Concept: Automatically bounded and manual slab edges
Difficulty level: Beginner
Slab edges can be automatically bounded by associated walls or can be defined manually. Slabs can be composed of all automatically bounded edges, all manual edges, or a combination of the two, as the design demands.
Automatically bounded edges: Slabs can be automatically created by first selecting connected walls or by clicking within the boundary of a closed set of visible walls. The slabs are automatically associated with their bounding walls.
Use classes to distinguish interior and exterior walls to easily place slabs associated with the correct wall set.
The slab edge path is defined by the outside or inside face of the walls, or by components within the wall, as defined by the slab component properties. If the walls are edited (whether moved, reshaped, or replaced, or due to a change in the wall style, the wall thickness, or the wall components), the slab edge path updates automatically. If a wall is split into multiple walls, the slab maintains the relationship with each new wall, with a separate edge for each wall segment. However, if the walls are edited so significantly that the slab cannot retain its association, you have the option to create a manual slab from the automatically bounded slab.
Because the walls and slab are associated, section views display accurately. When creating a section view, similar component fills can be merged to display as a single unit (see Advanced sheet layer viewport properties).
Once an automatically bounded slab is created, it can be moved to another layer and still retain its association with the walls.
Manual edges: Manual edges are not associated with walls; they can only be reshaped with the Reshape tool or in Object editing mode, and their component edge offsets are determined by numeric offsets.
The Bounding parameter on the Object Info palette describes slabs by what kinds of edges they have; slabs are auto-bounded, manual, or auto-bounded with manual edges.
A slab’s Bounding condition adjusts automatically as the edges are changed into bounded or manual walls. For instance, if a slab was created with all bounded edges but then one of the associated walls is deleted, that slab edge automatically becomes manual, and the slab changes from auto-bounded to auto-bounded with manual edges. Although one edge becomes manual, the change does not affect the relationships between the other edges and their associated (bounded) walls.
