Do you want to copy entire floors in your 3D floor plan quickly and efficiently? With cadvilla, you can easily duplicate levels and specifically choose which elements to transfer. This step-by-step guide shows you how to copy a floor and select detailed content like walls, windows, or furniture. Save valuable time during your architectural planning by mastering this essential feature.

Copying floors is the most efficient way to plan multi-story buildings. The process is controlled centrally via the project manager.

1. Copy floor

[00:54] To create a new floor based on an existing one, use the tree structure in the project manager (usually on the right edge of the screen).

• Select the building in the tree structure of the project manager that contains the floor to be copied.
• Make a right mouse click.
• Click on the New floor above or New floor below button (relative to the currently red-marked floor).

2. Define basic settings

[01:08] The “New floor above/below” dialog opens. Here you define the structural framework conditions:

• Name: Give the floor a name (e.g., “1st Floor”).
• Rough height: Define the structural height. The clear height and the floor height are calculated automatically via the additional settings of the structure heights.
• Structure heights: Determine the thickness of the floor construction and the raw ceiling. The value for the wall cladding is important for the living space calculation and usually corresponds to the width of a baseboard.
• Note: All these values can also be adjusted later at any time in the floor properties, but in this case, it may happen that some elements have to be updated manually. This applies, for example, to floor constructions, since already generated floors have the original setting. The construction height for floors only affects NEWLY generated floors. Already generated, existing floors are no longer changed.

3. Transfer content in detail

[01:44] The most important step takes place in the Transfer tab. Here you determine exactly which elements from the source floor (e.g., Ground floor) should be copied to the new floor.

• Source: Select the floor that serves as the copy template.
• Object selection: Using a detailed list (similar to the visibilities), you can specify what is transferred:
  • Walls, windows, doors
  • Furniture and 3D objects
  • Guidelines, grids, and dimensions
  • Texts and 2D symbols
  • and much more.

After confirming with OK, the new floor is created including all selected content and can be edited immediately.

4. Post-processing of the copied floor

After the floor has been copied, the video shows how the floor plan is efficiently cleaned up and adapted to the new situation.

[02:40] Delete unneeded elements: Select all elements no longer needed in the new floor (e.g., interior walls, furniture) and remove them by pressing the DEL key.

4.1. Optimize view

[04:10] To be able to work more precisely, first adjust the visual aids:

• Turn off grid: Deactivate the grid to get a clearer view of the construction lines and to be able to snap better.
• Deactivate line widths: Turn off the display of line thicknesses. This makes all lines appear wafer-thin, which makes the exact snapping of points and edges significantly easier.

4.2. Adjust walls (Trim)

[04:30] Copying can result in walls that overlap or are too long.

• Function: Use Edit > Edit walls > Trim wall (or shortcut B).
• Application: Click one after the other on the two wall parts that should form a corner. Overhangs are automatically removed and the corner is closed cleanly.
  1. Click the first wall that is to be extended/shortened to the axis of the second wall.
  2. Select the second wall that is to be extended/shortened to the axis of the first wall.

4.3. Auxiliary construction for new walls

[05:18] To position new interior walls exactly (e.g., for the staircase), use guidelines.

• Function: Select 2D Layout > 2D guidelines > Guideline > Numeric parallel guideline (Shortcut P).
• Application:
  1. Click on the reference edge (e.g., an external wall).
  2. Indicate the direction (mouse movement).
  3. Enter the desired distance and confirm with OK.

4.4. Draw new interior walls

[06:26] Now add the missing interior walls.

• Input: Use, for example, the Between two points wall function.
• Properties: Before drawing, set the wall thickness (e.g., 24 cm) and the height, or adjust them later.

4.5. Transfer properties (using a stair parapet as an example)

[07:58] Save time by transferring properties from already correct walls (e.g., layer construction, height) to new walls.

• Function: Use the Transfer properties tool.
• Process:
  1. Select the source wall (whose properties you want to copy).
  2. Press the right mouse button and select Transfer properties.
  3. Select the properties to be transferred and click Next.
  4. Select Manual object selection.
  5. Select all target walls that should adopt the properties.
  6. Press the ENTER key and then Finish.
• Result: The target walls immediately adopt the layer construction and the height of the source wall.

4.6. Adjust / add doors and windows

• [09:07] Place doors: Place new doors and adjust hinges and opening directions.
• [11:24] Exact positioning: Use Move with reference point (Shortcut R) or Point at a distance of (Shortcut A) to push elements to their final position with millimeter precision.
• [14:00] Transfer window properties: Transfer properties from existing windows to newly positioned standard windows using manual object selection.
• [19:25] Copy door radii: Copy manually created door radii (via the drawing functions under 2D Layout) and position them on the corresponding windows to identify them as French doors (balcony doors).

4.7. Insert stairs as a 2D symbol in the floor above

• [20:40] Save the existing stairs in the 2D view as a 2D symbol and then insert it in the floor above at the same position to display the flight of stairs.

4.8. Transfer texts for room labeling and sill heights

• [24:37] Room labeling: Set the labeling for a room as desired and transfer this setting to all other rooms on the active layer.
• [26:30] Sill heights: Transfer the font style of the displayed sill height to all other sill height texts on the active layer.