3dexcite deltagen hub · 2017-11-06 · 3dexperience, the compass icon, the 3ds logo, catia,...

3DEXCITE DELTAGEN HUBModules & plug-ins User Guide

3DEXCITE DELTAGEN User Guide page 1

LICENSE CONDITIONS AND COPYRIGHT

License conditions and copyright

© Dassault Systemes 3DExcite GmbH 2000 – 2017

This documentation and the software it describes are distributed under license only and must not be used or copied except in accordance with the conditions of the associated license agreement. The contents of the manual are for information only and may be modified at any time. Dassault Systemes 3DExcite GmbH („3DEXCITE“) bears no liability. 3DEXCITE is not responsible or liable for any errors or impreciseness in this documentation.

This documentation may only be copied in part or whole, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any other form, in compliance with the license agreement. The documentation must not be transmitted electronically, mechanically, as a recording, or in any other form, without the previous written permission of 3DEXCITE.

3DEXPERIENCE, the Compass icon, the 3DS logo, CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, ENOVIA, DELMIA, SIMULIA, GEOVIA, EXALEAD, 3D VIA, BIOVIA, NETVIBES, 3DSWYM and 3DEXCITE are commercial trademarks or registered trade-marks of Dassault Systèmes or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries.

Note that graphics you wish to integrate into a project may in certain circum-stances be subject to copyright conditions. The unauthorized integration of graphics into your documents may represent an infringement of the owner's copyright. Ensure that you first obtain the copyright owner's permission. Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation in the USA and other countries. Apple, PowerBook, QuickTime, Macintosh and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. in the USA and other countries. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat and Acrobat Reader are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. All other product names are registered trademarks of other companies.

3DEXCITE gives no guarantee other than in the accompanying license agree-ment, either expressly or implicitly, for the sales suitability or competence of a specific application of these materials and provides these materials exclu-sively in their current form. 3DEXCITE cannot be held liable to any person for accidental or indirect loss or damage arising from the purchase or use of these materials.

All rights for the translation of this publication are held by 3DEXCITE.

3DEXCITE reserves the right to revise or change its products according to its own discretion.

This publication describes the state of this product at the time of its publica-tion and is under no liability to agree with future versions of the product.

DELTAGEN is protected by the US Patent numbers 7,973,790 and 8,013,857; and when used in combination with Siemens PLM Software Teamcenter US Patent number 8,682,464.

1

LICENSE CONDITIONS AND COPYRIGHT

Certain portions of the Dassault Systemes 3DExcite GmbH products are based on 3rd party products and are copyrighted by their owner. Please see document “Acknowledgements” in the installer.

This work contains software owned by Siemens Product Lifecycle Manage-ment Software Inc. ©1986 - 2013.

JT™ is a trademark owned by Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Soft-ware Inc.

2

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Overview of modules and plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Target group and existing knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Typographical conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Installation and Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1DELTAGEN Conflict monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2User interface overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Utility panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Sequence view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Logo editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Material ID editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83DEXCITE PICTUREBOOK Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Activating 3DEXCITE PICTUREBOOK Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Assemblies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113DEXCITE PICTUREBOOK Connector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Saving Assets in 3DEXCITE PICTUREBOOK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Importing Assets to 3DEXCITE PICTUREBOOK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14The update wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163DEXCITE XPLORE DELTAGEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Generally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 3DEXCITE XPLORE DELTAGEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Open XPLORE... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Configure... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Hardware resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Operating system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Mobile devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Recommended graphics card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Installation and configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Connection on tablet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Login . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Main Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Main Navigation Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22Animations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Surroundings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Turntable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27Refresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27Scene selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27Logout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Top bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Filter settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28Left panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Right panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Sensitivity slider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32Camera settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

3DEXCITE DELTAGEN Modules & plug-ins User Guide i

Laser pointer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Quick navigation bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

3DEXCITE DELTAGEN Modules & plug-ins User Guide ii

Introduction

This user guide introduces you to the modules and plug-ins available for DELTAGEN. These are tools with which you can expand the creation, analysis, display, and interaction capabilities of 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN software. The features, functionality, and requirements of each tool are described so that you can apply them to your work in DELTAGEN right away. The guide is organized by chapters dedicated to each module or plug-in.With DELTAGEN running, modules and plug-ins can be accessed via the TOOLS > MODULES & PLUG-INS menu, activating these does not require a restart. You can also select one or more plug-ins to be loaded automatically when you start a DELTAGEN session.

Overview of modules and plug-ins

Conflict monitor

The Conflict monitor allows you to exercise a better control of complex behaviors by identifying conflicted settings in the Logic Network Editor (LNE), Variants, and Animations. Each of these modules can contain any number of entities (logic networks, animations, variant sets) influencing other scene objects like geometries, materials, and other behaviors. The Conflict monitor identifies and displays the targets and sources of conflict, enabling you to quickly correct problematic settings and to prevent unpredictable results.

