Creating Lighting Solar Studies

Lighting solar studies produce single images that show the shadows cast from the sun position in the active view. Specify the sun position in the Sun Settings dialog, either by choosing a preset, such as Sunlight from Top Right, or by entering values for Azimuth and Altitude. Using the Lighting mode, you can create lighting conditions that might not exist in the real world, making Lighting studies most useful for presentation graphics, such as rendered images.

Note: Unlike the other solar study modes, in which you can use the sun path’s on-screen controls to adjust the sun position, the Lighting mode requires the use of the Sun Settings dialog to adjust the sun position.

1. Open a 2D or 3D view that supports the display of shadows.
2. Turn on shadows, and adjust their intensity.
3. To view the sun position, turn on the sun path.
   Note: When you are using a default template, the first time you turn on the sun path, the <In-session, Lighting> setting is specified and Relative to View is selected. When Relative to View is selected, the sun does not display. A dialog displays options for specifying sun settings.
4. If a dialog displays, click No, and continue with the current sun setting.
5. On the View Control Bar, click Sun Path Off/OnSun Settings.
6. In the Sun Settings dialog, under Solar Study, select Lighting if it is not already selected.
7. Under Presets, select one of the predefined sun settings, clear Relative to View if you want to display the sun, and click OK. Or, select <In-session, Lighting>, and complete the remaining steps in this procedure to define your own sun setting.
8. Under Settings, specify a sun position:
   1. Enter values for Azimuth and Altitude.

      Azimuth is the bearing angle from True North, measured in degrees. Azimuth angles range from 0 degrees (north) through 90 (east), 180 (south), 270 (west), and up to 360 (north again).

      Altitude is the vertical angle between the horizon and the sun, measured from the horizon. Altitude angles range from 0 (on the horizon) up to 90 degrees (at the zenith).

   2. To orient the sun to match the orientation of the view, select Relative to View. Or, to orient the sun to match the orientation of the model, clear Relative to View.
      Note: When Relative to View is selected, the sun path does not display.
   3. To cast shadows on the ground plane, select Ground Plane at Level, and select the level at which you want the shadows to display.

      When you select Ground Plane at Level, the software casts shadows on the specified level in 2D and 3D shaded views. When you clear Ground Plane at Level, the software casts shadows on the toposurface, if one exists.

      Note: The ground plane is not used in rendered views. To cast shadows in rendered views, model a ground plane in the project.
9. To test the sun setting in the active view, click Apply.
10. To save the current sun setting as a preset, click Save Settings, enter a unique name, and click OK.
11. Click OK when done.

You can now save or export the solar study image.