Editing wall attributes
The wall attributes of an unstyled wall are initially set to the parameters displayed in the Attributes palette (see The Attributes palette). The opacity and drop shadow attributes are always set from the Attributes palette. If fill and pen are changed in the Wall Attributes dialog box, the Attributes palette reflects the changed attributes of the selected wall (after exiting the Wall Preferences dialog box).
Fill and pen attributes can be set by class rather than by the attributes in the Wall Attributes dialog box. If the wall class is changed later, the wall changes to use the attributes of the new class. Wall fill and pen attributes cannot be overridden on a per-instance basis; if a wall style uses class attributes, all walls of that style must use class attributes. However, walls of the same wall style can be placed in different classes.
To edit wall attributes:
From the Definition tab of the Wall Preferences dialog box, click Edit Wall Attributes to open the Wall Attributes dialog box.
Click to show/hide the parameters.Click to show/hide the parameters.
Parameter |
Description |
Fill (standard walls only) |
Specify the wall fill attributes. Select a fill style, or select Class Style to set the fill attributes by class. Depending on the Style selected, select a color, pattern, or resource (hatch, image, gradient, tile) for the wall. |
Pen |
Specify the wall pen attributes. Select a pen style, or Class Style to set pen attributes by class. Depending on the Style selected, select a color, pattern, or line type resource for the wall. |
Thickness |
Select the line thickness; to use a custom thickness, select Set Thickness from the line thickness list (see Line thickness attributes) |
Make All Attributes by Class |
Sets all fill and pen attributes by class. Wall caps attributes are not affected. |
Remove by Class Settings |
Removes all by class settings for fill and pen attributes. Wall caps attributes are not affected. |
Attributes Below Cut Plane |
To control appearance and visibility of the wall attributes when the wall uses the design layer cut plane, select a class from the list of classes present in the drawing, or create a new class. Select <Object Class> to use the wall’s class. See Setting design layer properties and Wall display with design layer cut plane. The Pen settings determine the appearance of the cut plane contour. |
Add profile line |
Draws a profile line around the wall parts that intersect the cut plane in medium and high detail levels |
Wall display with design layer cut plane
The wall can be set to use the design layer's cut plane; see Setting design layer properties and Editing wall attributes. Symbols and plug-in objects can be set to use the wall's cut plane, ensuring a consistent appearance across the layer.
When the design layer cut plane is used, the following rules apply:
Walls are drawn only to the extents intersected by the layer cut plane. The contour at the cut plane is drawn as an outline only, using the Pen attribute, emphasizing the cut plane while still allowing the components to be seen.
Low walls (with tops below the cut plane) and wall features below the cut plane are drawn with the Below Attributes Class selected from the Attributes Below Cut Plane list in the Wall Attributes dialog box, or by the extents attributes set for below the cut plane for wall features.
Walls seen from above are always drawn with caps and do not show the divisions between components.
Wall breaks (joins) are drawn only when both walls in the join area intersect the cut plane.
By default, windows, doors, and assemblies inserted into a wall are drawn normally when they pass through the cut plane, and with a simplified, non-breaking appearance when the the Clearstory option is selected. However, the attributes and visibilities can be customized for display above, at, and below the cut plane; see Window settings, Door settings, and Door and window assembly settings.
Objects inserted into the wall that are at the cut plane are shown drawn in the wall. Objects that are inserted below the cut plane, but that do not intersect the cut plane, are drawn with dashed lines.