PhotoView 360 Render Region

You can define a region of the SOLIDWORKS graphics area for preview or final rendering.

You can use the render region to evaluate lighting, appearances, and render settings on one area of the model without changing the view orientation, zooming in or out, or rendering the entire model. Smaller areas generate faster previews and final renders.

If the preview window is open when you define a render region, only the area inside the render region updates when you make changes to the model.

SOLIDWORKS recommends that you use a camera view and set the Output Image Size to Use SOLIDWORKS View in PhotoView 360 Options. If you instead use a custom Output Image Size, the FeatureManager design tree covers part of the view. This makes it difficult to predict what part of the graphics area will be rendered and to set the location of the render region.

To define a render region:

  1. Click Render Region (Render Tools toolbar) or PhotoView 360 > Render Region.
  2. Adjust the size and location of the render region.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • Click Integrated Preview to see the render preview in the graphics area.

    • Click Preview Window to open the preview window. With the preview window open, you can move the render region to compare different areas of the model. However, when creating a final render, the software renders only the last selected render region.


      In this image, the render region has been moved to display two different areas of the model.
  4. Optionally make changes to the render settings, model appearances, or lighting to see how changes affect the render region.
  5. To return to viewing the model without a defined render region, click Render Region (Render Tools toolbar) or PhotoView 360 > Render Region.