Activity

thanks for the great response, I am sure the traffic is bad, but I commute between Baltimore and D.C. now, so it cant get much worse than that, can it??
I figured that more jobs in the design/build sector would be available, probably where I would be heading anyway.
thanks agian.

I don’t think they are using Excel to create a separate list. They simply paste the spreadsheet page onto the dwg. Someone said they do it in paper space, I don’t know if all do, though.
I still think they have to copy and paste or somehow change a main template of the schedule to make it conform to each plan. Same as the way you do it in AC.

On…[Read more]

Ok..I’ve been out here for about ten years between Boulder, Fort Collins, and now Denver.

Personally I think if you have a strong construction background/knowledge coming from the east coast (as I did) you’ll have a better sense of craftsmanship and overall higher standards than a lot of what is considered standard practice out here. I still feel…[Read more]

My understanding is that the most development (=landscape architecture opportunities) are in the greater D.C. area. I would not make the move based on opportunity, but we all have more in our lives to consider than best places to get a job. If you make the move, make it for those otherreasons (assuming you are near D.C.).

Is the point of using Excel to be able to incorporate the plants into spec’ sheets outside of the drawing, for point of sale inventory control, or work orders? I assume that the Excel plant schedule is necessary for a function in addition to making the plant schedule in the drawing.

We basically have a limited number of symbols that only delineate plant size. We then use a 6 letter code for the plant that is tied back to the excel master sheet. When I need to count, I just type in FIND in CAD and put the code in which brings up each instance of that plant.

When all the quantities are done the spreadsheet is pasted into paper space.

If you are bringing in a new symbol, you just have to manually edit one block or bring in a new block with its genus, common name, etc. changed and then update the table. Then copy and place as necessary. You have to be cautious if you want to edit the table manually. Once it is exploded, it will not function correctly. That’s why when you create…[Read more]

Wow, this is cool, Andrew. Let me see if I get this: Your main symbols are created on the 0 layer, but you also add detail and color to them on other layers. Maybe like “shrub color”, “shrub detail” or “shrub shadow”. So is the block saved on the 0 layer?

I’ve never really done color in AC, but now I’ve discovered gradients and other things and…[Read more]

As far as using the plans in the field, labelled plans are the way to go. I think it’s really a pain to have to continuously refer to a schedule on site to figure out what plant goes where. I don’t like plans that have cryptic labels pointing to plants.
The only reason I’ve found plant schedules helpful is in bidding a plan or shopping for…[Read more]

This is exactly what I’d like to aim for, James. Can you provide more info on creating smart blocks?
I know you do this in block editor.
Does it give you enough flexibility? What if you use a plant you never used before? Do you create a new symbol or just adjust an existing one? Or can you just add the new info into the table (effectively NOT…[Read more]

Cześć Bartek, nie aplikuję z Polski, bo wolę mieć lokalny nr tel, przynajmniej taka jest moja strategia..trochę mnie zmartwiłeś tym, że nie możesz znaleźć pracy, ja liczę, że nie będzie tak źle, mam 4 lata dośw z Irlandii z biur proj i rok w Polsce – własna firma. no nic, jadę za miesiąć, zobaczymy. Napisz mi proszę jakie masz doświadczenie i…[Read more]

Lynne,
At work when I do this, all I do is type up the table in MS Excel and just take a jpeg snap shot of the table. Then I insert it into my layout sheet in AutoCad and adjust the size accordingly. That seems to be the easy way, but if you are making a lot of edits, then you can link the Excel table with AutoCad and refresh as needed. I have not…[Read more]

I have a set of plant symbols that I use on commercial work that we color in ACAD using solid hatching. The main plant symbol is drafted on the “0” layer, but I also have a layer with just a circle and another with colored light, shade, & shadow all in each plant block.That way I can display the symbol on the black & white line drawing without the…[Read more]

Gosh – I feel so old fashioned…
There is nothing new to contribute – we either use the Excel – Paste Special command and/or the SSX command for block count in Autocad, but we only use the differentiated blocks for trees – and even then, fairly seldom.

The reason for my mailing is to query the general acceptance that differentiated blocks are…[Read more]

I create smart blocks for each plant species I use. These blocks have attributes associated with them such as scientific name, common name, abbreviation, B&B, etc. I then create a table based on all plant blocks. You can choose which attributes you want to appear in the table The table can be updated with a right click and will adjust all plant…[Read more]