3D Viewport Coming

ComingThis feature is designed but not in DimSum yet. This page describes how it will work.

A live 3D model of your takeoff, built automatically from what you draw in 2D, so you can see and check walls, floors, roofs, faces and markups in place, screenshot anything into the Media library, and share a customer-safe 3D view file.

Overview

Fidelity for v1: clean and correct, nothing fancy. Simple extrusions, planes and layers first; fancy roof intersections, trimmed members and textures later.

The 3D viewport shows every takeoff and markup in a live 3D model of the building. You never "model" anything: DimSum builds the 3D view from what is already in the project:

• Plan Levels and their elevations (where each floor sits in height),
• Page Alignment (the 4-click Overlay & Align that stacks the levels on top of each other),
• each tool's 3D settings (Base Elevation, Width, Height, Thickness, vertex elevations),
• Sides (building faces) with their linked elevation pages,
• Assemblies (each layer shows as its own solid).

It is a takeoff visualizer and checker, not a CAD modeler. Use it to catch mistakes you can't see on a flat plan: a wall drawn on the wrong level, a roof plane with the wrong pitch, siding that sits inside the wall instead of on the sheathing, a missing section of floor. In v1, editing in 3D is limited to what helps takeoff: vertex elevations, selection and visibility.

Drawing in 2D updates 3D instantly, and selection is shared: click a wall in 3D and it's selected in the Project Tree, the Properties panel and every 2D pane.

Where to find it

Place	What it does
Workspace tab: 3D (Takeoff | Estimating | Reports | 3D)	Opens the 3D view as its own workspace
View tab → 2D / 3D pane toggle	Switches the active canvas pane between a 2D page view and the 3D viewport. Combine with split layouts (Alt+2, Alt+4) for "plan left, 3D right".
3D ribbon tab (appears when a 3D pane is active)	View presets (Top, Iso, each Side), display mode, level visibility / explode, 2D-markup plane toggles, plan underlays, section box, 3D measure, vertex elevation gizmo, snapshot
Page tab → Page Type, Overlay & Align, Elevation Face, Face Align	The 2D setup that places pages and faces correctly in 3D
Tool Settings dialog → Dimensions & 3D tab	Each tool's 3D settings (see 3D settings & vertex elevations)
Project Tree eye toggles	Hide levels, pages, sides, single items, or everything placed from one tool. They apply to 3D too.

How to use it

1. Open a 3D view beside your plan

1. Open the project and go to a plan page (e.g. Main Level → A-101).
2. Press Alt+2 (or View → Split layout → 2 vertical) to split the canvas.
3. Click inside the right-hand pane to make it active (it gets a highlighted border).
4. Click View → 2D / 3D pane toggle. The right pane becomes the 3D viewport and the 3D ribbon tab appears.
5. Press F to fit the whole model in view.
6. Draw or edit something in the left (2D) pane. The 3D pane updates as you work.

2. Make sure the levels stack correctly

3D places each level at its elevation and lines the levels up using Page Alignment. If a plan page has not been aligned, it still shows in 3D at its level's elevation, but it uses the page's own origin and gets a ⚠ badge, so floors may appear shifted.

1. Check each level's elevation: double-click the level in the Project Tree (e.g. Basement 0', Main Level 10', Second Level 19'). Levels are listed lowest first. Remember the model: a level's elevation is the top of its supporting structure (e.g. the top of the foundation), and the floor system sits on top of it.
2. Check each page's Page Type (Page tab → Page Type): Plan pages sit at their level's elevation, Elevation pages are mapped onto a Side, Detail pages don't appear in 3D.
3. For each unaligned plan page, run Page → Overlay & Align (4-click) against the base page (see Overlay & Align).
4. Back in 3D, the ⚠ badge is gone and the walls of each level sit directly above the ones below.

3. Move around the model

Action	Mouse / key
Orbit	Left-drag or middle-drag
Pan	Shift+drag or right-drag
Zoom (toward the cursor)	Mouse wheel
Fit everything	F
Zoom to selection	Z
Trackpad	Gestures supported (orbit, pan, pinch-zoom)

• Use the view cube (corner of the viewport) or the 3D ribbon presets: Top, Bottom, Iso (4 corners), and each Side (Side 1 … n), which looks straight at that building face.
• Toggle Perspective / Orthographic. Orthographic is best for looking square at a face or checking heights.

