Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 User Guide March 2010
© 2010 Autodesk, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Except as otherwise permitted by Autodesk, Inc., this publication, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form, by any method, for any purpose. Certain materials included in this publication are reprinted with the permission of the copyright holder. Trademarks The following are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and other countries: 3DEC (design/logo), 3December, 3December.
Contents Welcome to Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter 1 What Is New in This Release? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Chapter 2 How to Get Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Finding Information Using the InfoCenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Overview of InfoCenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Distribute the Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Distribute an Autodesk Navisworks Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Set Up a Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preliminary Tasks for a Network Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Configure Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Your Deployment Choices . . .
Display Units . . . Profiles . . . . . . . Search Directories . Gizmos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 . 105 . 106 .
Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 Navigation Aids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 Control the Realism of Your Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview of Viewpoints . . . . Saved Viewpoints Window . . . Save Viewpoints . . . . . . . . . Recall Viewpoints . . . . . . . . Organize Viewpoints . . . . . . Edit Viewpoints . . . . . . . . . Default Viewpoint Options . . . Share Viewpoints . . . . . . . . Sectioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enable and Use Section Planes . Enable and Use Section Box . . Chapter 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Work with Cameras . . . . . . Work with Section Plane Sets . Work with Keyframes . . . . . Capture Keyframes . . . Edit Keyframes . . . . . Play Animation Scenes . . . . Add Interactivity . . . . . . . . . . Work with Animation Scripts . Work with Events . . . . . . . Work with Actions . . . . . . Enable Scripting . . . . . . . . Chapter 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Simulation Settings Dialog Box . . . . . . Overlay Text Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . Get Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TimeLiner Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Create Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Edit Tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Attach Tasks to Geometry . . . . . . . . . Attach Tasks Manually . . . . . . . Use Rules to Attach Tasks . . . . . . Validate Project Schedule . . . . . . . . . Use Gantt Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Link to External Project Files .
Options Editor Dialog Box . . . . . . . . General Node . . . . . . . . . . . . Undo Page . . . . . . . . . . . Locations Page . . . . . . . . Environment Page . . . . . . Auto-Save Page . . . . . . . . Interface Node . . . . . . . . . . . . Display Units Page . . . . . . Selection Page . . . . . . . . . Measure Page . . . . . . . . . Snapping Page . . . . . . . . . Viewpoint Defaults Page . . . Links Page . . . . . . . . . . . Quick Properties Page . . . . . Developer Page . . . . . . . . Display Page . . .
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
xii | Contents
Welcome to Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 software provides dynamic 4D schedules and real -time visualization that enables design and construction professionals to share and combine output for clear, descriptive content that helps demonstrate design intent and validate decisions. Entire projects can be replicated with dynamic, photorealistic views and 4D construction schedules to demonstrate options and predict consequences.
2 | Part 1 Welcome to Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011
What Is New in This Release? 1 Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 contains many new features and enhancements. Installation The installation screen provides links to the installation options, deployment options, installation tools and utilities, documentation and language settings. When installing the product you can select to install either the 32-bit or 64-bit version. You also have the option of selecting the DWG file readers that require installation, plus the exporter plugins that you require.
TimeLiner Changes to the TimeLiner tool support improved integration with third-party planning tools, and the introduction of Gantt chart reporting for fuller-featured view on the TimeLiner schedule. ■ Access to the Primavera P6 (Web Services) for quicker Primavera schedule linking. See Supported Scheduling Software on page 412. ■ Ability to view data as Gantt charts on a separate TimeLiner tab. See “Gantt View Tab” on page 388. Sectioning Faster and easier sectioning.
InfoCenter You can use InfoCenter to search a variety of information sources with one query. You can also easily access product updates and announcements. See “Finding Information Using the InfoCenter” on page 9. Batch Utility You can now use the Batch Utility to automate common file importing/conversion processes. The Batch Utility is integrated with Windows Task Scheduler to allow you to set up tasks to be run automatically at set times and intervals. See Batch Utility on page 148.
New Features Workshop The New Features Workshop introduces you to what’s new in Autodesk Navisworks. You can access the New Features Workshop from InfoCenter. On the InfoCenter toolbar, to the right of the Help button, click the drop-down arrow. You can also access the New Features workshop from the Start menu. Click Start ➤ All Programs ➤ Autodesk ➤ Navisworks Simulate 2011 ➤ New Features Workshop.
■ 4D Simulation. The TimeLiner tool helps to reduce delays and sequencing problems by enabling you to visualize project activities. Dynamic links to third party scheduling software provide accurate task data which can be mapped to your integrated project model. With support for Planned, Actual, and Planned vs Actual dates you can analyze the viability of your construction schedules. See Simulate Construction Scheduling on page 383. ■ Visualization.
8 | Chapter 1 What Is New in This Release?
How to Get Assistance There are various ways to find information about how to use this program, and multiple resources are available. 2 Finding Information Using the InfoCenter You can use InfoCenter to search a variety of information sources with one query. You can also easily access product updates and announcements.
To browse search results ➤ On the panel for Search Results, Subscription Center, Communication Center, or Favorites, on the right side of the category header, do one of the following: ■ Click the Next button. ■ Click the Previous button. To rearrange the topics displayed on a panel 1 Display a panel by doing one of the following: ■ In the InfoCenter box, enter a keyword or phrase. Then press ENTER or click the Search button. ■ In the InfoCenter box, click the Communication Center button.
When performing the exact phrase search, use double quotation marks (" ") to enclose words that must appear next to each other in the specified text string. For example, enter "specify units of measurement" to find only topics with all those words in that order. You can also use the previously mentioned symbols in a text string that is enclosed in double quotation marks. To search multiple sources for information 1 In the InfoCenter box, enter a keyword or phrase. 2 Click the Search button.
■ e-Learning Lessons. (For subscription members only.) Each lesson is 15-30 minutes and features hands-on exercises, with an option to use a simulation instead of the software application. You can use an online evaluation tool that identifies gaps in skills, determines what lessons will be most helpful, and gauges learning progress. Subscription Resources and Privacy Subscription resources provide interactive product features over the Internet.
■ RSS Feeds. Receive information from RSS feeds to which you subscribe. RSS feeds generally notify you when new content is posted. You are automatically subscribed to several default RSS feeds when you install the program. ■ Product Support Information. Get breaking news from the Product Support team at Autodesk, including when Live Update maintenance patches are released. ■ Subscription Announcements.
A link marked as a favorite displays a star icon on the Search Results panel, Subscription Center panel or the Communication Center panel. To display the InfoCenter Favorites panel ■ In the InfoCenter box, click the Favorites button. NOTE The links displayed on the Favorites panel are organized into the same groups or categories from which they were added. To save a link in InfoCenter as a favorite 1 Display a panel by doing one of the following: ■ In the InfoCenter box, enter a keyword or phrase.
Search in Help Use the Help Search tab to find relevant topics based on keywords that you enter. The basic search rules are as follows: ■ Type your keywords in uppercase or lowercase characters; searches are not case-sensitive. ■ Search for any combination of letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9). ■ Do not use punctuation marks such as a period, colon, semicolon, comma, hyphen, and single quotation marks; they are ignored during a search.
Search for Example Results The first term without the second term nwd NOT nwc Topics containing the word “NWD”, but not the word “NWC” Both terms in the same topic, close together user NEAR menu Topics containing the word “user” within eight words of the word “menu” NOTE The |, &, and ! characters do not work as Boolean operators. You must use AND (also +), OR, and NOT (also -).
NOTE When you select the second option, you may get numerous printed pages, depending on how many subtopics the currently selected topic contains. To print a Help topic 1 Display the topic you want to print. 2 Right-click in the topic pane. Click Print. 3 In the Print dialog box, click Print. To print a selected heading and all subtopics 1 Display the topic you want to print and make sure that the Contents tab is displayed. 2 On the Help toolbar, click Print.
■ RSS Feeds. RSS feed subscriptions. You can add or remove RSS feeds. RSS feeds generally notify you when new content is posted. To specify locations to search for information 1 In the InfoCenter box, click the down arrow next to the Search button. 2 Click Search Settings. 3 In the InfoCenter Settings dialog box, Search Locations panel, in the right pane, select or clear the search locations you want to include or exclude when you search for information. 4 Click OK.
To specify InfoCenter balloon notification settings 1 In the InfoCenter box, click the down arrow next to the Search button. 2 Click Search Settings. 3 In the InfoCenter Settings dialog box, in the left pane, click Balloon Notification. 4 In the right pane, select or clear the options to turn balloon notification on or off. 5 Enter the number of seconds to set the length of time for balloon notifications to display. 6 Enter the transparency value of the balloon or set the value using the slider. 7 Click OK.
Other resources help you get information about Autodesk products and assistance with your questions about this program. ■ Autodesk website. Access http://www.autodesk.com. ■ Local support. Check with your dealer or Autodesk country/region office. Learn the Product Training programs and products from Autodesk help you learn the key technical features and improve your productivity. For the latest information about Autodesk training, visit http://www.autodesk.
View the Product Readme You can find late-breaking information about this software in the Readme. It is suggested that you read through the Autodesk Navisworks Readme for information about recommended hardware, updated installation instructions, and known software problems. The Readme file is available from the product’s program group on the Windows Start menu. Join the Customer Involvement Program You are invited to help guide the direction of Autodesk design software.
22 | Chapter 2 How to Get Assistance
Installation This chapter provides information about installing and activating Autodesk Navisworks on a workstation, as well as deploying Autodesk Navisworks from a network location. 3 Quick Start to Stand-Alone Installation This section provides step-by-step instructions about how to prepare, and then install Autodesk Navisworks. If you have never installed the product before, you should familiarize yourself with the entire installation process and options before beginning.
Hardware and software requirements Operating system ■ Windows 7 Enterprise ■ Windows 7 Ultimate ■ Windows 7 Professional ■ Windows 7 Home Premium ■ Windows 7 Home Basic Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later of the following: ■ Windows Vista Enterprise ■ Windows Vista Ultimate ■ Windows Vista Business ■ Windows Vista Home Premium ■ Windows Vista Home Basic Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later of the following: ■ Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 3 (SP3) or later of the following: Web
Hardware and software requirements 2 GB Graphics card 128 MB, 1024 x 768 VGA, True Color (minimum); 256 MB or greater - 1280 x 1024 32-bit color video display adapter, True Color (recommended) Hard disk Installation 1 GB Pointing device Microsoft-mouse compliant DVD-ROM Any speed (for installation only) Optional hardware Open GL©-compatible 3D video card; Printer or plotter; Modem or access to an Internet connection; Network interface card Understand Administrative Permission Requirements To insta
Choose a Language You can select a different language for installation instructions, and a language for individual product installations in the same install process. When you start the installation process, the installer automatically determines your operating system language. If a supported language is detected, your install pages are displayed in that language. If you want to change that language, you select a different one from the Installer Language list on the first page of the Installation wizard.
If you do not wish to make configuration changes on the Begin Installation page, click Install. Install Multiple or Bundled Products Some Autodesk packages are comprised of multiple products or are part of multi-product bundles. The Installation wizard for packages that are comprised of multiple products gives you the option to choose which products you want to install. In the Installation wizard, for packages containing multiple products, you can choose which products and languages you want to install.
NOTE To view or print PDF (.pdf) files, Adobe® Reader must be installed on your computer. If you do not have Adobe Reader, you can download the latest version at http://www.adobe.com. ■ Install Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011. From the Installation wizard, click Install Products. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation. Install Autodesk Navisworks Using Default Values This is the fastest means of installing Autodesk Navisworks on your system.
IMPORTANT The information you enter here is permanent and is displayed in the Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 window (accessed in the InfoCenter box by clicking the down arrow next to the Help button ➤ About Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011). Because you can’t change this information later without uninstalling the product, make sure you enter the correct information now. 6 On the Begin Installation page, click Install. Click Yes to continue installing using the default configuration.
NOTE If you do not agree to the terms of the license and want to terminate the installation, click Cancel. 5 On the User and Product Information page, enter your personal details, serial number, and product key. Review the Privacy Policy from the link at the bottom of the dialog box. After reviewing, click Next.
8 To configure Navisworks exporter plugins, click the product tab. The Select the Installation Type page shows a list of all exporter plugins: Indicates the third-party software already installed on your computer. Indicates plugins for the third-party software, that are either not installed or have not been detected by the Installation wizard. Select the check boxes next to all required plugins. If the third-party software has not been detected by the wizard, you can manually enable the plugins for it.
-lang de-DE for German localization -lang es-ES for Spanish localization -lang fr-FR for French localization -lang it-IT for Italian localization -lang ja-JP for Japanese localization -lang ko-KR for Korean localization -lang pt-BR for Brazilian Portuguese localization -lang ru-RU for Russian localization -lang zh-CN for Chinese (PRC) localization 3 Click OK to save the changes. Add or Remove Features You can add or remove Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 features at any time.
Repair Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 If you accidentally delete or alter files that are required by Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011, Autodesk Navisworks might not perform correctly, and you might receive error messages when you try to execute a command or find a file. You can attempt to fix this problem by repairing Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011. Repairing uses the features that were part of the installation type you chose when you initially installed the program.
Move to Autodesk Navisworks from a Previous Release If you have a previous version of Autodesk Navisworks installed on your system, you can install Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 and keep other versions of the program on the same system. This is called a side-by-side installation. If you’ve purchased an upgrade version of Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011, you are required to uninstall the previous version within 120 days of installing Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011.
Hardware and software requirements for client machine Windows Vista 64-bit SP2 or later ■ Windows Vista Enterprise ■ Windows Vista Ultimate ■ Windows Vista Business ■ Windows Vista Home Premium ■ Windows Vista Home Basic Windows XP 32-bit SP3 or later ■ Windows XP Professional ■ Windows XP Home Windows XP 64-bit SP2 or later ■ Web browser Windows XP Professional x64 Edition 32-bit Internet Explorer 6.0, SP 1 or later 64-bit Internet Explorer 7.0 or later Processor 32-bit AMD Athlon™ 3.
Hardware and software requirements for client machine Printer or plotter Modem or access to an Internet connection Network interface card Hardware and software requirements for the network license server (Windows) Hardware/Software Requirement Operating System Windows® 7® 32-bit Windows 7 64-bit ■ Windows 7 Enterprise ■ Windows 7 Ultimate ■ Windows 7 Professional ■ Windows 7 Home Premium ■ Windows 7 Home Basic (32-bit) ■ Windows 7 Starter (32-bit) Windows Vista 32-bit SP2 or later Windows Vi
Hardware and software requirements for the network license server (Windows) Hardware/Software Requirement Browsers Internet Explorer® 6 Internet Explorer 7 Internet Explorer 8 FLEXnet 11.7.0.
Hardware and software requirements for client machine 64-bit AMD or Intel EM64T RAM 32-bit 512 MB (minimum) 2 GB or greater (recommended) 64-bit 2 GB Graphics card 128 MB, 1024 x 768 VGA, True Color (minimum); 256 MB or greater - 1280 x 1024 32-bit color video display adapter, True Color (recommended) Hard disk Installation 1 GB Pointing device Microsoft-mouse compliant DVD-ROM Any speed (for installation only) Optional hardware Open GL©-compatible 3D video card; Printer or plotter; Modem or acce
If you choose one of the stand-alone installation types, you can proceed to the section “Distribute the Program” on page 41. Choose a License Server Model If you chose the Network License option, you need to decide which license server model to use to distribute the product licenses. TIP If you are deploying a stand-alone or multi-seat stand-alone installation type, you do not use a license server model. Proceed to the section “Distribute the Program” on page 41.
WARNING Do not install the Network License Manager on a remote drive. When you install the Network License Manager files, you must provide a path to a local drive. You must specify the drive letter; the universal naming convention (UNC) is not supported. 6 On the Configuration Complete page, click Configuration Complete to return to the confirmation page. 7 On the Begin Installation page, click Install. 8 When the Installation Complete page displays, click Finish.
■ If a service for Autodesk is already defined and running, click ReRead License File to refresh the Network License Manager with any changes made to the license file or Options file. The license server starts running and is ready to respond to client requests. 12 Close lmtools.exe. Distribute the Program Once you have fully prepared for creating a deployment, you are ready to set up and distribute Autodesk Navisworks by using the Deployment wizard and choosing a deployment method.
Distribute an Autodesk Navisworks Product You can choose from several methods of distributing an Autodesk program. Network sharing is the default method. ■ Network Share. Users launch the program with the shortcut icon that you created with the Deployment wizard. The program is installed on users' local computers, and a product icon appears on their desktop. NOTE Users must have Read permissions to access the network share and administrative permissions on the workstation where this program is installed.
Deployment Checklist You have identified the location (such as a shared folder) where deployments will reside for each program you plan to deploy. You have closed all other programs and disabled antivirus software. You have decided what languages you will include in your administrative image, and what languages you will use for your deployment package. You have determined if your deployment plan involves using imaging software to distribute your programs to client workstations.
If you do not wish to make configuration changes on the Create Deployment page, click Create Deployment. Your Deployment Choices When you create a deployment, you will make several choices during the process to create various client deployment images and deployment types. The following sections outline your choices in more detail. Enter User and Product Information The User and Product Information page is used to personalize the program for your environment.
status information and details about problems that users encountered during installation (for example, low disc space or inadequate permissions). The network log is named with the same name you chose for your deployment. You can specify where the log file is created by entering either a valid UNC (universal naming convention) path or hard-coded path on your network, for example \\MyComputer\Autodesk\. Users should use their actual computer name in place of MyComputer.
Select a License Type (optional) When you set up your deployment, you choose the type of installation to deploy based on the type of software license you purchased: stand-alone or network. You also select the network license server model you want to use to distribute product licenses. IMPORTANT Depending on the type of option you choose on the configuration page, network or stand-alone license, note that you must use the same type of installation for all those products in your deployment session.
If you have already used the Network License Manager to create a license server model, you must select the same license server model in this step. If you have not yet used the Network License Manager to create a license server model, make sure that you select the same settings in the Network License Manager that you choose here. 3 Enter the name of one of the servers that will run the Network License Manager, or click the Browse button to locate the server. Click Add to add the server to the Server Pool.
Your choices are as follows: ActiveX Lite Control Contains Navisworks ActiveX Lite control. API Contains the Component Object Model interface for customizing and extending the Navisworks functionality. Example NWD files Contains various feature sample files. Batch Utility Run and schedule commands. PDF Manual Contains the Autodesk Navisworks User Guide in PDF format. Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 Contains full set of Navisworks files.
that language, you can choose a different one from the installer language list on the opening page of the Installation wizard. NOTE Some products may not have multi-language support at the time of product release. Additional language support may be available later. Check http://support.autodesk.com for the availability of additional language packs. Using Language Packs Language packs support use of different languages in each Autodesk Navisworks product, including exporters.
3 On the Select the Products to Include in the Deployment page, select the products you want to include, the languages to include in your administrative image, and the language of your deployment: ■ On a 64-bit version of Windows, you can install the 64-bit version of Autodesk Navisworks, 64-bit version of Autodesk Navisworks Freedom, and both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of exporter plugins.
NOTE If you do not know how to create a network share, see “Create a Network Share” on page 41. ■ In the Specify the New Deployment Name field, enter the new deployment’s name. The name you enter here is the name of the shortcut users will access to install the product. ■ Under This is to be a:, select either 32-bit or 64-bit for your target operating system. This selection does not identify the system your deployment was created on; it identifies your target system. Click Next.
8 On the Configuration Complete page, select a different product tab to configure another product, or click Configuration Complete to review your choices. 9 On the Create Deployment page, click Create Deployment. If you want a summary of your deployment settings, click Copy to Clipboard. 10 On the Deployment Complete page, click Finish. Final Review and Complete Setup To complete your deployment setup, confirm the settings you selected.
This means that even if you have previously added or removed components, or if you have reinstalled or repaired an Autodesk product, uninstalling removes all Autodesk product installation files from your system. To uninstall the program 1 Do one of the following: ■ (Windows XP) Click Start ➤ Settings ➤ Control Panel ➤ Add or Remove Programs. ■ (Windows Vista and Windows 7) Click Start ➤ Control Panel ➤ Programs and Features.
To install an updated graphics card driver 1 Check the Web for to see if an updated driver is available. ■ Use Windows Update. ■ Search the graphics card manufacturer’s website for the type of installed graphics card. 2 If a more recent graphics card driver is available, follow the instructions from the website to install download and install it.
2 In Autodesk Navisworks, click the application button ➤ Options Editor. 3 Click Export. 4 In the Select Options to Export dialog box, check all options you want to export and click OK. 5 In the Save As dialog box, name the XML file as desired and save it to the global_options folder in the appropriate Site or Project directory.
To register and activate Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 1 Click Start ➤ All Programs ➤ Autodesk ➤ Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 ➤ Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011. 2 In the Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 Product Activation wizard, select Activate the Product, and then click Next. This starts the Register Today process. 3 Click Register and Activate (Get an Activation Code). 4 Click Next and follow the on-screen instructions.
How do I choose between 32-bit and 64-bit deployments? You have a choice of selecting 32-bit or 64-bit deployment. This choice controls which operating system the deployment is targeted at, NOT what sort of products to include in the deployment. ■ Selecting 32-bit deployment gives you a choice of 32-bit products, and will only install on 32-bit operating systems. ■ Selecting 64-bit deployment gives you a choice of 32-bit and 64-bit products, and will only install on 64-bit operating systems.
What is Internet Explorer used for? After installing your product, you can operate in trial mode for a given number of days. Whenever you launch the program, you are prompted to activate the software. When you choose to activate the software, Internet Explorer makes this process much faster. Once you entered your registration data and submit it to Autodesk, an activation code is returned and you are not prompted again during startup.
When adding or removing features, how can I tell what features get installed by default? To quickly see what gets installed during a typical, default installation, click the Restore Defaults button on the Add/Remove Features page. Is it possible to change the installation folder when adding or removing features? Once your product is installed, you cannot change the installation path from the Add/Remove Features page.
