Creating a new data visualization

A data visualization defines the objects that are included (the object criteria portion of the definition) and also the values from the object, or from other sources, to be used as the basis of the color scheme (the display criteria portion). This combination provides an extremely flexible method for visualizing embedded data in your drawing or model.

The Data Visualization menu is only available from the View bar when a design layer is the active layer.

You can also create a data visualization from the Manage Data Visualizations dialog box.

The New Data Visualization dialog box opens. Provide a name for the data visualization.

Parameter	Description
Visualization Name	Enter the visualization name; the name must be unique
Object Criteria	Displays the current selection formula
Define Criteria	Opens the Criteria dialog box to define the kinds of objects to consider in the visualization; after defining the criteria, the selection formula displays, along with the number of objects that meet the criteria.
Display Criteria	Defines the value to be displayed in the visualization
Colors	Specify the criteria to use for the visualization
All Objects	Applies a single color or attribute to all objects specified in the Criteria dialog box
Objects using Parameter	Select the type of plug-in object, and then a parameter from that object that contains values or ranges of values of interest (for example, space and type of occupancy)
Objects using Record	Lists the record formats available. Select the record that contains the data you want to visually differentiate, and then select the record field (for example, plant record and light range). This type of visualization doesn’t work if the record is attached to an object within a symbol definition or group.
Objects using IFC Entity	Opens the Select IFC Object dialog box to select an entity, and then select a pSet name and property. To use one of the IFC entity’s “base” values (such as “name”), select the IFC entity name from the pSet name list.
Objects using Function	Select an object-specific function (for example, area)
By Values	Sets the attributes of the objects according to a value, text or numerical, from the selected criteria. The values are displayed in a list; select one and click Edit to define its attributes.
By Ranges	Sets the attributes of the objects according to ranges of numeric values from the selected criteria. Click Add or Edit to define each numeric range and its attributes.
Value/Range list	Lists the values or ranges for the selected objects, along with the current attribute settings. A check mark in the Apply column indicates that the attributes will be applied for this row. When issues occur with a data visualization, this is one of the first areas to consider for troubleshooting. Ensure that the desired rows have a check mark.
Add	Opens the New Attribute Value or New Attribute Range dialog box, to set the attribute for a new value or range
Edit	Select a value or range from the list and click Edit (or double-click on a row) to edit the value’s attributes or the range limits and attributes
Delete	Deletes the currently selected value or range
Auto-Color	Automatically assigns fill colors to the rows
Draw All Other Objects	Determines whether to draw any other objects that are not affected by the visualization normally or grayed. Objects drawn with the grayed options are drawn in a monochrome gray, for visualization purposes.

2. Click Define Criteria to select the objects to include in the visualization. These are the items in the drawing that are of interest.

3. Once the object criteria are defined, select the display criteria from the Colors list; this determines the values or ranges of values to be differentiated by color or other attribute. The visualization will report the data selected here.

When new display criteria are selected, an alert opens, confirming that you wish to change all of the values in the list. This prevents you from accidentally deleting previously specified attributes.

4. The list of values or ranges displays. For numerical values, choose whether to apply the visualization by value (By Values) or by numerical range (By Ranges).

5. To quickly assign a range of colors to the rows, click Auto-Color. This option automatically determines a different fill color for all items in the rows.

6. If setting attributes individually for row items, select one or more rows, and click Edit to specify the values and attributes or range values and attributes.

Parameter	Description
Apply Attributes	Select whether to apply the attributes to this value/range. When issues occur with a data visualization, this is one of the first areas to consider for troubleshooting. Ensure that the desired rows have a check mark.
Lower Bound (By Ranges)	Sets the lower limit of the range to an infinite value or to the specified value
Upper Bound (By Ranges)	Sets the upper limit of the range to an infinite value or to the specified value
Attribute Values	Fill attributes can be specified from the Fill list, or you can select Retain Original Fill to keep the original fill color of each object in the range. (Retain Original Fill is useful for multi-attribute elements, such as walls.) Color override options allow for flexibly setting the fill, pen, foreground, or background attribute colors of the objects. Available overrides depend on the Fill selections of hatch, tile, and Retain Original Fill. See Concept: Attributes for information on applying fill, pen, and line thickness attributes

7. Click OK to save the data visualization. The name displays in the Data Visualization menu.

If you created a new data visualization from the Object Info palette of a selected viewport, it is automatically applied to that viewport and any other selected viewports.