4. Check a roof plane

1. On the roof plan, draw the roof section with the Pitched Area tool (or an Area tool plus the Plane helper): pick the eave edge, enter the eave elevation (e.g. 19') and the pitch (e.g. 6/12).
2. Look at it in 3D: the plane rises from the eave to the ridge, and its Thickness (e.g. 7/16" sheathing) is extruded perpendicular to the plane.
3. If a ridge vertex is wrong, select the shape in 3D, click the vertex elevation gizmo, and drag the vertex up or down. It snaps to other tools' vertices and to level elevations. The 2D elevation tag and the vertex table update too.
4. If the vertices no longer lie on one flat plane, DimSum warns you and offers Fit best plane or Triangulate (folded surface).

5. Put an elevation sheet onto a building face (Face Align)

1. On the plan page, draw each building face with Page → Elevation Face (e.g. "Front Elevation" along the front wall). The arrow points outward; click it to flip.
2. Link the elevation sheet to the Side: in Side Settings (double-click the Side in the tree), add the "Front Elevation" page. (Or do this in the New Project Process, step 8.)
3. Run Page → Face Align for that Side:
4. The plan shows with the Side 1 face line highlighted. Click face point A on the plan (e.g. left building corner), then the same corner on the elevation page.
5. Click face point B on the plan (right corner), then that corner on the elevation page.
6. Click a known elevation line on the elevation page (e.g. the first-floor line) and pick or enter its elevation (defaults to a Plan Level, e.g. "Main Level = 10'").
7. DimSum maps the page onto the face plane. If the elevation page's scale disagrees with the plan, you get a warning. 2D always wins: the page scale drives every quantity. Face Align only places the page in 3D — it is a bonus view, never a source of numbers — so a disagreement is a warning, not a change to your takeoff.
8. Draw siding (Area), trim (Linear) or lights (Point) on the elevation page. In 3D they appear on the face, pushed out by their thickness.
9. For faces with jogs or bump-outs, the Side is a polyline with several segments. Click the jog lines on the elevation page to split it into matching regions.
10. Several elevations on one sheet: when one sheet shows Front and Rear (or mixes scales), draw a region around each elevation and link each region to its own Side. Each region gets its own Face Align and its own scale, so the sheet works without duplicating the page — though duplicating a page onto another level is still allowed.

6. Choose what you see

1. On the 3D ribbon, switch categories on or off: Takeoff (Linear / Area / Point separately), Dimensions, Highlights, Notes, Text, Stamps, Draw lines, Clouds, Plan underlays, Face planes. Your choices are remembered per workspace.
2. Use the eye toggles in the Project Tree to hide a level, page, Side, item, or everything placed from one tool. Use "3D only" hide to hide something in 3D but keep it in 2D.
3. Drag the Explode levels slider to separate the levels vertically and see inside.
4. Pick a display mode: Shaded, Shaded + Edges, Wireframe, X-ray (transparent).
5. Pick a color mode: by Item color (default), by Level, by Tool, or by any property (e.g. {Category}).

7. Look inside a level or a wall (section box)

1. Click Section box on the 3D ribbon.
2. Drag the box faces to cut the model. Cut down to a single level, or slice through a wall or floor.
3. Where the cut passes through an Assembly, each layer shows in section: e.g. drywall, studs + insulation, sheathing, siding.
4. Click Section box again to turn it off.

8. Measure in 3D

1. Click 3D measure on the 3D ribbon.
2. Click two points. DimSum shows the point-to-point distance and the vertical distance between them (e.g. top of plate to ridge).
3. Press Esc to finish. 3D measurements are temporary.

9. Save a view (Snapshot) and take screenshots (Media library)

Snapshot (a saved view):

1. Set up the camera, visibility, section box and display mode you want.
2. Click Snapshot on the 3D ribbon and give the view a name (e.g. "Roof – Iso NE").
3. The snapshot saves the camera and visibility. Use it as a live image in the Report Designer (it re-renders when the model changes), or export it as PNG.
4. Re-open a saved snapshot to return to that exact view.

