Shade 12. Plugin Manager
From ShadeCamp
Plugin Manager
This chapter describes the Shade interface. We will take a look at some of the windows, menus, and dialoges. The Shade user interface follows the same rules as the basic interfaces provided by Windows and Mac OS X.
Windows
Following are the common interface elements of Shade windows used on the Windows and Mac OS X. Some interface elements that are explained here may not be present in other types of windows.
Figure Window and Image Window on Windows
Some interface elements that are explained here may not be present in other types of windows.
Control Menu Icon
This menu is displayed by clicking the icon, enabling operations such as changing window size and position, and closing the file.
Name (Caption)
Names are indicated as “document name - Shade” in the Figure window. In all other windows, the name of the window or dialog is indicated.
Title Bar
Drag the Title Bar to move the window.
Shrink Button
Clicking the Shrink button will display the window as a button in the Task Bar.
Magnify / Original Size Button
Clicking the Magnify button will display the window at full-screen size. In this case, this button is changed to the Original Size button.
Close Button
A window is closed by clicking this button, the same as choosing Close in the File menu. Closing the Figure window will also close the document.
Menu Bar
The Menu Bar is used to manipulate Shade.
Borderlines and Corners
Dragging any of the four borderlines or four corners will change the window size.
Scroll Bar
If the image is larger than the Image window, the scroll bars become active. You can either drag the scroll box (rectangular slide), click the scroll arrow (triangular button), or click inside the scroll bar to scroll the window.
Hand Pointer
The Figure window and Control windows (except the Image window) enable you to scroll through boxes or windows that are partially displayed by dragging in them while holding down the Space bar.
Figure Window and Image Window on Mac OS X
The document name is displayed here in the Figure window and the Image window. In all other cases, the window name or the name of the dialog is shown.
Close Box
The window is closed by clicking this box, producing the same result as choosing Close in the File menu. Closing the Figure window will also close the document.
Shrink Button
Clicking this box shrinks the window to the DOCK. The window is returned to its original size by clicking the icon in the DOCK.
Zoom Box
A window is zoomed to full-screen size by clicking this box. The window is reduced to the original size by clicking it again.
Title Bar
Drag the Title Bar to move the window.
Size Box
The size of the window can be changed by dragging this box.
Scroll Bar
If the image is larger than the Image window, the scroll bars become active. You can either drag the scroll box (rectangular slide), click the scroll arrow (triangular button), or click inside the scroll bar to scroll the window.
Menus
The Shade Menus are displayed in the menu bar of the Finder in the Macintosh version, and in the menu bar under the title bar of the Figure window in the Windows version. Click items in the menu bar to display pull-down menus. In this section, we will take a look at the Figure window to get to know each component of the menus.
These icons indicate that submenus are available.
When a menu item is clicked, the pop-up submenu is displayed.
Keyboard Shortcuts
These items can be chosen with the corresponding keyboard shortcut.
Checked Items
An item is chosen when a tick mark appears next to it. This state is described as “on” in this Reference. On the contrary, when the tick mark is missing, the state is described as “off”.
Control Windows
Windows opened from the View menu are called Control windows (except for the Image window). Control windows are always displayed in front of the Figure window. When Control windows overlap, the one behind can be brought forward by clicking it. In the Windows version of Shade, the Image window can be shown/hidden by pressing the Ctrl+Tab keys. This type of alternate operation using the keyboard is called a keyboard shortcut. To show/hide all Control windows at the same time in the Windows version of Shade, press Shift + Crtl + Tab keys. In the Mac OS X version of Shade, all Control windows can be hidden at the same time by clicking the Close button of any Control window while holding down the Option key.
Tool Box
Buttons
Click a button, or choose an item in a submenu, to choose a function.
Active Commands
Active commands are indicated in black and can be chosen.
Inactive Commands
Inactive commands are indicated in gray and cannot be chosen.
- The states (active / inactive) of the commands depend on the conditions under which those commands are used. Refer to the applicable description of each command for more details.
Pull-down Menu
This is a pop-up submenu, which is displayed when a menu button is clicked. Drag the mouse pointer (move the mouse while holding down the mouse button) to choose an active command.
Checkbox
An option is chosen when its box is ticked (an “x” shape appears). This state is described as “on”. (When the checkbox is not ticked, the state is described as “off”.)
