How to Use Sections in BricsCAD

Quick answer: SECTIONPLANE creates an interactive section entity that cuts through solids, surfaces, and meshes in model space, distinct from VIEWSECTION, which creates 2D section drawing views in a paper space layout for documentation. Section planes can be dragged, resized, saved as blocks, and toggled between two different clipping behaviours: Live Section and Clip Display.

The Core Commands

A selected section plane’s properties can also be edited directly in the Properties panel.

BIM-Specific Commands

With a BIM licence level:

• BIMSECTION creates BIM Section entities, Section entities with extra properties like type (plan, section, or elevation) and the initial scale of the 2D section result.
• BIMIFY can assign BIM properties to an existing Section entity.

Live Section vs Clip Display

Both states section the drawing and hide the clipped-away parts, but they work differently underneath:

• Live Section: entities are temporarily modified, a clipped solid gets replaced by a temporary solid with a different shape.
• Clip Display: only the display is clipped, entities themselves aren’t replaced, so you can keep using every modelling and editing operation on the full drawing content.

Clip Display can be set for multiple section entities at once; Live Section can’t.

Six Ways to Create a Section Plane

Aligned to a face:

1. Launch SECTIONPLANE and choose the select Face option.
2. Select the solid face you want the section plane aligned to. It aligns automatically, and Clip Display switches on.

Vertical (requires the WCS as your current coordinate system):

1. Launch SECTIONPLANE.
2. Specify two points; a vertical plane is created through them, cutting away whatever’s on the right side (relative to the order you drew the points). Clip Display switches on.

Horizontal:

1. Choose Front on the LookFrom control.
2. Align the UCS to the front view using the View option of UCS (this happens automatically if UCSORTHO is on and NAVVCUBEORIENT is 0).
3. Launch SECTIONPLANE and specify two points; the plane is created through them, perpendicular to the current UCS’s XY-plane, cutting away the right-side portion. Clip Display switches on.

Vertical jogged (requires the WCS as your current coordinate system):

1. Launch SECTIONPLANE and choose Draw.
2. Specify your points in sequence, right-click or press Enter once you’re done.
3. Click a final point to set the section’s direction; the solid opposite that direction gets cut away. Clip Display switches on.

Horizontal jogged:

1. Choose Front on the LookFrom control and align the UCS to it, the same as for a horizontal plane.
2. Launch SECTIONPLANE, choose Draw, and specify your points the same way as a vertical jogged section.
3. Click a final point for direction; the opposite portion is cut away. Clip Display switches on.

Orthographic (requires the WCS as your current coordinate system):

1. Launch SECTIONPLANE and choose Orthographic.
2. Pick an orientation, Top, Bottom, Left, Right, Front, or Back. The plane is created through the solid’s centre, parallel to the XY-plane (Top/Bottom), YZ-plane (Left/Right), or XZ-plane (Front/Back). Clip Display switches on.

Modifying a Section Plane with Grips

Select the section plane; the grips shown depend on its Type property:

• Plane (4 grips): origin (moves the plane within the XY-plane), through point (redefines and rotates the plane around the origin), midpoint (moves it parallel, perpendicular to itself), and a flip grip (reverses the view direction).
• Boundary (9 grips): the same origin, through point, and flip grips, plus a grip that stretches the boundary parallel and another that reshapes it.
• Volume (11 grips): the same core grips, plus ones that stretch and reshape the volume, and one that adjusts its height (this specific grip requires Polar Tracking to be on before you can move it).
• Slice (7 grips): origin, through point, midpoint, and flip, the same four as Plane type.

Saving a Section

SECTIONPLANETOBLOCK can insert a section as a 2D section/elevation block or a 3D cutaway block, replace an existing section block after you’ve modified the section entity, or save a section out to an entirely new drawing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between SECTION and SECTIONPLANE? SECTION produces a static region entity. SECTIONPLANE creates an interactive section entity you can move, resize, and toggle, and it works on surfaces and meshes too, not just solids.

What’s the practical difference between Live Section and Clip Display? Live Section temporarily replaces clipped solids with modified versions. Clip Display just clips what’s shown, leaving every entity fully editable, and it can apply to multiple sections simultaneously, unlike Live Section.

Why do I need Polar Tracking on to resize a Volume-type section plane? One specific grip, the one controlling the volume’s height, requires Polar Tracking to be enabled before you can move it.

Can a section plane created in BricsCAD carry BIM-specific properties like type and scale? Yes, but only with a BIM licence level, using BIMSECTION to create one directly, or BIMIFY to add BIM properties to an existing Section entity.