Screenshot (a picture, into the Media library): you can screenshot anything in the canvas, 2D or 3D, a region or a whole pane.

1. Click Screenshot on the 3D ribbon (or use the shared screenshot command), then drag a region or click the pane.
2. The image goes to the project's Media panel.
3. From Media you can place it on a plan page (as an image annotation), drop it into a report or a Marked-Up Plan, or export it.

10. Share 3D with a customer (3D view file)

Customers never get the .dsum: they shouldn't see the "backend" (formulas, prices, tools). Instead:

1. File → Export 3D Model.
2. Choose what to include: levels, categories (e.g. walls, floors, roof; no markups), and which quantities to show on hover (e.g. name + length only).
3. DimSum writes a .vsum 3D view file: geometry, colors, names and the chosen quantities only. No formulas, prices, tools, lists or plan pages.
4. Send the file. It opens in the DimSum 3D Viewer:

Viewer	What it is	When
Free desktop viewer	A small, free DimSum app that opens a .vsum and nothing else. No account, no hosting, no license. Your customer downloads it once.
Online viewer	The same view in a browser, hosted by Planbase, so you can send a link instead of a file	Later, once hosting exists

The free viewer is the reason there is still no free .dsum viewer: customers get a .vsum they can spin around, never the project (Licensing).

This, plus reports and printed/PDF marked-up plans, is the only thing that goes to customers.

11. Show framing or solid layers

Wall assemblies can render individual studs as members or as solid layers. Switch between "show framing" and "solid layers".

Options & settings

Viewport (3D ribbon)

Setting	What it does	Default
View presets	Top, Bottom, Iso (4 corners), each Side (1…n)
Perspective / Orthographic	Camera projection	Not set in plan
Display mode	Shaded, Shaded + Edges, Wireframe, X-ray	Not set in plan
Color by	Item color, Level, Tool, any property	Item color
Category toggles	Takeoff (Linear / Area / Point), Dimensions, Highlights, Notes, Text, Stamps, Draw lines, Clouds, Plan underlays, Face planes	Remembered per workspace
Explode levels	Slider that separates levels vertically	Off (0)
Section box / clipping planes	Cuts the model	Off
Plan underlays	Plan image as a textured plane at each level (and on each face) with opacity	Optional
Billboard notes/text	Notes and text always face the camera instead of lying flat on their plane	Optional
Face planes	Show each Side as a faint translucent plane	Toggle
Show framing / solid layers	Studs as members vs. layers as solids	Not set in plan

Per-tool 3D settings (summary)

Set in the Tool Settings dialog → Dimensions & 3D tab. Full details in 3D settings & vertex elevations.

Setting	Linear	Area	Point	Default
Base Elevation	Start Z	Plane base Z	Bottom of object	{Level > Elevation} of the page's level (follows the level)
Elevation Offset	Extra offset (e.g. +8' header)	Same	Same	0
Width	2D stroke and 3D thickness		Footprint	From tool
Width Justification	Center / Left / Right		—	Center
Height	Extrusion up (negative = down)		Extrusion up	From tool
Thickness		Extrusion of the area		From tool
Extrude Direction	Up / Down / Centered	Up / Down / Centered (along the plane normal)	Up / Down	Up
Vertex Elevations	Per-point Z (sloped members)	Per-point Z (planes)		All 0 (relative)
Show in 3D	on/off	on/off	on/off	On
3D Appearance	Tool color + opacity	Same	Box / cylinder	Tool color

Face tools (drawn on an Elevation page)

Setting	Meaning	Default
Face Offset	Where the object starts, measured out from the face plane	0, or the wall assembly's total exterior layer thickness if a wall Assembly is behind the face
Thickness	How far it projects out from the face	From tool
Width (Linear)	Size on the face	From tool
Justify (Linear)	Drawn line = top / center / bottom of the trim	Center (the line is the centerline)

