Drawing Background Settings in BricsCAD

Quick answer: BKGCOLOR sets the drawing window’s background colour in Model Space, and BKGCOLORPS does the same for Paper Space. These only take effect when the Background dialog’s type is set to None; if you’ve chosen Solid, Gradient, or Image instead, that overrides them for every visual style except 2dWireframe.

Basic Background Colours

• BKGCOLOR: background colour in Model Space
• BKGCOLORPS: background colour in Paper Space

BKGCOLOR applies to rendered visual styles only when PERSPECTIVE is off.

The 2dWireframe Exception

The 2dWireframe visual style always uses BKGCOLOR, regardless of any other background setting, including whether Solid, Gradient, or Image is selected as the background type elsewhere.

Sky and Ground Background

When both PERSPECTIVE and HORIZONBKG_ENABLE are on, the background splits into two simulated areas, ground and sky, instead of a flat colour. Five variables control their colours: HORIZONBKG_GROUNDORIGIN, HORIZONBKG_GROUNDHORIZON, HORIZONBKG_SKYHIGH, HORIZONBKG_SKYHORIZON, and HORIZONBKG_SKYLOW.

Background While Editing Blocks

Two more variables apply specifically during block editing sessions:

• BKGCOLORDBEDIT: background colour while editing a Dynamic Block
• BKGCOLORPBEDIT: background colour while editing a Parametric Block

How This Fits with Background Types

All of the above only apply when the Background dialog’s type is set to None. Choosing Solid, Gradient, or Image instead overrides these settings entirely, for every visual style except 2dWireframe, which keeps using BKGCOLOR no matter what.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn’t changing BKGCOLOR do anything to my background? Check the Background dialog’s type setting. BKGCOLOR only applies when it’s set to None; if Solid, Gradient, or Image is selected, that takes over instead.

Does 2dWireframe ever use a Solid, Gradient, or Image background? No. 2dWireframe always uses BKGCOLOR regardless of the background type setting elsewhere.

What controls the background in Model Space vs Paper Space separately? BKGCOLOR for Model Space, BKGCOLORPS for Paper Space.

How do I get a sky-and-ground style background instead of a flat colour? Turn on both PERSPECTIVE and HORIZONBKG_ENABLE, then adjust the five HORIZONBKG_ variables to set the ground and sky colours.