Tracing a PDF with Walls by Baseline

by | Dec 13, 2024 | Learning Center, Walls, Doors, and Windows

Video: https://youtu.be/u2o4v6y1yGY
Transcript:

With a PDF image or a DWG file imported on the screen, the task of drawing walls is even easier because everything is already measured for you. When tracing a PDF or DWG, your cursor automatically snaps to endpoints on the lines for vector PDFs, making it easy to pick points accurately.

Envisioneer has two tools for drawing walls ─ Walls and Walls by Baseline. The Walls tool draws walls on the centerline of the wall. It can be used for exterior or interior walls. If you use the Walls by Baseline tool, you draw a line diagram and specify how to offset the wall from that line. This tool is ideal for creating an exterior wall layout when you know the exterior finish dimensions.

Let’s trace the walls in our PDF image, starting with the exterior walls.

Exterior Walls

  1. Turn the GRID and GRIDSNAP off, and ensure your ORTHO is on. You can toggle these drawing aids on and off by clicking on them.

ORTHO ensures that walls are drawn at right angles.

  1. Make sure the current location is set to the one where you want the walls to reside.
  2. Use the Zoom Window tool to zoom in on the imported PDF image.
  3. Select Insert > Walls > Walls by Baseline, or click the Walls button on the Building toolbar and select Walls by Baseline.
  4. In the catalog panel on the right, select the Exterior folder, then the Siding Veneer subfolder, and then the 2×6 Cement Board Siding wall.

Position your cursor at one of the exterior wall corners. Your cursor displays an intersection object snap icon, indicating that your cursor will snap to that corner point. A small black square is also displayed at the corner point. This is the SNAPTRACK feature at work. The snap tracking feature helps you draw objects at specific angles or positions relative to other objects. When snap tracking is turned on, temporary alignment paths appear based on object snap points, such as endpoints and midpoints. When you move your cursor over their drawing paths, such points are marked with a small, solid square.

  1. Click the lower right corner point to start your wall diagram.
  2. Click on the next exterior wall corner, then continue picking endpoints until you pick all 4 corners.

You will notice a closed polygon is being created, where the last point picked is continually connected to the start point. When you have picked the last point, right-click and select Finish.

The Walls by Baseline dialog appears:

  1. Make sure the Outer Face of Veneer option is selected, then click OK. Your exterior walls are created.

Interior Walls

Now let’s add interior walls. For the interior walls we will use the Walls tool instead of the Walls by Baseline tool.

  1. Select Insert > Walls > Walls or click the Walls by Baseline button on the Building toolbar and select Walls.
  2. In the catalog panel, select an appropriate interior wall type for the bathroom walls.
  3. To trace a wall, simply select its endpoints, keeping in mind that walls are drawn on center with the Walls tool. You may need to shift a wall you’ve drawn so that it lines up precisely with the wall lines on the PDF. You can do this by selecting the wall, then clicking and dragging it to the correct position. You can also nudge a selected wall in small increments using the arrow keys on your keyboard.
  4. When you finish the two walls, right-click and select Finish.