SectionPlane

A clipping plane that cuts through the model to reveal interior geometry.

Section planes are used to create cutaway views of buildings, mechanical parts, or any 3D model where you need to see what’s inside. The plane is defined by four coefficients [a, b, c, d] that form the equation ax + by + cz + d = 0. Everything on one side of the plane is hidden, revealing the cross-section.

Only one section plane can be active at a time. When a section plane is active, SketchUp hides geometry on the negative side of the plane and optionally displays the cut surface. You can control visibility of section cuts and planes through Model.updateRenderingOptions.

Example

let model = await SketchUpApi.getActiveModel();

// Make section cuts visible in the viewport
await model.updateRenderingOptions({
  DisplaySectionCuts: true,
  DisplaySectionPlanes: true,
});

// Create a horizontal section plane at height 50
await model.performOperation(op => {
  // Plane equation [0, 0, 1, -50] cuts at z = 50
  const planeRef = op.createSectionPlane(
    model, [0, 0, 1, -50]
  );
  op.sectionPlaneActivate(planeRef);
}, 'Create section plane');

// Query the section plane back
let planes = await model.entities.get({
  filterBy: { types: ['SectionPlane'] }
});
let sectionPlane = planes[0];

console.log(sectionPlane.active);
// => true
console.log(sectionPlane.plane);
// => { a: 0, b: 0, c: 1, d: -50 }

See

Since

SDK 2.16.0 Protocol 1.13.0

Extends

BaseDrawingElement

Properties

active

readonly active: boolean

Whether this section plane is currently active and performing the cut. Only one section plane can be active at a time. Use Operation.sectionPlaneActivate to activate a plane.

attributes

readonly attributes: Attributes

The attribute dictionaries attached to this element. Attributes store custom key-value metadata that extensions can read and write.

Inherited from

BaseDrawingElement.attributes

castsShadows

readonly castsShadows: boolean

Whether this element casts shadows onto other geometry.

Inherited from

BaseDrawingElement.castsShadows

hidden

readonly hidden: boolean

Whether this element is hidden. Hidden elements don’t appear in the viewport unless the user enables “View > Hidden Geometry.”

Inherited from

BaseDrawingElement.hidden

id

readonly id: number

The persistent ID that uniquely identifies this section plane.

materialRef

readonly materialRef: MaterialRef | undefined

A reference to the material applied to this element, if any. Call getMaterial() to fetch the full Material object with color and texture data.

Inherited from

BaseDrawingElement.materialRef

name

readonly name: string

The display name shown in the Outliner and assigned by SketchUp, like “Section Plane 1” or a custom name set by the user.

plane

readonly plane: Plane

The plane equation coefficients that define where this section plane cuts. The plane follows ax + by + cz + d = 0, where [a, b, c] is the normal vector and d is the distance from the origin.

receivesShadows

readonly receivesShadows: boolean

Whether this element receives shadows cast by other geometry.

Inherited from

BaseDrawingElement.receivesShadows

symbol

readonly symbol: string

A single-character label displayed on the section plane glyph in the viewport, like “A”, “B”, or “C”. SketchUp assigns these automatically.

tagRef

readonly tagRef: TagRef | undefined

A reference to the tag (formerly “layer”) assigned to this element. Call getTag() to fetch the full Tag object.

Inherited from

BaseDrawingElement.tagRef

type

readonly type: SectionPlane = EntityType.SectionPlane

Accessors

sketchupId

Get Signature

get sketchupId(): SketchupId

JS API identifier for this section plane. Pass it to API methods that accept a sketchupId.

Returns

SketchupId

Overrides

BaseDrawingElement.sketchupId

typeName

Get Signature

get typeName(): string

Returns a named variant of the type field.

Since

SDK 2.35.0

Returns

string

Methods

getBounds()

getBounds(): Promise<BoundingBox>

Fetches the axis-aligned bounding box for this element from SketchUp.

Returns

Promise<BoundingBox>

Example

let model = await SketchUpApi.getActiveModel();
let all = await model.entities.get();
let element = all[0];
let box = await element.getBounds();
console.log(box.min.x, box.min.y, box.min.z);
console.log(box.max.x, box.max.y, box.max.z);

Since

SDK 2.30.0

Inherited from

BaseDrawingElement.getBounds

getMaterial()

getMaterial(): Promise<Material | undefined>

Fetches the material applied to this element. Returns undefined if the element uses the default material.

Returns

Promise<Material | undefined>

Example

let model = await SketchUpApi.getActiveModel();
let all = await model.entities.get();
let element = all[0];
let mat = await element.getMaterial();
if (mat) {
  console.log(mat.name, mat.color.toHex());
}

Since

SDK 2.30.0

Inherited from

BaseDrawingElement.getMaterial

getTag()

getTag(): Promise<Tag | undefined>

Fetches the tag assigned to this element. Most elements have a tag — even those on the default “Untagged” tag. Returns undefined only if the tag reference is missing.

Returns

Promise<Tag | undefined>

Example

let model = await SketchUpApi.getActiveModel();
let all = await model.entities.get();
let element = all[0];
let tag = await element.getTag();
if (tag) {
  console.log(tag.name);
}

Since

SDK 2.30.0

Inherited from

BaseDrawingElement.getTag

refresh()

refresh(): Promise<SectionPlane>

Re-fetches this section plane from SketchUp to get its current state. Because SectionPlane is a snapshot, it can become stale if the model changes (for example, if another section plane is activated). Call refresh() to get an up-to-date copy.

Returns

Promise<SectionPlane>

A new SectionPlane reflecting the current model state. Throws if the section plane has been deleted.

Example

let model = await SketchUpApi.getActiveModel();
let planes = await model.entities.get({
  filterBy: { types: ['SectionPlane'] },
});
// Later, after the user makes changes...
let fresh = await planes[0].refresh();
console.log(fresh.active, fresh.plane);

toString()

toString(): string

Returns a string representation of an object.

Returns

string

Show Deprecated

Deprecated

materialId

readonly materialId: number | undefined

Inherited from

BaseDrawingElement.materialId

tagId

readonly tagId: number | undefined

Inherited from

BaseDrawingElement.tagId

bounds

Get Signature

get bounds(): Promise<BoundingBox>

Returns

Promise<BoundingBox>

Inherited from

BaseDrawingElement.bounds