60 | Chapter 3 Installation
Quick Start This chapter helps you get up-to-speed with the Autodesk Navisworks interface. 4 Start and Quit Autodesk Navisworks Once you’ve installed Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011, you can start it from the Windows desktop or from the command line. To start Autodesk Navisworks, do one of the following from the Windows desktop: ■ Double-click the Autodesk Navisworks icon, or ■ Click Start ➤ All Programs ➤ Autodesk ➤ Navisworks Simulate 2011 ➤ Simulate 2011.
Auto-saved files have an .nwf extension, and named as .AutoSave where is the name of the current Navisworks file, and is a number that increments with each auto-save. So, for example, if you work with a file called Enviro-Dome.nwd, the first auto-saved file is called Enviro-Dome.Autosave0.nwf, the second auto-saved file is called Enviro-Dome.Autosave1.nwf and so on.
4 Click Open. 5 When you are prompted to save a file with a different name, click Save As. 6 In the Save As dialog box, enter a new file name, and browse to the desired location. 7 Click Save. Menu: Classic user interface: File ➤ Open Command entry: CTRL + O Toolbar: Classic user interface: Standard, Quick Access toolbar Command Line Options Command line switches can specify different startup routines for Navisworks. You can use command line switches to specify several options when you start the program.
Command Line Switch Argument Description marks. For example, “C:\temp\log.txt" -memcheck Runs Autodesk Navisworks with additional checks for memory errors. -nwc [outputfile.nwc] [inputfile] Autodesk Navisworks converts an input file into the NWC format in the background, and places it into the specified directory. You must provide the full file paths within quotation marks. For example, “C:\temp\a.dwg" -nwd [outputfile.
For example, enter: “D:\Autodesk Navisworks\roamer.exe" -log "D:\temp\nw_log.txt" "D:\temp\a.nwd" "D:\temp\b.dwg". 3 Click OK. The User Interface The Autodesk Navisworks interface contains a number of traditional Windows elements, such as the application menu, Quick Access toolbar, ribbon, dockable windows, dialog boxes and shortcut menus in which you complete tasks. Parts of Autodesk Navisworks Interface This section briefly describes the main components of the standard Autodesk Navisworks interface.
Application Button and Menu The application menu enables you to access common tools. It provides access to many common file actions, and also allows you to manage your files using more advanced tools, such as Import, Export, and Publish. Some application menu choices have additional menus that show related commands. . Clicking it again closes the application menu. To open the application menu, click the application button Double-clicking the application button exits Autodesk Navisworks.
Option Description Publishes the current project. (Publish) (Print) Prints the scene and sets print-related settings. (Send by Email) Creates a new email with the current file as an attachment. Options Opens Options Editor. Exit Autodesk Navisworks Exits the program. Recent Documents List You can view, sort, and access supported files that you have recently opened. The most recent files are shown in the Recent Documents list. The list is ordered with the most recently used file at the top.
4 Click OK. To keep a document in the Recent Documents list ■ Click the push pin button to the right of the document. To view the Recent Documents list by access date ■ In the top-left corner of the Recent Documents list, in the By Ordered List drop-down list, select By Access Date. To view the Recent Documents list by size ■ In the top-left corner of the Recent Documents list, in the By Ordered List drop-down list, select By Size.
2 Right-click the button on the ribbon, and click Add to Quick Access Toolbar. To remove a ribbon button from the Quick Access toolbar 1 Right-click the button on the Quick Access toolbar 2 Click Remove from Quick Access toolbar. To display the Quick Access toolbar below the ribbon ■ Click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar drop-down button, and click Show Below the Ribbon. Shortcut menu: Right-click any button on the Quick Access toolbar. Click Show Quick Access Toolbar below the Ribbon.
The ribbon is divided into tabs, with each tab is supporting a specific activity. Within each tab, tools are grouped together into a task-based series of panels. To specify which ribbon tabs and panels are displayed, right-click the ribbon and, on the shortcut menu, click or clear the names of tabs or panels. You can customize the ribbon depending on your needs in the following ways: ■ You can change the order of ribbon tabs. Click the tab you want to move, drag it to the desired position, and release.
Tool Launcher Some ribbon panels display a dialog box or a dockable window related to that panel. A tool launcher arrow in the lower-right corner of the panel indicates that you can display a related tool. Click the icon to display the associated dialog box or dockable window. Check Boxes Check boxes allow you to toggle an option on or off. Sliders When an option can be executed with varying intensity, the slider allows you to control the setting from lower to higher, or reverse.
The ribbon toggles between the selected minimize ribbon state and the full ribbon state. To reset the ribbon and the Quick Access toolbar 1 Right-click anywhere inside the ribbon. 2 Click Restore Default Ribbon. Quick Reference Home Tab Panel Contains tools to... Project control the whole scene including appending files and refreshing CAD files, resetting changes made in Autodesk Navisworks, and setting related options.
Panel Contains tools to... Collaborate connect with other Autodesk Navisworks users across a network connection. This panel is hidden by default. Animation Tab Panel Contains tools to... Create create object animations using the Animator tool or record viewpoint animations. Playback select and play back animations. Script enable scripts, or create new ones in the Scripter tool. View Tab Panel Contains tools to... Stereo enable stereoscopic vision provided suitable hardware is available.
Item Tools Tab Panel Contains tools to... SwitchBack switch back to compatible design applications at the current view. Hold hold the selected items so that they move with you as you navigate around the scene. Look At focus and zoom the current view onto the selected items. Visibility control the visibility of the selected items. Transform move, rotate, and scale the selected items. Appearance change the color and transparency of the selected items.
Keytips Autodesk Navisworks provides accelerator keys, or keytips, to enable you to use the keyboard, rather than the mouse, to interact with the application window. Keytips are provided for the application menu, Quick Access toolbar, and ribbon. You can still use ‘old style’ keyboard shortcuts, such as CTRL + N to open a new file, and CTRL + P to print the current file. To display keytips, press ALT.
When a menu item is followed by a series of dots, such as with that choice. Quick Reference File Menu This menu contains commands for managing files. Option Description New Resets the program, and closes the currently open Navisworks file. Refresh Refreshes your scene with the latest versions of currently loaded model files. Open Displays the Open dialog box. Open URL Displays the Open URL dialog box. Append Displays the Append dialog box. Merge Displays the Merge dialog box.
Edit Menu This menu contains commands for locating, selecting and editing geometry in your model. Option Description Undo Reverses the last performed operation. Redo Reverses the last operation performed by the Undo command. Select Gives you access to selection functionality. Quick Find Displays the Quick Find dialog box. Quick Find Next Repeats the previously run quick find search. Find Items Toggles the Find Items control bar. Find Comments Toggles the Find Comments dialog box.
Option Description Enable Stereo Puts the video output into stereo mode. Stereo Options Displays the Stereo Options dialog box. Scene Statistics Displays useful scene statistics. Viewpoint Menu This menu contains a set of commands that affect the current viewpoint, including model appearance, navigation and sectioning. Option Description Saved Viewpoints Enables you to use saved viewpoints. Look From Enables you to look from a preset viewpoint.
Option Description Renumber Comment IDs Renumbers all comment IDs, making them unique to the scene. Renumber Tag IDs Renumbers all tag IDs, making them unique to the scene. Tools Menu This menu contains commands for advanced model analysis and reviewing, and also commands for customizing Autodesk Navisworks. Option Description Presenter Toggles the Presenter tool window. TimeLiner Toggles the TimeLiner tool window. DataTools Displays the DataTools dialog box.
In addition to rearranging the existing Autodesk Navisworks toolbars, you can customize their appearance and content, and create your own toolbars. NOTE To quickly personalize a toolbar, click the Toolbar Options Buttons on the shortcut menu. button on the right, and click Add or Remove When a Autodesk Navisworks toolbar button has a down-pointing arrow, such as , a submenu toolbar is associated with that choice. Click the triangle to open the menu, and select a specific option.
Button Description Displays the Publish dialog box. Saves the currently open Navisworks file, accesses your email program, and adds the saved file as an email attachment. Reverses the last performed operation. Reverses the last operation performed by the Undo command. Displays the Print dialog box. Displays copyright and license information about your copy of Autodesk Navisworks. Opens the Help system.
Button Description Turns on Pan mode. Turns on Orbit mode. Turns on Free Orbit mode. Turns on Fly mode. Turns on Constrained Orbit mode. Rendering Style Toolbar This toolbar controls the model appearance in Navisworks. Button Description Selects Lighting mode. Selects Rendering mode. Toggles the rendering of surfaces. Toggles the rendering of lines. Toggles the rendering of points. Toggles the rendering of snap points. Toggles the rendering of 3D text.
Button Description Toggles the Plan View control bar. Toggles the Section View control bar. Toggles the Selection Tree control bar. Toggles the Sets control bar. Toggles the Comments control bar. Toggles the Find Comments dialog box. Toggles the Find Items control bar. Toggles the Properties control bar. Toggles the Presenter tool window. Toggles the TimeLiner tool window. Toggles the Animator tool window. Toggles the Scripter tool window. Controls workspaces.
Button Description Displays the Set Sectioning Box Size dialog box. Restricts the section distance to the bounding box limits of the objects selected in the Scene View Displays the Sectioning Plane dialog box. Enables/disables the current section plane. Enables you to choose the alignment method. Displays the Section Plane Settings dialog box. Animation Toolbar This toolbar allows you to record viewpoint animations, play back object and viewpoint animations, and toggle the scripting functionality.
This toolbar enables you to participate in design review sessions across a Local Area Network (LAN). Button Description Starts Windows™ NetMeeting. Enables you to take control of the session, and become the ‘driver’. Refreshes Navisworks data on all attendees machines. Object Manipulation Toolbar This toolbar enables you to edit geometry in your model. Button Description Toggles the display of the translation gizmo. Toggles the display of the rotation gizmo. Toggles the display of the scale gizmo.
Button Description Toggles crouching. Toggles third person view. Aligns the current viewpoint with the X axis. Aligns the current viewpoint with the Y axis. Aligns the current viewpoint with the Z axis. Customize the Toolbars You can customize the appearance and contents of the Autodesk Navisworks toolbars by using the Customize dialog box. To add a custom toolbar 1 Click Tools ➤ Customize. 2 In the Customize dialog box, Toolbars tab, click the New button.
To delete a custom toolbar 1 Click Tools ➤ Customize. 2 In the Customize dialog box, Toolbars tab, click the toolbar you don’t need. 3 Click Delete. NOTE You can only delete custom toolbars. 4 Close the Customize dialog box. To add commands 1 Click Tools ➤ Customize. This opens the Customize dialog box. 2 There are several ways to add commands to a toolbar or a menu: ■ In the Customize dialog box, Commands tab, click the desired category, and drag the command from the commands list on to the toolbar.
Scene View This is the area where you view and interact with your 3D models. When you start Navisworks, the Scene View contains only one scene view, but you can add more scene views, if needed. Custom scene views are named “ViewX” where “X” is the next available number. The default scene view cannot be moved Looking at several views of your model simultaneously is useful when you compare lighting and rendering styles, animate different parts of your model, and so on.
To create a custom scene view ■ To split your active scene view horizontally, click View tab ➤ Scene View panel ➤ Split View ➤ Split Horizontal ■ . To split your active scene view vertically, click View tab ➤ Scene View panel ➤ Split View ➤ Split Vertical . Toolbar: Classic user interface: Model Views ➤ Split Horizontal and Model Views ➤ Split Vertical To make custom scene views dockable ■ Click View tab ➤ Scene View panel ➤ Show Title Bars. All of your custom scene views now have title bars.
Dockable Windows Most Navisworks features are accessible from dockable windows.
An undocked window is one that has been separated from the program window. Each undocked window can be moved around the screen or screens as desired. Although undocked windows cannot be pinned, they can be resized and grouped. A window group is a way to have more than one window occupy the same amount of space on the screen. When windows are grouped, each window is represented by a tab at the bottom of the group. In a group, click a tab to display that window.
The window continues to be displayed until you move the mouse pointer away from it. When you move the mouse pointer, the window is collapsed until you place the mouse pointer over the window tab on the side of the canvas where its docked. NOTE To move or group windows, you need to pin them first. To pin dockable windows 1 Move the mouse cursor over the title bar to display the hidden window. 2 Click on the title bar. The window is now pinned, and can be moved and grouped.
TIP To quickly create a window group, use the sticker at the center of the docking tool when you drag a window to its location. This works anywhere on the canvas excluding the default scene view and the Tilt window. Custom scene views can be grouped with other windows. To move a window with the docking tool 1 Click and drag the title bar at the top or side of the window towards the place where you want it to dock. This activates the docking tool.
To undo an action ■ Click Undo on the Quick Access toolbar. Command entry: CTRL + Z Toolbar: Classic user interface: Standard ➤ Undo To redo an action ■ Click Redo on the Quick Access toolbar. Command entry: CTRL + Y Toolbar: Classic user interface: Standard ➤ Redo Autodesk Navisworks Workspaces Workspaces retain information about which windows are open, their positions, and the size of the application window. Workspaces do not retain changes made to the ribbon or the Quick Access toolbar.
4 Click Save. To load a saved workspace into Navisworks 1 Click View tab ➤ Workspaces panel ➤ Load Workspace . 2 In the Load Workspace dialog box, browse to the folder containing the desired workspace, and select it. 3 Click Open. Default Keyboard Shortcuts Keyboard shortcuts are keyboard alternatives you can use to initiate commands normally accessed with the mouse.
Quick Reference Default Keyboard Shortcut Description PgUp Zooms to view all objects in the Scene View. PgDn Zooms to magnify all selected objects in the Scene View. HOME Takes you to Home view. This keyboard shortcut only applies to the Scene View windows. This means it will only work when this window has focus. ESC Deselects everything. SHIFT Used to modify the middle mouse button actions. CTRL Used to modify the middle mouse button actions. ALT Turns the keytips on or off.
Default Keyboard Shortcut Description CTRL + G Toggles Gravity mode. CTRL + H Toggles Hidden mode for selected items. CTRL + M Displays the Merge dialog box. CTRL + N Resets the program, closes the currently open Navisworks file, and creates a new file. CTRL + O Displays the Open dialog box. CTRL + P Displays the Print dialog box. CTRL + R Toggles Require mode for selected items. CTRL + S Saves the currently open Navisworks file. CTRL + T Toggles Third Person mode.
Default Keyboard Shortcut Description CTRL + Down Arrow Stop playing or recording animation. CTRL + Space Pause playing or recording animation. CTRL + SHIFT + A Opens the Animation Export dialog box. CTRL + SHIFT + C Opens the Export dialog box and enables you to export current search. CTRL + SHIFT + I Opens the Image Export dialog box. CTRL + SHIFT + R Opens the Export Rendered Image dialog box. CTRL + SHIFT + S Opens the Export dialog box and enables you to export search sets.
Default Keyboard Shortcut Description SHIFT + F1 Enables you to get context-sensitive help. SHIFT + F2 Toggles the Sets window. SHIFT + F3 Toggles the Find Items window. SHIFT + F4 Toggles the Find Comments window. SHIFT + F6 Toggles the Comments window. SHIFT + F7 Toggles the Properties window. SHIFT + F10 Opens a shortcut menu. SHIFT + F11 Opens the File Options dialog box.
Wheel Middle Button SHIFT + Middle Button Classic Navigation Modes Walk Look Up/Down Glide Camera Glide Camera (Faster) Look Around Zoom In/Out Pan Orbit Zoom Zoom (Roll) Zoom (Drag) - Zoom Box Zoom (Roll) Zoom (Drag) - Pan Zoom (Roll) Zoom (Drag) - Orbit Zoom (Roll) Glide Camera - Examine Zoom (Roll) Pan - Fly - Roll - Turntable Tilt Up/Down Pan - Standard Navigation Modes Pan Zoom In/Out Pan Orbit Zoom Window Zoom In/Out Pan Orbit Zoom Zoom In/Out Pan Orbit
Global Options Global options, on the other hand, are set for all Autodesk Navisworks sessions. The Options Editor can be accessed by clicking the application button ➤ Options, or it can be launched as a separate application. To do this, click Start ➤ All Programs ➤ Autodesk ➤ Navisworks Simulate 2011 ➤ Options Editor. The options are grouped together, and presented in a tree structure, making it quicker to find and change them.
To configure global options 1 Click the application button ➤ Options. 2 In the Options Editor, expand the desired node, and click the option you want to configure. 3 Click OK to save the changes. Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ Global Options See also: ■ “Options Editor Dialog Box” on page 439 To export global options 1 Click the application button ➤ Options. 2 In the Options Editor, click the Export button.
6 Click Save. 7 Click OK to close the Options Editor. Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ Global Options To import global options 1 Click the application button ➤ Options. 2 In the Options Editor, click the Import button. 3 In the Open dialog box, browse to the folder containing the settings file, select it, and click Open. 4 Click OK to close the Options Editor.
The settings can be shared across an entire project site, or across a specific project group depending on the required level of granularity. See also: ■ How do I share the Autodesk Navisworks settings on a site and project basis? on page 54 To configure location options 1 Click the application button ➤ Options. 2 Expand the General node in the Options Editor, and click the Locations option.
To customize display units 1 Click the application button ➤ Options. 2 Expand the Interface node in the Options Editor, and click the Display Units option. 3 Select the Linear Units from the drop-down list. Be sure to choose the exact format required. 4 Select the Angular Units from the drop-down list. 5 Enter the number of decimal places you want to see throughout the interface for your units in the Decimal Places box.
4 Click OK. Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ Global Options Search Directories Autodesk Navisworks searches for a variety of configuration files in subdirectories of three standard directories. These files can be overridden on a per user, all users or per installation basis. The search directories are: ■ Application Data\Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 within the current user profile. For example, C:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 where user is the na
Each gizmo displays three colored axes at the correct angles relevant to the current camera position. Gizmos act like 3D objects in that the axis rotate with the viewpoint. However, they are overlaid over the top of the 3D scene, and can’t be obscured by other objects. When you mouse over a grabable part of the gizmo, the cursor changes to a hand Move Gizmo icon.
108 | Chapter 4 Quick Start
Get a Whole-Project View 109
110 | Part 2 Get a Whole-Project View
Work with Files In Autodesk Navisworks you can open files originated from a variety of CAD applications. 5 You can combine these files together, and create a single Autodesk Navisworks file with a whole-project view of your model. This file brings together geometry and data created by multi-disciplinary teams, and enables you to explore and review complex models in real-time. Native File Formats Autodesk Navisworks has three native file formats: NWD, NWF, and NWC.
■ “NWD File Options” on page 452 Compatible CAD Applications The table below is provided as a quick reference only, and does not contain an exhaustive list of compatible CAD applications. For additional information, please refer to the Features and Specifications section on our website http://www.autodesk.com/navisworks.
Application File Formats CADopia IntelliCAD DWG, DXF CEA Technology Plant-4D DWG, DGN COADE CADWorx Plant DWG, DXF, 3DS COADE CADWorx Pipe DWG, DXF, 3DS COADE CADWorx Steel DWG, DXF, 3DS COINS BSLink DWG, DXF, 3DS COINS Framing DWG, DXF, 3DS CSC 3D+ DWG Dassault Systemes CATIA DXF, IGES, STEP Google SketchUp SKP, DWG, 3DS Hannappel Software GmbH elcoCAD R4 DWG, DXF, 3DS Integraph PDS DRI, DRV, DWG, DXF, DGN, IGES, STEP Informatix MicroGDS MAN ITandFactory CADISON DWG, DXF, 3DS
Application File Formats Tekla Structures DGN, VRML, CIS/2 Tekla Xsteel DGN think3 thinkdesign DWG, DXF, IGES, STEP UGS I-deas DXF, IGES, STEP UGS Solid Edge IGES, STEP UGS NX (Unigraphics) DXF, IGES, STEP UGS Factory CAD DWG, DXF, 3DS UHP Process Piping FabPro Pipe DWG, DXF, 3DS UHP Process Piping x-plant DWG, DXF, 3DS Supported CAD File Formats See the following table for the native CAD file formats you can open in Autodesk Navisworks without having the CAD applications installed on yo
Format Extension STL .stl VRML .wrl, .wrz 3D Studio .3ds, .prjv Supported Laser Scan File Formats See the following table for the laser scan file formats you can open in Autodesk Navisworks. Format Extension ASCII Laser File .asc, .txt Faro .fls, .fws, .iQscan, .iQmod, .iQwsp Leica .pts, .ptx Riegl .3dd Z+F .zfc, .zfs NOTE Native Trimble file format is not supported. To open your file in Autodesk Navisworks, convert it into ASCII laser file format first.
Unsupported Entities ■ Keyframes (objects are currently taken from keyframe 0) ■ Texture maps in the formats: gray-scale TGA, TIF, GIF, and PNG. ■ Other maps (for example, opacity maps, reflections, and so on) ■ Wireframe meshes ■ Lines, splines ■ Points ■ Background images See also: ■ “3DS File Reader Options” on page 453 ASCII Laser Scan File Reader Most scanner software support exporting the point data in an ASCII text file.
CIS/2 File Reader The CIS/2 file reader supports CIMSteel Integration Standards (CIS/2) adopted by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) as their format for data exchange between steel related CAD software.
