Using Viewports

Use

You can rotate a 3D model to display it from different angles.

By default, when you open a 3D model in SAP 3D Visual Enterprise Author, you are presented with one large viewport. You can add more viewports to the screen and choose a different viewing angle for each viewport.

SAP 3D Visual Enterprise Author’s workspace comprises one or more viewports that are used to view and modify files; one viewport for 2D files and up to four viewports for 3D files, from where different views of the same scene are can be displayed. For example, one viewport might display an orthographic view of the model from the top and another might display an isometric view in perspective.

Multiple viewports can be helpful when aligning scene components as you can gain an immediate understanding of the entire model from all views. They are also useful when working with animation; they help to speed up the time taken to create animations and new assemblies.

A viewport label is displayed in the upper, left corner of each 3D viewport showing the current view for each viewport, whether transparency and textures (maps) are being displayed, and the angle of object rotation while they are rotated. Note that you can override many settings for the individual viewports using the Display menu.

After setting your viewport preferences, you can rotate a model in any of the viewports to change its viewing angle. You can choose one of the preset orthographic views, if you want to view the model at a right-angle from the top, bottom, front, left, or right – orthographic views are always perpendicular to a model, offering a 2D representation of that model. You can also choose from a list of perspective views, which offer a 3D representation of the model with a sense of depth and space.

Various right-click menus are available depending on the current file type and where the cursor is positioned. For example, if the current file is a 3D scene and you right-click over the viewport label, you can select a render method in which to view the scene. If you right-click with one or more objects selected in that scene, you can zoom into the viewport to focus on the selected objects.

Features

• 2D images are always displayed in a default layout

• There can be up to four viewports for 3D files; each can be used modify the current file

• Viewports can be displayed in various layouts. For example, two viewports can be stacked one on top of the other, four viewports side by side

• Once a viewport layout is selected, it is used when opening subsequent files

• If you close and reopen SAP 3D Visual Enterprise Author, the last layout used is retained

• Only one viewport can be active at a time

Activities