Render Tab

Render mode commands let you choose model display characteristics.

Icon	Command Name	Description
	Mode	Specifies the render mode, which determines display characteristics such as lighting and color. See Render: Mode Commands below.
	Show/Hide Bounding Boxes	(Listed under Mode .) Displays minimum bounding boxes around actors. Disabled Enabled
	Outline Style	Specifies the outline style for render modes that support outlines, such as Smooth with Outline and Technical. See Render: Outline Style Commands below.

Render: Mode Commands

Custom rendering lets you set different rendering modes for individual geometry actors. You can also configure visible and hidden line styles in vector output. Configure custom rendering from the Custom rendering category in the Properties pane.

Icon	Render Mode	Example	Lighting	Outlines	Silhouette Lines	Color Source
	Custom		Mode-specific	Mode-specific	Mode-specific	Mode-specific
	Smooth		Yes *	No	No	Actor
	Smooth with Outline		Yes *	Yes	No	Actor
	Shaded Illustration		Special **	Yes	Yes	Special (White)
	Shaded Illustration with Color		Special **	Yes	Yes	Actor (Attenuated)
	Shaded Illustration Without Silhouette		Special **	Yes	No	Special (White)
	Technical		Yes *	Yes	Yes	Actor
	Flat Technical		No	Yes	Yes	Actor
	Silhouette		No	Yes	Yes	None
	Flat		Yes *	No	No	Actor
	Wireframe		Yes *	No	No	Actor
	Points		Yes *	No	No	Actor

Legend:

• ^* Supports predefined lighting modes (Soft, Medium, ...)
• ^** Internal colored soft lighting. Not configurable (no properties).

Note: When one or more cutting planes are enabled, Custom render mode and modes with silhouette lines (such as Shaded Illustration and Technical) display as Smooth with Outline.

Render: Outline Style Commands

Icon	Outline Style	Description	Example
	Sharp Edges	Draws significant model edges only as determined by the Minimum angle document and actor properties.
	Construction Edges	Draws surface construction lines in addition to sharp-edge lines. Construction edges are the boundaries between faces (as defined in some CAD formats).
	Smart Outlines	Draws center lines for some circular fillets (depending on fillet angle and length) in addition to sharp-edge lines. Note: Smart-outline generation can be time intensive.

Depth of Field (DOF) commands let you enable the DOF effect and set the focal point.

Icon	Command Name	Description
	Enable Depth of Field	Enables the DOF effect. Portions of the scene away from the camera focal point appear blurred. For details, see Depth of field in the Properties pane. Note: Requires Advanced OpenGL hardware acceleration. Disabled Enabled
	Set Depth-of-Field Focal Point	Lets you place the DOF focal point in your scene. At the focal point, there is no blur. To set the focal point, click this command and then click a geometry actor in the viewport. The focal point is associated with the actor; moving the actor moves the focal point. To set the focal point without actor association, click in empty viewport background or press Alt before clicking an actor. The focal-point icon is red when associated with an actor and white otherwise. Tip: You can also change the focal point by dragging the icon in the viewport.
	Show/Hide Depth-of-Field Focal Point (Visible)	Displays the DOF focal-point icon in the viewport. Note: Enabling Automatic or using Set Focal Point also enables Visible. Disabled Enabled
	Set Depth-of-Field Focal Point Automatically (Automatic)	Changes the DOF focal point each time you rotate or pan the viewport. To disable the automatic behavior, clear this option. To set the focal point manually, use Set Focal Point (which also disables Automatic).

Lighting commands let you control how your model is illuminated. You can select from several standard (predefined) lighting modes, create custom light sources, and apply lighting effects.

Icon	Command Name	Description
	Mode	Defines the number and type of lights used to illuminate your 3D scene. See Lighting: Mode Commands below.
	Create	Creates custom (user-defined) light sources. See Lighting: Create Commands below.
	Enable Per-Pixel Lighting	Displays shaded surfaces based on the color and illumination at each pixel. For details, see the Per-pixel lighting viewport property. Note: Requires Advanced OpenGL hardware acceleration.
	Enable Shadows	Makes all geometry actors cast and receive shadows, making rendering for lighted scenes more realistic. For details, see the Shadows viewport property. Note: Shadows requires per-pixel lighting. Enabling Shadows also enables Per-pixel Lighting .
	Enable Ambient Occlusion	Enables the ambient occlusion lighting effect. For details, see the Ambient occlusion viewport property. Note: Requires Advanced OpenGL hardware acceleration.
	Enable Glow	Enables the glow lighting effect. For details, see the Glow viewport property. Note: Requires Advanced OpenGL hardware acceleration.

