Introduction
While Live Plans keeps your documentation dynamically linked to your model within Higharc Studio, the reality of construction often requires static, portable documents. Exporting your Plan Sets to PDF or DXF serves several key purposes:
Printing for the Field: Construction crews on-site typically rely on printed drawings for reference during building. Exporting to PDF allows for easy and accurate printing of your complete drawing sets in standard paper sizes.
Sharing with Stakeholders: PDF & DXF are universally accessible formats, making them ideal for sharing your construction documents with subcontractors, consultants, building officials, and clients who may not have access to Higharc Studio.
Archiving and Record Keeping: Exports provide a static snapshot of your construction documents at a specific point in time, essential for project archiving, record keeping, and future reference.
Permitting Submissions: Building permit applications often require submission of construction documents in PDF format.
Distributing Sales Brochures: You can generate customized sales brochures in Live Plans based on the selected states of the home plan, and put into the hands of your sales team so that your customers can have printed takeaways of their configured home.
Exporting Customized Plan Sets from Live Plans
Navigate to Your Plan Set Template
Open the Live Plans tab in your Project Browser.
Select the Plan Set Template you wish to export (in our case the “Lot Specific - 22x34”).
Review and Configure Your Plan Set Instance
Plan Set Instances: Within your Plan Set Template, you'll see a list of "Plan Set Instances." Typically, you'll have at least one default instance. Select the instance you want to export.
Sheet Selection (Within the Instance): You can add or remove sheets from the instance as needed by using the "+" button to the right of your Plan Set Template. This allows you to customize the sheet selection for specific export needs.
Preview Sheets (Optional): You can preview individual sheets within the Plan Set Instance to double-check their content and layout before exporting.
Initiate the Export to PDF or DXF
Click on the Export tab: Once you've reviewed your Plan Set Instance and confirmed your sheet selection, click on the default instance.
On the right-side inspector, click the Export to … button for your desired file format to start the export process.
DXF export linework is organized into layers per the visibility controls in Studio & is provided at paper space scale. Note that images & DXFs that were imported into Studio are not currently supported & will not be included in DXF exports.
Generate a File
Rendering and Generation: Higharc Studio will now generate the PDF or DXF file. This process involves rendering all the sheets in your Plan Set Instance, including all viewports, annotations, and data tables.
DXF Exports are generated in a zipped folder with an individual file for each sheet in the set.
Download and Review Your Export
Download Prompt: Once the export generation is complete, Higharc Studio will typically prompt you to download the PDF or DXF file.
Save the Export: Choose a location on your computer to save the exported PDF file. Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Lot123_CD_Set_Date.pdf").
Review the Export: Open the downloaded file and thoroughly review all content. Check for:
Completeness: Ensure all intended sheets are included.
Accuracy: Verify that the content on each sheet is correct and up-to-date.
PDF Print Quality: Check the line weights, text sizes, and overall visual clarity to ensure the PDF will print well.
DXF Content: Confirm that the contents & drawing scale are correct for your desired application.
Exporting Built-In Plan Templates
Higharc comes out of the box with a handful of built-in construction documents. These are pre-configured sheets that are based on your home model and the active state of your model (as you make selections in your Active Options panel).
Preview the Built-in Plans
Go to the Live Plans tab of your Project Browser. Click on the Preview tab. Where it says Template, select the Built-in Lot-Specific drop-down and click through the Built-in sheets listed below
You may also preview Built-in Plan sheets by clicking the + button to create a new 3D view tab & selecting them from the drop-down.
Notice that any changes in your Active Options panel are automatically reflected and generated in your sheet previews.
Export PDFs of Built-in Plans
To export PDFs of built-in sheets, simply go to the top-left Studio menu drop-down → click on File → and click on Export Plans.
Note: Navigating through the File menu will produce exports of the built-in sheets, not any customized Live Plans sheets you’ve created, as those are exported through the Live Plans tab (see above).
Export DXFs of Built-in Plans
To export DXFs of Built-in Plans, navigate to the top-left Studio menu drop-down → click on File → click on Export DXF → Built-in Lot Specific Sheets
DXF Exports are generated in a zipped folder with an individual file for each sheet in the set.
DXF export linework is organized into layers per the visibility controls in Studio & is provided at paper space scale. Note that images & DXFs that were imported into Studio are not currently supported & will not be included in DXF exports.
You may also export world scale views of the Built-in Plan content by selecting the Built-in Model Views option.
Tips for Successful Exporting
Parameter Values: Before exporting, double-check and set any relevant parameter values that might affect the exported output, such as sheet numbers, project information, or option selections.
Preview Before Exporting: Always preview your Plan Set Instance and individual sheets to catch any potential layout issues or missing content before initiating the export.
File Naming Conventions: Use clear and consistent file naming conventions for your exports to easily identify and manage different versions or project sets.