Create floor plans, sections, and 3D views

Last updated: October 1, 2026

Generate the views you need to design and document your project: a floor plan for every level, 3D views of individual floors, and sections and elevations. Views are live. When the model changes, every view updates with it.

Where views live

All views are created from the Views tool, the camera icon in the left toolbar. Every model also has a default 3D view, which is where you land when you open it.

💡 Anything you add to the model shows up in every view. Some things, like detail lines, text, and dimensions, can be added to a single view only, so your plan notes don't clutter your 3D views. See 📄 Model elements vs. view annotationsfor full details.

Create floor plans for every level

You can create floor plans for several levels at once. First, you'll need to create your levels ​

  1. Click the Views tool in the left toolbar.

  2. Click Add Floor Plan.

  3. Check each level you want a floor plan for.

  4. Click Add to create them.

One floor plan is created for each level you checked.

âš  If a level already has a floor plan, checking it again creates a duplicate.

If your building is a linked model

Floor plans come from the levels in your own model. If the building is linked in from another model, its levels belong to that model, so they won't appear in the Add Floor Plan list.

To get floor plans of a linked building, first create matching levels in your model:

  • Ask the agent, for example "Create levels in this model to match the levels in the linked model."

  • Or create them yourself. Add a level for each floor and set its elevation to match.

Then use Add Floor Plan as above.

âš  You'll see both sets of levels, yours and the linked model's, in your views. You can't hide only the linked model's levels yet.

💡 Working directly in a Revit-published model? Its levels are already part of that model, so they show up in Add Floor Plan right away. A Revit level comes across if it has rooms on it.

Create a 3D view of one floor

  1. Open the floor plan for the level you want, for example Level 2.

  2. Click the Views tool and add a 3D view.

The new 3D view is cut to show just that floor. Orbit to look around it.

To create a 3D view of the whole model instead, add a 3D view from the default 3D view.

Create a section

  1. Open a floor plan.

  2. Click the Views tool and choose Section.

  3. Click to set the start and end of the section line. Hold Shift to keep it orthogonal.

  4. Set the depth, which is how far beyond the section line the view looks.

  5. Set the direction, which is the side of the line you're looking toward.

  6. Select the section's crop boundary and drag it in to show only what you need.

💡 Where to cut: a typical set includes a cross-section and a longitudinal section through the whole building, plus sections through areas that need explaining, like a stair. For a stair, cut through it, set the depth just past the far stair wall, and crop down to the stair.

Create an elevation

Elevations are created the same way as sections. They can be exterior, like a building facade, or interior, like one wall of a room.

Sections vs. elevations

In Motif, sections and elevations work almost identically. The difference is the tag that appears in your plans and the drafting convention each follows:

  • Section: cuts through the building to show what's inside and how it's built, like a stair or a floor-to-floor relationship.

  • Elevation: shows the face of something, like the north facade or an interior wall with detailed casework or tile.

Anyone reading your drawings knows from the tag which kind of view they're about to see.

Set a view's scale

Each view has its own scale, for example 1/8" = 1'-0" for a full building section or 1/2" = 1'-0" for a wall section. Set it in the view's Properties. The scale controls how big the view appears when you place it on a sheet.

Hide categories in a view

  1. Open the view and make sure nothing is selected.

  2. In the Properties panel, open Visibility overrides.

  3. Turn off the categories you don't want to see, for example Levels.

Visibility is set per view.

Or ask the agent

The agent can set up views for you, which is handy when you need a lot of them. For example: "Create a floor plan and a 3D view for every level."

Good to know

  • Duplicating a view doesn't copy its annotations. Text, dimensions, and detail lines stay with the original view.

  • Callouts aren't supported yet.

Need help? Reach out to us at community.motif.io