FAQ Domus Cad

Why does a light inserted in one room illuminate the adjacent rooms as well?

Shadows are not an available option for Interactive rendering, therefore the elements themselves (such as walls and floor slabs) are merely shaded according to their relationship to the light source and do not have the ability to cast shadows on other objects, making it seem as if the light passes through them. It is not possible, for example, to create a completely dark room, even if it has no doors or windows. Use OpenGl and Rayshade renderers for casting shadows.

What purpose does ambient light serve?

Ambient light's primary purpose is to lighten the shaded areas. Without ambient light, all shaded areas would be completely black. A lack of ambient light creates a greatly contrasting image, while a predominance of ambient light creates an image with little contrast. Another purpose is to create a certain atmosphere by changing the ambient light's color.

How do you print the 3D view?

The easiest way is to transfer the view to an unused layer and page it using the normal DomusCad procedure, after which it can be printed.

Is it possible to make a QuickTime film from the 3D view?

It is not possible to make a QuickTime film from inside Domus.Cad, but it can be done using other programs, such as Snapz Pro and Screenium, it is possible to film everything from the 3D View window.

How can I create people, animals, etc. in a 3D view ? You can either create 3D models (quite complicated), import a 3D model in DWG, DXF and 3DS formats or insert the images people or animals into the 3D view. For example:

• create a 3D view and place it on a free layer
• import the image into DomusCad (e.g. using Cut and Paste).
• Draw a polygon on the image around the part of the photo to be cut. Use PictRot to extract the internal part and set white part transparent.
• rescale the image if necessary, to the same scale as the photo

How to insert a rendering in a photo? The first step towards inserting a rendering in a picture is to place the Domus.Cad camera in the same position as the real life camera. Place the observed point in Domus.Cad on the point corresponding to the center of the photo. Set the camera angle parameter the same as the lens of the camera. Set the Domus.Cad light direction parallel to the direction of the light in the picture. The sun light generation tool can help you. Set the 3D view background color to white. After that you should obtain a 3D view that is consistent with the photo perspective. Save the image on a free layer. Select the image and with the PictRot module of the Plug In menu change the image to make the white color transparent. Select the image and group it in an object. Place the object on the top of the photo. Resize the object, with the mouse, so that it is perfectly superimposed on the photo.

Is it possible to paste a 3D perspective onto a photo of landscape, in order to show the project's integration into its environment? There are several interesting dxf and dwg models that you can import in Domus.Cad. To superimpose a Domus.Cad rendering onto a photo in Domus.Cad follow the steps below:

• Import the photo in Domus.Cad
• Generate the rendering with a white background
• Save the rendering to a free layer
• Select the rendering image and choose the PictRot command from the Modules menu
• Set 0 rotation, million of colors, 72 dpi and white transparent. Confirm
• Now you can move the rendering onto the photo because the background is transparent.

I would like to add texture to a 3D perspective, but when I "paste" a fill to the floor, it is visible only in 2D. In the 3D view you can use photorealistic textures. Go to the Colors parameters, associate a texture to a color, activate the texture check box on the color parameters dialog and on the 3D view (far right button).

How to add a texture to the texture list? In your Domus,Cad folder you should have a DOMUS-Cad Texture folder. On Windows the Texture folder is inside the Domus.Cad Data folder, on Macintosh there is an alias on the Domus.Cad folder Any image added to this folder will be accessible via the internal texture menu in the Materials Windows of Domus.Cad. If , on a Mac, the texture folder alias doesn't work, you can access the Texture folder directly inside the Domus.Cad Package. To do that, follow the steps below: - Ctrl click on the Domus.Cad icon and on the pop up menu choose the Show Package content command - Open the Content folder - Open the MacOs folder - Open Domus-Cad Data folder - Open the Domus-Cad Texture folder - Drag your Texture to the Domus-Cad Textures folder

How to use specular color and coefficient? All materials have a diffuse color and a specular color, which can be different. If so, the color of the material changes depending on the position of the light. The specular coefficient changes the aspect of the material, giving it a more plastic or metallic appearance. With RayShade an high specular coefficient generates a mirror effect.

