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Alias 2024.1 Update Release Notes

November 22, 2023

This release of Alias introduces several new features, fixes, and improvements, and addresses many customer-reported crashes and issues.

New Features and Enhancements

Fixed Issues

Known Issues


New Features and Enhancements

For new features and enhancements in this release, see What's New in Alias 2024.1 Update.



Fixed Issues

General
Opening large files (over 100 MB) no longer causes Alias to crash. ALS-25695
Selection Options in the Preferences now persist after restarting. ALS-23848
Fixed an issue with preferences that could prevent the Delete functionality in the History Viewer from working. ALS-25827
Alias no longer crashes when you attempt to open a .wire file that contains Chinese, Japanese, or Korean characters in the file name. Instead, Alias now displays a warning messaging indicating that the file cannot be opened. ALS-25230, ALS-25231
The file path no longer contains incorrect forward slashes in the title bar. ALS-17179
When an Alias network license is no longer available, Alias now prompts you to save your work before force closing. ALS-17131
When using File > Print, Line Thickness adjustments now display correctly in the preview window. ALS-23341
When opening and importing files into Alias, you can now use the arrow keys to select and the spacebar to accept dialogue options. ALS-25364
Minimizing the Alias app when it is maximized now correctly preserves its maximized property. ALS-24342
When opening a .wire file by dragging it into Alias, the file browser no longer hides the Open or Import confirmation dialog box. ALS-25669
You can no longer uncheck the active Menu type (Preferences > Menus). You can only toggle between Short Menus or Long Menus. ALS-25699
Resolved a crash related to increasing the size of some windows. ALS-25873
Turning the Diagnostic Shade toolbox shader options off in the Hotkeys/Menu Editor now works as expected when switching from Long Menus to Short Menus. ALS-25700
It is now possible to assign tool pullouts to marking menus. ALS-25452
Fixed a performance issue that caused Alias to lag when switching between Color Themes (Preferences > Color Themes) with large .wire files loaded. ALS-23852
Stage Editor: The Settings menu now provides the following options for displaying preview images: No Preview, Small Preview, and Large Preview. ALS-23935
Opening a modal window, such as the Proportional Mod Control, while the Transform CV tool window is open no longer causes modal windows to be stuck behind the Transform CV window. ALS-25780
Selecting a color mode in the Color Editor now isolates the color sliders making mode-specific adjustments easier. ALS-25452
Language symbols used in preference profiles, such as hotkey assignments, are now supported and can be successfully imported with the preference profile. ALS-23077
When using the Turnable option from the NavBar, the MMB and RMB now constrain the turntable rotation horizontally and vertically as expected. ALS-23557
Fixed an issue that caused the cursor to focus in the incorrect location after restarting Alias from sleep mode or after reconnecting an external monitor. ALS-26117


User Interface
We've improved the experience of dragging items from the Object Lister and shaders from the Shader Lister and Library into the Layer Bar. ALS-25811
When receiving a confirmation popup that displays a very long message, for instance when deleting a shader library with a very large number of subfolders, the confirm message stays at a reasonable size for your screen and you can scroll within the message before proceeding. ALS-23164
Removed unnecessary tooltip that displays file name from the Stage Editor. ALS-ALS-25578
File names no longer get truncated when they include the "#" character. ALS-25465
The Magnify View tool no longer leaves a rectangular outline in view windows. ALS-23201
Fixed an issue where Auto Hide would hide the window while working within it, and addressed additional usability issues. ALS-23929
You can now set the mouse cursor color using the new Tracker color swatch in the Use Colors Window (Preferences > Color Themes > Customize). ALS-23717
The width of the Pick Chooser window has been reduced making the Snap icon easier to access. ALS-23782
The ViewCube label Fit View was changed back to Look At. ALS-25510
Minimizing the Alias window from full screen, and then reopening now properly resizes the window to full screen. ALS-25683
Fixed an issue where clicking + dragging down on a menu and releasing on a submenu sometimes closed the menu before selecting a tool or action. ALS-22313
The Auto Hide setting is now remembered correctly for floating windows when switching between Workspaces. ALS-25388
All components of the Dynamic Section manipulator handles are now easily visible when the UI Color Theme is set to Dark Grey Color. ALS-25384
Fixed an issue that caused layer names in the Layer Bar to be truncated. ALS-23908
Fixed an issue that caused Alias to lose menus when switching between monitors. ALS-25709


