Asset Placement

Asset Library button in Archicad

Asset Library button in the Enscape Viewport UI

With the Enscape Viewport open and in focus, open the Asset Library panel either by clicking on the Asset Library button in the Enscape Viewport UI toolbar or via the L key on your keyboard.

The Asset Library panel in the Enscape Viewport, once opened, has the following options available:

When Asset Placement is in progress in the CAD Viewport UI, it also takes place simultaneously in the Enscape Viewport. However, a notification is shown, reminding you that there is an ongoing placement in progress. In case of conflicting changes, the CAD Viewport takes priority.

Ongoing Asset Placement notification

Once an asset has been selected, move the mouse in the Enscape Viewport over a surface in the project you would like to place the asset on.

A low-poly approximation (proxy) of the asset helps you determine its position. Once you’ve decided where the asset is placed, click on its surface to fix the asset position, which continues to be shown as a proxy asset. Multiple instances of a single asset can be placed by continuing to click on surfaces within the Enscape Viewport.

To confirm the asset positioning, click on the Apply Changes button after which the proxy will be swapped out with the complete asset geometry and its associated textures.

Whilst an asset is selected, multiple instances can be placed by clicking multiple times on any available surface.

Once an asset has been placed, individual assets can then be selected, moved, rotated, scaled, and deleted from within the Enscape Viewport UI by using the transformation tools that are available in the Asset Library panel.

The available tools in the Asset Library are, from top to bottom:

The Translate tool allows you to reposition an asset that has already been placed. It can also be quickly accessed by pressing the T key on your keyboard as long as the Asset Library panel is open in Enscape, before or after selecting an asset.

A set of control points appears around the selected asset in the Enscape Viewport. To move the asset, click on the arrows and drag and drop it on the desired surface. To rotate it, click and drag the green ring left or right. Additionally, you can move it freely by clicking on the orange control point located in the center of the asset. You can only drag and drop the asset to an area where a surface exists.

You can also use X, Y, and Z coordinates for a more precise placement. You can find these input fields at the bottom left of the Enscape Viewport.

To confirm the changes, click on the Apply Changes button.

The Scale tool allows you to increase/decrease the size of an asset. Once an asset has been selected, three control handles appear around the selected asset. By clicking and dragging your mouse from left to right (up/down), the asset scales up/down on all axes symmetrically. Precision scaling the selected asset can be achieved via the input fields located at the bottom left of the screen.

To implement changes, click the Apply Changes button.

After assets have been placed and changes have been applied, the assets can be selected individually and then deleted from the project by clicking on the Trash Can icon. This can also be achieved by pressing the Del key on your keyboard or by right-clicking on the asset and selecting Delete Selection.

To implement any changes, click the Apply Changes button. To recover the deleted asset, click Discard All instead.

To speed up the asset placement on large surfaces, you can use the Multi Asset Placement tool. After clicking on the Multiple Asset Placement icon additional options become available below the Asset Library.

The first step to placing multiple assets is to select all the needed assets. Single or multiple assets can be selected. Selected assets receive a check box and are also shown under the Selected Assets area at the bottom of the Enscape Viewport UI.

Selected Assets

Click on the checkbox in the asset thumbnail either in the Asset Library panel or under the Selected Assets area to remove those assets from the selection. To remove all assets at once, click the Clear All option in the Selected Assets area. If you click on Confirm Placement, the current placement can be undone by clicking Discard All.

Before or after selecting the assets, you need to select one of the selection tools to scatter the assets on a surface. There are three options available:

Area selection tools

During the asset placement process, the selection tool cannot be changed until the Confirm Placement button has been clicked. Alternatively, you can click the Clear All option or uncheck all selected assets in the Selected Assets area first.

Click on the image to view it in full size

Selecting the Rectangular Selection option provides a way to stipulate a limited area to place the assets.

You can continue to adjust the size and orientation of the rectangle by clicking on either one of the control points. The assets are recalculated and regenerated to accommodate changes made to the selection area.

You can make adjustments уп until you click on the Confirm Placement button. After that, you can continue to specify other selection areas. After you click on the Apply Changes button, the full asset geometry and the associated asset textures are placed in the project.

At that point, the individual assets are available for individual editing or deletion. If you want to start placement again, click on the Discard All button.

The Circular Selection tool allows you to specify a circular area to place assets.

Click on Confirm Placement to continue creating other areas. Click Apply Changes when you are done placing assets to load the full geometry and textures and allow for individual asset editing.

If you want to start placement again, click on the Discard All button.

The Bucket Selection tool places assets on an available surface.
Hovering the mouse around in the Enscape Viewport when the Bucket Selection tool is selected shows a bucket symbol instead of the mouse pointer, and any surfaces that are available for asset placement are highlighted as you hover over them. Once a surface for asset placement has been identified, click on that highlighted surface, and proxy models of the selected assets are placed on that surface as a preview. That means the assets are not fixed in place until you click on the Confirm Placement button.

If you click on another surface before clicking the Confirm Placement button, the proxy assets are removed from the previous surface and applied to the newly selected surface.

When you are happy with the asset placement, click on Confirm Placement and then Apply Changes to finalize the placement. If you want to start placement again, click the Discard All button.

When the Random Rotation checkbox is enabled,  it randomizes the selected assets on the XY plane. This option is enabled by default. If disabled, all placed assets in the current selection, face the same direction. This can be useful when placing a group of spectators, for example.

With the Multi-Asset Editing feature, you can select a group of assets from your project model, instead of selecting them one by one. You can select assets visible in your Enscape Viewport by pressing the Shift key on your keyboard and dragging a selection area with your mouse pointer simultaneously over the screen. All selected assets are displayed as groups on the left sidebar. You can easily select and modify assets from that list.

You can select all instances of an asset by right-clicking on the asset while the Asset Library is open in Enscape and clicking Select All [asset_name] assets.

You can delete all selected assets at once by right-clicking on any of them and clicking Delete Selection.

When the Asset Library is opened via Archicad, initial placement of assets must be performed in the Archicad UI and it is only possible to place single assets this way. The tools provided within the Enscape Viewport UI to scale and move an asset and the Multi Asset Placement feature are only available when opening the Asset Library from within the Enscape Viewport UI.

The Placement in Archicad section explains how to place assets in Archicad. This is only possible when the Asset Library is opened through the button in the Archicad toolbar.

The Asset Library, when opened via Archicad, does not require the Enscape Viewport to be open.

Archicad Asset Library dialog

To place an asset in Archicad, open the Asset Library and choose your asset. Hover the mouse in the active Archicad 3D viewport, and you can see that a shaded area, representing the footprint of the asset, is displayed.

Once you have chosen the location to place your asset, left-click, and the asset appears in the Archicad viewport, while it's still fully rendered in the Enscape window. You may need to rotate and align it to the surface using the appropriate Archicad tools.

To place a different or an instance of the same asset, return to the Asset Library and make a new selection.