3D scenes

For a new scene use the Add › New 3D screen command; the scene appears in the project tree under 3D Scenes and its ground is 30 × 20 m. In the editor the scene is in the middle, the toolbar on top, the 3D Library, Scene and Views tabs on the right and the Inspector below. Properties and tag binding are done in the Inspector as on 2D screens.

The alignment guide and the collision check are switched on and off on the toolbar. While dragging, the Alt key turns off snapping, the guide and the collision check temporarily. The Preview buttons show the scene in the editor in the Running, Design or Fault state.

• + Add floor adds a platform the size of the ground 4 m above the highest floor. The Floor selector on the toolbar determines the floor on which a new object is placed. The height, columns, railing and transparency of a floor are edited in the Inspector.
• + Save current view gives a name to the position of the camera. Saved views appear in Live as buttons below the scene; the Go to 3D view function can also be connected to an event. The Home view is the opening view of the scene in Live.
• In the screen properties the ambient light is set to Day, Evening, Night or Studio, and shadows are switched on and off. Preset ground sizes range from 10 × 8 m to 80 × 50 m.

420+ of the 430+ 3D objects have two models. Standard is the plain model. Realistic is the detailed version of the same object, with parts such as flanges, bolts, feet and a nameplate. The model is the Model property of the object; it is not bound to a tag, and the object does not move when the model changes. 14 objects, such as basic shapes, have a single model.

You change the model in three places: the Model property of the object; the right-click menu or Edit › Model for selected objects; and, for the whole screen, the Switch to Realistic model and Switch to Standard model buttons in the Scene category. A bulk switch is a single undo step. In large scenes it is smoother to place objects in the Standard model and bind the tags first, then switch to Realistic last.

The project-wide 3D render quality is set to High or Fast in the Object appearance card of Live settings. Fast is a plain appearance and is smoother on older graphics cards.

It places the objects of a 2D screen drawn as a process diagram or a switchboard on a new 3D screen, using their counterparts in the 3D library. The 2D screen does not change; the result is a separate screen whose name ends with _3B. You then correct it manually in the 3D editor.

Tag bindings and events are carried over: the X binding is converted to meters and the Y binding moves to Z. Those that cannot be carried over are listed in the result window.

• Dragging with the left button rotates the scene and the wheel zooms. On a touch screen one finger rotates, two fingers pan and pinching zooms.
• Clicking a face of the navigation cube at the top right shows the scene from that direction. Saved views appear as buttons at the bottom.
• The camera can be Free (the operator rotates and zooms), Automatic tour (the scene rotates by itself) or Fixed (saved views only). The frame rate is 60, 30 or 15 frames/s; a lower value puts less load on the processor of a weak computer.
• The bound properties of objects are applied as in 2D. 3D objects have no focus, key, double-click or cursor events.

For run-time details see running in Live.

• 3D drawing requires WebGL. If the graphics card driver does not provide WebGL, the scene is not drawn; the message “3D rendering (WebGL) is not available on this PC” appears in the editor and in Live. On weak computers, lowering the frame rate and turning off shadows reduce the load.
• No 2D objects can be placed on a 3D screen. 3D controls (alarm, trend, report and camera displays) stand in the scene as free-standing displays.
• Conversion is one-way: the 3D screen is not synchronized with the 2D screen afterwards. Layers and grouping are not carried over, objects start on the ground; floor and height are set in the 3D editor.
• Equipment dimensions are approximate. You review and correct the result in the 3D editor.
• Recipe and report components, the Menu bar, Toolbar and Event view, and ten elements (List box, Option buttons, Analog clock, HTML browser, Round button, Diamond button, PDF viewer, PC information, Increase / decrease, Selector switch) have no 3D counterpart. They are skipped in conversion or become a placeholder box.