Program settings
The VICUS settings dialog: paths to external tools, color scheme and scene colors, automatic saving, database directory, selection mode and further options
Overview
The Settings dialog bundles the program-wide (project-independent) presets of VICUS Buildings: paths to external tools, the color scheme of the interface and the 3D scene as well as various behavior options. On the left, you switch between three pages: Tools/Services, Style/Theme and Miscellaneous.
The dialog has no OK or Apply button: all changes are applied and saved immediately. Some options (theme, scaling, native dialogs, database directory) only take full effect after a restart of VICUS – the dialog then points this out with a message.
Access
- Menu Edit > Settings…
”Tools/Services” page
External tools
Here the paths to the external helper programs that VICUS Buildings starts when needed are stored. Each row has an input field with a button for browsing the file system.
| Tool | Use |
|---|---|
| PostProc 2: | Result visualization (post-processing), see External evaluation |
| Text editor: | Opens project and log files in the text editor (e.g. via Edit > Open project in text editor) |
| 7-Zip: | Packing and unpacking tool |
| CCM Editor: | External climate editor, see Climate and Location |
| DWD climate processor: | Preparation of DWD climate data (KlimaGenerator) |
| MasterSim: | Tool for co-simulations (FMI), see FMU co-simulation |
On Windows and macOS, the Automatic detection button is additionally available per row, which searches for the respective tool at the usual installation locations. On Linux it is omitted – there it is assumed that the tools are reachable via the system path (PATH).
Elevation data
The selection field Service: determines the online service used to query terrain elevations. Mapy.com API is available for selection. Changing the service discards the cached elevation values. The elevation query is only used when drawing heat networks (VICUS Districts) and has no relevance for building modeling.
”Style/Theme” page
Color scheme
Two buttons switch the interface theme: Light and Dark. The active theme is highlighted.
After switching, a notice appears to restart VICUS for the full application of the theme.
High-DPI options
The checkbox Use scaling for high-resolution displays enables interface scaling on high-resolution monitors. The change only takes effect after a restart.
Color scheme settings
Four color buttons adapt the display of the 3D scene. The colors are stored separately per theme and take effect immediately:
| Element | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Scene background color: | Background of the 3D view |
| Main grid line color: | Color of the main lines of the ground grid |
| Minor grid line color: | Color of the intermediate lines of the ground grid |
| Selected object color: | Coloring of selected objects |
The Reset button resets the four colors to the default values of the current theme.
Good to know:
For screenshots in reports and presentations, it is worth briefly setting a light, neutral scene background color – the selection color should clearly stand out from the component colors of the model. Via Reset you then return to the default colors of the theme with a single click. See also Screenshot export.
”Miscellaneous” page
File dialog
Do not use native file/color dialogs – switches to the Qt-native file and color selection dialogs. Helpful if problems occur with the system-native dialogs. The change requires a restart.
Automatic saving
Enable automatic saving activates periodic backups of the project; the field Interval [min]: sets the time interval. The backup files are stored next to the project file with the extension .vicus~.
Directories
Via the input field with a browse button, an alternative directory for the user database can be specified, e.g. a network drive for shared use within the team; when VICUS is closed, the user DB elements are written there. The button Reset to default values restores the built-in directory. Both changes require a restart. See Database concept.
Resetting settings
Reset all “Do not show again” dialog confirmations re-enables all notice and confirmation dialogs previously suppressed via Do not show again.
Display
Hide information labels hides the displayed information notices (small info labels) in dialogs and the interface.
Selection
Use additive selection mode (Ctrl+click for single selection) permanently reverses the selection behavior: each click then toggles the selection additively, while Ctrl+click exclusively selects a single object. See Keyboard and mouse.
Steady-state network calculation
Solver timeout: limits the maximum computation time per solver run of the steady-state network calculation. This option only concerns the heat-network calculation (VICUS Districts) and has no influence on the dynamic building simulation.