Additional AutoCAD Resources

Watch our 5 Tips for New CAD Users Power Tip video.

Watch our Another 5 Tips for CAD Users Power Tip video.

View our F/X CAD 2018 webinar series.

See AutoCAD tutorials on Lynda.com.

See a list of AutoCAD books available from Amazon.

Contents

This page outlines a few of the essential techniques and steps you'll need to learn when beginning your CAD training. 

• AutoCAD Fundamentals
• Preventing Drawing Corruption
• Drawing & Sheet Setup
• Configuration Settings: Our Recommendations
• Working With AutoCAD Layers
• Plotting
• Customization & Office Standards

AutoCAD Fundamentals

New to CAD, or need a refresher? 

View our AutoCAD Fundamentals documentation section >

• Learn about the relationship between CAD drawings and Land F/X Projects.
• Set up a drawing template to use each time you start a new drawing. 
• Get instructions and best practices for working with external references (Xrefs) – files you add to your main drawing as overlays or attachments.
• Set yourself up for flawless plotting by creating layout and title block templates.
• Take a look at our instructions and recommendations for Drawing & Sheet Setup.
• Learn how AutoCAD blocks work.
• Take a tour of the AutoCAD and Land F/X Ribbons.
• Familiarize yourself with the AutoCAD Command Line.
• See our recommendations for creating a logical project folder structure.

Preventing Drawing Corruption

The majority of the technical support issues fielded by our technical support team are a direct result of drawing corruption. Keep your files in proper working order by cleaning all drawings and Xrefs you receive from others.

View our Preventing Drawing Corruption documentation page >

• Get to know the causes and results of drawing corruption on our Drawing Corruption Explained page.
• Find out what you can do to prevent drawing corruption.
• Learn how to clean drawings and Xrefs you've received from others.

Drawing & Sheet Setup

From CAD newbies to seasoned veterans, every CAD user should get familiar with the correct method of setting up a drawing and layout sheets for plotting. We've broken the process down into a few integral steps on our Drawing & Sheet Setup outline.

View our Drawing & Sheet Setup instructions >

• Working with drawing templates
• Starting a Land F/X Project (essential for using our CAD plugins)
• Setting the Scale and Units
• Creating Layout & Title Block Templates
• Attaching DWGs and other files to your drawing as external references (Xrefs)

Configuration Settings: Our Recommendations

In this section, we provide best practices that will help you get the most of AutoCAD and our plugins.

View our AutoCAD Configuration Settings documentation section >

• Our recommendations for AutoCAD configuration settings
• The CAD Options settings: Our recommendations
• Optimal performance tips for using our software with AutoCAD
• AutoCAD System Variables: Quick settings that can optimize your experience and prevent potential issues

Additional resources for this article

Watch a brief Power Tip video on using Layer Filters to organize layers.

Layers

Layers are the essential elements of your CAD designs. Our CAD plugin includes several tools that help make AutoCAD layers work for you.   

View our Layers documentation section >

• Learn how our blocks work with AutoCAD layers. What's a block? Find out here >
• Get the basics on using our software to edit layer information.
• Work with a saved set of layer properties, known as a Layer State. 

Plotting

Getting your design on paper or into a PDF is a process that's as potentially complex as it is important. We'll show you how to simplify the plotting experience and achieve the best possible results.   

View our Plotting documentation section >

• Plotting 101: Your guide to some essentials in the plotting process
• We highly recommend using a color-based (CTB) plotting style. we even provide a default CTB file for your use. Learn about CTB plotting styles.
• Read up on our recommended best practices for exporting or saving to a PDF, including our recommended third-party PDF printers.
• Avoid the hassle of sifting through a vast number of possible paper sizes for your plotter. Learn how to filter your paper sizes to only include those you actually use. 

Customization & Office Standards

AutoCAD has a staggering number of customization settings. Take a tour.  

View our Customizing AutoCAD or F/X CAD documentation section >

• Set up, configure, and save your AutoCAD Workspace and Profile.
• Configure your Text Styles (Fonts).
• Manage your CAD layers:
  • Edit our default line colors to match your office standards.
  • Change the layer colors in a single drawing as needed.
  • Save an entire set of layer properties by creating a Layer State. 
• Customize your AutoCAD Display, Buttons & Tabs.
• Configure your plotting settings.
• Back up all your customized settings in a CAD Standards Folder.

