Properties Dialog

Used to review the properties of an element(s), such as its geometry. Opens when:

You can access this dialog from the following:

Ribbon: View > Home > Primary > Properties
Ribbon: File > Properties
Toolbox: Primary Tools
Reset pop-up menu: Properties.

The selected element(s) is listed in the top pane. The tabs that appear in the bottom pane vary, depending on the type of element you select. Information displayed on each of these tabs pertains to the element whose list entry is selected in the top pane.

Many non-modal dialogs now provide unified selection, that is, the selection is synchronized with each other. For example, if you select a design model in the Explorer dialog, the same design model will be selected in Models dialog and its properties will be shown in Properties and Details dialogs. There is also support for sub-selection.

The Properties dialog shows properties of any selection and is integrated with unified selection. The selection tree shows details such as associated elements, named groups, items and other data of the element as child nodes. It is also integrated with Tables (shows rows, columns, cells, etc.), parametric elements (you can expand and edit constraints and features), and so on.

Not all the settings listed below display each time an element is selected with the Properties tool. The table below displays settings on each pane in alphabetical order rather than in the order of their appearance in the dialog.

You can dock the Properties dialog to the left or right edge of the application window.

You can customize Properties dialog from the Explorer Settings.

Key-in: DIALOG PROPERTIES < OPEN | CLOSE | TOGGLE >

Note: If an element has associations, they are listed and grouped under association types, in the top pane of the dialog.

Note: If the field and its setting appear in gray text, the value is read-only and cannot be modified.

