href="#i000004670000.jpg" alt="images"/>Figure 2.24 Create multiple copies of levels.
As we stated previously, plan views are not created for levels that are copied or arrayed. This gives you the flexibility to quickly generate levels for taller buildings without all the associated views that may increase your project file size unnecessarily. Although this workflow may be beneficial for you in early design phases, what do you do when you need all those floor plans and ceiling plans for that high-rise design?
Figure 2.25 Adding views to levels
You can also use this command to create duplicate views of existing levels. Clear the Do Not Duplicate Existing Views option at the bottom of the dialog box to see all the levels in your project.
Select the Roof level and click OK. A floor plan will be created for the Roof level, and that floor plan will be opened. It is important to note that every plan you create with this method will be opened as you complete the command. Remember to use the Close Hidden Windows tool (available in the Quick Access toolbar) to avoid slower performance in your work session.
Datum objects – specifically grids and levels – have two types of extents: 3D (analytic) and 2D (graphic). These extents are expressed as grips that are shown at the endpoints of the grids and levels in plans, sections, and elevations. The analytic grips control the extents of the datum across the entire project and all views. The analytic grip is shown as an open circle and the indicator displays as 3D, as shown in Figure 2.26.
Figure 2.26 Controlling the 3D (analytic) extents of the datum
If you want to adjust the 2D extents of your datum in only the current view, click the 3D icon and it will change to 2D. You can then modify the 2D extents of the datum object without affecting the 3D extents. We will explore this further in an exercise later in this section.
Datum objects are visible only in views that intersect their 3D extents. The elevation in Figure 2.27 shows four grids and four levels. Grid lines 3 and 4 are not visible on Levels 3 and 4 because their 3D extents are not intersecting those levels.
Figure 2.27 3D (analytic) extents affect visibility of datum objects.
You can use the 3D and 2D extents to your liking in any view. In Figure 2.28, for example, the 3D extents of the grid lines extend through Level 1 and Level 2, but the 2D extents are set above Level 2. This means that the grid datum would still be visible in both levels, even though it looks like they don’t intersect the levels.
Figure 2.28 Customizing 3D and 2D extents of datum objects
When you move a datum object, one way or another, content is going to respond. If you move a level, walls and furniture are going to move accordingly. If you move a grid, structural elements associated to the grid are going to relocate. And if you move references, the elements associated with them will update. As a matter of fact, you’ll often constrain or pin datum objects in order to restrict their movement as your project is starting to develop.
Let’s continue with the exercise from the section “Creating and Duplicating Levels” and edit the 2D extents for one of the levels you copied. Remember that although this exercise uses levels, these methods can be applied to grids as well. Here are the steps:
1. Open the South elevation view again, and you’ll notice that the label for Level 3 is slightly overlapping the label for Level 2B because they are relatively close. You’ll need to adjust the 2D extent of Level 3.
2. Select Level 3, and you’ll see two items at the right endpoint with which you’ll need to interact: the 3D indicator and the lock symbol. First, click the lock symbol to unlock the right endpoint. This will allow you to move the endpoint for the selected level without affecting all the other levels.
3. Click the 3D indicator so that it changes to 2D. Now you are ready to modify the 2D extents of the level.
4. Drag the 2D extents grip (the solid circle) to the right. The result should look like the image shown in Figure 2.29.
5. As a final option, you can choose to break the end of a level or grid line so that the tag or label will clearly display. Click the Add Elbow symbol near the label at the right endpoint of Level 3. We have indicated the location of this symbol in Figure 2.29.
6. Use the additional line grips to adjust the level endpoint so that it resembles the image shown in Figure 2.30.
Figure 2.29 Adjusting the graphic extents of a level
Figure 2.30 Adding an elbow to a level
Quite often you will adjust the extents of datum objects that need to be replicated in several other views. Fortunately, there is a tool to help you accomplish this – Propagate Extents. The premise of this tool is simple, but you must be aware of the subtleties in applying it to a three-dimensional model.
The Propagate Extents tool pushes any modifications you apply to a datum object from one view to other parallel views of your choosing. This tool does not work well on levels because the parallel views are essentially mirrored views of each other. For example, the orientation of the South elevation is the opposite of the North elevation; therefore, if you make a change to the extents at the right end of a level in the South elevation, those changes would be propagated to the left end in the North elevation.
The best way to apply the Propagate Extents tool is with the 2D extents of grids. Why only the 2D extents? Because changing the 3D extents affects the datum object throughout the project, independent of any specific view. Let’s examine this behavior with a quick exercise:
1. Download and open the c02-Grids-Start.rvt file from this book’s web page, and then activate the South elevation.
You will see three levels and four grids.
2. Select grid 3 and click the 3D indicator at the bottom endpoint. Notice that the lock symbol turns off automatically, allowing you to immediately adjust the graphic extents of the grid.
3. Drag the 2D extent of grid 3 up toward the top. Repeat this process for grid 4 so that the result looks like the image shown in Figure 2.31.
The