The rooms of my building, which have no external lighting, are completely dark. Is there any way of defining natural lighting for the whole interior, valid all through the evolution of the 3D version? Or must I define the light source as I go? Natural lighting is really all about shadows - more light means fewer shadows. It all depends on the type of renderer you are using. For example, the interactive renderer doesn't support cast shadow, so if you use an external light, it lights the interiors too. The RayShade renderer supports cast shadows, so the light doesn't penetrate across the surfaces and doesn't light the interior - you have to put other lights in the building.

How can I create shadow for objects in 2D or 3D? In DomusCad, cast shadows can only be created using RayShade in 3D. For 2D drawings, use the traditional method of indicating shadows by a hatched or colored polygon. Or try this interesting method : create a 3D view with RayShade, complete with cast shadows. This can then be transferred to a layer which has been rescaled and placed under the technical view. The result is a technical view with colors and shadows. The same can be achieved in plan.

Please explain how to illuminate the interior of a building. I would like moderate lighting with one illuminated wall, opposite a wall in shadow. Are you using Interactive renderer or Ray Shade? The two renderers work differently. The Interactive renderer doesn't support cast shadows. This means that the light "penetrates" inside the objects and the building, lighting internal objects too. The Ray Shade and OpenGl renderers  support cast shadows. This means that if you have an external light, the internal parts of a building aren't lighted and you must insert some point lights inside. When you insert point lights, pay attention to the Z coordinate. Light coordinates are calculated overall, not by layer, so if you put a light on the second floor, the Z starts from ground level, not from the 2nd floor.

When lengthening a Wall , the program calculates from the center of the wall, even if the start point indicated was the end of the wall. A wall is registered by its axis and this is what the program takes into account, during modifications. If you want to maintain the original direction, choose the option Only Axial Deformation, or press the Shift k

The Getting Started Example begins a roof with two rectangles, which are assigned a material but appear semi-transparent in the documentation. I cannot find a way to change the transparency of rectangles; they are not included in the PARAMETERS menu with other elements. Do you have patterned or hatched rectangles in plan? If this is your case, just assign a "No Fill" to the rectangle. You can do it before drawing the rectangles of after. Before: select the rectangle icon and the pen icon. Click on the Fill tool on the attributes palette and choose No Fill. The No Fill option is assigned to all the rectangles, circles, polygons and curves drawn after the choose. After: select the rectangle icon and the arrow icon. Select the rectangle, Click on the Fill tool on the attributes palette and choose No Fill. The fill of the rectangle is removed and it appears transparent.

Pictures can't be rotated in Domus.Cad. so I tried saving the picture as an object, then rotating it, but it doesn't work. Any suggestions? P.S. - the scanning software and graphic converter only allow rotation in 90 degree increments. What scanning software are you using? What are the supported exporting formats (PICT, GIF, JPEC, TIFF, ... )?   To rotate the picture, you can use the PictRot module from the Module-PlugIn menu, In Macintosh there are two kinds of pictures: Bit-Map (ex. scanned images) and Vectorial (ex. those exported from a CAD software). If you have vectorial pictures, then it's possible to transform them into Domus.Cad objects and to rotate the objects. Basically each vectorial element of the picture (lines, polygons, texts etc.) is transformed in a correspondent Domus.Cad element. If you try to transform a Bit-Map picture in an object, then the picture disappears.

