Familiarize yourself with the new features by following the links below.
Floor, roof and ceiling libraries have been renewed. The user interface for adding a floor or a ceiling and editing the library is similar to walls.
The feature has been introduced already in the 2014 (20.0) version.
When you set the model view by defining the location and direction of the view point, you can rotate the model around the view point as follows: hold down the Shift+Ctrl keys and the left mouse button, and move the mouse.
Speeded up selections in the model
How much working is speeded up depends on the structure of the model. The effect is especially noticeable in a model which contains a lot of machinings.
Improvements to Clipboard > Copy and Advanced > Copy to Another Floor functions
The features have been introduced already in the 2014 (20.0) version.
When you copy selected objects from one project to another by using the clipboard, the building components are positioned in the target project to drawing-model pairs which match the source project, if possible. If the target project does not have a suitable drawing-model pair, the program asks the user to which drawing-model pair the objects are positioned. Connections to other building components are also copied, if the connecting structures are equivalent in the target project and you position the copy so that a similar connection is possible. If the building components to be copied are bound to each other with geometric constraints, these are also copied, but constraints to other building components are not. The building components are bound to the height levels closest to their position in the target project.
You can also copy panels and panel parts from one floor to another or from one project to another by using the clipboard.
The connections to other building components are also copied when you copy objects from one floor to another.
Copy
Objects to Another Project
Copy an Object to the
Clipboard
Copy an Object to
Another Floor
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Import documents to a project
The feature has been introduced already in the 2014 (20.0) version.
You can import drawing sheets from another project, or a document made with another application, to a project.
The selected sheets are copied to the view_sheets folder of the target project, and they are displayed in the project's document browser. If additional information has been defined for the sheet with the function Active Document Data, the row in question is also copied from the source project's FILEINFO database to the database in the target project.
Also other types of connected documents are copied in the project folder.
The functions are available in the project's document browser.
Import
a Sheet from Another Project
Documents Connected
to the Project
The Select Active Drawing-Model Pairs function is now also available in the project's document browser.
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Shape a wall in a model
Shaping a wall in a model has been improved. The features have been introduced already in the 2014 (20.0) version.
You can edit the entire wall structure by moving an edge by the grip point, adding and moving points on an edge, or clipping a wall. Previously, only the selected layer could be edited. New shaping functions are setting an edge parallel to a line or surface, and adding a hole to the entire wall or to a layer.
Moving the top and bottom edges of wall layers in the model is equivalent to editing the heights of layers in the wall properties. Moving an edge does not set the wall to a "shaped" state. If the wall layer has been shaped otherwise in the model, the layer heights cannot be edited in the wall properties (the fields are grey).
You can delete shapings from one layer of a wall. The layer is restored to a "non-shaped" state. After this, the top and bottom heights of the layer can be edited in the wall properties.
Clip a
Wall
Add a
Hole to a Wall
Add a
Hole to a Layer
Move a
Wall Edge by the Grip Point
Set a Wall
Edge Parallel to a Line or Surface
Add
a Point to the Edge of a Wall
Move a
Wall Point by the Grip Point
Delete a
Point From the Wall Edge
Delete
Shapings From a Layer
You can define one or several extra hatches for a wall layer. Extra hatch is not available for selection in the wall properties as a default, but you can add one for a layer as follows:
The wall parameter Bearing is now shown by default in the Wall dialog box, when none of the layers is selected in the Layers list. Previously, the parameter was shown after you selected the frame layer and Show All Parameters.
The layer parameter Can Be Stretched to Roof is now shown by default, when a layer has been selected in the Layers list. Previously, the parameter was shown after you selected Show All Parameters.
When you change a wall to another, you can select the Keep wall height property. When the property is selected, the height of each wall to be changed remains unchanged. Otherwise the height defined in the wall library for the new wall type is set as the height of all the selected walls.
