Autodesk NavisWorks NavisWorks Freedom - 2011 User Guide

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Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011

User Guide

March 2010

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Certain materials included in this publication are reprinted with the permission of the copyright holder.

Trademarks

The following are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and other countries: 3DEC (design/logo), 3December, 3December.com, 3ds Max, Algor, Alias, Alias (swirl design/logo), AliasStudio, Alias|Wavefront (design/logo), ATC, AUGI, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Learning Assistance, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Simulator, AutoCAD SQL Extension, AutoCAD SQL Interface, Autodesk, Autodesk Envision, Autodesk Intent, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Map, Autodesk MapGuide, Autodesk Streamline, AutoLISP, AutoSnap, AutoSketch, AutoTrack, Backburner, Backdraft, Built with ObjectARX (logo), Burn, Buzzsaw, CAiCE, Civil 3D, Cleaner, Cleaner Central, ClearScale, Colour Warper, Combustion, Communication Specification, Constructware, Content Explorer, Dancing Baby (image), DesignCenter, Design Doctor, Designer's Toolkit, DesignKids, DesignProf, DesignServer, DesignStudio, Design Web Format, Discreet, DWF, DWG, DWG (logo), DWG Extreme, DWG TrueConvert, DWG TrueView, DXF, Ecotect, Exposure, Extending the Design Team, Face Robot, FBX, Fempro, Fire, Flame, Flare, Flint, FMDesktop, Freewheel, GDX Driver, Green Building Studio, Heads-up Design, Heidi, HumanIK, IDEA Server, i-drop, ImageModeler, iMOUT, Incinerator, Inferno, Inventor, Inventor LT, Kaydara, Kaydara (design/logo), Kynapse, Kynogon, LandXplorer, Lustre, MatchMover, Maya, Mechanical Desktop, Moldflow, Moonbox, MotionBuilder, Movimento, MPA, MPA (design/logo), Moldflow Plastics Advisers, MPI, Moldflow Plastics Insight, MPX, MPX (design/logo), Moldflow Plastics Xpert, Mudbox, Multi-Master Editing, Navisworks, ObjectARX, ObjectDBX, Open Reality, Opticore, Opticore Opus, Pipeplus, PolarSnap, PortfolioWall, Powered with Autodesk Technology, Productstream, ProjectPoint, ProMaterials, RasterDWG, RealDWG, Real-time Roto, Recognize, Render Queue, Retimer,Reveal, Revit, Showcase, ShowMotion, SketchBook, Smoke, Softimage, Softimage|XSI (design/logo), Sparks, SteeringWheels, Stitcher, Stone, StudioTools, ToolClip, Topobase, Toxik, TrustedDWG, ViewCube, Visual, Visual LISP, Volo, Vtour, Wire, Wiretap, WiretapCentral, XSI, and XSI (design/logo).

LightWorks, the LightWorks logo, LWA and LWA-Enabled are registered trademarks of LightWork Design Ltd. The LWA-Enabled logo, Interactive Image Regeneration, IIR, A-Cubed, Feature-Following Anti-Aliasing and FFAA are all trademarks of LightWork Design Ltd. All other trademarks, images and logos remain the property of their respective owners. Copyright of LightWork Design Ltd. 1990-2007, 2008. This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group. Contains a modified version of Open CASCADE libraries. See the license file "OpenCascadeLicense.txt" in the Navisworks installation directory. Source code is available from download.autodesk.com/us/navisworks/OpenCascade.zip.

Disclaimer

THIS PUBLICATION AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS MADE AVAILABLE BY AUTODESK, INC. "AS IS." AUTODESK, INC. DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE REGARDING THESE MATERIALS.

This User Guide was last updated on 12 February 2010.

Welcome to Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter 1 What Is New in This Release? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Chapter 2 How to Get Assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Finding Information Using the InfoCenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Overview of InfoCenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Search for Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Access Subscription Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Use Communication Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Save and Access Favorite Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Use the Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Specify InfoCenter Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Get More Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

View the Product Readme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Join the Customer Involvement Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Chapter 3 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Quick Start to Stand-Alone Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Prepare for Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

System Requirements for Stand-Alone Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Understand Administrative Permission Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Avoid Data Loss During Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Choose a Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Configure Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Install Multiple or Bundled Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Install and Run Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Install Autodesk Navisworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Launch Autodesk Navisworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

How to Launch Autodesk Navisworks in Another Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Repair Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Uninstall Autodesk Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Installation Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

General Installation Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

How can I check my graphics card driver to see if it needs to be updated? . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

When performing a Typical installation, what gets installed? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Why should I specify the Project Folder and Site Folder? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

