Sliding doors are custom products that can be used to fill existing openings in a wall, or to replace builder grade sliding doors for a more upgraded look. It is very important that you properly measure the opening to ensure the correct fit.
To add a sliding door, use the ‘Ext. Sliding Door’ tool found in the Plan ribbon toolbar (see left). You can use this tool instead of the ‘Add Wall’ tool if you are replacing a customer’s existing sliding door with one of our company offerings, or if you are adding a new door into an existing empty wall opening. If you have already drawn a normal wall, delete it first before adding the sliding door wall.
Start by left clicking to create a starting node and then move your curser in the desired direction to place the end node - Much like drawing a regular wall in manual set up (in this image we started from the lower right corner).
You can use the ‘Ortho’ tool (turned ON) to create the sliding door wall in a straight line or in 45-degree intervals, or you can turn it OFF to select your own angle.
The direction that you draw the sliding door wall will dictate which direction is the front or back side of the doors, much like drawing an island plane dictates which side will have backing. If the vendor’s doors look the same in the front and in the back, this doesn’t really matter. If the inserts or doors look different on the backside, this is important.
The images below show examples of different sliding door orientations. The starting node is the one that looks like a red crosshair, and the sliding door wall extends left, right, up or down.
The front of the doors will be the side without the dimension, and it will have a white arrow on that side once it’s placed (see right).
You can change the front side of the door by “flipping” it after it’s placed. This will be discussed shortly.
Once in place, editing and resizing a sliding door wall is the same as any other wall – by clicking and dragging the wall, or by adjusting in ‘Wall Properties’.
The sliding door will automatically default wall-to-wall, as shown in the image below, but you can adjust the offsets (or returns) in the Properties dialogue after the sliding door wall is placed.
You can make edits to the sliding doors by right clicking when you see the doors turn red (as opposed to the whole wall, see right) and selecting ‘Properties [Sliding Doors]’.
You can also Delete the sliders in the right click menu – This will only delete the only, the wall will remain.
Note: If you hover a below the doors, you will see the right click menu for the wall, not the sliding doors (see below).
The properties box holds information to edit the entire sliding door system:
The ‘System’ pull downs is where you can change the vendor and profile of the doors.
The ‘Finish Settings’ will contain options for the frame finish, and the insert material for the door. The options will vary based on the vendor you have selected. You can also change the inserts individually, which is explained shortly.
The ‘Positioning’ heading contains options to size and place the opening and sliding door. The use of radio buttons allows you to lock either the opening width, or one of the offsets, to change and control the third number. This is the same with obstructions and Design Zone offsets, which we’ve already covered.
The ‘Offsets’ will create the returns on either side of the door. If the height of the door is less than the ceiling height, a header will be added. This will create a surround that matches a typical reach in closet.
The ‘Doors’ heading will allow you to change the door count (the number of doors on the track), and to adjust the brush seal, soft closet, and back décor profile options. The ‘Flipped’ option will change which direction is considered the “front” of the doors – Either facing into the room or out.
The ‘Track/Guides’ will have options for the track layout, finishes, and compensating profiles.
Note: For more information on the options, please revert to the SPG or the vendor brochures/website.
You can make additional edits to the sliding doors from the Elevation view. To jump to the elevation view, hover directly over the sliding doors, where a white arrow will appear (see right). This is the same way you’d access the elevation view for a Design Zone. Left click on the arrow to jump to that view.
Note: You must be in ‘Sliding Door Mode’ to make edits. The program will automatically switch into this mode when jumping to the elevation view as explained above. You can manually switch to the view by changing the ‘View Mode’ in the ‘Tool’ section of the ELV ribbon toolbar (left).
You can move or change the individual door orientation and position on the tracks by clicking on them in the track preview while in the elevation view (left). The images below show some different layouts when clicking on the doors highlighted red.
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If you right click, you’ll notice the options to edit the individual door inserts by selecting ‘Properties [Insert]’. You can edit the overall sliding door system by selecting ‘Properties [Sliding System]’, as previous discussed.
You’ll see the same property options if you hover over the door insert (when it turns yellow, as seen to the left) and right click.
The sliding door insert properties will allow you to change the color or finish of the insert in the sliding door. You can choose a different finish for different doors, or you can use the apply properties to make them all the same.
Note: The finish options will vary depending on the type or vendor of sliding door system you have selected. See the SPG for more information.
You may see warnings if you select an insert material for a door that is too wide or too tall for the door (see right).
The maximum heights and widths can be referenced in the Standard Product Guide and will vary by vendor.
If you see this warning, you should either resize the door, select a different vendor, or change the number of doors on the track.
You can add sliding door insert dividers (called mullions) using the ‘Other’ options in the part section of the ribbon toolbar.
A Structural Mullion (Sliding Structural Mullion) is an extruded piece of metal that can be used to separate inserts in a door, which allows you to select different finish options. It will be visible from the back of the door as well.
A Decorative Mullion (Horz or Vert Sliding Decorative Mullion) is an extruded piece of metal with adhesive on the back, which can be applied to the face of the door insert. This means they cannot be used to split inserts and are for aesthetic purposes only. This is not available for all sliding door vendors/profiles.
You can tell which one you’ve added by hovering over the inserts so they turn yellow – If it is a structural mullion, you will see the insert is split (below, left). If it is decorative, the insert will appear fully intact (below, right).
Note: Decorative mullions can be horizontal or vertical, while structural mullions are horizontal only.
Select the desired type of mullion by left clicking on the option and left click again to place it on your sliding door (left). You can see the placement of the mullion by the dimension lines above/below.
Once added, you can manually adjust the top/bottom or left/right offsets by changing the dimension manually (right). When you add a mullion, the program will automatically put you into Sliding Door view mode.
To move it, you can double click the mullion or the dimension. To delete, right click on the mullion (it will turn yellow) and select ‘Delete’ (left).
The image on the left shows a mix of structural mullions (left door) and decorative mullions (right door).
Notice that you can change the finishes of the individual inserts when you have structural mullions, but not with decorative. As explained previously, this can be done by right clicking on the insert directly (Properties [Insert]).
Remember, structural mullions will show on the front and back because they are dividing the insert. If you want a decorative mullion to show in the back, make sure that the box for ‘Back Decor Panels’ is checked/turned on (see below) in the Sliding Door System properties (right click and select ‘Properties [Sliding System]’).
This will replicate the same orientation as the front onto the back side. Disable, or uncheck, to only have decorative mullions on one side. This does not make any difference for structural as they are already run through to both sides. This is hard to see in the 3D view, so be mindful of this option when you are creating your sliding door systems.
Other warnings that you may on your sliders see are for the soft close mechanism. The parameters for the warnings are the same for each door type: both Hafele and Element have 20” for a single soft-close mechanism, and 36 5/8” for two soft-close mechanisms.
Here are some examples of common soft close warnings:
There is automatic behavior for soft close written in, and ClosetCadPro will default based on position of the door, and if the door is going to meet the outside edges (left door will have a single default to the left side, etc.). The user can adjust the settings, or add/remove the soft close option, in the Sliding Door Properties (below).
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