Lighting: Mode Commands

Icon	Command Name	Description
	Custom	Specifies that model lighting is determined by the spot, directional, and positional lights you have created. To use standard lighting modes, clear this option.
	Soft (1 Light)	Selects a predefined lighting mode consisting of one, two, or three light sources from different directions and with varied lighting characteristics.
	Medium (2 Lights)
	Metal (3 Lights)
	Heavy Metal (3 Lights)
	High Contrast
	Shaded Illustration (Cool & Warm)
	Default (2 Lights)
	Light	Turns on or off scene lighting (custom or predefined lighting mode). When lighting is off, ambient lighting comes from all directions, colors are flat, and there are no shadows. Disabled Enabled

Lighting: Create Commands

Icon	Command Name	Description
	Create Spot Light	Creates a light source with a focused, cone-shaped beam that is brightest at its center. To create a spot light, activate this tool, click to place the light origin, click the target, and then move the mouse to change the beam size and click again. Press Esc to exit the tool.
	Create Directional Light	Creates a light source that produces parallel rays from a single direction as though the source were placed infinitely far away from the model. To create a directional light, activate this tool, click to place the light origin, and click again in the direction of the light beam. Press Esc to exit the tool.
	Create Positional Light	Creates a light source at a specific coordinate in the model space that emits light in all directions. To create a positional light, activate this tool, and then click to place the light origin. Press Esc to exit the tool.

Notes:

• Custom light sources are active in Custom lighting mode only.
• Set light properties, such as intensity and color, from the Properties pane.
• A model can have a maximum of 12 simultaneous active light sources.
• Light types have different icons in the viewport: spot , directional , and positional .
• Lights can be animated.
• Light actors are listed in both the Collaboration pane (under Lights) and Assembly pane:
  • When placed in the viewport, lights are created at the root of the Assembly tree.
  • When attached to a geometry actor, lights are placed in the Assembly tree under the actor.

Tip: Grids can help you position lights.

Ground commands let you manage the ground actor, which can add depth and realism to your scene.

Set additional ground properties in the Properties pane. See Ground Properties.

Icon	Command Name	Description
	Show/Hide Ground	Displays the ground actor. The ground actor appears in the Collaboration pane under Environment. No Ground Ground with Shadow, Mirror, and Grid Note: Ground is displayed only when at least one 3D actor is visible in the viewport.
	Show/Hide Ground Shadow	Displays shadows of geometry actors on the ground.
	Show/Hide Ground Mirror	Displays reflections of geometry actors on the ground. Tip: You can control mirror opacity with the Refection intensity property (Properties pane for the ground actor). Notes: The mirror does not reflect actors such as annotations, outlines, cutting planes, and Digger. Reflections do not display in Silhouette render mode.
	Show/Hide Ground Grid	Displays a grid on the ground. Grid properties are available on the Properties pane for the ground actor.

On Demand commands apply rendering effects that are configured as on-demand. These effects are configured in the Applications Preferences - Viewport page. See Applications Preferences - Viewport.

Icon	Command Name	Description
	High Quality (Apply On-Demand Rendering)	Applies lighting and rendering effects that are configured as on-demand on the Applications Preferences - Viewport page. This command also temporarily hides the mode icon and paper margins. Use this command prior to taking a screenshot of the viewport to create better images, or to see what images generated by the High Resolution Image workshop will look like. Notes: You can also press A while in the viewport to apply on-demand rendering. Commands such as Save Image As and Print do not benefit from high-quality rendering. Use the High Resolution Image workshop to create high-quality images.
	On Demand Settings	Displays the Applications Preferences - Viewport page, where you can configure rendering effects as on-demand.