How to add facilities to a building group

Basic guide for adding shops or staff facilities to a building group

Basic things to know

It is possible to place a blueprint around an existing facility but it is EXTREMELY fiddly, time consuming and inaccurate, also it means the facility is not actually part of the blueprint itself and If it needs to be moved at a later date both parts will have to be moved separately.
A facility can also be placed inside a blueprint without using EDIT MODE but this is not advised for exactly the same reasons given above.
An item that is itself a blueprint cannot be added to another blueprint using the method I will describe so make sure to only use the BASIC undecorated facilities, I will use shops as my example but this also applies to staff facilities.
The method used for adding facilities to a blueprint can also be used to add other items such as lights etc: It can also be used to delete existing facilities if you want to replace them with something else later or have a blueprint with pre-existing facilities you want to change.
Finally make sure to properly exit the edit mode when you are done or any other changes you make to your zoo such as adding foliage, rocks, lights etc: will be added to the building group, even if placed on the other side of your zoo!
NOTE: The shop shell pictured in this guide can be downloaded here https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2017959702

Placing your blueprint

STEP 1
Select your blueprint and place it as near as you can to the position you want it in your zoo, hold 'Z' and use your mouse to rotate it if necessary or tap 'Z' to rotate it incrementally by 90 degs, left click the mouse to place it
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STEP 2
Once placed click on the blueprint and it will turn blue to show it has been selected, you will also get a pop up window on the top right of your screen. This is the 'group' window and gives information on what items are in the group (in this case 352 objects) and below it a list of icons for the options you now have, click on the one that looks like a pencil (or use the shortcut key press 'R') and it will take you into GROUP EDIT MODE allowing you to make permanent changes to the blueprint

Edit mode - placing facilities

IMPORTANT NOTE:
It is easy to accidentally exit edit mode if for instance you click on the terrain tab or something, if for any reason you have trouble with the following steps MAKE SURE you are still in EDIT MODE and the orange tab is showing on the top right of your screen, if it isn't just repeat step 2

STEP 3
When you first enter EDIT MODE the group window at the top right of your screen will be replaced with an orange tab informing you that you are editing the group along with an EXIT button to return you to the group window, you are now able to make permanent changes to the blueprint.
You will also see the building grid on the ground, anything you add to the blueprint will align to this grid, if you look at the tabs along the bottom of the screen you will see that the CONSTRUCTION tab is selected, this is the default setting when entering EDIT MODE
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STEP 4
Click on the FACILITIES tab to the left of the construction tab (it might take a few seconds to change tabs, do not click on it a second time or you will leave edit mode) and navigate to the facility you want to add, remember this must be a basic facility with no decoration. Click on the facility you want to add and you will see it immediately aligns itself with the existing grid and can only be placed within one of the squares of that grid.
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STEP 5
Tap 'Z' to rotate the facility in 90 degs increments until it is facing in the right direction then move it into the empty slot in the blueprint, as it is on the same grid as the building it should be in perfect alignment with it, left click the mouse to place it NOTE: if the facility levitates to the top of the building scroll down on the far right tab and ensure you do NOT have a green tick mark in the AUTO STACKING box
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STEP 6
If you have made all the changes you wanted go to STEP 7 - If you have more facilities to add right click the mouse to dismiss the one you are currently holding. Navigate to the next facility you want to put down, click on it and place it the same way as in STEP 5, repeat this as many times as needed until all facilities have been placed.

Finishing and saving your changes

STEP 7
When you have made all the changes you needed click on EXIT on the orange tab at the top right and this will take you out of EDIT mode and return you to the GROUP window where you can now see the changes you have made. The tab now shows 354 objects because we added 2 facilities to the original 352 objects and the 2 facilities that were added are named in the facility list for this building. This group can now be moved as a single item, saved as a separate blueprint or copied and pasted into more locations in your zoo.
Click on the X on the top right corner of the group window to fully exit your building and 'save' all your changes.
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DELETING A FACILITY
If you want to change the facilities in a building follow steps 1 to 3 then click on an existing facility within the building and select the delete option in the bottom right corner of the facility pop up or press your DELETE key
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I hope you find this helpful especially new players struggling with buildings and facilities, please leave a like or a comment if you did

[Moving Target]

You're welcome :)

[salmoo]

Thank you!

[Moving Target]

@salinamoore08 in my screenshots in the bottom right hand corner the tab I have open is the 'Apply Custom Tags' to the left of that icon is another one that looks like a clip board, open that tab and you can access build settings such as grid size etc: Once you have a placed a facility (on the ground is fine if auto stacking is already on) you get more settings including a tick box to turn auto stacking on or off, you will need to scroll down to find it. Hope this helps :)

[salmoo]

Where do I find out if Autostacking is on? I couldn't see it...

[Moving Target]

Thanks

[bsfarias35]

nicr

[Moving Target]

You're welcome, glad I could help you

[Helix]

Thankyou... :D