Additional 3D Resources

Browse our 3D webinars.

Contents

Our 3D Connection tool and Land F/X Rhino plugin work together to bring CAD, SketchUp, and Rhino together, allowing you to turn your 2D drawings into 3D models and coordinate quickly between different file types. Use the resources on this page to make these great tools work for you.

• Why Beta?
  • Get Help from the Land F/X Community
• Getting Started With Rhino
• Customize Rhino
   

Why beta, and what does it mean for you?

We're so excited about our Rhino plugin that we wanted to give it to you as soon as possible, as a beta version. What does that mean for you? It means you have the chance to be part of the development process. Although we won't be able to offer full support for the Rhino plugin, you'll be able to help us discover and work out some of the inevitable kinks.

As with all our products, we invite you to send us a technical support ticket to let us know about any issues you encounter. Keep in mind that our development team will likely need more time than usual to build a solution. 

Get Help from the Land F/X Community

Although we will provide as much assistance as possible, it's always a good idea to reach out to other Land F/X users who, like you, have chosen to be pioneers in the Rhino frontier. We encourage you to use the Rhino Plugin section of our Community Forum to ask questions. Another user may very well have run into the same issue and may be able to help. Forum posts tend to factor prominently in beta releases, and we want to make sure you're covered. 

Getting Started with Rhino

Before you can bring your designs between CAD, SketchUp, and Rhino, you'll need to complete a few setup steps, as well as get to know our 3D Connection. Here's how to get started.

View our Rhino: Getting Started documentation section >

• Download and install the Land F/X Rhino plugin. This plugin installs some essential tools within Rhino and allows you to connect with CAD.
• Set up your Rhino Library folder, where you'll store all your Rhino-related content. Note: This step is also covered in the Rhino plugin installation instructions. We've also included specific instructions for the library folder. You'll need to download the library and set the library location.
• Our 3D Connection is included in your Land F/X installation. It allows you to send blocks and layers between CAD, SketchUp, and Rhino. Learn how it works and how to use it to turn your CAD drawings into 3D models.
• It's imperative that your units be set correctly and consistently in CAD, SketchUp, and Rhino. Learn how to set the units in Rhino and CAD. (coming soon)
• Before bringing a CAD drawing into Rhino, remember to set a User Coordinate System (UCS) in your drawing. 
• Need more Rhino help? See our list of Additional Rhino Resources.

Customize Rhino

Did you know that you can use your own custom symbols in our Rhino plugin? Find out how.

Find out how to assign a custom Rhino symbol to a plant >

Additional Site & Hardscape Resources

Browse our site & hardscape webinars.

See our collection of brief site & hardscape Power Tip videos.

Want to customize Land F/X software? Check out our Customization Getting Started Guide PDF.

Contents

Each of the site & hardscape design steps outlined on this page provides links to documentation on the various tools required for completing that step.

• Customize Site & Hardscape
• Setting Up a Land F/X Project
• Reference Notes (Hardscape & Landscape Features)
• Site Planning & Zoning
• Grading Tools
• Site Amenities & Blocks
• Hardscape Hatches & Lines
• Site & Hardscape Tool Kit
• Site Annotation
• Site Schedules

Customize Site & Hardscape

• Configure your Text Styles (Fonts).
• Make sure our default line & block colors match your office standards.
• Configure the General Preferences to customize options such as dimension styles (DimStyles) and numeric displays.
• Store and save your office standards by creating a Preference Set.
• Organize your Reference Notes (RefNotes) using the RefNotes Preferences.

Setting Up a Land F/X Project

Before jumping into site and hardscape design, take a few minutes to set up a Land F/X project.

View our Working with Land F/X Projects documentation section >

• Starting a new project  – your first step in creating any planting or site plan using our software.
• Set the drawing units and scale. Do this before you begin drawing linework or placing plants.
• Using multiple sheets in a drawing set? Learn proper sheet setup.

Video Resources for this article

Watch a brief Power Tip video on calculating edging using Length Reference Notes.

Watch our webinar on Using RefNotes & Cost Estimates.

Reference Notes (Hardscape & Landscape Features)

Our Reference Notes (RefNotes) system is your key ally in adding amenities, features, and materials to your site design. 

