Monthly Archives: June 2013

3DS Max, VRay

3DS Max – Vray Camera Manager

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Hello everyone,

I was recently really busy working on some visuals for Hilton Hotels and because I was using 3DS Max and VRay hence I have a new idea for the post to share with you.

I would like to encourage you to install a VRay Camera Manager. Similarly as a Light Lister it will give you an icon/button which opens an easy to manage list with all VRay cameras.

To install that script vcm.mcr just drop and drop it to the 3DS Max window or Run it from the MAXScript menu. Apparently nothing will happen but a new position named VRay Camera Manager will be added to a list of available commands in the Customize User Interface window on the Toolbar tab. You can drag and drop this command to any of your open toolbars.Vray camera manager

Version Requirement: 

Tested in in Max 2012, 2013, 2014 but should work in earlier versions

Other Software Required:

VRay 2.0 or higher

Autocad

AutoCAD – Area Room Tags

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This is quick “how to” create a block with an area field which value adjust automatically when the polyline attached to that field is amended.

  1. Create a polyline.
  2. Open Attribute Definition window and set up typical attribute parameters.
    (command: ATTDEF)
  3. Click Insert Field button.
  4. From a list with field names choose Object.
  5. Click the button on the left of the Object type field and choose your polyline.
  6. Choose property Area (if it’s not chosen automatically) and choose desired precision.
  7. Click on the button called Additional Format… A new window will pop up.
  8. Enter desired conversion factor. E.g. If your drawing is in mm and you want area to be expressed in meters enter 0.0001
  9. Enter desired suffix if you wish. E.g. For square meters you can enter m\U+00B2. \U+00B2 will be replaced with ². You can also copy that symbol from Windows Character Map.
  10. Confirm hitting OK to close all windows.
  11. Choose a position for your new field.
  12. Create a block with any additional elements you wish for.

Attribute definition

Now a field in your block is connected with a polyline.
After you amended a polyline you need to regenerate to see the changes in the area field.

To create another block connected to another polyline you need to:

  1. Copy the block.
  2. Create or copy a polyline.
  3. Double clicking on the block. Enhanced Attribute Editor window will pop up.
  4. Choose area field.
  5. Double click the value (it should have gray background) A Field window will open.
  6. Click the button on the left of the Object type field and choose your NEW polyline.
  7. Set up fields in the Additional Format again (it’s a little irritating)
  8. Accept the changes by pressing OK.

or

  1.  Select a block and a connected to it polyline.
  2. Amend the shape of the copied polyline.
  3. Regenerate to see the change in the area field.

select polyline

Tell me if you know the faster way.

Note:

Data from attributes in blocks can be extracted and use in Excel.

A Table inside AutoCAD (2013) can be created with data extracted from attributes from blocks. Data in the Table can be updated after any amendments to polylines.

Sketchup

Sketchup – Move on specific axis

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There are times when you want to move a selection in a specific direction – and there are ways to do that with:

1. Shift key –  Press and hold the Shift key, while the move you are performing is the specific color of an axis, to lock move operation to that axis (the inference line will bold).

2. Arrow keys – You can force SketchUp to infer parallel to a specific axis by pressing one of the following keys while using the Line tool, Move tool, or Tape Measure tool:

  • → Right arrow key = red axis
  • ← Left arrow key = green axis
  •  ↑  Up or down arrow keys = blue axis

3. Alt key – use it to force a free movement of an element constrain by the geometry it is a part of. You can combine it with a Shift key.

Additional info on Sketchup Sage

4. Entering a 3D Coordinate – SketchUp can move your entities to exact (using [x, y, z ]) or relative (using <x, y, z >) coordinates in 3D space. Type it in and you will see it in The Measurements Toolbar at the bottom right corner of the SketchUp window.