Advanced Tips and Tricks

CalcsCAD Quick Command Reference Guide

Ribbon NameCommand / Command LineAction Taken
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_0.png Plan Layers CC:PLANLAYERSOpens plan layers dialog box where you can add new levels, and change the current active and ghost layer.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_1.png Alignment Point CC:APOINTCreates a POINT on the selected plan layer. You need to create one alignment point per plan layer (building level) to enable accurate load tracking and ghosting. These should both align with each other (i.e. the corner of a building).
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_2.png Set Plan Layer CC:SETLAYERSets the Plan Layer property of any selected object to match the current active plan layer. This can be used to quickly associate all beams with the ground level for example. It is useful if objects were mistakenly associated with the wrong layer.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_3.png Roof CC:ROOFConverts or draws a closed POLYLINE into a Roof Perimeter object
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_4.png Hip Truss CC:HIPConverts or draws a LINE into a Hip Truss object

Hip Trusses should have a minimum of two supports (i.e. load bearing wall and GT) and must touch both a Roof Perimeter and Girder Truss.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_5.png Valley CC:VALLEYConverts or draws a LINE into a Valley object.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_6.png Girder Truss CC:GTConverts or draws a LINE into a Girder Truss object.

Girder Trusses should have a minimum of two supports (either columns, load bearing walls, other GTs, or beams).
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_7.png Show Rafter Directions CC:SHOWRAFTERSShows automatically predicted rafter/truss directions based on the Girders, Hips, and Valleys drawn in. Directions default to 'Auto' but can be overridden in the Properties panel and given a specific X or Y based on engineering judgement.

The command will flag all disconnected lines and issues that need to be resolved before directions can be displayed.

Areas with a red hatch denote areas the tool was unable to automatically determine - please set an X or Y direction in the Properties panel.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_8.png Show Tributary Areas CC:VALIDATEROOFDisplays load tributary areas colour coded by direction they fall (up, down, left, right). This is useful for confirming truss/rafter directions have been inferred correctly and loads are transferring as predicted.

The command will flag all disconnected lines and issues that need to be resolved before areas can be displayed.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_9.png Joist CC:JOISTConverts or draws a LINE into a Joist object.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_10.png Generate Joists CC:Draws a closed POLYLINE to denote a given joist area.

Joist direction and spacing can then be specified in the Properties panel when the given Joist area is selected.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_11.png Validate CC:VALIDATEFLOORPerforms a check on all joist areas and flags any issues.

Areas where the tool could not infer a joist direction or where joists are missing will be hatched red.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_12.png Bearer CC:BEARERConverts or draws a LINE into a Bearer object.

In the Properties panel you may specify an automatic label, add a comment, allow the beam to be disconnected (for example, if it is cantilevered, or interior), and toggle whether it should carry roof load.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_13.png Lintel CC:LINTELConverts or draws a LINE into a Lintel object.

In the Properties panel you may specify an automatic label, add a comment, allow the beam to be disconnected (for example, if it is cantilevered, or interior), and toggle whether it should carry roof load.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_14.png Wall CC:WALLConverts or draws a LINE into a load bearing Wall object.

If the Wall is not contiguous (i.e. not connected at the end - for example, an interior wall), you will need to toggle Allow Disconnect in the Properties panel.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_15.png Railing CC:RAILINGConverts or draws a LINE into a Railing object. (a short, non-load bearing wall - for example, a balcony rail).
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_16.png Column CC:COLUMNDraws a POINT Column object.

If you have an object currently selected, it will create a POINT in the centre of all currently selected objects which can be useful for batch creating Columns if you have existing objects denoting them in your architectural drawing.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_17.png Area Override CC:LOADAREAConverts or draws a closed POLYLINE into an Area Override object.

This tool may be used to override the default loads of a given area that may have heavier than default loads (for example, a bathroom or solar panel). The overridden loads can be specified in the Properties panel.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_18.png Properties CC:PROPSDisplays the Properties pop up panel which allows the properties of a given selected object to be viewed and changed. If an object is selected that has no ClearCalcs properties associated, the panel will be blank.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_19.png Highlight Tagged CC:HIGHLIGHTHighlights purple all objects in a drawing that have been given ClearCalcs properties. This is useful for quickly determining if any areas of the house have been missed.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_20.png Hide Output CC:HIDEHides any active command (for example, highlight tagged, show rafter directions, or show tributary areas).
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_21.png Validate All CC:VALIDATEChecks entire document for connectivity and calculation errors and flags any issues that needs to be fixed. Problem areas should be automatically selected and zoomed to in the order they are resolved.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_22.png Clear Properties CC:CLEARClears all ClearCalcs properties from the selected object/s. This is useful if you have mistakenly tagged an object you did not mean to.
[SUPPORT]_calcscad_quick_command_reference_guide_23.png Export CC:EXPORTExports to a CCFRAME file for upload into ClearCalcs. This command will check to see the document is working first and flag any errors that need to be resolved before export is allowed.

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