View our Reference Notes documentation section >

• Get to know the Reference Notes Manager, where you can add RefNotes to your project and place them in your drawing.
• Learn about the different types of RefNotes:
  • Notation RefNotes: Place a numeric symbol referring to a text notation (example: Existing Wall to be Removed).
  • Amenity (Object) RefNotes: Place site amenities in your drawing, associate them with data (such as cost), and call them out. From boulders and bike racks to pagodas, pergolas, cars, and even people, Amenity RefNotes cover any site object you can think of.
  • Length RefNotes: Keep track of the lengths of linear objects in your drawings, such as fences and retaining walls.
  • Area/Volume RefNotes: Place site materials such as pavers, concrete, or mulches. Calculate area or volume, and assign data such as cost.
• Call out your RefNotes.
• Organize your RefNotes using Divisions and Subdivisions based on CSI standards. 
• Edit the RefNote organization system, or create your own. You can do this using the RefNotes Preferences.
• Do you find yourself using the same site objects or materials across multiple projects? Learn how to Import Reference Notes from a Template or Project.
• List all your hardscape materials, site amenities, and other RefNotes in a schedule. 
• Locate all instances of a specific object in your drawing with one click using our Highlight tool.
• Check your RefNotes Callouts for errors with our Verify Callouts tool.

Site Planning & Zoning

Build your site from the ground up with the help of our Site Planning and Zoning tools.

View our Site Planning & Zoning documentation section >

• Concept Graphics: Create representative designs for the diagrammatic, conceptual level of site planning. Concept tools include viewports, custom nodes, and custom lines.
• Zoning: Create a land-use zoning plan with graphic visualizations. Apply data to each zone.
• Site Development (Estimator): Create a site use study or master plan, optimized for implementing an in-depth analysis of your site usage areas.

Grading Tools

With our help, slopes, elevations, and other grading features are a snap.

View our Grading Tools documentation section >

• Our Grading Manager gives you access to everything you need for site grading, including the following callouts:
  • Mark known survey points using our Northing/Easting Points.
  • Place elevations in relation to each other in your plan using the Spot Elevation tool.
  • Indicate directions and percentages of slopes in your drawings by placing Slope Callouts.

Site Amenities & Blocks

Think of an object you want to place in your drawing, and we probably have it in one of our block libraries.

View our Site Amenities & Blocks documentation section >

Smart Blocks

• Spec lighting equipment from specific manufacturers, and place it in your drawings.
• Add and place smart blocks using our Amenity Reference Notes tool.

Generic Blocks

• Search our block libraries for DWG blocks representing a staggering range of site objects:
  • Plan Graphics (Site Amenity Blocks): We've created an ever-growing library of site amenities ranging from cars and site furnishings to athletic and play equipment, gazebos, and pretty much anything else you can think of.
  • Elevation Graphics: Need to place objects with an elevation (side) view? Use our Elevation Graphics. 
  • Discipline Graphics: Place standardized symbols from disciplines such as civil or electrical.
  • Generic Plants: Not ready to place specific plants? Place representative plant symbols early in the design process to show where plants may go. You can easily turn them into specific project plants later using our Match Properties tool.
• Once you've placed generic site blocks, you can easily assign data to them using our Reference Notes system.

Custom Blocks

• Save your custom blocks into our library of site amenities using our Save Block tool.
• Our system also allows you to save and use dynamic blocks. In fact, many of our default site blocks are dynamic.

Hardscape Hatches & Lines

Our hatch library includes a wide variety of patterns designed to represent hardscape materials ranging from rocks and sand to brick, flagstone, and paving materials. Site hatches can be generic or "smart," depending on your needs. We also offer several linetypes for sketching out your site design, as well as a Railing tool for fencing, walls, and more.

View our Hardscape Hatches & Lines documentation section >

Hatches

• Place a site hatch in your drawing using our comprehensive library of hatch patterns.
• Place a "smart" hatch with data assigned to it (such as per-unit cost) using our Area/Volume Reference Notes system.
• Want to use your own hatches? Save them into our system for quick and easy access.

Lines, Fences, Walls, and Railings

• Make quick work of linework using our specially designed Line Graphics.
• Create your own custom linetype (such as electrical, gas, or water) using our Custom Line tool.
• Place a fence, rail, or wall using our graphic Railing tool.
• Add a Length Reference Note to calculate and record the total length of all linear objects on a given layer.