How do I share the Autodesk Navisworks settings on a site and project basis? . . . . . . . . . . 26

Where are my product manuals? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Uninstall and Maintenance Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Contents | iii

When should I reinstall the product instead of a repair? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Do I need my original DVD to reinstall my software? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

When I uninstall my software, what files are left on my system? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Chapter 4 Quick Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Start and Quit Autodesk Navisworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

The User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Parts of Autodesk Navisworks Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Application Button and Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Quick Access Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Ribbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Tooltips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Keytips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Navigation Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

The Classic User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Scene View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Dockable Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Undo/Redo Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Autodesk Navisworks Workspaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Default Keyboard Shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Navigation with the Wheel Button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Autodesk Navisworks Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Location Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Display Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Search Directories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Gizmos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Get a Whole-Project View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Chapter 5 Work with Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Use File Readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

NWD Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

DWF Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Use File Exporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

MicroStation File Exporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Manage Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Open Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Create Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Chapter 6 Explore Your Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Navigate a Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Orientation in 3D Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Product-Specific Navigation Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

ViewCube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Navigation Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

SteeringWheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Navigation Aids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Control the Realism of Your Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Crouching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Collision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Third Person View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Chapter 7 Control Model Appearance and Render Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Control Model Appearance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Select Render Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

iv | Contents

Add Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Select Background Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Adjust Displaying of Primitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Control Render Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Use Culling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Control Rendering of Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Adjust Presenter Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Chapter 8 Review Your Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Select Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Interactive Geometry Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Set Highlighting Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Hide Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Find Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Quick Find . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Use Sets of Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Object Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Properties Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Comments and Annotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

View Comments and Annotations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Link Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Display Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Customize Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Follow Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Quick Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Chapter 9 Use Viewpoints and Sectioning Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Modify Viewpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Saved Viewpoints Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145

Recall Viewpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Organize Viewpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Edit Viewpoints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

Chapter 10 Play Back Animations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Play Animations and Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Chapter 11 Share Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Print Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Print Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Print Current Viewpoint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Chapter 12 TimeLiner Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Overview of TimeLiner Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

TimeLiner Playback Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Simulate Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Play Simulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Chapter 13 Autodesk Navisworks Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Background Settings Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Collision Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Default Collision Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Edit Viewpoint Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

File Options Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Culling Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Orientation Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Speed Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Head Light Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Scene Lights Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

InfoCenter Settings Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Contents | v

General Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Search Locations Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Communication Center Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

Autodesk Channels Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Balloon Notification Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

RSS Feeds Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Options Editor Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

General Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Undo Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Locations Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Environment Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Interface Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Display Units Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Selection Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Measure Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Snapping Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Viewpoint Defaults Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Links Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Quick Properties Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Developer Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Display Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

SpaceBall Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

Navigation Bar Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

ViewCube Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

SteeringWheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

User Interface Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Model Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Performance Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

NWD Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

NWC Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

File Readers Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

DWF Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Tools Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Presenter Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Scripter Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Animator Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

vi | Contents

Welcome to Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011

Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 software is the free viewer for NWD files. Autodesk Navisworks products can combine design data created with a variety of design tools, and then publish the entire model to NWD format including properties, comments, viewpoints and 4D playback. Navisworks Freedom and the compact, secure, and streamable NWD file format give all project stakeholders access to the whole-project view. Quality is improved by enabling widespread real-time experience of entire design projects before they are real.

2 | Part 1 Welcome to Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011

What Is New in This Release?

Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 contains many new features and enhancements.

User Interface

The new ribbon-based interface enables faster access to the tools and commands you need, helping you to spend less time searching through menus and more time focusing on your work.

NOTE Smart Tags are now called Quick Properties.

■ Application Button and Menu. The application menu provides access to many

common file actions, and also allows you to manage your files using more advanced tools, such as Import, Export, and Publish. See Application Button

and Menu on page 30.

■ Quick Access Toolbar. The Quick Access toolbar displays frequently used

commands. You can customize it by adding more ribbon commands to it. See

Quick Access Toolbar on page 33.

■ Ribbon. The ribbon is the horizontal area of the Autodesk Navisworks

application window that displays task-based commands and controls. The ribbon is divided into tabs, with each tab is supporting a specific activity. See

Ribbon on page 34.

InfoCenter

You can use InfoCenter to search a variety of information sources with one query. You can also easily access product updates and announcements.

See “Finding Information Using the InfoCenter” on page 5.

New Features Workshop

The New Features Workshop introduces you to what’s new in Autodesk Navisworks.

You can access the New Features Workshop from InfoCenter. On the InfoCenter toolbar, to the right of the Help button, click the drop-down arrow.

You can also access the New Features workshop from the Start menu. Click Start ➤ All Programs ➤ Autodesk ➤ Navisworks Freedom 2011 ➤ New Features Workshop.

