Punch! software HOME DESIGN STUDIO PRO V1 User Manual
User’s Guide
Home Design
Studio Pro
© 2007 Punch! Software, L.L.C.
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
All rights reserved. This document, as well as the software described in it, is furnished
under license and can only be used or copied in accordance with the terms of the license.
Except as permitted by such license, no part of this document can be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Punch! Software, L.L.C.
Punch! Software, L.L.C. reserves the right to improve, enhance, and revise its products
without notice.
Punch! Home Design Studio Pro is a registered trademark of Punch! Software, L.L.C.
Mac and the Mac logo are trademarks of Apple, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other
countries.
All other product names mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective manufacturers.
The information in this document is furnished for informational use only, is subject to
change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Punch! Software,
L.L.C. Punch! assumes no liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this
document.
Credits:
Punch! Home Design Studio Pro is a registered trademark of Punch! Software, L.L.C. All
terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have
been appropriately capitalized. Punch! Software cannot attest to the accuracy of this
information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity
of any trademark or service mark.
ACIS® is a registered trademark of Spatial Inc.
Portions of this software are copyrighted by Spatial Inc.
Special credit to Jolyon Yates for icon tool design.
First edition, 2007
Printed in the United States of America
Table of Contents
Part 1: Nuts & Bolts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
A Quick Tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Finding Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Before You Draw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Part 2: Punch! Software Primer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Drawing 2D Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Using Snaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Viewing in 2D & 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Adding 3D Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Rearranging Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Saving, Sharing & Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Part 3: From the Ground Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Topography Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Foundation Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Floor Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Room Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Floor Plan Trace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Part 4: Utilities in Your Home Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Electrical Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Plumbing Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
HVAC Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
I
Contents
Part 5: Working on Your Home’s Exterior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Roofing Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Roofing Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Deck Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Landscape Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Detail Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Part 6: Design Aid PowerTools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Site Planner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Window Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Door Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Cabinet Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Fireplace Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Part 7: Productivity PowerTools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Estimator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
DXF/DWG Export & Import . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Global Sun Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
PhotoView . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
RealModel® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Part 8: 3D Custom Workshop Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Before You Draw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Drawing 2D Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Drawing 3D Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Convert 2D Objects to 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341
Editing 2D and 3D Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Controlling Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
II
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
Part 1
NUTS & BOLTS
Chapter 1: Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2: A Quick Tour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chapter 3: Finding Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 4: Before You Draw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Chapter 1
Welcome
Punch! Home Design Studio Pro is a professional-level home design system developed for anyone who
needs fast, accurate home drawings and wants the flexibility to view and edit their plan in 3D.
Uses for Punch! Home Design Studio Pro include:
◆ Architectural drawings
◆ Presentations
◆ Deck design
◆ 3D visualization
◆ Electrical plans
◆ Interior design
◆ Landscaping
In addition, Punch! Home Design Studio Pro contains a variety of useful PowerTools that each perform a
specific task.
It’s simple to get started designing the home of your dreams. Take a few minutes to familiarize yourself
with the contents of this manual, so you’ll know where to quickly find the answers. Be sure to see
chapter titled “A Quick Tour”, which begins on page 5, for an overview of the screen layout and a quick
tour of the program.
For a basic overview of tools and techniques that you’ll use throughout the design process, see “Punch!
Software Primer”, which begins on page 19.
The most important thing to do, before beginning work with Punch! Home Design Studio Pro, will be
setting your display to 32-bit color. To do this, on the dock, click System Preferences > Displays > Color >
then choose the Display Profile you want.
the
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
3
Chapter Welcome
1
Contents of Package
Punch! Home Design Studio Pro comes with
everything you need to install and use the software.
The package includes the following items:
◆ Punch! Home Design Studio Pro Installation
DVD
◆ Punch! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
◆ Homeplan booklet
System Requirements
Your system should include the following:
◆ CPU: G3 or higher (G4 recommended)
◆ Memory: 256MB
◆ Video Memory: 32MB
◆ OS: 10.4.x or higher
◆ Hard Drive Space: 3.2GB
◆ Optical Drive: DVD-ROM
◆ Display: Color LCD
◆ Display Resolution: 1024x768
◆ Peripherals: mouse
Installing Punch! Home Design Studio Pro
To install Punch! Home Design Studio Pro, follow
these steps.
Registering Punch! Home Design Studio Pro
The first time you launch Punch! Home Design Studio Pro,
you will have the opportunity to register your software.
Punch! Home Design Studio Pro will run in Trial Mode for
seven (7) days after installation, but note that Printing,
Saving, and Exporting are disabled in Trial Mode.