Video Resources for this article

Watch our Intro to Site Tools webinar.

Watch our Site Tools in 3 Minutes Power Tip.

Tool Kit

Our Site Tool Kit is brimming with tools that will help you build, edit, and error check your site design.

View our Site Tool Kit documentation section >

• Copy site objects along a polyline, line, or arc.
• Place a rectangular or triangular array of site blocks. 
• Copy a group of site objects and place it as a mirror image of the original.
• Error check site objects using our Verify Labels tool.
• Grab a site block or hatch, and any data attached, and copy it quickly using one of our Match tools.
• "Snap" objects, lines, or hatches to a specific crosshair angle using our Xhair Angle tool (formerly known as Snap Angle).
• Calculate area or length in seconds using our automatic Calculation Tools.

Site Annotation

Call out your site objects and materials using our site annotation tools.

View our Site Annotation documentation section >

• Control the appearance of your site annotation text down to the font, width, and point size using our Text Manager.
• Dimension your plan using our Site Dimension tools.
• Give your callout leaders the exact look you want by selecting one of our many available leader styles.
• Call out site items in a variety of ways:
  • Call out your Reference Notes.
  • Call out details you've placed in your drawings.
  • Grading tools
  • Call out site objects with photos using our Photo Callout tool.
  • Use our Discipline Graphics tool to call out standardized objects from specific disciplines, such as civil, electrical, or water.

Site Schedules

Once you've placed all your site objects and materials, catalog them with a variety of schedule types, placed in your drawing or in a spreadsheet for further editing. Our software allows you to place separate schedules showing all instances of a specific type of site item you've placed in a drawing. Examples include:

• Reference Notes Schedule
• Lighting Schedule
• Concept Schedule
• Zoning Schedule
• Site Development (Estimator) Schedule
• Grading Schedule

Additional Planting Resources

Go to our Planting Trainer, a series of short videos walking you through our planting tools.

See our collection of brief planting Power Tip videos.

Browse our planting webinars.

See our downloadable and printable Planting Getting Started Guide PDF.

Contents

We've broken down planting design into easily digestible categories, which we've outlined on this page. Each of the planting steps below includes links to documentation on the tools required for completing that step.

• Customize Planting to Your Standards
• Set Up a Project
• Add (Specify) Plants
• Concept Landscape Design
• Place Plants
• Label Plants
• Edit and Revise
• Schedules
• Presentation Tools
• Bring Your Design Into SketchUp

Customize Planting to Your Standards

Get started using Planting F/X to enforce and even evolve your CAD standards.

View our Customize Planting documentation section >

Set Your Preferences

• Select styles for your plant labels, plant codes, and more using the Planting Preferences.
• Control the contents of your Plant Schedules using the Plant Sizes Preferences.
• Configure your Text Styles (Fonts).
• Store and save your office standards by creating a Preference Set.

Additional resources for this article

Make Planting F/X work with your firm's existing style standards. Watch our Planting F/X Setup webinar.

Want to customize Planting F/X? Check out our Customization Getting Started Guide PDF.

Customize Your Plants and Labels

• Customize your plant symbols and labels!
  • Edit our default plant symbols or plant labels to make them your own, or
  • Import your existing plant symbols or plant labels that you've created.
• Select one of our myriad groundcover hatch patterns, or save your own hatches into our system.
• Get even more advanced with plant label customization by mastering our plant label attribute definition system

Set Up a Project

It's important to set up a new project for each new job you start. Get organized from the start!

View our Working with Land F/X Projects documentation section >

• Starting a new project – your first step with any site design when using Planting F/X.
• Setting the scale – your second step with any site design when using Planting F/X.
• Using multiple drawings in a sheet set? Learn proper drawing and sheet setup, and don't forget to clean your drawings with our Nuke tool.

Add (Specify) Plants

Choose from more than 24,000 plants. Add plants you your Land F/X project, and assign data to your plant symbol blocks.

• Get to know the Plant Manager, where you can add, edit, and place plants. 
• Specify the plants you'll use in your plan by adding plants to your Land F/X project.
• Edit plant information and select a plant symbol.
• Placing groundcovers or Shrub Areas? Configure your plant spacing.
• Do you find yourself using the same plants across multiple projects? Learn how to import plants from a project or template.
• Need to create a mix of seeds or plant species? Use our Concept Plant Manager.

