The Roof Wizard interface is designed for efficient navigation with multiple menu systems. Understanding the layout and basic tools will help you work more effectively.
🧾 The Prompt Area
At the top of the screen, below the pulldown menus, is the prompt area. All instructions and responses to commands are displayed here. If you are not sure what to do, look here first, it tells you what to do! It reads from the bottom up.
🧾 Interface Overview
The user interface comprises the Pulldown Menu, the Icon Menu and the side Text Menu (if it is turned on). Since any and all the menus may be accessed at any time the most efficient path to a command is usually just a single mouse click away.
The top of the main menu has the buttons for Set-Up and CAD and below that, the buttons that take you to the Job Info dialog and the Customer dialog.
🔧 Full vs Simple Menu Layout
There is a Full Version and a simple version with seldom used icons left off. To switch between them:
File > Layout > Full - Shows all available icons
File > Layout > Simple - Shows only commonly used icons
🛠 Read-Only Mode
The Read-Only menus are displayed automatically if Roof Wizard is installed and not licensed. This allows you to install Roof Wizard on any computer on your network and the operator can view, check and print client proposals. They cannot create jobs, change or save jobs in ReadOnly mode.
🔧 Group Menu Operations
This menu is common to all Icon menu functions and provides for Move, Stretch, Copy and Delete operations. Move a line or point; Stretch a line or point (taking attached entities with it); Copy existing lines, points or planes or Delete any entities, one at a time or as a group.
Move Function
The Move command lets you move a selected roof. After selecting Move, you then select all the roof planes you want to move. You can select the planes individually, or by digitising a window around the roof.
Then you digitise the initial point and final point. These points define the vector along which the roof is moved. This command is useful when you want to simplify a complex roof into 2 or more roofs. You can then model up each separate roof part individually, then move them into place later.
Note: When using the Construct-Roof > Smartlines functions, the move, stretch, copy functions only work with lines as it speeds up the Smartlines execution for the user.
Stretch Function
This command lets you move selected points and lines and have the connected linework update to suit. This is unlike copying and moving where connected entities are ignored.
A good example is to stretch a hip end to make it longer. Using the stretch command may result in strange outcomes. Be careful to select just those entities that will stretch along a vector without changing the basic roof shape, and to define the stretch vector properly.
Copy Function
This command lets you copy a selected roof. After selecting Copy, you are prompted for the number of copies. You then select all the roof planes you want to copy. You can select the planes individually, or by digitising a window around the roof.
Then you digitise the initial point and final point. These points define the vector along which the roof is copied.
This is helpful when you have multiple roofs to quote on the one job, and need to make one or more copies. You can select any entity rather than just roofs.
Alternative coordinate input methods:
Absolute coordinates: Enter 2 coordinates at the keyboard (LOC>0 0 0, then LOC>5000 0 0)
Vector input: Enter a single vector using "v" (LOC>v 5000 0 0)
Incremental coordinates: Digitise a start point, then enter incremental coordinate using "I" (LOC>I 5000 0 0)
Delete Function
This command lets you delete a selected roof. After selecting Delete you then select all the roof planes you want to delete. You can select the planes individually, or by digitising a window around the roof entities you wish to delete.
Selecting using the Window option has two modes:
Top-left and drag down: Selects only items fully contained in the select box
Lower-right and drag up: Picks up items that cross the boundaries of the select box
🔧 Utility Menu
This menu is common to all Icon menu functions. It provides for Undo of the last few commands (back to the start of the session), or Redo if you Undo too far.
It also has the View > Select > Iso and View > Select > Plan View options. Moving around the model space is almost exclusively done using the mouse.
🔧 The Roofing Menu
The Roofing menu provides all the functions for creating roof geometry, checking the roof geometry, defining and selecting materials to cover the roof and reporting the roof. Each option is explained in more detail under the appropriate menu heading. The Main button takes you back to the starting or top level icon menu.
