, and pantries with just a couple of clicks.
- A closet command to quickly draw and note a rod & shelf in a closet that
adjusts the note if the closet is small.
- Quickly draw beams over doors and windows and note the size by selecting from
a configurable list of common beam sizes or conditions.
Annotation
Commands like...
- A variety of leaders, each with your choice
of six customizable arrow styles and one that draws a dashed circle
instead of an arrow.
- Command to erase all of the door and window callouts at once so they can be
renumbered
- For those using the versions of AutoCAD that do not have the "REVCLOUD"
command we have one too.
- Use a variety of keynote leaders to keynote your drawings. You can either use
them in the traditional manor or use our global keynoting system to create
numbers that will be used throughout your drawing set. The global keynoting
system includes tools to quickly enter keynote numbers that have been previously
defined or allows you to enter new numbers and notes. It also includes a fully
featured keynote editing tool to add, edit, or delete keynote numbers and notes.
The keynote list for each sheet is generated automatically and is easily updated
prior to plotting.
- Use a variety of material key leaders to specify the materials in your
drawings. Quickly select your material key number from your material key
definitions which are divided into 16 sections and further subdivided for quick
location of just the right material. Reference your specification sections or
create a system all your own, it is up to you. Material key lists are generated
automatically showing only the material keys in the current drawing and are
easily updated as your drawings change. The material key system includes a
material definition editor that allows full customization of your material
definitions.
- Break-lines (a.k.a. cut lines) with your choice of "squiggles"
Color commands like...
- A dialog with 5 pen thickness areas
containing colors for each thickness so you can quickly change the colors of
objects to colors of your color/pen thickness scheme
- Keyboard shortcut commands to change the color of objects. "1" changes objects to color 1
(red), "2" to color 2 (yellow) and so on. All 255 colors plus 0 and 256 are
each used for a total of 257 commands (just in case you are wondering we only
count these 257 commands as 1 command for our total number of over 300 commands)
General Commands
like...
- A single utility to configure all of the APS commands so you will always know
where to go to configure how the commands work.
- A command to help with the initial setup of the software
- Just in case one of our commands has a name conflict with another command all
our command names can be changed to allow harmonious coexistence with other
software.
- We have a command to set up drawing scale, limits, and insert and/or XREF
title blocks to start new drawings. The title blocks are scaled based on the
scale chosen so you only have to draw each sheet size or type of title block once.
- Commands to change the objects inside a block to layer "0" and can also make
the objects "ByLayer" or "ByBlock" color, linetype, and lineweight so you won't
have to explode some of those pesky blocks with objects on various layers.
- Hatch relative to a base point so with
hatches like brick or CMU you can specify where to start their coursing.
- Change the lineweight of your objects quickly with our dialog driven command
- For those using AutoCAD 2005 or earlier we
have a command to help assemble menu files and a keyboard shortcut key command
manager to help create shortcut commands without editing a pgp file or having
to know any programming.
- "Pick" XREF's to detach.
- A command to perform a variety of configurable tasks to prepare
your drawing for
plotting.
- Commands to help with ending a drawing by
updating the title block, purging, saving (in various versions), and then
closing.
- Regen a single layer
- Use a single click to update information like
filename, project number, scale, date, initials, drawing type, sheet number,
and date & time stamps in your title block.
Toolbar Buttons
like...
For the toolbar button junkie we've got lots to offer...
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CAD solutions from the trenches
We have invested
over 10 years in the development and testing of this software and we know that
it can GREATLY improve the speed and accuracy of your production drafting.
How can we be sure? The software developers and
programmers here at KLH Software, Inc. all have a minimum of 8 years working
full time drafting in either an architectural or residential design firm and must also do some production drafting on a regular basis. This keeps us firmly rooted in
what the needs are in the production drafting environment. There is no "this
sounds like it might be helpful" spoken here. All our commands and systems are designed and
tested by people who actually use them. This insures that while our commands are
feature rich, they don't get bogged down with too many "options" that get in the
way of getting the job done quickly and efficiently.
We feel that it is the way our commands work together that makes our
software what it is, each command complementing the other in a
complete drafting system designed to get the job done quickly and accurately.
--Spend your time worrying about
what you are drawing, not how you are drawing it--
 Taking CAD to
the Next Level
We only want satisfied customers! If you don't like our
software for ANY reason, we'll either fix it to
your satisfaction or give you your money
back!
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