Concept Landscape Design

If you want, you can sketch out your planting design before you even build your palette. Our Concept Planting tool allows you to place plants as conceptual "design groups" of trees, shrubs, and groundcpvers. You can then transform your Concept Plants into actual plant varieties later. You can also use this tool to place seed, sod, and plant mixes.

View our Concept Landscape Design documentation section >

• Add Concept Plants to the Concept Manager.
• Create a mix of multiple seeds, sods, or plant species. 
• Place your Concept Plants or mixes in your drawing.
• Tally your Concept Plants or mixes with a Concept Plant Schedule.
• Ready to get more specific with your plant specs? Convert your Concept Plants into actual project plants.

Video Resources for this article

Watch our Planting Tools in 3 minutes Power Tip video.

Watch our webinar on Getting Started with the Planting Tools.

Place Plants

Place your plants in seconds with our easy-to-use plant placement tools. 

View our Adding & Placing Plants documentation section >

View our Plant Placement Tools documentation section >

Placing Plants: The Basics

• Place plants in your drawing using the Plant Manager.
• Dial in your plant spacing for groundcovers and Shrub Areas.

Specialized Plant Placement Tools

• Planting F/X offers a variety of extremely useful and time-saving plant placement tools:
  • Use the Match Properties tool to pull the data associated with one plant and apply it to other plants in your drawing.
  • Copy plants along a path – choose a polyline, line, or arc.
  • "Snap" plants to a specific crosshair angle in your drawing using our Xhair Angle tool (formerly known as Snap Angle).
  • Arrange plants in a triangular or square array using our Array tools.
  • Assign the data from one plant in your drawing to another using our Match Plant tool.
  • Exclude shrubs from a groundcover or Shrub Area using our Exclude Shrubs tool.
  • "Paint" multiple plants into your drawing using our Paint Mode tool.
  • Achieve rapid-fire plant placement with our Plant Shotgun tool. 

Label Plants

Label your plants with completely customizable callout styles. Match your office standards for font and label styles.  

View our Labeling Plants documentation section >

• Label plants in Model Space or Paper Space.
• Quick labeling tools:
  • Label by Group
  • Label by Connecting Line
  • Label by Connecting Arc
  • Label a Single Plant, Shrub Area, or Groundcover

Edit & Revise

With our editing tools, revisions are quick, easy, and intuitive. Be right 100% of the time! 

• Use our Verify Plant Labels tool for complete error checking.
• Edit plant information using our Block Data/View/Edit tool.
• Swap out plants in your drawing using our Change Plant tool.
• Locate all instances of a single plant variety in your drawing using our Highlight Plant tool.

Plant Schedules

Create a schedule in three clicks! Our Plant Schedule tool offers a wide assortment of customization options.

View our Plant Schedules documentation section >

• Create and configure a Plant Schedule.
• Place your Plant Schedule in your drawing or a spreadsheet.
• Use our Work Areas tool to:
  • Limit your Plant Schedule to one area of your plan, or
  • Place multiple schedules showing different areas or phases.

Presentation Tools

Need to present your design to a client? Dress up your planting plan using our powerful graphic and presentation tools.

• Add site amenities to your planting plan using our Plan Graphics or Reference Notes systems.
• Identify your plants easily using Plant Photo Callouts.
• Paint a picture by:
  • Creating a colorized planting plan using our Color Render tool
  • Adding definition to your planting areas with Plant Outlines.
  • Adding Plant Shadows to lend some depth to your planting design.

Bring Your Design into SketchUp

Translate your 2D CAD designs into 3D SketchUp!

• Install our Land F/X SketchUp plugin (included with your Planting F/X installation) to:
  • Enable a connection between CAD and SketchUp
  • Take advantage of our powerful planting and site design tools within SketchUp
• Set up your SketchUp Library folder to store any data you need to transfer between Planting F/X and SketchUp 
• Use our SketchUp Connection tool (also included with your installation) to bring your design from CAD to SketchUp and back again. Data stays attached to all your plants.

Additional Irrigation Resources

Go to our Irrigation Trainer, a series of short videos walking you through our irrigation tools.

See our collection of brief irrigation Power Tip videos.

Browse our irrigation webinar videos.

See our downloadable and printable Irrigation Getting Started Guide PDF.

