How to Use Visual Styles in BricsCAD
Quick answer: A visual style is a collection of settings controlling how 3D solids and surfaces display, shading, face style, materials, edges, and transparency. VISUALSTYLES opens the Drawing Explorer’s Visual Styles page, where you can edit, create, delete, or copy styles between open drawings.
Managing Visual Styles
Run VISUALSTYLES to open Drawing Explorer > Visual Styles, where you can:
- Edit existing visual styles.
- Create new ones.
- Delete visual styles.
- Copy and paste visual styles between open drawings.
Setting the Current Visual Style
Either the Properties panel (View > Visual style), or the LookFrom control’s right-click context menu. Click the style you want from the list.
All Visual Styles
| Style | How entities display |
|---|---|
| 2dWireframe | Lines and curves; intended for 2D drawings |
| Conceptual | Smooth shading, Gooch face style |
| Hidden | Wireframe, with lines representing back faces hidden |
| Modeling | Smooth shading, Realistic face style, materials and textures, visible edges |
| Realistic | Smooth shading, Realistic face style, materials and textures; no edges shown |
| Shaded | Smooth shading, Realistic face style, materials |
| Shaded with edges | Smooth shading, Realistic face style, materials, visible edges |
| Shades of gray | Smooth shading, Realistic face style, monochromatic greyscale |
| Sketchy | A hand-sketched effect, using Constant colour face style, line extensions, and textured lines (bpen) |
| Wireframe | 3D entities shown as lines and curves only |
| X-Ray | Smooth shading, Realistic face style, materials and textures, with partial transparency |
| BIM (BIM templates only) | Smooth shading, Realistic face style, materials and textures, facet (visible) edges |
| Maquette (BIM templates only) | Smooth shading, Realistic face style, materials, facet (visible) edges |
| Render (BIM templates only) | Background colour, smooth shading, Realistic face style, materials and textures; no edges shown |
| See-through (BIM templates only) | Smooth shading, Constant colour face style, partial transparency |
| Mechanical (Mechanical templates only) | Smooth shading, Realistic face style, materials and textures, facet edges |
Default Lighting in Shaded Styles
In shaded visual styles, faces are illuminated by a single distant light source that follows your viewpoint as you move around the model, so every face stays identifiable regardless of angle. This default lighting is only available when every other light in the drawing is turned off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can’t I select the BIM or Mechanical visual styles in my drawing? They’re restricted to their matching template types, BIM styles need a BIM template, and Mechanical needs a Mechanical template.
Which visual style should I use for a standard 2D drawing? 2dWireframe, entities display as lines and curves, which is what it’s intended for.
Does the default lighting in shaded styles work alongside my own lights? No, it’s only available when every other light in the drawing is turned off.
Can I copy a visual style from one drawing into another? Yes, visual styles can be copied and pasted between open drawings from the Drawing Explorer’s Visual Styles page.