Use the Shading page of the Options dialog to control the settings for shading surfaces.
- Click File > Options > Application Options > View > Shading.
- Use the following options to specify the shading settings:
- Tolerance for shading — This controls how accurately the triangles generated when shading objects fit the surfaces. The default is 0.1. The smaller the value the better the shading quality, however the time taken to shade the objects increases. When the value is large the objects are shaded quickly however gaps may appear between the triangles.
- Tolerance to Current View — This sets the ideal value of Tolerance for Shading per your current view and zoom level. Click the button and the value is displayed in the Tolerance for Shading text box. If you want a different tolerance, click in the box and enter a suitable value. The new tolerance will be used the next time the shading is regenerated. If you want to use it immediately, click Force Regeneration of Triangles.
- Force Regeneration of Triangles — This forces the shading triangles to be regenerated, using any settings that have been changed.
- Warn about shading failures — If selected, a warning is displayed if there is a problem when shading solids, surfaces and other items.
- Surfaces and Version 8 Solids — Select the Shading Algorithm used to generate the triangles for shading:
- Auto — This automatically choose between the Rockwood and Subdivision options, depending on the surface and trimming data in the model.
- Rockwood — This is like the Rockwood Patch option but is faster and produces fewer triangles.
- Subdivision — This produces fewer triangles on complex multi-patch surfaces than all the other options.
- Rockwood Patch (older triangulation algorithm) — This is faster on complex curved objects than the Duct Patch option.
- Duct Patch (older triangulation algorithm) — This is the quickest way of shading simple objects.
- Solids — Select the Shading Algorithm used for solids and then select Force Regeneration of Triangles:
- Whole solid — Use this option to close gaps in the shading of a Parasolid model.
- Individual faces — Use this option to close gaps in the shading of faces on a solid.