4 | Chapter 1 What Is New in This Release?

How to Get Assistance

There are various ways to find information about how to use this program, and multiple resources are available.

Finding Information Using the InfoCenter

You can use InfoCenter to search a variety of information sources with one query. You can also easily access product updates and announcements.

Overview of InfoCenter

You can use InfoCenter to search for information, display the Subscription Center panel for subscription services, display the Communication Center panel for product updates, and display favorites panel to access saved topics.

You can use InfoCenter to:

■ Search for information through keywords (or by entering a

phrase)

■ Access subscription services through Subscription Center panel

■ Access to product-related updates and announcements through

Communication Center panel

■ Access saved topics through Favorites panel

■ Access topics in Help

To display the InfoCenter box in a collapsed state, click the arrow to its left.

To browse search results

➤ On the panel for Search Results, Subscription Center, Communication Center, or Favorites, on the right

side of the category header, do one of the following:

■ Click the Next button.

■ Click the Previous button.

To rearrange the topics displayed on a panel

1 Display a panel by doing one of the following:

■ In the InfoCenter box, enter a keyword or phrase. Then press ENTER or click the Search button.

■ In the InfoCenter box, click the Communication Center button.

■ In the InfoCenter box, click the Favorites button.

2 Click and drag a category or group header to the desired position.

NOTE You can rearrange categories within a group, but you cannot move them into other groups.

Search for Information

You can enter keywords or a phrase in the InfoCenter box to search for information.

When you enter keywords or a phrase in the InfoCenter box, you search the contents of multiple Help resources.

NOTE You must have Internet access to display search results from the Autodesk Online category.

Keyword searches produce better results. In case of a misspelled word, spelling suggestions are displayed on the panel.

The results are displayed as links on the InfoCenter Search Results panel. Click a link to display the topic, article, or document.

To keep Search Results, Subscription Center, Communication Center, and the Favorites panel expanded, click the push pin icon in the bottom-right corner of the panel.

When you use InfoCenter to search for information, you can use the following special symbols in your query to refine or expand it. These symbols can be used alone or can be combined.

DescriptionSymbol

Replaces one or more characters when used at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. For example, “*lish”, “p*lish”, and “pub*” will find “publish”. Also, “anno*” will find “annotative”, “annotation”, “annoupdate”, “annoreset”, and so on.

Replaces a single character. For example, “cop?” will find “copy”, but not “copybase”.

Adds grammatical form variations to a keyword when added at the beginning or end of a word. For example, “plotting~” will find “plots”, “plotted”, and so on. Also, “~plot” will find “preplot”, “replot”, and so on.

6 | Chapter 2 How to Get Assistance

When performing the exact phrase search, use double quotation marks (" ") to enclose words that must appear next to each other in the specified text string. For example, enter "specify units of measurement" to find only topics with all those words in that order. You can also use the previously mentioned symbols in a text string that is enclosed in double quotation marks.

To search multiple sources for information

1 In the InfoCenter box, enter a keyword or phrase.

2 Click the Search button.

The search results display in the Search Results panel.

To search a single location for information

1 In the InfoCenter box, enter a keyword or phrase.

2 Click the down arrow next to the Search button.

3 Select a location from the list to search.

The search results from that location display in the Search Results panel.

To add a location to search

1 In the InfoCenter box, click the down arrow next to the Search button.

2 Click Add Search Location.

3 In the Add Search Location dialog box, specify a document or a file location to search.

4 Click Add.

Access Subscription Center

Subscription Center displays links to information about subscription services such as product enhancements, personalized web support from Autodesk technical experts, and self-paced e-Learning.

If you are a subscription member, you can access subscription services by clicking the Communication Center

button in the InfoCenterbox, and then clicking a Subscription Center link. To learn more about Autodesk

subscription membership, visit http://www.autodesk.com/subscriptioncenter.

About Subscription Center

With Autodesk Subscription, you get the latest releases of Autodesk software, incremental product enhancements, personalized web support from Autodesk technical experts, and self paced e-Learning. Subscription services are available to subscription members only.

By clicking the Communication Center button in the InfoCenter box, members have access to the following options (under Subscription Center):

■ Subscription status. Checks your subscription status.

■ Create support request. Provides direct one-to-one communication with Autodesk support technicians. You

receive fast, complete answers to your installation, configuration, and troubleshooting questions.

■ View support requests. Tracks and manage your questions and responses through Autodesk's state-of-the-art

support system.

■ Edit Subscription Center profile. Sets up and maintains your subscription account.

■ View e-Learning catalog. Features interactive lessons organized into product catalogs.

