Contents

• A note on customizing blocks
• Properties that can be changed
• How these blocks are used
• Changing the way residential windows appear

A note on customizing blocks

It is highly recommended that when you want to customize a block that you make a copy of the original block and put the copy in the "Custom" folder. Edit the copy in the "Custom" folder leaving the original file intact. We also recommend that you place any new blocks you create in the "Custom" folder as well.

Put all new and customized blocks here so they will go with you when you upgrade.

When any of the APS-2008 commands look for a block they look in the custom folder first and then in either the Planblks or Elevblks folders. By doing this you keep a copy of the original file (just in case something should go wrong or you want to go back to the original) and you keep all of your customizations centrally located which makes it easier to take your customizations with you should you move to a new computer. Also, future version upgrades to the APS-2008 software will copy any customizations in the "Custom" folder and use them with the new software saving you the hassle of setting it up again.

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Properties that can be changed

Attribute	Default value	Comments
Layer	0	We don't recommend changing this
Color	BYBLOCK	We don't recommend changing this
Linetype	BYBLOCK	We don't recommend changing this
Lineweight	n/a (all blocks are saved in R13 format)	Can be made byblock in AutoCAD release 2000+
Geometry	Fixed Slider Single/Double Hung	See below for how to change the blocks that the residential window commands insert.

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How these blocks are used

The blocks that are used for this command are scaled with different X and Y values when inserted. The X value is always 1.0 and the Y value is the width of the window. By inserting the blocks this way they are automatically "stretched" (scaled) to fit the window opening. The blocks that you need to modify do not look like the blocks shown above until the window commands scale them. The blocks actually look like this in their raw format:

Fixed window (fixed.dwg)
Sliding window (slider.dwg)
Single/Double Hung window (sglhung.dwg)

While this allows us to use only one block for each type of window it does introduce some inaccuracy when the window size is very large or very small. These blocks were drawn using 36" as the size that proportions are accurate. To illustrate this, first a 36" window is shown here:

Now if the window is much wider the proportions are stretched (note the window overlap and how far the sill goes past the jamb).

For a narrow window the reverse is true.

We feel that this is an acceptable practice because doors drawn in a floor plan are symbolic in nature and therefore do not need to be dimensionally perfect.

If you feel strongly that this practice is NOT acceptable please let us know and we will take it in to consideration for future releases.

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Changing the way the residential windows appear

The window blocks shown below do not look like the default blocks (shown above). Do not let this alarm you as the concepts and procedures for changing the blocks is the same. For this example we will create jambs in the "slider" window block and change the width proportions of the block from the default 36" to 48". The change in width would only need to be done if most of your windows were around 48" and you wanted the proportions more accurate at this size.

Open a drawing and use one of the residential window commands to insert a 36" wide slider in a wall as shown. The orientation of the window is important so make the wall vertical and insert the window with the exterior side to the right.
Either move the window away from the walls or erase the walls.
Draw a line from the insertion point of the window block to an arbitrary point away from the block. This line is simply to help you locate the insertion point again once the block has been exploded and modified.
Explode the block.  The funny blob that appears in the middle of the block is the height attribute definition. Do NOT erase it!
In this example we are changing the base width of the window to 48". Stretch each end of the window 6" so that the window now measures 48". (If you are not changing the base width of the window skip this step)
Now we will construct the jambs. First draw lines from the endpoints of the window lines as shown. Next offset the lines the distance that you would like them to be when a 48" window is drawn.
Erase the first lines drawn and trim the interior window lines as shown.
Now make sure that all the lines (and any other objects) are all on layer "0" and the color, linetype, and lineweight for all of the objects are "BYBLOCK". The CHLAYR, CCOLOR, LTYPE, and LNWEIGHT commands can help with this.

We will now create a temporary block. Type in "BLOCK" at the command line and when asked for a block name type in "WINTEMP". When asked for an insertion point select the endpoint of our "insertion placeholder line" as shown here:

Then when asked to select objects, select all the window objects. (all the objects that are shown white here) Don't select our "placeholder line". (the orange one) 

Now we will insert the block that we have just created, but instead of inserting it normally, we will shrink the Y scale factor so that our block will be only 1 unit tall.

 In this case since our block was 48" long we will insert our block with a Y scale factor of 1/48. Our insertion point will be the endpoint of our trusty "placeholder line"

Once the block is inserted we will explode it.

We will now make a  Write-Block.

Type WBLOCK at the command prompt. You will see one of the following:

Release 2000 and later

Release 14 Release 13

Release 13    Locate the "...\APS-2008\Custom" folder, enter the block name (aps-slid.dwg) and press "OK". Press <Enter> when prompted for a block name.

Release 14    Locate the "...\APS-2008\Custom" folder, enter the block name (aps-slid.dwg) and press "Save". Press <Enter> when prompted for a block name.

Release 2000 and later    Enter the block name (aps-slid.dwg) and the location should be set to the "...\APS-2008\Custom" folder. Verify that the source is set to "Objects".

Release 13/14 When asked for an insertion point use the endpoint of our trusty "placeholder line" again. As before, the objects to be selected are all the window objects. (the ones shown here in white.)

Release 2000 and later    In the "Base point" box select the "Pick point" button and select the endpoint of our "placeholder line" again. Next press the "Select objects" button in the "Objects" box and select all of the window objects (the ones shown here in white). Finally press "OK".

We have now created a new residential slider block that will be used every time we insert a residential sliding window.

Note: All the APS-2008 commands will look in the Custom folder first when searching for a block. This means that you can leave the old "aps-slid.dwg" block in the "Planblks" folder as a backup. 

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