Adding a Stream

Applies to: Plus Pro Architect

Streams can be an attractive addition to any landscape design. A stream is an adjustable path of water in Realtime Landscaping, which can be modified in many of the same ways as a pond.

To add a stream:

1.   From Water Features tab, click Add Stream.

2.   Set Width to the desired width of the stream.

3.   Draw the centerline of the stream by clicking the left mouse button to add points. Press the Backspace key to remove the last point added, and press the Esc key to cancel. If you would like to input the distance and angle manually, place at least one point and then press Enter. Note: It does not matter which direction you draw the stream. You can change the water flow direction later.

4.   To finish drawing the stream, right-click to place the last point.

 

Changing the Shape

After a stream is added to your landscape design, it can be easily changed by modifying the points that control the stream’s shape. For details, see Editing Points.

Water Flow Direction

You can easily control the water flow direction by defining its path.

To set the water flow direction:

1.   Click Edit Flow Path to enable flow path editing mode.

2.   To reverse the flow direction, click Reverse flow direction.

3.   Edit points as needed to define the desired flow path. You can add and remove points as needed.

4.   When finished, click Edit Flow Path again to disable flow path editing mode.

Rock Border

Just like ponds, streams also support rock borders. The rock border can be toggled on and off per stream or per edge.

To turn the rock border on or off per edge:

1.   Click Edit border to enable rock border editing mode.

2.   Click the edges of your stream where you would like to toggle the rock border on or off.

3.   When finished, click Edit border again to disable rock border editing mode.

Controlling the Render Order

When overlapping objects, such as ponds, regions, and paths, are added to your landscape design, you can control which ones appear on top. For example, if you first add a stream and then later add a large grass region over the top, the grass will appear over the stream.To fix this, select the grass region and then click Edit, Render Order, and Send to Back (or press the shortcut keys Ctrl+B). See the Working with Overlapping Regions portion of the Adding a Region topic for a more detailed explanation.

Customizing the Plan View

Applies to: Plus Pro Architect

Streams can be given separate materials in the Plan and Perspective views. This is useful if you want your Plan view to look stylized, but want the Perspective view to look realistic. To allow a separate material to be shown in each view, click Custom appearance in each view and customize the Plan view as desired.

Tips:

    Important: Depending on your local building codes, streams deeper than a certain depth may require a fence or have other restrictions for safety purposes. Please check your local building codes before building a real stream.

    Streams and Ponds are very similar. For information on ponds, see Adding a Pond.

    Fountains and waterfalls can be integrated into your water garden design; see Adding a Fountain and Adding a Waterfall for more information.

    Landscaping rocks can be added in and around your streams; see Adding a Rock for details.

    Fish are not added to streams; koi fish are only placed in ponds.

    To change the length of your stream, add, delete, or move the points that define the stream’s shape. For information on adding and removing points, see Inserting and Deleting Points.

    Plants can be added in and around your streams; see Adding a Plant for details.

See also:

Stream Properties
Setting Object Properties
Selecting Objects
Selecting Points
Editing Objects
Adding a Pond
Adding a Waterfall
Adding a Fountain
Adding a Rock
Adding a Rock Border
Realtime Walkthrough
Saving and Loading Shapes