Documentation

3D Viewer Tools

Model tree visibility, category filtering, level isolation, element search, fly-to navigation, saved views, and lighting presets in the 3D BIM viewer. Section Box, Orthographic Views, and Explode View have their own pages.

3D Viewer Tools

The 3D Viewer renders GLB/GLTF building models with PBR lighting, BVH-accelerated element selection, and a full set of navigation and visual controls. All controls described here are accessible from the View menu or from floating overlays inside the viewer.

Section Box, Orthographic Views, and Explode View — own pages

Three of the most-used 3D tools have their own dedicated docs pages with the full walkthrough plus deep links:

Section Box & Clipping — six-plane clipping with ganged sliders for constant-depth sweeps
Orthographic Views & Section Drawings — six preset views plus IFC-direct scaled section generation
Explode View — radial element separation for concealed-part inspection and sequencing storyboards

Isolate Element

Click an element to select it, then click Isolate in the selection overlay (bottom of the info panel). All other meshes are hidden so you can inspect the element alone. Click Show All or press Escape to restore full visibility.

Model Tree

The left-edge panel has two tabs: Tree and Elements. A collapsed handle (►) appears once a model is loaded — click it to open, click◄ to collapse.

The Tree tab groups elements by discipline (category) and floor level. Use it to hide entire categories or levels to reduce visual clutter when coordinating a specific discipline.

Key / Control	Action
● (filled circle)	Category or level is visible — click to hide
○ (empty circle)	Category or level is hidden — click to show
Show all	Button in the panel header — restores all hidden elements
drag row	Drag a category or level row to reorder (or to link in workflows)

Tip: Use the Tree tab with the Section Box together: clip to a floor, then hide the Structural category to focus on MEP coordination.

Elements Tab

Switch to the Elements tab to browse every individual element in the model by name. A live search box at the top filters the list as you type — matching is case-insensitive across element name, category, level, family, and type name.

Key / Control	Action
Type in search box	Filter list in real time — searches name, category, level, family, type
Hover a row	The matching element glows blue in the 3D view (multi-mesh aware)
Click a row	Persistent selection — element stays highlighted after you move the cursor
Double-click a row	Camera smoothly flies to centre on the selected element

Tip: Double-clicking an element from the Elements tab while the Explode View is active flies the camera to the element at its exploded position — useful for inspecting hidden interior parts like concealed mechanical fittings or embedded structural connections.

Color by Category

View → Color by Category tints every mesh by its Revit discipline: walls grey-blue, floors gold, structural red, ducts blue, pipes green, electrical amber. Toggle it off to restore original material colours exactly. This is the fastest way to answer "which discipline owns this element?" without clicking into the properties panel.

Lighting Presets

View → Lighting: City / Studio / Dawn swaps the environment map used for image-based lighting and reflections. The active preset is saved and restored between sessions.

Key / Control	Action
City	Bright outdoor — best default for building exteriors
Studio	Soft even illumination — best for interior and MEP review
Dawn	Cool diffuse light — good for large infrastructure or site models

Exposure

An Exposure slider (range 0.5–2.0) appears at the top of the Section Box overlay, always visible regardless of whether the Section Box is active. Drag it to brighten or darken the scene in real time. The value is saved between sessions.

Measure Distance

View → Measure Distance activates a point-to-point measurement tool. The cursor changes to a crosshair and a prompt appears at the top of the viewer.

Click any point on a mesh surface to place the first measurement point (cyan sphere).
Click a second point — a line appears between the two points with the distance displayed at the midpoint.
Click again to start a new measurement from a fresh first point.
Press Escape or click View → Measure Distance again to exit measure mode and clear the markers.

Distances under 1 m are shown in millimetres (e.g., 250 mm). Distances of 1 m or more are shown in metres to three decimal places (e.g., 3.450 m). The measurement is taken in 3D world space — it is the true Euclidean distance between the two surface points, not a projected length.

Tip: For MEP clearance checks, use the Section Box to expose the duct/pipe run, then measure from the bottom face of the duct to the top of the structural beam below it. The result is the available clearance at that point.

Saved Views

Saved Views capture the full viewer state — camera position and target, section box, hidden categories and levels, isolated element, lighting preset, exposure, and color-by-category mode — and let you restore it in one click.

Set up the camera and any visual controls you want to capture.
Open View → Saved Views to show the panel (bottom-left of viewer).
Type a name in the input and click Save or press Enter.
Click any saved view name to animate the camera to that position and restore all state.
Click ✕ on a row to delete that view.

Views are stored per model path in the local SQLite database and persist across sessions. They are not shared via LocusSync.

Tip: Save a "Coordination — Level 2 MEP" view with the section box clipped to that floor, MEP categories visible, and structural hidden. Share the view name with teammates and they can recreate the same setup manually in seconds.