Examples

Tool	Where drawn	3D setup	What you see in 3D
Ext Wall 2x6	Main Level plan	Base = 10', Width 5 1/2", Height 9' 1 1/8", Justify Left (exterior)	Wall solids along each run, corners joined cleanly
Footing 20x10	Basement plan	Base = 0', Width 20", Height −10"	Footing below the slab
Floor Slab 4"	Basement plan	Base = 0', Thickness 4", Extrude Down	Slab
Roof Plane A	Roof plan	Eave Z = 19', pitch 6/12, Thickness 7/16", Extrude Up	Sloped sheathing plane
Siding – Front	Front Elevation (Side 1)	Thickness 1/2"	Siding panel on the sheathing, 1/2" thick, windows as holes
1x4 Trim – Front	Front Elevation (Side 1)	Thickness 3/4", Width 3 1/2"	Trim board 3/4" out from the face, 3 1/2" tall on the face
Post 6x6	Basement plan	Base = 0', Width 5 1/2", Height 8'	Posts
Stair stringer	Plan (Beam tool, Stair Stringer mode)	Bottom at the lower level, top at lower + Total Rise	Sloped stringer; [3D Length] = true sloped length (see Beam tool)

Floor assembly in 3D. A Floor System instance using "Floor – Joists – 3/4 Subfloor – 1/2 GWB" renders four solids at their true positions: the 1/2" drywall just below the Elevation Line, 2x10 joists as individual members at 16" O.C., the 3/4" subfloor on top of the joists, and nothing for the glue (Accessory layers have no thickness). Change the joist slot to 2x12 and the subfloor moves up 2" in 3D.

Wall assembly in 3D. An Exterior Wall 2x6 drawn on the exterior face of studs shows 7/16" OSB outside the wall plane, studs + R21 batts inside, and 1/2" GWB on the far side. Siding drawn on the Side 1 elevation page sits on the OSB, because its Face Offset defaults to the wall's exterior layer thickness.

Engineered layout. Trusses picked from an overlaid truss layout show at their level with the layout's depth as typical profiles (see Engineered Layout Overlays).

Tips & shortcuts

• F fits everything, Z zooms to the selection. Select a tool in the Project Tree, then press Z in the 3D pane to find it.
• Hover any object in 3D to see a tooltip with the tool name and key quantities.
• Use a Side preset plus Orthographic to check siding and trim against the elevation sheet.
• Use Color by Level to spot a tool drawn on the wrong level at a glance.
• Use X-ray to see framing inside walls and floors without a section box.
• A ⚠ badge in 3D means a plan page isn't aligned. Fix it with Overlay & Align before trusting the stacking.
• Set up named snapshots (e.g. "Front Iso", "Roof Top") once and reuse them in every report.

Rules, limits & edge cases

• Not a CAD modeler. v1 3D tools: select, vertex elevation gizmo, 3D measure, hide/isolate, section box, snapshot. You can't draw new tools in 3D.
• Detail pages never appear in 3D.
• Unaligned plan pages appear at their level's elevation using the page origin, with a ⚠ badge.
• Beams don't appear on elevation (face) pages; they show in plan and in 3D.
• Accessory layers (glue, nails, tape, labor) have no thickness and don't render.
• Non-planar Area shapes need a choice: fit a best plane or triangulate.
• Wall openings in 3D: CSG openings (cutting holes through wall solids) are listed for later. Cutouts in Area tools (e.g. windows cut in siding on an elevation page) are holes in v1.
• Point tools render as boxes or cylinders in v1; custom 3D symbols come later.
• Later (v1.x / v2): walk/fly mode, shadows/sun, textures/materials (incl. wood-grain fills tinted with the tool color, N2), full 3D drawing tools, 3D symbol library, CSG wall openings, "wall from line". Export to glTF/OBJ/IFC is not needed now; the .vsum 3D view file is the sharing format.
• v1 instances live on one page, so a tool's shapes share that page's level and elevation unless a shape overrides its elevation.
• .vsum contents are limited to geometry, colors, names and chosen quantities. It can't be turned back into a project, and the free viewer can't edit it.

Related features

• 3D settings & vertex elevations
• Overlay & Align (4-click)
• Elevation Faces (Sides) & Face Align
• Split views & workspaces
• Assemblies
• Wall tools, Opening tool & Cut tool
• Area & Pitched Area tools
• Beam tool · Joist & Rafter tools
• Engineered Layout Overlays
• Report Designer (3D snapshots in reports) · Marked-Up Plan printing
• Search, Media & Attachments (Media library)
• Licensing (what customers get)
• Performance targets