Documentation
Drawings
Graphite4D generates floor plans, sections and elevations from the current model. They are not copies to keep in sync: each edit to the model redraws them, and dimensions linked to the model update with it. The linework is exact vector geometry, not a screenshot of the 3D view.
Open a plan
- Open Building levels and choose Open Ground floor plan, or the plan for any level. See Buildings.
- Or open the Views menu, the camera button in the toolbar that shows the current view's name. Saved drawings are listed under DRAWINGS. + New floor plan adds a plan at elevation 0', which you can change in its settings.
To return to the model, choose Perspective in the Views menu or press 1. In a drawing, scroll to zoom toward the pointer, drag with the middle or right mouse button to pan, and press F to fit.
A plan is also a place to work. You can select and edit walls, doors, windows and rooms directly in it.
Cut a section or elevation
- Open a floor plan.
- Open All tools (⌘ K on a Mac, Ctrl K on Windows) and choose Create section or Create elevation.
- Click the start of the marker, then its end.
- Click on the side you want to look toward.
- Graphite creates the view and selects its marker. Choose Open linked drawing in the toolbar, or Open referenced view in Properties.
Sections are named Section A, Section B and so on, and elevations Elevation 1, Elevation 2. A section cuts through the model; an elevation does not. To move a marker, select it and choose Reposition view, then pick the three points again. From a section or elevation, the Views menu offers Open source plan to return.
Change drawing settings
Open the Views menu and, under CURRENT VIEW, choose Drawing settings. Settings are staged until you choose Apply view settings.
| Setting | What it controls |
|---|---|
| Scale | 1/2" = 1'-0", 1/4" = 1'-0" (the default), 1/8" = 1'-0", 1/16" = 1'-0", or 1:50, 1:100, 1:200 |
| Name | The drawing's name, shown in its caption and export |
| Floor datum | Plans only. Follow a building level, or choose Custom elevation |
| Rotation (°) | Plans only. Turns the plan on the page |
| Cut above work plane | Plans only. Cut height, 4' by default. Sections call this Cut offset |
| Top / overhead limit | How far above the work plane a plan looks. Sections call this Front limit |
| Lower limit reference | Plans only. Look down to another level, such as a stair's bottom level |
| Back / lower limit | How far the view looks past the cut |
| Overhead and Hidden lines | Show overhead edges above the cut and hidden edges |
| Graphic style | Architectural, Monochrome or Material hatches |
A range diagram previews the cut and limits as you type. Show drawing range in 3D shows the same planes in the model.
Line weights & graphics changes pens, cut fills and hatch patterns. A style can be shared: Graphite tells you how many drawings a change will update. Crop to current framing limits the drawing, and its export, to what is on screen. Clear crop removes it. Duplicate copies the view and Delete view removes it.
Add annotations
Open a drawing and choose a tool from All tools. The toolbar also offers Add dimension and Add text note.
| Tool | How to place it |
|---|---|
| Add dimension | Click two points, then click where the dimension line goes |
| Dimension chain | Click each point, press Enter or choose Place chain, then place the string |
| Add text note | Type the text in Properties, then click to place it |
| Leader note | Type the text, click the point to label, then place the text |
| Add room label | Click to place. In Properties, set its text or pick a region to show its area |
| Add north arrow | Click to place, then set Rotation (°) |
| Scale bar | Click to place, then set Bar length |
| Detail line | Click two points. Choose Fine, Medium or Dashed |
| Grid | Click to place each bubble of a single grid line |
| Level marker | Click to place, then choose a Floor datum |
A dimension that snaps to model points, such as wall ends, door jambs or rectangle corners, is linked to the model and updates when it changes. A point picked anywhere else stays fixed. Graphite shows a notice when a view has fixed dimensions. Set Direction (Aligned, Horizontal or Vertical) and Precision (1" to 1/64") in Properties.
To edit an annotation, click it and choose Annotation properties. Make your changes and choose Apply annotation. Move repositions it and Delete annotation removes it. For dimensions, Move text, Replace start anchor and Replace end anchor are also available.
Room tags from the Room tool take their name, number and area from the room. Column grid lines appear on every plan automatically and are edited with Column grid.
Show another floor as an underlay
In a plan, choose Drawing underlay from the Views menu, turn on Show underlay and pick a Reference floor. The other floor appears in light lines behind the drawing. You cannot select it, but you can turn on Snap to underlay to trace it. Choose Apply view settings. The caption names the underlay and whether snapping is on.
How drawings follow the model
- Every model edit redraws open drawings. Updating drawing… shows while Graphite works.
- Changing a floor-to-floor height moves the plans of the levels above.
- Linked dimensions and room tags follow the model. Fixed points stay where you put them.
- If a linked point disappears, for example because you deleted a wall, the annotation reads Unresolved. Replace its anchors, delete it, or undo.
- On large models, a plan can take several seconds to generate the first time you open it.
Export SVG or PDF
Open the Views menu and, under CURRENT VIEW, choose Export drawing PDF or Export drawing SVG. The file is named after the drawing.
The page is sized to the drawing, or to its crop, at the drawing's scale. It carries the drawing's name and scale. Lines are true vectors at paper line weights, with the font embedded, so the PDF prints to scale.
Export is unavailable while a drawing is updating, while any annotation is unresolved, or while the model has errors. Graphite shows the reason in the drawing.
To share the 3D model instead, open the project menu and choose Export for GLB or USD. See Projects.
Not yet available
- Sheets and title blocks are not yet available. Each drawing exports as its own page, and schedules export as CSV rather than onto a drawing.
- DWG, DXF, IFC and Revit export are not yet available. Use PDF or SVG for drawings.
- Column grids do not appear in sections or elevations.