■ Fastener_simple_bolt ■ Fastener_simple_shear_connector Unsupported Entities ■ Part_complex ■ Part_prismatic_complex ■ Part_sheet_profiled ■ Section_profile_centreline ■ feature_cutting_plane ■ feature_edge_chamfer ■ feature_surface ■ feature_thread ■ feature_volume_complex ■ feature_volume_curved ■ feature_volume_hole ■ Element_volume ■ Element_surface ■ Element_point ■ Element_curve_complex ■ Element_with_material ■ Joint_system_amorphous ■ Joint_system_chemical ■
■ Tee ■ Angle ■ Channel ■ Circle ■ Rectangle ■ Double Angle ■ Joist Supported AISC Section Profile Types The reader supports all AISC defined section profile types and maps them to the basic section profile types: ■ I-Beam: HP, M, S, W ■ Tee: MT, ST, WT ■ Angle: L, LP ■ Channel: C, MC ■ Circle: HSRO, P, PX, PXX, RB ■ Rectangle: HSRE, HSSQ, SB, TS ■ Double Angle: DL, DLL, DLS See also: ■ “CIS2 File Reader Options” on page 454 DWG/DXF File Reader The DWG/DXF file reader uses Auto
■ Hyperlinks ■ Text or multi-line text ■ Entity handles ■ Attributes ■ Textures ■ File properties Unsupported Entities ■ Lights ■ Splines ■ Multi-lines ■ Linetypes ■ Dimensions and leaders ■ Raster bitmaps ■ Construction lines (xlines and rays) ■ Hatching See also: ■ “DWG/DXF File Reader Options” on page 456 Overview of Object Enablers Object Enablers (OEs) can be thought of as a ‘translator’ for custom objects.
2 On the OE Setup page, select the check box for the relevant Autodesk Navisworks products. NOTE Some OEs have dependencies on other OEs, and, therefore, must be installed in a specific order. For example, the AutoCAD MEP 2009 OE has a dependency on the AutoCAD Architecture 2009 OE. As a result, the AutoCAD MEP 2009 OE must be installed after the AutoCAD Architecture OE. 3 Click Install. When the OE is installed, click Finish. 4 Run Autodesk Navisworks. 5 Click the application button ➤ Options.
■ Colors (per-vertex, per-face) ■ Property fields ■ Categories Unsupported Entities ■ 2D lines/plot sections ■ Thumbnails ■ Marked-up sketches ■ More than one 3D section per file (any others are ignored) ■ NURBS surfaces ■ Cameras See also: ■ “DWF File Reader Options” on page 456 DGN File Reader Autodesk Navisworks can read 3D DGN and PRP files from Bentley's MicroStation, but does not support CEL files or 2D DGN files.
See also: ■ “DGN File Reader Options” on page 454 Faro Scan File Reader The file reader supports files from all Faro™ scanners. Combined iQscan files must be located in a folder called ‘Scans’ in the same directory as the associated iQmod and iQwsp workspace files. See also: ■ “Faro Scan File Reader Options” on page 458 FBX File Reader The file reader supports Autodesk FBX files.
■ Extruded area solids ■ Geometric sets ■ Face-based and surface-based models ■ Simple, trimmed, and composite curves ■ Simple surfaces ■ Simple parametric, arbitrary and derived profiles ■ Boolean clipping results and element-level voiding and projection CSG operations ■ Basic styled and mapped items ■ Property sets, including simple and complex properties Unsupported Entities ■ Voided BReps ■ Bounded half-space solids ■ Complex parametric profiles ■ BSpline curves ■ Curve styles
■ Circular or conic arcs ■ Composite, parametric spline, B-spline, or offset curves ■ Boundaries ■ Attributes See also: ■ “IGES File Reader Options” on page 460 Inventor File Reader The file reader supports IPT (part), IAM (assembly) and IPJ (project) file formats. IDW (drawing) file format cannot be read. The reader supports files from Autodesk® Inventor® 2011 and earlier. Later versions should also work, but haven't been tested.
■ PMI manager meta data ■ Models with facet-based or primitive-based color and normal ■ Texture ■ HSV color model ■ B-Rep CAD tag ■ Line style attribute ■ Point style attribute ■ Shader effects attribute ■ Vertex shader attribute ■ Fragment shader attribute ■ Infinite light attribute ■ Point light attribute ■ Wireframe segment ■ LOD See also: ■ “JTOpen File Reader Options” on page 461 Leica Scan File Reader The file reader supports files from all Leica™ HDS scanners.
■ Object axis texture space is equivalent to the Autodesk Navisworks box texture space ■ Auto axis and object XY axis texture spaces are treated as the Autodesk Navisworks box texture space ■ Grid background is treated as a plain background using the background color, that is grid lines are not shown ■ Foreground and environment shaders are ignored NOTE All other shaders, as of MicroGDS 7.2, are correctly imported into Autodesk Navisworks.
See also: ■ “PDS File Reader Options” on page 462 Riegl Scan File Reader The file reader supports files from all Riegl™ LMS scanners. Supported Entities ■ Points ■ Triangles Unsupported Entities ■ No other entities are supported See also: ■ “Riegl File Reader Options” on page 463 RVM File Reader The file reader supports the following file formats: ■ Binary and ASCII RVM files exported from AVEVA’s PDMS™ product ■ Dump Attributes and Data (also called “OUTPUT”) attribute files, with the .att, .
■ Autotags See also: ■ “RVM File Reader Options” on page 463 SAT File Reader The file reader supports ACIS SAT files. See also: ■ SAT File Reader Options on page 464 SketchUp SKP File Reader The file reader supports native SKP file format.
■ B-spline and rational B-spline, Bezier, conical, cylindrical, offset, rectangular trimmed, linear extrusion, bounded, manifold, spherical, toroidal, uniform and quasi-uniform, surfaces. ■ Shells ■ Advanced and facetted boundary representations (BReps) Unsupported Entities ■ Points ■ PCurves, B-spline, rational B-spline, Bezier, trimmed, uniform or quasi-uniform curves.
■ All interpolator nodes ■ Textures specified within the VRML file (VRML2 PixelTexture nodes and the image component of VRML1 Texture2 nodes). ■ VRML2 Script nodes ■ VRML2 MovieTexture nodes ■ VRML2 Fog nodes ■ VRML2 AudioClip and Sound nodes ■ All text-related nodes (VRML1 ASCII Text, VRML2 Text, and FontStyle nodes). See also: ■ “VRML File Reader Options” on page 465 Z+F Scan File Reader The file reader supports files from all Z+F™ IMAGER scanners.
See also: ■ “DWG File Exporter Options” on page 467 Add the ARX Plugin You can either add the ARX plugin to Exporter Plugins installation, or load it manually in AutoCAD-based software. To add the ARX plugin to Exporter Plugins installation 1 In the Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove Programs. 2 In the Add or Remove Programs dialog box, click Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 Exporter Plugins, and then click Change/Remove in Windows XP or Uninstall/Change in Vista.
To load the Autodesk Navisworks export menu 1 At the command line, type MENULOAD. 2 Press Return. 3 In the Load/Unload Customizations dialog box, click Browse. 4 In the Select Customization File dialog box, change the Files of Type to Legacy Menu Template (*.mnu), and browse to the Autodesk Navisworks menu file. NOTE For AutoCAD 20xx based applications, this file is located under C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\Navisworks\2011\NWExport20xx\lwnw_export.mnu.
Quick Reference Buttons The Navigator toolbar contains the following buttons. Button Description Synchronizes the model in the Navigator window with the AutoCAD model. The Navigator window is not updated automatically. Click this button every time you want to navigate around the latest model. Changes the current AutoCAD view to the view in the Navigator window. Changes the view in the Navigator window to the current AutoCAD view.
Button Description mode. Holding down the CTRL key temporarily switches this mode to pan mode. Selects fly mode. Holding down the left mouse button moves the camera forward. As in a flight simulator, the left mouse button banks left/right when dragged left or right and tilts up/down when dragged up or down. The UP and DOWN cursor keys zoom in and out respectively, and the LEFT ARROW and RIGHT ARROW keys spin the camera left and right respectively. Holding down the SHIFT key speeds up this movement.
■ Wireframe - renders the model in wireframe; all triangle edges are visible in this mode. ■ Hidden Line - renders the model in hidden line; this is equivalent to rendering model as shaded and wireframe at the same time. The output is low quality as all the facet edges in the model are visible. Lighting Selects lighting mode for your model. Choose from: ■ No Lights - turns off lighting. The model is shaded with flat rendering.
3 Expand the File Exporters node in the Options Editor, and click the Revit page. Use the options on this page to adjust the settings for future exports of NWC files from Revit. 4 Click OK to save the changes and return to the Export Scene As dialog box. 5 Click Cancel to close the dialog box. MicroStation File Exporter Autodesk Navisworks comes with MDL plugins for MicroStation™ 95, SE, J, v8, and v8.9, and enables you to export files into NWC file format.
Export Files from the Key-In Command Line You can export files from the key-in command line individually or in batches. You can also add the commands to the Key-In menu to speed up the process. To use the key-in command line to export files 1 Click Utilities ➤ Key-In to open the Key-In dialog box. 2 To export an NWC file, type nwcout. NOTE To export the current design file quickly, you can use the batchnwcout command. The explorer replaces the design file extension (usually .dgn) with .
3 In the Environment Variables dialog box, double-click Path under System Variables. 4 In the Edit System Variable dialog box, add the path to the MicroStation application to the Variable Value field. NOTE Paths must be separated with a semicolon (;). 5 Click OK to save the changes and close the dialog boxes. To use the command line to export files 1 On the Start menu, click Run in Windows XP or press Windows + R on the keyboard in Vista.
4 Click Save to export the file, or Cancel to return to the application without exporting it. NOTE Any textures applied to the Viz or Max model are saved in a directory with the same name as the exported file, but with a _presenter_maps suffix. All textures are converted into BMP files and saved into this directory for use with Navisworks. To add the Navisworks utility menu 1 Click the More button on the Utilities panel. 2 In the Utilities dialog box, select Navisworks 2011 option, and click OK.
To export from 2D window 1 Click File ➤ Save As. 2 In the Save As dialog box, select Navisworks 2011 (*.nwc) in the Save As Type field. 3 Enter the name for the Navisworks file, and browse to the desired storage location. 4 Click Save to begin the export process. 5 In the Export dialog box adjust the file exporter options: ■ Export GUIDs - select this check box to attach a Globally Unique IDentifier as a property to each item in the model.
Manage Files Open Files To open files in Autodesk Navisworks, you can either use a standard Open dialog box or drag and drop files directly into the Selection Tree window. NOTE If the chosen file is a CAD or laser scan file, Autodesk Navisworks automatically uses an appropriate file reader to open it, provided this file format is supported. Autodesk Navisworks keeps a list of recently opened files (by default, up to 4 files are shown).
As a rule of thumb, use an NWF file format to save the scene you created by bringing all model files together, and an NWD file format when you simply want a snapshot of your current work. Both formats store the review markups, but NWD file stores the file geometry, while NWF file stores the links to original files. This makes NWF files considerably smaller in size.
3 Click Save. To publish an NWD file 1 Open the file that you want to publish (NWD or NWF). 2 Click the application button ➤ Publish . 3 Use the Publish dialog box to enter the document information, and specify the required document protection. The text boxes in this dialog box remember history of up to five last entries. Clicking the down arrow on the far right side of the text box lets you select an entry instead of re-typing it. 4 Click OK.
Ribbon: Output tab ➤ Publish panel ➤ NWD Toolbar: Classic user interface: Standard ➤ Publish Complex Models You can use Navisworks files to build complex models. When you bring files from different sources into the same scene, Autodesk Navisworks automatically aligns rotation and origin of models, and rescales the units in each file to match display units. If the rotation, origin, or file units are incorrect for the scene, you can manually adjust them for each of the opened files.
Adjust File Units and Transform For each appended file, you can change the file units, and modify the model’s rotation, origin, and scale. It is recommended to adjust file units first, before attempting to fix the problems with model alignment. To change file units in a loaded file 1 Right-click the desired file in the Selection Tree, and click File Units and Transform on the shortcut menu. 2 In the File Units and Transform dialog box, select the required format in the Units drop-down list. 3 Click OK.
5 Click OK. Refresh Files When working in Autodesk Navisworks, it is possible that others may be working on the CAD files you are currently reviewing. For example, if you are coordinating various disciplines on a project, then you may have an NWF file referencing numerous design files. During the iterative stages of the project, any member of the design team could potentially be modifying their CAD files.
Email Files You can send and receive Navisworks files by email. To send an open Autodesk Navisworks file, click the application button ➤ Send by Email . Autodesk Navisworks saves your file first, and then opens the available mail software and attaches your file to a blank email message. You can email both NWD and NWF files, although the size of an NWD file will be considerably larger.
To generate a list of all design files used in the current model 1 In Autodesk Navisworks application, open the desired Autodesk Navisworks file, and click Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ Batch Utility . 2 The Autodesk Navisworks Batch Utility dialog box is displayed, and the path to the current model is automatically added to the Input area of the dialog box. 3 In the Output area, As Single File tab, click the Browse button.
Alternatively, you can click the Add File Spec button. This will make Autodesk Navisworks convert the files located in the selected folder. The option chosen in the File Type menu determines which files are converted. 3 In the Output area, As Single File tab, click the Browse button. 4 In the Save Output As dialog box, browse to the desired folder, and enter the name for the new file. 5 In the Save as Type drop-down list, select the required file format (NWD or NWF), and click Save.
3 In the Output area, As Multiple Files tab, choose the location for the converted files. By default, files are created in the same location as source files. If you want to change the output location, select the Output to Directory radio button, and click the Browse button. Use the Browse for Folder dialog box to select the desired folder. 4 Select the Increment Output File Names radio button if you want to append a four digit number to the end of file name. By default, the old output files are overwritten.
6 Select the Increment Output File Names radio button to append a four digit number to the end of file name. By default, the old output files are overwritten. 7 Click the Schedule Command button. 8 In the Save Task File As dialog box browse to the desired location, and click the Save button. 9 In the Schedule Task dialog box, change the task name, if required, and enter your user name and password. Click OK.
NOTE Task Scheduling does not work for Windows XP/2000 users running local accounts (that is, not on a domain) without passwords. 8 In the Windows Task Scheduler, the Schedule tab, click the New button, and specify when and how often the task is to run. You can add as many schedules as necessary. 9 Click OK. To create a log file 1 In Autodesk Navisworks application, click Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ Batch Utility . 2 In the Log area, select the Log Events To check box. 3 Click the Browse button.
C:\My Documents\Test\C3D_Site.dwg C:\My Documents\Test\Architectural Model.rvt C:\My Documents\Test\C3D.nwf Command Line Switch Description /i Indicates the next argument is the input file. You must provide the file name and file path within quotation marks. /of Outputs to a single Navisworks file (NWD or NWF). The file name and file path should be provided within quotation marks. For example, “C:\temp\a.nwd” or “C:\temp\a.nwf”. /od Outputs multiple NWD files into a specific folder.
View Scene Statistics Scene statistics display information about the current scene. Scene statistics list all files contributing to the scene, and the different graphic elements that make up the scene, along with which of these have been processed or ignored when loaded. Other useful statistics are the bounding box of the entire scene and the total number of primitives (triangles, lines, points) in the scene. To view scene statistics 1 Click the Home tab and slide out the Project panel.
156 | Chapter 5 Work with Files
Explore Your Model Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 enables you to walk through a scene in real time. 6 Navigate a Scene In Autodesk Navisworks, you have a variety of options for navigating your scene. You can directly manipulate your position in 3D space with navigation tools on the navigation bar. You can also use StreeringWheels® that travel with the cursor, and can save you time by combining many of the common navigation tools into a single interface.
NOTE Changing the viewpoint up vector affects navigation in modes that rely on the “up” direction of the current viewpoint, such as Walk, Constrained Orbit, and Orbit. It also has an impact on section views. To align the viewpoint up vector to the current view ■ In Scene View, right-click and click Viewpoint ➤ Set Viewpoint Up ➤ Set Up on the shortcut menu. To align the viewpoint up vector to one of the preset axes 1 In Scene View, right-click and click Viewpoint ➤ Set Viewpoint Up.
In Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011, some classic navigation tools have been replaced with new navigation tools. See the table below for more details.
■ Zoom . Standard click/drag zoom. ■ Zoom Selected ■ Zoom All . Zooms in/out to show the selected geometry. . Zooms out to show the whole scene. Zoom Window The tool is activated by clicking Zoom Window in the Zoom drop-down on the navigation bar. It behaves the same way as the classic Zoom Box mode. Zoom The tool is activated by clicking Zoom in the Zoom drop-down on the navigation bar. It behaves the same way as the Zoom tool available on the SteeringWheels.
2 In the Options Editor, the Navigation Bar page under the Interface node, select the Use Classic Orbit check box in the Orbit Tools area. 3 Click OK. To use the classic Examine tool with the navigation bar 1 On the navigation bar, click Customize ➤ Navigation Bar Options. 2 In the Options Editor, the Navigation Bar page under the Interface node, select the Use Classic Free Orbit (Examine) check box in the Orbit Tools area. 3 Click OK.
Walk The tool is activated by clicking Walk in the Walk/Fly drop-down on the navigation bar. By default, the tool behaves like the Walk tool on the SteeringWheels. You can customize the tool options in the Options Editor. You can also switch back to the classic Walk mode. Fly The tool is activated by clicking Fly in the Walk/Fly drop-down on the navigation bar. It behaves the same way as the classic Fly mode.
4 Release the button on your pointing device when the sphere is displayed. The model is panned until the sphere is centered. To specify the target point for the Zoom and Orbit tools 1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels or the big View Object wheel. 2 Click and hold down the Center wedge. 3 Drag the cursor over the desired location of the model. 4 Release the button on your pointing device when the sphere is displayed. The model is panned until the sphere is centered.
Look Tool With the Look tool, you can rotate the current view vertically and horizontally. When rotating the view, your line of sight rotates about the current eye position, like turning your head. The Look tool can be compared to standing in a fixed location, and looking up, down, left or right. When using the Look tool, you adjust the view of the model by dragging the cursor. As you drag, the cursor changes to the Look cursor and the model rotates around the location of the current view.
3 Drag to change the direction in which you are looking. 4 While holding down the button on your pointing device, press the arrow keys to walk in the model. 5 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel. 6 Click Close to exit the wheel. To invert the vertical axis for the Look tool 1 Display a wheel. 2 Right-click the wheel, and click SteeringWheels Options.
you drag horizontally, the camera moves parallel to the XY plane. If you drag vertically, the camera moves along the Z axis. If the up direction is not maintained, you can roll the model using the roll ring which is centered around the pivot point. Use the properties dialog box for the SteeringWheels to control whether the up direction is maintained or not for the Orbit tool. To orbit a model with the Orbit tool 1 Display one of the View Object or Full Navigation wheels.
To maintain the up direction for the Orbit tool 1 Display the mini View Object wheel or one of the Full Navigation wheels. 2 Right-click the wheel, and click SteeringWheels Options. 3 In the Options Editor, the SteeringWheels page under the Interface node, select the Keep Scene Upright check box in the Orbit Tool area. 4 Click OK. Orbiting the model is constrained along the XY plane and Z directions.
To pan the view with the Pan tool 1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels, or the mini View Object wheel. 2 Click and hold the Pan wedge. The cursor changes to the Pan cursor. 3 Drag to reposition the model. 4 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel. To start the Pan tool with the middle mouse button 1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels, or the mini View Object wheel. 2 Press and hold down the scroll wheel or middle button. The cursor changes to the Pan cursor.
Dragging to the left restores an older previous view. Dragging to the right restores a view that is newer than the one you are currently viewing. You must have previously used the Rewind tool to see views available on the right. The current position in the navigation history is indicated by the orange box that is dragged along the Rewind History panel. Up/Down Tool Unlike the Pan tool, you use the Up/Down tool to adjust the height of the current viewpoint along the model's Z axis.
elevation; if the walk angle is not constrained, you will “fly” in the direction you are looking. Use the Options Editor to constrain the movement angle to the world up vector for the Walk tool. Use Viewpoint Linear Speed By default, the linear navigation speed in viewpoints is directly related to the size of your model.
2 Right-click the wheel, and click SteeringWheels Options. 3 In the Options Editor, the SteeringWheels page under the Interface node, select the Use Viewpoint Linear Speed check box in the Walk Tool area. 4 Click OK. To adjust the height of the current view from the Walk tool 1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels or the mini Tour Building wheel. 2 Click and hold down the Walk wedge. The cursor changes to the Walk cursor and the Center Circle icon is displayed.
2 Display a wheel that has the Zoom tool. 3 Click the Zoom wedge. The magnification of the model is increased and you are zoomed in closer to the model. If you hold down the SHIFT key while clicking the Zoom wedge, the model is zoomed out; you can hold down the CTRL key to zoom in. To zoom a view in and out by dragging 1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels, or one of the View Object wheels. 2 Click and hold down the Zoom wedge. The cursor changes to the Zoom cursor.
■ CTRL+click and drag. When using the Full Navigation wheels or the mini View Object wheel, you can control the target point used by the Zoom tool. By holding down the CTRL key, the Zoom tool uses the location of the previous pivot point defined by the Zoom, Orbit, or Center tool. ■ SHIFT+click and drag. When using the Full Navigation wheels or the mini View Object wheel, you can zoom in to an area of the model by dragging a rectangular window around the area you want to fit in the window.
Mode Description tion and gives the effect that you are moving your head around. Zoom. Enables you to zoom into and out of the model. Cursor up zooms in and cursor down zooms out. Zoom to a Box. Enables you to drag a box so that the contents of the box fill the view. Pan. Enables you to pan the model rather than the camera. Orbit. Enables you to orbit the camera around the model, ensuring that “up” is always “up”. The camera always orbits around the focal point of the model. Examine.
As walk mode is camera-centric, this mode differs from the normal pan mode in that the camera is moved rather than the model. 4 To tilt the camera up and down, spin the mouse wheel. Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Navigation Mode ➤ Walk Command entry: CTRL + 2 Look Around Mode In Look Around mode, you can rotate the current view vertically and horizontally. When rotating the view, your line of sight rotates about the current eye position, like turning your head.
Zoom Box Mode In Zoom Box mode, you can zoom into an area of the model by dragging a rectangular box around the area you want to fit in the Scene View. To zoom in to an area of the model by specifying box 1 Click Zoom Box on the Navigation Mode toolbar. 2 Drag a box with the left mouse button over the Scene View to fill the view with the contents of the box. NOTE Holding down the SHIFT or CTRL keys, or spinning the mouse wheel, temporarily enables normal Zoom mode.