1 Type your Name and Company in the appropriate fields
of the Registration dialog box.
NOTE: Your Serial Number is automatically generated.
2 Click Register. Your web browser will automatically
launch and connect your computer to the Internet. The
Product Registration webpage will load automatically.
3 Type the required information, then click Submit
Registration.
4 Your Authorization Code will be emailed to the address
you typed.
5 Cut & Paste the Authorization Code from the email to the
Product Registration dialog box.
6 When the Authorization Code is validated. Click
Authorize.
To install Punch! Home Design Studio Pro
1 Insert Punch! Home Design Studio Pro
Installation DVD into your DVD-ROM drive.
2 Double-click the DVD on the Finder or desktop.
3 Double-click “Install Punch! Home Design Studio.”
4 Follow the installation prompts.
4
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
Chapter 2
A Quick Tour
To get the most benefit from Punch! Home Design Studio Pro, you should take a minute to become
familiar with the layout of the Punch! workspace, plan tools, toolboxes, and toolbars. This chapter
describes the basic components.
In most cases, this chapter does not provide detailed information on standard Mac concepts or on
specific menu items. For information on standard Mac concepts, such as the mouse, the Control menu, the
window border, the maximize button, dialog controls, and so on, refer to Mac online Help.
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
5
Chapter A Quick Tour
2
Menu Bar
You can choose menu items using either the mouse or
the keyboard. To use the mouse, choose the menu
you want and when the menu appears, choose the
item you want. Menu items with an arrow to the right
display submenus, when you place the pointer over
one of them.
There are single-key or key combination shortcuts
for certain frequently-used menu items. Each menu
lists available shortcut keys to the right of the
item’s name. You can use the techniques for choosing
menu items in combination.
Workspace
The workspace is the hub of Punch! Home Design
Studio Pro. Not only do you create your drawing on
the workspace, but you can also control each of the
windows, your working floor, object elevation, and
other important facets of your design.
Elevation Slider
With Punch! Home Design Studio Pro’s Elevation
Slider you can easily move selected items
vertically off “ground level”. This feature makes
it a snap to make sure windows, doors, plants,
and so on, are in exactly the position you want.
Simply select the object or feature to be raised
and drag the slider. For more information, see
“Elevating your Selection”, on page 72.
Active Floor Pop-up Menu
Use the Active Floor pop-up menu to switch the
current view, based on the number of floors in your
home plan. From the pop-up menu, choose the floor
you want to view and that floor appears on the
workspace.
Visible Plans
Click the Visible Plans button to
control which plans are visible on the
workspace. Visible plans appear with a
checkmark beside them in the pop-up menu.
Toolbar
On the toolbar, you can change your active floor,
control which plans are visible, access PowerTools,
and control windows.
6
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
PowerTools
Click the PowerTools button to open
the PowerTool launcher. Choose the
PowerTool you want to use from the
launcher.
Content
Use the Content button to control the
Content window. If the window is open,
clicking the Content button closes the
window. Clicking the button, while the window is
closed, opens the window.
LiveView
Use the LiveView button to control the
LiveView window. If the window is closed,
clicking the LiveView button opens
LiveView. If LiveView is open, clicking the button
closes LiveView.
The LiveView window can be resized and moved
around your desktop so you can work in 2D while
viewing in 3D, or work in 3D. So when you’re ready to
add materials and colors to your dream home, you
can do it easily and accurately with LiveView.
LiveView
Plan Tabs
Editing Toolbox
The Editing Toolbox contains tools for editing your
design, such as the Selection Tool, Text Tool, and
dimensioning tools.
Snaps Toolbox
The Snaps Toolbox contains tools that you will begin
to find indispensable. Each snap has a very specific
function and will allow you to place walls, doors,
windows, and many other things exactly where you
want them - the first time!
see “Using Snaps”, which begins on page 31.
From placing a window exactly 6'4" from a corner to
placing a lamp exactly in the center of an end table,
you will begin to use Snaps in concert with almost
every other drawing tool in Punch! Home Design
Studio Pro.
For more information,
Punch! Home Design Studio Pro utilizes a collection
of layers, which are controlled using the plan tabs
located beneath the toolbar. Choosing a plan
accesses the tools associated with that plan, which
appear on the Plan Toolbox; for example, choosing
the Electrical tab accesses outlets, switches, and
ceiling fans, while choosing the Landscaping tab
accesses tools for edging, fencing, ground fill,
excavation, and so on. The Plan Toolbox contains
each plan’s tools, and appears independent of the
workspace, so you can move it to wherever you’d like.
