Save changes draw order

[gotphish001]

I have some elevations that I hatched all in to color them. There's hatch over hatch for siding. It's so dumb but it was a drawing I was just editing. It's a nightmare because there a million times I need to move stuff to front then to back and etc to get it right. So I got it all perfect, but every time I hit save it changes like half the draw orders and screws the drawing all up. I'd love to post a copy of it but I can't save it without it screwing it all up. 

Save changes it, undo save fixes it. I tried regen and that makes it worse.

[dbroad]

If you are trying to hatch over elevation/section results objects, they you should change your workflow.  These objects are not supposed to serve as hatch boundaries.  Use the AEC material system for material hatch and integrate the materials into your AEC object styles.

[gotphish001]

I am not. It's just a regular drawing. Well, it was made in PN, but it's all just in 1 construct model space with layout tabs in there. 

I always use elevations that are generated like you are talking about though. I basically just use them instead of drawing construction lines. I generate the elevation then just explode it enough times so it's parts but the hatch is still hatch. I then qselect all the hatch and erase it.  It just tells me where doors and windows are. If I make a change to the plan I just generate a new elevation. Do the same with that one and just copy the part that was changed to my original one.

I can't do the workflow you suggest because my architect makes too many changes. Like we might be doing a fire station and I'll have it all done and he will say lets see what that looks like with a soldier course. An hour after I make the changes, Hey let's see what it looks like with a bricks 3 feet high all the way around. Plus he will be like I don't like that brick hatch what else is there. He pretty picky so I gave up with using the full generated elevations. I'm was just changing them too much.

[gotphish001]

But yes sometimes the outlines of the generated elevations don't hatch right as there might be a gap in lines or corners don't meet tight. Most buildings we do are suburban fire station size things like 4-6 bays, 2 story, and maybe a tower so even if I have to trace over all the lines with new polylines and rectangles it's still way faster than drawing 500 construction lines and also way less confusing. It's just annoying to me that it's not full BIM and you can go both way with changes too. That's probably my most disliked thing about ACA.

[dbroad]

Modelling the building cleanly will help reduce elevation problems.  Also merging materials helps eliminate the extra lines.  Revit is a more complete BIM solution if you need that approach.

If you are just using your elevations as a background for your drawings, then consider using the background elevation/section style for your generated results.  It will not obscure your linework.

[gotphish001]

How do you use the background elevation style? 

My building is pretty clean, it's the constant changes that make it not worth it. I'd end up with 100 wall styles by the time a decision was made.

I tried to get them to switch to revit when we upgraded from 2012 aca to 2017, but my boss is anti tech. It's amazing we don't hand draw stuff. He doesn't even like that I draw in 3D. He rather have me draw walls with 2 lines. My job has many other perks so I take the good with the bad. We have a 3 year license and I'll be pushing revit or archicad like crazy the last 6 months of our 3 years. haha 

[gotphish001]

On the original question. I thought I had my drawing finally where it saved and it didn't change the draw order. I checked it over quickly before I left yesterday. Today open the drawing and the draw order is all changed again. Probably an hour or 2 worth of messing with this drawing to get it back to the point where it looks like it did when I saved it. Draw order is wacky sometimes, but I've never had it be this crazy. I literally fix it all then when I hit save it changes 30% of the drawing. At least this is a mock up and I won't have to deal with it much longer. I hate old drawings which might have something to do with it. I have no idea what the person did that made it. Was a project we did a prelim on 2 years ago that they finally got grant money to do, but now they want to change a few things. It's an old barn that we are making into like one of those houses you rent in a park to have a party. Adding bathrooms and patio and decks.

[dbroad]

So you're not using ACA objects (walls, doors, windows, roofs, etc.)?  If you're not working that way, then you should just use ACA as AutoCAD and use Xrefs to project from.

If you are using at least standard walls with flexible thicknesses and are using the section and elevation features of ACA, then the background style can be put into your template or you can use the stylemanager to browse for it.  It is an outline only style, with no hatch and with all linework non-plottable.

If you are actually using automated elevations, then ACA does not support hatching those elevation results. Every time you refresh the project, things get redrawn.  Only linework edits of elevations survive the refresh.

[gotphish001]

I'm using objects, but I don't think he's(my architect) happy about it. I also think he thinks I can draw an old two line wall and then drop a door in it in ACA which you can't.  This whole thing is a learning process for me. I learned plain autocad, revit, microstation in school along with a touch of civil and plant 3D. I started this job 6 months ago and they use ACA. I never used it before. It's a small firm, but does pretty decent size projects. I replaced a guy that worked here 15 years but unfortunately passed away from cancer. The architect doesn't know how to use cad at all, so I'm teaching myself. There's only 1 other cad guy that started a week after me and he never used ACA either and hasn't used cad in years as he was teaching GED courses. We are basically teaching ourselves. I've learned a lot but it's frustrating sometimes because I can't just ask a guy next to me a simple question. I did get Aubin's book and go through that. I've read so much but sometimes it's hard to retain things if you aren't actually doing them for weeks after I read about something. 

I'm not sure how I can browse the style manager for that style you speak of. I looked in mine and the only style in the object elevation section is standard. I loaded up the default template that came with ACA and I only see standard in there too. Am I missing some where I'm not looking?

Is this where you mean? 

[dbroad · Accepted solution]

ACA can be a real productivity boon over plain AutoCAD but the learning curve is steep.  I suggest you get a tutorial textbook designed for self-learners such as Mastering AutoCAD Architecture Ior something like that) by Paul Aubin.  On your image, pick the open button that looks like open folder but is open drawing.  Navigate to SectionStyles (Imperial).dwg and open it.  Then drag the background section/elevation style to the current drawing.  If you decide you like it, add it to your template drawing.

[gotphish001]

I went through Aubin's book as I said in my other post. Took me a minute to find where those section styles were. I didn't know all those different styles where in the autocad folder. It's kind of buried. Paul's book and online videos have taught me a lot. I'm using it pretty well considering my first job out of school was basically I'm the CAD manager in a software I never used before and no one else here used it. Like I said it's harder because simple questions I need to go online and look everything up. I am a pretty good researcher. Sometimes it would be nice though to just ask a guy in the next office how to do something, but that guy doesn't exist here because it's basically me. haha  I obviously have lots of dumb questions that probably can be answered in 10 seconds in person, but I waste hours looking stuff up like that. 

One of the biggest difficulties looking things up for ACA is that if you don't include "autocad architecture" in google searches I get mostly revit solutions, but when I include "autocad architecture" I get 99% autocad solutions that have to do with architecture. Sometimes those can answer my question but sometimes it's different. It's just a lot to weed through and that's where most of my time looking stuff up is spent. I can't count how many times I read something and thought  "yes that is my answer" only to realize it's for revit. Which does occasionally help me too.  

[dbroad]

I imagine if you include ACA or ADT in the search terms that might help.  ACA was only recently renamed.