Aggregate Palette – Camera Window
Separate/Aggregate Button
This button is used to separate the Control window from the Aggregate palette, or to aggregate the separated Control window back again.
Control Window Switch Buttons
These buttons are used to switch the Control window displayed in the Aggregate palette. In Shade, frequently-used Control windows are integrated into the Aggregate palette to facilitate easy operation. The Separate/Aggregate button described above and the Control window switch buttons are always displayed at the top of the Aggregate palette, regardless of the type of Control window being displayed. You can also perform the separate/aggregate operation by doubleclicking a Control window switch button.
Radio Buttons
An item is chosen when the circle is marked in black (this status is described as “on”). Only one radio button can be chosen within the group the button belongs to. Selecting another item will cancel the previously chosen item.
Toggle Button
This button can be found on many of the Control windows, and enables you to display/hide the Control window. In this Shade Reference, depending on what we display/hide, we will refer to this button as the “xxx display/hide button.”
Surface Window
Preview box
Rough setting image is displayed here.
Slider
Drag the slider to set a value. A dialog for entering a numeric value appears when you click the slider while holding down the Ctrl key (Win)/Option key (Mac).
Value Dialog
In some cases, a value that exceeds the setting limit or that exceeds the maximum number of displayabledigits in the value boxes may be valid. “#####” will be displayed in the value box if a value that exceeds the maximum number of displayable digits is entered.
Value Boxes
Set values are indicated here. Clicking a box will invert the display, which indicates that entering values by keyboard is enabled. In some cases, a value that exceeds the range of the slider (e.g. Metallic, from 0.00 to 1.00) may be valid. Digits are entered consecutively. There is no need to type in decimalpoints. To enter “1.35”, enter “1” “3” “5”, or enter “1” “. “3” “5”. To directly values below one, enter the decimal point “.” prior to entering any other digit. For example, to enter “0.35”, type “.” “3” “5”. You can move from one box to another by pressing the Tab key (move forward) or Shift + Tab keys (move backward).
Color Box
This box displays the color that is set. A color can be set by dragging a color from another color box and dropping it onto the destination color box. To adjust colors, use the Color window or Color Picker (part of the Macintosh OS). The latter appears when you clickthe color box.
Picture Box
A picture box is present in the Surface Attributes window, the Background window, and the Backdrop window. A loaded image is displayed in this box. The box will be surrounded by dotted lines after clicking on it, which indicates that an image can be loaded. Clicking the box while holding down the right mouse button (Win)/C key (Mac) will display the Contextual menu. Other than copying and pasting, drag & drop operations between picture boxes, the Finder, and the Scrap Book can be performed. Loadable file formats include PICT (file extension: .pct), Targa (.tga), BMP (.bmp) (Win), EPSF (.eps) (MAC), and QuickTime Movies (.mov), as well as Shade shape files. The first frame is chosen if a MOV or AVI file is loaded. Shade shape files loaded into a picture box should contain a rendered image.
Browser Window
Item Name Indicator
This indicator displays the name of the checkbox the mouse pointer is currently over.
Inactive Checkbox
When a checkbox is inactive (dimmed), the corresponding setting is inherited from the parent part.
Active Checkbox
When a checkbox is active (dark), the setting of the parent part is ignored, and the state of the checkbox is used.
Dialog
Dialog boxes appear after choosing an item such as “Animation Rendering...” in the Rendering menu, where “...” is added to the item name, and require input from the user. No other operation can be executed while a dialog is displayed.
Division Dialog
OK Button
Pressing this button will enable the settings made in the dialog and close the box.
Cancel Button
Pressing this button will ignore any changes made in the dialog and close the box. This function can normally be activated by the Esc key.
Contextual Menus
Contextual menus can be displayed by right-clicking (or Control-clicking on Mac OS X) in the Figure window or other areas in Shade.
Contextual Menus
The Contextual menu is displayed by clicking the right mouse button (Win)/clicking the mouse button while holding down the Ctrl key (Mac). Different Contextual menus are displayed depending on the content of the Figure window, Image window, Browser window, and Picture Box. For more details about the Contextual menu, refer to the section entitled “Contextual Menu.”
