Architectural elements such as doors and windows usually are the first items to be placed in the project.
When you install the software you already have some doors and windows in the Application library.
First of all open the layout window of the project, as doors and windows can be placed just in this window. Next step is to search for the door you want to place in the project: in the Components window click the FURNISHING ELEMENTS panel.
You can browse the library by selecting Doors/Windows:
If you do not have many doors or windows available, you can download more from the digital library through the Live! page -> Catalogues -> Furnishing -> Doors/Windows
Keep pressed the left mouse button on the preview image, and drag the door in the layout window; now that you are over the project you can release the left button.
You can see that while moving the mouse you’ll move the door too (it is the red rectangle linked to the mouse cursor). You cannot leave the door in the middle of the room, so try placing the mouse cursor over the internal walls of the project: you’ll notice that the door automatically rotates and aligns to the wall, and becomes green (this is the confirmation that you are now linking ot to that wall).
It is possible to assign exact dimensions to a door or window when inserting the item into a project, before positioning it on a wall.
When a door or window is dragged into a floorplan, a numeric field will appear where it is possible to insert the width of the opening; this field will remain available until the moment when the door or window is positioned on the wall; at this point, two numeric fields on the right and left of the door appear which will measure the distance to the corner of each wall.
In order to definitively release the door you can click again the left button if the position is correct, but if you want to be even more accurate leave the mouse where it is in order to specify the destination wall, and start typing the desired distance.
In the image above, you can see that the selected distance to refer to is the one between the door and the left corner. In case you want to refer to the right one, click the TAB keyboard button to switch to the right distance, and type again that distance.
If you want to place a window, go back to the Components section, search windows by browsing typologies or by writing “window” in the search field; then follow up the same steps as before, as windows have the same behavior as doors.
Note that doors and windows can be dragged only on the internal side of the wall. They can be dropped only when you start seeing the double measure system; if you don’t see it, it means that the mouse cursor is not over the internal side of the wall. If you wan to exit the procedure, click the ESC keyboard button, or even the right mouse button.
Finally, let’s talk about the difference between Doors and Dynamic Doors typology. A dynamic door (window) is not a static object, and can be opened/closed by the designer while in navigation, by clicking the left mouse button over the door/window handle.
Keep in mind that usually windows are transparent, hence sun light always passes through; doors will not let it get in the scene if they are closed. By opening them (if they are dynamic) will allow some sun light enter the room.
LOCK/UNLOCK OPENING OF DOORS AND WINDOWS
After having inserted a door or window into your project, you can lock/unlock its dynamic opening mechanism. In the 3D navigation window, right click on the door or window and you can select whether to lock or unlock the opening rotation:
Similarly, you can turn on or off the same option from the properties window by selecting “Lock opening”.
This article is valid for DomuS3D® 2022 and later versions