Viz2008 Tutorial 1 User Interface

8/21/2019 Viz2008 Tutorial 1 User Interface

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Autodesk

VIZ 2008

utorial 1: Introducing the Autodesk VIZ User Interf

over image: Preliminary Tower Study, courtesy of

kidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP with studio amd.


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Getting to Know the Autodesk VIZ

Interface

This tutorial introduces the Autodesk VIZinterface and provides an overview of the things

you can do with the software. If youd like to follow

along and practice using the interface elementsdescribed below, open a sample Autodesk VIZ fileand experiment with the controls; however, its notnecessary to do so.

To open the sample Autodesk VIZ file:

1. Start or reset Autodesk VIZ.

2. From the File menu, choose the Opencommand, and then locate and open thefile\tutorials\getting_started\small_office_intro.max.

The program loads a 3D model of a small office.Use this file to follow along with the followingintroduction to the Autodesk VIZ interface.

How I t All Works: What You Can

Do in Autodesk VIZ

Create and ssemble Objects You can createnew geometrical objects in Autodesk VIZ, aswell as link objects from other programs such asAutoCAD Architecture, and you can augment

that geometry with other objects created in 3ds

Max. You view objects, change their materials, editthem and animate them in viewports. The objectscan be 2D and 3D geometry, all positioned in 3Dspace. You can display the objects in the viewport

as wireframe, shaded, or other options.

Lights and Cameras You can add light objectsto create shadows and illumination. And you cancreate cameras to shoot movies of your scene.

Introducing the Autodesk VIZ Interface

For this web tutorial please find the Scene Files in \VIZ2008_User_Interface

instead of\tutorials. Download this folder using the following procedure:

1. At www.autodesk.com/viz-tutorials click Scene Files underIntroducing the

Autodesk VIZ Interface.

2. Unzip the EXE file to your computer.

By default the\VIZ2008_User_Interfacefolder is unzipped into

C:\VIZ2008_Scene_Files.


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2 Tutorial 1: Introducing the Autodesk VIZ Interface

Materials

You can further enhance geometrysurfaces with materials, which you create and editin the Material Editor.

You toggle the Material Editor by clicking itsbutton on the main toolbar or by pressing the Mkey on the keyboard.

You can access commonly used materials from thematerial palettes set in the Tool Palettes windowand then apply them to objects in the scene. You

can drag entire palettes or individual materials tocatalogs in the Content Browser.

Keyframe nimation Once the objectsare assembled in the scene, you create animated

versions of the design withkeyframeanimation.This form of animation, incidentally, takes itsname from traditional, hand-drawn animation in

which lead artists draw the major, key frames,and then assistant artists draw all in-between


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The Viewports

frames to complete the action. Click the Auto Keybutton, and then select objects in the scene. Move,rotate, and scale the objects at different times tocreate the animation. Or change the position

of a camera over time to create an architecturalwalkthrough.

The time slider lets you time travel to any frame,and you can use the VCR controls to play theanimation, jump between keyframes, and goinstantly to the start or end.

Rendering Once the animation is complete,you use rendering to create still images, moviesequences or interactive panoramic views. The

output of the animation can be a movie file formator a sequence of still images. Autodesk VIZ canrender to most industry-standard file formats. Youcan set image resolution to whatever you want.

You can use bitmap images as the backgroundto your renderings in order to create stunningphotosimulations.

The Viewports

When you start Autodesk VIZ, you see a defaultuser interface, whose settings are stored in the filevizstart.cui. When you start Autodesk VIZ for thefirst time, this user interface consists of a singleviewportshowing a perspective view, surroundedby tools and controls. The viewports, which cannumber up to four, are your windows onto theworld of 3D graphics.

You can easily configure the layout of theseviewports, tools, and controls by loading otheruser-interface layouts or by creating your own.You can change the color and appearance of theuser interface yourself, or load in other custom UIfiles. Heres an example of a customized interface:

Viewports can display geometry in wireframemodeor several different shaded modes.Edged-facemodelets you see the wireframe structure andshading at the same time.

A viewport can display the scene from the front orback, left or right, top or bottom views. It can alsodisplay different angled views such as perspective,user, light source, or camera. You can change the

viewport by right-clicking the viewport label in the


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top-left corner of the viewport, or with keyboardshortcuts. For instance,Psets the active viewportto Perspective view, and F sets it to Front view.

You can resize viewports by moving the splitterbars that separate them.

