In this video, we will explore placing and customizing windows. If we go to the
build drop-down menu at the top of the screen, and then down to the window
parent tool you will find all of the window child tools including window, bay
bay, box and bow windows, the pass-through and the niche tools. You will also find these
if you look here in your tool bar and find the window icon. This is the window
tools parent tool. When you click on this tool again you will find all of the
window child tools here in the child tool palette at the left of your screen.
I'll click on window to activate the tool. To place a window, you must first
build a wall. There is no need to create an opening in the wall, the window tools
will do this automatically. When you hover over a wall you can see the
preview of what the window will look like. Click to place the window. Notice
that when I move close to the corner the window will only move to the point where
the casing bumps against the adjacent wall. Once you have placed a window, the
window tool stays active for you to place another window. To deactivate the
window tool you can click on the select objects tool or hit your spacebar. Once
you have placed a window you can move it using the move edit handle. You can also
change the width using the side edit handles, or activate one of the side edit
handles and use the temporary dimensions to resize it by clicking on the
dimension number and typing in the exact length you want. You can also use the
temporary dimensions to move the window into place. If I click on the temporary
dimension I can type in the exact distance I want from the end of the wall.
Notice that when you click on the inside edge of the window the temporary
dimensions are measuring from the inside of the adjacent wall. If I click on the
outside it is measuring to the outside corner of the connecting walls.
You can also change the size of a window by opening the window specification
dialog. To do this you will select the window and then click on the open object
tool in the Edit toolbar that appears at the bottom of the screen. You can also
open an object specific dialog by double-clicking on the object.
Here in the window specification dialog you can see that the window type says
use default, and you can see in the preview pane that the window is a double
hung window type. All the settings in this dialog are determined by what is
set in the window default settings. I'll close this dialog, and then we'll take a
brief look at the default settings for Windows. I'll double click on the window
parent tool to open the window defaults dialog. Notice that it is almost
identical to the individual window specification dialog. This is where you
would change all of the characteristics of the windows that you want to place in
your plan. For instance, the window type here is set as a double hung window. If I
change this to a right sliding window, and change the size to a 48 inch by 48
inch window, all the windows that I place from now on in the plan will be 4040
sliding windows. But you will want to note that if you change your window
defaults after you've placed some windows in your plan some of the
characteristics of the old windows in the plan will change, some will not. For
instance, the first window that is already placed in this plan is a double
hung window that is 32 inches by 48 inches. Now that I've changed the size
and the type in the default settings, notice that the first window that I
placed did change to a sliding window but the size did not change. The property
that changed the type of window is called a dynamic default, it will change
the existing windows in the plan. However, size is not a dynamic default, the size
of all the existing windows in the plan will not change. To learn more about
default settings you can explore additional online training videos. Now
let's take a brief look at some of the settings in the individual windows. I'll
open up this window specification dialog by double-clicking on the window. Again,
you can see the window type is following the default and the preview pane is
showing a sliding window. You can change each individual window to be whatever
type you want: fixed glass, casement, sliding, hopper, etc.
You can also change the size of this one window and the height placement in the
wall. With the height change you determine what you want this dimension
to reference. You can make it relative to the floor, the finished floor, or relative
to absolute. Absolute always refers to the top of the floor platform on floor
level one. On the options panel, you have corner block options, egress and tempered
glass options. These will only apply when you generate a material list or a window
schedule, these changes will not be visible in your plan. The casing on a
window is referring to the outer trim piece you see here. You can change the
size and depth of the casing trim at the interior side or exterior side, you can
also change the molding profile that is used. You can also change the size of the
sash, the sash refers to this piece here that holds the glass in place. Once
you've customized any of the dynamic default settings in a dialog, you can
change it back to follow the defaults by clicking on the white wrench button here
at the side. You can also change the size of the frame piece. The frame refers to
this piece that surrounds the sash and caps off the jamb, header, and cell
framing. You can further customize your window by adding divided lights, changing
the window shape, adding an arch, adding window treatments, and changing the way
the wall frames around the window. You also have options for different
materials applied to the different window components.
Another window tool is the bay window. The bay window tool will build in the
wall extensions and place windows on each side and center of the bay. To edit
the bay window walls you can double click on it to open the bay window
specification dialog. Here you can change the walls of the bay by changing the
width, depth, or angle of the side walls. You can also change the wall type that
it's building. It will automatically use the wall type of the wall that it's
placed in, but you can change that for a different look.
You can also raise and lower the floor and ceiling heights.
But you'll notice that this specification dialogue has no window
settings. You can edit each window on the sides and in the center by clicking once
on the window, which will select the entire base structure. Then hit your tab
key to select only the window, use your open object tool at the bottom
of your screen to open the window specification dialog.
You can also tab to select a window and delete it if you wish.
Once you've placed a bay window, when you build the roof the roof tool will build
over it as specified in the options panel for the roof. The box and bow
windows behave very much the same way and have many of the same settings. You
also have the pass-through tool that places a framed, cased opening like a
window without glass. The last tool under the windows parent tool is the niche
tool. The niche is an opening in only one side of the wall
that leaves the original finish on the back side. The niche specification dialog
has many of the same settings a window does including size, casing, shape and
component materials.