Modeling
In the Object List, Place Inside Group, Insert Before, and Insert After now work as expected. ALS-23847
Subdiv: Fixed an issue that caused a subdiv object to deform unexpectedly when moving CVs after its edges are repeatedly creased and uncreased. ALS-12933
You can now have multiple shelf items for the Untrim tool that have different options set for Delete Curves on Surface. For example, one Untrim shelf item can be set to Used in Trim and another one set to Not used in Trim. ALS-16640
The Align 2008 tool now retains user settings as expected. ALS-25552
You can now rearrange stages with the MMB as expected. ALS-25232
Canvas Transparency is maintained as expected after restarting Alias. ALS-25253
Fixed an issue that caused the Stage Editor to show the wrong stage as the new current one. ALS-25390
After deleting a stage, the active working level stage now displays in the viewport as expected. ALS-21458
Fixed an issue that caused the Twist Rig tool box to not display as expected when query editing geometry that has Twist Rig history. ALS-25334
You can undo grouping in the Object Lister after dragging a node onto another one to group them. ALS-25497
Fixed an issue with the Cross Section Editor that caused the Curvature Scale value to change unexpectedly after applying cross sections. ALS-25516
Resolved an issue with the Feature Modifier that caused Alias to crash in specific cases. ALS-25538
Marking Menu items are no longer missing when the menu is created from an imported shelf (Marking Menus > Import). ALS-25489
In the Object Lister, using Place Inside Group from the context menu adds objects to groups as expected. ALS-25637
Fixed an issue that displayed the Array tool's Control Options incorrectly. ALS-25226
Added back the ability to set History Visualizer menu hotkeys. ALS-26060
Copying and pasting objects within a layer folder now works as expected on the Layer Bar. ALS-26005
Fixed an issue that caused the Profile tool to follow input curves incorrectly. ALS-25200
The expanded/collapsed state of groups in the Variant Lister now persists after closing and reopening the window. ALS-22696
Undo actions no longer turn off cross sections. Now they will stay visible and selected in the Cross Section Editor. ALS-25324, ALS-25514
The Transform CV tool set to Prop Mod no longer affects unselected CVs. ALS-25977
Alias no longer crashes after selecting Copies in the Check Model Options. ALS-26115
Using Pick > Objects from the Object Lister context menu now selects construction objects in layer folders as expected. ALS-23703
Transform CV tool: The Prop mod default value is now 1. ALS-23709
Fixed an issue that sometimes caused copying and pasting groups of surfaces with textures to fail. ALS-23442
Object Lister: Layer refresh no longer lags after adding new layers or folders. ALS-23765
Subdiv: Trimming subdiv objects now works as expected when the geometric normals were inverted. ALS-23768
When the layer color is changed on mesh geometry, the mesh color now updates instantly. ALS-23706
Fixed an issue with the Project tool that caused projecting curves-on-surface along normals to fail in specific cases. ALS-23796
When using the Project tool, you can press Tab to access the prompt line, then the X, Y, and Z keys + Enter to quickly change the direction of the projection vector. ALS-25401
Opening stages in the Stage Editor can now filter for several different file types. ALS-25383
Fixed an issue with the Clear All Objects button in the Control Panel that affected isoparms unexpectedly. ALS-23038
Accelerated Surface tool: When working with untrimmed surfaces, the tool now automatically switches the Trim Type from Automatic to Curve on Surface. ALS-23822
Snapping to shells on reference layers now works as expected. ALS-23826
Surface Fillet and Curve Fillet tools: You can now set V Degree (Section) to a value of less than 5 as expected. ALS-23783
Subdiv: Fixed an issue that caused the Subdiv Bevel tool to generate undesired patch layouts in certain cases. ALS-23691
Fixed an issue that caused the Set Non Proportional View tool to discard its changes after switching views and then returning to the original view. ALS-25372
Setting a hotkey for Toggle Rebuilds now works as expected. ALS-26058
Subdiv: After unwelding a creased edge using Subdiv > Unweld, there is no longer a gap between the two resulting subdivision surfaces. ALS-17189
Smooth tool: Continuous smoothing by holding down the Spacebar has been restored. ALS-25871
Cross Section Editor: Undoing a CV move no longer causes cross sections to turn off. ALS-25514
When importing marking menus with the same name as existing marking menus, their names now get appended numerically. For example: Default Marking Menu#1, Default Mark Menus#2. ALS-23865
Surface Fillet tool: Resolved an issue that caused a fillet recalculation, such as by turning on Continuity Check, to break the fillet in specific cases. ALS-25382
The Project tool now allows single hotkey input as expected. ALS-25737
Fixed an issue that caused the Freeform Curve Blend tool to create curves with reduced accuracy. ALS-23887
Transform CV tool: The tool now returns to the previously set component type, for example HULL, when Transform is set from Move to Prop mod and then back to Move. ALS-25697
Square tool: Metadata in the Information Window now updates after the U and V degree and span values are changed in the tool. ALS-26154
When resolving file locations for missing reference files (.wref), the file browser window now opens with the Reference Files (.wref) filter active as expected. ALS-26225
Surface Fillet tool: Fixed an issue that stopped the End Flow Control type from being changed using the in-canvas context menu or manipulator in specific cases. ALS-25462
Align 2008: Options set in the Control window now persist as expected after the window is closed and then reopened. ALS-26325
Fixed a number of Object Type filtering issues in the Object Lister including:
  • Turning off Show Misc no longer hides all group nodes.
  • Turning off Show Surfaces now hides surfaces with COS as expected.
  • Turning off Show Curves now hides scan data curves as expected.
  • Fully trimmed subdivision faces are now always hidden as expected.
  • Null DAG nodes are not hidden when Show Misc is on.
  • Instance nodes are now hidden as expected when their Object Type is filtered out. ALS-25493


