About Display Performance

The following Plant 3D variable settings provide the best performance.

Tip: You can easily hide or show disconnect markers by clicking the icon in the ribbon.

You can change the display style to show your model more or less realistically, depending on your performance requirements. You can also show or hide individual Plant 3D objects.

The Visibility panel and expanded View panel on the Home tab give you control over the appearance of your model and the speed with which you can browse through it.

You can improve performance by turning on disconnect markers only when you need them, by operating most often in 2D wireframe mode, and by breaking up large drawings and using external references.

Select an Optimal Visual Style

By reducing 3D display detail, you can improve performance. You can experiment with various visual settings to find the balance between realistic appearance and performance that works best for you.

If you decide on a wireframe style, you can select either 2D or 3D, with the former providing greater performance benefits, especially for large models. Objects in 2D wireframe look similar to those in 3D wireframe.

When you use a wireframe visual style, you configure display settings specific to that style and different from those set for a realistic visual style.

You can configure the wireframe visual style to display true silhouettes, for example. If you change back to a realistic visual style, you can turn off silhouettes to improve display performance.

Maximize Plant 3D Performance

System Variable	Setting for best performance	Description
plantconnectionmarker	Off	Hides disconnect markers
plantdynamictoolpalette	Off	Disables the dynamic pipe spec
plantinsulationdisplay	Off	Hides insulation on piping
plantinsulationmode	Partial	Hides insulation on valves and fittings
plantlockfadectl	Off	Disables faded appearance of locked piping components
plantpipesilhdisplay	Off	Turns off pipe silhouettes
plantplaceholderdisplay	Off	Turns off markers (yellow !) for placeholder parts
plantpropmismatchdisplay	Off	Hides property mismatch markers
plantsavedetail	Off	Reduces drawing file size
plantwelddisplay	Off	Hides connection markers
plantsteelsetrep	Line	Displays structure using a line model

You can also adjust the following AutoCAD variables:

System Variable	Setting for best performance	Description
dispsilh	Off	Hides silhouette edges
isolines	4	Displays this number of contour lines per surface on objects
pickfirst	Off	Selects objects after the command instead of before the command
viewres	1	Sets the smoothness of curved objects in a 2D view
vscurrent	2Dwireframe	Sets the fastest display mode
vtenable	0	Turns off smooth view transitions