How do I align floors on top of each other, and what does the building origin do?

To stack floors exactly on top of each other, open the alignment for the floor that should move, show another floor as an overlay and set at least two point pairs (for example the bottom-right corner and a second corner). Alternatively, enter offset and rotation by hand. Then choose Save alignment. Set origin here is not for this: the building origin is one single point for the whole project, and moving it shifts every floor by the same vector. Their position relative to each other does not change.

Which tool for which goal?

Why do all floors move when I set the origin?

The building origin is the zero point of the project's shared coordinate system. It exists once, not per floor. It is stored in the coordinates of the reference floor; if you click on another floor, the point is first transferred to the reference floor.

When you set it, PlanElec shifts the stored position of every floor by the same vector. The confirmation says so: “Building origin set. All floors keep their relative position.” The origin therefore changes where the coordinates start, not the distance between two floors. If two floors do not line up before, they still do not line up afterwards.

To set the origin: switch to Floor plan mode, choose Set origin here in the toolbar and click the point you want. Wall nodes snap, so the origin lands on a real building corner. As long as you have never set the origin and the reference floor is active, the chip Set origin here (bottom left) proposes the lower-left corner of the outer outline. Show origin & markers displays the marker, Go to origin centres the view on it.

If you want the bottom-right corner to be your zero point, set the origin there on the reference floor. That does not align the other floors; for that you need the alignment below.

How do I align a floor with point pairs?

Point pairs are the most direct route when the floors have the same outer dimensions.

1. Activate the floor that should move. The reference floor does not move (see below).
2. Open the alignment: Align floors in the toolbar in Floor plan mode, or Align position … in the Manage floors menu of the floor selector, or click the floor's status badge in the building view. The stair toolbar also offers Align floors. The panel is titled Align floors and define heights.
3. Under Reference overlay, pick the floor to use as a template in Show another floor. Overlay opacity, Blink and Show reference (press and hold, or hold Alt) help you compare.
4. Under Point pairs, choose Set point pair. It is only active with an overlay showing. The panel closes: first click the point in the current floor plan (“Select the point in the current floor plan”), then the same point in the overlay.
5. Repeat with a second point far from the first, for example the other corner of the bottom wall. From two point pairs onwards, offset and rotation are derived automatically; a single pair does not determine the rotation. Two points that coincide determine no position.
6. Check Average deviation, Largest deviation and Observed scale deviation. Scale stays fixed at 50 plan units per metre; only offset and rotation change. Clear deviations show that the plans do not match exactly.
7. Choose Save alignment. Saving is a single undo step.

With Edit markers in the floor plan you drag the markers; Back to the alignment reopens the panel. Individual pairs can only be removed from three pairs onwards; Discard point pairs clears them all.

A stair or shaft that connects the active floor with the reference floor can serve as a pair: under Adopt a stair or shaft, choose Adopt.

How do I enter offset and rotation by hand?

Under Fine tuning, enter X offset (m), Y offset (m) and Rotation (°). The offset applies in metres in the building's coordinate system; keep an overlay visible to check the result. The buttons Move up, Move down, Move left and Move right shift the floor by 1 cm, 10 cm with Shift.

While point pairs determine the position, these fields are locked (“Offset and rotation are derived from the point pairs and are therefore locked.”). Choose Discard point pairs to work by hand again.

Which floor is the reference floor?

The panel names it at the top: “Building origin:” followed by the floor's name. The reference floor defines the building origin. By default it is the floor at level 0, otherwise the lowest. Its offset follows the origin you set and is not edited in the panel: no point pairs, fields and arrows locked.

The interface has no command for choosing the reference floor yourself. If you delete the reference floor, the neighbouring floor takes over the role, the origin returns to its default and the remaining floors keep their position relative to each other.

A new floor first sits in the same place as the reference. In Create floor, the question “How does this floor sit relative to the reference?” offers Like the reference, Align now (opens the alignment straight away) or Later. Align now is missing when the new floor would itself become the reference.

How do I undo or reset an alignment?

• Reset to assumptions sets offset and rotation to zero, the status to “Assumed”, the heights to the defaults for the level and removes the overlay. On the reference floor it restores the offset that follows from the origin, without moving the origin.
• If you close the panel with unsaved changes, Discard the alignment? asks what to do: Keep editing or Discard.
• The status display shows the state of each floor: Assumed, Confirmed or Needs review.

Where do I enter floor heights?

In the same panel under Physical heights: Finished-floor elevation (m), Clear height (m) and Slab thickness above (m). Default values remain assumptions; only heights that actually change are confirmed when saved. If floors overlap in height, PlanElec refuses to save and names the minimum elevation required.

Position and heights are saved together with Save alignment.

Related

• Import and calibrate a floor plan to set each plan to scale first.
• Place and connect electrical symbols.