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2D Viewer

Describes the different tools in the 2D toolbar

Julien Benoit avatar
Written by Julien Benoit
Updated over a week ago

It is possible to find the 2D viewer on the bottom right of the 3D viewer.
To turn on the 2D viewer for a model, click on the 2D button of that model.

This button can be found on the models page, model overview page, revision selector and dashboard.

Note: The default plan that you see in the 2D viewer is a slice of the model objects at the height of the current storey.

The following topics will be described in this article:

2D viewer appearance

There are several ways to configure your 2D viewer to suit your needs.

Viewer objects

When a model is imported a 2D view is generated by slicing through the objects of the model 1.4 meters above the height of each storey.

This 2D view cannot be altered after the model has been processed.

Highlighting selected objects

The objects relate directly to the objects in 3D.

You will see that if you select a 3D object that is also on the 2D view it will highlight in green and show that it is selected.

Door swings

Door swings are specified in the IFC file.

You can see how this works in the following BuildingSMART articles:

If no door swing is specified the door will swing open to the right.

Drawing as underlay

It is possible to underlay a PDF from the documents section with the storey configurator.

This is especially helpful if there are objects above or below the height where the 3D objects are sliced through that do not show up in the 2D viewer.

Examples of these are: Ducts and pipes, Electrical outlets, Ceiling plans, Road and rail

Markers in the 2D viewer

If you have markers enabled you will be able to see any topics of which you have specified the location on each storey of the building.

Hovering over the marker will show you the topic number and title.

Clicking on the marker will let you open up the topic in the topic board.

2D Canvas Interactions

Click mouse button

Left click - Select a space

Right click - Open context menu

  • Add marker - Add a new marker. With an issue open in the content panel you can assign the selected marker. This marker will not be saved and visible to others until added to an issue.

  • Create a new issue with marker - Create a new issue with marker. This marker will not be saved and visible to others until the issue is sent in.

  • Create query

    • Intersect space - Create a query of all objects intersecting with the selected space

    • Intersect storey - Create a query of al objects intersecting with this storey

Hold mouse button

Hold left or right click - Pan 2D viewer

Viewpoint indicator

Hold left click on viewpoint indicator - Move camera in 3D. Camera angle will remain.

Hold right click on viewpoint indicator - Move camera in 3D. Camera angle will follow.

Top bar

Resizing

Drag these two diagonal lines to resize the 2D viewer across any part of the 3D viewer.

You will know you can drag this corner when you see your cursor change.

Title

The title of the top bar will be the name of the storey.
If a storey of a storey configurator building is selected title will include the name of the building and the name of the current storey.

If the storey of a non-configured model is selected the title will include the name of the model.

Opening and closing the 2D viewer

Closing - Click the cross in the top right of the 2D viewer to close the 2D viewer.

Opening - Click the 2D button on the bottom right of the 3D viewer top open the 2D viewer

Navigation tools

Zoom to extents

Zoom out to show all visible objects at once

Rotation

Rotate the 2D viewer.

For more nuance in adjusting the slider you can select the slider by clicking on it and then using the left and right arrow keys to make 0.1 degree adjustments.

This can be useful for making selections, sections and queries.

Rotation is easier if you first select a space as it will snap to the edges of the space when rotating

The angle of the storey can permanently be set in the storey configurator.

Lock camera

If a model is loaded in the 3D viewer you will be able to lock the camera to the 3D viewer camera. With this function enabled the viewpoint indicator will stay centered on the canvas even if the camera is moved in the 3D viewer. This is useful in combination with walk mode.

Selection tools and settings

Click here for a detailed explanation of how to use section tools in the 2D viewer.

Select

Select spaces and zoom in and out.

Section: Select objects

Drag a rectangle over the 2D canvas to create a volume for selection of objects in 2D/3D.

Section: Create clipping planes

Create 4 to 6 clipping planes by dragging a rectangle over the 2D canvas and selecting the height.

Section: Create query

Create a query by dragging a rectangle over the 2D canvas and selecting the height.


Move button

The rectangular selection function of the Section tools inhabits the movement of the cursor. On the bottom right of the 2D viewer you will therefore be able to use the move button. With this button you can easily reposition your canvas for Sectioning.

2D Viewer Settings

Marker visibility - Turn markers on or off

Marker coloring mode - Color markers by Status, Type or Due date

Space Name Format - Show the long name of the rooms and spaces

Translucent - Make the 2D viewer see-through

Bottom bar

Storey lock

Locked - The current storey will always be visible

Unlocked - The current storey will be the storey closest in height to the heigh of the camera

Buildings

Menu

Lists any buildings that are created in the storey configurator.

Then lists buildings in models that have 2D turned on.

Storeys

Displays the current storey.
Menu

Swap between other storeys in the current building.

Help button

Click on the help button to get some helpful information about the 2D location of issues:

Exporting an image

A good way to export an image from the 2D viewer is by making a 2D snapshot.

It is also possible to get .svg files with vector lines by extracting the .svg from the webpage element.

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