Is there any way of manually inputting the X & Y-coordinates to determine the length of the walls? Is there a box anywhere that the length can be typed into? If you want to draw a wall inserting the length, you can use the polar or relative input. Follow the steps below: - Click with the mouse where you want to start the wall. In Domus.Cad the polar and relative coordinates refer always to the last click made. - Click inside the relative coordinates box - In the relative coordinates dialog window, input the length in the dx or dy field and click Continue. You can continue to insert other elements, each element starts from the previous point. Command-W shows the current insert point - Continue allows you to continue inserting elements without exiting. - Draw inserts an element and exits. - Move moves the insertion point without drawing. If you are using a unit of measure different than fractional inches, you can use the algebraic input. In Domus.Cad you can use any algebraic formula in any numerical field with + - * / () operators. Unfortunately this doesn't work with fractional inches (decimal feet are OK). If you want to use polar coordinates the method is similar. If you want to change the length of a selected element, follow the steps below: - Select the element - Click in one of the coordinates boxes. The editing dialog appears. You can change the length, the angle and move the element. #22 Does the package allow the insertion of windows and doors accurately using coordinates, as for walls? Yes, there are several methods to accurately insert or modify an opening, window or door, in a wall. Double click on the Windows/Doors icon and look at the Windows or Doors parameters dialog window: You can choose several tracing modes. Example:  I want to insert a door of 150 cm starting 60 cm from the corner of the room. In this case I choose the (b+c) Fixed Width+Dist. option and set the fixed distance = 60 cm and the Fixed length = 150 and press OK. Click inside a wall - the program finds the closest corner or end of the wall and places the opening correctly. (Move the mouse around to find the internal part of the wall, marked with a bullet.) In the same way you can modify the position and length of one or more selected windows/doors. Or, you can insert openings using the polar absolute and relative coordinates of the coordinates palette. The absolute coordinates are referenced to a global or local origin that you can place in any point, so it is a good idea to place elements with progressive distances.

I would like to know how to draw a grid and something about scale and measures in general. Double click on the Grid icon on the right of the working window. Set the grid values for X and Y directions. This is the active grid. If the icon is enabled (pressed), the mouse is attached to the grid while you are drawing. The active grid can be visible or not. The visible grid is drawn on the screen, but if it is too small, Domus.Cad displays a multiple of the grid. In this case the grid lines are different. You can test this activating the grid and zooming in and out. If both the Snap to Grid and the Snap to Hot Points are activated, the cursor first attaches to the points, intersection, perpendicular, center, border etc,, then if it doesn't find anything, attaches to the grid. We suggest leaving the grid active by default. Look at the coordinates and distances boxes on the Coordinates palette. When you click on any point of the window, the relative and polar coordinates are zeroed on this point. Moving the mouse, the relative and polar coordinates refer to the last point clicked. You can visualize the last point clicked at any time by pressing the W key. In Domus.Cad you use real measures and you can choose the unit of measure and decimals. Anyway the Window title shows the current video scale and you can set a reference scale, called Natural scale. An icon on the bottom of the working window allows you to see the drawing with the Natural scale. The Natural scale is important for font size. When you choose a text size, it means that the text will be printed with that size if the printing scale is the same as the Natural Scale, otherwise the text will print out bigger or smaller.

I don't know what key I hit by mistake, but suddenly all copies take place "on the spot", without the usual 45° shift of the duplicated image. How can I get this shift back? You have to enable the duplication with offset. Choose Process Offset from the Edit menu or press the F key. The F key is a short cut to enable or disable the offset operations.

I have difficulty with putting furniture in my drawings. When I choose a piece of furniture, it appears in the bottom left of my screen in a "fade" Grey color. I then move it to the place I want it, but once I click on it, it disappears. The same happens with windows also.  You have to press the space bar or the Return key to fix a library object on the drawing. When you import the object you can see it grayed in the bottom left corner of the window. Drag it where you want and press the space bar or the return key. By dragging with the mouse and pressing again the Return key, you can insert several copies of the same object.

Why does the Metric Calculation command bring up a a blank page? You probably haven't assigned a calculation mode to your elements. Select the elements and choose Calculation from the Parameters menu. For example, you can choose to calculate the volume of a Wall, or the surface area of one face, two faces, or all faces.

How to make a grid for the concrete structure in basement, with all the columns? I have looked and read all but I could not find the key. You can use "walls" for basement, columns and beams. The wall tool is a general tool and the Slab/Floor tool is more general of what the word means. You can create a basement using a slab-floor tool. I'm not sure if it is what you are speaking about, but attached there is a little example of what I mean. The result is

