User manual MAXWELL RENDER MAXWELL FOR SKETCHUP 2.1.0

[. . . ] Maxwell for SketchUp version 2. 1. 0 Contents 1 Technical Information 1. 1 Supported Platforms . 1. 2. 1 Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 6 6 6 6 7 8 9 9 9 10 12 12 12 12 13 15 17 17 17 21 23 23 26 28 30 30 30 1. 2. 2 OSX . 2. 2. 1 Scene Manager 2. 2. 2 Menu & Toolbar 2. 2. 3 Context Menu 3 Plugin Quick Start 3. 1 Notes . 4. 2. 1 Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 34 34 34 34 35 35 37 39 42 43 45 46 48 49 50 51 52 54 54 55 60 61 63 63 64 64 64 66 68 70 71 71 72 72 4. 2. 2 Preview . [. . . ] If Displacement is used, then the map should be a black and white map, preferably 16-bit or better. As mentioned previously, when Displacement mode is used, the Strength parameter specifies the displacement height in millimeters, rather than in percent, as is the case for the Bump and Normal mapping modes. Source Similar to the way that a material's Color texture may be linked to the associated SketchUp material's texture, the material's Bump texture may be linked to its Color texture. If it is necessary to use a different bump map, switch Source to Use Specific Texture and browse to the desired texture file. 4. 2. 7 MXM Mode What has been discussed up to this point is known as the Embedded material mode. Embedded refers to the fact that the parameters which will define the material in Maxwell are stored directly in the SketchUp document, and are edited, as has been explained above, entirely from within the plugin's user-interface. Optionally, it is possible to switch a material into its MXM mode; in this mode, the built-in parameters will not be used, and the material will reference an MXM file instead. To switch to MXM mode, click the MXM toggle-button at the top-right corner of the Materials page: Figure 4. 2. 11: The MXM Mode switch. When MXM mode is activated, the page will 'spin' around to reveal a different interface: 46 4 Scene Manager Figure 4. 2. 12: The material panel in MXM Mode. Here, I have browsed to an MXM file on my local disk. The preview image for the MXM file has been shown, and I have also clicked the Copy Color to SketchUp Material button, found at the top-right; notice that the color chip next to the material's name (it was blue before) in the materials drop-down has been updated, as a result of its having been changed in SketchUp. There are five buttons in the MXM mode interface: Browse Click this button to choose an MXM file. 47 4 Scene Manager Edit This button is only enabled when an MXM file is present. When MXED is closed again, the plugin will check to see whether the file has been update or not; if it has, the MXM preview image will be updated to reflect the new state of the MXM file. Clear This simply clears any current MXM file. Copy Color to SketchUp When an MXM file is present, this button will be visible. Clicking it will copy the basic color of the MXM file into this material's associated SketchUp material. Copy Texture to SketchUp Similar to the previous item, this button will copy the MXM file's selected texture into the associated SketchUp material's texture. This button will only be shown if the MXM file has a selected texture, and if that texture is able to be found in the file system. An MXM file's selected texture is set using the drop-down list of textures next to MXED's Refresh Preview button. 4. 3 Camera For each Scene in your SketchUp document, the plugin will create and maintain an associated Maxwell camera. 48 4 Scene Manager Figure 4. 3. 1: The Camera panel. 4. 3. 1 Toolbar The Camera panel's toolbar contains the following items: Undo/Redo These two drop-down lists hold the history of actions which have been executed in the camera panel. They are cleared when a new document is opened, or when a different camera is selected. View This button toggles the Camera panel between its Minimal and Advanced views. When the Minimal view is active, only the most often used camera parameters are shown. 49 4 Scene Manager Presets List This drop-down provides a list of camera presets which have been stored previously. To remove a particular preset, click the red X next to its name in the list. Add Preset Click this button to store the current settings as a new camera preset. 4. 3. 2 Output Resolution This section determines the output dimensions of the rendered image. It operates in two basic modes: Viewport and Custom. Figure 4. 3. 2: The Output Resolution sub-panel. In Viewport mode, the plugin will match the output to the current state of the SketchUp viewport. In Custom resolution mode, output is defined independently of the viewport. A list of common resolution sizes is provided in the Preset drop-down. Additionally, there are two other parameters which come into play in Custom mode. Lock Aspect Ratio This toggle simply constrains the aspect ratio of the output dimensions. Show Aspect Ratio in Viewport When using Custom mode, it is likely that the aspect ratio of the Maxwell output will not match that of the SketchUp viewport. In order that you might be able to accurately predict 50 4 Scene Manager the composition of your output, the plugin provides the Show Aspect Ratio in Viewport feature. When this is enabled, grey bars will appear in the SketchUp viewport, framing the area which will appear in the render. 4. 3. 3 Exposure A camera's exposure is the result of the combination of its fStop, Shutter, and ISO values. As the fStop value is decreased, more light enters the camera, brightening the exposure. [. . . ] If, for instance, the command executed is the Separate by Material (6. 2. 3) command, it is the document which will have its Separate by attribute set to Face. When exported, faces in the document which are not contained in a Group or Component Definition will be separated by material, with one mesh being exported per material. 83 7 General Discussion 7. 4 Layers The SketchUp concept of layers cannot be represented in the MXS format. In SketchUp, an entity's Layer is unrelated to its position in the document hierarchy; rather, it is more like an attribute attached to an entity. Therefore, the way in which the plugin uses SketchUp Layers for organization in the MXS differs conceptually from the way it is used in SketchUp. [. . . ]