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With additional programming, the functionality of the CAD software used by Thorp Associates and other design professionals can be extended to automate repetitive, complex or tedious drawing tasks. The process of writing this additional code is generally known as creating "macros." Below are some illustrations of some of the macros Thorp Associates has created over the years to increase our efficiency as well as the visual quality of our drawings.
Layer Control Macro
CAD systems use "layers" to separate and categorize information in a drawing file. Layers are like transparent sheets of tracing paper laid on top of each other. Various layers can be displayed or hidden on the computer to create similar drawings with different content. For example, walls for a floor plan are drawn on one layer, which is displayed not only for the floor plan, but also for the furniture plan, ceiling plan, electrical plan, etc. On the other hand, dimensions for a floor plan are drawn on another layer that is hidden for the other types of drawings. All of the "plans" for a project are typically printed from only one electronic file. Layers make CAD drafting more efficient by eliminating redundancy and the need to coordinate changes on many different sheets.

Thorp Associates has created custom macros for controlling entire groups of layers at a time. Displaying or hiding them and making other adjustments depending on the type of drawing our drafters want to print. The layer control macro also sets up new drawings with our office standards and maintains consistency among all of our projects. This makes all of the information in our drawings "portable," so that it can be reused, updated, and modified easily.
Rock Edge Macro
CAD is an amazing tool for accuracy and precision, but it often lacks the softness of hand drawings and the capability of distinguishing materials the way a hand drawing can. One example is the use of random masonry. In Estes Park, much of our local architecture depends on native moss rock for aesthetic appeal and contextualism. While the texture and unevenness of moss rock can be easily rendered with a pencil on paper, we initially found it difficult to illustrate it in our CAD drawings. To deal with this issue, Thorp Associates developed large "texture maps" of drawn stones than can be "tiled" onto our drawings in the computer-like wallpaper. We also developed a specialized macro that interacts with theses texture maps to show the unevenness of stone surfaces as they turn corners or terminate against other materials, (as shown to the left). The drafter can start a drawing with perfectly straight lines, "fill" in the texture map where desired, and then "jaggy" up the edges using the macro, giving the CAD drawing as much of a hand drawn quality as possible.

Fraction Macro
In construction drawings, "dimensions" are required to tell the builder the size of and distances between different objects and elements of a building. One of the most difficult tasks for a CAD drafter to accomplish is to draw these dimensions and keep them readable and accurate, but yet out of the way of other information as a drawing evolves. To help with this task, Thorp Associates has written several macros for creating and manipulating dimensions. One of these macros compresses the lettering of fractional inch dimensions to take up less space on the drawings. For example, 3'-4 1/2" is drawn in a more compressed form with the 1 placed over the 2 and closer to the 4. While this may not seem like an enormous improvement for one dimension, it can save a great deal of space on a long string of dimensions, and keeps our drawings more readable. To the CAD drafter, the numbers retain full edibility; the fraction macro works automatically in the background.

Tool Macro
The most sophisticated and useful macros we have written for our CAD system is the Tool Macro. It is designed to run full time in the background and assists the Drafter in drawing and modifying geometry. The tool macro assists the Drafter in "snapping," connecting points in a drawing exactly at corners, intersections, perpendicular, and so on. It also allows geometry to be easily modified by bringing "control handles" to CAD. Control Handles are used in many newer general drawing and artistic illustration softwares. The tool macro combines the ease-of-use of the control handles with the precision of CAD.

The Tool Macro also has many "smart" features. For example, when the Drafter is drawing lines on a layer that is intended for notes, it automatically attaches the lines to the note text according to our office standards, and draws arrowheads where the line points to the drawing. This sort of smart feature can be a tremendous time saver.

The Tool Macro is the predecessor to and has many of the same features as our custom CAD-GUI software described here.