Multiframe also has a facility to define a 3D structural grid that allows you to have your drawing automatically align with a predefined grid associated with the building.

The structural grid is composed of a number of planar grids that nominally represent a floor within your building.  You can control the size, location, labelling, and use of these grids with the Structural Grid command in the View Menu.

§    Choose Structural Grid… from the View Menu

The Grid Manager dialog appears that allows you to add, edit, delete and modify the behaviour of grids.

The table of grids can be used to directly edit some properties if the individual grids that make up the structural grid.  The behaviour and display of each grid can be controlled individually.  As with the drawing grid, if you want to have the joints automatically align to a grid, but do not want to see the grid, simply unselect the Visible checkbox button before clicking OK.  Similarly you can select the Visible checkbox to have the grid displayed as a visual guide, but unselect the Snap checkbox to disable the automatic alignment with the grid.

To add a new grid

§    Click on the Add… button

The Structural Grid dialog is displayed which is used to define the properties of the new grid.

§    Enter the name of the grid

§    Choose orientation of the grid by selecting a plane.

§    Specify the position of the grid by setting the location of the grid along the axis perpendicular to the plane of the grid.

§    For each of the two directions in the plane of the grid specify the number of grid line and there location.

§    Click the OK button

To edit an existing grid

§    Select the row in the table of grids corresponding to the grid to be edited. Alternatively just a cell in this row can be selected.

§    Click on the Edit… button

The Structural Grid dialog is displayed which is used to modify the properties of the grid (see above).

To delete an existing grid

§    Select the rows in the table of grids corresponding to the grids to be deleted.

§    Click on the Delete… button

You will be prompted to confirm that you wish to delete the selected grids.

To edit an existing grid

§    Select the rows in the table of grids corresponding to the grids to be duplicated.

§    Click on the Duplicate… button

§    Enter the number of times to duplicate the grids

§    Enter the distance to increment the position of the duplicated grids.

§    Click the OK button