Help with TurboCad Architectural

Hi, I wonder if anyone else has tried to work through the TurboCad Architectural tutorial? I have TurboCad 2016 deluxe 64 bit and the Turbocad Deluxe 2D3D training and have been trying to work through some of the tutorials. In the architecture section, you are supposed to load a picture they provide as a background, then use it as a template to draw walls over the top. This looks fine in the pictures in the tutorial, but when I try it, the walls are drawn behind the image, not in front. Nothing I have found in the way of move to front or back, or in the properties of the image changes this.

I tried making a support request, suffice it to say that the person on the other end was not a native English speaker and did not appear to be able to understand what the problem was.

John

I've imported images and drawn over them in TC D/L John - not the best way to draw things really but I cannot recall any problems when doing so.

For learning TurboCAD - I always recommend people look at the YouTubes by Paul the CAD - and this one may be useful to you...albeit it's with an older TC version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXNLUv99_iw

I'd also look at his more recent videos and take his advice on TC D/L set-up and usage generally - found it to be much better than the way I was using it before...

Regards,

IanT

IanT said pretty much exactly what I was going to say. Can't recommend Paul the CAD highly enough, especially his tutorials. No connection other than as a very satisfied customer etc etc.

cheers

Bill

Hi Ian, Not necessarily a way I would normally draw things either, I would prefer to use actual dimensions, but sometimes I try to work through tutorials just to see what I learn...sometimes a better way than what I have discovered for myself. So far I am getting the impression that free usage of Fusion 360 is a better deal than this one that I paid for a couple of years back, although I am kind of aware that they could turn off Fusion anytime they wanted to.

I've tried all sorts of things...I have the software loaded on two completely different machines so it is not a graphics card problem

John

John,

I don't use TurboCad, but ... it seems like you have a 'layer order' problem

The layer containing the inserted picture obviously needs to be at the back/bottom of the stack ... and if it is to be really useful, it will also be behind/below the grid.

.

Presumably; if there is a tutorial demonstrating this technique, there *must* be tools available to arrange the order of your layers, and/or to insert the picture on a special layer that really is the background. [Note: that special one, sometimes called canvas, may only be accessible when creating the file, rather than when inserting an image into an existing file]

MichaelG.

.

Edit: For example, here is the opening screen from an iPad App that has that option:

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 18/06/2018 06:59:46

There are tools in Turbocad for moving things to the front or back and they have absolutely no effect on this problem. I've fiddled with all the settings I can find related to layers. I've used the template specified and the image was provided. They must have done it as they show illustrations in the tutorial. I would love to be able to try loading one they have done, but since their support staff do not appear to understand English this is not really feasible.

Select the picture (rather than the layer) and then use the Draw Order tool to Send it to Back. In my V21PP, the Draw Order tool is in the Tools tab - or you can use Shift+Pge Down

Hi John Olson

Use bring to front.

**LINK**

Regards
John

That is what I tried first. I just had a thought and loaded in a couple more pictures. Interesting result. With the two I have added, I can move them back and forth so that one or the other is on top. However, the original one they provided is always in front of everything, no matter what. Also the walls drawn with the architecture tool are always behind any of the pictures no matter what, eg move the pictures to the back or the walls to the front, the walls still don't show where the pictures are.

My pictures are jpg's, so I made a copy of theirs as a jpg, It behaves the same as mine, eg swaps places happily with mine but the walls still stay stubbornly at the back.

Maybe you could try this Gary and see what happens on your one. Mine is 23.2 deluxe.

John

I confess I've never used the Architectural tools before, but I've just tried drawing a wall (in red, so it showed up) and then inserting a JPG. Initially the JPG was on top and obscured the wall. I tried sending the JPG to the back, which worked, then tried sending the wall to the back, which also worked. I then brought the wall to the front, and that worked.

As I said, I've never used the Architectural tools before, so maybe I've done something wrong, but the following pictures show my results.

OK, that is exactly how it should work, so maybe there is something wrong with my version. I have it on two machines, and each was downloaded separately, so I am picking that there is a bug in this version.

Thanks for trying that Gary

regards

John

Hmm, because the version after my V21 relegated Lightworks to a paid-for pluginto with RedSDK as default, and I'd had so many problems when I'd given it a try, I decided not to upgrade and to stick with V21PP. When Fusion 360 came out I found it was far better for 3D work than Tcad, so I jumped ship. Strangely, Tcad is far better for a lot of 2D work, so I still use it quite a bit. The 3D work is mostly for the REMAP jobs that I do - many of which involve the use of a 3D printer and F360 is super for creating STLs.

Are you in 3D mode?

Send to back/front won't work if you're walls are in a different Z-axis position to the pictures.

They all need to be on the same plane

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 18/06/2018 12:15:05

Is there a way of changing mode? I can't find anything relating to changing from 2D to 3D. I am using the template they suggested.

I don't think much of this version of Turbocad. I used early versions quite a bit many years ago, I think I bought version 3 and then got version 6 free on a magazine disk. That was quite usable for 2D drawings. This one tries to do too much and ends up with to many obscure features that just seem to get in the way.

Then I used Alibre for a while, first bought a basic edition then later upgraded to a better version. Lost the installation in a disk crash although I still have all the drawings I did...however around that time they were bought out and changed the name, and I have never been able to convince them that I actually had bought a copy, so don't have access to that anymore. So I don't like software that you install off the web and never have install disks for.

So it looks like I will have to use Fusion 360, but I really don't like being dependent on the goodwill of an outfit who could shut off access anytime they think they can make a buck out of it.

John

John,

I regularly use TC16 (though not in "architectural mode" ) to do what you want. Usually (as others have told you) you need to "send to back" the image in order to have your drawn lines displayed over it. One thing no one has mentioned is that to get the desired display you need to ensure that you do not have the image selected (via use of the pointing tool) as selected items automatically come to the front. Simply click on a blank space (away from the image) to deselect.

Hope this helps sort you out.

Regards Tom

Edited By Tomfilery on 19/06/2018 09:11:06

John,

Have you tried contacting the new Alibre (No longer owned by 3D) team about your old version?

**LINK**

They have been very helpful with others in a similar situation.

Nick.

I have delux 20 which I bought/used last year to design a substantial extension to a bungalow. I worked through Paul the CAD tutorials OK but when it came to house design I did play architectural 3D but apart from the 'fun' aspect the inbuilt window and door and roof options were so limiting as to be useless. It was simpler to just go back to straight 2D plans to get the job done or I'd have been drawing everything the slow way in (non architectural) 3D.

(sadly the need for mini-piling and demands for engineering calculations added £50+K +vat to the cost I decided to abandon the project with estimates going north of 400K on top of the current property value with a finished value 100K less than the costs to do it all)

Unless your version is way closer to the full architectural version of TC I wouldn't bother with it.

pgk