Getting
to Know 3D Home Architect®
This tutorial will
teach you all the basic skills you need to work in the program. Specifically,
you can learn about:
Getting Started
Building Locations
Inserting Elements
Selecting Elements Already in Your Drawing
Positioning and Modifying Elements in Your Drawing
Customizing 3D Elements
Working with Materials
Viewing Your Project
Using Cameras in Your Drawing
Using the Zoom and Navigation Tools
Other Viewing Options
When you first start your 3D Home Architect application the Start Dialog screen will appear. From this screen you can choose from the following options: Learn To Use, Start a New Project, Open a Saved Project, View Sample Plans, or Register Online.
Learn To Use
Clicking the Learn To Use button will take you to a series of tutorials
(like the one you're reading now) that will help you learn how to use
the program.
Start
a New Project
When you choose this option, the House Builder Wizard will appear. This
wizard will quickly take you through the process of creating a basic home.
After creating the home, you can make changes to the general structure
and add 3D elements to your plan. If
you prefer to create a home from scratch, cancel out of the House Builder
Wizard screen and begin your project.
For more details, you may want to read the tutorial titled, Completing a Home Design or Remodel.
Open a Saved Project
Choosing this option will take you to a list of your saved 3D Home Architect
projects. Select the project you want to work on and then click the Open
button.
View Sample Plans
We've collected a number of sample projects that will give you an idea
of what kind of designs can be created in the program. And since these
projects are fully editable, you can also use them as a starting point
for your own design. Note: these plans may take some time to appear
on your screen as they are very large files.
Register Online
If you didn't do so during installation, register your copy of 3D Home
Architect. It only takes you a few moments and will give you access to
updated product information, additional content, and other benefits.
Before you start actually designing your project, it's a good idea to learn a thing or two about building locations. Building locations allow you to work on areas of your project that have different elevations. Building locations can be floors, split levels on the same floor, or any portion of your project that benefits from a unique set of location properties, such as wall height or elevation relative to the ground.
| Your project is pre-set with several floor locations. You can add new locations and edit existing locations as needed by clicking the Building Locations icon. |  |
For this tutorial, we'll leave the Building Locations with their default settings. To learn more about setting up building locations with your own set of properties, view the Working on Multiple Locations and Split Levels tutorial.
When you insert an element, such as a wall or a piece of furniture, it is inserted on the currently selected building location. For example, if you wish to draw new walls on the second floor of your plan, you must make sure that the second floor is the current building location. It's easy to switch between building locations in the program.
| To
select a Building Location 1. Click the Building Locations pulldown arrow at the bottom of the screen. 2. Select the desired Building Location. |
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What to Insert
The first step in inserting elements into your project is to pick the
desired Insert Tool. The Insert Tools are all the tools that you use to
create your project -- walls, doors, windows, hills, fences, plants, lights,
etc. There are four sets - indicated by tabs - of Insert Tools, two for
Home Design functions (Building and Interiors), and two for Landscape
Design functions (Landscape and Terrain). Depending on which version of
the product you have, you can access one, two, or all four of these tabs.
How to Select
Clicking on one of the insert tabs selects a specific group of tools.
For example, the Building Tab contains tools for drawing walls, inserting
windows, etc. Click on a tab to access its associated tools. Then, simply
click on the desired icon.
| When you select one of the Insert tools, a default element is pre-selected so you can immediately start inserting. For example, when you select the Building tab and then first click on the Walls tool, an 8"exterior brick wall is selected and ready to insert. If you want to choose a different element, look through the catalog | |
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and click on the element you want. For more information, see the step-by-step guide on Working with Catalogs and Elements. Some tools have more than one option for insertion. A black arrow in the corner of the icon indicates that the tool has more than one option. |
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How to Insert
Inserting is as easy as clicking in the drawing area. Some tools, such
as the furniture tool, require a single click to place an element; some
require you to pick points to define an area; and some, such as walls,
require multiple clicks to create each segment of the element. With a
little experimentation, you will quickly learn how to insert each different
type of element. If you're unsure of what to do, check the Status Bar
at the bottom of the screen for guidance, or view one of the video tutorials
by clicking on the Learn menu and selecting How to Use the Tools.
| To
insert an element: 1. After an element is selected, move the cursor into the drawing area and click. 2. For single-click elements, such as furniture, one click will place the element in your plan. Other elements require multiple clicks for each segment of the element (walls, for example) or to define the area an element covers (decks, for example). 3. Right-click and select Finish, or double-click when you are done inserting the element. |
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Selecting Elements Already in Your Drawing
Selecting an individual element in your drawing is as simple as clicking on it. If your plan is crowded with elements, it may at first be difficult to distinguish between elements. But by moving your mouse over an area of your drawing, you will see tooltips pop up, indicating the name of the element beneath the cursor. The element will also be highlighted when the cursor rolls over it.