When working with multiple plans, you can choose a
plan tab to work specifically on each plan. Only the
objects from the selected plan appear on the
workspace.
Once placed, each feature, such as a door, window,
plant, outlet, and so on, can be altered at any time.
Simply select the object and its properties appear
on the Inspector.
You can further customize which plan or combination
of plans you want to be active or visible, using the
Visible Plans button. In addition, you can make each
plan layer a different color, so you can tell, at a
glance, which layer a specific feature is on. You can
even move features to a different plan, when
necessary.
To select a plan tab
1 Choose the Selection Tool from the Editing
Toolbox.
2 Click the plan tab you want. The plan is selected
and its tools appear in the Plan Toolbox.
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
7
Chapter A Quick Tour
2
Plan Tools
The Plan Toolbar contains each plan’s tools. When
you click a plan tab, its tools appear in the toolbox.
Status Bar
The status bar is located in the lower left-hand
corner of the workspace and relays prompts,
program messages, and measurements. It is a good
place to look when you are holding the pointer over
certain buttons or menu items to find their
functions. Also, when positioning your pointer over
items in the Preview box, their names appear in the
status bar.
Inspector
The Inspector displays object properties, such as
size, shape, and other characteristics or properties
that control the appearance of the object. You can
easily modify features you have previously drawn by
selecting them and editing their properties, using
the Inspector.
Content Window
You can drag objects, templates, materials, colors,
and so on, from the Content window onto your design.
The Content pop-up window contains a variety of
libraries:
Some libraries are contained within disclosure
triangles; click the triangle to view the libraries.
Once you choose a library, its contents appear in the
Preview box.
8
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
The Objects and Plants libraries have a search
feature that searches the libraries, based on a name
or other criteria. To activate, click the Action popup menu to the right of the Content pop-up menu.
Chapter 3
Finding Answers
Punch! Home Design Studio Pro is not just one software application, but several applications that can be
used together. Punch! provides you with a number of sources you can use to familiarize yourself with
these applications. When you have questions about a specific feature or procedure, this manual and Help,
that you can access from the program, provide a comprehensive guide to the tools in Punch! Home Design
Studio Pro. This chapter also discusses ways to access technical support and the Punch! web site.
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
11
Chapter Finding Answers
3
About This Guide
The text and graphics in this guide are tailored to
help you find the information you need quickly and
get the most out of Punch! Home Design Studio Pro.
Each section of this guide is divided into a series of
step-by-step instructions, making it easy for you to
scan a page to find exactly what you need. You can
also refer to the index for additional topics on the
same subject, if necessary.
NOTE: Instructions for installing and using your
Mac or Mac OS do not appear in this guide. If you’re
uncomfortable with your knowledge of Mac OS X or
with the concepts associated with your Mac, you
should review the documentation or online Help for
your Mac before attempting any serious work with
Punch! Home Design Studio Pro.
Basic Terms
The following is a list of terms used throughout this
guide. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with
the language used in this guide and to reinforce your
understanding of basic terminology.
Click - Pressing and releasing the mouse button once.
Double-click - Pressing and releasing the mouse
button twice.
Click and drag - Pressing the mouse button, holding it
down and moving the mouse, simultaneously.
Drag- Clicking to select an item, holding down the
mouse button, then dragging and releasing.
Scroll - Using the scroll bars on the sides of the
application window by clicking the slider box, holding
down the mouse button, and dragging.
Technical Support
Before contacting Punch! Technical Support, please
verify that the answer to your question is not
available from one of the following resources:
◆ Punch! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
◆ Punch! Home Design Studio Pro Integrated
Help
◆ The Punch! Online Community is available at
http://forums.punchsoftware.com. At the
Online Community, users can post questions
and trade useful tips and tricks.
◆ The Customer Support Center is available at
http://punch.custhelp.com. At the Customer
Support Center you can register your
software, search the knowledgebase or ask a
question, if necessary.
The Customer Support Center can only answer
questions that are related to features of Punch!
Home Design Studio Pro. They cannot answer
specific questions about home building, local building
codes, and so on.
When contacting the Support Center, please provide
the following details:
◆ Serial Number; on the menu bar, choose
Home Design Studio > About Punch! Home
Design Studio Pro. Your serial number
appears on the dialog.
OR
Choose Home Design Studio > About Punch! Home
Design Studio Pro. Your Serial Number appears on
the window.
