Creating railings

Use Style

From the Resource Selector, double-click a resource to activate it, or click Unstyled. If a styled object is converted to unstyled, the current values are retained, but all parameters are set to By Instance to allow editing.

By Style/Instance

A graphic indicates whether each parameter is set to By Style and given a fixed value or set to By Instance and editable in the dialog box. An object style may have a combination of both settings, to balance the need for consistency and flexibility.

By Style/Instance settings are established by the style and cannot be changed from the settings dialog box.

To edit the object style, see Editing plug-in object styles; editing the style modifies all plug-in objects in the file that use the style.

Preview

The right pane of the dialog box displays a preview of the railing in the selected View and Render mode, along the distance specified in Length of Preview

Draw Handrail/Guardrail

Select whether to draw the guardrail or handrail only, or both

Draw frame and infill

For guardrails, draws the frame and infill sections between the posts; deselect the option for a simplified view during the design phase

Draw 3D

Displays the railing in 3D views. Hide the railing in 3D, or display it with full detail. A large set of railings drawn in 3D can impact performance.

Offset Railing from Path

Enter the distance to offset the railing object (handrail and guardrail) from the drawn path. To switch the offset to the other side of the path, click Flip Offset from the Object Info palette

Handrail Offset

Specifies the distance to offset the handrail from the railing object

Handrail Height

Enter the height of the handrail

Top Rail Profile

Opens the Resource Selector to select a top rail profile

Top Rail Width/ Top Rail Depth

Enter the dimensions of the top rail

Use bracket

Adds brackets to support the handrail

Bracket Shape

Opens the Resource Selector to select a bracket profile

Bracket Profile Width/ Bracket Profile Depth/ Bracket Height

Enter the bracket profile dimensions and the height of the bracket from the centerline of the handrail top rail

Spacing Type

Select how to space the brackets.

If there's a guardrail, the number and spacing of brackets is controlled by the guardrail post settings.

Start Termination/ End Termination

Select a horizontal or extended type of termination, or no termination

Start Extension/

End Extension

Enter the extension length

Start Return Offset/

End Return Offset

(Return extensions)

Enter the offset distance from the start/end of the top rail

Start Self-Return Height/ End Self-Return Height

(Return to Self extensions)

For self return terminations, enter the height of the self return

Guardrail Offset

Specify the distance to offset the top of the guardrail from the railing object

Guardrail Height

Enter the height of the guardrail

Use top rail

Adds a top rail to the guardrail

Top Rail Profile

Opens the Resource Selector to select a top rail profile

Post Type

Select the type of guardrail post

Inset

(Fascia Post)

Enter the inset distance for the fascia

Bottom Inset

(Fascia Post)

Enter the bottom inset distance for the fascia post

Post Shape

Opens the Resource Selector to select a post profile

Infill Type

Select an infill made of bars (vertical and/or horizontal bars) or a panel type of infill

Offset Infill

Specify the distance to offset the infill bars or the infill panel relative to the frame; because the distance is relative to the frame, if the frame offset changes, the infill moves along with it. Setting an offset for the infill is useful for aligning the infill to be flush with the frame on the left or right side.

Support at corners

Adds supports for infill frames or panels at railing corners

Use double supports

Adds supports for each side of the corner; enter the distance for each support from the corner in Distance from Corners

Corner Angle Alignment

Specify how to align the corner post with the railing.

Align to Previous Edge: Aligns to the railing segment that comes before the corner

Align to Following Edge: Aligns to the railing segment that comes after the corner

Align to Corner Bisector: Aligns to an angle that divides the two segments

Use infill at corners

Extends the infill to the corners of the railing

Attributes

Lists all geometry that has graphic attributes settings. The class and graphic attributes of each part of the object are displayed.

Double-click a line in the list browser, to set attributes for the part, and do any of the following:

To control appearance and visibility, select a class from the list of classes present in the drawing, or create a new class. Select <Railing Class> to place the part in the same class as the railing object.

To specify a material for a 3D part, select one from the Resource Selector; the material provides the fill and texture, though the texture can be overridden. 

Set the attributes; see The Attributes palette.

To specify a texture for a 3D part, select a texture from the Resource Selector, or click one of the buttons to use no texture, to use the class texture, or if the material's texture was previously overridden, to revert to the material's texture. Set the map type and rotation as needed; see Concept: Texture projection and orientation.

For textures on a 3D part, select Randomize offsets to apply a random horizontal/vertical offset to each instance of a subpart, resulting in a natural, random texture appearance.

For textures on a 3D part, select Follow longest edge to orient the texture along the longest edge of the part. This can prevent the texture on a post or rail from being flipped in a wrong direction that doesn't match the post orientation.