Logo EditorIf you are working a model geometry that incorporates one or more logos, the Logo Editor is the tool where you can manage and apply them to geometries using different mapping types.

3DEXCITE DELTAGEN Modules & plug-ins User Guide 1

Introduction

Material ID Editor The Stellar Material ID Editor is a tool for a fast and automatic assignment of a unique ID to each material in order to facilitate the process of material ID assignment.

3DEXCITE PICTUREBOOK ConnectorWith this tool you can access your PICTUREBOOK server and manage assets, search through, and create directories and collections, directly from DELTAGEN.

3DEXCITE XPLORE DELTAGENWith XPLORE DELTAGEN you can easily navigate around your virtual product, switch all variants, models, cameras, packages, collections and start/control animations. You can define and modify turntables and compare various models, enabling efficient design reviews. XPLORE DELTAGEN ensures a perfect flow to your presentations and seamless interaction with your audience. With direct control of the scene displayed, validation and decision-making becomes a lot faster. To activate a 3DEXCITE XPLORE DELTAGEN, first select XPLORE in the MODULES & PLUG-INS menu and then close DELTAGEN. The module will load automatically at the next start of DELTAGEN.


Introduction

Target group and existing knowledge

This documentation addresses users of 3DEXCITE software. It assumes that users have experience with the Windows® operating system as well as 3D software and its fundamentals.

Typographical conventions

This documentation uses the following typographical conventions:

Typographical conventions

Meaning

Sample text Emphasis in normal text

Sample text Names of files, directories, commands and parameters

<Sample text> Variable user input in commands. When you enter commands, substitute suitable values for text marked in this way. Do not enter the angle brackets!

SAMPLE TEXT Names of user interface elements such as menu options, window names, field names, etc.

References to sections in the same documentation or references to other documentation

Note This symbol identifies tips and extra information.

Important This symbol identifies actions that can result in data loss.


Installation and Licensing

DLETAGEN Publish Installation and Licensing Guide 1

Installation and Licensing

LicensingSome of the modules and plug-ins are separate 3DEXCITE products and require licensing. Our support team is happy to help you:

[email protected].

Once you receive a valid license, please install it in your system.

InstallationThe installation of your plug-ins or modules can be done in a few simple steps:

1. OPEN 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN

2. SELECT TOOLS > MODULES & PLUG-INS

3. SELECT ADD PLUG-IN

4. NAVIGATE TO THE INSTALLATION FOLDER

5. SELECT THE CORRESPONDING .xml FROM THE INSTALLATION LOCATION OF YOUR MODULE OR PLUG-IN

The plug-in or module appears on the list with its name.

6. ACTIVATE THE PLUG-IN OR MODULE BY CHECKING THE CORRESPONDING BOX

7. SET YOUR SELECTION TO AUTOLOAD IF NEEDED

8. OPEN THE PLUG-IN OR MODULE VIA THE TOOLS OR WINDOW MENUS OR FOR SOME VIA THE CORRESPONDING MAIN MENU ENTRY

A corresponding dialog box appears. If that is not the case, DELTAGEN might require a restart to activate the module.

You need to have a special license in order to run some of the plug-ins or modules.

mailTo:[email protected]

DELTAGEN Conflict monitor

The CONFLICT MONITOR allows you to exercise a better control of complex behaviors by identifying conflicted settings in the Logic network editor (LNE), variants and animations. Each of these modules can contain any number of entities (logic networks, animations, variant sets) influencing scene objects like geometries, materials, and other behaviors.

DELTAGEN makes it possible to modify an object in several ways (for example in the Object editor, animation, variants and LNE), so it may be that the same object receives multiple inputs at the same time, this can lead to problems and unpredictable results.

With the Conflict monitor you can:

• identify conflicts causing potential and actual problems

• find the sources and targets with conflict

• exercise a better control of complex behaviors

By default the Conflict monitor is setup to detect and report all conflicts in all scenes. To optimize performance, the Conflict monitor’s review scope can be focused by disabling variants, animations, or logic networks.

User interface overview



COLLECT CONFLICTS enables the Conflict monitor to continually check for conflicts while you work on your scene.

EXPAND COMMENTS expands the comments column and makes visible all comments pertaining to the selected conflict report. Each conflict report identifies the conflict components (objects, variants, logic networks, animations), the targets, and the current state of the execution.

DISABLE LOGIC NETWORKS disables all networks created with the LNE. Any conflicts within the LNE will not be reported or displayed.

State

The current states of targets are color coded for easy identification.

• Red: Major conflict exists. There are at least two competing inputs to your target. Parts of your scene may not work as expected. Check the respective tool to rectify the conflict.

• Yellow: Conflict exists. There are at least two identical inputs to your target. A correct interpretation can be determined but if left unresolved could turn into a major conflict. Check the respective tool to rectify the conflict.

