Column Display

The appearance of a column can be controlled separately in the Floor Plan, 3D View, and Section View. You can define, among other settings, the floor levels on which the column is visible, how it is represented in the Floor Plan, and which hatch and line display settings are used.

Display on Other Floor Levels

By default, a column is displayed on its own floor level.

To display the column on additional floor levels of the building, open the Properties dialog and select the required levels in the On Which Floors Is It Visible? group.

On its own floor level, the column is displayed according to its normal display settings. On the additional selected levels, it is displayed with a gray outline.

Floor Plan Display

In the Floor Plan, the appearance of a column is determined by its profile, Floor Plan display settings, and the applied hatch and line properties.

The Floor Plan outline of the column follows the shape of its cross-sectional profile. When a rectangular, circular, or custom profile is used, the corresponding outline is displayed in the Floor Plan.

The display can be modified in the Column Properties dialog.

Additional 2D and 3D Display Settings

Additional display options are available in the Properties > Other group.

3D Display

The 3D representation of the column can be turned off.

In this case, the column is not displayed in the 3D View, while its 2D Floor Plan representation can remain visible.

This option can be useful when you want to keep the column visible in the Floor Plan for documentation purposes but do not want to display it in the 3D model.

2D Display

The Floor Plan representation of the column can be controlled partly independently of its 3D geometry.

This allows the column to be displayed in a graphical form appropriate for the documentation requirements without modifying its 3D geometry.

2D Display in Printing

The 2D representation of the column can be disabled separately for printing.

In this case, the column can remain visible while editing the drawing, but its 2D Floor Plan representation is not printed.

Setting the Hatch

The Floor Plan hatch of the column can be defined in the Column Properties dialog.

The hatch can be used to graphically distinguish the structure or material of the column from other building elements.

The appearance of the hatch is determined by settings such as its type, scale, direction, and graphical properties.

Display in Section View

In a Section View, the appearance of a column depends on whether the section plane cuts through the column or the column is located behind the section plane.

Columns intersected by the section plane are displayed with a more prominent, thicker outline.

Columns that are not cut but are located within the visible range of the section are displayed according to the standard projection rules of the view.

Section Hatch

The hatch of a cut column is determined by the material assigned as its Body Material.

To modify the section representation:

1. Open the column Properties dialog.
2. Locate the Body Material setting.
3. Open the properties of the assigned material.
4. Click Hatch in Section.
5. Define the required section hatch.

This setting determines the section representation of elements using the specified material.

Note: If multiple columns use the same material, changing the section hatch of that material may affect the appearance of all elements using it.

Displaying Inclined Columns

For an inclined column, the Floor Plan and 3D representations may differ.

The 3D View displays the actual spatial geometry and inclination of the column, while the Floor Plan shows the 2D representation of the column corresponding to the current view.

Therefore, it is recommended to use the 3D View as well when checking the inclination and spatial position of the column.

Displaying Profile Dimensions

The cross-sectional dimensions of a column can also be displayed directly in the Floor Plan.

To display profile dimensions:

1. Right-click the column.
2. From the context menu, select Profile Dimensions > Display Profile Dimensions.

The profile dimensions are displayed next to the column as freely formattable text.

The displayed field is dynamically linked to the column. If the column profile or cross-sectional dimensions change, the displayed values are updated automatically.

Note: Display Profile Dimensions is a global setting. Enabling it applies to all elements that support the display of profile dimensions.