Save a Building Component to Library

Fill in the data of the building component to be added to the component library in the dialog box.

Dialog Box Options

Library

The default assumption is that you are adding the component to the customer-specific component library MACRO_CUSTOM. If necessary, you can select another component library by clicking the Select button. Select a library from the list.

You can also create a new component library as follows:

1. Click the New button.

2. Select a library based on which you wish to create the new library. The structure of the selected library (the database fields and their format) is copied to the new library.

3. Enter the name of the new library in the text field.

4. Confirm by clicking OK. The program will create a new folder for the library in the ../custom/complibs folder. The name of the folder is the same as the library's name. The database defining the structure of the library and the related files are saved in the folder.

You can edit the description text of the library by editing the library settings, see Select Available Component Libraries.

Data

Define the following data for the component:

• Code - Type a code for the component for material collection.

• Type - Select a component type from the list, for example 10 Miscellaneous

• Category - Select a category from the list, for example STD.

• Description - Enter a description for the component. The description is displayed in the browser in which you can select the component to add.

• Browser Path - Define the folder from which the component can be selected in the browser. Do either of the following:

  • Select an already existing folder in the browser

    1. Click the Select button. The browser is opened.

    2. Select a browser folder by clicking the right mouse button.

    3. Select Select folder.

  • Create a new folder in the browser

    1. Type the name of the folder in the text field in format /folder/ or /folder/subfolder/.

• Clipped 2d Presentation - When you use the automatically created drawing as the component's 2D presentation, the program creates it from the model's top view projection by default. Select Clipped 2d Presentation when you want to create the drawing by clipping the component at a certain height. Type the height in the Clipping Height field. Enter the height in relation to the component's origin.

• Type - Select either of the following:

  • Variable component - When you add the component to a project, the program copies its geometry file to the project's macros folder. When you open the component for editing, it opens in a separate model window. The program creates a new version of the geometry file in the project folder, and attaches this file to the selected component. You can update the changes made to the original geometry file to the component in the building model by using the library component update function.

  • Editable component - When you add the component to a project, it becomes part of the building model. The program does not add the component's geometry file to the project's macros folder. You can edit the component's geometry directly in the building model by using the 3D modeler's functions. Changes made to the original geometry file cannot be updated to the component in the building model.

• Thumbnail ID - Select whether to create a thumbnail image for the component based on the 2D or the 3D geometry. The program will also create a sequential number for the component for the browser.

Variation parameters

A component may have variable dimensions which you can use to edit the component's geometry. The program will automatically collect such variables defined for the model in the Variation Parameters list.

You can also define other parameters for the component by clicking the Add button. Enter the name of the parameter in the Parameter field and the parameter value in the Value field. For example:

• You can define the height of the component's locating point in the model with the ZO parameter. Type in the height in relation to the floor base height.

  

• You can select a dash line 2D-presentation for a macro in the component library using the parameter DASH. Set the desired line spacing as the value of the parameter, for example -50.

  

If you wish to delete a parameter, select the parameter from the list and click the Delete button. If you delete a variable that was automatically collected from the component's model, you can restore it by clicking the Collect button.

The component is saved in the library with the parameter values in the list. You can edit the parameter value in the Value field. Update the change in the preview window by clicking the Update button.

When you are adding a component, you can edit the parameter values by using the Edit Parameters function on the contextual toolbar.

Browse / Archive

You can select any component stored in your system to be saved by clicking the Browse button. Select the file (*.vxm) in the Open dialog box.

You can also retrieve the model from the archive by clicking the Archive button. Fill in the search criteria in the dialog box.

Defining Search Data

The program will copy the model file to a folder in the component library. This enables the component library to be transferable. If you wish to edit the model after saving it in the component library, you must open the model for editing from the folder in the component library. Changes made to the original model will no longer be updated in the model file in the component library.

Archived models are an exception to this. For them, you can select the Keep Link to Archived Model property. The model file will then not be copied to a folder in the component library but is instead always loaded from the archive. Use this saving method when you have a lot of components you have modeled yourself, which you want to use often and to which you often make changes. Note that if the link to the archived model is kept, the library is no longer transferable.

2D / 3D Accurate / 3D Coarse

You can choose the component's presentation method in the preview image. The projection in the 2D preview image is the same from which the program will generate the 2D drawing of the component for the building's floor plan. Select either of the following from the list above the preview image:

• Automatic (projection) - The program will generate the drawing from the model's top view projection.

  

• Automatic (shaded projection) - The program will generate the drawing from the model's top view projection with a color fill. The color fill is determined by the rendering material or color selected for the component's 3D model.

  

You can also draw the 2D drawing yourself. You can then set the file you drew as the component's 2D drawing by editing the component library.

Save a Modeled Component in a Library
2D Drawing of a Modeled Component
Set Component 2D Drawing in a Library
Editing a Macro Component Library
Add a Piece of Furniture or Another Building Component