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Editing Building Elements

Editing Building Elements

Section titled “Editing Building Elements”

Building elements can be edited through the properties panel on the right side.

Accessing element properties

Section titled “Accessing element properties”

To edit a building element:

  1. Navigate to the appropriate story and room in the floor and room list
  2. Select an element from the building elements list or 3D view
  3. The properties panel appears on the right
  4. Modify properties as needed
  5. Changes are saved automatically

Element properties fields

Section titled “Element properties fields”

Name

Section titled “Name”

User-defined identifier for the element.

Field Type: Text input

Building element type

Section titled “Building element type”

The category of building element.

Available Options:

  • Wall: Vertical or near-vertical surfaces
  • Floor: Horizontal walking surfaces
  • Ceiling: Overhead room surfaces

Field Type: Dropdown

Material

The construction assembly assigned to this element.

Material Selection Features:

Searchable Dropdown

  • Type to search through the material catalog
  • Materials are organized by category
  • Search by name, description, or material properties

Recently Used

  • Recently assigned materials appear at the top
  • Marked with clock icon
  • Quick access to commonly used assemblies

Shortlist

  • Starred/favorited materials
  • Marked with dots icon
  • Quick access to frequently used materials

Search Results

  • Type to search full material catalog
  • Results filter as you type
  • Filtered by element type automatically

Assignment Process:

  1. Click the Material dropdown
  2. Type to search or Select from Recently Used/Shortlist
  3. Review material properties (U-value, etc.)
  4. Click material to assign
  5. Material is applied to element

Area override

Section titled “ override”

Manual override for element area, replacing the calculated area.

Calculated vs. Override:

  • By default, area is calculated from geometry
  • Override when measured area differs from calculated

How to Override:

  1. Locate the Area field in the properties panel
  2. Click the field to enable editing
  3. Enter the corrected area value in square meters
  4. Press Enter or tab away to Save

Boundary conditions

Section titled “Boundary conditions”

Defines what is on the other side of this element.

Available Options:

  • Exterior: Faces outdoor air
  • Ground: In contact with earth
  • Unheated Space: Faces garage, attic, crawl space, etc.
  • Adjacent Unit: Faces another dwelling unit
  • Interior: Between rooms in same thermal zone

Field Type: Dropdown

B-factor

Section titled “”

Thermal reduction factor from 0.0 to 1.0.

Available Values:

  • 0.0 to 1.0 in increments of 0.1

Field Type: Dropdown

See B-Factors for details on selecting appropriate values.

Azimuth

Section titled “Azimuth”

Cardinal direction the element faces.

Available Values:

  • N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW

Field Type: Dropdown Auto-calculated: Yes, but can be overridden

Inclination

Section titled “”

Angle from horizontal in degrees.

Value Range: 0-90 degrees

  • 0° = horizontal
  • 90° = vertical

Field Type: Number input Auto-calculated: Yes, but can be overridden

Editing element geometry

Section titled “Editing element geometry”

Element geometry can be modified using tools in the 3D viewer. Access these tools from the tools menu or toolbar.

[web:tools.edit_segment_points]

Section titled “”

Modify element vertex positions to reshape geometry.

How to use:

  1. Select the [web:tools.edit_segment_points] tool from the toolbar
  2. Select the element to edit
  3. Edit the geometry:
    • Drag points: Click and drag individual points to new positions
    • Add points: Cmd/Ctrl + Click on an edge to insert a new vertex
    • Delete points: Click a point to select it, then press Backspace to remove it
  4. [web:tools.edit_segment_points_confirmation_body]

The element area and dimensions update automatically based on the new geometry.

Supported elements:

  • Wall
  • Floor
  • Ceiling
  • Openings

Note: Elements must have at least 3 vertices. Door, Window, and hatches have fixed geometry and cannot be edited with this tool.

[web:tools.move_segment]

Section titled “”

Reposition an element without changing its shape.

How to use:

  1. Select the [web:tools.move_segment] tool from the toolbar
  2. Select the element to move
  3. Drag the element to the new location
  4. [web:tools.move_segment_confirmation_body]

Split tools

Section titled “Split tools”

Divide elements into separate parts.

Available split tools:

  • [web:tools.split_h]: Places a horizontal split line
  • [web:tools.split_v]: Places a vertical split line
  • [web:tools.split_free]: Draw a custom split line at any angle

How to split:

  1. Select a split tool from the toolbar
  2. Click the element to place the split line
  3. For free split, click and drag to define the split path
  4. The element divides into two separate elements

Each resulting element can be edited independently.

Snapping

Section titled “Snapping”

When editing geometry, points snap to nearby vertices and edges by default.

To disable snapping:

  • Hold Shift while positioning points
  • "Snapping disabled" appears when snapping is off

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

Changes not saving

  • Check internet connection
  • Ensure you have Edit permissions
  • Try refreshing the page

Material dropdown not loading

  • Check if material library is accessible
  • Verify network connection
  • Refresh the browser

Area override not applying

  • Ensure value is in square meters
  • Check for valid number format
  • Try clearing and re-entering value

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