Setting	Description
General	Displays general properties of the selected element, active model, or open DGN file. Annotation Cell Annotation Purpose Annotation Scale Cell Name Cell Type Class Color Date Created Date Plotted Date Saved By Description Design Revision Count Design Revisions Detailing Symbol Style Discipline Editor File Name - Filename and path of the DGN file. File Size - Size of the DGN file. Fill Format Is Active Is Annotation Is Markup Is Saved View Last Saved By Level Line Style Line Style Scale Global Line Style Scale Name Number of elements Priority Propagate Annotation Scale Purpose Ref Logical Revision Number - Number of times the DGN file has been edited and saved. Template Transparency Type — The element or model type. Update Fields Automatically Weight
Geometry	Displays geometric properties of the selected element. Affinity Angle Area — Determines whether a closed element is a solid or a hole. Active Z depth Aspect Ratio Axis Ratio Back Crop Back Depth Background Color Bottom Crop Bottom Height Boundary Data Boundary Edge Count Camera Position Center Center 1 Center 2 Clip Origin Clip Width Closed Control Net Control Point Data Control Point Data > Physically Closed Control Point Data > Row Count Control Point Data > Column Count Control Point Data > Row Index Control Point Data > Column Index Control Point Data > Control Point Count Control Point Data > Row Size Control Point Data > Column Size Control Point Data > Control Points Control Point Data > Control Points > Point Control Point Data > Control Points > Weight Control Point Data > Weights Control Point Data > Weights > Point Control Point Data > Weights > Weight Control Polygon Count Delta X Delta Y Delta Z Dimension Direction Directional Vectors DPI Edge Count Elevation Elevation Angle End End Angle End Data Point End Data Point > Point End Data Point > Tangent Method End Data Point > Tangent Source End Data Point > Tangent End Point Extents Face Count Face Data Fit Point Data Fit Point Data > Physically Closed Fit Point Data > Fit Point Count Fit Point Data > Fit Points Front Crop Front Depth Geocoding GeoPriority Hidden Edge Count Interior Edge Count Knot Data Knot Data > Uniform Knot Data > Knot Count Knot Data > Knots Knot Data > Knot, Multiplicity > Value Knot Data > Knot, Multiplicity > Multiplicity Left Crop Length Normal Number of Pixels Order Orientation Origin Perimeter Periodic Pixel Size Planar Planar Distance Point Cloud > Tolerance Point Cloud > Project to Cut Plane Preserve Up Primary Axis Primary Vector Radius 1 Radius 2 Rational Right Crop Rotation Rotation X Rotation Y Rotation Z Scale Scale X Scale Y Scale Z Secondary Axis Secondary Vector Segments Start Start Angle Start Data Point Start Data Point > Point Start Data Point > Tangent Method Start Data Point > Tangent Source Start Data Point > Tangent Start Point Surface Area Sweep Angle Top Height Total Elevation Total Length Top Crop U Data User Origin V Data View Index Vertex Count Vertex Data Volume
Material	Displays material properties of the selected element. Face Attachments Assigned Materials Attached Material
Extended	Displays extended properties of the selected element. End Cap Joints Last Modified Line Style Parameters Line Style Parameters > Scale Line Style Parameters > Width Mode Line Style Parameters > Start Width Line Style Parameters > End Width Line Style Parameters > Constant Width Line Style Parameters > True Width Line Style Parameters > Shift Mode Line Style Parameters > Shift Line Style Parameters > Fraction Phase Line Style Parameters > Corner Mode Locked Model Modified New Profile Count Profiles Snappable Solid Start Cap Thickness — Gives thickness to planar elements. If the value is positive, the thickness is applied in the positive Z (global) direction and if it is negative the thickness is applied in the negative Z direction. By default, the thickness value is zero. The native element type remains same even after applying the thickness. The thickness property can be used to visualize a planar element in a view window other than the one in which it was drawn, by giving a non-zero thickness value. View Dependent
Clip Volume	Displays the clip volume settings of the selected callout. Angle Back Depth Back Crop Bottom Crop Bottom Height Clip points Elevation Front Crop Front Depth Height Left crop Preserve Up Right Crop Top Crop Toggle Direction Top Height Width
Annotation	Displays the annotation settings of the selected callout. End Margin Is Annotation Points Start Margin Style
Raw Data	Displays raw data properties of the selected element. Element ID File Position Is Range Dynamic Is Range Low Linkages Range High Size XAttributes
Formatting	Displays text format-specific properties of the selected element. Font Name Height Is Annotation Justification Line Spacing Line Spacing Type Origin Slant Angle User Origin Vertical Width
Contents	Displays text-specific properties of the selected element. Text String Text Style Vertical
Image	Displays image-specific properties of the selected element. Color Mode Compression Description File Size Format Logical Name Read-Only
Color	Displays color-specific properties of the selected element. Brightness Contrast Invert Tint Transparency
Display Print	Displays printing and display properties associated with the selected element. Clip Display Gamma Layers Plane Print Print Gamma Raster Rotation Views
Pattern Parameters	Displays associative pattern properties of the selected element. Pattern Definition Pattern Cell Is Annotation Scale Pattern Angle Pattern Origin
Groups	Displays grouping properties associated with the selected element. Graphic Group
Attachments	Displays the attachment properties associated with the selected element. Angle Description Display Display Raster Refs File Name Locate Logical Name Model Offset Orientation Scale Scale Line Styles Snap Transparency Use Lights
Working Units	Displays the working units properties of the selected model. Accuracy Format Master Unit Master Unit Label Sub Unit Sub Unit Label
Cell	Displays cell properties of the selected model. Can be placed as a cell Can be placed as an annotation cell Cell Type
Sheet	Displays the properties of the selected sheet model. Display Boundary Sheet Number Sequence Number Border Attachment Sheet Size Width Height Origin Rotation Sheet Index
Drawing Properties	Displays the properties of the selected drawing model. Reference - Details of the reference attached in the drawing model such as the logical name, file name, and description. View Type - Type of saved view. View Name - Name of the saved view. Discipline - Discipline of the drawing. Purpose - Purpose of the saved view.
Breaks	Displays the property for applying breaks to a table. Break Type
Text Styles	Displays the properties of text styles of text in a table. Body Default Text Color Default Text Weight