1. Where are the drawings located?
2. Where do I save my plugbook maps?
3. How do I update a page in my plugbook?
4. How do I scan a drawing into FireZone?
1. Where are the drawings located?
The drawings should be stored on the I:/drive. There are three folders under I"/PreEmergency where drawings should be stored. They are Maps, Plug Book, and Preplans. The address of the building or property should go first when you name a drawing, such as 4225 Danbury Amarillo High. This will make it easier to find the drawing in the future. If you need to save several drawings with the same address, use 4225 Danbury, A, Amarillo High. Do not put periods in the name. The progam will not be able to open your drawing if you do. While you are working on a drawing you can put it in a "Drafts" folder. An example would be, I:/PreEmergency/Maps/Apartments/Apt drafts for an apt map that you are working on. When the map is finished, move it to the Apartments folder. Storing drawings in this way should help others to know which drawings are finished and are ready to be printed and used. This will apply to any folder under I:/PreEmergency.
2. Where do I save my plugbook maps?
See question 1. Where are the drawings located? This will explain where to save files.
3. How do I update a page in my plugbook?
For simple changes open a page and edit it using the same methods that were used to make it. Twice a year the Fire Dept will receive street updates from the city planning dept. The stations will be notified of any changes to their district. You can make changes to your pages before the updates are sent out. If the additions are difficult to draw such as curved streets it may be easier to cut and paste them from the map updates that we get from planning.
4. How do I scan a drawing into FireZone?
Importing Scanned Drawings into FireZone
Scan drawing and save as a jpeg. You can use bitmap (.bmp) but Jpeg is a smaller file. The FireZone program will have fewer problems displaying the smaller file. Go to step 1 of importing if you already have a scanned drawing.
Using an HP ScanJet 6300C at Station 2
1. Place drawing on scanner bed and open scanner program.
2. Click Scan (left side of the top tool box), Save as, Scan entire glass (you can pick a portion of the drawing if you do not want all of it), click OK.
3. When the save as window opens, put the location where you want the drawing saved in the Save in pull down box. You can save to E:/ then delete it when you are finished using it. Choose Jpeg Image (*.jpeg) and give it a name. Click Save. When the Jpeg Options window opens, click OK.
1. Open FireZone. Click File, Import Images, (the cursor is replaced with crosshairs) Draw a rectangular box in the empty drawing window where you want the image to be placed. (While holding the left mouse button down, start at the upper left of the drawing window and drag the cursor to the lower right).
2. When the Load Image window opens, using standard Windows methods, select the proper drive and folder, then select the desired image file. Normally only .BMP , .JPG and .WMF files are listed. Click open.
2. The scanned image should appear in the FireZone drawing window. Click Save, select the drive and folder where you want the drawing stored, Name it, click Save. (if you need more help, See pg 3 –10 of the online manual in version 5.0)
The image will automatically be placed on layer 0. It is helpful to put the lines that you draw as you trace over the scanned image and symbols that you place on a different layers. (Click Help in FireZone and read the info about layers and the layer manager). When you are tracing over an image, you may want to lock the layers to prevent you from selecting the image when you want to select a line or object that you have drawn.
Lock or Unlock Layers
The “All Layers Locked/Unlocked” button allows you to view all layers, but only allows the current layer to be selected and edited. All other layers except for the current locked layer will not be editable. You could hide a layer if you didn’t want to inadvertently edit it, but you may need the layer displayed for reference but don’t want to be able to select it or alter it. If this is the case then you will want to lock all layers. You will still be able to snap to points on locked layers. For instance, say you imported a photo (bitmap or Jpeg) and you wanted to draw over the top of it (such as an aerial photo of an intersection). You might want to draw lines over the photo to highlight the streets and place vehicle symbols on it. If you don’t put the photo on it’s own layer and lock the layers then every time you click on or near the photo it will be selected and overlap the line art that you’ve drawn. If you lock the layers and use a different layer for drawing entities then the photo (bitmap or Jpeg) will not get selected accidentally and will remain at the bottom of the layer stacking order.
Open the Layer Manager toolbox. (Click the icon in the top toolbar that looks like three pages stacked on top of each other). In the layer manager toolbox, select the layer by clicking on the layer number that you want to put things on. Click it again to rename it. Give it a name, press enter to save the name. Double click the layer name where you want the lines to be drawn. This makes the layer you clicked the current layer. Click the lock icon (upper right of the toolbox) in the layer manager toolbox. You should now only be able to select lines or objects on the current layer.
Trace over your image. When you have finished tracing, you can unlock the layers and hide the layer that the image is on. Click the light bulb icon in the layer toolbox. The icon and the layer name will be gray. The name will also be in italic. You can delete the image if you are certain it will not be needed later.
As you work on a drawing you will need to save often. It takes a lot of memory to display the scanned image. Sometimes when you are tracing over a drawing the FireZone program will develop problems. You can save your drawing to E:/ while you work. When the drawing is complete or you are finished for day, save the drawing to the appropriate folder on the I:/ drive. Remember that things saved to E:/ will be deleted when the ghost is updated. Do not save things on E:/ that you want to save permanently. When you are finished with the scanned image that you imported into FireZone and draft versions of your drawing, you should delete them to free up space. This is important if you saved them on the server.
If you wish to import a file and be able to modify it, the file must be of the format .DWG, .DXF, .VCD, .GCD, or .DW2. Then you can use the File Open command to open the file and edit it normally. The program can use drawings that were made in AutoCAD R14 and 2000. The .DXF format should retain all layer information. If you have a paper copy of a drawing that an architect made, contact the architect and ask to have the drawing emailed to you as an AutoCAD 2000, .DXF. If this version cannot be provided, ask for one of the other file formats. Most programs used by architects can save and export drawings in many formats.