Global functions – available in all versions

Different types of auxiliary lines and input options are provided for 2D plan views and 2D views/sectional views.
There is a difference between a straight line and a straight length. Straight lines are ‘infinite’, while a straight length has a start and an end point. You will notice this immediately due to the different input options.
All types of auxiliary lines can be turned off in any view using the visibility option for construction aids.

The color properties and style properties can be set for all types of auxiliary lines. These properties can be modified later, and can also be specified when the auxiliary lines are created in the property dialog which is activated via the context menu opened with a right mouse click. The advantage of doing so, while the auxiliary lines are created, is that they have the right properties automatically, and do not have to be modified later.

The program allows you to create any complex scaled floor plans. Grids, auxiliary lines, and options for numerical input are provided for input purposes.
Additionally, there is a context menu providing construction aids in order to capture data. They are particularly helpful for constructing with the help of a midpoint, an intersection point, a point at a distance of, a perpendicular, a parallel point, and a point in line or coordinates.

The construction aids are available for all inputs, for example for inserting walls, windows and doors, and they allow you to quickly create a floor plan.

When entering walls, you can choose between the following wall types.

• External wall
• Supporting wall (interior)
• Non-supporting wall (interior)
• Lightweight wall
• Partition wall
• Room boundary

For each wall type, a standard is defined, which contains the wall thickness, the material, the line type, the filling pattern and the layer structure. These parameters can be changed at any time individually by changing the ‘Walls’ properties for individual walls.

For each floor of the building the software automatically creates a ceiling over the first exterior contour of connected rooms.

In some cases automatic ceilings are not necessary or desirable. Therefore, they can be deactivated for one floor in the properties dialog of the particular floor. Additionally, the creation of an automatic ceiling can be turned off when a floor is copied.

In addition to automatic ceilings, ceiling slabs can also be inserted using a rectangle or polygon.

As with all construction elements, structural layers can also be defined for ceilings.

Chimneys start on the floor in which they are put in and extend upwards through all upper floors and the roof.

The option to change the height later either define an absolute height in relation to the floor where the chimney is located, or a relative height above the highest ridge of the roof defined for the current building. You can also define the absolute height for a chimney.

Under structure you can specify the number and the dimensions of vents, as well as an option for ventilation.

By default, the 2D display of the chimney in 2D top views depends on the shape of its 3D model. Other displays can be allocated using 2D symbols from the catalog. A display using a symbol is automatically scaled to match the absolute dimensions of the chimney.

Putting in beams above or below a ceiling is like putting in walls, i.e. they join up and can be put in as a polygon or individually between two points.
Beams below a ceiling are automatically placed underneath the ceiling; beams are placed on the ceiling structure and thus also modify the floor of the room.

Apart from the width and height of the beams you can specify the line type for display, the material for the upper, lower and exterior surfaces, and structural layers.

Supports can have a round or rectangular profile. Both forms can be positioned freely with a single mouse click. The dimensions of the support, the representation of its outline and the building material and its characteristics can be specified in the ‘Properties’ dialog. By default, supports automatically assume the height of the floor of the building and the level of the layer in which they are put in.

The dormer function allows you to put in various dormer types in existing roofs.

Possible dormer types are gable dormers, swept dormers, hipped dormers, triangular dormers, trapezoidal dormers, arched dormers, and eyebrow dormers.

Dormers and their walls and framing are fully integrated into the roof.

The dormer walls and roof are automatically created when the dormer is defined. Modifications to the timber construction of the roof are subsequently taken into consideration. The rafters are removed in the area of the roof where the dormer is inserted, and the rafters for the dormer roof are also constructed.

If necessary, you can of course modify and amend the dormer via various settings parameters later.

The software provides an extensive selection of roof windows of different types and styles (an extract is shown in the illustration on the right). Of course, roof windows from the manufacturer velux ® are represented as well.