◆ Your computer’s operating system
◆ Make and model of your computer
Integrated Help
Punch! Home Design Studio Pro includes an extensive
integrated help system. This system includes all of
the information found in this
Studio Pro User’s Guide
To access the online help files
◆ Choose Help > Punch! Home Design Studio Pro
Help (or press Command+?).
12
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
PUNCH! Home Design
.
After registering your program, you will receive free
technical support. When you call, you should be in
front of your computer, with the program running,
and have the above information handy. The technical
support contact information can be located at the
Customer Support Center punch.custhelp.com.
http://
Chapter 4
Before You Draw
To get the most benefit from Punch! Home Design Studio Pro, you should take a minute to become
familiar with some of its basic concepts. This chapter describes a few settings you should know before
you begin your project.
With Home Design Studio Pro you can set a precise drawing scale, define units of measurement, and set
the reference grid. There are also many performance settings you can apply to optimize drawing speed
and 3D viewing.
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
13
Chapter Before You Draw
4
Setting Your Preferences
Your preferences control the overall look and way
your Punch! Home Design Studio operates. The
Preferences dialog contains four tabs. You can
control General Preferences, Design Colors,
Measurements, and the Content Library.
Measurement preferences can also be set by
choosing Design > Unit of Measure. However, using
the Preferences dialog, you can set your
measurement preferences while setting other
preferences.
To access preferences
◆ Choose Home Design Studio > Preferences (or
press Command-,). The Preferences dialog
appears.
4 When you open Punch! Home Design Studio Pro,
the toolboxes, Content Library, and Inspector
appear automatically. To disable any of these
features from appearing automatically upon
startup, deselect the corresponding checkbox
from the Startup Options on the General
Preferences dialog.
5 Click Save to save your preferences.
To set design colors preferences
When creating a design, organization is not only
important, but extremely helpful. To enhance
organization and efficiency, many of the features in
Punch! are color-coded so they are easily noticeable
on the workspace. For example, each of the floor
plans appear in a different color on the workspace.
The Foundation plan appears in red, while the Floor
plan is blue, and Electrical components appear in
orange. So, at a glance you can distinguish one floor
plan from another. Each of these colors can be
customized.
Along with the plans, the plan background, inactive
floors, interior fill, topography lines, ClearView,
Wireframe Background, and grid colors can be
customized.
1 Choose Home Design Studio > Preferences (or
press Command-,) and click the Design Colors
tab. The Preferences dialog appears.
To set general preferences
1 Choose Home Design Studio > Preferences (or
press Command-,). The Preferences dialog
appears.
2 Undo is automatically enabled for all documents
in Punch! To disable the Undo feature, deselect
the “Enable undo for all documents” checkbox.
3 When the Undo feature is enabled, you can
“undo” anywhere between 5 and 500 of your
previous actions. The undo level is set to 200.
Enter the number of undo levels you want in the
“Number of undo levels” field.
14
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
2 Each customizable feature appears with a color
well beside it. Click the color well to change the
color. The Colors window appears. For example, if
you want to change the color Topography Lines
appear on the workspace, click the Topography
Lines color well. The current color appears in the
Colors window, as seen below.
Setting Your Preferences
2 Click the Measurement Units pop-up menu and
choose which measurement unit you want to use.
There a five models for choosing colors:
✘ Color Wheel
✘ Colors Sliders
✘ Color Palettes
✘ Image Palettes
✘ Crayons
3 Select the model you want to use and choose a
new color then close the window. Customized
colors appear with an earmark in the top right
corner of the color well.
4 Click Save to save your preferences.
To set measurement preferences
You can select either English or Metric Units of
measurement for your design, as well as the number
of decimal places angles appear, the precision of
measurements, and the format in which
measurements appear.
1 Choose Home Design Studio Pro > Preferences (or
press Command-,) and click the Measurements
tab. The Preferences dialog appears.
3 Click the Angle Format pop-up menu and choose
how many decimal places you want to appear when
an angle is displayed.
4 Click the Precision pop-up menu and choose how
precise you want measurements to appear.
5 Click the Readout Format pop-up menu and
choose how you want measurements to appear in
Feet-Inches format, or just Inches.
6 By default, measurements appear as fractions on
the workspace. If you want measurements to
appear with decimals, click the Use Decimals
radio button.
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
15
Chapter Before You Draw
4
7 Click the “Open existing drawings using these
settings” checkbox to automatically apply the
Measurement preferences to existing drawings.
Otherwise, preferences only apply to drawings
created after the preferences have been set.