The Figure Window
When you open the Shade application, a window we call the Figure window appears. This is the main window for the Shade application. All operations are performed while the Figure window is displayed, and closing the Figure window closes the document.
The Preferences window allows you to modify the options for the Figure window components, such as the background image, wireframe, ruler, and grid. In the default state the Figure window is divided into four view planes by vertical and horizontal borderlines. A ruler is displayed on the left side and the bottom of the window. At the top of the window is a Control bar, where you can change various display settings for the Figure window. By checking the Grid checkbox in the Control bar, reference lines, called the grid, are displayed in the top, front, and side views, whereas the X, Y, and Z axes are indicated by solid lines. The color of the planes and grid can be changed in the Preferences window. The Control bar can be turned off and on using the View menu. Shade can display the grid in the Perspective view as well. This can be obtained by checking the Perspective Grid checkbox in the Control bar.
The Three Views and the Perspective View
The view plane at the upper left of the Figure window, which projects the 3D space onto the XZ coordinate plane, is called the Top view. The view plane at the lower left is a projection onto the XY coordinate plane, called the Front view. The view plane at the lower right is a projection onto the YZ coordinate plane, called the Side view. We call these three view planes the “3 views.” The view plane at the upper right is a perspective projection of the 3D space, called the Perspective view. In the Camera window, you can change the view shown in the Perspective view plane. Operating coordinate planes, entering objects and displaying them are carried out in all of these view planes.
Ruler
The left edge of the Top view is called the “Z-axis ruler,” which indicates the Z coordinate axis. The left edge and the lower edge of the Front view show the Y coordinate axis and the X coordinate axis, and are called the “Y-axis ruler” and the “X-axis” ruler respectively. The lower edge of the Side view indicates the Z coordinate axis, and is called the Z-axis ruler. These rulers are used to enter and display the position of the 3D cursor. The Top view, Front view, Side view and rulers share the same X, Y, and Z coordinate axes.
3D Cursor and Coordinate Value Pointers
In the Figure window, crisscross 3D cursors are visible in each view plane, linked with the mouse pointer. A triangular coordinate value pointer in the rulers is also linked with the mouse pointer. For instance, when the mouse pointer moves in the Top view, 3D cursors are also displayed in all other view planes, linked with the motion of the mouse pointer. The 3D cursors stop moving along with the mouse pointer and are fixed at a certain position once the mouse pointer moves out of the Figure window, or is on a Control window. This position, the “current 3D cursor position”, is the position where the mouse pointer was clicked last before the cursor left the Figure window. This 3D coordinate value is memorized, so that other operations (such as clicking a button) can be carried out using that position. The same technique is used for the coordinate value pointers in the rulers. The current 3D coordinate position is always indicated by the coordinate value pointers in the rulers. The numerical coordinate values can also be displayed in the Control bar.
Large Cursor
The 3D cursor can be expanded to reach the edges of the view planes. Choosing Large Cursor in the Figure menu or checking the Large Cursor checkbox in the Control bar will enlarge the 3D cursor. The cursor is reduced to the original size by choosing Large Cursor again.
Restricting the Movement of the 3D Cursor
Normally, dragging the cursor while holding down the Shift key or pressing the Shift key somewhere in the middle of dragging, or, releasing a key pressed along with the Shift key somewhere in the middle of dragging, will restrict the movement of the cursor to muliples of 45 degrees from the horizontal.
Sticky Mouse
The Properties dialog appears after choosing Preferences… in the Edit menu. Clicking on the Sticky Mouse checkbox in the Preferences dialog allows substituting the dragging operation with an operation similar to clicking. Clicking the mouse once will “lock” the mouse button down for dragging; clicking again will release the mouse button. For some operations, these clicks may have different settings, in which case a slight drag may be necessary after the first click. Selecting Preferences… from the Special menu will open the Preferences dialog. Functions which require slight dragging
- Manipulating the Selection box
- Creating a Closed Line, Open Line, Rectangle, Disk, Sphere, Point Light, or Spotlight using the Create tool. However, for a Closed or Open Line, this function is valid only for dragging an anchor point.
- Manipulating the Move tool, and using Translate, Rotate, Scale, Uni-Scale, or Skew in the Copy tool.
- Creating a Rotator joint, Slider joint, Scale joint, or Uni-Scale joint using the Part tool.
