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About Content of Constructs

There are 3 different types of content you can place in a construct:

  • Drawing objects: You can draw an entire floor, apartment layout, a frame drawing, or a ceiling grid as a construct. Also, spanning objects like curtain walls or elevator shafts are usually created directly as constructs.
  • Element references: You can display repeating components within the construct, such as desk/chair combinations, bathroom layouts, or stairs.
  • A combination of drawing objects and element references: If you have a floor with different office types, but repeating furniture elements, you could draw the office walls directly in the construct but reference the furniture as elements.

You should not, as a general rule, reference constructs into constructs. A construct has a defined level and division assignment. If a construct were to be referenced into another construct, it may have 2 contradicting level and division assignments. However, there are situations where the necessity to do this can occur. For example, when you are checking the correct vertical alignment of a ceiling in the building, you could view a ceiling construct with an overlaid floor plan construct in it. Or, you might want to display alternating versions of a 2 car garage and a 3 car garage within a plan construct. If you encounter a situation where you would need to do this, there are several options that can serve as a work-around:

  • Overlay the construct onto the other construct.
  • Convert the first construct to an element, and then reference it into the other construct.
    Danger: Do not attach property set data to an overlaid construct from within the host construct. This data is not carried forward into views. Attach the property data locally in the overlaid construct.
  • Create a view into which you reference both constructs.

Which of these options is best for you largely depends on your workflow and the results you want to achieve.

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