Datasheet

TOURING THE INTERFACE

The Main Toolbar

Just below the menu bar is the Main toolbar. The tools on this toolbar offer tooltips to help you

remember their purpose.

To the far left of the toolbar are the Undo and Redo options. Click these buttons to undo your last

actions, up to 25 by default, or redo any undone actions. Right-clicking either button brings up a list

of actions that you can select from.

Next is a set of tools for linking and selecting objects. The two linking tools, one for linking and the

other for unlinking, cause one object to move, rotate, or scale based on commands applied to another

object. The selection tools let you select objects by clicking them or by selecting them by name. You

can also set the method for selecting objects by using a selection window, which provides a way of

indicating a selection by placing a rectangle, circle, or other border around the objects.

To the right of the selection tools are the transform tools. This set of tools lets you move, rotate,

and scale objects. You can also choose the reference coordinate system, set the center of the trans-

form using the pivot options, use different snap options, work with named selection sets, and use

tools to mirror and align objects.

The next group of tools to the right includes access to the Layer Manager and graph editor tools and

the materials and rendering tools. The graph editor tools display your scene information as graphs or

wiring diagrams to indicate the functionality or relationships of scene objects. The materials tools give

you control over the appearance of objects by defining and applying their surface appearance. With

these tools, you can create color, texture, opacity, and other material characteristics, and then apply

these characteristics to objects in your model. You can also open the Render Scene dialog box, select the

render type, and perform a quick render with the buttons on the far right.

The rendering tools give you control over the output of your Autodesk VIZ 2008 scene. Unlike

output from most applications, output from VIZ 2008 is most likely to be image or animation files.

The rendering tools let you set the type and size of output, from single, large-format stills to video-

ready animations.

Reverting to the Startup Layout

Autodesk VIZ 2008 is something of a chameleon. It can change its appearance, depending on the focus

of your modeling needs. If your VIZ 2008 window doesn’t look the way it does in the figures in this book,

choose Customize 

Revert to Startup Layout. You’ll see a warning message telling you that any user

interface (UI) changes you have made will be lost. Click Yes to set up your VIZ windows to match the

interface you see in this book.

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