An opening is an AEC object that interacts with walls to represent an opening of any size at any elevation. You can also add openings as freestanding objects.
Opening Shapes
When you add an opening to a drawing, you can select from a number of predefined shapes, such as rectangular, half-round, oval, or arch. You can also create openings with custom shapes using profiles to define the geometry of the opening.
Examples of predefined shapes for openings
Anchoring Openings
After you place an opening in a wall, the opening is constrained to the object and cannot move outside it.
Openings can also be anchored to specific locations in walls, so that when the wall moves or changes size, the location of the opening in that object remains constant.
Opening Endcaps
Openings that are anchored in a wall can have endcap styles applied to them. The endcap shapes for wall openings are defined in the wall style and are a property of the wall.
Opening Dimensions
All openings have height and width. The rise dimension depends on the opening shape. Rise is the height from the top of the rectangular portion of an opening to the peak of the opening for gothic, arch, peak pentagon, and trapezoid shapes.
Vertical Alignment of Openings
Use the vertical alignment settings to control how to place an opening in the wall, the location of the working point vertically in the wall, and how the opening responds to modifications in height. Use the sill and head height settings to determine the working point on the opening. You can place the working point at the sill or at the head. For example, if you specify the vertical alignment as 0'' and the opening height as 7'–0'', the opening height is 7’–0''. If you next specify the height of the opening as 6'–8'', the sill remains at 0'' and the opening height becomes 6’–8''.
For the opening head working point, if you specify the vertical alignment as 7'–0'' and the opening height as 7'–0'', the opening height is 7–0''. If you specify the opening height as 6'–8'', the head remains at 7'–0'' and the sill becomes 4''.