Aerialytic Designer Mode can seem like a beast (and in a lot of ways it is), but the easiest thing to remember is to always go down the sections one by one in order. You will always want to run shading when you are done making the desired changes to the site. Below is a breakdown of each section:
Roof Segments
When adding or removing a roof segment, navigate to Designer mode and open the Roof Segments section.
The Roof Segments section lists each roof face, the azimuth, eave height and the area of each designed section of the roof. Every designed roof section will be distinguished by number, which can be found along the eave.
Edge Detection & Segment Labels
Each roof is made up of different segments, and each segment has a different name depending on where on it the roof it is located. Ridges, Eaves, Hips, Valleys, and Rakes are the most common edge types on a roof. In certain areas, there are fire setbacks or other restrictions specific to edge types, so labeling the edges is important when designing. Click the button titled Edge Detection to label the edge types. When this has been done, edges will become color-coded as their label.
If the edges do not receive the proper label, or if they do not apply when selected, navigate to the second tab within the Roof Segments section titled Segment Labels.
This section has a dropdown for each edge type. Select the desired label from the dropdown, and then click the corresponding segment on the digital image to apply the correct label to the segment. Repeat this process for all segments needing to be labeled. Select the Clear Labels button to remove all edge labels applied to the design.
Roof Section Diagram
For reference, see a diagram of roof sections below:
Dormers are a very common architectural design on a home. A dormer is a roofed structure, often containing a window, that projects vertically beyond the plane of a pitched roof. Dormers usually do not have enough square footage in order to have panels mounted on them, but are commonly referenced during the design process.
Adding new roof segments to the design
If detached structures, parts of the roof, or new structures need to be added to the design, they will need to be manually drawn.
First select the Roof Segments drop down on the right of the design.
Once the Roof Segments section has been selected, drawing mode will be activated automatically, indicated by the pencil icon on the left side of the digital image being selected.
Left-click the + cursor on the corner of the desired roof section. Once the initial point has been selected, click the cursor on each corner of that roof face, clicking again on the starting point to complete the roof face.
Once the shape has been completed, select the Run Roof Measurements button found in the Roof Segments section. This will use the Nearmap DSM map data to determine the height of the structure.
Adding new roof sections to existing structures in the design
First select the Roof Segments drop down on the right of the design.
Once the Roof Segments section has been selected, drawing mode will be activated automatically, indicated by the pencil icon on the left side of the digital image being selected.
Left-click the + cursor, starting on a shared, existing point, to begin drawing the new roof face from there.
Select existing points instead of drawing new points (when appropriate) and again, complete the roof face by selecting the original point. (a red circle will fill the blue point when hovering over it)
