Auto arrange — MEP Tools
What the one-click layout engine does, how to read its result, and when it asks to grow the void.
Auto arrange (ribbon, or press A) automatically sizes the zones, packs every duct, tray, and pipe, and reroutes branches to clear the clashes it finds — in one click.
Before it runs
A confirmation prompt — "Auto-arrange this section?" — warns that it replaces every service and zone position with an automatically arranged layout. You can always undo it afterwards as a single step.
What it does
The engine runs on the server, so it needs a working connection. It works in passes: size the zones, pack the services into them, reroute every branch around what it finds, then repeat until nothing more needs to move. Because it runs remotely, it can occasionally report a connection problem or take longer on a dense ceiling — you'll see a message asking you to check your connection or try again if that happens.
Reading the result
When it finishes, a dialog reports:
- How many iterations it ran.
- Why it stopped — converged (no clashes left to resolve), stalled (feedback fired but nothing could move any further), or it hit the iteration cap before converging.
- Any violations or warnings still remaining after the pass.
- Any zones it disabled because they ended up with no services in them.
If the layout needs a deeper void
If the arranged layout needs more depth than the current void has, a follow-up prompt offers to grow the void depth to fit, or to keep the current depth and let the compliance checks flag the shortfall instead.
After it runs
Auto arrange is one undoable action — Ctrl/Cmd+Z reverts the whole pass. Re-check the result on the Validation panel; a "stalled" or "cap" stop can still leave residual issues worth fixing by hand. See Compliance checks.
The thresholds it lays the section out against are the project's own — see Rule set.