Resizing the viewports

Right-clicking the viewport label brings up otheroptions as well. Here, you will find the Configurecommand, which leads you to dozens of optionsfor viewport configuration. On the Layout panel,

youll find choices for different layouts for theviewports.

Alternate viewport layout

Viewport clippinglets you display only a slice ofyour scene in the viewport. When you have acomplex scene, viewport clipping lets you isolate a

section for closer scrutiny.


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The Viewports

Viewport clipping, with the viewport background darkened

Safe framesshow you the proportions of your

output file in the viewport to help you composeyour shot. This is handy if your output uses adifferent proportion than your viewport.

Safe frame shows in the viewport where the image will be

cropped on the sides when rendered.

You can set upviewport backgroundsusing bitmapimages. The viewport background image isthe environment map that you set up using theRendering menu > Environment command, and

which will render behind the geometry in yourscene.

Tip:You can quickly create a viewport background

by simply dragging an image file from WindowsExplorer or your Web browser over an emptysection of the viewport.

Viewport background in a Perspective view, with the resulting

rendered image in foreground

Viewport Navigation Controls

The Viewport Navigation controls are found in thelower-right corner of the Autodesk VIZ window.The particular tools available to you changedepending on which type of viewport is active.For example, a Camera viewport displays differentnavigation buttons than a Perspective viewport.

Navigation tools for a Camera view

Navigation tools for a Perspective view

These are the controls to pan and zoom or orbit

the viewport. Note that some of the tools haveflyout options that allow you to customize the toolfor specific viewport navigation tasks. You change

the button in a flyout by holding the left mouse keydown on it until the options appear, then drag tothe option you want to set, and release the mouse.


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Extra options are available from flyouts.

Toolbars Title Bar and Menu Bar

Toolbars provide one-click access to the mostcommon functions in Autodesk VIZ; it will

speed your work to be familiar with them. Youcan create your own toolbars or edit the defaulttoolbars provided in order to streamline yourwork. Toolbars will be found either docked to thetop, bottom, or sides of the viewports, or theymight be floating over the interface.

Some of the default toolbars you will probably use

frequently:

Main toolbar: tools for transforming, linking,

rendering, toggling snaps, and more.

Extras toolbar:tools for keyboard shortcutoverride toggle, AutoGrid, and arrays.

Axis Constraints toolbar:tools for restrictingthe axes used for different transforms.

Snaps toolbar: tools for commonly used snapsettings. Use snapping for greater precisionwhen creating and transforming objects.

Layers toolbar:controls the display andselection of layers in Autodesk VIZ.

Render Shortcuts toolbar:tools for creatingcustom rendering presets and choosing amonga set of preset rendering parameters.

Title Bar

At the top of the Autodesk VIZ window is the titlebar. Like any standard Windows program, it shows

you the name of the file you are working on.

Menu Bar

Directly beneath the title bar is the menu bar. Themenu bar has a number of different menus, each

offering a selection of related tools and controls.You can also access many menu commands with

thekeyboard shortcutsdisplayed to the right of themenu item.

If a menu item has an ellipsis (three dots) followingit, that means there are more choices on a dialog.If the menu item has a right-pointing arrow, thereare more choices found in an expanding submenu.


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Animation Controls

The menu bar options are context-sensitive.Availability of certain menu commands changesdepending on what object is selected. For example,the Views menu command Create Camera From

View is available only when a perspective viewportis active.

Animation Controls

The Animation controls are located below theviewports and in the extreme lower right of theAutodesk VIZ window. These controls add a timedimension to your design. You use animationcontrols for moving to different points in time,

calledframes, and to specify transforms and othersettings that should apply at a particular frame,calledkeys.

The Auto Key Button

This button toggles betweentwo states: when it is gray, transformations(movement, rotation, or scaling) and someparameter changes you make will apply to all

frames in your animation. When it is red, you areinanimation mode, which means that the changes

you make are keys that apply only to the currentframe. By setting different keys at different frames,

you create animation.

Time Slider

The time slider allows you to move through time.Click anywhere on the time slider background lineand the time slider jumps to your cursor, or dragthe time slider to the frame you want. The slidershows the current frame and the total number offrames.

The time slider background turns red when youare in animation mode.

Track Bar

The track bar displays the keys for selected objects.You can slide the key markers along the track barto adjust when they occur, and clone them by

holding down the shift key as you drag the keys.You can also get more information instantly onany key shown on the track bar by right-clicking a

key, as shown.

