#grid tool

Facebook 20% ad rule

My ads keep getting denied because I have greater than 20 % text in them … so I discovered the Facebook Grid Tool and I’m using it. I thought it was useful so I am posting it here !

Here’s what facebook says: ” Ads that have more than 20% of text in their image won’t be approved to run in News Feed. Too much text can look like spam and make people think that your ad is low…

"I am unsuccessful at applying a grid to my floorplan. I have used the locus method, but cannot get the grid to mirror on the opposite side. What else can you suggest?"

Before I address the "mirroring" issue, I should point out that you didn't really need to use locus points anywhere except at point B: you needed it there to ensure that the grid line is horizontal, but for the subsequent points you could have simply clicked on the corners of the spaces. In addition, you appear to have clicked twice at the fourth point, resulting in bubbles "D" and "E" being superimposed on one another [1]; at the point "I", you moved slightly when you double-clicked to end the series, so that another bubble, "J", was nearly superimposed on it [2]. You need to redo the series, taking care with your clicks this time. Regarding the "mirroring" of the grid bubbles, re-read the lesson on grid creation: it shows how one first extends the grid to the other side of the building, then turns on an option in the Obj Info palette to get bubbles at both ends.

"Can you explain why, when I attempt to create a grid from my spaces, the grid ends up on an angle? I know it's on the angle of the first 2 points I click on but, why does this happen and how can I make it straight?"

Many design projects feature a grid, to help both in laying out the design and in identifying key locations. For this purpose, VectorWorks provides a dedicated Grid tool, which makes the task of making a grid much easier than the manual method of drawing lines and attaching them to bubbles with letters in them. NOTE: Having existing objects to snap to is not essential to using the Grid Tool, but it helps, because without them creating the necessary intervals between grid lines is prone to error.

Start with the intended spaces of the design

These can be either various standard polygons, or polygons that have been converted into Space objects. These – specifically, their corners – provide the snap points for the intended grid.

Create the horizontal reference

With Snap to Object turned on [1], click the Dims/Notes toolset [2], choose the Grid Bubble tool [3], then click at each of the critical points in the plan along the horizontal [4 – 5]. Make sure to double-click at the last point [5], to indicate that you've finished (otherwise it will just keep going…).

Object Properties dialog

The very first time you use this tool, the [grid] Object Properties dialog will appear, asking you what should be the starting mark of the first grid bubble, and other settings. Just OK the default settings for now…

Change Starting Mark.

Change the default 01 Starting Mark to A: this will change the entire series from 01, 02, 03, etc. to A, B, C, etc. NOTE: The software is clever enough, so that if you choose to start from, say, the letter K, it will start the alphabetical series from that letter, and if from the number 11, it will start a number series from that number. This is useful in many situations, e.g. in designing a new wing to an existing building.

Extend the gridline coverage.

Every grid object has a single selection handle, lying at the end of the first gridline [1]. With the Selection tool, click and drag it well past the end of the building [2] to extend the entire grid object.

Pull back the grid bubbles from the building.

To prevent the grid from getting in the way of the building design, Shift-drag it well away from the building in alignment with the critical points it was created with.

Make grid bubbles at the other end, too.

For ease of reference, turn on the Bubbles Both Ends checkbox in the object's Obj Info palette: this reproduces the bubbles at the far end of the gridlines, where the selection handle is.

Create the vertical grid reference.

Working from the top down, use the Grid Bubble tool to create the vertical grid reference, making sure to click on all critical points – including those further away from the left side of the building (e.g., 3, 4). As before, remember to double-click at the last point [5].

Resulting grid reference.

Taking its cue from the last set that you created, the bubbles may now read A, B, C, D, again. They're also appearing on the inside face of the building, instead of the outside. To fix all this, we use its Obj Info palette.

Flip – and extend.

First, turn on Flip [1] to make the grid bubbles flip to the outside of the building [2]. Then drag the selection handle well past the building on the other side [3].

Bubbles on both ends – and cancel text rotation

Turn on Bubbles Both Ends to have the bubbles appear at this far end [1], then turn off the default Rotate Text option [2]. Finally, change the Starting Mark to 1, to ensure a series of 1-2-3-4- etc. [3].

End result.