You can add in roof windows in 2D and in 3D views. In the process the roof window turns automatically in the direction of the roof side where the window is located, displayed transparently and thus allowing the view to the underlying rooms and timber constructions.

When roof windows are inserted, matching openings in the timber construction are created automatically. The dimensions of the timber for the openings are identical to the dimensions of the rafters specified in the ‘Roof’ dialog.

Roof windows can be positioned freely within a roof area using the mouse. The calculated position of the roof window can be numerically adjusted with regard to the sill height and the opening height, in the properties dialog for the roof window.

The labeling of the created rooms may contain the following automatically determined values in addition to the room name:

• Net floor area according to DIN277
• Living space according to WoFlV
• Floor area
• Volume
• Floor outline

The software provides a range of predefined landscape forms such as hills, declines, plateaus, ridges, gutters and slopes to allow you to shape the terrain. Suitable dialogs are provided for putting in the various terrains.

Other landscape features can be incorporated as well. The available features here are flower beds, paths, terraces and waters. Here you are supported by adjusted input dialogs – thus, paths can be put in polygonally or in the shape of splines. Landscape features automatically adjust to the contour of the terrain and the terrains defined.

Using this function, satellite images, aerial photographs and in fact any image can be customized to match the terrain with just a single mouse-click.

For instance, you can save detailed satellite views of your property from the internet and then simply drag them onto the terrain. The image can then be tailored to match the property using the properties dialog for the environment.

Tip: Particularly suitable as background images are, for example, a street view or a 3D view (Earth view) of the area.

The surface editor can be used to create 3D surfaces on various planes.

Once a plane or surface area (e.g. wall, roof, surface area of an item of furniture) has been selected, a parallel surface area can be created in the shape of a polygon, a rectangle or a parallel plane.

In the subsequent dialog for the surface created you can specify the thickness of the surface and the distance from the selected plane.

Whenever a surface area is defined, first of all openings such as windows, doors or wall recesses included in or under the surface are detected and shown in the dialog.

Examples for the use of the surface editor are

• Façade cladding
• Wall tiles for kitchens and bathrooms
• Window surrounds
• Terraces and other features for exterior design
• Work tops
• Additional roof elements
• And many more

There are four ways of measuring:

– Measurement between 2 points (distance)
– Perpendicular measurement according to the selection of the reference component e.g. the wall side
– Measurement of a polygon
– Measurement of angles

During input, the current values such as angle and distance are continuously updated at the measurement line. A left mouse click terminates the measurement process and the result is shown in the plan, until another measurement is performed, or the measurement function is terminated with ESC or via the context menu.

The software differentiates between single, multiple and height dimensions (for sectional views and other views).

The settings for a dimension, regarding type, style and text can be modified for an existing dimension, or during input for all following in the properties dialog for ‘Dimensions’.

As a default, the display of dimensions according to DIN 1356 is active. In a rather simplified way, the dimensions are then created as follows:

– Measurements greater than 1 meter are shown in meters with 2 factional digits. Values that follow in cm which must be rounded to 5 are denoted by a 5 in superscript.
– Measurements less than 1 meter are shown in cm. Values that follow in mm which must be rounded to 5 are denoted by a 5 in superscript.

The function ‘Copy Properties’ is provided to change the settings for several or all dimensions later.

The 3D dimension types are available in all 3D previews shown in dialogs. However, here they serve more than a measuring device, since the dimensions are lost when the preview or the dialog is closed.

In order to make the 3D visualization as realistically as possible, you can set a photo of the real estate environment as a background in the project.

In the 3D view, you can then “turn the 3D model into the image” and so you have a first virtual view of your new home in the real world.

Ray tracing (light and shadow rendering) in 3D views is an important feature of cadvilla. Ray tracing takes into account all visible elements and objects in the scene and their current settings.

The available settings for ray tracing have a considerable effect on the quality of the representation. These settings include anti-aliasing, smooth shadows and ambient shadows, the intensity which you can specify before ray tracing is activated.