I need help in getting the construction documents together include. 1. generation of 1:50 sections, 1:100 elevations, 1:10 section details, 1:10 plan details, window elevations and details. 2. adding notes and dimensions 3. paging sheets to a printing sheet 4, setting up a printer/plotter - preferably A1 - my engineer has offered the use of his HP printer, which is connected to a PC 5. setting up page titling, numbering etc. Suggestions on where to start first and what I need to change on my drawing to aid the process? thanks for your help There are two different approaches. Some architects prefer the first and some others the second. 1 – Starting drawing construction lines and polygons to define rooms, distances, positions etc. After, adding walls and windows, following the underlying drawing. 2 – Starting tracing directly the walls. Tracing them longer than strictly necessary and delete the extra unnecessary parts after inserting the perpendicular walls in the correct place. Personally, I prefer the second way, because it avoids one step and use better some Domus.Cad features, as wall fusion. The Domus.Cad tutorial follows this method. The various project phases could be as follows: - Design all the 3d parts (walls, windows, slabs, stairs, roofs etc.) and control the model in the 3D view. - Add the 3D objects that you want , they appear in sections and elevations - Generate all the sections and elevations and save them in some free layers - Complete plants, sections and elevations with 2D drawings, text, patterns and dimensions, according to the desired print scale - Copy plan and section parts to free layers to design plan and section details - Paginate all the necessary print tables - If you use an external plotter to print, you can choose to plot to disk. This generates a file in HP-GL/2 format, that can be plotted on any HP ink-jet plotter. You can send it by e-mail. Looking at your drawing I noted a lot of not fused walls. Some of them have a 0 attach. Do you want the walls to be fused or not? Generally, setting an attach distance some longer than walls thickness produces good results. Another suggestion: always set a grid from the beginning, some little value as 50 mm. If needed, raise or lower it, but never disable the grid. If the grid is disabled, your drawing will be inaccurate. If you draw while the grid is disabled, the values shown in the coordinates boxes aren't exact. You can see 1258 mm, while the exact value could be 1258.45876. When you draw the dimensions, the rounding process can generate incongruent dimensions in some parts of the drawing. If you have two 1000.45876 coaxial parts, the relative dimension are rounded to 1000, while the total dimension is round of (1000.45876 + 1000.45876) = 2001 instead of 2000.

Does Domus.Cad have a command line interface ? Domus.Cad doesn't have a command line interface. Usually CADs with a command line user interface derive from old versions or have a compatible Autocad user Interface. In this case the commands follow the form: verb and object :

Example: To change color set the current color and then execute: Change Color - click on the element Changing a fill or rotating an element etc. are done in the same way.

Example: Select an object (the subject) and after execute any command (the verb) like change color, fill, rotate, scale etc.

When applying a library Window to an opening, why does the program turn the object 90 degrees ? The library Window must be saved horizontal, with the internal part facing up and the external, down. In this way Domus.Cad applies the object correctly, no matter which way the opening is orientated. Simply open your Window on a free layer, turn it and save the layer as Object.

How can I make a parapet wall for the circular ramp of a car park? You can follow 2 methods. 1 - Use the Superrot command. Draw the section of the wall as a polygon at the right distance from the Y-axis, select it and choose the command Superrot. Insert the parameters, including the difference in height between the start and end of the ramp. 2 - Use the angular offset in the Offset parameters. Draw a little wall with the right starting height at both ends. In the offset parameters, input an angular offset and Z offset. Duplicate the wall several times to complete the parapet wall.

How can I insert an arched portico into the facade of my building? And how do I do a barrel-vaulted ceiling? For the portico, the simplest way is to insert arched 'Doors' into the facade. Here's how to do the barrel-vault: - draw an Arch, the section of the barrel-vault - select the Arch - choose Process ->Automatic Generation-> Extrude Slabs on Polygon, or double-click on the equivalent icon in palette no.3 - insert length of vault and confirm - the vault will appear in plan; position it using the mouse then press Return or Space bar.

 Can you please suggest a way of drawing such that you can have a door and then a window above it in a wall ?. When I try, it won't allow the insertion of an upper window once a door ( or window ) has been inserted in that wall. Why is it that sometimes I can't select anything - in a wall, or slab, no matter where I click on it? My first suggestion is to use two walls on top of the other. To do this, change the height of the original wall so that it's just high enough to allow the door to fit. Then add another wall in exactly the same plan location but with a base height that matches the top of the original wall. Then you should be able to add windows to this. My second suggestion is similar, but with different handling of the second wall. That is, shorten the original wall as above, but before adding the second wall, make a new layer, say clerestorey layer, and give it a base elevation that matches the top of the original wall. Now when you add the second wall it is on its own layer which should make it easier to select whichever part of the wall you want to work on. Regarding the second part of your message, about selecting objects - is it because of which tool you have active at the time? For example, if the wall tool is active you can't select anything else than a wall. Also with walls, I think you need to click on the axis, rather than the edges, so try having the option "show wall axes" active. The selection points for the various elements are as follows: Walls, windows and doors: on the axis Polygons, roofs and floors: on the edges Texts: on the base line Pictures: inside the picture rectangles Objects: on the axis, edges or base line of one of the elements of the object