To orbit a model 1 Click Orbit on the Navigation Mode toolbar. 2 To rotate the camera around the model, drag the left mouse button, or using the cursor keys. NOTE Holding down the SHIFT key, or spinning the mouse wheel, temporarily enables normal Zoom mode. 3 To glide the camera, hold down the CTRL key as you drag the mouse. The camera glides left and right and up and down. As orbit mode is camera-centric, this mode differs from normal pan mode in that the camera is moved rather than the model.
To use Fly mode to move through the model 1 Click Fly on the Navigation Mode toolbar. 2 Hold down the left mouse button to move the camera forward. As in a flight simulator, the left mouse button banks left/right when dragged left or right and tilts up/down when dragged up or down. NOTE Holding down the SHIFT key speeds up this movement. 3 Use the up and down cursor keys to zoom the camera in and out respectively; use the left and right cursor keys to spin the camera left and right respectively.
Using this function dollies and pans the camera so that the entire model is shown in the current view, which is very useful if you get lost inside a model or lose it completely. Occasionally, you may get a blank view. This is usually because there are items that are very small in comparison to the main model, or items that are located a long way away from the main model.
Use the Compass The compass is displayed below the ViewCube tool and indicates which direction North is defined for the model. You can click a cardinal direction letter on the compass to rotate the model, or you can click and drag one of the cardinal direction letters or the compass ring to interactively rotate the model around the pivot point. Drag or Click ViewCube When you drag or click the ViewCube tool, the view of the model reorients around a pivot point.
3 Click OK. To display the compass for the ViewCube 1 Right-click the ViewCube tool, and click ViewCube Options. 2 In the Options Editor, the ViewCube page under the Interface node, select Show Compass Below the ViewCube. 3 Click OK. The compass is displayed below the ViewCube tool and indicates the direction of north for the model.
■ Set Current View as Front. Defines the Front view of the model based on the current view. ■ Reset Front. Resets the Front view of the model to its default orientation. ■ ViewCube Options. Displays the Options Editor where you can adjust the appearance and behavior of the ViewCube tool. ■ Help. Launches the online Help system and displays the topic for the ViewCube tool. Reorient the View of a Model with ViewCube ViewCube is used to reorient the current view of a model.
Switch to an Adjacent Face When the ViewCube tool is active while viewing a model from one of the face views, four orthogonal triangles are displayed near the ViewCube tool. You use these triangles to switch to one of the adjacent face views. Front View You can define the Front view of a model to define the direction of the face views on the ViewCube tool. Along with the Front view, the up direction of a model is also used to define the direction of the face views on the ViewCube tool.
To use animated transitions when reorienting a view to a preset orientation 1 Right-click the ViewCube tool, and click ViewCube Options. 2 In the Options Editor, the ViewCube page under the Interface node, select Use Animated Transitions When Switching Views. When checked, transitions from one view to another appear animated when clicking a predefined area on the ViewCube tool. 3 Click OK. To automatically fit the model after a view orientation 1 Right-click the ViewCube tool, and click ViewCube Options.
Orthographic projection mode makes it easier to work with a model due to all the edges of the model appearing as the same size, regardless of the distance from the camera. Orthographic projection mode though, is not how you commonly see objects in the real world. Objects in the real world are seen in perspective projection. So when you want to generate a rendering or hidden line view of a model, using perspective projection will give the model a more realistic look.
If Lock to Selection is checked when a view orientation change occurs, the selected objects are used to calculate the center of the view and the view zooms to the extents of the selected objects. When cleared, the selected objects are used to calculate the center of the view and the view zooms to the extents of the model. To examine an individual object with ViewCube 1 In the model, select one or more objects to define the centerpoint of the view.
Reposition and Reorient the Navigation Bar The position and orientation of the navigation bar can be adjusted by linking it to the ViewCube tool, docking it when the ViewCube tool is not displayed, or freely positioning it along one of the edges of the current window. When linked to the ViewCube tool, the navigation bar is positioned below the ViewCube tool and in a vertical orientation. When not linked or docked, the navigation bar can be freely aligned along one of the edges of the Scene View.
NOTE The ViewCube button is displayed on the navigation bar only when the ViewCube tool is hidden in the Scene View. To customize the navigation bar 1 On the navigation bar, click Customize. 2 On the Customize menu, click the navigation tool you want to display on the navigation bar. A check mark next to a navigation tool’s name indicates it is displayed on the navigation bar. Uncheck the navigation tool to remove it from the navigation bar.
big wheel is larger than the cursor, and labels are shown on the wheel wedges. The mini wheel is about the same size as the cursor, and labels are not displayed on the wheel wedges. Big Full Navigation Wheel Mini Full Navigation Wheel The size of a wheel controls how large or small the wedges and labels appear on the wheel; the opacity level controls the visibility of the objects in the model behind the wheel.
3 In the Options Editor, the SteeringWheels page under the Interface node, select the Show Tooltips check box in the On-Screen Messages area. Tooltips are displayed for each wedge and button on a wheel when the cursor moves over the wheel. 4 Click OK. To enable tool messages for wheels 1 Display a wheel. 2 Right-click the wheel, and click SteeringWheels Options. 3 In the Options Editor, the SteeringWheels page under the Interface node, select the Show Tool Messages check box in the On-Screen Messages area.
■ Fit to Window. Resizes and centers the current view to display all objects in the Scene View. This is equivalent to clicking View All on the Navigation Tools toolbar in the Classic user interface. ■ Restore Original Center. Restores the center point of the view to the extents of the model. ■ Level Camera. Orients the camera such that it is level with the 'ground'.
NOTE When the mini wheel is displayed, you can press and hold the middle mouse button to pan, scroll the wheel button to zoom in and out, and hold the SHIFT key while pressing and holding the middle mouse button to orbit the model. To switch to the mini View Object wheel ■ Right-click the wheel, and click Advanced Wheels ➤ Mini View Object Wheel.
NOTE When the mini wheel is displayed, you can press and hold the middle mouse button to pan, scroll the wheel button to zoom in and out, and hold the SHIFT key while pressing and holding the middle mouse button to orbit the model. To switch to the mini Tour Building wheel ■ Right-click the wheel, and click Advanced Wheels ➤ Mini Tour Building Wheel.
Mini Full Navigation Wheel The mini Full Navigation wheel wedges have the following options: ■ Zoom (Top wedge). Adjusts the magnification of the current view. ■ Walk (Upper right wedge). Simulates walking through a model. ■ Rewind (Right wedge). Restores the most recent view. You can move backward or forward by clicking and dragging left or right. ■ Up/Down (Lower right wedge). Slides the current view of a model along the Z axis of the model. ■ Pan (Bottom wedge).
Control the Field of View You can define the area of the scene that can be viewed through the camera. For the current viewpoint, you can move the FOV slider on the ribbon to adjust the Horizontal Field of View. For previously saved viewpoints, you can use the Edit Viewpoint dialog box on page 432 to adjust the values for both vertical and horizontal angles of view.
The tilt angle is indicated in the scene's units below (negative) or above (positive) horizontal (0) at the base of the window. You can use the Tilt window with the Walk tool on the navigation bar to look up and down. If your mouse has a wheel, you can use it to adjust the tilt angle. To toggle the Tilt window ■ Click Viewpoint tab ➤ Camera panel ➤ Show Tilt Bar . Command entry: CTRL + F7 To roll camera up/down ■ Drag the slider up or down on the Tilt window to roll the camera.
When you align the camera position along one of the axis: ■ Aligning with X axis toggles between front and back face views. ■ Aligning with Y axis toggles between left and right face views. ■ Aligning with Z axis toggles between top and bottom face views. NOTE You can customize the location of the front face by using the ViewCube tool. This change is global, and affects all viewpoints. To align with X-axis ■ Click Viewpoint tab ➤ Camera panel ➤ Align Camera drop-down ➤ Align X .
■ Position Readout. Shows the absolute X, Y, Z position of the camera (or the avatar's eye position if the avatar is visible). The Position Readout is located at the bottom-left of the Scene View. To toggle XYZ Axes 1 Click View tab ➤ Navigation Aids panel ➤ HUD drop-down. 2 Select or clear the XYZ Axes check box. To toggle Position Readout 1 Click View tab ➤ Navigation Aids panel ➤ HUD drop-down. 2 Select or clear the Position Readout check box.
To use the Plan View 1 Click View tab ➤ Navigation Aids panel ➤ Reference Views drop-down ➤ Plan View check box. The Plan View window opens with the reference view of the model. 2 Drag the triangular marker on the reference view into a new location. The camera in the Scene View changes its position to match the position of the marker in the view. Alternatively, navigate to a different location in the Scene View.
Option Description Top, Bottom, Front, Back, Left, Right, or Current Viewpoint. Selecting the Current Viewpoint option sets the reference view to the view in the active navigation viewpoint. Update Current Viewpoint Sets the active navigation viewpoint to the view in the reference view. Edit Viewpoint Opens the Edit Viewpoint dialog box, and enables you to modify the settings for the corresponding reference view.
2 Click Item Tools tab ➤ Hold panel ➤ Hold . The selected objects are now held and will move with you through the model when you use navigation tools, such as Walk, Pan and so on. 3 To release the held objects, click Hold on the ribbon again. 4 If you want to reset the objects to their original position, click Item Tools tab ➤ Transform panel ➤ Reset Transform .
Collision This function defines you as a collision volume - a 3D object that can navigate around and interact with the model, obeying certain physical rules that confine you within the model itself. In other words, you have a mass and as such, cannot pass through other objects, points or lines in the scene. You can walk over, or climb over objects in the scene that are up to half the height of the collision volume, thus allowing you to walk up stairs, for example.
Using third person in connection with collision and gravity makes this a very powerful function, allowing you to visualize exactly how a person would interact with the intended design. You can customize settings, such as avatar selection, dimension, and positioning, for the current viewpoint or as a global option. When third person view is turned on, rendering prioritization is changed so that objects around the camera or avatar are displayed with much higher detail than normal.
13 You can also change the size of the avatar by changing the Height and the Radius values in the Viewer area. 14 Click OK. 15 Restart Autodesk Navisworks.
Control Model Appearance and Render Quality 7 You can control both the appearance of the model in the Scene View and the quality of rendering in real time. Control Model Appearance You can use the tools on the Render Style panel on the Viewpoint tab to control how your model is displayed in the Scene View.
NOTE Autodesk Navisworks does not convert all native CAD file’s textures. For more details, see “Use File Readers” on page 115 and “Use File Exporters” on page 131. To select Full Render mode ■ . Click Viewpoint tab ➤ Render Style panel ➤ Mode drop-down, and click Full Render Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Rendering ➤ Full Render Shaded In Shaded mode, the model is rendered with smooth shading and without textures.
Full Lights This mode uses lights that have been defined with the Presenter tool. To use lights defined with the Presenter tool ■ Viewpoint tab ➤ Render Style panel ➤ Lighting drop-down, and click Full Lights . Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Lighting ➤ Full Lights Scene Lights This mode uses the lights that have been brought through from the native CAD file. If no lights are available, two default opposing lights are used instead.
To adjust Head Light intensity 1 Click Home tab ➤ Project panel ➤ File Options . 2 In the File Options dialog box, click the Headlight tab. 3 Move the Ambient slider to adjust the brightness of the scene, and the Headlight slider to adjust the brightness of the directional light. TIP Turning on Head Light mode before following this procedure lets you instantly see the effect your changes have on the scene rendering. 4 Click OK. No Lights This mode switches off all lights.
Plain background ■ Graduated - the background of the 3D scene is filled with a smooth gradient between the two selected colors. Graduated background ■ Horizon - the background of the 3D scene is split across the horizontal plane giving the effect of a sky and the ground. The resulting artificial horizon gives you an indication of your orientation in the 3D world. By default, the artificial horizon respects the world up vector as set in File Options ➤ Orientation.
3 Select the first color from the Top Color palette. 4 Select the second color from the Bottom Color palette. 5 Review the new background effect in the preview box, and click OK. To set an artificial horizon background 1 Click View tab ➤ Scene View ➤ Background . 2 In the Background Settings dialog box, select Horizon in the Mode drop-down list. 3 To set a graduated sky color, use the Sky Color and Horizon Sky Color palettes.
Points Points are real points in the model, for example, the points in a point cloud in a laser scan file. You can toggle the rendering of points in the model. You can also change the size of drawn points by using the Options Editor. To toggle the rendering of points ■ . Click Viewpoint tab ➤ Render Style panel ➤ Points Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Display ➤ Points To change the size of points 1 Click the application button ➤ Options.
Control Render Quality Use Culling Culling lets you navigate and manipulate large and complex scenes at interactive rates by intelligently hiding less-important objects as you work. In Autodesk Navisworks, you can use the following methods of culling objects: ■ Area - the objects’ size in pixels determines whether the objects are rendered or not. By default, any objects smaller than 1x1 pixels in size are discarded.
4 Select Automatic for the Far clipping plane. 5 Click OK. Autodesk Navisworks automatically controls the position of near and far clipping planes to give you the best view of the model. To constrain the position of the clipping planes manually 1 Click Home tab ➤ Project panel ➤ File Options . 2 In the File Options dialog box, click the Culling tab. 3 Select Constrained for the Near clipping plane, and enter the desired value in the Distance box.
Control Rendering of Objects Adjust Scene Rendering During Navigation Your models can range in size from small models to complex supermodels. As you navigate a scene in real time, Autodesk Navisworks automatically calculates which items to render first, based on the size of items, distance from the camera, and the specified frame rate. This customizable frame rate is guaranteed by default, but can be turned off, if necessary. Items that Autodesk Navisworks does not have time to render are dropped out.
2 In the Options Editor, expand the Interface node, and click the Display option. 3 On the Display page, Transparency area, select the Interactive Transparency check box. 4 Click OK. To render parametric primitives NOTE Modifying this option requires a restart of Autodesk Navisworks to take effect. 1 Click the application button ➤ Options. 2 In the Options Editor, expand the Interface node, and click the Display option.
Adjust Presenter Materials You can adjust the appearance of Presenter materials in the Scene View to get optimum performance from your graphics card when navigating around heavily textured scenes. See also: ■ “Presenter Page” on page 472 Stereo Rendering Stereoscopic viewing in Autodesk Navisworks allows the viewing of the 3D model through stereo-enabled hardware, including active and passive stereo viewing glasses in conjunction with both CRT screens and dedicated projectors.
Review Your Model 8 Select Objects With large models it is potentially a very time-consuming process to select items of interest. Autodesk Navisworks makes this a much simpler task by providing a range of functions for quickly selecting geometry both interactively and by searching the model manually and automatically. Interactive Geometry Selection In Autodesk Navisworks, there is a concept of an active selection set (the currently selected items, or the current selection) and saved selections sets.
Autodesk Navisworks uses this hierarchical structure to identify object-specific paths (from the file name down to a particular object). By default there are four tabs: ■ Standard. Displays the default tree hierarchy, including all instancing. The contents of this tab can be sorted alphabetically. ■ Compact. Displays a simplified version of the hierarchy on the Standard tab, omitting various items. You can customize the level of complexity of this tree in the Options Editor. ■ Properties.
NOTE When you select an item in the tree, individual geometry or a group of geometry is selected in the Scene View depending on chosen selection resolution. 3 To select several items at the same time, use the SHIFT and CTRL keys. CTRL allows multiple selection item by item, and SHIFT allows multiple selection between the first and last items selected. 4 To remove selection from an object in the Selection Tree press ESC.
Icon Description A composite object. A single CAD object that is represented in Autodesk Navisworks by a group of geometry items. Saved selection set. Saved search set. Selection Tools There are two selection tools (Select and Select Box to control the way you select geometry.
TIP Holding down the SHIFT key while dragging the box selects all items within and that intersect the box. 3 To select multiple geometry, press and hold down the CTRL key while dragging a box in the scene. 4 To remove items from the current selection, press the ESC key. To set the pick radius 1 Click the application button ➤ Options. 2 In the Options Editor, expand the Interface node, and click the Selection option.
Quick Reference The selection commands are as follows: ■ Select All. Selects all items contained within the model. ■ Select None. Deselects everything in the model. ■ Invert Selection. Currently selected items become deselected and vice versa. ■ Sets. Provides you with options to save and recall selection and search sets. ■ Select Multiple Instances. Selects all instances (sometimes called insertions) of the currently selected geometry group that occur in the model. ■ Select Same Name.
Quick Reference The available options for selection resolution are as follows: ■ Model. Makes the object path start at the model node; as a result, all objects in the model are selected. ■ Layer. Makes the object path start at the layer node; as a result all objects within a layer are selected. ■ First Object. Makes the object path start at the highest level of objects below the layer node, if applicable. ■ Last Object. Makes the object path start at the lowest level of objects in the Selection Tree.
To toggle highlighting of selected objects 1 Click the application button ➤ Options. 2 In the Options Editor, expand the Interface node, and click the Selection option. 3 On the Selection page, Highlight area, select the Enabled check box, if you want the selected items to be highlighted in the Scene View. Clear this check box, if you don’t want any highlighting. 4 Click OK. To customize the way objects are highlighted 1 Click the application button ➤ Options.
To make unselected items hidden 1 In the Scene View, select all items you want to review. 2 Click Home tab ➤ Visibility panel ➤ Hide Unselected . Only the selected geometry remains visible. TIP Clicking Hide Unselected again displays the invisible objects. Menu: Classic user interface: Edit ➤ Hide Unselected Shortcut menu: Hide Unselected To reveal all hidden objects ■ Click Home tab ➤ Visibility panel ➤ Unhide All drop-down ➤ Unhide All .
NOTE The list of the items on the Sets tab is exactly the same as the list on the Sets window. The right pane enables you to add the search statements (or conditions). And the buttons enable you to find the qualifying items in your scene. Defining Search Statements A search statement contains a property (a combination of category name and property name), a condition operator, and a value to be tested against the selected property. For example, you can search for Material that Contains Chrome.
e If you want to make your search statement case-insensitive, right-click it, and click Ignore String Value Case. 4 Define more search statements, if required. By default, all statements are ANDed. This means that they all need to be true for an item to be selected. You can make a statement use OR logic, by right-clicking it and clicking Or Condition. If you are using two statements, and marked the second one as ORed, this means that an item will be selected if either of these statements is true.
■ <=. Less Than or Equals; can be used to evaluate numerical property types only. ■ Contains. To qualify for the search, a property must contain the specified value (for example, series of letters within a string). ■ Wildcard. Enables you to use wildcards in the Value field to allow matching against any character (?) or an arbitrary sequence of characters (*). ■ Defined. To qualify for the search, a property must have some value defined. ■ Undefined.
Buttons Find First Finds the first qualifying item, and selects it in the Scene View and the Selection Tree. Find Next Finds the next qualifying item, and selects it in the Scene View and the Selection Tree. Find All Finds all qualifying items, and highlights them in the Scene View and the Selection Tree. TIP Click Home tab ➤ Visibility ➤ Hide Unselected to display only the search results in the Scene View. Quick Find To locate and select the objects quickly, use the Quick Find feature.
The selection sets are identified by this icon: , and the search sets are identified by this icon: . NOTE The list of the items on the Sets window is exactly the same as the list on the Sets tab of the Selection Tree. You can customize the names of selection and search sets, and add comments. You can copy and paste names from the Sets window. To do this, right-click an item in the Sets window, and click Copy Name on the context menu.
■ Add Current Search. Saves the current search as a search set in the list. This set contains the current search criteria. ■ Make Visible. If the geometry in the selected search or selection set is hidden, you can use this option to make it visible. ■ Add Copy. Creates a copy of the search or selection set highlighted in the list. The copy has the same name as the original set, but with an “X” suffix, where “X” is the next available number. ■ Add Comment.
2 Right-click the desired search or selection set, and click Rename. 3 Type a new name for your set, and press ENTER. Command entry: F2 To delete a search or selection set 1 Open the Sets window. 2 Right-click the search or selection set you want to remove, and click Delete. To organize selection and search sets into folders 1 Open the Sets window. 2 Right-click, and click New Folder on the shortcut menu. The folder is added to the list.
Compare Objects You can look for differences between any two selected items in the scene. These items can be files, layers, instances, groups, or just geometry. You can also use this feature to investigate the differences between two versions of the same model. During the comparison, Autodesk Navisworks starts at the level of each item, and recursively travels down each path on the Selection Tree, comparing each item it comes across in terms of the criteria you requested.
7 Click OK. To compare two items in the model 1 Select exactly two items in the scene. 2 Click Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ Compare . 3 Use the Compare dialog box to set up the comparison search. 4 Click OK. Object Properties Autodesk Navisworks supports the conversion of object properties for many file formats. For more details on supported/unsupported entities, see “Use File Readers” on page 115.
Menu: Classic user interface: View ➤ Control Bars ➤ Properties Command entry: SHIFT + F7 To examine object properties 1 Select the object of interest in the Selection Tree, or in the Scene View. 2 Open the Properties window, and use the tabs to navigate between the available property categories. NOTE If more than one object is selected, the Properties window only shows the number of selected items, and doesn’t show any property information.
3 Right-click the Properties window, and click Add New User Data Tab. The new property category is added for the currently selected object. By default, the tab is called User Data. To rename a custom property tab 1 Open the Properties window. 2 Click the custom tab you want to rename. 3 Right-click the properties area, and click Rename Tab. 4 Enter a new name for the tab in the box provided. 5 Click OK. To delete a custom property tab 1 Open the Properties window. 2 Click the custom tab you want to delete.
3 Right-click the property, and click Delete Property. External Database Links Databases are commonly used to store large amount of data, such as equipment specifications, catalogue data, and maintenance manuals. You can connect to external databases directly from your Navisworks files, and create links between objects in the scene and fields in the database tables to bring through extra properties.
2 If you want to add a database link globally: a Click Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ DataTools . b In the DataTools dialog box, click the New button. 3 In the New Link dialog box, enter a Name for the new link, for example, 'Service Information'. This is the name of the tab that will appear on the Properties window. You are now ready to configure the database link. 4 Click OK to save the link and return to the previous dialog box.
