Editing Space Boundaries
Editing Space BoundariesOnce a space is created, its boundary is edited differently depending on the current Auto-Boundary setting.
● If Auto-Boundary is enabled, the space is associated with a set of walls, regardless of whether the walls are visible. When the walls that surround the space change, in many cases, the space updates automatically.
● If Auto-Boundary is disabled, the space must be edited directly as a path object.
Each space has a control point that indicates the label location. If the space is auto-bounded, it also has a separate “anchor” control point that locates the space within its boundary. The anchor control point is typically in the center of the space’s bounding box, so it may be directly on top of the label control point. (If you create the space with Inner Boundary mode, the anchor is placed where you click to create the space.)
To move a label or an anchor, click the control point and drag it to a new location; click again to move the point. If a label is moved outside of the space boundary, a line is drawn to connect the label to the space automatically.
To edit a space with Auto-Boundary enabled:
Add, delete, or move the associated walls.
The spaces and labels update automatically, unless you are adding a new wall that affects an existing space or removing a wall that surrounds a space.
● If walls have been moved, the wall settings (thickness or components) have changed, or you move, edit, or delete an associated column or wall feature, the associated space objects and labels update automatically.
● If walls that are associated with a space are deleted, the space changes from an auto-bound space to a manual space. The space can be associated with new walls.
● If walls have been added, update the space object. Select one or more spaces, and then click Update Boundary from the Object Info palette. The location of the updated space is based on the position of the anchor point; other areas created by the dividing wall remain empty.
Alternatively, you can update the boundary as part of Updating Spaces overall.
The boundary of the space adjusts to match the surrounding walls; if the space label anchor point is now outside the space, a line is drawn automatically from the label to the space.
In cases where architects may have adjacent spaces in a design that are not explicitly separated by an actual wall, the <Virtual wall> wall style (a wall without width or height) gives the user a boundary for space objects to see when Auto-Boundary is enabled, primarily for IFC export.
To edit a space with Auto-Boundary disabled:
● To add, subtract, and change vertices, edit the polyline with the Reshape tool.
● The space object is a path object and some parameters cannot be edited directly from the Object Info palette. To make changes to the space path object, including changing its dimensions, select Modify > Edit Space. For example, you can reshape, add, clip, intersect, and combine into surfaces. Click Exit Path to return to the drawing.
Auto-bounded spaces can be converted to manual mode, releasing them from their association with walls.
To convert auto-bounded spaces to manual spaces:
Select the auto-bounded space. In the Object Info palette, the Auto-Boundary mode displays Auto-Bounded.
Select Manual from the Auto-Boundary list.
The space is disassociated from its wall set, though it remains in place.
Manually bounded spaces can be converted to auto-bounded mode by automatically associating them with the surrounding walls.
To convert manual spaces to auto-bounded spaces:
Select the manual space. In the Object Info palette, the Auto-Boundary mode displays Manual.
Select Auto-Boundary from the Auto-Boundary list.
The space object is regenerated using the anchor point(s) to find the surrounding walls and associate them with the space.
Manually drawn spaces can be associated with a set of walls, converting them to auto-bounded mode. Similarly, an auto-bounded space can be associated with a new set of walls by this method.
To convert manual spaces to auto-bounded spaces:
Select the manual space. In the Object Info palette, the Auto-Boundary mode displays Manual.
Select Pick Boundary from the Auto-Boundary list.
The Space tool is automatically activated, and Inner Boundary mode is selected (Picked Walls mode can also be selected).
For Inner Boundary mode, click in an open area of the drawing that is bounded by walls. For Picked Walls mode, click each wall that forms the wall set and press Enter, or click the check mark button on the Tool bar.
The manual space is associated with the wall set. Its location and size may change as it is bounded by the wall set.