Want to customize your installation of our software? Check out our Customization Getting Started Guide PDF.

Contents

We've broken down irrigation design into several steps. Each of the steps outlined on this page includes links to documentation on the irrigation tools required to complete that step.

• Customize Irrigation to Your Standards
• Set Up a Project
• Create an Initial Site Analysis Using Schematic Irrigation
• Add Equipment to Your Project
• Determine Your Water Source and Set Your Pipe Class and Other Data
• Place Heads, Valves & Other Equipment
• Zoning and Uniformity
• Lateral Piping and Sizing
• Mainline Piping and Sizing
• Editing, Error Checking & Revisions
• Schedules and Reports
• Irrigation System Techniques
• Irrigation Theory
• Equipment Definitions

Customize Irrigation to Your Standards

Communicate the intent of your irrigation design clearly while maintaining your office's unique standard for equipment symbols, pipes, and callouts.

View our Customize: Irrigation documentation section >

• Customize your valve callouts, irrigation symbol families, pipe classes, and symbol scaling within the Irrigation Preferences.
• Make your irrigation equipment symbols stand out by:
  • Editing our default symbols
  • Adding your own spray symbols to our library
• Customize your irrigation callouts, including:
  • Valve callouts
  • Valve callout schedule symbols
  • Pipe labels
• Format your irrigation schedules and reports to meet your needs.
• Master and customize our Irrigation Keyboard Commands.

Set Up a Project

Before laying out your irrigation system, you'll need to complete a few pre-design tasks.

View our Working With Land F/X Projects documentation section >

• Starting a new project – your first step with any site design when using Irrigation F/X.
• Setting the scale – your second step with any site design when using Irrigation F/X.
• Using multiple drawings in a sheet set? Learn proper drawing and sheet setup, and don't forget to clean your drawings and Xrefs with our Nuke tool.

Create an Initial Site Analysis Using Schematic Irrigation

We recommend using our Schematic Irrigation tool to form an initial analysis of the required pressure and flow rates of your planned irrigation design.

View our Schematic Irrigation documentation section >

• Determine your flow requirements by placing Schematic Irrigation Irrigation Zones.
• Create new Schematic Irrigation categories as needed
• Edit Schematic Irrigation categories as needed

Video Resources for this article

Learn all about our powerful irrigation tools. Watch our Irrigation Tools in 3 Minutes Power Tip.

Watch our Irrigation Tools – What You Need to Know webinar.

Watch our Drip Irrigation webinar.

Issues with irrigation? See our Advanced Irrigation Troubleshooting webinar.

Add Equipment to Your Project

The next step is to specify which types of equipment you'll use when laying out your system using our Irrigation Manager. During this step, you'll gain access to equipment and data from specific manufacturers when adding the following types of equipment to your Irrigation F/X project.

Sprinkler Heads

Sprinkler heads include spray, rotor, and rotary (aka rotator or rotating) heads.

View our Heads (Sprinklers) & Emitters documentation section >

Valves & Auxiliary Equipment

• Valves include remote control valves and shut-off, or isolation, valves. 
• Auxiliary equipment includes backflow devices and controllers.

Drip Equipment 

Drip equipment includes single emitters, dripline, and areas for emitters and dripline represented by hatches.

View our Drip Irrigation documentation section >

Determine Your Water Source and Set Your Pipe Class and Other Pipe Data

Specify your system design's water source and piping options using the following Irrigation F/X tools:

• Source Data to configure your water source and place it in your drawing
• Pipe Data to determine the types of pipe you will use in your project, as well as set any design requirements for pipe size calculation

Place Heads, Valves & Other Equipment

Place equipment in your design from our Irrigation Manager.

• Place heads throughout your site
• Lay out heads more quickly by following a path or array. Tools include:
  • Copy heads along a line.
  • Copy heads along a polyline.
  • Place heads in a square/rectangular or triangular array.
  • Use our Xhair Angle tool (formerly known as Snap Angle) to "snap" the array of heads to a specific crosshair angle in your design.
• Place valves and auxiliary equipment

Zoning and Uniformity

With your heads placed, you can now get an accurate flow total for the project and make a more realistic source determination. You'll group your heads into zones to represent which parts of your system each valve will operate. You'll also test the sprinkler head coverage throughout your system design using our Uniformity tool. During this step, you'll:

• Compile a flow total using our Circuit tool
• Review the Source Data
  • Create a new Zone and determine the gallons or liters per minute.
  • Test your site's head layout and water distribution using our Uniformity tool.