• Green: No conflict exists. Target works correctly.

Utility panel

With the following options you can specify and activate the collection of conflicts when using variants:

SWITCH ALL PACKAGES switches sequentially every variant of every package.

SWITCH ALL LOGIC SETS switches sequentially every variant of every logic set.

SWITCH ALL switches sequentially every variant of every variant set.

CLEAR clears the collection and reports of conflicts, the log output, and the details in the sequence view.

You can optimize DELTAGEN performance by enabling the collection of specific types of conflicts. For example, you can disable the logic networks.

The option to DISABLE LOGIC NETWORKS also disables the LNE functionalities in all of DELTAGEN. After working with the Conflict monitor, do not forget to enable full functionality by deselecting this option.

When checking for LNE conflicts, if at first you do not see a change in the Conflict monitor, press play to start the logic network execution.



OPEN SEQUENCE VIEW opens and closes the sequence view.

Sequence view

The sequence view displays the conflicts since the last CLEAR in the UTILITY panel. This allows tracking conflicts over time; for example, you can see the occurrence of a conflict or how long a specific conflict persisted.

SHOW ONLY CONFLICTS displays only the sequence of frames leading up to conflicts. Use the following controls to navigate between the frames and conflicts in the sequence view.

<< jumps to the previous conflict

< jumps to the previous frame (even if there was no conflict)

> jumps to the next frame (even if there was no conflict)

>> jumps to the next conflict

As you jump from frame to frame within the sequence, the sequence viewer displays the frame number, the time of its occurrence within the sequence, and the action executed or action in conflict.

MODE: The default mode to display the conflict report is the TARGET VIEW. Choose either view mode to organize the detailed conflict report so that you can easily identify the targets and sources in conflict.

• TARGET VIEW sorts conflicts by target. The detailed information identifies the targets and tracks the components and inputs causing the conflicts.

• SOURCE VIEW sorts conflicts by source. The detailed information identifies the conflict components and their inputs which are in conflict.

DETAILS displays conflict types. The information is color coded (see State, Page 3) to easily identify the type of conflict.

INTERVAL WIDTH adjusts the width of the frames to ease visibility. The default width value is set to 20.

Even when there is a conflict, the system applies an input to the target. The current input applied to the target is indicated with by an asterisk (*).


Logo editor

Logo editor

The LOGO EDITOR allows users to easily apply logos to geometries. The logo is placed on a newly created geometry that offsets along the normals of the originally selected geometry.

If a logo is created, the chosen geometry will be duplicated and placed below the original geometry in the scene graph. This will happen for each new logo.

The look of the duplicated geometry will keep the logo texture.

If the original geometry has to be retessellated, the logo geometry will not be retessellated automatically.

ADD adds a new logo. After activation, the OPEN IMAGE dialog opens, where you can chose the texture of the logo you want to apply.

After a picture is chosen, a new object is created in the scene tree (objectname_Logo1) automatically. A new look for the logo is being created (Logo1_Look), so the logo can be easily adjusted with all the features the look shader is capable of.

An alpha texture for the new logo can be set within the newly generated look. When loading a texture which already has a transparency channel, TRANSPARENCY TEXTURE will be checked automatically within this look. It will take the transparency from the base texture.

This feature works with POLYGON DATA and NURBS DATA.It does not work with NURBS ON DEMAND data.

For proper results, please note that the tessellation of the logo geometry does not change accordingly in case the original geometries’ tessellation is being changed.

For proper results, using textures that already include an alpha channel is recommended.

In order to create a logo, the objects to apply the logo to have to be selected first.


Logo editor

LOGO OFFSET: in order to avoid z-fighting, an offset for each logo needs to be set. This offset can only be set when creating the logo in the first place and cannot be modified later on. It is important to have a fitting default to your scene.

DELETE LOGO deletes the selected logo and the corresponding geometry from the scenegraph.

Change logo position

With the following icons the order of Logos can be changed. The position of the corresponding geometry in the scene graph will change accordingly:

NAME: Names of logos can be set or edited here.

OPEN LOGO FILE: new logos can be added here.

FILE shows the location path of the logo. New logos can be added here.

VISIBLE sets the logo to visible if checked.

Top position

Up

Down

Bottom position


Logo editor

SELECT LOGO GEOMETRY selects the geometry according to the logo. With this button users are able to manually adjust the projection of the logo with a manipulator.

MAPPING: In order to properly project the decal on the base geometry, different mapping types can be chosen:

- custom

- planar and

- cylindrical

Mapping of logos can be easily transformed with the manipulator.


Material ID editor

The RENDER EXPORT offers a special material ID pass. In this pass shapes are rendered with a plain RGBA color which originates from the assigned material.

The STELLAR MATERIAL ID EDITOR is a tool for a fast and automatic assignment of a fairly unique ID to each material in order to facilitate the process of material ID assignment. Those IDs do not change even in different sessions. They provide a mapping from IDs to materials and can be interchanged between scenes.