8 Click Save to save your preferences.
To set content library preferences
The Content Library displays colors, materials, and
2D and 3D objects. You can limit the number of
results that appear when searching for specific
items, as well as control the size of items that
appear in the Preview Box.
1 Choose Home Design Studio Pro > Preferences (or
press Command-,) and click the Content Library
tab. The Preferences dialog appears.
To use English measurements
1 Choose Design > Unit of Measure. The dialog
appears.
2 From the Measurement Units pop-up menu,
choose English Units.
3 (optional) From the Angle Format pop-up menu,
choose the number of decimal points you want to
use.
4 (optional) From the Precision pop-up menu,
choose how precise you want your measurements
to be.
2 Enter the number of search results you want to
appear in the Limit search results to field.
3 Drag the Content Preview Size slider to set the
size of the images that appear in the Preview
Box.
4 Click Save to save your preferences.
Setting the Units of Measurement
You can set units of measurement by selecting
either English or Metric measurements. You can also
set the default measurements and options to be
applied when any previously-drawn design is opened.
16
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
5 (optional) From the Readout Format pop-up menu,
choose the format you want.
6 Click OK. The unit of measurement and options
you selected are applied.
To use Metric measurements
1 Choose Design > Unit of Measure. The
Measurement Units dialog appears.
2 From the Measurement Units pop-up menu
choose Metric Units. The dialog appears.
3 (optional) From the Angle Format pop-up menu,
choose the number of decimal points you want to
use.
Setting the Scale
2 Click a new scale setting, then click OK. The new
scale is applied to your plan drawing.
Defining Your Lot Size and Topography
Use the Topography Designer PowerTool to define
lot size and all topography.
For more information, see “Topography Designer”,
which begins on page 87.
NOTE: To draw curved property lines, use the
Curve Tool on the Detail Tab, then
Details to Intelligent Features”, which begins on
page 195.
see “Converting
4 (optional) From the Readout Format pop-up menu,
choose the format you want.
5 Click OK. The unit of measurement and options
you selected are applied.
NOTE: To restore the factory defaults, click Set
to Default.
Setting the Scale
Scale is the ratio between real-world size of objects
and items in your drawing and their size when
printed. The default drawing scale is 1/4" = 1',
meaning that 1/4" on your drawing plan equals one
foot in real-world size. You can customize scale
settings at any time to suit your needs, as well as
print your drawing to scale.
To set the drawing scale
1 Choose Design > Plan Scale. The Plan Scale dialog
appears.
Speed Tips
You can “speed up” Home Design Studio Pro by
changing some of the program's settings.
◆ Close the LiveView window when you are not
working in 3D. No 3D calculations are
performed when the LiveView window is
closed.
◆ Turn off shadows. For more information, see
“Adding Lighting and Shadows”, which begins
on page 46.
◆ Choose LiveView > Render Options and the
dialog appears. From the Rendering &
Navigation tab, deselect Render objects you
do not need to view. This will help speed up
the rendering process. Click the Geometry
Quality tab and drag the sliders to lower the
render quality of 3D objects.
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
17
Chapter Before You Draw
4
Display Settings
Home Design Studio Pro is designed to run
effectively, based on the system requirements
printed on the software packaging. However, there
are some specific settings you can select to obtain
the best display possible.
To adjust your display settings
1 From the Apple menu, choose System
Preferences. The System Preferences dialog
appears.
2 Click the Displays icon and choose the Resolution
you want. The lower your resolution, the larger
items appear.
3 From the Colors pop-up menu, choose the number
of colors you want your computer to use for
display. Selecting the highest Colors setting will
show a more realistic view of your design.
4 Click the Color tab and choose the Display Profile
you want.
18
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
Part 2
PUNCH! SOFTWARE PRIMER
Chapter 5: Drawing 2D Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 6: Using Snaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Chapter 7: Viewing in 2D & 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 8: Adding 3D Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Chapter 9: Rearranging Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Chapter 10: Saving, Sharing & Printing . . . . . . . . . . 77
Chapter 5
Drawing 2D Entities
This chapter contains concepts and procedures that you will need throughout your design process.
Many 2D features are drawn in the same way throughout Punch! Home Design Studio Pro and the
PowerTools that are included with it. The buttons may differ slightly, but the process is the same.
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
21
Chapter Drawing 2D Entities
5
Drawing Shapes
Many features are drawn in the same way
throughout Punch! Home Design Studio Pro and the
PowerTools that are a part of it. The buttons may
differ slightly, but the process is the same.
To see the shapes available in Punch!
