Explode and Bake both turn complex geometries into simpler ones you can edit directly. Use them when a flow or block has done its job and you want to hand-adjust the result, like nudging one building on a site plan or trimming a single setback line.
Every geometry in Giraffe stores its shape and its properties. Some geometries are simple, with one shape and its properties. Others are driven by something else, like a flow or a block.
To keep a flow and remove one part of what it creates, like the parking on a cross dock building, edit the flow instead of exploding or baking it. The building stays parametric and keeps updating when you change its input parameters.
Explode
Explode breaks the selected geometries into smaller pieces, one level at a time. Each new piece copies the properties of the geometry it came from.
Explode a geometry
Select one or more geometries.
Right-click and choose Edit > Explode.
OR
Press the E X shortcut, or search for Explode in the command bar.
What Explode does to each geometry type
Polygon: becomes one line segment for each edge. A polygon with holes also splits each hole into segments.
Multipolygon: splits into its separate polygons, and then each polygon becomes line segments.
Polyline: becomes one line segment between each pair of points.
Block: becomes the geometries inside the block definition, placed where the block sits. A nested block inside it stays a block, so explode again to go one level deeper.
Point: stays as it is.
Explode copies every property onto the new pieces, including any flow. A polygon with a flow assigned becomes line segments that still carry that flow. To keep the flow's output instead, use Bake.
Bake
Bake replaces a geometry with the result its flow or block produces, as plain geometries. In general, "baking" means stopping a process and keeping its result. Bake goes straight from the driven geometry to the finished output in one step, even for nested blocks.
Bake a geometry
Select one or more geometries.
Right-click and choose Bake.
OR
Search for Bake in the command bar.
The baked geometries are now selected and fully editable on their own. Undo reverses the whole bake in one step.
What Bake keeps and removes
Bake keeps each output geometry's shape, height, usage, and other properties. It removes the things that made it parametric or that Giraffe recalculates on its own:
the flow and block assignment
calculated measurements, such as area, gross area, net area, saleable area, depth, length, and perimeter
calculated dwelling totals and per-unit-type dwelling values
internal properties used by the flow or block
Why baked geometries keep property overrides
A baked geometry keeps its usage, so it still follows that usage's values. Bake removes any property that matches the usage value. Bake keeps any property that differs from the usage, because the flow set that value on purpose. In the property palette, these kept values show as geometry values instead of grayed-out usage values.
To make a baked geometry follow its usage again, select it, hover over the field in the property palette, and click the back arrow (Revert to default). This works on several selected geometries at once.
Bake limits
Bake stops with a "Bake failed. Try baking fewer features." message when the result would be 250 geometries or more. Bake in smaller batches.
Bake shows "No features to bake." when the selection produces no output. The Bake menu item is grayed out in this case.
Giraffe messages show at the bottom of the screen.
Explode or Bake?
Use Explode to break a shape into its edges, split a multipolygon, or open a block one level.
Use Bake to keep the output of a flow or block as plain geometries.
To remove one part of a flow building and keep it parametric, edit the flow.