Animation Playback Controls

Found in the lower right of the user interface, theanimation playback controls are used to play theanimation in the viewport.

You can quickly go to the beginning or end of your

animation by using the Go To Start and Go ToEnd buttons. You can also advance backward orforward a single frame using the Next Frame andPrevious Frame buttons.

Clicking the Play Animation button playsthe animation in the viewport. It has a flyout thatincludes a Play Selected option.

The Time Configuration button opens a dialogthat gives you controls over time and playback.Here you can change the length of your animation,or define the active time segment. You can alsorescale time segments to speed up or slow down amotion.

The current frame indicator shows the number ofthe current frame. You can jump quickly to anyspecific frame by entering the frame number inthis field.


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Additional Interface Elements

Right Click Quad Menus

Right-click in a viewport to open a quad menudirectly under your cursor for quick commandnavigation. The available quad menu commandsare context-sensitive: they change based on thecurrent selection.

Tip:To view more choices, hold down the lt,Ctrl , or Shift key while right-clicking.

You can use quad menus to get to most commandsin the command panels, and you can customizethe menus with the Customize User Interfacecommand.

Status and Prompt Area

The status and prompt areas provide valuable cuesabout whats happening below the surface. This iswhere Autodesk VIZ talks to you. Thestatus bar

gives you pertinent information regarding yourselection, and theprompt linetells you what the

active command expects you to do next.

Lock Selection Set

You quickly get used to clicking objects to selectthem. If you have a multiple-object selection andthen you click a single member of the selection,

you get the unexpected result of creating a newselection that has only a single member.

When you have a selection you want to keep,

lock the selection set with this button, or press thespacebar to toggle the lock selection. You can thendrag anywhere in the viewport to transform theobjects in the selection.

Coordinate Display Fields

The coordinate display fields to the right of the

status bar show you X, Y, and Z coordinates forthe position, rotation, and scale of your object.

When a transform tool is active, you can entervalues in these fields to transform objects from thekeyboard, or use the spinners with the mouse.

Choose between Absolute and Offsetmodes respectively to transform objects in spaceprecisely, or increment/decrement the transform

values.

The Command Panel

To the right of the viewports is thecommand panelwith separate tabs for Create, Modify, Hierarchy,

Motion, Display, and Utilities. The panel contentvaries, based on the current selection. Tools andparameters are located on rollouts that you canexpand and rearrange.

The command panel is quite malleable. You canscroll it to reach more tools below the interface

extents, and expand it to two or more columnswide. You can also drag and drop rollouts toreorder their sequence within the command panel.


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Customizing the User Interface

Customizing the User Interface

Most of the layout of the Autodesk VIZ userinterface is customizable, so that after you arefamiliar with the product, you can move tools as

you see fit. The toolbars and command panel canfloat, dock, or be hidden. You can save and load

your customized user interface to a CUI file, soyou can take it with you from machine to machine.

The Customize User Interface command on theCustomize menu is where youll find the tools tocreate your own toolbars. Here, you can also take

scripts and commands and set them as toolbarbuttons, menu items, and keyboard shortcuts.

Expert Mode

Once you become familiar with Autodesk VIZ,you can take advantage of Expert mode, whichlets you hide pieces of the interface, so more of

your screen is devoted to the viewports. You canremove the visual presence of the tools to focus onthe composition of your scene.

From the Views menu, choose Expert Mode.

You can use keyboard shortcuts to display thecommand panel, or toolbars and tab panel. Forthe most part, youll find the tools you need onthe quad menu, which is always accessible with aright-click.

Keyboard Shortcuts

As you develop your own techniques and practices,you may want to customize your keyboardshortcuts. There are lots of things in Autodesk VIZ

you are going to do over and over again, andits nice to be able to just press a key and haveit happen. Youll find that, instead of clickingwith a mouse, using the keyboard shortcuts willincrease your productivity and make you a happierAutodesk VIZ user.


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Youll find keyboard shortcuts on the Customizemenu > Customize User Interface > Keyboardpanel. A table of actions is available for assignment.Some actions are already defined, others are not.

Create your own and save them here.

Summary

To sum up what this tutorial has covered:

You can create new geometry in Autodesk VIZ,as well as link geometry and materials fromother programs and use objects that werecreated previously in 3ds max.

You can enhance your scene with cameras,

materials, lighting, and animation effects. You were introduced to the names and

functions of the interface elements you will usemost frequently.

Documents

Viz2008 Tutorial 1 User Interface