- Creating Extruded objects and Revolved objects with the Solid tool.
- Manipulating the joystick in the Camera window.
- Adding anchor points to line objects.
- Copying and moving an object with the Shift + X keys (Win) / Shift + X keys (Mac).
- Copying and Moving an object with the Shift + Ctrl or Shift + Z keys (Win) / Shift + Option keys (Mac).
Image Sizes
Although the size of the Figure window is restricted by the size of the monitor, the size of the image within the window has no limit. The Figure window is like a window in the literal sense, allowing us to look at part of an image of limitless size. It also resembles spreading an incredibly large piece of paper on a drawing table. The distance between dots on the monitor can be scaled from 0.001 times to 100,000 times, which corresponds to a ratio of 1,000,000, from the minimum units of mm to the maximum units of km. The resolution ranges from 0.001 mm to 100000 km. Scrolling an image vertically or horizontally is also practically unrestricted, similar to moving the large piece of paper around on the drawing table.
Changing the Scale of View Planes
There are several ways to change the scale:
The Zoom In and Zoom Out Buttons in the Tool Box
The scale of the view plane shrinks when the Zoom Out button is clicked, thereby displaying a wider area. The displayed objects become smaller. The Zoom In button provides the opposite function. For the Zoom In button, view planes are magnified x2, x2, x2.5 in turn for each three clicks, whereas the Zoom Out buttons provides the opposite function: that is, view planes are scaled x10 or x0.1 for each three clicks. Clicking the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons in the Tool Box while holding down the Ctrl or Z key (Win) or option key (Mac) will reduce or magnify the view plane centered on the 3D cursor.
Shrink and Magnify in the Figure Menu
These enable the same functions as the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons in the Tool Box, except that zooming cannot be centered on the 3D cursor.
Keyboard Commands
The mouse pointer changes into the Zoom Out pointer when the Space bar + Ctrl or Z key (Win) / Space bar + Option key (Mac) is held down. Clicking a view plane will zoom out, centered on the position of the pointer. The mouse pointer changes into the Zoom In pointer with the Space bar + X key (Win) / Space bar + X key (Mac) is held down. Clicking a view plane will zoom in, centered on the position of the pointer.
Using the Mouse Wheel
Moving the mouse wheel downward will zoom out the view plane, while moving it upward will zoom in the view plane. Zoom in / out the view plane centered on the 3D cursor cannot be performed.
Scrolling
The mouse pointer changes into a hand-shaped pointer when the space bar is held down. Dragging a view plane (except the perspective view) with the hand pointer will scroll the view plane. Dragging a ruler at the edge of a view plane will restrict the scrolling to horizontal or vertical directions. Dragging the perspective view will change the camera view, depending on the settings in the Camera window.
Rotating Views
The mouse pointer changes into a hand-shaped pointer when the Space bar + Shift key is held down. Dragging a view plane (except the perspective view) with this hand pointer will rotate the view plane. To cancel the rotation, click in the view while pressing the Space bar + Shift key. The display of the Figure window changes when the view plane is rotating, so that you can determine the status of the view plane.
Fit To Window
Choosing Fit To Window from the Figure menu will change the scale of the view planes so that all objects fit and are centered in each view plane. However, objects that are hidden will not be taken into account.
Changing the Views
You can select which view plane is displayed by selecting Side, Top, Front, Pers or Shared from the View submenu under the Figure menu.
Changing the View Proportions
When the Figure window is in the Shared display, move the horizontal and vertical dividers to change the proportions of the display. The mouse pointer changes into a double-headed arrow when it is placed over a divider line. Drag the borderline with the double-headed arrow to change the proportions of the display.
Object Display
Objects are displayed via a shading process using wireframe and quick rendering techniques.
Wireframe
Shade uses the wireframe process, a fast, standard rendering method. The color of the wireframes can be specified separately for each mode: selection, non-selection, and object editing state. Also, you can display the wireframe in the diffuse color defined for the object. You can select these options using the color popup menus in the Preferences dialog.
Shading Preview Display Mode
The Preview Display mode can be switched to Shading or Shading + Wireframe to better visualize the scene in the Figure window before rendering.
