When using ArchiCAD’s Internal 3D engine, three 3D viewing modes are offered: Wireframe, Hidden Line, and Shading. They can be chosen from the View > 3D View Mode > 3D Window Settings dialog box or using the commands of the View > 3D View Mode menu.
Note: When using the OpenGL engine, only the Wireframe and Shading modes are available.
The icons of the 3D Modes are also accessible if you display the predefined Window > Toolbars > Simple 3D toolbar.
Choosing Wireframe mode creates a view showing all the edges and lines of your Project. Note that if you have many elements one behind the other, this type of view can be hard to interpret.
In Hidden Line mode, those lines which are blocked from view by solid objects are removed. This type of view is the best choice for easy interpretation, if you do not want a shaded view. It is also suitable for hard copy output on a printer. Hidden Lines can be saved in many file formats, either as 2D or 3D files.
Choosing the Shading method causes your 3D model to appear with all of its visible surfaces shaded according to the light direction set in the 3D Projection Settings dialog box.
The colors of the surfaces are determined by the material attributes of the construction elements (regardless of the color of light set in the Sun dialog box).