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Reference Lines ​

Reference Lines are line-based project objects stored separately from the site boundary and from surroundings meshes.

TODO screenshot: show one or more reference-line objects in the workspace, with a reference-line object selected and its segment count visible in Properties.

What reference lines are ​

Reference Lines represent polyline geometry rather than mesh geometry.

They differ from other site objects in these ways:

  • unlike the Boundary, they do not define the active plot,
  • unlike Surroundings, they do not expose mesh material, obstruction, reflectance, or distancing fields,
  • and unlike generated massing or sections, they are imported guide geometry rather than generated results.

Stored properties ​

When a reference-line object is available in a project, these properties apply:

Name ​

Display name of the reference-line object.

Object Type ​

Always Reference Lines.

Number of Segments ​

Count of line segments stored for that object.

Visibility ​

Reference-line visibility is stored per object and as part of project visualization state.

Geometry format ​

Reference-line data is segment-based.

  • Source geometry is polyline-style line data rather than faces.
  • Units conversion and up-orientation conversion are applied when the source geometry is read.
  • Segment endpoints are stored in 3D coordinates.

In project data, each reference-line object is saved with its name, visibility state, and segment range.

Relationship to other geometry ​

Boundary ​

Boundary lines define the plot used by downstream generation and daylighting workflows.

Reference Lines are independent line objects and do not replace the project boundary.

Surroundings ​

Surroundings are mesh objects with daylighting and distancing properties.

Reference Lines are lighter-weight line objects and do not carry those mesh-specific settings.

Working notes ​

  • Reference-line objects are persisted in the .qubu project file.
  • They are stored independently from boundary lines.
  • Their structure is stable and predictable: one named object with a sequence of line segments.