How do you draw a double pitched roof, one side of which overshoots the ridge, thus forming a cornice? All you do is create two different pitches, starting from the desired height of gutter line. Where they overlap, close them off with a wall, using the Adjust Garret Walls and Adjust Walls on Roof commands.

I have created a single pitched roof for a rectangular 3-level building, but cannot find the right method for connecting the walls to the roof.  To make the walls match exactly the bottom part of the roof you must select all the walls and the roof and execute the command Adjust Walls on Roof from the Process menu. Follow the steps below:

• Click on the arrow and on the wall icons on palette #1
• Trace a selection rectangle including all the walls
• Click on the Floor/Slab/Roof icon
• Press the shift key and click on one of the edges of the roof. This extends the previous selection, so you have selected all the walls and one roof.
• Execute the command above

You have selected 2 or more roofs. Only one roof can be selected. The bottom of a wall is higher than the bottom of the roof. In this case it is geometrically impossible to complete the command.

How do you do vaulted roofs? To make a vault: 1) draw an arc with the desired measurements (in your case, 10 m) and number of vertixes (double click the arc icon to recall the "Polygon Characteristics" dialog box - more vertixes will make it smoother). Activating the Snap to Grid might help when drawing. 2) select the arc and choose the "Extrude Slab From Polygon" command from the Automatic Generations submenu (Process menu). Enter the depth (8.5 m) and leave the ends open (otherwise it will create a solid block). The command generates a 3D object to paste on the drawing. Note: the slab will be drawn according to the set slab parameters. I usually set the ref. ht. and slab thickness at 0. The extrusion function can be used to make the structural or frame elements too. For a slightly different element, you can select the arc and choose the "Generate Arch on Polygon" command. In this case the arc is generated according to the set wall parameters. A cross vault (like the one you saw on my web site) is nothing more than 2 intersecting vaults: 1) draw an arc 2) select the arc and choose the "Extrude Slab From Polygon" command. Enter the depth equal to the diameter of your arc so the vault will be perfectly square in plan.   3) separate the object using the "Separate Object" command in the Edit menu. This separates the generated vault into its base slab parts. 4) with the Slab icon activated use the scissors icon (right) to cut the slabs crossways from one corner to the other. 5) select and delete the unwanted slab parts. 6) select all the slabs and duplicate (Edit menu). 7) while all the duplicated slabs are still selected, rotate them 90 degrees (commands in Edit menu, rotate on mouse click), being sure to click the exact center. 8) regroup all as an object. You can set the ref. ht. of the object where you want.

How to make doors transparent. To make the doors and windows completely transparent chose View -> General view Parameters and click on Transparent door/window opening. If you want windows and doors to be partially transparent, you must define a partially transparent material and apply this material to the elements.

To do a rafter, spanning from one wall to another do you suggest a. set up roof/slab parameters and manually draw to desired width (say 50mm), or b. setup up roof/slab parametres, draw a polygon line - process slab off polygon line. the same for columns, walls, roof slabs etc Either method is fine but drawing a polygon first adds another step. Beams and other things can also be created with wall elements but I usually find it easier to use slab elements. I draw them at ref. ht. 0 (maybe even saving them as an object for future use) then place them at the ref. height needed.

When I import from AutoCad, why can't I see each layer? And when I export to AutoCad, why can't I see the entire project? DomusCad offers a choice of import/export modes, depending on what you want to do. Either : - Layers -> Import DWG-DXF to Active Layer or  - File -> Import -> Import DWG-DXF document (Archive ->Import, for Mac users) The first mode is used for importing, say, a cadastal drawing, to an existing project, for which you have already set up parameters such as layers, colors, etc. The second mode is used when you import an entire project, maintaining its original layers, names, colors, etc., as well as layout and impagination ready for printing. Remember that Domus.Cad organizes projects, not single drawings like AutoCad. The project is 3D and so the layers are one on top of the other.  To export the whole project, use Export ->impaginate DWG-DXF. For more details see Release Notes of version 14.

