Autodesk Platform Services Viewer toolbar and features

TRIRIGA context

When the viewer is used with the Locate or Work Task application, it displays the current context of the application. The model displayed is for the building containing the active location or asset. If the active space or asset is keyed to the model, it is also selected in the model and the camera is placed in the model to display that item. For space, that is near the center of the space. This works well for reasonably regular shaped rooms, but for some rooms such as an L-shaped hall, the geometric center is not in the space.

In a view, asset refers to the location or asset that is present in the center in the view and zooms such that it fills most of the view. On occasion, an asset can be obscured, and it may be necessary to rotate the view to see the asset.

Viewer navigation

Basic and extended viewer navigation and view manipulation are provided by APS Viewer as part of the APS Viewer. These functions are accessed from the bottom toolbar. Various TRIRIGA applications expose more or less of the toolbar, and the toolbar adjusts for screen size. On a smaller screen, some tools could be hidden.

Viewer toolbar

On the left of the UI, three sections of the bottom toolbar are part of the basic viewer package as provided by Autodesk Platform Services Viewer. This provides access to standard viewer navigation features, viewer configuration, and model properties. Some of the features include Zoom to selection, Camera focal length, Rotate model, Orbit, Zoom to model, Measure, Explode view, Zoom, and Model tree.

The right-most section of the Autodesk Platform Services Viewer toolbar contains IBM extensions and access to TRIRIGA specific features such as TRIRIGA menu, Markup mode, Saved view, and so on.

Toolbar options	Function
Search	The Viewer provides a quick search for items in the model. It searches all model properties for all items for any property value that contains the search string. Any item that has a match is part of the search result and is selected.
Toggle Zoom to Context	Enables or disables the auto-zoom to context when an item is selected in the viewer.
Zoom to Selection	Centers the model on the current selection and zooms the view into the current selection. If multiple items are selected, the view includes all selected items.
Zoom to Model	Zooms the view so that the entire model is displayed.
Apply View	Displays a list of all the saved views that are associated with this model. A saved view may be displayed in the viewer by double-clicking the Saved View Description or by selecting the saved view description then pressing the Apply button.
Save View	Displays the Save View dialog to allow the current view to be saved to the TRIRIGA database.
Show Markup	Displays a list of all the Markups that are associated with this model and Work Task. Markup may be displayed in the viewer by double-clicking the Markup Description or by selecting the markup description then pressing the Apply button.
Create Markup	Switches the viewer to Markup Mode and displays the Markup Toolbar.

Model tree

The model tree displays a hierarchical representation of the internal structure of the model. Different types of models have different structures. So, the model tree for a Revit model and a Navisworks model derived from the Revit model is not the same. The model tree can be used to navigate through the model by using its structure. Selecting individual items or groups of items, and through the context menu, controlling how the currently selected item(s) are shown in the model.

If the model tree is open, selecting an item in the model also selects and displays it in the model tree.

Sections

A model can be cut by a section plane in the X-, Y-, or Z-axis, or cut by a box in all three axes at once. You can display the desired section tool and drag the arrow to move the cut plane through the model. The cut plane can be rotated so almost any cut is possible.

You can use the Z section plane and the top-down Orth view to create a 2D floor or ceiling plans that can then be saved and viewed later. A view down the Z-axis can be created by clicking on the top of the view cube.

Saved views

Saved Views are available in the viewer embedded in the BIM Administration Tool, and in the Work Task application.

Much of the Viewer state can be captured in a Saved View, stored in the TRIRIGA database, and later restored. This includes the camera position and zoom, the current selection, and section cuts, and selection. Saved views are created from within the viewer. You can find them in the TRIRIGA submenu on the bottom toolbar.

