Display menu

The Display menu contains options that let you define which assets to display in the Viewer window and how to display them.

Normal

The Normal Display menu option sets the current camera view to Normal Display mode, which displays all assets. Normal is the default viewing mode.

X-Ray

The X-Ray Display menu option sets the current camera view to X-Ray mode, which displays the skeleton of a model, Nulls, and elements. In this mode, you can select and edit skeletons normally hidden by models, but you cannot select models.

Models Only

The Modes Only Display menu option sets the current camera view to Models Only mode, which displays models only and hides all Nulls, lights, cameras, and other elements.

Hide Selected

The Hide Selected Display menu option hides selected assets.

Note: If nothing is selected, the entire scene is hidden.

Show Selected

The Show Selected Display menu option displays selected assets.

Note: If nothing is selected, the entire scene is displayed.

Hide Unselected

The Hide Unselected Display menu option hides elements and models that are not selected in the scene.

Show Unselected

The Show Unselected Display menu option displays elements and models that are not selected in the scene.

Models Display

The Models Display menu option contains global shading options that apply to the entire scene.

Models Display options A. Wireframe B. Flat C. Lighted D. Shaded E. Textured F. Shaded & Textured

The Models Display menu options are:

Models Display option

Description

Wireframe

Displays selected objects as wireframe.

Flat

Displays selected objects using a constant color. This option ignores light sources in a scene, and overrides any custom shading, textures, and materials applied using the Shader settings. See About shaders.

Lighted

Displays selected objects using their custom shaders created in the Shader settings. Textures do not display.

Textures

Displays selected objects with their applied textures. This option is available only when the Lighted option is selected, in which case Use Textures is active by default. See Textures.

Shaders

Displays selected objects using the default shader. This option is available only when the Lighted option is selected, in which case Use Shaders is active by default.

Textures + Shaders

Displays selected objects with both the default shader and their applied textures.

Models Visibility

The Models Visibility Display menu option hides or displays selected assets in the Viewer window. For example, when Skeleton is disabled, all skeletons are hidden in the Viewer window.

The Visibility menu lets you hide or show Nulls, Markers, Skeletons, Lights, Cameras, Devices, 3DPath, and Models.

Stereo Display

The Stereo Display menu option contains camera views that apply to the entire scene.

The Stereo Display menu includes the following stereo views:

Stereo Display Option

Description

Center Eye

Look through the center stereo camera. This is the default option

Left Eye

Look through the left stereo camera.

Right Eye

Look through the right stereo camera.

Active

Use your graphics card for stereo viewing. If you are using the NVidia Quadro line graphics cards, and you have turned on stereo mode, then the Active menu item becomes live. The CRT monitor uses the page flipping method of stereo imaging. The settings that you have chosen for your stereo mode in your graphics card are respected. For example, the DIN connector sends signal to your 3D glasses.

Note: Active mode requires a monitor with a refresh rate of 120 Hz.

Horizontal Interlace

This viewing mode interlaces one row of pixels from the left camera with one row of pixels from the right camera and so forth. You obtain half the vertical resolution through this mode. Select this mode for polarized LCD monitors.

Checkerboard

This viewing mode alternates between one pixel from the left camera with one pixel from the right camera, forming a checkerboard pattern. You obtain half the vertical resolution and half the horizontal resolution through this mode. Select this mode for Samsung DLP 3D displays.

Anaglyph

MotionBuilder supports the red or cyan anaglyph mode. MotionBuilder composites the color output from the left camera with the color output from the right camera.

Luminance Anaglyph

The Luminance Anaglyph mode is similar to the Anaglyph mode, but the color output from the left and right cameras are first converted to grayscale, before being composited on top of each other.

Freeview (Parallel)

Select this mode to see the left and right camera output side by side in the same window.

Freeview (Crossed)

This mode is similar to Freeview (Parallel), but the left camera output is displayed on the right while the right camera output is displayed on the left.

See Stereo cameras.

Display Normals

The Display Normals menu option displays and hides all the normals in the scene.

Invert Normals

The Invert Normals menu option inverts selected normals.

Hide Manipulators while Manipulating

When turned on, all manipulator elements (translate, rotate, scale) are hidden while manipulating the selected object. The option is turned off by default.

Hide Manipulators during Playback

When turned on, all manipulator elements are hidden during a scene playback. This option is turned off by default. See Playing Animation.

Head-up Display (HUD)

The Head-up Display (HUD) menu option enables you to display frame rate, memory usage, time code, and safe area.

The following table describes the Head-up Display menu options.

Head-up Display option

Description

Display Rate

The HUD Display Rate displays MotionBuilder operational statistics in the top-left corner of the Viewer window. Because MotionBuilder is a multi-thread application that uses a dual-buffer system, it evaluates the upcoming frame ahead of rendering it.

The Frame rate displays the internal frame rate in MotionBuilder. Frame rate = ex/60 (Min: 60, Max: 60) 16.7 ms. 60 is the number of frames the video card renders per second. 16.7ms (milliseconds) is the amount of time needed to render one frame. The remainder of the second is used for non-viewer rendering, for example interface interactions.

The Evaluation rate displays the evaluation rate = ex/227,1 (Min: 160.3, Max 278.1) 4.4ms. 227.1 is the number of evaluations per second, and 4.4ms is the evaluation of the other components outside the Viewer window.

The Frame time (ms) displays the frame time = ex/16.6 ms (Idle time: 0.1ms) 16.6ms is the total time to compute and display the Viewer window. EvalWait is the time the render thread waits for the Evaluate thread to finish and then starts drawing the next frame. EvalWait: Evaluation Time – (Texture + Render + Swap + Idle) Idle time is the time needed to compute and display the rest of the interface. (for example, the Idle time decreases when you switch to Full Screen mode because other elements of the interface are not displayed.)

The Evaluation displays the Single and Parallel Evaluation settings: Single refers to the mode that MotionBuilder uses to evaluate deformations. Single means deformations are being evaluated on one thread only. Parallel refers to the pipeline that MotionBuilder uses to evaluate a scene. Parallel means that the application either calculates and displays simultaneously, or is always calculating.

Note: You can change the color of the statistics display. See the HUD preference settings in the Viewer preferences.

Display Memory Usage

The HUD Display Memory Usage displays the amount of free memory and of free recording memory. These appear in the top-right corner of the Viewer window.

Display Time Code

The HUD Display Time Code displays or hides the current timecode in the Viewer window.

Display Safe Area

The HUD Display Safe Area activates Display Safe Area to show the safe display area for all cameras.

The safe display area contains two different safe guides: the safe title guide (yellow) indicating the area in which titles should be placed, and a safe action guide (red) indicating the recommended area in which motion and animation should take place.

If you do not observe these areas, titles and animation may be cropped when transferred to video. You can choose between a square safe area and a round safe area in the Camera settings.

Display ViewCube

The HUD Display ViewCube enables you to either display or hide the ViewCube.

Note: The ViewCube Preferences need to be set to Show the ViewCube to show or display the HUD's display of the ViewCube.

See Working with the ViewCube.

Display SteeringWheel

The HUD Display SteeringWheel enables you to either display or hide the SteeringWheels.

Note: The SteeringWheels Preferences need to be set to Show SteeringWheels to show or display the HUD's display of the SteeringWheel.

See Working with SteeringWheels.