Sometimes a drawing imported from AutoCad is either very small or very big, or the text is larger than the drawing. Why? Check the units of measurement. DWG and DXF files have no unit of measurement - AutoCad doesn't take this into consideration until time of printing. For example, if an AutoCad drawing in meters is imported in centimeters, the drawing is 100 times smaller and the texts, which cannot be reduced by 100, appear enormous with respect to the drawing. Vice versa, if the original file was in centimeters and it is imported in meters, it will be 100 times bigger. In either case, simply cancel the operation and re-import, changing the unit of measurement.

I would like to know how to import a TIF file into a Domus.Cad document so I can use a survey as a base plan for a drawing. The Macintosh version, thanks to QuickTime, supports more formats than Windows. It takes all formats supported by QuickTime (GIF, JPG, TIF, TGA, Photoshop, BTM, WMF and many others). So Mac users can go to Layers -> Import -> Image on active layer. The Windows version doesn't import TIF format - only DMP, DIB, GIF, JPG, BTM and WMF. So you must convert your TIF to one of those formats before importing to Domus.Cad.

How do you control the depth of the Section view, say at 1:50 so it shows detail to a depth of 1-2m. There is no way to automatically control the depth. Domus.Cad always shows the entire model. If you need to see different details when you change the scale, I suggest you should use different materials to decide which parts of the drawing you want to show or hide depending on that scale. With the parametric selection you can then select elements of a certain material to delete them, change their visibility, or move them to a different layer.

After saving a design ready for printing, how can I re-use a .lay document? You can re-open it with the Open button on the page layout window

Why do I see a blank screen instead of my drawing?! Below are some normal situations where you can see a blank page instead of your drawing: - The layers are disabled in the Layers dialog box - The screen scale is very large (look at the scale in the Window title) - The drawing is outside of the screen (double click on the House icon on the left-bottom corner of the window or execute the Autoscale command to make the drawing content fit the window box)

Is Domus.Cad cross-compatible between Windows and Mac? That is, can I save a file on my Windows laptop and then open that same file on my Mac? Yes, with File -> Export -> Drawing in Macintosh format command.

We have been using AutoCad for 2D and Arcon for 3D, but it would obviously be preferable to have only one program. How does DomusCad differ from other programs, say, Archicad or ArchiDesktop? DomusCad is based on totally different concepts from Architectural Desktop. A DomusCad user tends to think in terms of his 'project', because he uses one software to produce one plan, from which he can then develop a 2D drawing, a 3D model, facades, sections, etc. There are more similarities with ArchiCad ad other BIM programs, which, like DomusCad, is part of the Architectural Parametric 3D CAD group. Some differences are highlighted in the first part of our Getting Started manual but there is one fundamental one between DomusCad and other parametric software: we don't believe in 'parametrising to excess'. We don't believe that every single construction element - every wall or window - should be conceived by inserting parameters. In Europe, much designing is done on old buildings, which have infinite varieties of form, dimension and building type. Translating such a wide variety of data ito a large number of parameters in a dialog window - and having to modify them - would be impractical. Our view is that parameters should control 90% of the situation, leaving the designer to free to do as he wishes for the remaining 10%, so within the same drawing there would be fairly automatic parts, integrated with manual ones.

Does Domus.Cad have a command line interface ? Domus.Cad doesn't have a command line interface. Usually CADs with a command line user interface derive from old versions or have a compatible Autocad user Interface. In this case the commands follow the form: verb and object :

Example: To change color set the current color and then execute: Change Color - click on the element Changing a fill or rotating an element etc. are done in the same way.

Example: Select an object (the subject) and after execute any command (the verb) like change color, fill, rotate, scale etc.

We are working on graphical programming where special graphic elements influence the way the program works, like the very useful Apply Object and the ##APP elements. Domus.Cad has a c++ developer API that allows you to develop plug-ins. Any plug-in in the Modules folder is automatically recognized by the program.