Previously, when cutting a wall, a butt connection was automatically formed between the ends of the walls. To be able to move the ends separately, first you had to delete the butt connection constraint. Now, you can adjust forming the constraint with the cut_wall keyword in the system settings.
cut_wall = 0: A butt joint is not formed between the ends. You can move a wall end by the grip point.
cut_wall = 1: A butt joint is formed between the ends. If you wish to move the end of either wall, first remove the butt joint constraint.
The feature has been introduced already in the 2014 (20.0) version.
New sliding door models have been added to the door library of the basic software delivery. Select the 1. Standard Doors library, and the Interior doors / Sliding doors folder.
Floor, roof and ceiling libraries have been renewed. The user interface for adding a floor or a ceiling and editing the library is similar to walls.
Layers for floors and ceilings are in a new layer library. You can convert the old customer-specific material layer library database to a library of the new type by using the system update function. The format of the library is defined by the system and the contents are read from the old customer-specific database.
Add a Floor
or Ceiling
Edit
a Floor and Ceiling Library
Edit
the Layer Library
Update Version Changes to
Custom Files
New notch types have been added to the connection details browser for cutting a piece longitudinally. You can notch a piece longitudinally by a face or a line.
0500
Longitudinal Cut by Face (Full-length)
0501
Longitudinal Cut by Face (Selected Length)
0502
Longitudinal Cut by Line
The feature has been introduced already in the 2014 (20.0) version.
New keywords have been added for collecting materials from components modeled with the 3D modeler.
Collecting
Materials from Building Components Modeled with the 3D
Modeler
You can change the representation of a detail or change the entire detail by editing the detail's properties. Select a detail in the floor plan, right-click to open the context-sensitive menu, and select Properties.
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New rule for wall's horizontal battens tool
A new rule has been added for the horizontal battens tool of a wall layer: Opening wrap with battens, only above and below. The rule does not add parts to the sides of openings.
Panel Label Offset From Wall In the Floor Plan
You can set a default value for the distance of a wall panel label from the wall in the system settings. If the parameter has not been defined, the default value is 100 mm.
Project-specific panel template drawing library
The feature has been introduced already in the 2014 (20.0) version.
You can save an active panel drawing as a project-specific template drawing. When a drawing is open, right-click and select Save template drawing to project from the menu. If there are not template drawing libraries in the project, the program asks you to name the library. If libraries are found, the program asks you to choose a library from a list. You can also create a new library. Follow the usual procedure to create a template drawing library. The library is only available in the project in question.
The feature has been introduced already in the 2014 (20.0) version.
Moving dimension lines in a panel drawing has been improved. Previously, moving one dimension by the grip point moved all the dimensions with the same name (for example PANEL092). Now, moving one dimension moves dimensions that have the same name and are closer than 5 mm to the dimension to be moved in the dimensioning direction.
The feature has been introduced already in the 2014 (20.0) version.
In the basic software delivery, the section hatch of the insulation is added on the layer 16 in the panel drawing. The layer has been defined in the system settings.
If the layer has not been defined in the system settings, it is read from the drawing properties of the section hatch. The section hatch has been defined in the insulation library, for example SECT.WOOL. If the drawing properties of the section hatch refer to a line, for example line= WALL.WOOL, the layer is read from the drawing properties of the line WALL.WOOL.
The feature has been introduced already in the 2014 (20.0) version.
You can select how to show external parts in a view in a panel
drawing. By default, 
Limits by
Main View is selected in the view settings. In this case, a
limited representation is used for the external parts. If you wish
to display the parts in full, clear the checkbox 
.
You can select an obround shape for the mounting box of an electrical symbol. If the NC Link feature is available to you, you can transfer the installation hole to the production control system.
A beam panel can be a sub panel in a wall, floor, roof or truss panel. This requires that all the parts of the beam panel are connected to the panel in question. The beam panel is presented in the panel's drawing and collected to the material report.
You can add a schedule of the beam panels to the floor plan. The function also updates the panel drawings of the beam panels.