Home Design Studio, click the Detail tab.
The shapes appear in the Detail Plan toolbar.
To draw rectangles and squares
1 From the Detail Plan Toolbox, choose the
Rectangle Tool. A crosshair appears, as
you move your cursor over the workspace.
2 On the Inspector, click the Method pop-up menu
and choose how you want to draw your rectangle
or square.
From the Inspector, you can also choose the
Pattern, Line Style, and Line Size before or
after you draw.
3 On the workspace, drag the crosshair to draw
the shape. Notice its dimensions appear, as you
draw.
To draw a polygon
1 From the Detail Plan Toolbox, choose
the Polygon Tool. A crosshair appears,
as you move your cursor over the
workspace.
2 On the Inspector, click the Method pop-up menu
and choose how you want to draw your polygon.
3 From the Inspector, you can also choose the
Pattern, Line Style, and Line Size before or
after you draw.
4 On the workspace, drag the crosshair to draw
the shape. Notice its dimensions appear, as you
draw.
To draw circles and ovals
1 From the Detail Plan Toolbox, choose the
Circle/Oval Tool. A crosshair appears, as
you move your cursor over the
workspace.
2 On the Inspector, click the Method pop-up menu
and choose how you want to draw your circle or
oval.
22
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
From the Inspector, you can also choose the
Pattern, Line Style, and Line Size before or
after you draw.
3 To draw a polygon, click on the workspace to set
the first point.
4 Drag the crosshair to extend the rubber-band
line and click to place the next point. Notice its
dimensions appear, as you draw.
5 Continue to drag the rubber-band line and click
to place points to define your shape.
6 To finish the shape, double-click on the first
point you placed or Ctrl-click and Punch!
automatically encloses the shape for you.
To draw a multigon
1 From the Detail Plan Toolbox, click the
Multigon Tool. A crosshair appears, as
you move your cursor over the
workspace.
2 On the Inspector, click the Sides control to set
the number of sides, or enter the number of
sides you want in the Sides text field and press
the Enter key.
Drawing Shapes
From the Inspector window, you can also choose
the Pattern, Line Style, and Line Size before or
after you draw.
3 To draw a curve, click on the workspace to place
the first point and drag the crosshair to extend
the rubber-band line.
4 Click to set the next point. Continue to drag the
rubber-band line and click points to define the
curve.
5 To finish the shape, double-click on the first
point you placed or press Ctrl-click and Punch!
automatically closes the shape for you.
From the Inspector window, you can also choose
the Pattern, Line Style, and Line Size before or
after you draw.
3 On the workspace, drag the crosshair to draw
the shape. A rubber-band shape appears and
follows, as you move the crosshair. Notice its
dimensions appear, as you draw.
To draw a curve
1 From the Detail Plans Toolbox, click the
Curve Tool. A crosshair appears, as you
move your cursor over the workspace.
2 On the Inspector, click the Method pop-up menu
and choose how you want to draw your curve.
To draw an arc
1 From the Detail Plan Toolbox, click the
Arc Tool. A crosshair appears, as you
move your cursor over the workspace.
2 On the Inspector, click the Method pop-up menu
and choose how you want to draw your curve.
From the Inspector window, you can also choose
the Pattern, Line Style, and Line Size before or
after you draw.
3 On the workspace, drag the crosshair to extend
the rubber-band line to the length you want.
Notice its dimensions appear, as you draw.
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
23
Chapter Drawing 2D Entities
5
To draw a circular arc
1 From the Detail Plan Toolbox, click the
Circular Arc Tool. A crosshair appears,
as you move your cursor over the
workspace.
2 On the Inspector, you can choose the Line Style
and Line Size before or after you draw.
3 On the workspace, drag the crosshair to set the
radius of the arc. Release to place.
4 Drag the crosshair to set the swing angle of the
arc. Click to place.
Changing Curve Tension
To further customize the look of the shapes drawn
with any of the arc or curve tools, you have control
over the degree of curve assigned to them. With the
Straighten feature, it is easy to create angular
shapes and, with Curve Tension, you can change the
appearance. Curve Tension is measured between 1
and 10. Specifying 1 in the dialog results in very
little tension being applied, while specifying 10
causes a slightly-exaggerated curve.
To change curve tension
1 Select an object. Its properties appear on the
Inspector.
2 On the Inspector, click the Adjust Curvature
button. The Curve Tension dialog appears.
3 Enter the amount of tension you want, or use the
stepper controls to increase or decrease the
tension.