NOTE If you haven't added any links yet, click the New button, and follow the procedure for adding database links first. 2 To configure a global database link: a Click Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ DataTools . b In the DataTools dialog box, click the link you want to configure in the DataTools Links area, and click the Edit button. NOTE If you haven't added any links yet, click the New button, and follow the procedure for adding database links first.
b Click the Setup button. The driver wizard opens, and guides you through the setup options. If you have difficulties setting up your connection details, contact your database administrator. When you finish, the box underneath will show the connection string. This string can be modified, if necessary. For example, if you want to select a database with a certain name (say, test.
2 To delete a global database link: ➤ Click Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ DataTools . 3 In the DataTools dialog box, click the link you want to remove in the DataTools Links area, and click the Delete button. 4 Click OK. To activate a database link 1 To activate a file-based database link: a Click Home tab ➤ Project panel ➤ File Options . b In the File Options dialog box, DataTools tab, select the check boxes for all links you want to activate in the DataTools Links area.
4 Click Save. 5 Click OK to close the File Options dialog box. To import a database link 1 Click Home tab ➤ Project panel ➤ File Options . 2 In the File Options dialog box, DataTools tab, click the Import button. 3 In the Open dialog box, browse to the folder containing the required datatools file, select it, and click Open.
4 Click OK to close the File Options dialog box. Quick Reference You can use the following Navisworks tags with SQL queries: Property Tags %prop("category","property") Property of the currently selected object. Category is the name of the tab in the property windows (for example, Item or Entity Handle) and property is the name of the property in that tab (for example, Value or Layer). %intprop("category","property") Property of the currently selected object.
Query Examples The examples below illustrate how tags could be used with SQL queries.
■ To move the objects along several axes at the same time, drag the square frame between the desired axes. Dragging the yellow square in the middle of the move gizmo enables you to snap this center point to other geometry in the model. ■ To move the gizmo itself rather than the selected objects, hold down the CTRL key while dragging the square at the end of the desired axis. ■ To snap the move gizmo to other objects, hold down the CTRL key while dragging the yellow square in the middle of the gizmo.
To rotate an object with gizmo 1 Select the object you want to rotate in the Scene View. 2 Click Item Tools tab ➤ Transform panel ➤ Rotate . 3 Use the gizmo to rotate the currently selected object: ■ Before you can rotate the currently selected objects, you need to position the origin (center point) of the rotation. To do this, place the mouse over the square at the end of the desired axis. When the cursor , drag the square on the screen to increase/decrease the translation along that axis.
This diagram illustrates how the selected object (position A) is rotated. Lines from the first to the second point (1 to 2) and from the second to third point (2 to 3) define the angle by which the object is rotated (for example, 90 degrees). The second point (2) is used as the rotation center point. . This rotates the selected object from 4 Slide out the Measure panel, and click Transform Selected Items position A into position B (as shown in the previous diagram).
You can also choose to use Presenter tool to apply texture materials to objects in the scene to obtain even better results. NOTE Any materials applied with the Presenter tool supersede any color and transparency changes. To change color 1 Select the object you want to modify in the Scene View. 2 Click Item Tools tab ➤ Appearance panel ➤ Color drop-down, and choose the desired color.
4 In the Rotation area, enter the multiplier for the snapping angle into the Angles box, and the snapping tolerance into the Angle Sensitivity box. The smaller the value, the closer to the snapping angle the cursor must be for snap to take effect. 5 Click OK. Reset to Original Values In Autodesk Navisworks, you can reset object attributes back to the values in the original CAD files.
For all measurements, the X, Y, and Z coordinates of the Start point and End point are displayed in the text boxes underneath the buttons, together with the Difference and the absolute Distance. If you use accumulative measure, such as Point Line or Accumulate, Distance shows the accumulated distance for all points registered in the measurement.
Measuring You can use measuring tools to make linear, angular, and area measurements, and to automatically measure the shortest distance between two selected objects. NOTE When you measure, you must click on a point on an item to register a point - clicking on the background will not register anything. You can reset a measure command at any time by right-clicking instead of left-clicking in the Scene View.
To change the thickness and color of measuring lines 1 Open the Measure Tools window, and click Options. 2 In the Options Editor, the Measure page under the Interface node, enter the desired number into the Line Thickness box. 3 Select the required color from the Color palette. By default, measuring lines are white. 4 Click OK. To toggle the dimension labels 1 Open the Measure Tools window, and click Options.
4 Repeat this to measure the entire route. The optional dimension label displays the total distance along the selected route. TIP If you want to change the start point, right-click in the Scene View, and select a new start point. Menu: Classic user interface: Review ➤ Measure ➤ Point Line To calculate an angle between two lines 1 Click Review tab ➤ Measure panel ➤ Measure drop-down ➤ Angle . 2 Click a point on the first line. 3 Click the first line at the point where it intersects the second line.
To calculate an area on a plane . 1 Click Review tab ➤ Measure panel ➤ Measure drop-down ➤ Area 2 Click to register a series of points to describe the perimeter of the area you want to calculate. The optional dimension label displays the area of the perimeter described since the first point, as projected onto the plane of the viewpoint. NOTE For your calculation to be accurate, all added points must be on the same plane.
To clear measuring lines ■ Click Review tab ➤ Measure panel ➤ Measure drop-down ➤ Clear . Menu: Classic user interface: Review ➤ Measure ➤ Clear To convert measurements into redlines 1 Click Review tab ➤ Measure panel, and take the desired measurements, for example, distance between two points. 2 Click Review tab ➤ Measure panel ➤ Convert to Redline . The end markers, lines, and dimension label (if any) of your current measurement are now converted to a redline, and stored in the current viewpoint.
■ Help. Launches the online Help system and displays the topic for comments. You can add as many comments as you wish to a source, either from the Comments window, or from the source itself. TIP To add a comment to a specific object in the Scene View, use tags. To toggle the Comments window ■ Click Review tab ➤ Comments panel ➤ View Comments .
Quick Reference Icon Description Selection set Search set Viewpoint (orthographic camera) Viewpoint (perspective camera) Viewpoint animation Viewpoint animation cut Tag TimeLiner task (no attached items) TimeLiner task (with attached items) TimeLiner task (synchronized link) TimeLiner task (old or broken link) Redline Tools Panel The Redline Tools panel on the Review tab enables you to mark up viewpoints and clash results with redline annotations.
2 Click Review tab ➤ Redline panel ➤ Draw drop-down, and click Text . 3 In the Scene View, click the location where you want to place the text. 4 Enter your annotation into the box provided, and click OK. The redline is added to the selected viewpoint. NOTE Text can only be added in a single line with this redline tool. To display text on multiple lines, write each line individually. 5 If you want to move the annotation, right-click the redline, and click Move.
Menu: Classic user interface: Review ➤ Redline ➤ Freehand To draw a line 1 Click Viewpoint tab ➤ Save, Load & Playback panel ➤ Saved Viewpoints drop-down, and choose the viewpoint that you want to review. 2 Click Review tab ➤ Redline panel ➤ Draw drop-down, and click Line . 3 Click in the viewpoint at line start and end points.
2 Click Review tab ➤ Redline panel ➤ Draw drop-down, and click Line String . 3 Click in the viewpoint to begin. Each time you click, a new point is added to the line string. When the string is complete, click the right mouse button to end the line, and you can then start a new line string. Menu: Classic user interface: Review ➤ Redline ➤ Line String To draw an ellipse 1 Click Viewpoint tab ➤ Save, Load & Playback panel ➤ Saved Viewpoints drop-down, and choose the viewpoint that you want to review.
Menu: Classic user interface: Review ➤ Redline ➤ Ellipse To draw a cloud 1 Click Viewpoint tab ➤ Save, Load & Playback panel ➤ Saved Viewpoints drop-down, and choose the viewpoint that you want to review. 2 Click Review tab ➤ Redline panel ➤ Draw drop-down, and click Cloud . 3 Click in the viewpoint to begin drawing the arcs of the cloud. Each time you click, a new point is added. Clicking clockwise draws regular arcs, clicking counterclockwise, draws inverted arcs.
Tool Description Enables you to draw freehand in a viewpoint. Draws a line in a viewpoint. Draws a string of lines in a view point. Draws an ellipse in a viewpoint. Draws a cloud in a viewpoint. Erases redlines. View Redlines and Tags To view redlines and tags you need to recall the viewpoint that contains them. To view redlines 1 Click Viewpoint tab ➤ Save, Load & Playback panel ➤ Saved Viewpoints tool launcher . 2 Click the desired viewpoint in the Saved Viewpoints window.
4 In the Add Comments dialog box, enter the text to be associated with the tag, set the tag Status from the drop-down list, and click OK. Menu: Classic user interface: Review ➤ Redline ➤ Tag To view tags 1 Click Viewpoint tab ➤ Save, Load & Playback panel ➤ Saved Viewpoints tool launcher . 2 Click the desired viewpoint in the Saved Viewpoints window. All attached tags (if any) are displayed in the Scene View.
To move text ■ Right-click the annotation in the Scene View, and click Move on the shortcut menu. To edit text 1 Right-click the annotation in the Scene View, and click Edit on the shortcut menu. 2 Enter a new annotation in the box provided, and click OK. To delete text ■ Right-click the text you want to delete, and click Delete Redline on the shortcut menu.
Three tabs on the top enables you to set up the search criteria. Pressing the Find button runs the search. Any found results are displayed in a multi-column table at the bottom of the window. You can use the scroll bars at the right and at the bottom of the tab to move through the comments. There are different icons helping you to identify the source of each comment at a glance. These icons are the same as the ones used in the Comments window.
Quick Reference Comments Tab Use this tab to restrict your search based on the comment data. If the boxes on this tab are left empty, the search returns all comments within the criteria set on the Date Modified and Source tabs. Text The exact text to search for in all comments. This can be a word or a few words. So for, example, typing redline, and running a search, returns only the comments that contain a single “redline” word. If you don’t know the exact content of the comment, you can use the wildcards.
3 Click Quick Find Comments . The Find Comments window opens with a list of all comments that match the entered text. Clicking on the comment in the list takes you to the appropriate viewpoint. Find Tags You can search for tags the same way as you search for comments. You can also find tags by their ID numbers, and navigate through tags using the controls on the Tags panel. To find tags by tag ID 1 Click Review tab ➤ Tags panel. 2 Enter the tag ID into the text box, and click Go to Tag .
To navigate through tags 1 Click Review tab ➤ Comments panel ➤ View Comments to open the Comments window. 2 Click Review tab ➤ Tags panel ➤ First Tag . The tag comment is shown in the Comments window, and the Scene View displays the viewpoint with the first tag. 3 To navigate through the tags in your scene: ■ Click Review tab ➤ Tags panel ➤ Next Tag ■ Click Review tab ➤ Tags panel ➤ Previous Tag ■ Click Review tab ➤ Tags panel ➤ Last Tag to find the tag following the current tag.
Links There are several sources of links in Autodesk Navisworks: original links that have been converted from the native CAD files, links that have been added by Autodesk Navisworks users, and links that have been automatically generated by the program (for example, selection set links, viewpoint links, TimeLiner task links and so on). The links converted from the native CAD files, and the links added by Autodesk Navisworks users are treated as object properties.
2 In the Options Editor, expand the Interface node, expand the Links node, and click the Standard Categories option. 3 On the Standard Categories page, select the Visible check box to display the corresponding link category. Clearing the check box hides the corresponding link category in the Scene View. By default, all standard link categories are visible. 4 Click OK. To control the display of user-defined links 1 Click the application button ➤ Options.
Attachment Points By default, links are attached to the default center of the item's bounding box. You can override this with more convenient attachment points. If you add more than one attachment point, the link is displayed attached to the closest attachment point to the camera during navigation. This allows you to set up links so that they are always available for following when drawn in 3D mode during navigation, and do not disappear behind objects.
To customize appearance of user-defined links 1 Click the application button ➤ Options. 2 In the Options Editor, expand the Interface node, expand the Links node, and click the User-Defined Categories option. 3 On the User-Defined Categories page, use the Icon Type box to specify how you want a link to be drawn for each of the available categories. You can choose between an icon and text. By default, links with user-defined categories are shown as icons.
To add a link to an object 1 In the Scene View, select the desired geometry item. 2 Click Item Tools tab ➤ Links panel ➤ Add Link . 3 In the Add Link dialog box, enter the name for the link in the Name box. 4 In the Link to File or URL box, type in the full path to the required data source or the URL address. You can also browse to the folder containing the desired external file. 5 Choose the category for your link from the Category drop-down list. by default, your link has hyperlink category.
To follow a default link 1 Make sure links are switched on. If not, click Home tab ➤ Display panel ➤ Links . 2 Click the desired link in the Scene View to open the attached data source. Shortcut menu: Follow Link To follow one of the non-default links 1 Make sure links are switched on. If not, click Home tab ➤ Display panel ➤ Links . 2 Right-click the default link, and click the Select Item Containing Link option. This option is only available for multiple links attached to the same item.
2 In the Edit Links dialog box, click the link you want to change, and click the Edit button. 3 Use the Edit Link dialog box to modify the link details, and click OK. 4 Click OK to close the Edit Links dialog box. Ribbon: Item Tools tab ➤ Links tab ➤ Edit Links To change the default link 1 In the Scene View, right-click the default link, and click Edit Link. 2 In the Edit Link dialog box, select the link that you want to be shown in the Scene View, and click the Make Default button.
2 Click Item Tools tab ➤ Links panel ➤ Reset Links . To reset all links in a scene IMPORTANT Resetting links in a scene also removes all links manually added to it by Navisworks users. If you made a mistake, use the Undo ■ button on the Quick Access toolbar. Click Home tab ➤ Project panel ➤ Reset All drop-down ➤ Links . Quick Properties You can switch quick properties in the Scene View on and off. Autodesk Navisworks remembers the selected visibility setting between sessions.
6 Click the Property column, and select the property name from the drop-down list, for example, ‘Material’. The options available depend on the selected property category. 7 Click OK. NOTE You can add as many definitions to your quick properties as you like. To delete quick properties definition 1 Click the application button ➤ Options. 2 In the Options Editor, expand the Interface node, expand the Quick Properties node, and click the Definitions option.
The current Autodesk Navisworks camera view is taken back to the CAD package, and the same object is selected. Selection of objects is done by entity handle. 7 Make the changes in AutoCAD, then save the changes. 8 Return to Autodesk Navisworks, and click Refresh object. on the Quick Access toolbar to view the modified NOTE Some objects cannot be selected in AutoCAD (for example, blocks) which may mean that running SwitchBack may be unsuccessful with a given selected object.
Use Viewpoints and Sectioning Modes 9 Viewpoints are an important feature of Autodesk Navisworks. They allow you to save and recall different settings related to the view of the model and settings for navigation. You also have the option to save item visibility and appearance overrides within viewpoints. Create and Modify Viewpoints Overview of Viewpoints Viewpoints are snapshots taken of the model as it is displayed in the Scene View.
Additionally, the following item overrides can be saved with the viewpoint (this is optional): ■ Visibility (hidden / required) ■ Appearance (color and transparency) Navigation ■ Linear and angular speeds of motion ■ Realism settings (collision, gravity, third person, crouch) ■ The currently selected navigation tool Annotations ■ Redlines ■ Comments Saved Viewpoints Window The Saved Viewpoints window is a dockable window that enables you to create and manage different views of your model so th
Through these menus, you can save and update viewpoints, create and manage viewpoint animations, and create folders to organize these viewpoints and viewpoint animations. You can also drag and drop viewpoints or viewpoint animations onto viewpoint animations or folders. Holding down the CTRL key during this operation will copy the element being dragged. This allows fairly complex hierarchies of viewpoint animations and folders to be easily composed.
Sort Sorts the contents of the Saved Viewpoints window alphabetically. Help Opens the Help system. Viewpoint Animation Save Viewpoint Saves the current viewpoint, and adds it as the last keyframe in the selected viewpoint animation. New Folder Adds a folder as the last keyframe in the selected viewpoint animation. Add Animation Adds a new empty viewpoint animation as the last keyframe in the selected viewpoint animation. Add Cut Adds an animation cut to the end of viewpoint animation.
Delete Removes the selected folder and all of its contents from the Saved Viewpoints window. Rename Enables you to rename the selected folder. Copy Name Copies the name of the selected folder to the Clipboard. Sort Sorts the contents of the Saved Viewpoints window alphabetically. Help Opens the Help system. Save Viewpoints New viewpoints are named “ViewX” where “X” is the next available number added to the list. This new viewpoint takes all the attributes of the current viewpoint in the Scene View.
Organize Viewpoints Viewpoints can be organized into folders, as necessary. To organize viewpoints into folders 1 Click Viewpoint tab ➤ Save, Load & Playback panel ➤ Current Viewpoint drop-down ➤ Manage Saved Viewpoints. This opens the Saved Viewpoints window, and makes it the active window. 2 Right-click an empty space in the Saved Viewpoints window, and click New Folder. 3 Type in a new name, and press Enter. TIP Use names that can help you identify your viewpoints in future.
3 Click OK. To edit a viewpoint 1 Click Viewpoint tab ➤ Save, Load & Playback panel ➤ Current Viewpoint drop-down ➤ Manage Saved Viewpoints. 2 In the Saved Viewpoints window, right-click the viewpoint you want to modify, and click Edit. 3 Use the Edit Viewpoint dialog box to adjust the viewpoint’s attributes. 4 Click OK. To delete a viewpoint 1 Click Viewpoint tab ➤ Save, Load & Playback panel ➤ Current Viewpoint drop-down ➤ Manage Saved Viewpoints.
Default Viewpoint Options Two view attributes can be saved with a viewpoint: ■ Hide/Required - whether items are hidden or required. ■ Override Materials - the color and transparency of items. You can set a viewpoint to save either attribute by editing the viewpoint. To update changes to overridden material or hide/required, use the Update option on the viewpoints shortcut menu.
was saved will be reinstated. By default, this check box is clear as it requires a relatively large amount of memory to save this state information with each viewpoint. See “Manipulate Object Attributes” on page 244 for more information on overriding materials. 5 Select the Override Model Linear Speed check box to be able to set a specific speed to navigate on loading a model. Without this selected, the linear navigation speed is directly related to the size of the model loaded.
Planes mode allows you to make up to six sectional cuts in any plane while still being able to navigate around the scene, enabling you to see inside models without hiding any item. By default section planes are created through the center of the visible area of the model. Section planes are stored inside viewpoints and so can also be used within viewpoint animations and object animations to show a dynamically sectioned model.
By default, a section plane is created within the view, and as close to the center of the view as possible. Visually, a section plane is represented by a light blue wireframe. You can hide the visual plane representation by toggling the corresponding gizmo button. To use a plane to cross-section a 3D model for the first time 1 Click Viewpoint tab ➤ Sectioning panel ➤ Enable Sectioning .
To enable or disable additional section planes 1 Click Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Mode panel ➤ Planes . 2 Click the Current Plane drop-down on the Planes Settings panel, and click the bulb icons next to all required planes. When a bulb is lit, the corresponding section plane is enabled and cuts through the model in the Scene View. NOTE If you want to move all planes together, you can link them. Otherwise, you can only move one (the current) plane at a time.
■ Align To Line - enables you to pick a line, and place the current plane ‘on’ that line, at the point where you clicked, and aligned so that its normal is on the line itself, facing towards the camera. To align a section plane to one of the pre-fixed directions 1 Click Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Mode panel ➤ Planes . 2 Click the Current Plane drop-down on the Planes Settings panel, and select the plane you want to customize, for example, Plane 1. This plane becomes the current plane.
To align a section plane to view 1 Click Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Mode panel ➤ Planes . 2 Click the Current Plane drop-down on the Planes Settings panel, and select the plane you want to customize, for example, Plane 1. This plane becomes the current plane. 3 Click the Alignment drop-down on the Planes Settings panel, and click Align to View 4 Optional: Click Sectioning Tools ➤ Save panel ➤ Save Viewpoint viewpoint. .
To move a section plane numerically 1 Click Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Mode panel ➤ Planes . 2 Click the Current Plane drop-down on the Planes Settings panel, and select the plane you want to use, for example, Plane 3. This plane becomes the current plane. 3 Slide out the Transform panel, and type in numerical values into the Position manual entry boxes to move the current plane by the amount entered. To rotate a section plane with gizmo 1 Click Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Mode panel ➤ Planes .
Link Section Planes In Autodesk Navisworks, you can enable up to 6 planes to cut through your model but only the current plane can be manipulated with the sectioning gizmos. Linking section planes together make them move as one, and enables you to quickly slice your model in real time. The slices can be used in viewpoints, viewpoint animations, and object animations. To link planes together 1 Click Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Mode panel ➤ Planes .
Enable and Use Section Box You can use a section box to focus your review on specific and limited areas of the model. The section box can be moved, rotated, and scaled with the sectioning gizmos, available from the Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Transform panel. You can also manipulate the section box numerically. By default, when a section box is enabled, the move gizmo is used, unless you have already selected a different gizmo before activating the section box. All gizmos share the same location/rotation.
4 Optional: Click Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Save panel ➤ Save Viewpoint viewpoint. to save the current sectioned To move the section box with gizmo 1 Click Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Mode panel ➤ Box 2 On the Transform panel, click Move . . 3 Drag the gizmo arms or faces to move the box as needed. To move the section box numerically 1 Click Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Mode panel ➤ Box .
4 Optional: Click Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Save panel ➤ Save Viewpoint viewpoint. to save the current sectioned To rotate the section box numerically 1 Click Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Mode panel ➤ Box . 2 Slide out the Transform panel, and type in numerical values into the Rotation manual entry boxes to rotate the box by the amount entered. To scale the section box with gizmo 1 Click Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Mode panel ➤ Box 2 On the Transform panel, click Scale . .
2 Slide out the Transform panel, and type in numerical values into the Size manual entry boxes to scale the box by the amount entered.
