Image Quality and Graphics Triangles

The number of graphics triangles that are required to display a component increases as the image quality increases. Performance can slow down as the number of triangles increases.

Triangles are used to approximate curved faces for displaying a component. A component that contains more curved faces requires more triangles. Triangles must be calculated, stored, and transferred to a graphics card for display.

Image quality can affect the number of triangles as a higher setting for image quality requires more triangles to display components that have curved faces. Components that contain only flat faces are not affected by the setting for image quality.

To change image quality, click Tools > Options > Document Properties > Image Quality. In the Shaded and draft quality HLR/HLV resolution section, move the Low (faster) - High (slower) slider to change the image resolution.

Components with high image quality have the slider set at 95% or greater. Components with medium image quality have the slider set at 50%. Components with low image quality have the slider set at 5% or lower.

The following table compares the number of triangles required at different image quality settings for an arch, a sphere, and a cube. The sphere requires the highest number of graphics triangles to represent the curved surface. The cube has the lowest number of graphics triangles as the cube does not have any curved faces. The cube uses the same number of graphics triangles for the different image quality settings.

High Quality Medium Quality Low Quality

144 Graphics Triangles

108 Graphics Triangles

44 Graphics Triangles

9024 Graphics Triangles

4760 Graphics Triangles

624 Graphics Triangles

12 Graphics Triangles

12 Graphics Triangles

12 Graphics Triangles