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Building Explorer widget

The Building Explorer widget allows you to filter and explore the various components of building scene layers. Building scene layers are complex digital models of buildings and interiors and can contain thousands of components grouped into sublayers. You can use this widget to filter parts of buildings by level, when they were constructed, and more.

Examples

Use this widget to support app design requirements such as the following:

  • You want to provide an interactive demonstration of a completed BIM project.
  • You want staff to have a 3D inventory of where electrical and mechanical elements are located in a building.
  • You want to show that a major construction project will be finished on time by allowing users to filter by what will be completed in one year, two years, and five years.

Usage notes

This widget requires connection to a Map widget. The Map widget must contain a web scene with at least one building scene layer.

When you include this widget in an app, a panel provides users with the following options:

  • The layers drop-down menu lists any building scene layers from the connected web scene.
  • The Level element allows you to select a single level in one or several buildings. When you select a level, the levels above it are hidden and the levels below it become semitransparent to provide visual context.
  • Some building scene layers include information indicating when parts of the building were constructed or demolished. If a layer has multiple construction phases, you can use the Construction phase element to filter by phase. Demolished parts of a building do not display.
  • The Disciplines & Categories element allows you to filter discipline layers and category layers. Discipline layers are group layers that organize building scene layer content into architectural, electrical, infrastructure, mechanical, plumbing, and structural groups. Discipline layers contain category layers, which are layers made up of one kind of building element. Category layers can include layers for walls, windows, furniture, and lighting fixtures, for example.

Settings

The Building Explorer widget includes the following settings:

  • Data source—Select a Map widget. The Map widget must contain a web scene with at least one building scene layer.
  • Map settings—Click a web scene with building data to open the settings panel for that web scene.
    • Building Layer on loading—Choose a building layer to be selected when the widget first loads. You can also choose None to have no layers be selected initially.
    • Level—Include the Level tool in the widget panel at run time.
    • Building phase—Include the Building phase tool in the widget panel at run time.
    • Disciplines & Categories—Include the Disciplines & Categories tool in the widget panel at run time.
  • General settings—Configure the following general settings:
    • Zoom to layer on selection—If you turn on this setting, the Map widget zooms to the locations of selected layers.
    • Apply filter to data sources—If you turn on this setting, any filters you apply to the level or building phase filters the layer at the data source level. This is useful if you are displaying the same data in another widget, such as a Table widget, and you want the Building Explorer widget to also filter the table.