1. ACTIVATE THE PLUG-IN IN DELTAGEN (SEE Installation and Licensing, PAGE 1)

2. OPEN THE PLUG-IN VIA THE WINDOW MENU, IF NOT SET TO AUTOLOAD

The Stellar MATERIAL ID EDITOR opens.

3. OPEN THE LOOK LIBRARY IN DELTAGEN

4. DOCK THE MATERIAL ID EDITOR TO THE LOOK LIBRARY

The SELECTED MATERIALS list displays the selected materials from the LOOK LIBRARY.

The MATERIALS WITH THE SAME ID list displays materials with the same ID as the current selection.

The color picker on the right allows selecting a color to automatically assign as material ID to one or more selected materials.

RGBA values display the current color code for the material ID. You can manually set the values alternatively to the color picker.

GENERATE SELECTED generates a new material ID for the selected material(s).

RESET resets all RGBA values to 0 for the selected material(s).

Materials that do not have an ID will not be rendered while render export of material ID passes! Other passes are not affected.


Material ID editor

GENERATE creates a unique material ID for all materials without an ID. It is not overwriting existing IDs.

EXPORT saves the existing material ID information from the active material library into a .csv file.

5. CLICK GENERATE

A unique ID for all materials without ID is generated automatically for all looks regardless of groups, naming etc. This is important, as materials without a material ID are not rendered.

6. SELECT LOOK/S IN THE LOOK LIBRARY THAT BELONG TO A CERTAIN GROUP THAT YOU WISH TO HAVE THE SAME MATERIAL ID (FOR EXAMPLE MATERIALS WITH THE SAME MATERIAL TYPE)

7. CHOOSE A COLOR WITH THE COLOR PICKER OR TYPE THE VALUES FOR THAT GROUP OF MATERIALS INTO THE RGBA FIELDS

8. CHECK THE LIST IF THIS ID IS ALREADY ASSIGNED TO OTHER MATERIALS AND CHANGE THE VALUE IF NEEDED

9. CHANGE THE ID

This offers two options:

• manually: increase or decrease values in RGBA numeric updown.

• using the COLOR PICKER: moving the mouse on the color dialog

In both cases the values are applied and being checked for uniqueness. You get a list of look/s with the values that have been detected to be already assigned to other materials and the IDs need to be changed.

10. ADD OR REMOVE LOOKS FROM THAT GROUP

The material IDs are saved with the model within the LOOK LIBRARY in the metadata.

You can check the material ID also in the METADATA tab of the MATERIAL EDITOR see Material editor chapter in the 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN User Guide.

Material IDs are not unique in case of look variants. Here target look and its active look variant both have the same material ID.

The manual editing of the material ID within the MATERIAL EDITOR is not recommended, since you do not have the check for the uniqueness of that ID as you have it in the MATERIAL ID EDITOR!


3DEXCITE PICTUREBOOK Connector


The PICTUREBOOK server has a web interface that gives authorized users access to the server using a standard browser. This functionality can also be accessed from within 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN.

In the following you will learn how to access 3DEXCITE PICTUREBOOK directly from 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN and how to work with it.

Activating 3DEXCITE PICTUREBOOK Connector

With the PICTUREBOOK Connector you can access the complete data inventory of a PICTUREBOOK server, given you have the access rights. For this you must have the PICTUREBOOK Connector plug-in activated:

1. GO TO TOOLS > MODULES & PLUG-INS

2. FLAG THE CHECKBOX FOR PICTUREBOOK

By enabling the Autoload checkbox the plug-in will be automatically reloaded every time 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN is started.

To open up the PICTUREBOOK Connector tab within your 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN go to FILE > PICTUREBOOK > BROWSER.

Activate 3DEXCITE PICTUREBOOK server

The first time that the PICTUREBOOK Connector plug-in is opened, a new connection to a PICTUREBOOK server must be set:

CLICK ON IN THE BROWSER TOOLBAR TO DEFINE A NEW SERVER

The server setup dialog is displayed.

SERVER URL defines the address of the PICTUREBOOK server.

You can define several addresses and alternatively set any one of them to active.

LABEL defines a freely definable name for the PICTUREBOOK server. The name is shown in the selection menu.



establishes a connection with the selected server address.

opens a dialog box for editing the server address.

deletes the server address entered.

When a connection to a PICTUREBOOK server is established, a login dialog opens as in PICTUREBOOK Flex client. To access the PICTUREBOOK server, enter your user name and password. User names and passwords are managed in the administration area of PICTUREBOOK.

AssembliesAssemblies are Assets of the types: geometries or looks. A model is assembled by different PICTUREBOOK Assets.

This is a concept that works together with the 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN plug-in described in the following.


All Assets are managed in the PICTUREBOOK Connector same as in your PICTUREBOOK Flex Client. You can create directories, search for Assets and assign annotations to them, and create collections.



