Rendering View Attributes dialog box

Used to set view attributes that affect rendered images.

Opens when Rendering > View Attributes is chosen from the Settings menu or Rendering View Attributes is selected from a view window control menu.

Rendering View Attributes dialog box

View Number

Sets the view for which rendering view attribute settings are displayed.

Delayed Display

If on, rendering is not displayed as it is performed. Instead, the entire rendered image displays when done.

• Advantages: Faster rendering, particularly with slow display hardware. Also, if the display is not true color, delayed images use a superior dithering process, resulting in a much better image on a 16-color display, and a subtle improvement on a 256-color display.

• Disadvantages: More memory (4 bytes per pixel) is required for delayed display. If antialiasing or transparency is performed this memory is required also. Delayed display gives no visual indication rendering is in progress.

This field has no effect under QuickVision.

Pattern/Bump Maps

If on, Pattern maps are displayed in the view.

Shadows

If on, Shadows in Phong shaded models are displayed in the view.

For shadows to be generated in a ray traced image, Shadows must be turned on in the Ray Tracing dialog box.

This field has no effect under QuickVision.

Transparency

If on, materials that have a Transmit value greater than 0 are translucent. With Phong rendering, transparent objects are updated last when rendering the view.

For transparent surfaces to display in ray traced images, Transparency must also be turned on in the Ray Tracing dialog box (Settings menu > Rendering > Ray Tracing).

Display

Controls whether the contents of a view are continuously rendered and, if so, how the view is rendered — Wireframe, Wiremesh, Hidden, Filled Hidden Line, Constant Shading, Smooth Shading , Phong Shading.

Using one-time rendering only as needed is usually more efficient than continuous rendering. Most design work is done in wireframe views, with views rendered on a one-time basis as desired, by choosing the desired item from the Utilities menu's Render submenu.

Key-in: SET VIEW <WIREFRAME | WIREMESH | HIDDEN | FILLED | CONSTANT | SMOOTH | PHONG>

Distance Cueing

In nature, when you view a landscape, distant objects often fade off into the darkness or the fog. Distance cueing simulates atmospheric fading in computer-generated images. You can choose:

• None
— Atmospheric fading is not produced.

Image with no Distance Cueing.

• Depth Cueing
— Surfaces in the shaded image fade into darkness (black) as their distance from the eye increases.

Same Image with Distance Cueing set to Depth Cueing.

• Fog
— Surfaces in the shaded image fade into fogginess as their distance from the eye increases.

Same Image with Distance Cueing set to Fog.

You can also specify where the atmospheric fading starts to take effect, and the color of the “fog.” This lets you produce images with a realistic atmospheric haze.

Distance Cueing (Near Distance, Near Density, Far Density, and Fog Color) for a view is set up in the Rendering Settings dialog box (Settings menu > Rendering > General), in the General tab of the Rendering Setup dialog box (Settings menu > Rendering > Setup), and also in the Rendering category of the DGN File Settings dialog box (Settings menu > Design File). This has no effect under QuickVision.

Graphics Acceleration

If on, the rendered view is accelerated using QuickVision.

Settings…

If on, opens the Accelerator Settings dialog box, which is used to change system-specific settings for accelerated views. These settings affect system operations and are saved in the preference file, not the design file.

The Settings button will be disabled if Graphics Acceleration is not turned on. You must click Apply after turning on Graphics Acceleration to enable the Settings button.

Apply

Applies rendering attribute changes to the View. The view is updated, if necessary, to show the effects of the changes.

All

Applies the attributes of the chosen View to all views.