Section view
The section view cuts the model with a single plane and removes everything on one side of it, so the inside of an assembly can be seen and measured. It changes only the view and never modifies the file.
Placing the plane
Click Section View in the toolbar. Opening the tool does not cut anything yet. The pointer becomes a crosshair, the item under it is highlighted, and clicking places the plane on that item:
| Clicked item | Plane |
|---|---|
| A flat face | The plane of the face. Everything in front of the face is cut away |
| A hole, shaft, cone, fillet, circle, or straight edge | A plane through the axis or along the edge, turned to face you as closely as that allows |
| Any other surface | A plane facing you, through the point that was clicked |
Clicking empty space places nothing, and dragging orbits the camera as usual while the tool waits for a click. Once the plane is placed, clicks in the viewport select and measure again.
To place the plane somewhere else, press Esc to remove it and click again. Pressing Esc a second time, or clicking Section View again, closes the section view.
Moving the plane
After the plane is placed, the viewport draws its outline across the model, with a knob in the middle and an arrow pointing towards the side that is cut away. Dragging the knob or the arrow moves the plane along its own direction. When the plane is seen edge on, dragging upwards moves it towards you. The plane stops a short distance beyond each side of the model.
The cut faces
Where the plane passes through a closed solid, the cut is drawn as a hatched face in the part's own colour, lit by the scene like the rest of the model. Neighbouring parts are hatched in alternating directions. An open surface body has no inside, so it is cut open without a cut face. With Edges turned on in the Render tab, the outline of the cut is drawn with the part edges.
Double-clicking a cut face selects the part it belongs to. The measuring tool can pick the curves and faces of the cut.
What the cut keeps
The plane belongs to the model. It turns with the model when Edit ▸ Rotate Model is used, and it stays in place when the complexity level changes.
Photo Mode keeps the cut and hides the plane's outline and handle, so a sectioned model can be captured as it appears.
Limits
A part that contains an open surface body shows no cut face anywhere. Where two solids in the file overlap, the overlapping region is shown as the cut face of only one of them.