As in the 3DEXCITE PICTUREBOOK environment you have the following structure in your PICTUREBOOK Connector window:

The ASSET TREE (left) with the main navigation for the PICTUREBOOK structure. If you select an existing directory, its contents are displayed in the central area.

You can create a new directory, manage directories, and open a dialog for uploading data to the PICTUREBOOK server.

The ASSET LIST (center) displays the available data contents.

The ASSET INFORMATION (right) shows picture and text information on the current selection. The following pages describe the contents of the various tabs and functions.

Saving Assets in 3DEXCITE PICTUREBOOK1. SELECT FILE > PICTUREBOOK

2. CHOOSE THE APPROPRIATE OPTION TO OPEN THE DIALOG FOR UPLOADING ASSETS TO PICTUREBOOK

SAVE... saves the model or geometry previously created with 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN or loaded from PICTUREBOOK to a PICTUREBOOK directory. It also creates a new version if the Asset is already present in the same folder, unless the Asset is locked. If the Asset does not exist in PICTUREBOOK, save behaves like SAVE AS... .

SAVE AS... saves the model or geometry to a PICTUREBOOK directory. The following dialog opens:

Note the first part of the saving options above the line is not selection specific. The parts below the line are selection related.



On the left of the upload dialog, you can select or create a directory to which you can upload Assets.

On the right of the upload dialog, you can specify further information about the Asset.

SAVE STRUCTURE saves only the general assembly structure without saving all the linked parts.

SAVE SURROUNDING AS... is used for uploading a surrounding to PICTUREBOOK. The IMPORT ASSET dialog box opens. All textures of the surrounding must be kept in the same directory as the .rts file. Sub-folders are not permitted.

CHECK FOR UPDATES... checks if more recent versions of geometry groups, PDM parts and looks are available in the scene tree within PICTUREBOOK. This will display an update wizard with its list of changes. (for further information see The update wizard, Page 16).

LOAD PARTS: with a PDM model or assembly, the selected geometries are loaded as in the LINKED FILES menu of DELTAGEN.

UNLOAD PARTS: with a PDM model or assembly, the selected geometries are unloaded as in the LINKED FILES menu of DELTAGEN.

INTEGRATE PARTS: selected geometries are integrated in the assembly scene as in the LINKED FILES menu of DELTAGEN.

LOAD GEOMETRIES FROM QUERY: with a PDM model, it opens the search panel of PICTUREBOOK. You can enter specific search criteria and, once the resulting geometries are listed, you can load the selected ones.

EXPORT SELECTION... selects a group and saves it as a geometry in PICTUREBOOK. This will not create a version or give the option to update a geometry within 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN.

SAVE LINKED FILES... saves the entire group as geometry in PICTUREBOOK by creating a new version of the model with the relevant relations for the existing Assets.

CONVERT TO LINKED FILES... saves the entire group with the model in PICTUREBOOK by creating a new Asset.

UPDATE ORIGINAL PARTS ONLY... allows you to immediately save the parts directly in the Part Library without saving first the parts in the derived model.

RELOAD FROM PART LIBRARY: when working with a model containing parts that were unloaded when the model was saved, this functionality makes it possible to retrieve the missing parts from the Part Library of the PB server.

SHOW IN BROWSER shows you the source Asset file on the PICTUREBOOK server.

LOCK AND CREATE NEW VERSION creates a new version out of the selected Asset and locks the new Asset.

UNLOCK releases the Asset as being unlocked.



Importing Assets to 3DEXCITE PICTUREBOOKEnables simultaneous uploading of different objects to PICTUREBOOK. The procedure is the same as within the PICTUREBOOK accessed from the web browser.

Downloading Assets to 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN

Working with Assets in the 3DEXCITE PICTUREBOOK Connector plug-in within 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN is a very organized procedure. The functionalities are dependent on the type of asset selected. There you can get options through the context menu or the drop-down menu.

You can save the geometries as separate assets within PICTUREBOOK instead of just updating the original asset file when you check UPLOAD ORIGINAL PART ASSETS for both, SAVE LINKED FILES... as well as CONVERT TO LINKED FILES.... This way your geometry is saved as a new version or new asset and can be used to update geometry in DELTAGEN.

Option Function

When a model or geometry is selected

Opens the selected model or geometry in a new scene - also double click

When a model is selected

Replaces the model in the current scene



The options in the context menu depend on the current selection and the asset types of the current selection.

If a model is selected, the following options are available:

- Replace model in current scene

- Open in new scene

If a geometry is selected:

- Open in new scene

- Attach geometry to selection (where "selection" is being replaced by the name of the selection)

- Replace selection by geometry (where "selection" is being replaced by the name of the selection)

If a surrounding is selected:

- Open surrounding in current scene

If a look is selected:

- Open look in PICTUREBOOK look library

When it comes to multi-selection, the above mentioned menu entries will be displayed only when all selected assets are of the same type. If the selected assets are not of the same type, none of the above will be displayed.