The software provides various types of 3D auxiliary lines to support the input in 3D views:

• Guidelines parallel to x-, y- and z-axis
• Free guideline and edge guidelines
• Guideline parallel in-plane
• Numeric parallel guideline in-plane
• Free guideline (2 points) in-plane
• Perpendicular guideline in-plane
• Guideline horizontal and vertical in-plane

When creating 3D auxiliary lines, the current position is shown by a 3D cursor, which snaps to surfaces, edges and corners. In order to help create auxiliary lines relative to axes, and for all straight auxiliary lines, the line itself is displayed directly.

This feature allows you to enter your own text in views, or to load and format text files. Furthermore, you can specify an angle for the complete text block.

The autotext feature provides placeholders for values which change from one project to another such as project name, name of planner, etc. The autotext placeholders provided consist of the properties of the views such as name and scale and the project properties, for instance names, addresses and remarks for the planned building, the planner and the client.

Using the autotext feature and the save text function, you can create text blocks for the use in future projects without having to change project related values manually. Using 2D symbols and the standard graphic functions, other applications, such as titles and legends are also possible.

Item text can be used to label elements (for example, windows, 3D objects and walls) by positioning a text with a line connecting it to the selected element. If several elements overlap, a particular element can be selected over the context menu.

All properties of an item text such as the content and style of the text can be changed, if necessary, in the dialog which is activated by double-clicking on the item text or via the context menu available for a selected item text.

With the help of these functions you can add additional details such as lines, polygons, rectangles, circles and ellipses to 2D views, i.e. top views, sectional views, views and parallel perspectives.

This enables you to add planning details to your drawings for the specification of for example sanitation and electrical installation.

The elements used in the 2D graphic editor, i.e. lines, polygons, rectangles, circles and ellipses, have various properties for display which can be defined in the corresponding dialogs and which include the thickness of lines and borders as well as properties for edges and fill patterns.

The new function “3D raster elements” in the section “Surface planner” serves the purpose of covering surfaces (e.g. walls, floors) that should be covered with 3D elements in an evenly distributed manner as rows and columns.

Typical application areas for the function “3D raster elements” are for example facade claddings, mirror tiles, representation of floor plates in the outdoor area, wood panels, thermal insulation and many more. With just a few mouse-clicks individual walls up to entire building facades are veneered with 3D surfaces, or its terrace surface are covered with timber floor boards.

Openings in walls (e.g. window and door openings) are considered and can automatically be left out. The remaining surfaces arising from this are automatically added by partial surfaces from the 3D elements.

Profiles for the installation of the 3D elements can be created additionally and can automatically be inserted between the rows and columns. The cross-section of the profiles is selected from a pre-defined catalog or can be created on your own as well.

The created 3D surfaces can be provided individually with different textures and materials, but also in separate columns or rows.

Each included 3D element can be further divided into sub-surfaces with different dimensions and can manage its own materials.
After selecting a placing area in the 3D area of the 3D raster elements, you will receive a parts list of the placed 3D elements with the respective measurements. Identical 3D elements are added up in terms of their number and are summarized.

This function is particularly useful for adding light sources to existing and new objects.

The software differentiates between the following:

• Ambient light sources
• Directional light sources
• Spot lighting
• Punctual lighting.

Ambient light sources illuminate all areas of a scene equally and therefore increase the overall brightness. However, they do not create shadows.

Directional light sources illuminate a scene from only one direction and are ‘internally’ infinitely distant from the location of the observer/building. The sun is an example of a directional light source.

Punctual light sources have a defined position within a given object and are therefore the closest display of real lamps for interior decoration. The scene is illuminated in all directions around the light source.

As with punctual light sources, spots have a specific position within the given object and therefore also represent real lamps. However, in this case the light does not emanate in all directions as it is the case with a punctual light source, but instead in a light cone with a beam angle and aperture angle.