Tools at an Early Stage

July 28, 2015

Presented by: Amanda Berry

Length: 1:03:16

In this webinar, we'll go over how to customize the tools you use all the time – Plant Manager, Reference Note Manager, and other tools – to create quick and accurate basic concepts. In the time it takes to present the webinar, you can use these techniques to go from a client's request for a quote to an early but professional-looking concept design with inspirational photos – and an accurate quote.

Webinar Contents:

Note: The following catalog of content covered in this webinar is time stamped to allow you to follow along or skip to sections of the video that are relevant to your questions. You can also search for content on this page using the FIND command in your browser (CTRL + F in Windows, Command + F in Mac OS.)

Intro/TOC
Bringing In the Site Base & Preparing the Drawing
Setting a User Coordinate System (UCS)
Setting Up the Sheets
Initial Drafting
Adding, Importing, and Placing Reference Notes (RefNotes)
Placing Photo Callouts Into the Design
Adding and Colorizing Plants

0:00 – 9:24: Intro/TOC

9:25 – 18:57: Bringing In the Site Base & Preparing the Drawing

Note: Google Earth is now free, and we recommend using it to obtain a detailed aerial photo of your site base.

Zooming in for a detailed view of the site (9:50)

Scaling and saving the site base aerial using the Google Earth Save Image tool (10:05)

Opening a CAD template with the correct units set up (12:20)

Note: We recommend watching our Sheet Setup and Metric Sheet Setup webinars for instructions for setting up a sheet and template.

Saving the base file drawing (13:20)

Creating a new Land F/X project (14:20)

Importing the site base as an external reference (Xref) (15:08)

Roughly scaling the drawing and using the Align command (16:20)

Adding a fade to the site base image to emphasize future linework (18:15)

18:58 – 20:49: Setting a User Coordinate System (UCS)

Drawing a line to serve as the basis of the UCS (19:30)

Using the Land F/X New UCS tool (F/X Admin ribbon) to create the UCS (19:50)

20:50 – 30:59: Setting Up the Sheets

Note: We highly recommend saving your site base in its own file and then using a separate drawing for each new sheet you add.

Saving the site base drawing and opening a new drawing from a template (20:50)

Xrefing the site base (and any other necessary sheets) into the main drawing (22:10)

Re-creating the UCS (a UCS won’t be brought in with an Xref) (23:20)

Creating a layout tab (23:45)

Inserting and editing a title block (see our Sheet Setup webinar for more information on creating and importing title blocks) (24:20)

Creating a viewport (making sure to leave room for photos and schedules later in the design process) (26:15)

Scaling the viewport using the Land F/X Scale tool (F/X Admin ribbon) (26:54)

Creating a viewport layer (or loading any existing Layer States using the Load Layer States tool on the F/X Admin ribbon) (27:20)

Adding a scale to the title block (28:35)

Loading existing Layer States into the main drawing in Model Space (28:52)

Bringing the site base aerial photo into its own layer (you can then freeze this layer while drafting) (30:30)

31:00 – 43:29: Initial Drafting

Adding (copying and pasting) or drawing linework in order to show conceptual items such as pathways (31:30)

Drafting on different layers (34:25)

Turning Ortho mode on and off using the F8 key (34:45)

Creating a closed polyline area using the Join command (36:45)

Toggling the Object Snap Tracking tool on and off (39:40)

43:30 – end: Adding, Importing, and Placing Reference Notes (RefNotes)

Opening the RefNote Manager and importing RefNotes from another project or template (43:40)

A quick keyboard trick for selecting/highlighting multiple items (such as when importing RefNotes): Hold down the Shift key to highlight several objects in a row. Hold down the Control key to select one item at a time but avoid deselecting other selected items. (44:35)

Adding the selected RefNotes to the project (44:50)

Costs, photos, symbols, hatches, notes, and other available information when editing a RefNote (45:05)

Note: One of the benefits of importing items such as RefNotes is that you can set up all this information once and simply import each item (such as a RefNote) when you need it.

Placing RefNotes (e.g., a bar counter) (46:15)

Oh no! We forgot to set the drawing scale before placing a RefNote hatch. No worries. Just delete and purge the hatch from the drawing, and set the scale using the Land F/X Scale tool. We can then re-place the hatch. (47:00)

Placing a RefNote on the correct layer (48:50)

Placing more RefNotes (e.g. bar stools) (49:00)

Running a RefNotes Schedule to show all RefNotes that have been placed in the drawing and provide a quick cost estimate for the client (53:26)

Changing the title of the RefNotes Schedule (54:00)

54:30 – 56:59: Placing Photo Callouts Into the Design

Using the Photo Callout tool to place photos of the RefNote amenities in the design (54:30)

57:00 – end: Adding and Colorizing Plants

Importing Concept Plants from another project or template (57:30)

Placing plants in specific patterns using the Plant Shotgun tool (58:30)

Colorizing the Concept Plants using the Color Render tool (available as a flyout from the Presentation button on the F/X Planting ribbon) (59:40)

Note: Need help setting up a project template? See our Templates documentation page.

Contact

Land F/X
PMB 351
3940 Broad St. STE 7
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
+1 805-541-1003

Our software tailors AutoCAD^®, Revit^®, and SketchUp^® to the needs of landscape architects, irrigation designers, and other professionals. We automate your most tedious tasks and ensure accuracy, giving you more time to design.