Windowizer

Anssi

Bert,

The issue might be having the network adapters in your computer, not whether they are actually connected to anything. I once remember getting this message with SU5, on my XP laptop that also was not connected, but that had the adapters enabled.

Anssi

Bert,

It might be a network adapter issue. If your Mac has both wired and wireless networks enabled, SU sometimes sees them as two different computers using the same serial number/license of SU

Anssi

I don't know if it still works, but the other way round went beautifully when I last tried the SU/ADT plugin. SU components imported beautifully into ADT as doors and windows. The same applied to the Archicad plugin when I last tried it - I don't know if it works with the latest versions. Other that SU arcs remain facetted in the BIM packages, I think that SU could be a great tool for creating custom doors and windows for ADT and Archicad, as I find the tools available in these for this purpose to be quite clumsy.

The ADT to SU way is not as easy, as the model has to be exploded in ADT in order to make the ADT objects to be importable to SU, and sadly this reduces them to simple faces.

Anssi

Granted. You already have it, as we all

I wish our cat would like me.

Anssi

Tom,

Is your model far (miles, kilometers) from the SU origin, or is it large, kilometers across? Or has it some geometry (one line is enough) far from the actual model? This is called clipping, and it is a limitation of the OpenGL display system, it doesn't handle very large geometry well. In mild cases zooming to extents helps, as does keeping Perspective view on.

Anssi

I read almost everything posted in these forums. I post more seldom than in the old forums, maybe there are less questions I know the answer to...

Anssi

Once, not very long ago, Al Hart posted that he had something like this done, but I don't remember having seen anything about it since.

Anssi

Granted, but they cannot stop laughing (And you were serious)

I wish for antivirus software that wouldn't overtake my computer

Anssi

Ronan,

Did you try the other options on the Preferences>OpenGL window? My old ATI card will work with Hardware Acceleration on, but I have to turn Fast Feedback off.

You might still try downloading and updating the display driver. Laptop display drivers may be available only through the laptop manufacturer's website, but I would try ATI too.

Just dumb suggestions

Anssi

Hi,

Open the Styles dialog. Select the Edit tab. Push the Background icon. Untick Sky and Ground, and set the Background colour to white (or whatever you like)

Anssi

I am afraid it just might be so. A 23 Mb file can be enormous, especially if it has lots of component instances. The graphics card is just one part of SU:s display performance. It takes care of mostly the textures and shadows in the model, and the "geometry" (faces and edges) is handled by the CPU (or half of modern dual-core CPUs, as SU is single threaded like most modeling software). So an older 2.8 GHz CPU might even be faster in CAD than new sub-2GHz dualcores. SU uses OpenGL, not DirectX.

I think that Nvidia Quadro GPU:s are generally OK, but I have been a bit underwhelmed by the SU performance of the lower end of the price range (I have used the 550 and 1400 cards), and I think the high-end is overpriced. I see no big difference with the performance of the GeForce FX 5700 Go in my luggable, and the QuadroFX 1400 in my computer at work.

However, you should check that

• the graphics driver software is up to date and the correct version
• OpenGL Hardware Acceleration is enabled in the Window menu>Preferences>OpenGL dialog
• Antialiasing is set to Application-controlled in your graphics card settings

To make SU go faster you can, for instance

• turn off textures and shadows
• hide parts of your model that you are currently not working with
• use 2D cutouts (with alpha-channel transparency) for trees and people instead of 3D components
• replace taxing 3D components with simple placeholder objects, and reload them when your model is finished.

Anssi

Of course I laugh! Lovely! Something that you could encounter in a Stanislav Lem universe!

Anssi

Thanks for sharing again, Tom!

Yes, the shadow on the right one is beautiful, but I still think that I would prefer the "lite" version. In real-world modeling the difference wouldn't be so glaring, as the shadows wouldn't be falling on such pristine ground, and the viewpoint would also generally be somewhat lower, so the shadow shapes wouldn't stick out so much.

Anssi

Stu,

It depends on how you like to configure it. Modern graphics cards ough to be able to support native resolutions on both displays. On a laptop, you also typically have several configuration choices:

• either display can be the primary one, and the other is blank
• the image on the primary display is duplicated on the second one
• your desktop is expanded to incorporate both the displays

Anssi

I wonder if networking is part of the problem. At work I have difficulties exporting JPG:s of any size, with or without antialiasing. The files are unusable if exported to a network drive, but files exported to the desktop are OK. Other apps I use, including older versions of SU, do not have the problem.

Anssi

Tip:

You can use the Windowizer and Delete Coplanar ruby scripts to reduce the needed steps.

Anssi

I noticed the same thing about the buttons, and I PM:d both Coen and Gaieus about it.

Anssi