Creating Spaces with the Space Tool

Spaces are path objects that have the characteristics of a building space or room, which include information such as the space name, number, finish information, and height,. By default, the space label displays the space name and number, but many other pieces of information can be attached to a space and displayed on the drawing. Space objects automatically calculate their area, volume, and perimeter.

The Room Name Simple tool (in the Dims/Notes tool set) creates a text label only; it does not attach room finish, IFC, or GSA information to a space object.

To draw a space with the Space tool, select either the Space by Rectangle or the Space by Polyline mode. If the walls are already drawn, select the Space by Wall Boundary (Paint Bucket) mode to create a space from the current wall boundaries.

 

Mode	Description
Space by Wall Boundary	Creates a space object in a clicked area that is bounded by walls
Space by Rectangle	Draws a rectangular space object
Space by Polyline	Draws a polyline space object; as with a polyline, select one of four types of control points for the vertices from the tool bar
Corner Point	The polyline has straight lines and angled vertices at the control points
Bézier Point	The polyline curves are pulled toward the control points, but the curves do not touch the control points
Cubic Spline Point	The polyline curves pass through the control points
Arc Point	The polyline curves look like fillets placed at the control points
Arc Radius	Sets the radius of the arc when the Arc Point mode is selected
Space Preferences	Sets the default parameters that are used for each space object

Creating Spaces from Existing Walls

 

To create a space from wall boundaries:

1.	Click the Space tool from the Space Planning tool set.

2.	From the Tool bar, select the Space by Wall Boundary mode.

3.	Click in an open area of the drawing that is bounded by walls; the walls must be on selectable layers.

4.	The first time a space object is placed on the drawing, the Space Object Properties dialog box opens. Specify the default preferences, which apply to all space objects placed subsequently in this drawing. Click OK.

5.	Use the Object Info palette to enter the properties for this space, such as label information or IFC data. See Space Properties for details.

6.	Use the Attributes palette to assign attributes to this space, such as the fill and the line weight.

Drawing Spaces with the Space Tool

 

To draw a space with the Space tool:

1.	Click the Space tool from the Space Planning tool set.

2.	From the Tool bar, either select the Space by Rectangle mode, or select the Space by Polyline mode and then select the type of control point for the polyline vertices.

3.	Draw the space as follows:

For a rectangular space, click to begin the rectangle, and then click again to finish the rectangle and create the space.

For a polyline space, click to begin the polyline, and then click to set each polyline vertex. Click on the start point to end the polyline and create the space.

4.	The first time a space object is placed on the drawing, the Space Object Properties dialog box opens. Specify the default preferences, which apply to all space objects placed subsequently in this drawing. Click OK.

5.	Use the Object Info palette to enter the properties for this space, such as label information or IFC data. See Space Properties for details.

6.	Use the Attributes palette to assign attributes to this space, such as the fill and the line weight.

Editing Spaces

Once a space is created, its boundary is edited differently depending on the current Auto-Boundary setting. If Auto-Boundary is enabled, you can update the space boundary automatically when the walls that surround the space are changed. If Auto-Boundary is disabled, the space must be edited directly as a path object.

Each space has a control point that indicates the label location. If the space is auto-bounded, it also has a separate “anchor” control point that locates the space within its boundary. The anchor control point is typically in the center of the space’s bounding box, so it may be directly on top of the label control point. (If you create the space with Space by Wall Boundary mode, the anchor is placed where you click to create the space.)

To move a label or an anchor, click the control point and drag it to a new location; click again to move the point. If a label is moved outside of the space boundary, a line is drawn to connect the label to the space automatically.

To edit a space with Auto-Boundary enabled:

1.	Add, delete, or move walls as necessary.

2.	Select one or more spaces, and then click Update Boundary on the Object Info palette. Or, to update all of the spaces on the active layer at once, select AEC > Space Planning > Update Space Boundaries.

3.	An alert displays if the anchor of the space object is not within the boundary of the walls that surround the space. The anchor indicates which set of walls the space belongs to. Move the anchor within the wall boundary, and then update the space boundary again.

4.	The boundary of the space adjusts to match the surrounding walls. For example, if a wall between two spaces is removed, the spaces are combined. If a wall is added that divides an existing space, the space is divided into two spaces.

To edit a space with Auto-Boundary disabled:

To add, subtract, and change vertices, edit the polyline with the 2D Reshape tool.

To make more sophisticated edits to the space object, select Modify > Edit Group. For example, you can add, clip, intersect, and combine into surfaces.