Inserting viewpoints

Insert viewpoints in the navigation to isolate a particular area of a scene at a particular zoom level. Viewpoints define what part of a scene a viewer sees, and at what magnification.

About this task

You can use viewpoints as targets in jumps between scenes and associate them with a particular zoom level. For example, a scene might present a dashboard map indicating factory locations. You can insert and define viewpoints for each region of the dashboard, thereby allowing users to move quickly to the location and magnification for the region they are interested in.

In addition to providing a navigation tool, named viewpoints can be the target of an event action. For example, you can specify the display of a particular viewpoint if a user double-clicks an object.

To insert a viewpoint, perform the following steps:

Procedure

  1. Open the New Viewpoint window in one of the following ways:
    • In the Canvas mode in the visual dashboard editor, select Insert > Insert Viewpoint to open the New Viewpoint window.
    • From the Project Explorer view, right-click on the Locals node for the scene to which you want to add a viewpoint and select Insert Viewpoint from the pop-up menu.
    • From the Project Explorer view, right-click on the scene for which you want to create the viewpoint and select New > Viewpoint
    The New Viewpoint window opens.
  2. Type a name for the viewpoint in the Name field.
  3. Type the location of the x-coordinate in the X location field.

    The X-coordinate specifies the distance from the center of the scene along the horizontal axis. The default value is 0.

  4. Type the value of the y-coordinate in the Y location field.

    The y-location is the number of inches from the center of the display.

    The Y-coordinate specifies the distance from the center of the scene along the vertical axis. The default value is 0.

    Note: The default unit of measurement used for the X and Y coordinates depend on the regional standards specified for the client machine. You can change the unit of measurement by typing its abbreviation after the value. For more information, see Units of Measure .
  5. Specify the zoom level of the viewpoint in the Zoom level list.

    The default value is 100%.

  6. Click Finish.

    The New Viewpoint window closes.

Results

To modify a viewpoint:

  1. In the Project Explorer view, locate the viewpoint that you want to modify and double-click it. The Edit Viewpoint Properties window opens.
  2. Type changes in the X location and Y location fields.
  3. Specify a new zoom level in the Zoom level list.
  4. Click OK.
Note:

You can restore the scene to the default viewpoint by pressing the Home key.

The default viewpoint (0,0, 100% zoom) is a helpful orientation point when you are developing a scene. In a large scene, when you want to return to the center, you can press the Home key to take you back to the default viewpoint.

You can set a viewpoint for a scene from the Default Viewpoint folder in the Scenes folder. Right-click Default Viewpoint and select Properties to change the default viewpoint properties or select Insert Viewpoint to create a viewpoint.