SPECIFICATIONS GO HERE

This area of the template is set up for you to add your typical boilerplate
specifications, which can be used for each project either as-is or modified as
needed. To replace these instructions with your actual specifications document,
edit the Word document called Master Specifications.doc which is located in the
MasterTemplate Linked Files folder.
1. This Word document is set up so that each page represents one layout
sheet, with columns similar to the ones youll see on the layout. Since
Word automatically flows text as needed from one column and page to
another, it will do this as you replace or edit the content. You may simply
copy and paste from your existing Spec document into the Master
Specifications.doc file, and replace all of this informational text.
2. Note that the size of the page in Word is 50% of the active area of the
layout sheet, and the font size is 50% of the final size on the layout. It is
intended that you place the page image as a PDF and enlarge it to 200%
size, to compensate. The reason this is done in this fashion is that Word
has a limit to the page size it allows; reducing the architectural sheet size
by 50% will allow Word to work with the entire page with all the columns.
3. After you have reworked the Master Specifications.doc, print or save that
Word document as a PDF, overwriting the Master Specifications.pdf file
within that same folder. Then in ArchiCAD, you can simply Update the
specifications on the Layout. The simplest way to do this is to select the
File menu / External Content / Drawing Manager, then highlight all the spec
PDF drawings, and click the Update button. If the spec PDF drawings are
not grouped together in the Drawing Manager list, you may need to sort by
Layout or by Source.
4. When the template is first installed, these PDF drawings may be
unavailable because the link paths are different on your computer than on
the machine where they were originally developed. To relink these PDF
drawings on your computer, or to a network location, you should use the
Read From option in the Drawing Manager, which will look for source files
from a particular folder or subfolder.
a. The Read From option is available when you first load the file, when
ArchiCAD informs you that the source files for certain drawings are
unavailable.
b. You can also go to the Drawing Manager at a later time, however you
will need to be careful to make sure that all the PDF pages are linked
appropriately.
i. Select all the PDF drawings from the Master Specifications.pdf in
Drawing Manager, and you will see the button Link To in the
upper left of the Drawing Manager dialog;
ii. DO NOT click this button, as it would link each drawing to the
same page or column rather than each one showing its individual
column
iii. Instead, select one more PDF file in the Drawing Manager list,
from a different source, then the Link To button will change to
Read From.
iv. Click the Read From button, and select the MasterTemplate Linked
Files folder to relink the drawings properly to individual
pages/columns.
5. If your specifications for a specific project need to be modified from the
boilerplate specs, you may copy the Master Specifications.doc to your
Project Library folder. Rework it in Word as needed, then create a new
Master Specifications.pdf file next to it in your Project Library. Then relink
for the project PLN as described in step 4. Later, to make changes to the
specs, do that it in Word, again print or save to overwrite the PDF, and
Update in ArchiCAD.
6. If you need to change the column sizing to accommodate a different size
layout sheet or a different number of columns, modify the page size in
Word. Each page in Word corresponds to the active part of the sheet
layout, the area that has the actual text notes. Since the maximum Word
page height is 22, we suggest that you:
a. Create a custom sized page at 50% of the intended eventual size
b. Use text at half-size (e.g. 5 pt when you want 10 pt on paper)
c. Set the Magnification (scale factor) for each drawing (page or
column image) to 200% to compensate
d. For example, in a 36 x 48 sheet, one may have columns 34 high.
Create a 17 high printable area by going to the File menu (within
Word) and choosing Page Setup, then click the Paper tab, and set the
height of the page to 17 and make the margins 3/16 (.19) top and
bottom. Set the left and right margins to a similar size (.19). Make the
text within the Spec document half its normal size. Print or save to
PDF to make the spec available for placement onto layout sheets.
After placing the PDF page images, select each one or several at one
time, and in the Drawing Settings, change the Magnification to 2:1 or
200%. Adjust the Drawing Frame and placement on the layout sheet if
needed.
7. For more information, please refer to the MasterTemplate Manual, or post
a question on the forum at http://www.actemplate.com.

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