BIM Software Tip: Navisworks Appearance Configurator
The Appearance Configurator allows you to create custom appearance profiles based on sets (search and selection sets) and property values. These profiles can then be applied to color-code objects within the model, making it easier to differentiate system types and visually identify their statuses. The appearance configuration can be saved as a DAT file, which can be shared among Autodesk Navisworks users.
The appearance configuration file selector defines the criteria for object selection and appearance settings. Objects can be selected based on their property values or through search and selection sets within Autodesk Navisworks files.
Using property values offers greater flexibility since search and selection sets must first be added to the model and are often designed to cover specific areas, such as elevation, floor, or region. For example, if a model has five floors, you would need to create five separate selectors for the “Cold Water” objects—one for each floor. However, by using a feature-based approach, a single “Cold Water” selector suffices because the search encompasses the entire model, including additional features from external databases (if available).
There is no limit to the number of selectors an appearance configuration file can contain. However, the order of selectors in the configuration file is crucial. Selectors are applied sequentially from top to bottom, and if an object belongs to multiple selectors, each subsequent selector will override the object’s appearance. Currently, once a selector is added to the list, its order cannot be changed.
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