As you can see in the TOOL BOX stairs, doors and windows have their own dedicated tool button.
On opening the settings window you will find the options you were made familiar with in the previous chapter.
The difference being that the navigator on the left side will only show either stairs, doors or windows.
Archicad comes with many different doors and windows organised by type and assembly. There are third party developers that offer single window and door objects instead of the multitude of proprietary options with their limitations in terms of assembly.
Doors & Windows : Settings.
You will find that doors and windows will behave in a similar way and that their settings are best edited through:
1. The Preview and Positioning tab for general sizing and
2. The graphical interface in the custom settings tab for detailed settings.
(The tab between Parameters and Floor Plan and Section.)
Doors & Windows : Placement.
Check the geometry method / Anchor point in the Preview and Positioning tab. Choose centre or side.
With all the correct parameters set, click OK to close the settings window.
Doors and windows are associated to the wall you place them in. (You will see the cursor change from cross to tripod when hovering over a wall.) This means when you delete a wall, all windows placed in it will be deleted as well.
INFO > It is impossible to place a door or window if there is no wall to place them in, however, it is possible to drag windows or doors outside of the wall once they have been placed. This should always be avoided!
Placing a door or window is a three click operation:
1. Select a wall to place the door or window in,
2. Click to select opening side,
3. Click to select the external side.
4. Important : Review the result in 3D!
TIP > To place at a certain distance from a node hover the cursor over that node and bring up the relative tracker value: SHIFT + X,Y.
Type in a new relative value, e.g. “500+” to add 500 to the current value.
CADSwift Infinite Opening
There are various other companies, like CADSwift (cadswift.com.au), offering a whole range of free and licensed(!) Add-ons and Objects.
For example the CADSwift Infinite Opening / Window lets you generate more complex window / door assemblies than the default Archicad window and door objects.
INFO > Always check which side of the window is being shown in the display and ensure it matches that of your window schedule.
TIP > Sliding doors can be placed from the window tab using this object, which is very useful when it comes to scheduling (you want them to appear in the same schedule). Doors placed using the door tab can’t be scheduled together with the windows.