Preview Display Modes
You can toggle the quick rendering display on/off in the Perspective view using the Shading Display Mode sub menu in the Rendering menu. When a check mark is displayed next to this command, the quick rendering display in the Perspective view is active. To turn on the quick rendering display in any view, right click in the view and select Display Mode > Shading from the shortcut menu that appears. Choose Display Mode > Shading from the Contextual menu or the Cross-up menu in any view plane to toggle quick rendering in that view plane.
Quick Rendering Attributes
- Quick rendering can display all objects, but not “hole” of the closed line object information and Boolean Rendering.
- By default, the surface subdivision level for quick rendering is set to Regular. The Settings in the Rendering Options dialog are not used for Quick Rendering, but the special characters will affect it:“@” character indicates no subdivision, the “<” character subdivides one level finer than Normal, and the “>” character subdivides one level coarser than Normal. These characters can be repeated in a name.
- In the quick rendering mode, the surface Diffuse Color attribute of an object is used. Also the Diffuse attribute for Texture Mapping is enabled. Even when another option is selected, Diffuse will be used if possible. To define the attributes for Texture Mapping, select the object and specify the options for the Surface. Then select Update Texture from the Rendering menu. To cancel the texture display, select Clear Texture from the Rendering menu.
- When All Lights in the Rendering menu is chosen, the direction, intensity, and ambient value for all Distant Light settings affect the display. When All Lights in the Rendering menu is not chosen, only the direction of the first Distant Light affects the display.
- The threshold value, Smooth setting of Polygon Meshes, and the edge roundness will also affect the display.
Shading Wireframe
When you choose Display Mode > Shading + Wireframe in the Rendering menu, the wireframe is displayed on top of all Shaded objects. Choosing Wireframe again will switch it off. The wireframe display cannot be switched on/off individually for each view plane.
Smooth
Choose Smooth in the Rendering menu to switch it on. All Shaded objects are shown with Smooth Shading. Choose it again to switch back to Flat Shading. The Smooth setting cannot be set individually for each view plane.
The upper figure shows objects rendered with Smooth Shading, and the lower with Flat Shading.
Single Sided
Choose Single Sided in the Rendering menu to switch it on. The backsides of objects are hidden. Choose it again in the menu to switch it off. The Single Sided view cannot be set individually for each view plane.
The figure on the right shows the reverse side of the torus on the left. By applying Single Sided, the plane on the right is displayed reversed.
Update Texture
When using Quick Rendering, select Update Texture from the Special menu or the contextual menu to display the textures. This is also used to refresh the display after making any modifications to the texture settings.
Texture Size
The size of the texture used for quick rendering can be chosen from four levels. Enlarging the size will improve the quality, but it will take more time to perform procedures such as updating the texture.
Clear Texture
Selecting Clear Texture from the Rendering menu will discard the texture data used for quick rendering and release the memory space used by the cache. When objects are not being displayed correctly, clear the texture and display them again. This may correct the display. If quick rendered display is not required and high-resolution rendering is to take place, clearing the texture may help to avoid a memory shortage.
Clear Cache
While quick rendering is enabled, data is temporarily stored in the memory area called the Cache. When you don’t need the quick rendering display, select Clear Cache from the Rendering menu or the contextual menu to release the space used by the cache.
Hide or Show Objects
When multiple objects are being displayed, you can specify which objects to show in order to make the display easier to understand, and to improve display speed. The quick rendering settings will also affect display speed.
Hide selected Objects
Choose Hide Active from the Figure menu.
Hide Unselected Objects
Choose Hide Inactive from the Figure menu.
Display Selected Objects
Choose Show Active from the Figure menu. Display All Objects
Display All Objects
Choose Show All from the Figure menu.
Using Templates
Templates are usually used as drafts to help with entering line objects. However, they can also be used effectively to check perspective in the Perspective view by loading a picture that is to be used as a background image.
Loading Templates
Load an image for each view plane using the Template submenu in the Figure menu to display them as templates. Templates are saved in the scene files.
Show/Hide Template
Switching on the Show Template checkbox in the Template submenu in the Figure menu, or checking the Template Show checkbox in the Control bar, will display all templates that are loaded into the view planes. They can be hidden by switching the checkbox off.
Deleting Templates
Clicking the Delete Template button in the Figure menu / checking the Template Delete checkbox in the Control bar will delete all templates loaded in the view planes.