You can select multiple elements by holding down your Shift key and clicking on all the elements you want to select. Each element will become highlighted when selected. Click on a selected element a second time to de-select it.
Using the View
Filter to Make Selecting Elements Easier
When your drawing is getting crowded or you have elements that compete
for the same space - like walls and roofs - you can use the View filter
to help you. This filter allows you to display or not display selected
elements in your drawing by type and/or location and also allows you to
choose, by type and/or by location, which elements in your drawing are
selectable. Un-selectable elements still appear on screen, but can't be
deleted, moved, or modified. Filtering is covered in more detail in the
program's Help guide.
Positioning and Modifying Elements in Your Drawing
To reposition or modify an element in your drawing, you first need to select it as described above. Depending on the type of element, you can move, rotate, or stretch it by simply manipulating the element's handles.
| To
move an element: 1. Click on the element to select it. It should become highlighted. 2. Move your cursor over the grip handle in the center of the element. The Move cursor appears.  |
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| 3. Click and drag the element to move it to its new position. | |
| To
rotate an element: 1. Click on the element to select it. It should become highlighted. 2. Move your cursor over the triangular shaped grip handle on one side of the element. The Rotate cursor appears.  3. Click and drag your mouse in a circular motion until the element is rotated correctly. |
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| To
lengthen or stretch an element: 1. Click on the element, such as a wall, to select it. It should become highlighted. 2. Move your cursor over the grip handle on the side of the element you want to make longer. The stretch cursor indicates that you are over a point that can be lengthened.  3. Click and drag the element to the desired length. |
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Feel free to experiment with different types of elements. It's important to get a feel for how to manipulate elements in your project. If you make a mistake, you can always undo it by clicking on the Edit menu and selecting Undo.
Other Ways to Modify
Your Elements
There are more ways you can modify the elements in your plan quickly and
easily. The types of modifications possible are dependent on the type
of element. For example you can curve walls or flip doors to open left
or right. The list of possibilities for each type of element is described
in the program's Help guide, but the basic steps to choose the modification
are the same.
To modify an element:
1. Click on the element to select it. It should become highlighted.
2. Right-click to display the modification pop-up menu.
3. Select the desired modification from the list.
The program gives you the power to customize elements in millions of ways. In general, it's easiest to customize elements that you have first inserted in your project, rather than by editing elements in the Catalog. The changes you make by this method are saved only within the project you're working on.
| To
customize an element or group of elements: 1. Right-click on the selected element or group of elements you want to customize and select Properties from the pop-up menu. -OR- Double click on the element you want to customize. |
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2. Select the tab that represents the change you want to make. For
instance, with walls you can customize Basic properties, Trim, Appearance,
Quantity, or Behavior. 3. Make the desired changes to the element properties. 4.Click OK. |
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Tip: You can change properties on multiple elements at the same time, as long as they are all the same type of element. If the group of elements you've selected includes different types of elements - for example, a door and a cabinet - Properties will not appear in the menu when you right-click.
For more information on customizing elements, see the Customizing Your Interiors tutorial.
What are Materials?
Every element (roofs, floors, ceilings, walls, furniture, etc.) has a
generic material assigned to it. The material assignment -- which contains
a texture or a color -- determines what the element will look like in
various 3D and 2D Designer's views.
A large database of materials is included with the program. From it, you can change the look of the elements already placed into your plan. For example, an exterior wall that has a brick texture can easily be edited to have a wood siding texture.
There are two ways to change an element's materials. You can use the Materials Paintbrush tool to easily apply materials anywhere you click.
| Using
the Materials Paintbrush tool: 1. The Materials Paintbrush can be used in 2D or 3D view, but is easiest in 3D view, Rendered Display Mode. 2. Click on the Materials Paintbrush icon, which is located just below the Building tab.  |
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3. The types
of materials available are displayed in the Catalog on the right
sidebar. Select the type of material you wish to work with by clicking
on it.
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If you prefer, you can also apply through an element's properties page. This will give you more precise control over where the material is being applied - for example, to change the sash, frame, and glazing bars of your window. This method will also allow you to apply the same material to multiple elements at once - for example, if you want to change all your kitchen cabinets to the same type of wood grain or countertop. For more information on this method and on working with materials in general to customize your design, see the tutorial titled Customizing Your Interior.
3D Home Architect applications allow you to work in both 2D and 3D views. You can easily switch between 2D and 3D views by clicking on their respective icons at the bottom of the workspace screen. You can access additional view commands from the View menu.
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2D
Plan View
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2D
Designer's View
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3D
View
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2D Plan View
When you launch the program, the view in the drawing area is the 2D Plan
view of your Ground Floor building location. This 2D Plan view displays
your project in simple lines as if you were looking at it from above.
