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Placing Doors and Windows

Play VideoClassroom Design Project Training Video: Placing Doors

Play VideoClassroom Design Project Training Video: Placing Windows

We're making progress on our house, but we can't get into it, and neither can light. Now is a good time to add some doors and windows. For more information about doors and windows, see "Doors" and "Windows".

To add a door
  1. If your views are still tiled, maximize the floor plan view.
  2. Select Build> Door> Hinged Door .
  3. Move the pointer to the entry and click (left of center) to place a door.
To add a window
  1. Select Build> Window> Window .
  2. Move the pointer to the entry and click (right of center) to place a window.



To create a camera view
  1. Select 3D> Create Render View> Render Full Camera (or press Shift + J).
  2. Click the Fill Window button to fill the window around the terrain perimeter.
  3. Click at the bottom of the floor plan view window and drag a line that stops at the door. The point where you click (A) defines the point of perspective and the line (B) defines the direction of perspective.



  4. Release the mouse button to create the 3D camera view. Where the mouse is released (C) is the point about which the camera rotates.



  5. If necessary, you can use Mouse-Orbit Camera tool to change the camera's perspective. See "Move Camera with Mouse Tools" for more information.
To edit the door
  1. Click on the door with the pointer when the Select Objects tool is active to select the door in 3D view.



  2. Click the Open Object edit button to open the Door Specification dialog. For more information, see "Door Specification Dialog".
  3. On the General tab, set the Door Style to Glass.
  4. On the Frame & Trim tab, set the Frame Bottom to 8 inches.
  5. On the Lites tab, set the Lites across to 3 and Lites vertical to 4.
  6. Click OK to return to the 3D view.



To edit the window
  1. Select the window.



  2. Click the Open Object edit button to open the Window Specification dialog. For more information, see "Window Specification Dialog".
  3. On the General tab, select "Left-Sliding" from the Window Type drop-down list and set the Width to 36.
  4. On the Lites tab, change the Lites across to 2 and Lites vertical to 3.
  5. Click OK to close the Window Specification dialog.



To change the door swing
  1. Return to floor plan view and select the door.
  2. Click the Change Opening/Hinge Side edit button.



To copy a window/door
  1. Return to the 3D view and select the window.
  2. Click the Copy/Paste edit button. For more information about copying objects, see "Copying and Pasting Objects".
  3. Click on the wall to the left of the entrance to paste the window.



Doors and windows can be placed, selected, deleted, copied, pasted, and edited in 2D and 3D views. If there is a window design that you will be using throughout a plan, you can create it once, then just copy and paste it. It might make more sense to set the door and window defaults to the proper settings before placing these objects. For more information, see "Default Settings".

To create a doorway
  1. Return to floor plan view and Zoom in on the dining room.



  2. Select Build> Door> Doorway and click on the dining room wall nearest the entrance to place a doorway.
  3. Select 3D> Create Render View> Render Full Camera and create an interior camera view of the doorway.



To customize the doorway
  1. Select the doorway (by clicking on it's frame) and click the Open Object edit button to open the Door Specification dialog.
  2. On the General tab, change the Width to 80 inches.
  3. On the Frame & Trim tab, change the casing Width to 10 inches.
  4. On the Arch tab, click the Type drop-down and specify a broken arch from the list. Set the Height of the broken arch to 12 inches.
  5. On the Moldings tab, click the Library button below casing and select a molding profile from the Door & Window Casings library.
  6. Click OK to close the Door Specification dialog.
To center the doorway
  1. Return to floor plan view and select the doorway.



  2. Click the Center Object edit button, then click on the interior wall that contains the doorway.
  3. Return to the camera view to see the results.



Use the tools and techniques you've learned to add window and doors to the rest of the plan, as shown in the following images. Doors placed in interior walls become interior doors. If you feel inspired, customize the doors and windows as you see fit (see "Windows" and "Doors").

We've added quite a lot to our model. Let's see how it all looks. Before we do that, let's make sure everything will be displayed in our camera view. Some objects (such as floor beams) are not displayed by default. Instead of just turning on that layer, let's turn everything on then take a final look.

To turn on everything for display
  1. Select Tools> Display Settings> Display Options (or press the ~ key) to open the Layer Display Options dialog.
  2. Click the Available Layer Sets drop down and select Camera View Set. For more information, see "Layer Sets".
  3. Click the Select All button (at bottom left) to select all layers. In the Properties for multiple layers section of the dialog check Display so that all columns are checked for display. Click OK.
To take a final look
  1. Using the Render Full Camera tool, create an interior camera view that will allow an unobstructed 360 degree view of the first floor of the model. Remember that where you click determines the camera's perspective and where you release determines the point about which the camera will rotate. Therefore a short drag distance is ideal, however, the distance must be greater than one foot.



  2. Release the mouse button to create the 3D camera view then use the Mouse-Orbit Camera tool to take a look around and see our progress so far.



  3. Now take a Render Floor Overview of the model.



  4. When you have finished, Save your work.

Chief Architect
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