Shading Viewport Label Menu: Legacy Displays

Use this menu to choose visual quality options and global viewport settings for legacy driver displays.

Shading menu - Legacy

Note: This menu can be customized. For more information, see the Procedures section below.

The "legacy" viewport drivers are Direct3D and OpenGL. These drivers have specific configuration options in addition to those on the Viewport Configuration dialog.

Interface

[shading styles]

Choose from among commonly-used shading styles as shown in the Rendering Method panel of the Viewport Configuration dialog.

Display Selected

Shows a submenu with options on how to display selected geometry in shaded viewports. For more information, see below.

Lighting and Shadows

Shows a submenu with options for lighting and shadow previews in viewports. For more information, see below.

Transparency

Sets the quality of transparency display in the viewport:

• None No transparency display.
• Simple Less accurate transparency display; however, viewport redraw is considerably faster with Simple.
• Best Highest quality transparency display; longer redraw time.

Note: The Transparency setting affects only viewport display, and does not affect renderings.

Other Visual Styles

Shows a submenu with other shading modes, including:

• Smooth Displays smoothing, but doesn’t show highlights.
• Facets + Highlights Displays highlights, but doesn’t show smoothing.
• Facets Shades faces, but doesn’t display smoothing or highlights.
• Lit Wireframes Displays edges as wireframe, but shows lighting.
• Bounding Box Displays each object as a bounding box only.

Viewport Background

Shows a submenu with options for displaying a background in the viewport. For more information, see below.

Display Selected submenu

These options affect how selected geometry appears in shaded viewports.

Shade Selected Faces

When on, selected faces display in a red semitransparent state. This makes it easier to see selected faces in shaded viewports.

When off, selected faces are indicated by red edges only.

Lighting and Shadows submenu

Viewport lighting affects viewports only: It has no effect on how the scene is rendered.

Note: If you are using the Legacy OpenGL driver, shadow and ambient occlusion previews are not supported, and most options on this submenu have no effect on viewport display.

Illuminate with Scene Lights

When chosen, the viewport uses lighting from light objects in the scene.

Illuminate with Default Lights

(The default.) When chosen, the viewport uses lighting from the default lights.

Ctrl+L toggles between using scene lights and default lights.

Scene Lights Control (Nitrous viewports only)

Displays a submenu for managing lights in the scene:

• Auto Display Selected Lights When on, light from selected lights is automatically displayed in shaded viewports. Default=off.
• Lock Selected Lights Locks the selected lights.
• Unlock Selected Lights Unlocks the selected lights.

  To "lock" a light means that the light will stay on until it is unlocked, whether or not the light casts shadows. When a light is locked, choosing Auto Display Selected Lights does not turn it off.

Enable Hardware Shading

When enabled, the viewport is displayed using your system’s hardware shader.

Keyboard shortcut: Shift+F3

Enable Shadows

When enabled, previews shadows in the viewport.

Enable Ambient Occlusion

When enabled, previews ambient occlusion in the viewport.

Configure

Opens the Lighting and Shadows panel of the Viewport Configuration dialog, allowing you to turn hardware shading on or off and change other options.

Viewport Background submenu

Gradient Color

Displays the background as a gradient. The default for Perspective viewports.

To customize the gradient colors, use the Customize User Interface dialog Colors panel Viewport Background Gradient Bottom and Viewport Background Gradient Top options.

Solid Color

Displays the background as a solid color. The default for axonometric viewports.

To customize the solid background color, use the Customize User Interface dialog Colors panel Viewport Background option.

Environment Background

Displays the background specified on the Environment panel.

Custom Image File

Displays an image used for viewports only.

To choose an image file for one or all viewports, use the Viewport Configuration dialog Background panel.

Configure Viewport Background

Opens the Viewport Configuration dialog Background panel.

Procedures

To customize the Shading Viewport Label menu for Legacy displays:

1. From the Menu bar, choose Customize > Customize User Interface....
2. From the Custom User Interface dialog, click the Menu tab.
3. From the Menu panel, click the drop-down menu on the top right and choose Viewport Menu Label Bar.
4. In the Menu window, add and remove commands as required under Views - Shading Viewport Label Menu.