When a surrounding is selected

Opens the selected surrounding in the current scene (replace surrounding) - also double click

When a geometry is selected

Attaches a geometry to the selection

When a geometry is selected

Replaces the current selection by geometry

Add to DELTAGEN Look library

Adds Asset to the PB Look library in 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN - also double click

Option Function



The update wizard

Function menu

The function menu gives you access to the functions of the context menu. It will only be active if an item is selected.

SHOW IN DELTAGEN: when you select a single group in the update list and selecting the option, the group is also selected in DELTAGEN.

SHOW IN PICTUREBOOK: by clicking on a single group in the scene tree and selecting this option, it shows you the Asset in PICTUREBOOK.

INSERT inserts a new assembly at the same level as their originals.

COMPARE compares the Assets in the DELTAGEN scene to a more recent version of them in PICTUREBOOK.

UPDATE replaces the selected Asset with its latest version.


3DEXCITE XPLORE DELTAGEN

Generally

3DEXCITE XPLORE DELTAGEN is the navigation and presenting tool introducing a new experience in interacting with your scene from desktop or tablets.

3DEXCITE XPLORE DELTAGEN requires an appropriate license.

The XPLORE DELTAGEN module starts a local server and the HTML5 frontend runs on modern desktop and mobile browsers (see below for officially tested environments and setups).

With XPLORE DELTAGEN is easily possible to navigate around your virtual product, switch all variants, models, cameras, packages, collections and start/control animations.




Open XPLORE...

Opens XPLORE DELTAGEN in a new window.

Configure...

Allows the users to configure XPLORE DELTAGEN.

Call with: XPLORE > CONFIGURE

Hardware resourcesTo proceed with the installation the user first needs to plan the Software and Hardware resources and certain network configuration.

Operating system

• For mobile devices:

- iOS 6.0 (or newer)

- Android 4.1 (or newer)

- Windows® 8-10

• For the desktop:

- Windows® 7-10

Browser

• For mobile devices:

- Safari (default preinstalled browser)

- Android (default, preinstalled browser)

- IE 10 (available on MS Surface devices)



• For desktop:

- IE9

- IE10

- Firefox (newest version)

Mobile devices

• iPad® 2, 3, 4

• Android tablets with minimum Nvidia® Tegra 3 chipset, 1 GB RAM and Quad Core 1.4 GHz processor

• Microsoft® Surface

The application is optimized for screens of at least 10 inches.

Recommended graphics card

• NVIDIA® Quadro M6000

• NVIDIA® Quadro P6000 (additional QuadroSync add-on card for Powerwall setup)

Installation and configurationXPLORE DELTAGEN has to be installed on a workstation that is connected to a network segment exposed to a dedicated WiFi access point.

In case of low network latency the user should contact IT support.



3DEXCITE XPLORE DELTAGEN uses a HTTPS connection and the default port configured is 9443.

Installation

1. CHECK THE 3DEXCITE XPLORE DELTAGEN CHECKBOX IN THE 3DEXCITE DELTAGEN INSTALLER

2. AFTER THE INSTALLATION START DELTAGEN

3. FROM THE DELTAGEN TOP MENU OPEN TOOLS > MODULES & PLUG-INS

4. LOCATE XPLORE MODULE AND REGISTER IT

5. RESTART DELTAGEN SO THAT THE MODULE CAN BE AUTOMATICALLY LOADED AND ACTIVATED

3DEXCITE XPLORE DELTAGEN should now be running, on the top menu in DELTAGEN there is a new XPLORE menu displayed.

6. CLICK XPLORE AND THEN CONFIGURE

A green light with the message RUNNING XPLORE SERVER should be displayed.

7. OPEN THE BROWSER AND TYPE https://your_machine_hostname or ip:9443

The available hostnames and IPs are shown in XPLORE DELTAGEN Configuration window.

3DEXCITE XPLORE DELTAGEN can also be started by clicking OPEN XPLORE in the XPLORE menu.



A popup for certificate checking appears

8. ACCEPT

The XPLORE DELTAGEN login screen is displayed in the browser.

9. LOG IN WITH THE WINDOWS® PASSWORD

The XPLORE DELTAGEN screen should be available. To use the XPLORE DELTAGEN feature, the model has to be loaded in DELTAGEN and afterwards the browser has to be refreshed.

Connection on tablet

For tablet, the Wi-Fi access point is needed. For Apple devices Apple Air Port Express is recommended.

When the Wi-Fi access point is up and running:

1. CONNECT THE TABLET TO WI-FI NETWORK

2. OPEN THE BROWSER

3. CONNECT WITH WINDOWS® CREDENTIALS.

LoginAfter the connection to the 3DEXCITE XPLORE DELTAGEN server is established, the login screen displays the domain and the user name of the logged user. In the password field the user has to enter his Windows® password.

