The Hide Tool introduces powerful functions to enhance urban planning experiences. This tool allows for selective control of visibility within the urban environment by defining selected areas through point placement. It enables effortless modification of terrain, trees, or buildings, providing greater flexibility and precision.

1. Access the tool
   Click on Tools / Hide / Selection.
   
   
2. Plot a selection area
   • Select Plot a selection area.
   • Click on the terrain to start plotting.
   • Press the space key to switch reference boxes showing AOD and coordinates.
   • Press the space key again to disable the reference boxes.
   • Hold the ALT key and click on a point to delete it.
3. Select buildings
   • Select Click buildings directly.
   • Choose the buildings to include in the selection.
4. Control visibility
   • Click the eye icon next to the group to hide the entire selection.
   • Click the eye icon next to an individual building to hide it.
   • Click the location pin to jump to the selected plotted area.
   • Toggle selections on/off using the switch.
5. Manage selections
   • Click the tick box next to a selection and then click the delete button to remove it.
   • To export the plotted shape, click Export.
   • Choose the destination, name the file, and export it as a DXF.

Key features

Selective visibility control

• Define areas by placing points to selectively hide or reveal elements within the environment.
• Modify visibility of terrain, trees, and buildings effortlessly.

Interactive menu

• The interaction between the menu and the scene allows for easy building selection and precise visibility control.
• Buildings are automatically adjusted when selected areas intersect, ensuring seamless modifications.
  
  

Known limitations

ZTV calculation

Sliced buildings are not considered in ZTV calculations, but compatibility is being developed for future releases.

Visibility settings for shared contents

Only one selection layer with shared contents can have active visibility settings at a time, affecting overlapping plotted areas and building groups.

Building slicing with plot selection

Users can slice a building by selecting or slicing its other half with a different plot, but this is subject to the shared contents limitation.

The roundtrip

After exporting a selection as a DXF file, it can be reviewed and modified in external CAD software before being brought back into the VU.CITY 3D.