Menu options	Function
Save the current view	This button on the Viewer toolbar allows you to set up the desired viewer image by creating and saving views. You can specify the following properties: Description: The description is required and it identifies the view for later use. Details: Optional addition description Public: Private views are only visible to the user who creates them. Public views are visible to all users with access to the building.
Apply saved view	This option allows you to restore a view by highlighting the desired view and clicking the Apply button. The dialog only displays the first 20 views for the model. If the view you are looking for is not displayed, a search option is available to filter out the dialog. The search is a substring match against the description.
Manage saved views	This option displays the first 50 saved views and allows views to be filtered by description. Each view is displayed as a tile with a thumbnail image of the model of its associated view. Views can be deleted from the Manage Saved Views dialog using the Delete button. However, views can only be created from within the Viewer. User: The login ID of the user who created the view (read-only). Public?: Is the view restricted to its creator? Info icon: Displays and allows you to update the details information for the saved view. Thumbnail image: Loads the model into the viewer, switches to the Viewer tab, and applies the saved view to the model.

Menu options

Function

Save the current view

This button on the Viewer toolbar allows you to set up the desired viewer image by creating and saving views. You can specify the following properties:

Description: The description is required and it identifies the view for later use.
Details: Optional addition description
Public: Private views are only visible to the user who creates them. Public views are visible to all users with access to the building.

Apply saved view

This option allows you to restore a view by highlighting the desired view and clicking the Apply button.

The dialog only displays the first 20 views for the model. If the view you are looking for is not displayed, a search option is available to filter out the dialog. The search is a substring match against the description.

Manage saved views

This option displays the first 50 saved views and allows views to be filtered by description. Each view is displayed as a tile with a thumbnail image of the model of its associated view.

Views can be deleted from the Manage Saved Views dialog using the Delete button. However, views can only be created from within the Viewer.

User: The login ID of the user who created the view (read-only).
Public?: Is the view restricted to its creator?
Info icon: Displays and allows you to update the details information for the saved view.
Thumbnail image: Loads the model into the viewer, switches to the Viewer tab, and applies the saved view to the model.

Markup

Markup mode provides a set of drawing tools that can be used to draw on top of the view that is displayed at the time the markup mode is entered. After in markup mode, the view cannot be changed except to zoom and pan. Once complete, the markup can be saved with the work task and displayed later. A work task can have any number of markups associated with it.

Markup options	Function
Drawing tools	The first section of the Markup toolbar provides a set of drawing tools. The active drawing tool is highlighted. The drawing mechanisms offered by the tools are: Arrow: Click and drag. Cloud: Click to place each segment. Clicking the Start closes the cloud and allows it to be filled. Freehand: Hold the mouse down and drag. Line: Click to place each segment. Clicking the Start closes the figure and allows it to be filled. Oval: Click and drag to form the bounding box. Rectangle: Click and drag to create diagonally opposite corners. Text: Click to place the top left corner of the text box, then type the text. When complete, click the background outside the text box to exit edit mode.
Markup properties	Selecting the button displays the Markup Properties dialog and you can change the appearance of markup elements. The dialog has two slightly different forms depending on whether the active drawing tool is the Text tool or any of the other tools. The property setting remains in effect until it is changed. When a new tool is selected, it uses the current markup properties. Selecting a previously drawn markup sets the current drawing properties to those used to draw the newly selected markup.
Editing options	The editing options allow you to select and edit any previously drawn markup. Selecting a markup also makes that markup type the currently selected drawing tool on the Markup toolbar and updates the drawing properties. Generally, markups can be moved, resized, deleted, and in some cases rotated. Editing options vary by markup. And they may have their properties edited.
Save markup	Save button allows you to complete the markup session and to save the markup. When you click the Create button, TRIRIGA saves the just completed markup, the current view, the markup name, and any description with the Work Task.
Display markup	Displays a list of markups that are associated with the work task. The dialog only displays the first 20 markups for the model and work task combination. If the markup you are looking for is not displayed, use the Search field to filter the dialog. The search is a substring match against the description. Note: Applying a markup restores the view that was used to create the markup and displays the drawing elements of the markup. The Viewer is locked except for zoom and pan until the markup display is closed.
Delete	Deletes the associated markup.