Main ScreenThe Screen has different parts:

• Main Navigation Bar



• Top Bar

• Left Panel

• Right Panel

Quick Switch Bar (Hidden)

In the picture below, the screen parts are highlighted with different colors.

Main Navigation BarThe Main Navigation Bar is divided into two parts:

• Part One: Variants, Animations, Surroundings, Navigation, Turntable, Compare, MORE

• Part Two: Settings, Refresh, Scene Selection, Help, Logout, MORE

By default, the Main Navigation Bar is closed. It can be opened/closed by pressing the toggle button displayed on the far right or by dragging down/up the top bar with the mouse.

The MORE button switches between Part One and Part Two.

VariantsThis menu contains the variants, variant sets and their respective variants, which are displayed in the left panel. According to the defined variant set



type or variant type in DELTAGEN, there are different icons displayed in this menu.

Variant sets define the whole set of switched variants in the scene as captured with the creation of the presentation. As in DELTAGEN a slide can contain multiple variant sets.

If the DELTAGEN Immersive plug-in is active in DELTAGEN the users will also see the View definitions in this menu.

AnimationsThe animations are loaded on the left panel and do not have thumbnails. Animations can be started with the play-action controls in the left panel. The animations are displayed in DELTAGEN.

Once the animation starts an animation bar is shown on the right panel. This bar contains a scrubbing slider that allows scrolling through an

DELTAGEN icon Variant set

Look set

Color variant set

Object set

Geometry variant set

Camera set

Packages

Logic variant set

Overlay set

View definitions



animation, forwards and backwards, previewing the animation and also navigating to a specific key frame.

Switching to another animation will pause the active animation and save the position of the slider. If the user comes back to the animation it will play from the saved position.

Playing variants and animations

In the bottom of the left panel the play-action controls allow you to customize the play action of animations and variants with controls to stop, pause, and play them in forward and reverse sequence.

SurroundingsThe SURROUNDINGS button on the tool bar can contain a list of scene surroundings which are switchable in real time during a presentation and can be applied to the loaded scene.

XPLORE DELTAGEN will load more surroundings. They can be selected on the left panel and will be displayed in DELTAGEN.

NavigationThe XPLORE DELTAGEN navigation is consistent with DELTAGEN and when using a touch device, XPLORE DELTAGEN can be controlled with the fingers and it does not require a keyboard.

3DEXCITE XPLORE DELTAGEN does not support local surroundings.



XPLORE DELTAGEN uses the following viewer controls:

TurntableTurntables are used to have a realistic view on more models in one single scene and are placed within a surrounding.

A model can be placed on a turntable, to rotate and view it from all sides.

The maximum number of turntables is defined in the surrounding.

Up to four rotating turntables can be controlled individually or all together at a time: pause, forward, backward.

The user has the possibility to change the direction of the turntable by pressing the DIRECTION button or to reset it by pressing the START button.

Camera navigation

Touch Mouse

Rotation 1 finger Left mouse button (LMB)

Pan 3 finger in parallel Middle mouse button (MMB)

Zoom 2 finger (pinch in/out) Right mouse button (RMB)



View of the turntables screen with 3 models and one slot without content.

View of the popup menu for model selection.In this popup the user can see

• which models are already in use (disabled)

• which model is selected (used in the selected slot)

• which models are available



SettingsApplication's Settings allows the user to configure:

• The TRANSITION EFFECTS allows the user to turn off the transition effects to improve the overall performance.

• The TIMEOUT allows the user to activate the automatically log out after 15 minutes of inactivity.

RefreshThe REFRESH function reloads the whole XPLORE DELTAGEN application.

Scene selectionThe SCENE SELECTION menu displays the current scene and the other currently opened scenes in DELTAGEN.

By selecting a scene, the other one gets automatically deselected.

After changing a scene, XPLORE DELTAGEN automatically loads the variants and animations of the newly selected scene.

HelpThis menu opens the user manual which documents how the software works.

The system can load only one scene at the same time.By default, the active scene in DELTAGEN is loaded on XPLORE DELTAGEN.



LogoutLOGOUT allows the user to log out and redirects to the login screen.

Top barThe Top Bar has different elements:

1. On the left there is an application button for XPLORE DELTAGEN.

2. A button for VIEW Settings.

3. A group of three buttons to switch the PANEL LAYOUT.On portrait mode there is only one bar on the top to optimize the space.

4. On the right, there is a toggle button that hides the Main Navigation Bar from view.

Filter settings

The button VIEW OPTIONS opens the popup menu with three tabs.

• SORT OPTIONS: The variants can be sorted by type or alphabetical.

• FILTER OPTIONS:

- Models: Multiselection list. The system loads up to four models on the scene. The red button on the names indicates that the system filters the results on the list for the selected models existent in the active scene.



This option is also used to switch between the models available in the same scene.

