Applying Display Options and Graphic Properties

task target This  task shows how to change the display option of clouds of points.
aprereq.gif (1231 bytes) Open the Visu1.CATPart model the from the samples directory.
It consists of four clouds of points:
  • a mesh,
  • a cloud of points,
  • a set of scans,
  • a set of grids.
Their default colors are respectively:
  • orange,
  • green,
  • cyan,
  • cyan.
The display options are available from the Cloud Display Options box.
Further graphic properties are available from the Edit/Properties menu, in the Graphic tab.

From the Cloud Display Options box, you can:

  • Choose the sampling of clouds of points (N of 100 points are displayed). 
  • Choose to display scans or grids as polylines, points, or both. 
  • Choose to display triangles, free edges, non-manifold edges of meshes.
    You can also choose their display mode: flat or smooth. 

From the Edit/Properties menu, you can:

  • Choose the fill color of the mesh and its transparency level,
  • Choose the color and symbol of the points of a cloud,
  • Choose the color, type and thickness of scans and grids,
  • Choose to elements pickable or not.
 

Cloud Display Options  

The images below are only examples.

  1. Click Cloud Display Options at the bottom of the screen.
    The Cloud Display Options dialog box is displayed.

  1. Select the cloud to modify. Display options are proposed according to the type of the cloud selected:

    Following options are not yet available:
    • Protected,
    • Orientation,
    • Shrink,
    • Normal.

  1. Select display options:

    • For the cloud of points, you can choose to display only a percentage of the points making the cloud, using the Sampling option.
      By default, 100% of the points are displayed. You can change this value with the associated spinner.
      Example:
      Sampling=100

      Sampling=25

    • For clouds of points that contain color information (e.g. imported from a Ascii RGB file), select the Colored check box to display the points in the color contained in the Leica file. If the check box Colored is not selected, the display color will be that defined in the Graphic Properties menu.
    The Symbol options are not available in that box, but in the Graphic Properties menu.
    • For the sets of scans or grids, you can display them as line of points or points or both:
    • For the mesh, you can:
      • display the triangles,
         
      • visualize only the vertices for a lighter display
        (do not forget to de-activate the Smooth, Flat or Triangles options)
        instead of

      • the free edges in yellow, 

      • the non-manifold facets and their vertices in bold white lines.If you choose the display of triangles, the triangles accepting a non-manifold edge have
        their edges displayed as regular white lines. 

      • display the  mesh as a smooth or a flat mesh.

        or

The free edges displayed are those of the complete cloud of points:

  • if you activate only a portion of a cloud of points, the free edges of that portion are not displayed.

  • if you remove a portion of a cloud of points, the free edges of the remaining portion are displayed.
  • If you move a cloud of points or a mesh, its graphic display options (not the graphic properties) are lost.
  • The display options are not saved in the CATPart while the graphic properties are.

Edit/Properties menu (Graphic tab)

For more information about this menu, please refer to the Displaying and Editing Graphic Properties 
chapter in the CATIA Infrastructure user's guide.

The images below are only examples.
You can access this menu through Edit>Properties, or through the contextual menu of the element,
or display the Graphic Properties toolbar (View>Toolbars>Graphic Properties).

or
 
  • The color displayed in the Graphic Properties toolbar applies to meshes only.
  • The graphic properties are saved in the CATPart.
  • Use Fill>Color and Transparency to modify the color and transparency of meshs:
Please note that:
  • the color of mesh free edges is yellow, and is not editable,
  • the color of non-manifold edges is white, and is not editable,
  • the default color of scans has changed to cyan.

For a higher transparency quality, go to Tools>Options>Display>Performances and check the High (Alpha blending) option.
  • Use Edges>Color, Line type and Thickness to modify the display of scans and grids or of the triangles of a mesh:
  • Use Points>Color and Symbol to modify the display of clouds of points:
  • Use the Pickable check box to make an element pickable or not, and choose the pick option in the list below.

end of task