To create a cutout, hole, or niche in your wall, you can use the Create Hole/Niche command.
Please note: you do not have to create an opening in your wall before placing a window, as windows will make an automatic opening in the wall which will follow the window if it is moved at a later point. This command should only be used if you want the wall to have a real "architectural" hole in it, or if you want to create a niche, as we’ll see in a few moments.
Move the cursor to the internal side of the wall you want to create the niche in, then right click the cursor over it and select the Create hole/niche command. You can also click on "Create Opening" from the Layout tab of the main Ribbon.
The hole/niche properties window will appear, letting you specify the details of the hole/niche, such as size and elevation.
Not all the options in the window are enabled: those that are not refer to the properties of windows and doors and are not available for a hole/niche. You will find these fields enabled when you open the properties for a door or window.
On the top right of the window, you see the commands to create a niche: if "Activate" is not checked, this means that you are going to be creating a hole in the wall (i.e. you will really see outside the room and sunlight will enter through the hole into the room in 3D navigation and/or in your renderings.
If you check the ‘Activate’ button, you can decide the depth of the niche; it usually will be less than the width of the wall, so that you will be able to locate the niche in the wall.
Once you click OK, the Application will ask you to place the hole/niche in the project: you can see its shape and drag it around the room. Keep the mouse over the internal side of the wall, and click the left mouse button where you want to drop it. Alternatively, you can specify with the mouse the wall to refer to, and type the distance between the hole/niche and the left/right corner; to switch between the left and right fields, you can use the TAB button on the keyboard.
In the below image, you can see the difference between a hole (left) and a niche (bottom) placed in the layout of a project.
This article is valid for DomuS3D® 2017 and later versions