4 Click OK. The Curve Tension you set is applied.
Examples:
Default Curve Tension (8):
Curve Tension set at 2:
To remove curve tension
1 Select the curved object you want to straighten.
2 On the Inspector, click the Straighten Curve
button.
Using the Grid
With Punch! Home Design Studio Pro you can set
specific grid properties that aid in drawing your
home plan. You can set points, based on the
reference grid, which is useful when you want to
make sure that certain points are specified
precisely.
Grid settings have a direct impact on the ease of
aligning objects, snapping objects to the grid, and so
on. When using the Snap to Grid feature, items that
are dragged and dropped on the design window are
automatically snapped, or placed, to align with the
current grid. By default, Snap to Grid is on.
You can customize grid settings by selecting grid
spacing, grid style, and hiding or displaying.
24
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
Using the Grid
Grid properties can also be set by pressing Ctrl-click
on the workspace and choosing Grid Properties from
the shortcut menu.
To change the grid style
1 Choose View > Grid Properties or Ctrl-click on the
workspace and choose Grid Properties. The Grid
Properties dialog appears.
2 From the Style pop-up menu, select which style
grid you want.
3 Click OK to apply the style to the grid.
Grid Dots/Lines can be set to as low as 1 inch
(English), 0.02 m (Metric), and still be visible.
Grid Dots/Lines can be set as high as 500 inches
(English), 12.70 m (Metric).
To select grid spacing
1 Choose View > Grid Properties or Ctrl-click on the
workspace and choose Grid Properties. The Grid
Properties dialog appears.
2 Enter new values in the Horizontal and Vertical
Visible Grid Spacing text fields.
3 Click OK to accept the new values. The grid
appears with the new values applied to it.
To define Snap to Grid settings
1 Choose View > Grid Properties, or Ctrl-click on
the workspace and choose Grid Properties. The
Grid Properties dialog appears.
2 Enter new values in the Horizontal and Vertical
Snap Grid Spacing text fields.
3 Click OK to accept the new values. Items you
draw or drag onto the design window now snap to
the measurements you defined.
NOTE: Initially, the grid is set at 12 inches, making
it easy to visualize each plan square as exactly one
square foot, but can be customized to meet your
particular design needs.
NOTE: Snap settings can be set as low as 0.0625
(1/16) inch (English), 0.01 meter (1 cm) (Metric), and
still show visible movement along the grid. Snap
settings can be set as high as 500 inches (English),
12.70 meter (Metric).
To move objects/features along the grid
1 From the Editing Toolbox, click the
Selection Tool.
2 Select the object or feature you want to
move.
3 Using the arrow keys on your keyboard, move the
object or feature into position.
Each time you press an arrow key, the object or
feature moves one increment that you have
defined on the Grid Properties dialog.
To turn off Snap to Grid
◆ Choose View > Snap to Grid, or Ctrl-click on
the workspace and deselect Snap to Grid. The
feature is disabled. To enable Snap to Grid,
simply reselect the menu item.
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
25
Chapter Drawing 2D Entities
5
To display the grid
◆ Choose View > Show Grid, or Ctrl-click on the
workspace and choose Show Grid. The grid
appears on the workspace.
Dimensioning
Punch! Home Design Studio Pro automatically
displays dimensions, as you draw, making it easy to
precisely place walls, doors, and other objects in
your plan drawing. You have the option of turning off
automatic dimensioning, if you don’t want it displayed
on the workspace, as you draw.
To use the wall-spacing dimension tool
1 From the Editing Toolbox, click the
Dimension Wall Spacing Tool.
2 On the workspace, click a wall to define
the starting point and drag the crosshair to the
second wall.
3 Release the mouse button to set the
measurement.
To use the zero-offset dimension tool
1 From the Editing Toolbox, click the Zero-
offset Dimension Tool.
2 On the workspace, click a wall to define
the starting point and drag the crosshair to the
desired length.
3 Release the mouse button to set the
measurement.
To turn off automatic dimensioning
◆ Choose View > Hide Automatic Dimensions or
Ctrl-click on the workspace and choose Hide
Automatic Dimensions.
To hide window and door dimensions
◆ Choose View > Hide Window & Door Callouts,
or Ctrl-click on the workspace and choose
Hide Window & Door Callouts.
To change the endpoint style
1 Choose View > Dimension Properties. The dialog
appears.
2 From the Style pop-up menu, choose an endpoint
style and click OK. The new style is applied to all
endpoints in your design.
