topic Re: Graphic Override for Beams in Documentation

Graphic Override for Beams

VivSta — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 09:28:26 GMT

Hello! I am working on ceiling plans and trying to use a GO (grey fill) for the ceiling beams. I noticed that the GO I created only works with the beam that is set in an elevation below the cut plane and not the one above that. I played with changing the home story, however that doesn't make any change. Any ideas how to make the GO apply to the second beam displayed on my attached screenshot? Thanks in advance!

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

Lingwisyer — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 02:52:43 GMT

Are the beams above set to display without a Cover Fill?

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

Mahmoud Qenawi — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 03:18:07 GMT

Hi @VivSta,

If i can ask you:

If this is an Arch. Ceiling plan for Ground floor so the 1st beam is placed correctly and belonging to the 1st floor structural slab @ level +4.45, but the 2nd beam doesn't belong neither to this floor nor to this ceiling, am i wrong?

But if this is an Arch. Ceiling plan for First floor then

the 1sr beam doesn't belong and the 2nd one is not linked to the right home story as it should be linked to First floor not Roof floor and to change that keep the value for (To project 0) and change the home story to First floor that will affect the value for current story to be 3.60 to the top of the beam.

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

VivSta — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 06:52:16 GMT

Both beams are set to dispaly with a cover fill.

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

Barry Kelly — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 07:18:37 GMT

Cover fills only apply to beams that are below your Floor Plan Cut Plane height.

If the beam is above the FPCP then you can only override the line style and colours of the beam.

Barry.

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

VivSta — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 07:36:06 GMT

Hi @Mahmoud Qenawi ,

This is an arch.ceiling plan for the first floor. The first beam is modeled at the floor level of the first floor and the ceiling beam is modeled at the ceiling level of the first floor. I tried relinking the 2nd beam's home story from the roof to the first floor, but that didn't change anything. Unfortunately, I think Barry's response below is correct: I cannot add a cover fill to the 2nd beam because the floor plan cut plane is below it.

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

Lingwisyer — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 07:53:05 GMT

The FPCP is saved with your View, so you could raise it for your beam setouts.

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

VivSta — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 08:30:23 GMT

Hi @Lingwisyer ,

If I raise the FPCP then I won't be able to cut through the walls. Please, check the attached img.

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

VivSta — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 08:31:08 GMT

Hi @Barry Kelly ,

I think you are correct. I tried lowering the 2nd beam 1m below and the cover fill appeared fine. To my understanding, ceiling plans are tricky, essentially because they are still floor plans with different settings and layer combinations, to make it seem like you are cutting the building and looking towards the ceiling. To your knowledge, is there any possible workaround to make the beam above the FPCP appear with a cover fill?

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

Barry Kelly — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 09:30:53 GMT

The only way I know of to force a cover fill regardless of the height of the beam is to set the floor plan display to 'Outlines Only'.

This forces it to display as if it is below the FPCP but will affect all views where you can see that beam.

With a ceiling plan, you are not looking up at the ceiling, you are still looking down at it.

But as you have discovered, if you sett the FPCP to be above the ceiling, (beams) you may not see the walls as you want.

To get around this you can do a 'Reflected Ceiling Plan'.

Create a 3D Document from the floor plan and in the 3D Document settings, you can make it a reflected ceiling plan.

Then adjust the 'Show up to' height to the storey above and this should include those beams above the FPCP and below the storey above.

Barry.

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

Mahmoud Qenawi — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 14:39:58 GMT

In addition to what @Barry Kelly & @Lingwisyer suggested you may try to create a new storey for ceiling level and set walls to be shown in All relevant Floors and beams to be shown in home storey and one storey down as they are linked to Roof floor as home storey,

the last thing to adjust FPCP to show above ceiling till down the roof slab as @Barry Kelly clarified before & as the attached ScreenShots.

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

Lingwisyer — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 01:39:05 GMT

If you do not need to default hidden overhead display for the beam, you could set it to Outlines Only. It will basically ignore your FPCP then and retain it's cover fill.

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

Niranjan Das Sharma — Sun, 18 May 2025 06:19:16 GMT

Is that applicable to slabs aswell? I am trying to do a fill on a slab above cut plane and is not showing up.

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

Barry Kelly — Sun, 18 May 2025 06:35:07 GMT

For me a slab with a cover fill shows the fill no matter what the height is.

Barry.

Re: Graphic Override for Beams

jl_lt — Mon, 19 May 2025 16:31:50 GMT

another possible solution would be to divide your plan in 2 different parts with different settings via cloned folders: one where the walls (and the rest of the elements) appear as you want them, and another where the beams appear as you want them (but not the walls). Then, you can stitch/overlap the views together in the layout. its a little bit more work, but this way you can control the settings independently. You can overlap different levels using this (where the beams appear correctly), or you might need to do special GO and layer combinations for the beams for it to work.

best of lucks!