Lateral Piping and Sizing

Now it's time to lay out and size your lateral pipe. When it comes to piping and pipe sizing, Irrigation F/X is like a virtual assistant, providing instant calculations and error checking.

View our Piping documentation section > 

• Locate the control valves intelligently by initially laying out the mainline direction
• Place control valves
• Pipe the lateral system to the control valves
• Error check the lateral pipe using:
  • Our Highlight Station tool
  • Our Verify Laterals tool
• Determine the necessary size of your lateral pipe

Mainline Piping and Sizing

Our software makes mainline piping just as easy as the lateral stage, providing crucial calculations and verifications. 

View our Piping documentation section > 

• Draw the mainline
• Determine the necessary size for your mainline pipe
• Adjust for a variety of conditions using the:
  • Source Data tool
  • Critical Analysis to provide flow and pressure statistics and analysis for your irrigation design 
• Check your system for errors using the Verify Mainline tool.

Editing, Error Checking & Revisions

Once you've laid out and piped your system, our error checking and revision tools help you find and correct any problems with flow, pressure, and overall layout. You can also locate and switch out equipment. 

View our Editing, Error Checking & Revisions documentation section >

• View and edit any data attached to a selected piece of equipment using our Edit Equipment / View Data tool.
• Find a valve or an entire station using our Locate Valve and Highlight Station tools.
• Switch out equipment using our Match Properties tool.
• Check your pipe layout using our Verify Laterals and Verify Mainline tools.
• Check the coverage of your sprinkler head layout using our Uniformity tool.
• Delete an entire station, or only delete selected equipment connected to it, using our Delete Station tool.
• Need to move equipment, but you've already piped to it? No problem – just use our Move Piped Equipment tool.
• Check your pressure and flow statistics by running a Critical Analysis.

Schedules and Reports

Finally, generate the variety of irrigation schedules and reports available from Irrigation F/X. Note that our schedules and reports are fully customizable.

View our Irrigation Schedules & Reports documentation section >

• Irrigation Schedule: Lists all irrigation components in your system
• Valve Schedule: Provides information about valves (stations) in your design
• Watering Schedule: Provides the time required for your system to apply a certain amount of water
• Runtime Schedule: Mimics a "smart" controller and shows the most efficient runtime for your system
• Drip Schedule: Lists all drip equipment in your system
• Critical Analysis: Analyzes the pressure and flow of your system, providing the residual pressure available
• Need to limit a schedule to equipment in a specific area in your design? Use our Work Areas tool. You can also limit your schedule to a specific point of connection (POC).

Irrigation System Techniques

Different types of irrigation systems require different techniques. Our irrigation tools are applicable to a variety of system types.

View our Irrigation System Techniques documentation section >

• Add to an existing irrigation system.  
• Plan for the future expansion of your irrigation system.
• Golf courses have some specific watering requirements. Learn how to use our irrigation tools for Golf Course Irrigation. 
• We developed our Center Pivot Irrigation tool for large-scale agriculture. Learn all about it.

Irrigation Theory & Terminology

Irrigation theory centers on hydraulics – specifically, the way water moves through pipes in order to irrigate plants.

View our Irrigation Theory & Terminology documentation section >

• Every irrigation system requires a water source. See our Water Source Information documentation section for details on water sources and system requirements.
• Learn more about the science behind irrigation in our Irrigation Concepts documentation section.

Equipment Definitions

The amount of available irrigation equipment can seem overwhelming at times. Get informed.

View our Equipment Definitions documentation section >

Additional Details Resources

See our collection of brief details Power Tip videos.

Browse our details webinars.

See our downloadable and printable Details Getting Started Guide PDF.

Want to customize your installation of our software? Check out our Customization Getting Started Guide PDF.

Contents

Our details system includes all the tools you need to maintain your detail hierarchy and keep your details updated to meet your standards. We've broken it all down on this page.

