Steps and Procedures

Use

Just as model views emulate the properties of schematic diagrams, “steps” can emulate sequences of instructions. Each step has a label and arbitrary text, and comprises a number of user-defined animated sequences that are displayed when you play the step.

Step metadata information can be displayed in PDF documents using PDF Publishing.

Steps are helpful for including 3D-view instructions in files, such as PDF files. They are based on the current view of the scene. Each step has an associated camera, render mode, and layer. The associated layer comprises the currently visible objects, including visible callouts and measurements. Steps are displayed in the Steps and Procedures panel in the form of a thumbnail for each step.

The thumbnail that is displayed is the last frame of the last animation defined in the sequence list for each step. If an animation is modified, the step thumbnail can be updated.

When you select a step, the following actions are carried out:

  • The active viewport is set to the associated camera and render mode.

  • The objects in the associated layer are made visible.

  • All objects that are not associated with the step become invisible.

The Steps and Procedures panel is used to create, activate, reorder and delete steps. In addition, you can create and edit procedures containing specific steps. Using the context menus you can also modify the step properties including defining the instructional text, and linking the step to multiple animations.

If you are using multiple viewports, different steps can be used in each viewport. For example, you can display a step in one viewport, a 27 Isometric RBA view in another, and a perspective view from the top in yet another. The viewport label displays the current view in each viewport.

You can also run a query to select objects relating to a particular step. The query is executed from the Step Properties window, and is run at the beginning of the step. Any fully defined query may be associated with each step.

Step descriptions can be used to display the step’s metadata content in PDF documents using PDF Publishing.

Activities

Creating a Step

  1. Modify the scene view as you require.

  2. Open the Steps and Procedures panel.

  3. Click Options in the Steps and Procedures panel toolbar.

  4. Make your global selections as required and click OK.

  5. Click Create on the Steps and Procedures panel toolbar.

  6. Enter a name and description for the step.

  7. Select the sequences you want to add to the step in the Available sequences list and click Add.

  8. Click OK.

Editing the Step Properties

  1. Right-click the step you want to edit in the Steps and Procedures panel, and select Properties.

  2. Edit the step as required and click OK.

Modifying Global Step Options

  1. Click Options in the Steps and Procedures panel toolbar.

  2. Make your global selections as required and click OK.

Playing a Step

To play a step, do one of the following:

  • Click the step thumbnail in the Steps and Procedures panel.

  • Select the step in the Steps and Procedures panel and click Play.

  • Right-click the step you want to play in the Steps and Procedures panel and select Play.

  • Double-click the description area in the step.

Pausing a Step

  1. Select the step in the Steps and Procedures panel and click Play.

  2. Press the space bar to pause the step. The step stops playing and the 3D Viewport displays [PAUSED] at the top of the viewport.

  3. Press the space bar once more to resume playing the step.

Stopping a Step Playing

Click Stop. The step that is currently playing stops.

Resetting a Single Step

Click Reset, either on the toolbar or in the step thumbnail. The step that is currently active is reset to its saved position (first frame).

Resetting All Steps

Click Reset all Steps. All steps are reset to their saved positions (first frame).

Switching Between a Thumbnail and a Detailed View

Click Thumbnails on the Steps and Procedures panel. If the list was displayed in a detailed view, thumbnails are displayed. If the list was displayed as thumbnails, a detailed view is displayed.

Showing the Animation Information for Each Step

  1. Click the down arrow to the right of Thumbnails on the Steps and Procedures panel.

  2. Select Show Animations.

Deleting a Step

To delete a step, do one of the following:

  • Select the step you want to delete in the Steps and Procedures panel, and click Delete.

  • Right-click the step you want to delete in the Steps and Procedures panel, and select Delete.

Duplicating a Step

Right-click the step you want to duplicate in the Steps and Procedures panel, and select Duplicate.

Renaming a Step

  1. Click the name of the step you want to rename.

  2. Type the new name.

Sorting the Steps

  1. Right-click a step in the Steps and Procedures panel and select Sort.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Click By Name to sort the list by the step name.

    • Click By Creation Time to sort the list by the time at which the step was created.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • Click Ascending to sort the list in ascending order by name or time depending on your selection.

    • Click Descending to sort the list in descending order by name or time depending on your selection.

Reversing the Animation in a Step

  1. Right-click the name of the step you want to reverse.

  2. Select Reverse Step. The order of the step is reversed.

Manually reordering the Steps by Using Drag and Drop

Do one of the following:

  • Click and hold a step in the Steps and Procedures panel, and drag it to the required location in the list.

  • Press SHIFT, click and hold multiple steps in the Steps and Procedures panel, and drag them to the required location in the list.

Updating a Step and its Thumbnail

Right-click the step you want to update in the Steps and Procedures panel, and select Update Step.

Creating a Selection Highlight

  1. Select the step you want to edit in the Steps and Procedures panel, and select the part that you want to highlight when the step is playing.

  2. Right-click the step, and select Selection Highlight.

  3. Make your selections as required and click OK.

Combining Steps

  1. Select the steps you want to combine in the Steps and Procedures panel.

  2. Right-click the highlighted steps, and select Combine Steps.