Record and Play Animations 10 In Autodesk Navisworks there are two types of animation: viewpoint animation and object animation. Viewpoint Animation Viewpoint animation is a quick and efficient way of recording both your movement through the model and views of the model.
There is also nothing to stop you from copying viewpoint animations (hold down the CTRL key when dragging an animation on the Saved Viewpoints window), dragging frames off the animation into a blank space on the Saved Viewpoints window to remove them from the viewpoint animation, editing individual frames attributes, inserting cuts or dragging other viewpoints or viewpoint animations onto the existing one, to continue developing your animations.
If you drop them onto the viewpoint animation icon itself, then the viewpoints will become frames at the end of the animation, but you can drop the viewpoints anywhere on the expanded animation to put them where you wish. 5 At this point, you can use the Playback Position slider on the Playback panel of the Animation tab to move backward and forward through the viewpoint animation to see how it looks.
6 Click OK. Play Animations and Scripts You can play back both pre-recorded object animation and viewpoint animation in the Scene View. The viewpoint animations play in real time; this means that the Autodesk Navisworks engine is still attempting to maintain the guaranteed frame rate so some drop-out may still occur, just as in real-time navigation. Quick Reference Control Purpose Rewinds the current animation back to the beginning. Steps back a single animation frame or keyframe.
the animation is playing. Click any frame to set the camera to that point in time in the viewpoint animation and continue playing back from there. To enable animation scripts ■ . Click Animation tab ➤ Scripts panel ➤ Enable Scripts You can now interact with your model. For example, if there is a script to open a door on pressing a specific key on the keyboard, pressing this key will open the door. Share Animations You can export the animations to AVI files for playback with Windows Media Player.
304 | Chapter 10 Record and Play Animations
Work Within a Team Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 enables multiple users to participate in a single design review session across a Local Area Network (LAN). 11 The Collaborate tool has two noteworthy limitations. ■ Collaboration between different versions of Autodesk Navisworks is not supported. ■ This feature is only available for Windows XP users, as it utilizes the shared program features of Windows NetMeeting, which is unavailable in the Vista and Windows 7 operating systems.
To start a collaboration session 1 Open the Autodesk Navisworks file that you want to collaborate on from a shared directory. 2 Click Review tab ➤ Collaborate panel ➤ Collaborate This initializes Windows® . NetMeeting®. NOTE The first time Windows NetMeeting initializes, a Setup wizard will take you through the setup process. You will need to enter your name and email address. When using NetMeeting on a LAN you do not need to log onto a directory server, as these will not be available to you.
2 Click the Accept button to join the meeting, or Ignore to decline the invitation. NOTE Once you have accepted a call, you will need to click Review tab ➤ Collaborate panel ➤ Collaborate to start your own collaboration session. To become the driver During a collaboration meeting, anyone in the call can take control of the session and become the driver. The driver will control navigation of the shared model on all machines in the call. 1 Click Review tab ➤ Collaborate panel ➤ Drive .
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Share Data 12 Print You can print a hard copy of the current viewpoint to any printer or plotter. Print Preview Before you print out a copy of the model you are working on, you may wish to see how it will appear. To preview model before printing 1 Click Output tab ➤ Print panel ➤ Print Preview . 2 Use the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons to do just that with the preview image. 3 Click Print. 4 In the Print dialog box, click OK.
Print Current Viewpoint When the print option is selected, Autodesk Navisworks prints the current viewpoint scaled to fit and centered on the page. NOTE If you would prefer to export an image for printing, see “Export an Image” on page 316 for more information. To print the current viewpoint 1 Click Output tab ➤ Print panel ➤ Print . 2 Check the printer settings are as required, and click OK. NOTE The maximum image size is 2048x2048 pixels.
3 Click Open. Search Set Files Search sets can be imported into Autodesk Navisworks. This will populate the Sets window with pre-defined search sets (see Sets Window on page 229). Selecting an imported Search Set will define the current Find Items criteria and search the current model accordingly. See “Find Items Window” on page 225 for more information on searching the model for items based on their properties. To import saved search sets 1 Click the application button ➤ Import ➤ Search Sets XML .
3 Click Open to import the PDS display sets. PDS Tag Files Tag information from Intergraph PDS contains a unique ID, saved viewpoint and corresponding comments. Tag information created in Autodesk Navisworks may also be exported to be used in Intergraph PDS. See “PDS Tag Files” on page 320. To import a PDS tag file 1 Click the application button ➤ Import ➤ PDS Tags 2 Use the Import dialog box to locate the desired TAG file. 3 Click Open to import the PDS data. 312 | Chapter 12 Share Data .
Viewpoints Files Viewpoints can be imported into Autodesk Navisworks via an XML file, enabling you to bring viewpoints into the current scene from another model file. For example, if you are working on different versions of the same model, you can save viewpoints in one version of the file, export them and then import them into the other version.
Google Earth KML Format Google Earth KML files can be exported from Autodesk Navisworks. The exporter creates a compressed KML file with the extension .
■ Layers - collapses each layer into one node 4 Select the Enable check box in the Limit Number of Polygons area to restrict the amount of geometry exported into the output file. Geometry is selected on the basis of taking the most obvious objects in preference to the fine detail. If the exported file is too large for Google Earth to display, try enabling this and reducing the number of polygons.
tab, sliding out the Project panel, and clicking Scene Statistics in Autodesk Navisworks shows the number of triangles and lines in the current project. By setting a polygon limit you are choosing to export only some of these items. 3 Select the desired options in the Include area. ■ Textures. Select this check box to include textures in the FBX file. ■ Lights. Select this check box to include lights in the FBX file. ■ Cameras. Select this check box to include cameras in the FBX file.
3 Use the Size and Options area to set the image size. See “Image Export Dialog Box” on page 437. For PNG files, click the Options button, and use the PNG Options dialog box to specify the Interlacing and Compression settings. For JPEG files, click the Options button, and use the JPEG Options dialog box to specify the Compression and Smoothing settings. 4 Click OK. 5 In the Save As dialog box, enter a new filename and location, if you want to change from those suggested. 6 Click Save.
2 To export the currently selected viewpoint animation, select Current Animation in the Source box. To export the currently selected object animation, select Current Animator Scene in the Source box. To export a TimeLiner sequence, select TimeLiner Simulation in the Source box. 3 Set up the rest of the boxes in the Animation Export dialog box, and click OK. For more information, see “Animation Export Dialog Box” on page 425.
Current Search Criteria The search criteria specified in the Find Items window can be exported to an XML file. This can then be imported into other Autodesk Navisworks sessions. For example, if you have specified a complicated search criteria, containing various logic statements, that relates to all projects you work on, then this feature allows you to specify it once and use it on all projects. For more information, see “Find Items Window” on page 225.
NOTE To customize the appearance or layout of the HTML file, you will need to edit the viewpoints_report.xsl file. The installed file is located in the stylesheets subdirectory of the Autodesk Navisworks install directory. You can copy the edited file to the stylesheets subdirectory of any of the Autodesk Navisworks search directories. For more information, see “Search Directories” on page 106. To export viewpoints report .
Animate Objects In Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 you can animate your model and interact with it. For example, you could animate how a crane moves around a site, or how a car is assembled or dismantled, and so on. With a few mouse clicks, you can also create interaction scripts, which link your animations to specific events, such as “On Key Press” or “On Collision”.
■ Real-time collision checking where you turn it on, play an animation and have animation stop when moving object first hits something. Overview of the Animator Tool The Animator and Scripter windows are the two dockable windows that are used to create and edit object animation in Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011. Animator Window Use the Animator window to create animated objects in your model.
Control Purpose Takes a snapshot of the current change to the model as a new keyframe in the timeline view. Enables/disables snapping. Snapping only comes into effect when moving objects by dragging the gizmos in the Scene View, and has no effect on numerical entry or keyboard control. Selects the active scene. Controls the current position of the time slider in the timeline view. Rewinds the animation back to the beginning. Rewinds one second.
You can quickly copy and move items in the tree view by dragging them. To do this, click the item you want to copy or move, hold down the right mouse button, and drag the item to the desired location. When the mouse pointer changes to an arrow, release the right mouse button to display a shortcut menu. Click Copy Here or Move Here, as appropriate. Shortcut Menu You can display a shortcut menu for any item in the tree by right-clicking an item.
Icons Icon Purpose Opens a shortcut menu that enables you to add new items to the tree view, such as Add Scene, Add Camera and so on. Deletes the currently selected item in the tree view. NOTE If you accidentally delete an on the Quick Acitem, click Undo cess toolbar to restore it. Moves the currently selected scene up in the tree view. Moves the currently selected scene down in the tree view. Zoom in on the timescale bar. The actual value is displayed in the Zoom box to the right.
Use the and icons at the bottom of the Animator tree view to zoom in and out on the timescale bar. The default timescale shows around 10 seconds of animation on a standard screen resolution, zooming in and out has an effect of doubling or halving the visible area. So, for example, zooming in shows around 5 seconds of animation, and zooming out shows around 20 seconds. TIP You can also zoom in and out with mouse wheel while hovering over the timeline.
a scene by right-clicking the end slider, and choosing Manually Position Endbar from the shortcut menu. Then, manually adjust the end slider, by dragging it left or right. This end marker will be used as the animation end point when scenes are set to loop or ping-pong. Shortcut Menu Right-clicking the timescale bar opens a shortcut menu that allows you to adjust the sliders. ■ Move Time Here - moves the time slider into the current mouse pointer position.
Scale X, Y, Z Enter the scaling factor around X, Y, and Z axis; 1 being the current size, 0.5 half, 2 being double and so on. cX, cY, cZ Enter the X, Y, and Z coordinate values to move the origin (or center point) of the scaling into this position. Color Color This check box indicates whether or not clicking Capture Keyframe keyframe. will record color change in the Unchecking this check box resets the color back to its original state.
Selecting a script in the tree view displays the associated events, actions and properties. You can quickly copy and move items in the tree view by dragging them. To do this, click the item you want to copy or move, hold down the right mouse button, and drag the item to the desired location. When the mouse pointer changes to an arrow, release the mouse button to display a shortcut menu. Click Copy Here or Move Here, as appropriate.
Icons Icon Purpose Adds start events. Adds timer events. Adds key press events. Add collision events. Adds hotspot events. Adds variable events. Adds animation events. Moves the currently selected event up in the Events view. Moves the currently selected event down in the Events view. Deletes the currently selected event in the Events view. Shortcut Menu Right-click in the Events view to display a shortcut menu.
Icons Icon Purpose Adds play animation actions. Adds stop animation actions. Adds show viewpoint actions. Adds pause actions. Adds send message actions. Adds set variable actions. Adds store property actions. Adds load model actions. Moves the currently selected action up in the Actions view. Moves the currently selected action down in the Actions view. Deletes the currently selected action. Shortcut Menu Right-click in the Actions view to display a shortcut menu.
Events Properties Currently, there are seven event types in Navisworks. When an event is added, the Properties view displays the properties for that event type. The event properties can be configured immediately, or at a later time. On Start You don't need to configure any properties for this event type. On Timer Interval (Seconds) Defines the length of time in seconds between timer triggering. Regularity Specifies the event frequency. Choose from: ■ Once After - an event happens once only.
Hotspot Type Position The position of the hotspot point. If the chosen hotspot is Sphere on Selection, this property is not available. Pick Enables you to pick the position of the hotspot point. If the chosen hotspot is Sphere on Selection, this button is not available. Click the Pick button, and then click a point for the hotspot in the Scene View. Selection Click the Set button, and use the shortcut menu to define the hotspot objects: NOTE If the chosen hotspot is Sphere, this button is not available.
See also: ■ “Event Types” on page 346 Actions Properties Currently, there are eight action types in Navisworks. When an action is added, the Properties view displays the properties for that action type. The action properties can be configured immediately, or at a later time. Play Animation Animation Selects the animation to play. If you don’t have any object animation in your Navisworks file, this property is not available. Pause at End Check this check box if you want the animation to stop at the end.
Value An operand to assign. The following rules apply: ■ If you enter a number (for example 0, 400, 5.3), the value is treated as a numeric value. If it has a decimal place, the floating-point formatting is preserved up to the user-defined decimal places. ■ If you enter an alphanumeric string between single or double quotation marks, such as ‘testing’ or “hello”, the value is treated as a string.
Quick Reference The Animator window is a floating window that enables you to add animations to your model. Ribbon: Animation tab ➤ Create panel ➤ Animator Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ Animator Toolbar: Classic user interface: Workspace ➤ Animator The Animator window contains the following components: the toolbar, the tree view, the timeline view, and the manual entry bar. Work with Animation Scenes Scenes act as containers for your object animations.
NOTE Deleting a scene also deletes all of its components. If you accidentally delete an item, click Undo Quick Access toolbar to restore it. on the To organize scenes into scene folders 1 If the Animator window is not already open, click Animation tab ➤ Create panel ➤ Animator . 2 Right-click in the Animator tree view, and click Add Scene Folder on the shortcut menu. 3 Click the default folder name, and type in a new name. TIP Use names that can help you to identify your scenes in future.
4 To rename a folder, click it, and type a new name. TIP Use names that can help you to identify your scene components in future. Work with Animation Sets An animation set contains a list of geometry objects to be animated, and a list of keyframes that describe how it is to be animated. Your scene can have as many animation sets as you want, and you can also have the same geometry objects in different animation sets within the same scene.
To update an animation set based on current selection 1 If the Animator window is not already open, click Animation tab ➤ Create panel ➤ Animator . 2 Select the desired geometry objects in the Scene View, or from the Selection Tree. 3 Right-click the scene name, and click Update Animation Set ➤ From Current Selection on the shortcut menu. To update an animation set based on current search set or selection set 1 If the Animator window is not already open, click Animation tab ➤ Create panel ➤ Animator .
2 Select the desired animation set in the Animator tree view. The corresponding geometry objects are highlighted in the Scene View. TIP To get a better view, change the way the objects are highlighted. 3 Click Capture Keyframe on the Animator toolbar to create a keyframe with the initial object state. 4 In the timeline view, move the black time slider to the right to set the desired time. on the Animator toolbar. 5 Click Rotate Animation Set 6 Use the Rotation gizmo to rotate the selected objects.
The corresponding geometry objects are highlighted in the Scene View. TIP To get a better view, change the way the objects are highlighted. 3 Click Capture Keyframe on the Animator toolbar to create a keyframe with the initial object state. 4 In the timeline view, move the black time slider to the right to set the desired time. 5 Click Change Transparency of Animation Set on the Animator toolbar.
Work with Section Plane Sets A section plane set contains a list of cross-sectional cuts of your model, and a list of keyframes to describe how they move. NOTE Each scene can only have one section plane set in it. See also: ■ Gizmos on page 106 ■ Sectioning on page 287 To add a section plane set 1 If the Animator window is not already open, click Animation tab ➤ Create panel ➤ Animator . 2 Right-click the desired scene name, and click Add Section Plane on the shortcut menu.
5 Click Sectioning Tools tab ➤ Transform panel and click the sectioning gizmo you want to use (move , rotate , or scale ). By default, the move gizmo is used. Drag the gizmo to adjust the initial position of the section box in the Scene View. 6 Click Capture Keyframe section box. on the Animator toolbar to create a keyframe with the initial position of the 7 In the timeline view, move the black time slider to the right to set the desired time.
Play Animation Scenes Animations created in Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011 can be played in all Navisworks 2011 products, including Freedom. To play a scene in the Animator window . 1 If the Animation window is not already open, click Animation tab ➤ Create panel ➤ Animator 2 From the Scene Picker drop-down list, select the scene you want to play in the Animator tree view. 3 Click Play on the Animator toolbar. To play a scene from the Animation tab 1 Click Animation tab ➤ Playback panel.
The Scripter window contains the following components: the tree view, the Events view, the Actions view, and the Properties view. NOTE If you can’t use any of the controls in the Scripter window, it means that you are in interaction mode. To exit the mode, click Animation tab ➤ Script panel ➤ Enable Scripts . Work with Animation Scripts A script is a collection of actions that you want to happen when certain event conditions are met.
2 Right-click in the tree view, and click Add New Folder on the shortcut menu. 3 Click the default folder name, and type in a new name. TIP Use names that can help you to identify your scripts in future. 4 Select a script you want to add to your new folder. Hold down the left mouse button, and drag the mouse to the folder name. When the mouse pointer changes to an arrow, release the mouse button to drop the script into the folder. Alternatively, select the script, and hold down the right mouse button.
Event Conditions Events can be combined with a simple Boolean logic. To create an event condition you can use a combination of brackets and AND/OR operators. The brackets and logic operators can be added by right-clicking an event, and selecting the option from the shortcut menu. Alternatively, you can click in the corresponding field in the Events view, and use the drop-down list to select the desired option. NOTE If you have more than one event in your script, by default the AND operator will be used.
Action Types The following action types are available in Navisworks: ■ Play Animation - action specifies which animation to play back when a script is triggered. ■ Stop Animation - action specifies which currently playing animation to stop when a script is triggered. ■ Show Viewpoint - action specifies which viewpoint to use when a script is triggered. ■ Pause - enables you to stop the script for a specified amount of time before the next action is run.
Create Photorealistic Visualizations 14 You can use the Presenter to apply texture materials, lighting, Rich Photorealistic Content (RPC), and background effects to your model. Overview of the Presenter Tool Presenter Window The Presenter dockable window is used to set up materials and lights in your scene and render it with more realism and effects.
use this tab to create new materials, or customize existing materials. ■ Lighting. Includes a variety of lighting options, which can be selected and applied to the model. You can also customize lighting options, if you want. ■ RPC. Contains Rich Photorealistic Content (or RPC), which you can add from various sources, including websites. RPCs can include images of people, trees, cars and so on. ■ Effects.
Although materials, lights, effects, and render styles cannot be edited in archives, once dragged into the scene’s palette, they can be edited and saved with the scene in an NWF file, or published as an NWD file. You can save your own edits to materials into an NWP file format. See “Organize and Manage Materials” on page 355 for more information on how to do this. The User Archives The user archives allow you to save your own edited materials, lights, effects, and render styles for use in other scenes.
To set up and render a scene 1 Choose Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ Presenter to open the Presenter window. 2 Set up the scene. ■ Use the Materials tab to drag and drop materials onto items in the model. You can use the predefined materials, or create your own from the templates in the Materials tab (see “Use Presenter Materials” on page 353 for more details). Or Use the Rules tab to set up rules which define project-wide material application (see “Use Presenter Rules” on page 378 for more details).
Ribbon: Output tab ➤ Visuals panel ➤ Rendered Image Menu: Application button ➤ Export ➤ Images & Animations ➤ Rendered Image To export rendered animations 1 Apply materials and lighting effects to the required scene, and, in the Presenter window, click Render. 2 When the scene is rendered, click the Output tab ➤ Visuals panel ➤ Animation . The Animation Export dialog box opens. 3 From the Source drop-down list, select the animation type you want to export.
■ An item in the Selection Tree ■ A selection or search set If you drag the material from an archive, it will appear in the palette where it can be edited and saved with the scene, if necessary. Presenter uses Autodesk Navisworks selection resolution to decide which items to apply the material to when dragging from an archive or palette into the main view. When hovering over any item in the main view, the proposed selection will change into the selection color (blue by default).
NOTE Remove Material will only be available if the right-clicked item has a material assigned to it at that selection resolution in the Selection Tree. To use the Presenter window to remove materials from model geometry 1 Open the Presenter window, and click the Materials tab. 2 In the material palette, right-click the material that you want to remove from items in the scene, and click Remove From All Items on the shortcut menu.
NOTE You can also copy materials between the folders in the left pane by either dragging and dropping them, or using the Copy and Paste options on the shortcut menu. To manage palette materials ➤ Right-click a material in the right pane of the Materials tab (the palette). ■ Click Copy to copy the material to the clipboard. Right-click an empty space in the palette and click Paste to paste a copy of the material with the same name suffixed with the next number in the list.
■ Click Clear Palette to delete all the materials from the palette and also from all items in the scene. Edit Presenter Materials Installed archive materials cannot be edited while they are in the archives, but you can edit materials in the scene’s palette. Edited materials will be saved with the Autodesk Navisworks model in an NWD or NWF file, or in an NWP palette file, or they can be added to your user archive, called My Materials.
■ Click Main Window Preview to close the preview window in the Material Editor and instead preview the material on the item in the Scene View. This is updated interactively while you change the parameters. The preview will be represent the material shown in Autodesk Navisworks during navigation, but the quality will not be as high as the photorealistic render.
3 Browse to and select your image file, and click Open. 4 You may then need to adjust some of the texture parameters of the new material, for example its scale, rotation, offset or reflection (if it’s back to front). These may all be edited in the Texture tab. See “Edit Presenter Materials” on page 357 for more information. Advanced Materials Internally, a material is defined by four shaders from different classes: Color, Transparency, Reflectance and Displacement.
check box will reposition the origin to the center of the image (Point 2). Finally, in Developer profile, you can edit the Decal Mode, choosing from either Default or Normalized. Selecting Normalized will move the origin to the lower-left corner of the image (Point 3, with the Offset Center option cleared). With both Normalized and Offset Center selected, the origin will be repositioned in the center of the repeated image, directly below (Point 4).
Add and Position Lights Lights and light studios can be taken directly from the archives and applied to the model by dropping them into the palette. These can then be repositioned as needed.
To position or reposition lights in the model 1 Open the Presenter window, and click the Lighting tab. 2 In the palette (right pane of the Lighting tab), right-click the light you want to reposition, and click Edit on the shortcut menu. 3 Use the Light Editor to position the light as needed. Point, Distant, Spot and Projector lights have a Location parameter. Distant and Spot lights additionally have a To parameter.
To copy lighting effects into a custom folder 1 In the Presenter window, Lighting tab, click a lighting effect in the right pane, and drag it to the desired location under the My Lighting folder in the left pane until a mouse pointer displays a small plus symbol. 2 Release the left mouse button to drop the lighting effect into the folder.
