Drawing
Everything about Drawing
Drawing OverviewGiraffe’s robust drawing tools give you freedom to create, and the accuracy to trust.
How to Draw
How to use the drawing tools
Drawing Basic ShapesAn introduction to the basic drawing methods
Selecting One or More GeometriesSelect a geometry to manipulate it
Control Points, Midpoints, Edges and ExtrudingUse control points to edit shapes
Move & Rotate GeometriesQuickly move geometries around in your project.
Scale and StretchScale and Stretch geometries using the bounding box handles
Snapping & OrthoDraw accurately by snapping to points and edges, or use ortho for right angles.
Copy, Paste, Cut, DeleteUse the clipboard tools to duplicate geometries quickly
Inputting Exact Lengths & DistancesLearn how to draft with precisely using this guide.
Align and DistributeAlign and distribute multiple geometries
Levels, Floor to Floor, and HeightSet the height of geometries by inputting levels or height
Stacking & Building IDAdjust how geometries interact by changing the stack
Using the GridUse a project grid to set project north and establish rhythm.
GroupsGroup multiple geometries to make it easier to work with multiples
Advanced Modelling CommandsSome more advanced drawing commands!
Drawing Toolbar
All of the drawing tools, conveniently located
Drawing Toolbar UIThe drawing toolbar has the tools you need to create quickly
Buildings ToolAccess all of your vertical construction usages
Landscape/Parking ToolAll of your horizontal construction Usages
Land Use ToolAll of your planning mass Usages
Generic Shape ToolAll of your primitive shapes
Flow Features ToolPre-built parametric flows
Annotations ToolBasic annotations like text, labels, and arrows
Dimensions ToolMeasuring and dimensioning
Edit and Advanced ToolsAll of the commands that modify existing geometries
ShortcutsLearn the hotkeys to accelerate your drawing speed
Command LineSearch for Giraffe commands when you don't remember the shortcut
Drawing Layers
Working with drawing layers
What are Drawing Layers?Organise your designs with Drawing layers.
Add Geometries to Drawing LayersHow to swap geometries to different drawing layers
Create Drawing LayersAdd drawing layers to organize your designs
Drawing Layer Visibility & LockingManage the appearance or lock a drawing layer
Drawing Layer Order & GroupsReorder and group drawing layers
Drawing Layer MenuSpecialized additional commands for drawing layers
Duplicate Drawing LayersQuickly copy lots of geometries
Delete Drawing LayersDelete drawing layers from your project
Drawing Use Cases
How to draw a few typical urban typologies
How to Draw a 5 over 1 Podium BuildingHow to create a podium style building
How to Draw a Basic Wrap BuildingSteps to draw a wrap
How to Show SetbacksHow to use simple drawing tools to show setback requirements
Video: Internal Planning with Multi-Use Floors
Video: Diagramming with Annotations
Flows
How to create and use parametric generative algorithms
Flow OverviewAutomatically turn simple shapes into more complex geometry with built-in algorithms.
The Flow BuilderLearn the basics for the Flow visual coding interface4 articles
Getting Started with FlowHow to build and use your first flow8 articles
Using FlowsNow That you've created a flow, how do you use it in your projects?4 articles
Flow ConceptsImportant coding concepts that help you to build flows8 articles
Flow Use CasesStep-by-step instructions for how to build flows for common workflows9 articles
Blocks
How to use Blocks to re-use designs
What are Blocks?Blocks enable geometries to be reused infinitely
Block DefinitionsWhat is a block definition?
Block InstancesWhat is a block instance?
Block ManagerThe Block Manager contains your project's blocks
Block MetadataSave metadata to Block Definitions
Create a BlockMake a new block definition
Place a BlockHow to add a block instance to the canvas
Edit a BlockChange a block definition
Block-Specific PropertiesQuickly transform blocks with special properties
Block Properties & HierarchyThe hierarchy of properties in block instances vs definitions
Duplicate a Block DefinitionDuplicate block definitions to quickly iterate
Nested BlocksAdd blocks inside of other blocks! Block-ception
Delete a BlockHow to remove a block from your project