How to define the height of a building?

    Introduction

    Using Pro mode gives you more control over defining the building's height. Here's how you can do it:

    • Select a node, edge, or roof shape and drag it up or down. This method preserves the roof's continuity, affecting all connected nodes and edges according to common roof geometries.
    • Use the yellow circle/arrow on the roof shape to set its inclination and direction. This method should only be used for buildings with just one roof surface, like a shed roof, because it is easy to break the continuity of roofs with more than one roof surface.
      For buildings with multiple roof surfaces, we recommend extruding the roof by changing the height of the inner edge that represents the ridge of the roof.

    This article will explore how to change the height by dragging nodes, edges, and shapes.

    Important Points

    • Changing the height of a node or an edge will automatically adjust the connected nodes or edges. This helps you extrude other main parts of the roof according to common roof geometries.
    • When changing the height of the building by dragging nodes or edges, be careful not to accidentally move the yellow arrows. This can lead to unwanted results. If this happens, use the Undo function to return to the previous state.

    Basics

    After drawing the roof of the building, the next step is to define its height. Here are some key points to understand before you start:

    • Initial Height:
      • The whole roof starts at a height of 3000 mm.
    • Nodes and Sub-Nodes:
      • The roof consists of nodes, edges, and sub-nodes.
      • Sub-nodes are children nodes of existing nodes and indicate the height of specific sections of the roof. If a node is shared between three roof surfaces, it will have three sub-nodes, each indicating the height of its respective roof surface.
    • Selection:
      • The edge and shape selection in the Height Tool works differently compared to other tools. When you select a shape or an edge, you are actually selecting their nodes.
    • Color Indicators:
      • When the roof is not flat, its nodes and sub-nodes may be different colors. This indicates that they are at different heights. You can see their heights in the toolbar.
    • Defining Exact Heights:
      • If you know the exact height of a part of the roof, you can select an edge or node and set the height value in the toolbar.
    • Equalizing Heights:
      • To bring multiple nodes, edges, or shapes to the same height, select them and click the “Equalize all heights to …” button in the toolbar.
      • This is useful for ensuring that an edge is parallel to the ground. Simply select the edge and click the “Equalize all heights to …” button.

    Precisely Defining Heights

    Changing the Height of Inner Edges

    For most roofs, raising the ridge of a roof will automatically extrude the main part of the roof and is therefore an essential step in modeling a roof.

    To change the height of inner edges (ridge) while keeping them parallel to the ground:

    1. Select an inner edge that needs to stay parallel. Usually the main ridge of the roof.

    2. Click and hold while dragging it up to increase its height.

    Changing one node or edge will automatically adjust connected nodes or edges to help you extrude the other main parts of the roof according to the most common roof geometries.

    Important: It is essential to take advantage of our help lines to draw a symmetrical outline of the roof. Because if the outline of the roof is not symmetrical, the resulting roof will also not be symmetrical either!
    The help lines help you to correct distortions of the roof in the map material.


    Changing the Height of Outer Edges

    To change the height of outer edges and set inclination:
    1. Select an outer node or edge of the roof.
    2. Click and hold while dragging up or down to adjust the height.

    For complex roofs, this action can affect other edges to maintain the shape in 3D space.

    Changing the Height of the Whole Building

    To change the height of the entire building while keeping it flat:

    1. Select the roof or roofs you want to adjust (for multiple roofs - activated Select & move or hold SHIFT).
    2. Click and hold while dragging up or down to change the height.

    Important: If a building has multiple roofs, selecting and changing the height of one roof will not keep the whole building flat and increase the height. In most cases, you should not change the height of individual roof shapes. This can only be an important step in drawing specific types of dormers.

    Video

    Published