■ Sun simulates the sun’s light. The orientation of your model is defined by North and Up directions. The position of the sun is specified as Azimuth and Altitude. If the sun’s Mode includes Position, you can input your location on earth, the Time (using local time zone) and date and Presenter will calculate the sun’s azimuth and altitude for you. If the sun’s Mode includes Intensity, Presenter will also calculate an accurate intensity for the sun based on position, time of year and atmospheric conditions.
At any time, click Apply to apply the parameter edits to the light in the scene. You can save an edited light for use in other scenes by dragging it onto the My Lighting user archive. Shadow Casting Selecting the Shadows check box in the Light Editor of a light that supports shadows (point, distant, spot, sky, sun, projector and goniometric) results in the selected light casting shadows in the scene.
Advanced Lighting You can use Presenter to apply advanced lighting effects. Soft Shadows Presenter includes shadows generated from pre-calculated, shadow maps for each shadow-casting light source. The use of shadow maps enables rapid rendering of shadows with soft or graduated edges. The shadow resolution can be controlled to balance performance and image quality. Soft shadows are only suitable for use with small models, and are disabled by default.
The key points when using volumetric lighting are: ■ Remember to turn the Scattering parameter of light sources on if you want to see their volumetric effects. ■ Use Medium Density and Medium Color to define brightness and color of the lit medium. ■ Use a solid color shader set as density shader for simulation of density variations in the medium. ■ Decrease the Error Bound parameter, if image appears spotty outside shadow areas.
To set up image-based lighting 1 Open the Presenter window, and click the Lighting tab. 2 Expand the Recommended archive in the left pane of the Lighting tab. 3 Drag the Environment Light Studio into the palette on the right. This replaces all lights that were in the palette with an Ambient and an Environment light containing a High Dynamic Range Image. 4 Click Render to render the scene using the default image contained in this Environment light.
An example of RPC people on and around a building The key benefit to using RPC content is that it only takes a short amount of time to fill a scene with realistic content, and it adds very little to the rendering time. NOTE While navigating through the scene, RPCs will always turn to face the camera. If an RPC is 3D or 3.5D, right-clicking it in the Scene View, and clicking Refresh on the shortcut menu will set it to the correct frame, based on the current camera position.
5 In the Open RPC File dialog box, locate the desired RPC file, and click Open. Autodesk Navisworks has a small selection of free, example RPC files in the resources area of the product DVD. You can use them to make up a simple scene with some people, plants, and trees. 6 Adjust the settings in the RPC Editor as needed, and click OK. To add an RPC to a model 1 Open the Presenter window, and click the RPC tab.
Use Presenter Rendering Effects Effects Tab Like the Materials, Lighting, and Rendering tabs, the Effects tab is divided into two panes, with the archives on the left and the palette on the right. This tab is where you set up different background and foreground effects. You can only have one background and one foreground effect at a time in the palette. NOTE A complete reference manual for all types of foregrounds, backgrounds and rendering styles is included with the Autodesk Navisworks API (see \API\COM\
In the Background Editor, you can change backgrounds by clicking the Browse button (...) next to the File Name field and open a new image as the background. Editing parameters in the Background Editor will interactively alter the scene with those changes. At any time, click Apply to apply the parameter edits to the scene. You can save an edited background for use in other scenes by dragging it into the Backgrounds folder inside the My Effects user archive.
Setting up an environment background consists of two components: the background image, such as the sky over the desert, and the environment that holds the background image. To add a background effect 1 Open the Presenter window, and click the Effects tab. 2 In the left pane, expand the Recommended archive, and choose the desired background effect. 3 Drag your chosen background into the palette on the right side.
Foreground Effects Foreground effects change the foreground of the image when rendered, and include fog and snow effects. None of these effects are available as an interactive preview and can only be seen when a full render is done. Adding foreground effects is similar to adding background effects. Double-click an effect in the palette to open the Foreground Editor. Each editor will be different for each foreground type.
Rendering Styles Rendering styles affect the way that the scene is rendered when a full photorealistic render is done (by clicking Render). None of these effects are available as an interactive preview. To set up a rendering style, drag your chosen style into the palette on the right side of the tab. To edit your chosen rendering style, double-click the style in the palette. The Render Editor dialog box opens. Each editor will be different for each type of rendering style.
The Templates archive contains five main types of rendering style, which can be used to define your own rendering styles: ■ Photorealistic (Raytrace). This archive contains photorealistic rendering styles, including High Quality, Low Quality and Medium Quality like the Recommended archive. These rendering styles are the fastest and use the least memory where large parts of the model are obscured from any particular viewpoint.
To edit texture space 1 Select the item (see “Interactive Geometry Selection” on page 217 for more information) and go to the Texture Space tab in the Presenter window to choose another texture space. Alternatively, right-click an item which has a texture applied to it and click a new texture space on the Presenter ➤ Texture Space shortcut menu. 2 You can fine-tune an item’s texture space further by clicking Edit on the Texture Space tab of the Presenter window. The relevant Texture Space Editor opens.
6 Click Ortho if you want Autodesk Navisworks to align the texture space with the nearest axis. 7 Click Fit if you want Autodesk Navisworks to fit a single repeat of the texture to the item. This is of particular use when you are mapping an image to the exact size of the item it's being applied to.
If a material has the same name as a selection set in the model, then all items in this selection set receive this material from the palette when you select the rule Selection Sets by Name, and click Apply. To apply predefined Presenter rules 1 Open the Presenter window, and click the Rules tab. 2 Select all the rules you want to apply. You can apply as many rules as you want, as all rules depend on material names.
The Materials by Property template enables you to specify a property within the model scene. If a material has the same name as the specified property value in the model, then all items having that property will receive this material from the palette when you select the rule Materials by Property, and click Apply. 4 In the Rule description box, click on each of the underlined values to define your custom rule. The customizable values available with the built in templates are: ■ Name.
4 Set up the necessary materials: a From the Recommended\Glass archive on the Materials tab, drag the Window Glass material into the palette, press F2, and rename it as “AutoCAD Color Index 9”. Press Enter to save the new name. NOTE The name of the Presenter material must match the name of the material saved in the original CAD file. You can view the material properties in the Properties window or on the Properties tab of the Selection Tree. b From the Recommended\Bricks archive on the Materials tab, drag t
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Simulate Construction Scheduling 15 The TimeLiner tool enables you to link your 3D model to an external construction schedule for visual 4D planning. Overview of TimeLiner Tool The TimeLiner tool adds 4D schedule simulation to Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011. TimeLiner imports schedules from a variety of sources. You can then connect tasks in the schedule with objects in the model to create a 4D simulation.
Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ TimeLiner To set TimeLiner options 1 Click ➤ Options. 2 Expand the Tools node in the Options Editor, and click the TimeLiner option. 3 On the TimeLiner page, select the Auto Select Attached Items check box if you want TimeLiner to select any attached items in the Scene View as you select each task in the TimeLiner window. 4 Select the Display Synchronization Errors check box if you want TimeLiner to inform you of errors when synchronizing tasks from external links.
The Task View The tasks are shown in a multi-column table, which provides some flexibility in how records are displayed. You can: ■ Move or resize columns ■ Sort column data in ascending or descending order ■ Add new user columns to the default column set TIP It is possible to move between entries in a manually editable task using the keyboard. Simply select a task that has been set to be manually editable, and use Tab and SHIFT + Tab keyboard keys to move forwards and backwards between fields.
The Active Check Box The check box in the Active column enables you to turn a task on/off. If a task is turned off, then it will not appear in the simulation. For hierarchical tasks, turning off the parent task will automatically turn off all child tasks. The Shortcut Menus Right-clicking any column header, opens a shortcut menu that enables you to create and manage custom columns, and change the sort order of tasks. ■ Add User Column - enables you to insert a custom column into the tasks table.
■ Unlink - breaks the link between the selected task and an external schedule, enabling you to manually edit start and end dates. You will only be able to unlink the parent task, i.e. the task with the same name as the link. However, your task is no longer synchronized with the external schedule. NOTE For editing of dates, it is recommended to do this in the scheduling software and then Synchronize Tasks from Link.
Broken The external schedule can not be accessed. The file may have been moved or deleted, or required software may be missing or not functioning correctly. TimeLiner will still function using the task values determined when the link was last synchronized. The Shortcut Menus Right-clicking within the links area on the tab opens a shortcut menu that enables you to add and manage links to external project files. ■ Add Link - creates a new link to an external project file.
The Task Grid The tasks are shown in a multi-column table. All columns are read only, but you can expand/collapse the task hierarchy, and move the columns. The Task Grid on the Gantt View tab is synchronized with the Task View on the Tasks tab. The Gantt Chart The Gantt Chart displays a colored bar chart illustrating your project status. Each task takes up one row.
Late start, early finish. Late start, on-time finish. Late start, late finish. Started after planned finish. No comparison. The Display Dates The Display Dates drop-down enables you to switch between Actual, Planned, and Planned vs Actual Gantt charts. The Zoom Slider The Zoom slider enables you to adjust the resolution of the displayed Gantt chart.
You can customize the default appearance definitions, or create new ones, as necessary. The Shortcut Menus Right-clicking in the Task Types table opens a shortcut menu that enables you to manage task types: ■ Add - adds a new task type. ■ Delete - deletes the selected task type. ■ Rename - enables you to rename the selected task type. Right-clicking in the Appearance Definitions table opens a shortcut menu that enables you to manage appearance definitions: ■ Add - adds a new appearance definition.
The Playback Controls Use the standard VCR buttons to step and play forwards and backwards through the simulation: Rewind will rewind the simulation back to the beginning. Step Back will step back a single step size. See “Simulation Settings Dialog Box” on page 395 for more information. will play the simulation backwards. Reverse Play Pause will pause the simulation at the time you press it at. You can then look around and interrogate the model, or step forwards and backwards through the simulation.
Select Link Dialog Box When you relink a task to an external schedule you will be prompted to select which link to use, as your project may be linked to multiple schedules. Field Selector Dialog Box The Field Selector dialog box determines various options used when importing data from a link. The options available may be different for each type of link source. The Field Selector Dialog Box for importing data from an external scheduling software.
Options CSV Import Settings Row 1 Contains Headings Select the Row 1 Contains Headings check box if you want the first row of data in your CSV file to be treated as column headings. TimeLiner will use it to populate the External Field Name options in the grid. If the first row of data in your CSV file does not contain column headings, clear this check box.
M, %M The numeric month. Single-digit months will NOT have a leading zero. MM The numeric month. Single-digit month names will have a leading zero. MMM The abbreviated month name. MMMM The full month name. y, %y The year without the century. If less than 10, it will NOT have a leading zero. yy The year without the century. If less than 10, it will have a leading zero. yyyy The year in four digits, including the century. h, %h The hour in 12-hour clock format. Single digit hours will NOT have a leading zero.
It is possible to override the Start and End dates that the simulation runs between. Selecting the Override Start/End dates check box enables the date boxes and allows you to choose the start and end dates. By doing this, you can simulate a small sub-section of the overall project. The dates will be shown on the Simulate tab. These dates will also be used when exporting animations. You can define the Interval Size to use when stepping through the simulation using the playback controls.
You can add animation to an entire schedule, so that during the TimeLiner sequence playback, Autodesk Navisworks will also play the specified viewpoint animation or camera. The following options can be selected in the Animation field: ■ No Link - no viewpoint animation or camera animation will be played. ■ Saved Viewpoints Animation - links your schedule to the currently selected viewpoint or viewpoint animation.
Planned Start and Planned End. See diagram below for graphical representation). For time periods where the Actual dates are within the Planned dates (on schedule), the items attached to the task will be displayed in the Task Type Start Appearance. For time periods where the Actual dates are early, or late in comparison to the Planned dates (there is a variance), then the items attached to the task will be displayed in the Task Type Early or Late Appearance, respectively. ■ Actual Against Planned.
Overlay Text Dialog Box You have the option to define the text overlaid in the Scene View during simulation, by clicking Edit in the Simulation Settings Dialog Box. By default the date and time are displayed using the format specified in Control Panel ➤ Regional Settings. You can specify the exact format to use by entering text into the text box. Most text will appear as entered, except that words prefixed with a “%” or “$” character act as keywords and are replaced with various values.
%Y Year with century, as decimal number. %z Time-zone abbreviation; no characters if time zone is unknown. %Z Time-zone name; no characters if time zone is unknown. Color Keywords $COLOR_RED Sets the overlay display text color to be red. $COLOR_BLUE Sets the overlay display text color to be blue. $COLOR_GREEN Sets the overlay display text color to be green. $COLOR_WHITE Sets the overlay display text color to be white. $COLOR_BLACK Sets the overlay display text color to be black.
You can use the Links Tab to import tasks from an external source, such as Microsoft Project™. You can choose a field from the external schedule to define the types of the imported tasks, or you can set task types by hand. Linked fields cannot be edited directly in TimeLiner. You can, of course, update the schedule externally and synchronize the tasks in TimeLiner with those from the external source. 3 Attach objects in the model to tasks.
Alternatively, you can Use Rules to Attach Tasks automatically. 4 Click the Gantt View Tab on page 388 to view a read-only graphical representation of your project schedule. You can switch between Planned, Actual, and Planned vs Actual Gantt charts. 5 Simulate your schedule. You can visualize your model at any date in your schedule with the currently active tasks highlighted. Run through the entire schedule using familiar VCR controls.
6 Adjust the way your simulation plays. You can use the Configure tab to create new task types and edit old ones. The task type defines what happens at the start and end of each task of that type. You can hide attached objects, change their appearance or reset them to the appearance specified in the model. 7 Create image and AVI files. Export the current simulation view as an image, or the entire simulation as an AVI. 8 Keep up to date with changes in your project.
You can adjust the Task View. You can also add new user columns to the default column set. This is useful when you create links to external project files that contain more fields than TimeLiner. To move a column 1 Open the TimeLiner window, and click the Tasks tab. 2 Position the mouse over the header of the column you want to move, and press the left mouse button. 3 Drag the column header to the desired location, and release the left mouse button.
Create Tasks In TimeLiner tasks can be created in one of the following ways: ■ Manually, one at a time. ■ Automatically, based on object structure in the Selection Tree, or the selection and search sets. ■ Automatically, built from links to external project files. TIP Unlike manual tasks, which need to be attached to geometry in your model, automatic tasks will be attached to the corresponding geometry as soon as they are created.
2 In the TimeLiner window, the Tasks tab, right-click in the Task View, and click Tools on the shortcut menu. 3 Click Add Named Task for Each Selection Set to create tasks with the same names as each selection and search set in the Sets dockable window. NOTE Actual Start and End dates will be automatically created, starting from the current system date and incrementing by one day for each subsequent end and start date.
NOTE Currently, you cannot use the keyboard shortcuts CTRL + C and CTRL + V to copy and paste date/time values. To set or modify the task type 1 In the TimeLiner window, the Tasks tab, click the task you want to modify. 2 From the Task Type drop-down list, select the type of task you wish this task to be. By default, you can choose from: ■ Construct ■ Demolish ■ Temporary The task type defines how the items attached to the task will be displayed during simulation.
Attach Tasks Manually To attach a task to a current selection 1 If the TimeLiner window is not already open, click Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ TimeLiner . 2 Select the desired geometry objects in the Scene View, or on the Selection Tree. 3 In the TimeLiner window, the Tasks tab, right-click the required task, and click Attach Selection on the shortcut menu. The task icon has changed indicating that this task now contains attached items.
NOTE If you need to add additional items to already attached tasks, click the Append Selection option on the shortcut menu, otherwise any previous task attachments will be overridden. Use Rules to Attach Tasks Attaching tasks manually could take a long time. It is a good practice to either user task names, which correspond to Selection Tree layers, or create selection and search sets that correspond to the task names.
property will be attached to that task when you check the rule Attach Items to Tasks by Category/Property, and click Apply Rules. 4 In the Rule description box, click on each of the underlined values to define your custom rule. The customizable values available with the built in templates are: ■ Column Name. Choose which column in the Tasks Tab you want to compare Item names to.
NOTE A Contained item is the child of another item. For example, if you select a Group, Block or Cell which is comprised of various pieces of geometry, then that geometry is contained within the Group, Block or Cell. A Group, Block or Cell may therefore be attached to a task and although the child geometry is not directly attached itself, it is contained within an item that is attached. ■ Find contained items.
To view a Gantt chart for Planned vs Actual dates 1 Click Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ TimeLiner , and click the Gantt View tab in the TimeLiner window. 2 Select Planned vs Actual in the Display Dates drop-down. To change a resolution of a Gantt chart 1 Click the Gantt View tab in the TimeLiner window. 2 Optional: Use the Display Dates drop-down to customize the displayed Gantt chart. By default, the Actual dates are used. 3 Drag the Zoom slider to adjust the chart’s resolution.
NOTE Autodesk Navisworks TimeLiner supports multiple sources of external schedules using a COM interface. Anyone can develop support for a new schedule source - the type library that defines the interface is included with TimeLiner. Microsoft Project 2003 This Link requires Microsoft Project 2003™ to be installed. Microsoft Project 2007 This Link requires Microsoft Project 2007™ to be installed.
Once connected, a dialog box allows the user to select which project to open. A check box determines if all sub-projects are opened. By default, TimeLiner brings through Start, End, Planned Start, and Planned End as Start, Finish, BL Start and BL Finish respectively. Other Primavera dates can be selected through the generic Field Selector Dialog Box, including Project Activity Codes, Global Activity Codes, and User Defined Fields.
NOTE For more information on which sources are typically available, see “Supported Scheduling Software” on page 412. 4 Use the standard Open dialog box to browse to and open the desired project file. TimeLiner creates the link to the selected file in accordance with the predefined parameters configured for the corresponding data source using a COM interface. Depending on the data source, the Field Selector Dialog Box may be displayed. You can use it to override some of the predefined data import options.
To import CSV data 1 If the TimeLiner window is not already open, click Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ TimeLiner . 2 In the TimeLiner window click the Links tab. 3 Right-click in the Link View, click Add Link, and click CSV File. 4 Use the standard Open dialog box to locate the desired project file in CSV format, and click Open. 5 In the Field Selector Dialog Box, use the CSV Import Settings area to specify how your data should be imported into TimeLiner.
Delete Links To delete a link 1 If the TimeLiner window is not already open, click Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ TimeLiner . 2 In the TimeLiner window, the Links tab, right-click the link you want to delete, and click Delete Link on the shortcut menu. This only deletes the link, not the tasks built from this link. These tasks become automatically Unlinked. NOTE If you made a mistake, use the Undo button on the Quick Access toolbar to restore the deleted item.
4D Simulation In this section, you will learn how to play 4D simulations, and how to customize the simulation playback and appearance. Play Simulations To play a simulation 1 If the TimeLiner window is not already open, click Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ TimeLiner . 2 On the Tasks tab select the Active check box for all tasks that you want to include in the simulation. 3 Be sure the active tasks are assigned the correct Task Types.
To add a task type definition 1 If the TimeLiner window is not already open, click Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ TimeLiner . 2 Click the Configure tab, right-click in the Task Types area, and click Add on the shortcut menu. 3 A new task type is added to the bottom of the list; it will be highlighted, enabling you to enter a new name for it. 4 Use the drop-down buttons to the right of each of the Appearance field to assign the desired object behavior.
2 In the Default Simulation Start Appearance drop-down list, select the appearance option, which you want to use to start your simulations. Export You can export a static image at any time during a simulation by using one of the standard Autodesk Navisworks image exports, whilst the Simulation tab is active. See “Export an Image” on page 316 for more information. You also have an option to export an animation of an entire TimeLiner simulation. See “Export an Animation” on page 317 for more information.
5 Click OK. To add a camera animation 1 If the TimeLiner window is not already open, click Home tab ➤ Tools panel ➤ TimeLiner . 2 Click the Simulation tab, and click the Settings button. 3 In the Simulation Settings dialog box, click the drop-down arrow in the Animation field, and select the desired camera animation, for example Scene1 ➤ Camera.
4 Click OK. Add Animation to Tasks The animation that you can add to individual tasks in TimeLiner is restricted to scenes and animation sets from the scenes. By default, any added animation is scaled to fit the task duration. You also got an option of playing an animation at its normal (recorded) speed, by matching its start or end point with the task. NOTE Animation keyframes may contain transparency and color overrides.
3 Click the drop-down arrow in the Animation field, and select a scene or an animation set from a scene. When you select a scene, all animation sets recorded for this scene will be used. 4 Click the drop-down arrow in the Animation Behavior field, and select how the animation will play during this task: ■ Scale - the duration of the animation is matched to the duration of the task. This is the default setting. ■ Match Start - the animation starts when the task starts.
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Autodesk Navisworks Reference 16 Animation Export Dialog Box Use this dialog box to export an animation to an AVI file or a sequence of image files. Source Source Selects the source from which to export the animation. Choose from: ■ Current Animator Scene. The currently selected object animation. ■ TimeLiner Simulation. The currently selected TimeLiner sequence. ■ Current Animation. The currently selected viewpoint animation. Renderer Renderer Selects the animation renderer.
■ Windows Bitmap. Exports a sequence of static images, which are taken from individual frames in the animation. There are no Options for this format. Options Enables you to configure the options for the selected output format. Size Type Use the drop-down list to specify how to set the size of the exported animation. TIP For animations, a much lower resolution can be used than for static images, for example, 640x480. Choose from: ■ Explicit.
Ribbon: View tab ➤ Scene View panel ➤ Background Shortcut menu: Right-click a blank area in the scene, and click Background on the shortcut menu. Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ Background Collision Dialog Box Use this dialog box to adjust the collision settings for the selected viewpoint. By default, Collision, Gravity, Auto Crouch, and Third Person view are switched off. Collision Select this check box to define a viewer as a collision volume in Walk and Fly modes.
