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634 | ChapteR 15 Creating StairS and railingS

Baluster Placement When you return to the type properties of the railing, locate the Balus-
ter Placement parameter and click the Edit button to open the Edit Baluster Placement dialog
box (Figure 15.15). As you can see, there are options for the main pattern and the posts and an
option for how the balusters will be used on stairs.

Figure 15.15
edit Baluster Placement
dialog box for the
guardrail – Pipe family

The Main Pattern section of the dialog box is where you would assemble all your baluster
types and then space and host them accordingly. You can also decide how you want the pattern
to repeat (or not repeat) itself at the ends of sketched line segments. The Posts section is used to
specify which baluster is used at start, corner, and end conditions (and the frequency of corner
posts). Click OK to close both open dialog boxes.
That’s a high-level overview of the properties of railings and what they’re used for. We’ve
covered the primary features necessary to create great railings.

Using the tab Key with Stairs and Railings
railings consist of nested families for top rails and handrails. Stairs are divided into runs, landings,
and supports. when you first select a railing or stair, you will be selecting the parent type. you could
then click edit type in the Properties palette to change the child types; however, there are some
unique instance properties and editing capabilities exposed when you use the tab key to directly
select one of the nested elements.
For stairs, one of the important features of a run is whether it begins or ends with a riser. This
property is critical in determining how a stair interacts with an adjacent floor slab. depending
on the type of stair you create, these properties are part of either the stair type or the run type.

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