• Set Your Office Standards for Details
• Bring Your Existing Details Into Our System
• Create, Draft, and Design Your Own Custom Details
• Add Annotation & Callouts to Your Details
• Get Your (and Our) Details Into Your Drawings
• Organize the Details in Our Detail Folder System
• Back Up Your Details
• Reference Details in Your Drawings

Set Your Office Standards for Details

Our software is fully customizable, and our details system is no exception. Dial in all your preferences for details, including your arrow style for callouts, detail template size, dimension styles (DimStyles), detail folder structure, and more.

View our Customize Details documentation section >

• Set your standards for details using the Details Preferences.
• Create a Preference Set to store all your settings.

Bring Your Existing Details Into Our System

Our detail system organizes and manages your office's standard details for you. Simply save them into our detail system, and you're ready to begin working.

View our Saving & Editing Details documentation section >

• Use our Detail Template tool to turn your detail into a scaled block.
• Set up detail sheets containing multiple details for quick and easy placement.
• Bring your detail into our system using our Save Detail tool.
• Save multiple details at a time, and get back to designing.
• Need to make edits to your details, or associate data with them? Learn how to edit a detail.

Video Resources for this article

Watch our Detail Tools in 2 Minutes Power Tip.

Create, Draft, and Design Your Own Custom Details

Want to draw your own details? No problem! 

View our Drafting & Designing Details documentation section >

• Create a new detail with the help of our detail drafting tools.
• Customize your details using the following customization tools:
  • Customize your detail layers using our Layer State tools.
  • You don't need to draw your detail from scratch (unless you want to). Add components to your detail using our library of Detail Blocks.
  • See Detail Blocks in action.
  • Customize your detail even further with our Detail Hatch Patterns.
  • Want to use your own hatch patterns? We have you covered! Save them into our system, then place them in your details.
  • Customize your detail text styles.
• Need to add an enlarged section to your detail? Use our Detail Enlargement tools 
• Don't forget to save your detail into our system!

Add Callouts & Annotation to Your Details

Our software includes a variety of text, annotation, and callout options for your your details.

View our Detail Annotation & Callouts documentation section >

• Get to know our collection of detail callout tools, designed specifically for labeling objects within your details:
  • Detail Callouts: Graphic symbols showing the detail and sheet numbers of a detail location. Choose "dumb" or "smart" callout styles.
  • Keynote callouts: Master callouts that can be saved and applied to several details.
  • Bubble Callouts: Create these handy callouts for one of your details on the fly, then reuse them in other details by simply copying and pasting the Bubble Callout schedule.
  • You can also call out detail components using leaders with text.
• Customize your detail dimensions with Dimension Styles (DimStyles).
• See detail DimStyles in action.
• Pick up some advanced detail callout techniques.

Get Your (and Our) Details Into Your Drawings

Once you've saved your details into our system, you can start placing them in your designs.

View our Adding & Placing Details documentation section >

• Starting a new project  – always the first step in creating a site design using our software.
• Set the Scale & Units. Do this before you begin drawing or placing objects.
• Get to know the Detail Manager, your central location for managing the details you use in each of your projects.
• Whether you want to use our details or your own, you'll need to specify the details you'll use in a design by adding them to your project. 
• Place details onto detail sheets in your drawing.
• Organize the detail sheets in your drawing using our Sheet Index.
• Do you find yourself using the same details in multiple projects? We've provided a valuable shortcut! Import the details from a project or template.
• Using multiple sheets in a drawing set? Learn proper sheet setup.

Organize the Details in Our Detail Folder System

Your installation comes with a pre-set folder structure containing all the details we've created for your use. You can add to and organize this detail folder structure in any way you see fit.

View our Detail Folder System & Detail Organization documentation section >

• The Detail Explorer is your connection between our software and all the details in the detail folder system. Organize and manage them from within a handy dialog box, and don't worry about opening and moving files.
• Share details between Single-User installations using Local Data.

Video Resources for this article

Watch a brief Power Tip video on video on printing details.

Back Up Your Details

Don't lose your valuable detail files! Keep them backed up and available.

See our Back Up Your Details documentation page >

• Back up your details. We recommend storing a copy in a CAD Standards folder.
• Print your details, and keep them in your CAD Standards binder.

Reference Details in Your Drawings

Call out your details with our specially designed detail callouts. 

View our Referencing Details in a Drawing documentation section >

• Call out your details.
• Need to move or edit details in your drawing? Don't forget to update your detail callouts.
• Pick up some advanced detail callout techniques.