2D sections and elevations define the 2D representation of orthogonal views of a 3D building model. They are not geometric objects in and of themselves, but are more of a “report” of the model.
2D Section/Elevation Styles
The purpose of a 2D Section/Elevation style is to automate the display characteristics of linework in the section/elevation object.
Attention: It is important to have a standardized display system established before creating custom 2D Section/Elevation styles. The Design Rules of a Section/Elevation style are wholly dependent upon the colors assigned to objects in the display representation used by the section/elevation object. By default, this is usually an object’s “Model” or “Elevation” display representation. To find out which specific display representation is used by section/elevations for each object type, you can refer to Display Manager and review the Display Representation Control for the “Section_Elev” display set, or whatever other display set is specified as part of the section/elevation’s properties.
2D Section/Elevation Style Naming Conventions:
<2D Section purpose or use> - <Optional scale>
Example 2D Section/Elevation Style Names:
| 2D Section/Elevation Style Description | Example Name |
|---|---|
| A section/elevation style to be used for elevations and sections plotted at 1/4”=1’-0”. | Bldg Section-Elevation - 48 |
| A section/elevation style for use as a background for a detail view. | Detail Background |
Best Practices for 2D Section/Elevation Styles
- If you define custom components and design rules in your section/elevation style, you should always include a description. The description for the design rules should explain what action each rule takes in the display properties of the style. For example, you might have a display component named “Swing Lines”. The component description would be simply “Door and Window swing lines”. The design rule accompanying the component might have a description of “Make window and door swings a fine line weight and dashed”.
- For a section/elevation style intended to be used as a detail background, you should place all display components on a no-plot layer.
- Section/elevation styles cannot, by themselves, be made into a palette-based tool. Instead you refer to them in a callout tool’s properties. You can specify the library file containing the section/elevation style, and the specific section/elevation style to be used with the callout.
Callout tool properties including the 2D Section/Elevation Style to use, the style library from which to import the style, the default scale and display set to use.