Using the Virtual Ruler
The Virtual Ruler is a handy feature for measuring
items in your home plan that are not automatically
dimensioned. You can show the ruler at any time,
leaving it active, or hide it from view with one mouse
click. The Virtual Ruler is an easy way to measure at
an angle, too.
To measure using the Virtual Ruler
1 Choose View > Show Virtual Ruler, or Ctrl-click on
the workspace and choose Show Virtual Ruler.
2 Drag a black circle on the ruler in the direction
you want to measure. The measurement appears
in the center of the Virtual Ruler.
3 To move the Virtual Ruler around the workspace,
simply drag the center of the ruler to a new
location.
NOTE: The Virtual Ruler appears in the center of
the drawing space.
To hide the Virtual Ruler
◆ Choose View > Hide Virtual Ruler, or Ctrl-click
on the workspace and choose Hide Virtual
Ruler to hide the ruler.
26
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
Calculating Square Footage
Punch! Home Design Studio Pro can automatically
calculate square footage of each floor of your home
plan. This feature makes it easy to figure how much
carpet you’ll need to cover the first floor, for
instance, or simply estimate your overall home size.
If square footage is incorrect, check to make sure
the exterior perimeter is intact.
information, see “Defining the Foundation
Perimeter”, which begins on page 98.
For more
To calculate floor square footage
◆ Choose Design > Calculate Area and, from the
submenu, choose which floor’s area you want
to calculate. The square footage appears in
the Status Bar in the lower left-hand corner.
NOTE: The square footage calculation is based on
wall centerline measurements.
Adding Text
You can use text to add information to your drawing.
For example, you might add text to annotate rooms,
a home address, the date the drawing was created,
or a specific feature in your plan. Punch! Home
Design Studio Pro gives you the flexibility to place
text anywhere on your plan drawing, using different
formatting techniques for each text instance. Text
you place in your drawing appears on all 2D printed
output.
To place text in your drawing
1 From the Editing Toolbar, click the Text
Tool. A crosshair appears, as you move
your cursor over the workspace.
2 Position the crosshair where you want the text
to appear and click. A text dialog appears.
Calculating Square Footage
3 Enter text in the text field.
Enter the angle you want the text to appear in
the Rotation Angle field, or drag the rotation dial
to set the rotation.
Click the Choose Font button. The Text dialog
appears. Choose the Font, Style, and Size, then
close the dialog.
4 Click OK to place the text on the workspace.
To change alignment of multi-line text
1 From the Editing Toolbox, click the Selection
Tool, then select the text you want to change.
2 Double-click the selected text. The dialog
appears.
3 Choose the Text Alignment you want.
4 Click OK to update the text.
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
27
Chapter Drawing 2D Entities
5
To edit text
◆ Double-click the text you want to edit.
To place text at an angle
1 From the Editing Toolbox, click the Text
Tool. A crosshair appears, as you move
your cursor over the workspace.
2 Position the crosshair where you want the text
to appear and click. A text field appears.
3 Enter the angle you want the text to appear in
the Rotation Angle text field, or drag the
rotation dial to set the rotation.
4 (optional) Click the Choose Font button. The Font
dialog box appears. Choose the Font, Style, and
Size you want.
3 To change the text font, click the Choose Font
button and change the font, style, and size.
4 Click the Text Alignment you want, to change the
text alignment.
5 Enter the angle you want the text to appear, in
the Rotation Angle text field, or drag the
rotation dial to set the rotation.
6 Click OK to update the text.
Controlling the Toolbar Appearance
You can control your toolbar’s appearance to
increase efficiency and workability. Punch! Home
Design Studio Pro allows you to control which items
appear on your toolbar, as well as how they appear;
just an icon, icon with text, just text. You can also
decrease the size of the items and hide the toolbar
completely, if you wish.
To customize items in your toolbar
1 From the View menu, choose Customize Toolbar,
or Ctrl-click on the toolbar and choose Customize
Toolbar, from the shortcut menu. The toolbar
customization window appears.
Click the red button in the top left corner to
close the dialog.
5 Enter the annotation in the text field.
6 Click OK to place the text.
To change formatting of existing text
1 Select the text you want to change.
2 Double-click the selected text. The text dialog
appears.
28
PUNCH! Home Design Studio Pro User’s Guide
2 To add an item, or items, to your toolbar, drag an
item from the customization window to the
toolbar.
3 To remove an item, or items, from your toolbar,
drag an item from the toolbar to the
customization window.
OR
◆ Ctrl-click on the item you want to remove and
choose Remove Item from the shortcut menu.
Loading...