Options Dialog Box - Preview Tab

To display the Preview tab of the Options dialog box, click Tools > Options, and click Preview.

The settings below do not have any effect on Fast or Accurate mode. These options affect only realtime Preview render mode. Preview mode is the rasterization rendering mode for realtime and interactive performance. It is a time-saving method of checking the progress of a project by rendering it at a lower quality and higher frame rate than used for the final project.

Quality Options

Anti-Aliasing Level Refers to the multisample anti-aliasing (MSAA) used to improve image quality. The higher the value, the better the image quality, but the more impact on performance.
Maximum Texture Resolution Sets the maximum texture resolution. The default is 4096x4096 pixels. Larger textures are automatically downscaled to the maximum size. The following options are available:
  • 2048x2048 (DirectX8 maximum)
  • 4096x4096 (DirectX9 maximum)
  • 8192x8192 (DirectX10 maximum)
  • 16384x16384 (DirectX11 maximum)
Shadow Quality Determines the smoothness of the floor shadow and self-shadows.
Shadow Resolution Determines the pixel dimensions for the map created for the shadow projections.
Environment Resolution Determines the pixel dimensions used to clamp the HDR environment image.
Gloss Resolution Determines the pixel dimensions that the reflection map is calculated at, so as to determine the material gloss levels.
Limit Rough Reflection Maps Reflection maps are environment maps that simulate real-world reflection effects on the surface of a 3D model. Reflection maps render more quickly than methods that generate true surface reflections, such as raytracing.

When selected, the roughness of materials is classified into four gloss levels using a faster but less accurate technique.

When cleared, the roughness of materials is calculated with a slower but more accurate process.

Performance Options

Enable Performance Mode Activates a drawing mode where all shaders are simplified to increase the speed of realtime editing.

This mode is useful for models that are very large or have several textures, and for ensuring animations play back consistently at 30 FPS.

In this mode, the final image is rendered with generic appearances.

Available only in SOLIDWORKS Visualize Professional

Accumulation is a supersampling process that anti-aliases the scene, conveys accurate environment-based lighting and shadows, and adds subtle depth-of-field to the scene.

Select Depth-of-Field in the Cameras Palette before using the accumulation feature.
Supersampling Accumulation Options Enable Automatic Supersampling When selected, supersampling is done automatically on idle (if camera is not moved). When cleared, press F10 to use supersampling.
  Auto Supersample Delay Time (s) Sets the time before accumulation begins, after which you pause realtime work.