Creating and Customizing Interior Elevations with Envisioneer

Creating and Customizing Interior Elevations: A Comprehensive Guide

The creation and customization of interior elevations with Envisioneer greatly contribute to the overall visualization and comprehension of a building model. Depending on the audience, there might be different types of views you need to create. This guide will walk you through creating two different types of interior elevations using a sample condo unit model, focusing particularly on a rendered view of the kitchen cabinets.

Creating an Interior Elevation View

The first step in creating an interior elevation is to create a section view through the area of interest - in this case, the kitchen. Select "View>Sections>Create New Section" or select the Section icon on the toolbar. You will be prompted to pick the first and second points of the section. After you have done this, section markers will appear and you will be prompted to choose the view direction and depth of view. Make sure to include the cabinets and walls in your depth of view. If picked too shallow, you will not see the cabinets, therefore, ensure you pull deeper to capture them in the view.

Once the section view is formed, return to a 2D view by selecting the 2D plan view button. The next step is to insert the section onto a worksheet and tweak it based on the audience and the notes required.

Switching to Worksheet View

To switch to the worksheet view, select the second tab at the bottom of the program in the project file. This will take you directly to the worksheet environment. Here, you can layout views of the model to print.

Inserting Elevation Views

To insert elevation views, select "Insert>Smartviews>Define Smartview" or select the Define Smartview icon on the toolbar. In the Insert View dialog box, select the section tab. The elevation of the kitchen cabinets is the only section at this point. You can further refine the view using the View Filter tool. In the View Filter dialog box, you can turn off the visibility of the Ceilings, Floors, Interior Lighting, and Walls by clicking to shut the eye. Click OK to apply the changes.

The original section view also incorporated a large window. To turn that back on, select the View filter tool again and in the View Filter dialog box, select the plus sign beside walls. Open the eye beside Windows and click OK.

Changing the View Type

Depending on the audience you may want to change the view type. If the view is for presentation to a client, the finish materials can be turned on in the Rendered Outline view. Let us insert both to see the difference, starting with the rendered outline view. Beside the Insert button, the insertion type can only be Image, a raster view, for the rendered views since it is depicting materials, click Insert. A copy of the view attaches to the cursor, it is a picture at that moment, left click to insert it on the sheet.

Select "Insert>Smartviews>Define Smartview" or select the Define Smartview icon again. Back in the Insert View dialog box, again select the section view tab. In the section view tab, to customize the view select the View Filter icon. Turn off the Ceilings, Floors, Interior Lighting and Walls and then click the plus sign beside walls to see the full list of wall elements and turn the window eye back on. Click OK.

Ensure that the Insertion option is set to Drawing, to create a vector image that we can snap to with dimensions. Click Insert. A copy of the elevation attaches to the cursor left click to insert it. With this view, we can add dimensions and text. Using the Zoom Window tool, left click and hold down the left mouse button to draw a box around the elevation to magnify it on my screen.

Adding Dimensions and Text

Select "Tools>Dimensions>Linear Dimension". Left click to start a dimension and then left-click where you want to stop the dimension. Left click again to place the dimension relative to the drawing. Select "Tools>Dimensions>Continuous Dimensions". This tool will do a string of dimensions. Select the existing dimension that you want to work from and then click the next point. It is a continuous command that will do a string of dimensions. When you are done, right click and select Finish.

Select "Tools>Text>Text". The Text dialog box appears.