When you generate part drawings of a panel, you can update the panel drawings of the sub panels included in the panel at the same time. A sub panel can be a beam panel consisting of several profiles, for example.
New web stiffener types have been added to the connection details browser. The web stiffeners are profiles by object type, but they are collected to the material registry with a type of their own. You can stretch a stiffener profile by moving the grip point. If the beam's cross section changes, the size of the stiffener profile is also updated. You can edit the parameters of the joint by double-clicking a stiffener profile in the model.
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Edit a chain or basepoint dimension line
You can delete and add dimensions on a chain or baseline dimension.
You can set the arrow type of a reference line text in the system settings with the keyword leader_line_arrow.
leader_line_arrow= 1:
leader_line_arrow= 2:
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Hidden layers in PDF publishing
The feature has been introduced already in the 2014 (20.0) version.
You can use this property, when you are publishing a 2D drawing and you have defined the visible layers in the drawing by using the Layer set property. The layer group may include hidden layers, which are not shown on the screen or in the print by default. When you set the Show hidden layers value to 1, also the hidden layers of the selected layer group are visible in the PDF publication.
When publishing a document to a PDF file, properties Colors by screen and true linewidths and Circles as lines can be selected.
The feature has been introduced already in the 2014 (20.0) version.
You can now use an All / None button when selecting the files to be published.
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Import an IFC Model As an Object Model
IFC Link is an add-on feature of the Vertex BD software.
When you import an IFC model to an open project, the walls, floors, ceilings, roofs, windows, doors and profiles of the building are imported as Vertex BD objects as well as regular geometry. Windows and doors are converted to default types, which are defined in the project's parameters with the IFC_DOOR and IFC_WINDOW parameters. You can change the type of doors and windows in the model by editing the properties. Walls are imported as single-layered structures. You can change them to library walls with the context-sensitive menu function Change IFC Wall to Normal Wall. You can change floors, ceilings and roofs by editing their properties.
You can utilize the IFC parts imported as objects in later designing. For example, you can panelize a wall imported from an IFC model directly without remodeling.
Import an
IFC Model As an Object Model
Change
IFC Wall to Normal Wall
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Rendering is an add-on feature of the Vertex BD software.
Changing a material on a surface without a category
You can now change a material even on a surface without a material category.
Edit a
Material in a Building Component
Edit a
Material in the Entire Model
A new function, which you can use to restore the default material connected to the category of a surface. If you have edited the material of an individual surface, the default material is restored to the selected surface. If you have edited the surface material by using the mass editing function, the default material is restored to all surfaces which belong to the same material category.
Restore the
Default Material For a Selected Surface
Restore All Default
Materials
The Set Material to Surface and Edit Surface Material functions included in the previous versions have been restored to the Rendering menu. In BD 2014, they could be enabled with a keyword in the user/setup file. The keyword is no longer needed, and it has no effect.
The Create a Movie Clip function has been improved. An external ImageMagick application is no longer necessary for creating a video. You can select HD or Full HD as the image quality. Several cores of the processor are utilized when creating a video. The video is finished faster than before. The default file format is mp4. You can also save the file in AVI format by typing .avi as the file extension.
You can also select the function in the project's document browser:
Views heading.
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Option System and Component Change are add-on features of the Vertex BD software.
Merge sidings
The feature has been introduced already in the 2014 (20.0) version.
You can define a component change rule for merging a wall siding layer divided into parts, and changing the siding to another. The component change tool is typically used with option models. The Merge layer property is available, when the component type to be changed is a wall layer, and the type of the layer is siding.
When you check the option conditions, the program lists the possible incorrect option conditions in a database view. You can fix the syntax of the option condition by typing the id from the keyboard to the Condition field, or by copying the id from the database of allowed options.
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Piping Design is an add-on feature of the Vertex BD software.
Pipe components are now displayed in added order in the object tree.
You can change a component to another component of the same type. The new component will be automatically positioned similarly to the old one, keeping the grip point linkages.
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