Best Practices for Displaying Scans and Models in 3D View
This article describes best practices on how to display scans and models in 3D View in an efficient and effective way.
Some users may experience slow loading when initially entering 3D View. It is generally due to the large amount of data being displayed at the same time.
After verifying computer specifications and internet connection (see Cintoo Solution Specifications), here are the tips to overcome this kind of issue.
1) Organize the data
Scans:
If a project contains hundreds or thousands of scans, organize the data by work zones and do not have all scans in the root or one unique work zone. Place scans in sub-work zones, for example by Floors, by Areas, etc. (see Organizing Scans into Work Zones).
3D Models:
If a project contains one or several 3D models containing thousands of objects, create sub-work zones under a 3D model work zone organized by Disciplines or by Floor/Elevation, etc. Placing one model per work zone will provide a lot of flexibility in viewing models.
2) Navigate in 3D
A) Never switch directly to 3D view from the root of the project (active work zone)
This will display all project files in 3D view in 3D Navi mode, so it will start by loading all models first (thousands of 3D objects) and then all scans (hundreds or thousands) one by one, CPU and internet bandwidth get overloaded in this case.
B) Recommended way to enter 3D View:
1. First in Project Explorer, select only one needed scan work zone in 3D View.
2. Go to Overview Map.
3. Select X-Ray mode in Display Settings.
4. Click on the scan position needed in 3D View.
3D view opens in Scan Mode at the scan position chosen.
Navigate from scan to scan or in 3D Navi mode. Add 3D models that need to be displayed with the scans by ticking corresponding work zone (one by one) in Work Zone Explorer.
Add another scan work zone (Floor/area) if needed by ticking a work zone to add it to 3D View.
Reduce the number of 3D objects from the model if needed using Model Content Explorer, to hide temporary parts of the 3D model which are not relevant with the view.
Finally, if loading is still slow (especially if hundreds of scans are displayed), temporarily switch off Navigation Map on the bottom right corner by clicking on Navigation Map icon.
In fact, if there are no Site Map or Model Lines (e.g. 2D DWG), the default setting of Navigation Map is Scan Colors mode. So, when first opened a scan work zone in 3D View, it will construct Navigation Map from all scans, which uses CPU and internet bandwidth.
Switch off Navigation Map temporarily, and re-open it to finish loading Navigation Map when 3D View is loaded and smooth. If a Site Map or Model Lines are present, switch to those modes instead of Scan Colors mode, since they do not use as much CPU or internet bandwidth.
