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View windows

The model space can be viewed in single window or 'window pane', or in a multiple window arrangement such as Four Panes which is the default, and is similar to a traditional drawing board layout.

The layout can be switched between single and multiple view by either:

  • double-clicking on the window pane titlebar (where either Maximize or Minimize text is displayed, to the left of the Show menu).
  • using the Layouts > Maximize/Minimize Window command which has the default hotkey of F10.
  • using the Layouts > Four Panes command which has the default hotkey of F9.

When in a multiple window layout the crossbars can be used to resize the windows.

Active Window

When a single window is used it will always be the 'active' window. When there are multiple windows on the screen, such as a four pane layout, only one can be the 'active window' at any time (indicated by a lighter color border).

Click in any window to make it active.

Some tools will use the active view as input, for example:

  • Tools that use Vector Options set to View, for example Surface Edit > Project.
  • View > Adjust Clipping Planes
  • File > Import > Canvas Image

Before using these tools, click in the window view that you want to use to make it the active window.

Window Pane titlebar

Each window pane has a titlebar with tools to manage the layout and views:

  1. Clone - Create a pop-out window that is a duplicate of the original.
  2. Magnify - Create a pop-out window with a 'zoom' area on the original window that can be used to focus on small parts of the model.
  3. Window Type menu - Choose between a perspective window and one of the orthogonal windows : Front, Back, Right, Left, Top, Bottom,
  4. Camera menu (Perspective window only) - Create new cameras or switch between cameras for different viewpoints.
  5. Maximize/Minimize - Double-click on the header bar to switch between a single window and a multiple window layout.
  6. Markup Lister - If Markups have been created, this lister will appear on the window header and can be used to switch between the views that the Markups have been made on.
  7. Show menu - Change the visibility of items in one or all view windows.

The transparency of the titlebar can be adjusted in General Preferences > Windows > Modeling windows > Titlebar Transparency. Increasing the transparency allows geometry to be seen behind the bar, but it cannot be selected in that area.

Window Type menu

The Window Type menu determines what is displayed in a window pane. There are two window types:

  • Perspective Window Type - uses a camera object to create and manipulate the 3D view, and so has an additional Camera menu (see Camera Menu below).

    The ViewCube only appears in a Perspective window.

  • Orthographic Window Type - The six orthographic windows (top, bottom, back, front, left, right) are fixed 2D views. Only pan and zoom can be used to adjust the view.

    These windows are different to the perspective window type, even when it is in a ViewCube orthographic direction. They do not have a camera object creating the view, and so cannot be animated or tumbled.

    The mouse buttons for transforming however are the same as the mouse buttons for the Perspective window set to an orthographic view:

    • Left mouse button - Free movement across the two axes of the view plane

    • Middle mouse button - Constrained horizontally

    • Right mouse button - Constrained vertically

      Orthographic views are useful when importing Canvas Images as they are placed in the viewplane of the 2D view.

Changing Window Type

When displaying multiple windows (for example four views), if you switch to one that is currently on display you will get the following warning:

  • Create New - Creates a new view with an incremented name (e.g. Back#2) and adds it to the window type menu list.
  • Swap - swaps the views in the two panes.
  • Cancel - don't change the view.

Creating New Windows

It can be useful to create new view windows when:

  • You want more than one window of the same type in your layout. For example if you create a new Top window, it will be named Top#2 and can be used in the same layout as the original Top Window. Turn off Layouts > Window Sync to be able to pan and zoom independently in the two views.

  • If the file you have opened doesn't already have view windows, or Keep Windows was turned off in the File > Open options.

    In this case using Create Defaults is a quick way to recreate all the standard view windows.

Creating a new Perspective window will also create a new camera.

Camera menu

The Camera menu only appears when Window Type is Perspective.

A camera is an object in the scene that is used to view the model in 3D.

The camera object typically is not shown in the scene as Cameras are turned off in the Show menu by default. If you select Cameras on, they will only appear in windows where they are not being used to generate the 3D view.

Create New Camera

A new camera will be created and added to the list of cameras in the menu. The new camera will be then be selected for the perspective window current view. A new camera is created with the default Home viewpoint.

If you want to have more than one perspective window, from different angles, you will need to create an extra camera, and select it in the Camera menu.

Camera list

Select which camera to view in this window.

Use the trash can icon to delete a camera. A confirmation dialogue will appear as there is no undo function for deleting a camera.

Select Camera

Picks (or unpicks) the current camera object in the scene. If one or more cameras or objects are already selected, the camera is added to that selection.

The components of the camera are selected, not the top group node. This selection will work if you want to move the camera, but will not give the correct results for a rotation. Use Pick > Object to work with the whole camera (top group node).

To see the camera object selected, make sure that Show > Cameras is on. Camera objects will be displayed in the orthographic windows. In the perspective window the camera currently being used for viewing will not be shown, but others will be.

Transforming a selected camera will affect the view in any perspective window that is using it, but the results can be unpredictable so is not recommended as a way of manipulating the view. Typically the only situation where you transform the camera as an object is when animating the view. See Alias Video Tutorials > Animate Cameras.

Note: To rename a camera, use the Visualization > Camera Editor.

Show menu

The Show menu appears on each view window titlebar. Click the Show button and select an item type to show it (check mark) or hide it (no check mark).

The drop-down list also has the following functions:

  • All - select all items to be visible
  • None - select all items to be hidden
  • All Windows - when on, apply the selection in the Show menu to all view windows. When off, then any changes will only apply to the view window where the Show menu selections have been modified.

Notes:

  • The default hotkey for Toggle Model is F12.
  • Hold down the shift key to toggle several items without closing the menu. Click outside the menu to close it.
  • The individual tools are still available from the Display > Toggles menu to make it easier to add the different display toggles to shelves or marking menus.

Clone view window

The clone icon creates a pop-out window that is independent of the Layouts menus arrangements, and always stays on top of the main windows.

This window can be placed on a second monitor, or used to display the model with alternative view settings:

  • If the Show Button is set to All Windows: off, then the cloned window can have different Show settings from the main windows.
  • If Hardware Shade is set to All Windows: Off, it will work independently between the cloned window and other layout windows.
  • To get a different viewpoint in a cloned perspective, create a new camera (see Window Type menu: Perspective Window Type and Camera menu above).
  • In an orthographic cloned window, turn Display > Window Sync off to be able to zoom and pan independently of the original window.

Magnify / Zoom view window

When you click the magnify icon in the window title bar, a 'zoom focus' box in the original window shows what part of the view is being magnified.

  • In the main view, drag the magnify handle at the center of the zoom focus box to move it.
  • In the magnify/zoom perspective window, use Shift + Alt + mouse buttons to zoom and pan the magnified area. The ViewCube is not available in the magnify window.
  • Click-drag on the edges or corners of the magnify window to resize it.
  • Click-drag on the header bar of the magnify window to move it.
  • Click on the X to close the magnify window.

Other tools that affect View Windows

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