Pointing device: Options Editor dialog box ➤ File Readers node ➤ DWG/DXF option ➤ Advanced Culling Options Dialog Box With the AutoCAD File Exporter plugin installed in an AutoCAD application, the Culling Options dialog box enables you to adjust geometry culling when you navigate a model in the Navigator Palette. Area Enable Specifies whether or not area culling is used. Number of Pixels Below Which Objects Are Culled Specifies a value for the screen area in pixels below which objects are culled.
Rename Displays the Rename Toolbar dialog box and enables you to rename a custom toolbar. Delete Enables you to delete the selected custom toolbar. Commands Tab Use this tab to add and remove commands from the Menu bar and the toolbars in the Classic user interface. NOTE You cannot add and remove commands from shortcut menus. Categories Contains the groups of commands that can be customized. Commands Contains all available commands for the selected category.
Menu Animations Defines the way menus are animated. Default Collision Dialog Box Use this dialog box to specify and save your preferred collision settings. By default, Collision, Gravity, Auto Crouch, and Third Person view are switched off. When you modify default collision settings, your changes do not affect the currently opened Autodesk Navisworks file. They are used as soon as you open a new Autodesk Navisworks file, or start a new Autodesk Navisworks session.
Edit Key Frame - Animation Set All values are relative to the previous keyframe, or, if it is the first keyframe, relative to the model’s starting position. Time Enables you to reposition the time of this keyframe. The value is the number of seconds since the start of the scene; it is not relative to the last keyframe. Translate Enter the X, Y, and Z coordinate values to move the selected objects into this position.
Deletes the section plane selected in the Section Planes list. Distance The distance of the selected section plane across the model. Plane Selects the vector that represents the angle of the section plane. The drop-down list contains a range of pre-defined values. If you select the Define Custom option, you can manually define the “up” vector for the plane. Enabled Indicates whether the selected section plane is active or not.
Override Material Select this check box to save material override information with the viewpoint. When you use a viewpoint again, the material overrides set when the viewpoint was saved are reapplied. NOTE Saving the state information with each viewpoint requires a relatively large amount of memory. Collision Settings Opens the Collision dialog box.
■ Use View. Uses the width and height of your current view. ■ Use Printer Page. Sizes the image to the page setup size of the default printer. Width Enables you to enter the width in pixels, when available. Height Enables you to enter the height in pixels, when available.
Fixed Select this radio button to set the far clipping plane to the value provided in the Distance box. Distance Specifies the closest distance between the camera and the far clipping plane position in constrained mode. Specifies the exact distance between the camera and the far clipping plane position in fixed mode. NOTE Nothing is drawn beyond this plane; when you override automatic mode, make this value large enough to include your data.
Scene Lights Tab Use this tab to change the intensity of the scene’s ambient light for Scene Lights mode. Ambient Use the slider to control the overall brightness of the scene. NOTE To see the effect your changes have on the model in the Scene View, apply Scene Lights mode DataTools Tab Use this tab to create and manage links between the opened Autodesk Navisworks file and external databases. DataTools Links Displays all database links in Autodesk Navisworks file.
Image Export Dialog Box Use this dialog box to export the current viewpoint into one of the file types supported by Autodesk Navisworks. Output Format Use the drop-down list to select one of the image types supported by Autodesk Navisworks. Choose from: ■ JPEG ■ PNG ■ Windows Bitmap Options Enables you to specify the options for PNG and JPG files. For PNG images, you can select the Interlacing and Compression Level settings, and for the JPEG images you can select Compression and Smoothing levels.
Check for New Online Content Specifies how often Communication Center checks for new content. Use Animated Transition Effects for Panels Check to animate panel transitions. Pointing device: InfoCenter Settings dialog box ➤ General node Search Locations Node Use the Search Locations node to identify content (documents, Web locations, and files) to be searched, as well as the name that displays for each location and the number of results to display for each.
% Transparency of Balloon Notification Enter a numeric value to indicate the transparency of balloon notifications. Alternatively, drag the slider toward Opaque to decrease the balloon notification transparency percentage or toward Transparent to increase the transparency percentage. Pointing device: InfoCenter Settings dialog box ➤ Communication Center node ➤ Balloon Notification page RSS Feeds Page Use the settings on this page to RSS feeds. RSS Subscription Add.
Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ Global Options Shortcut menu: Scene ➤ Global Options Buttons Export Displays the Select Options to Export dialog box, where you can select the global options you want to export (or “serialize”). If an option cannot be exported, it is unavailable. Import Displays the Open dialog box, where you can browse to the file with the required global option settings. OK Saves the changes, and closes the Options Editor. Cancel Discards the changes, and closes the Options Editor.
Maximum Recently Used Files Specifies how many file shortcuts Autodesk Navisworks can remember. By default, shortcuts to the four most recently opened files can be displayed. Auto-Save Page Use the setting on this page to adjust the auto-save options. Enable Auto-Save Indicates whether Autodesk Navisworks automatically saves Navisworks files. By default, this check box is selected. Clear this check box if you do not want to save Navisworks files automatically.
Pick Radius Specifies the radius, in pixels, that an item has to be within in order for it to be selected. Resolution Specifies the level of selection used by default. When you click in the Scene View, Autodesk Navisworks requires a starting point for the object path in the Selection Tree box to identify the selected item. You can choose one of the following options: ■ Model - the object path starts at the model node; as a result, all objects in the model are selected.
When this check box is clear, the surface of the parametric objects is used for the shortest distance measurement instead. NOTE Changing this option does not affect any measurement currently in place. To see any changes, clear the measurement, and start again. Snapping Page Use the options on this page to adjust the cursor snapping. Picking Snap to Vertex Select this check box to snap the cursor to the nearest vertex. Snap to Edge Select this check box to snap the cursor to the nearest triangle edge.
Show Links Toggles the display of links in the Scene View. In 3D Indicates whether the link icons are drawn in 3D in the Scene View. Select this box if you want the links to float in 3D space just in front of their attachment points to the geometry. If the links become obscured by other geometry, clear this check box to draw the link icons in 2D over the top of geometry. Max Icons Specifies the maximum number of icons to draw in the Scene View.
Viewpoints Icon Type Specifies how to display this link category. Select one of the following options: ■ Icon - links are represented by default icons in the Scene View: - links to viewpoints saved in perspective mode - links to viewpoints saved in orthographic mode ■ Text - links are represented by text boxes with link descriptions in the Scene View. Visible Select this check box to display this link category in the Scene View.
Previous and Next Element Use and to navigate between link categories. If you clicked the Records View button, this is the only way to move between the records. Visible Select this check box to display the corresponding link category in the Scene View. Icon Type Select one of the following options: ■ Icon - links are represented by default icons ■ Text - links are represented by text boxes with link descriptions in the Scene View. and in the Scene View.
Acceleration Hardware Acceleration Select this check box to utilize any available OpenGL hardware acceleration on your video card. If your video card drivers do not function well with Autodesk Navisworks, clear this check box. NOTE If your video card does not support OpenGL hardware acceleration, this check box is not available. Overlay Buffer Select the hardware overlay option from the drop-down list. Occlusion Culling Select this check box to enable occlusion culling.
Navigation Mode Use the drop-down list to specify a default navigation mode for the SpaceBall. It is used when no valid navigation mode is currently selected. Navigation Bar Page Use the options on this page to customize the behavior of tools on the navigation bar. Orbit Tools Use Classic Orbit Select this check box if you want to switch from the standard Orbit tool to the classic Autodesk Navisworks Orbit mode on the navigation bar.
■ 75% ■ 100% Keep Scene Upright Indicates whether the upside-down orientations of the scene is allowed when you use the ViewCube. When this check box is selected, dragging the ViewCube produces a turntable effect. When Dragging on the ViewCube While being dragged, the ViewCube and the scene rotate in an arcball like fashion, unless the Keep Scene Upright check box is selected.
■ Large (64x64). ■ Extra Large (256x256) Normal is the default option. Opacity Controls the opacity level of mini wheels. The default value is 50%. You can choose from the following options: ■ 25% (mostly transparent) ■ 50% ■ 75% ■ 90% (mostly opaque) On-Screen Messages Show Tool Messages Toggles the display of tooltips for navigation tools. When this check box is selected, the tooltips are shown below the cursor as you use the tools.
User Interface Page Use the options on this page to choose the user interface (standard or classic), and select the color theme. User Interface Choose between the following options: ■ Classic. Switches over to the classic Autodesk Navisworks interface with old-style menu and toolbars. ■ Standard. Switches over to the new interface with a ribbon tool palette. This is the default option. Theme Use the drop-down list to apply one of the preset interface themes.
This enables performance to be prioritized over structure/properties and has the added benefit of improving streaming by cutting down the logical structure. NOTE Although Autodesk Navisworks tries to collapse items to the fewest number possible, it may be necessary to prevent collapsing in some cases to preserve model fidelity. For example, if an item has properties or materials unique to itself, then collapsing would endanger this information, and therefore it will not be collapsed.
opens this file instead as it has already been converted to Autodesk Navisworks format and, therefore, opens much quicker. If, however, there is no cache file present, or the cache file is older than the native CAD file, then Autodesk Navisworks has to open the CAD file and convert it. By default, it writes a cache file in the same directory and with the same name as the CAD file, but with the .nwc extension, for speeding up the opening of this file in future.
ASCII Laser Page Use this page to adjust the options for the ASCII laser scan file reader. Sample Rate Specifies the frequency of points extracted from the input file. Increasing the sample rate, reduces the number of points extracted. This has the effect of reducing the image resolution, but increasing the speed with which the file is loaded. Use Point Intensity Values Select the check box to extract intensity values from the input file.
Convert Lines and Arcs Select this check box to convert lines, splines, curves, arcs, circles, or ellipses in DGN files. Merge Lines and Arcs Select this check box if you want to reduce the complexity of the model in the Selection Tree by interpreting adjoining lines with the same color, level, and parent as a single item. Clear this check box if you want to leave these elements as separate items in Autodesk Navisworks. Split Lines This option instructs the file reader to ungroup polyline objects.
When this check box is clear, the file reader ignores TriForma data. TriForma Dataset Search Paths Enter a semi-colon separated list of paths that the file reader uses to locate Triforma data set files. You must include the paths to user-defined datasets. View Number Enter the required value to selects a specific view for loading. The file reader uses the level visibility of this view when converting items. For example, enter 0 to use the first active view.
NOTE DWG and DXF files do not specify the units they were created in. To adjust the units in Autodesk Navisworks, use the File Units and Transform option. Merge 3D Faces Indicates whether the file reader interprets adjoining faces with the same color, layer, and parent as a single item in the Selection Tree. Clear this check box to keep the entities as separate items in the Selection Tree. Line Processing Specifies how the file reader processes lines and polylines.
Convert Point Clouds Select this check box to convert the AutoCAD Point Cloud entities. This only has an effect in the 2011 versions of AutoCAD and Autodesk Navisworks. Earlier versions will ignore the point clouds or display proxy graphics (often as a wireframe box). When this check box is clear, the file reader ignores point clouds. Point Cloud Detail Specifies how much detail to extract from the point cloud.
■ Intensity - the points use the intensity values stored in the file. ■ Color - the points use the color values stored in the file. NOTE If the selected option is not available, then the file reader defaults to the values used in the file. For example, if you set Point Colors to Color, but only intensities are available in the file, then the file reader uses the intensities. See also: ■ “Faro Scan File Reader” on page 123 FBX Page Use this page to adjust the options for the FBX file reader.
If this distance is greater than the Max Facet Deviation value, Autodesk Navisworks adds more facets. If the Max Facet Deviation is set to 0, then this function is ignored. Representation Detail Specifies the level of visual representation of IFC elements. IFC elements can have multiple visual representations, such as bounding boxes (simplest), lines, styled lines, polygons, and styled polygons (most complex).
Increasing the sample rate, reduces the number of points extracted. As a result, the image resolution is reduced, and the file is converted faster. Point Colors Specifies how points are extracted from the input file. Select from the following options: ■ None - the points come through as white. ■ Raw Intensity - the points use the intensity values stored in the file. ■ Color - the points use the color values stored in the file. ■ Color-Mapped Intensity - the points use a spectrum of RGB colors.
Texture Path Specifies the path to the folder containing images used in MicroGDS Materials. This path is used as the base for relative paths for materials that use image files. This option corresponds to the MicroGDS Renderer Textures preference. Define Presenter Materials Select this check box to define MicroGDS material-styles as Presenter materials in Autodesk Navisworks. When this check box is clear, the file reader ignores MicroGDS material-styles.
Riegl Page Use this page to adjust the options for the Riegl Scan file reader. Use Point Color Values Select this check box to extract color values from the input file. When this check box is clear, the file reader ignores color values. Use Point Intensity Values Select this check box to extract intensity values from the input file. When this check box is clear, the file reader ignores intensity values. Triangulate Point Data Select this check box to extract triangles from the input file.
Load RVS File Select this check box to read an RVS file at the same time as the corresponding RVM file. This is the default option. NOTE To work correctly, the RVS file must have the same name, and path as the associated RVM file, but with an .rvs extension. When this check box is clear, the file reader ignores RVS files. RVS Transparencies as Materials Select this check box to attach transparent materials to the objects.
Clear this check box to keep the faces as separate items in the Selection Tree. Merge Lines Indicates whether the file reader interprets joining lines with the same color, layer, and parent as a single item in the Selection Tree. Clear this check box to keep the lines as separate items in the Selection Tree. See also: ■ “SketchUp SKP File Reader” on page 129 STEP Page Use this page to adjust the options for the STEP file reader.
Max Facet Deviation This setting controls the greatest distance between the edge of a facet and the actual geometry. If this distance is greater than the Max Facet Deviation value, Autodesk Navisworks adds more facets. If the Max Facet Deviation is set to 0, then this function is ignored. Override Normals Normals control how objects appears when lit. By default, this check box is clear, and the file reader uses the data provided in the VRML file, giving the most accurate visible results.
See also: ■ “Z+F Scan File Reader” on page 131 File Exporters Node Use the settings in this node to configure the file exporters required to export native Navisworks files directly from CAD applications. TIP If you want to restore the default values, click the Defaults button. DWG Page Use this page to adjust the options for the DWG file exporter. Convert Entity Handles Select this check box to convert entity handles, and attach them to object properties in Autodesk Navisworks.
Default Font Specifies default font used to display converted text in Autodesk Navisworks. Convert Point Clouds Select this check box to convert the AutoCAD Point Cloud entities. This only has an effect in the 2011 versions of AutoCAD and Autodesk Navisworks. Earlier versions will ignore the point clouds or display proxy graphics (often as a wireframe box). When this check box is clear, the file reader ignores point clouds. Point Cloud Detail Specifies how much detail to extract from the point cloud.
Split by Color Compound objects can be split into parts based on their color. Select this check box if you want to use this functionality. For example, a window object from Architectural Desktop can be split into a frame and a pane. If this check box is clear, you can only select the window object as a whole, whereas if you select this check box, you can select the individual pane and frame. NOTE Autodesk Navisworks names parts of compound objects after their color.
When DGN files are appended together with this check box selected, their global origins are positioned in the same place. Convert Hidden Items Select this check box to convert hidden entities in DGN files. They are automatically marked as hidden by Autodesk Navisworks. When this check box is clear, the file exporter ignores hidden items. Convert Lines and Arcs Select this check box to convert lines, splines, curves, arcs, circles, or ellipses in DGN files.
IMPORTANT In order for this function to work properly, you must clear the Merge Lines and Arcs check box, as it takes priority over the Split Lines option. Additionally, you need to set the Model ➤ Performance ➤ Collapse on Convert drop-down to None, otherwise the polyline objects will be collapsed into a single geometry node. Shape Merge Threshold Specifies the number of vertices for MicroStation shapes.
Auto Select Attached Items Indicates whether selecting tasks in the TimeLiner window automatically selects attached objects in the Scene View. This check box is selected by default. Display Synchronization Errors Indicates whether error messages are displayed when you synchronize tasks from external links in TimeLiner. This check box is selected by default. CSV File: Read Encoding Specifies the format of the text file that will be used when importing a CSV file into TimeLiner.
When this check box is clear, items with transparency of more than 50% are treated as completely transparent, and are not rendered. Use Texture Anti-Aliasing Indicates whether anti-aliasing is used for procedural textures. Selecting this check box improves quality, but takes longer to render. A procedural texture is a mathematically- generated image that represents natural elements such as wood, marble, granite, metal, stone, and so on. In Presenter, procedural textures have ball-style preview icons.
Subject Displays the document subject. Author Displays the author of the document. Publisher Displays the publisher of the document. Published For Displays the party for which the document is being published. Copyright Displays copyright information. Keywords List of keywords that can be used to search for this document. Comments Displays additional information about the document. Password You can limit access to an NWD file by entering a password into this box.
Piranesi EPix Dialog Box Use this dialog box to export the current view as a Piranesi EPix file. Browse Opens the Save As dialog box, and enables you to specify the location, and the name of the file you want to render to. Size Type Use the drop-down list to specify how to set the size of the exported image. Choose from: ■ Explicit. Gives you full control of the width and height (the dimensions are in pixels). ■ Use Aspect Ratio. Enables you to specify the height.
Controls the visibility of the corresponding section plane. When the check box is selected, the section plane's effect is visible (that is, it cuts the scene). When the check box is deselected, the section plane's effect is not visible and all other controls for that plane are disabled. Plane The number of the plane. Clicking on the plane number selects the entire row, and makes the selected plane current and visible.
Glossary Glossary of technical terms relating to Autodesk Navisworks Simulate 2011. Display Terminology average frame rate This shows the current measured frame rate, averaged over the last second. average frame time This shows the time taken to render the last frame. average triangle rate This shows the rate at which triangles are being rendered and is a measure of how well your graphics card is working. culling Culling is a process for determining items not to draw during the render of a scene.
If the Unresolved XRef dialog box is shown, then this link has somehow been broken and the referenced files need to be relocated to where AutoCAD or MicroStation would expect them to be. If these XRefs are not important for the current session, then you can Ignore the reference and the file will load without that XRef inserted. Similarly, Ignore All will load the file without any unresolved XRefs.
composite objects A composite object is a group of geometry that is considered a single object in the selection tree. For example, a window object might be made up of a frame and a pane. If a composite object, the window object would be both the frame and the pane and be selected all at once. instances An instance is a single object, which is referred to several times within a model, for example a tree. This has the advantage of cutting down on file size by not unnecessarily repeating an object.
480 | Glossary
Index 3D space 157 3DS options 453 4D 418 A ADN 20 align viewpoint 157 animation action types 348 actions 347 add sets 338 capture 339 create 335 create scenes 336 cut 300 cuts 300 delete scenes 336 edit 299 enable scripts 302, 348 event conditions 347 event types 346 events 346 object 299 organize scenes 336 play 302, 335 record 299 scope 321 scripts 345 sets 338 share 303 update sets 338 viewpoint 299 Animation Export settings 425 Animation toolbar 84 Animator options 473 Animator toolbar 322 annotations
Culling Options 428 Area 428 Backface 428 Far Clip Plane 428 Near Clip Plane 428 custom properties 235 custom scene views 88 Customer Involvement Program Customize 428 commands 429 options 429 toolbars 428 customize keyboard 86 customize toolbars 86 customizing navigation bar 187 cuts 300 D database links 237 Default Collision 430 Auto Crouch 430 Gravity 430 Third Person 430 Viewer 430 delete files 145 Developer options 446 DGN options 454 Display options 446 Display Units 104 Display Units options 441 dis
search criteria 310 search sets 311 viewpoints 313 InfoCenter about 9 favorite links 13 searching 10 settings 17 Subscription Center 11 InfoCenter Settings 437 Autodesk Channels 438 Balloon Notifications 438 Communication Center 438 RSS Feeds 439 installation 23, 27 deployment 34 deployment issues 56 general issues 53 languages 26 licensing issues 57 maintenance issues 58 multiple users 34 networking issues 58 side-by-side 34 stand-alone 23 troubleshooting 53 Inventor options 460 File Units and Transform 4
network deployment 34 Network License Activation 39 Network License Manager 39 network licenses 39 network share 41 new 142 new features 3 New Link 439 connection 439 fields 439 notifications 12 NWC 111 NWC options 452 NWD 111 NWD options 452 NWF 111 Links options 443 load backup 61 Locations 104 Locations options 440 look around 175 Look tool 164 M MAN options 461 markups 255 MDL plugin 137 measure angle between two lines 251 area 251 clear measuring lines 251 cumulative distance 251 distance between two
effects 371 foreground effects 374 lighting 360 materials 353 position lights 361 predefined rendering styles predefined rules 378 rendering styles 375 shadows 365 texture space 376 user archives 351 Presenter materials 216 Presenter options 472 preview 309 primitives 210 lines 210 points 211 snap points 211 surfaces 210 text 211 print 309 current viewpoint 310 preview 309 setup 309 privacy 13 product news 12 product updates 12 progress bar disk 93 memory 93 pencil 93 web server 93 Project Directory 104 pro
update 231 searching InfoCenter 17 section plane sets 342 Section Plane settings 475 section planes align 292 disable 288 enable 288 link 294 move 292 slider step size 292 sectioning box attributes 295 boxes 295 modes 287 planes 288 Sectioning toolbar 83 select link 393 selection 217 commands 222 pick radius 220 resolution 222 sets 229 Selection options 441 selection sets delete 231 rename 231 save 231 update 231 Selection Tools toolbar 81 Selection Tree 217 sort 217 send 148 share 148 animations 303 export
updating Communication Center updates upgrade 34 user interface 65 User Interface options 451 V view fit model to Scene Area 179 fit selection to Scene Area 179 hold items 200 set focal point 200 third person perspective 202 View menu 77 View Object wheels 191 View Object Wheels 188 ViewCube 179 appearance 179 compass 179 lock to selection 185 ViewCube options 448 Viewpoint Defaults options 443 Viewpoint menu 78 viewpoints 279 default collision options 286 default view attributes 286 delete 284 edit 284 ex
488 | Index
