Visualizing surface elements

Module(s): Rooms, Surfaces, Stories

You can use the Visualize Surface Elements tool to analyze areas and rooms according to different criteria (building group, material, trade ...), apply surface elements (e.g. fills, hatching) as a means of graphic identification and create a legend. The data are created in the current document.

To visualize surface elements

• The data are always created in the current document. To place the results in a different document, open an empty document and open the relevant documents in reference mode.

1. Click Visualize Surface Elements (How).
   

   Activate Visualize Surface Elements in one of the following ways

   • Menu bar: Create Architecture Rooms, Surfaces, Stories

   • Palette: Tools Create area in the following module(s):

   Rooms, Surfaces, Stories

   The Visualize Surface Elements dialog box opens, displaying the most recent setting.

2. Click .

   A dialog box with all the objects in the loaded documents opens.
   If you are activating this tool for the first time, the object list is displayed automatically.

3. Select the object for which you want to generate a legend. The Attribute Selection dialog box opens. Select the attribute to be used for analysis.

   A new tab is added to the Visualize Surface Elements dialog box. Now the program scans all the active documents for entries of the selected attribute. All the entries found are listed in this tab.

   Note: Only one attribute can be selected at any one time. When you select an attribute again, the program creates a new tab.

4. The Visualize Surface Elements dialog box provides the following options:
   • You can modify the attribute's properties and the surface element. Click in the desired line.
   • Click to archive the current tab.
   • Click to retrieve an archived tab. The program automatically creates a new tab.
   • Click to select new objects and attributes. The program automatically creates a new tab.
   • Click to remove the current tab and/or object and attribute.
   • Click Settings for Visualize Surface Elements to define basic settings.
     

     Format properties

     You can define the sequence in which the surface elements are displayed. In addition, you can set the layer for the surface elements and the legend.

     Legend selection

     You can select the legend you want to use (sorted alphabetically or by number).
     Subfolder: 56 Visualization of surface elements

   • If Associative visualization of surface elements in current document is active, the program automatically selects all elements. The program analyzes the elements that meet a criterion of surface visualization.
     When you create new elements that meet an existing criterion, the program automatically fills these elements with the surface element defined.
     When you create new elements with additional criteria, the program automatically adds the new criteria to the surface visualization. In addition, it adds the new elements to the legend.
   • Click to create a new attribute node in the selected tab.
   • Click to remove the selected attribute node.
   • You can use the arrow buttons at the bottom of the dialog box to alter the sequence in which the attributes are displayed; the changes you make are reflected in the labels:
     Moves the selected attribute to the top
     Moves the selected attribute to the bottom
     Moves the selected attribute up a line
     Moves the selected attribute down a line
5. Select the elements you want to include in the legend.
   When Associative visualization of surface elements in current document is selected, the elements are automatically selected.
6. Click Apply.

   Allplan places the surface elements for all the selected elements in the current drawing file. The legend is attached to the crosshairs.

7. Place the legend in the workspace.