This is the most common view for drawing and creating floor layouts.
2D
Designer's View 
2D Designer's view provides the same overhead view of your project, but
with materials added. This view is especially helpful when placing plants
and other landscaping elements into the drawing.
3D View 
Clicking on the 3D view icon pops up a fly out menu. You have a choice
of viewing your project in 3D Perspective mode, which is an eye-level
view of your project, or in 3D Overview mode, which shows your project
from a height of about 30 feet. You can also place a new camera to set
your own angles. Each angle is represented in the Drawing Area by a camera
symbol.
Each project has two
default camera angles: 3D Perspective and 3D Overview. You may also create
and place new cameras by selecting Place New Camera from the 3D icon fly
out menu. You can place an unlimited number of cameras.
| To
place a new camera: 1. It's easiest to position cameras in 2D Plan view. If you're not in that view, click on the 2D icon. |
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2. Click the
3D View icon from the bottom of the screen. |
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| 7. Set the target by moving the cursor away from the camera and clicking when you reach the desired target location. The target is important because it sets the point the camera will fly around. | |
| To
move the camera or target manually: 1. Make sure your camera is visible. 2. Click on the camera for the view you want to change. A selection handle will appear. 3. Hover over the selection handle. When the Move cursor is displayed, drag the Camera or Target to a new position. Release the mouse button to complete the move.  -OR-Right-click and select Move Camera or Move Target. The Move cursor will appear. Click and drag on the handle to move the camera or target to the new spot. 4. To look through the camera in its new position, right-click and select Look Through. |
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| Note: if you don't see the camera icons in your 2D or 3D view, you may need to zoom out a bit. Or, you may need to ensure that Camera On/Off toggle is set to on. To check this, click the Camera On/Off toggle and choose Cameras On/Off from the fly-out menu. |  |
Using the Zoom and Navigate Tools
You can also adjust the angle and size of your active view by using the Zoom and Navigate Tools. The zoom tools magnify or shrink the current view. The navigate tools change the view by moving the camera or target position. There are so many options for viewing and navigating, the best way to get familiar is simply to explore. Not all tools work in all types of views.
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Zoom Realtime - zooms the view in as you move your mouse up and zooms the view out as you move your mouse down. In 3D, this changes the camera's field of view between wide and telephoto. |
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Zoom Window - enlarges a specific area that you define by dragging a window around it. |
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Zoom to Fit - brings all elements in the entire drawing into view (fills the window). |
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Pan - allows you to move your 2D plan view as if it were a piece of paper on a desk. |
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Walk Around - moves your camera through your project as if you were walking with it. |
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Fly Around - revolves the camera around its target, allowing you to "fly" with the camera. |
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Look Around - rotates your camera, allowing you to look around your project without moving. |
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Slide - moves the camera up, down, left, or right without changing the camera's angle. |
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Reset Camera - reverts the camera angle and position to its initial placement. |
To Use the View
and Navigate Tools:
1. Select the tool you want to use by clicking on it.
2. Once selected, you'll notice that your cursor changes to reflect the
chosen tool.
3. Move the cursor over the workspace, hold down the left mouse button
and move in the desired direction. For example, to use the Look Around
tool to look to the right, click anywhere in the drawing area and drag
your cursor to the right.
You'll probably use a combination of zoom and navigate tools to get just the right angle on your project. The best way to learn is to just try the different tools to get a feel for what each one will do for you.
For more information on 3D viewing, including rendering a 3DTrueView, see Visualizing Your Design in 3D.
The View menu contains other viewing options. Among the options presented in the View menu is the Display Mode fly-out menu. The program's 3D views can be automatically displayed in any one of five display modes. You can use the different modes for a variety of applications. For example, Wireframe and Hidden Line are the easiest for your computer to produce, so they are useful when you want to navigate through your drawing quickly. The Rendered mode provides the most realistic working view of your project.
| To change
the display mode of your active 3D view: 1. Click on the View menu and select Display Mode or click on the display mode icon  in the view controls toolbar. 2. Click on the display mode you want from the fly-out list. |
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Wireframe - shows only the outline of the edges of all the elements in your project. |
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Hidden Line - Hides lines that you would not normally be able to see. This is a more realistic view than Wireframe. |
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Rendered - Applies materials (textures or colors) to the surfaces of elements. The material applied depends on an element's material definition in the catalog. |
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Rendered Outline - Applies materials (textures or colors) to the surfaces of elements as in the Rendered view, but adds a black line around all elements. |
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Patterned - Applies a pattern of lines (hatch pattern) to the surfaces of elements. The pattern applied depends on an element's material definition in the catalog. Lines can be black or colored. Varied line patterns are used to represent different types of materials. |