Animation
Fixed an issue that caused the Keyframe Edit window to not display as expected when RMB-clicking a keyframe in specific cases. ALS-25482
When the Animation Editor is docked, the Keyframe Editor no longer gets hidden behind it. ALS-25483
Animation Editor: After changing the playback range, such as the End time, the timeline now automatically adjusts to fit to the new range. ALS-25500


Visualization
Using the Delete option from the Shader Library context menu no longer deletes unselected shader directories. ALSO-23802
When the Shader Editor and Texture Editor are docked together as tabs, the Texture Editor tab is now brought into focus as expected. ALS-23840
Switching between stages with different environments in the Stage Editor now updates to the correct environment. ALS-17178
Transparency values now persist between Alias sessions as expected. ALS-25168
Fixed an issue that caused incorrect hardware shading on reference geometry after Flip View. ALS-23765
Environments now display properly when symmetry is turned on for reference files. ALS-23829
Fixed an issue that caused shader names in the Shader Lister to be truncated. ALS-23908
Texture Editor: Toggling Stencil off and on no longer removes the stencil image file path. ALS-23747
When you check on Use Embedded Image Settings in Visualization > Hardware Shade Options, save the user profile in Preferences > User Preferences so that the settings are remembered for the next time you open Alias. ALS-22820
All environments now update as expected after being dragged into the scene from the Shader Library. ALS-23764
Hardware Shader: When Quality is set to User Defined, the minimum value for Tolerance is now 0.0100. ALS-23934
Alias no longer crashes when loading very large shader libraries. A message now appears warning of possible performance issues if the shader library is loaded. ALS-26116


Data Transfer
Resolved an issue with EDF file imports that caused an incorrect file header error message to display and the import to fail. ALS-23370
EDF files can now be imported into Alias again. ALS-25394
The prompt line now provides status feedback as expected when exporting a file. ALS-25776
FBX subdivision models imported or opened as FBX (File > Import As) file no longer have incorrect shader assignment. ALS-23756
Fixed an issue that caused exporting a JT file with default layer names to fail. ALS-17167
The CATIA 5 and PTC Granite exporters now use the most recent version of the Autodesk Translation Framework (ATF). You can still use the legacy-based versions of these exporters by setting the following environment variables: ALIAS_CATIA5_EXPORT_ATF to either 0 or false, ALIAS_GRANITE_EXPORT_ATF to either 0 or false. Return to the ATF version by deleting the environment variable or setting it to a 1 or true.


Dynamo
When creating a script in Dynamo, empty lines are now removed as expected after a combo box is updated or edited ALS-25315
Resolved an Alias crash caused by running a script in Dynamo Player that included a Combo Box node in specific cases. ALS-25221
Fixed an issue that caused Dynamo Player to work incorrectly when Auto Update is On in some cases. ALS-25155
Fixed an issue that caused trimmed surfaces to become untrimmed in certain cases after being sent to Dynamo. ALS-25591
Resolved an issue that caused specific surface topology to not load into Dynamo (Send to Dynamo) from Alias. ALS-25592
In Dynamo Player, clicking Edit in Dynamo now establishes a connection between Alias and Dynamo. ALS -23775
In the Dynamo Player, you can now cancel selection for the active input node by selecting Cancel in the Script Input section or by unpicking the geometry. ALS-23523


Plug-in and API
Execute buttons in plug-in tool windows works as expected again. ALS-25276
A new autoClose parameter has been added to the AlEditor::addButton() function, which lets you determine if an editor should automatically close. This resolves the issue of not being able to automatically close a model AlEditor after a button has been pressed. ALS-26012
Custom icons for plug-ins no longer cause issues or stop the plug-in from running. ALS-26014
Upper case letters can again be used as the first character for plug-in UI such as menu entries. ALS-25580, ALS-25598


View in VR
Resolved an issued that caused Alias to display an "Unsupported VR Hardware detected" message when connected to HTC VIVE Pro 2 devices. ALS-26145


Known Issues

  • Depth of Field (Camera Editor > Lens Properties > Depth of Field) does not work. ALS-26240, ALS-23931

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