- Favorites: Toggle ON/OFF. If this button is on, the list will display only variants selected as favorites in DELTAGEN.

- Collections: Multiselection list. This list displays the colors which were set on the Variant Manager in DELTAGEN.Collections are a group of variants, and are used for filtering, to create a collection with the wanted variants.

• VIEW OPTIONS: The user can switch between THUMBNAILS or LIST view.

Left panelThe Left Panel displays the VARIANTS, ANIMATIONS and the SURROUNDINGS.

For variants there are two views Thumbnail and List, but Surroundings and Animations are always displayed as a list.

Left Panel with 2 levels of hierarchy



Left Panel with one level of hierarchy

If the user has an DELTAGEN Immersive license then XPLORE DELTAGEN also loads the VIEW DEFINITIONS that are positioned on the same list as VARIANT SETS.

• CAMERA VARIANTS save the position and direction.

• VIEW DEFINITIONS are like camera variants that can have a relative position to an object. The VIEW DEFINITION is relative to the car’s position.



Right panelThe right panel is used to move the camera.

Normal status: Camera navigation area on the normal status.

Rotate: 1 finger to rotate



Zoom: Two fingers to zoom.

Pan: Three fingers to pan.

Sensitivity slider

The 3D navigation can be achieved both with the mouse or touch gestures. To adapt the speed of Rotation / Pan / Zoom the application has a slider. The slider handle is located in the middle and set to normal speed. When the handle moves to the right, it increases the speed. On the contrary moving to the left decreases the speed of the navigation.

Camera settings

The CAMERA button symbolized with a camera icon displays the popup menu CAMERA SETTINGS.

The menu contains following controls:

• RESET CAMERA button resets the camera position to the default camera.

• EDIT PIVOT button opens the EDIT PIVOT window. The pivot is a point in the scene where the camera rotates around under navigation.

The far left slider position blocks the navigation completely.This is used when during the presentation the user hands over the tablet to another person and does not want him to accidentally move the camera at the handover moment.

The default position is the last selected Camera variant or if there are no camera variants then the default position is the one available when XPLORE DELTAGEN was opened.



The main area contains two 2D views of the loaded model. The two views are the side and the top view.

When panning, the camera is moved, with the model and the pivot point together and they maintain the same distances. When zooming the proportions change but the relative positions remain the same.

The settings will be saved and the EDIT PIVOT window is being closed by pressing the X button on the upper right corner of the mask.

• The CAMERA MODE toggle slider defines the pivot of a variant to be an exterior or an interior pivot.

There is no CANCEL in the pivot editing, so every change will be applied. The only way to undo pivoting is Reset Camera.

When the interior mode is selected, the pivot is the user who can look around himself.



Laser pointer

With the help of the laser pointer, the user can point out regions of interest.

The LASER button displays a laser circle on the DELTAGEN scene and it activates the POINTER slider.

With the LASER POINTER slider the user can adjust the diameter of the laser pointer.

Quick navigation bar

The toggle button on the right bottom of the right panel opens / closes the hidden quick switch bar.

On both sides of the quick switch bar there are arrows to navigate to the previous and next variant. The selected variants are displayed in the middle with a thumbnail and the description.

If the laser pointer is on, the camera navigation is blocked.

Users can select a variant set on the left and then navigate the content on the quick navigation bar. It is also possible to change the variant set on the left side while navigating through another one in the quick navigation bar.



TroubleshootingProblem Solution

Port 9443 is busy, XPLORE cannot start.

Change the port in the XPLORE DELTAGEN configuration menu.

Certificate is not accepted on Apple devices using Safari.

Clear cache and cookies in Safari and refresh the browser.

Turntable does not start spinning when pressing play.

Make sure that you have loaded the Surrounding which has turntables defined.

The user opened a new model in DELTAGEN but XPLORE is still showing the data from the old one.

Refresh the browser to reload the new model or click the refresh button in the XPLORE DELTAGEN extended menu.

Connection error like: XPLORE is unable to connect to DELTAGEN at…

Cache and cookies in the browser and restart the browser.

The PC got rebooted and after that the previous described connection error shows up and cache clearing does not help.

Make sure that the IP is not changed after the reboot. Please check that the IP/hostname is shown in the XPLORE DELTAGEN configuration window.

The screen turns black and recovers after few seconds. The graphic card driver crashed.

Refer to the recommended hardware requirement located at the beginning of this document.

The XPLORE DELTAGEN module cannot work together with the Render back-end module (3DEXCITE POWERHOUSE).



If the appeared issue is not listed here, please submit the problem to our support and provide the following information:

• Operating system

• Which browser/device got used (version is needed)

• Description of how to reproduce to the problem (screenshot)

• Crash dump file if available

• XPLORE DELTAGEN logs (Can be found in the Temp folder C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\Temp\rttXplore)


3dexcite deltagen hub · 2017-11-06 · 3dexperience, the compass icon, the 3ds logo, catia,...

Documents