Access Subscription Center | 7

■ e-Learning Lessons. (For subscription members only.) Each lesson is 15-30 minutes and features hands-on

exercises, with an option to use a simulation instead of the software application. You can use an online evaluation tool that identifies gaps in skills, determines what lessons will be most helpful, and gauges learning progress.

Subscription Resources and Privacy

Subscription resources provide interactive product features over the Internet. Each time you access subscription resources (such as e-Learning or Create Support Request) from Communication Center in an Autodesk product, product information (such as the serial number, version, language, and the subscription contract ID) is sent to Autodesk for verification that your product is on subscription.

Autodesk compiles statistics using the information sent to subscription resources to monitor how they are being used and how they can be improved. Autodesk maintains the information provided by or collected from you in accordance with Autodesk's published privacy policy, which is available at http://www.autodesk.com/privacy.

To open the Subscription Center

1 Click the Communication Center button in the InfoCenter box.

2 On the Communication Center panel, under Subscription Center, click the subscription resource you want

to access.

NOTE Subscription Center is not available to all product users. If subscription resources are not available in your product, your product is not entitled to subscription benefits.

Manage Files with Autodesk Vault

If you are a subscription customer, you have access to Autodesk Vault, a file management tool that provides a repository where documents and files are stored and managed.

Autodesk Vault gives you more power to manage files and track changes. Versioned copies of master files are maintained, allowing you to easily revert to earlier versions of files. You can check files out for editing and later check them back in. The master copy is never directly edited.

Autodesk Vault consists of two required components: the Autodesk Data Management Server and the Vault Client. Optionally, you can also install the Vault Office Add-in.

For information about using the Vault, refer to the Vault Help system.

TIP The main components for the Autodesk Vault can be downloaded from the Autodesk Subscription site.

Use Communication Center

Communication Center provides up-to-date product information, software updates, product support announcements, and other product-related announcements.

Overview of Communication Center

You can click the Communication Center button to display links to information about product updates and announcements, and may include links to RSS feeds.

Whenever new information is available, Communication Center notifies you by displaying a balloon message below the Communication Center button in the InfoCenter box.

Communication Center provides the following types of announcements:

■ Autodesk Channels: Receive support information, product updates, and other announcements (including

articles and tips).

8 | Chapter 2 How to Get Assistance

■ RSS Feeds. Receive information from RSS feeds to which you subscribe. RSS feeds generally notify you when

new content is posted. You are automatically subscribed to several default RSS feeds when you install the program.

■ Product Support Information. Get breaking news from the Product Support team at Autodesk, including

when Live Update maintenance patches are released.

■ Subscription Announcements. Receive subscription announcements and subscription program news, as well

as links to e-Learning Lessons, if you are an Autodesk subscription member (available in countries/regions where Autodesk subscriptions are offered).

■ Articles and Tips. Be notified when new articles and tips are available on Autodesk websites.

■ Live Update Maintenance Patches. Receive automatic notifications whenever new maintenance patches are

released from Autodesk.

■ Featured Technologies and Content. Learn more about third-party developer applications and content.

You can customize the items that display on the Communication Center panel. For more information, see “Specify InfoCenter Settings” on page 13.

Communication Center Online Policy

Communication Center is an interactive feature that must be connected to the Internet in order to deliver content and information. Each time Communication Center is connected, it sends your information to Autodesk so that you receive the correct information. All information is sent anonymously to Autodesk to maintain your privacy.

Communication Center sends the following information to Autodesk:

■ Product name (in which you are using Communication Center)

■ Product release number

■ Product language

■ Country/region (specified in the Communication Center settings)

■ Your unique Customer Involvement Program (CIP) ID if you are participating in the CIP program

Autodesk compiles statistics using the information sent from Communication Center to monitor how it is being used and how it can be improved. Autodesk maintains information provided by or collected from you in accordance with the company's published privacy policy, which is available at http://www.autodesk.com/privacy.

To open Communication Center

■ In the InfoCenter box, click the Communication Center button.

To receive new information notifications

■ Click the link in the balloon message to open the article or announcement.

Save and Access Favorite Topics

You can click the Favorites button to display saved links to topics or web locations.

Any link that displays on the Search Results panel, Subscription Center or Communication Center panel can be marked as a favorite.

A link marked as a favorite displays a star icon on the Search Results panel, Subscription Center panel or the Communication Center panel.

Save and Access Favorite Topics | 9

To display the InfoCenter Favorites panel

■ In the InfoCenter box, click the Favorites button.

NOTE The links displayed on the Favorites panel are organized into the same groups or categories from which they were added.

To save a link in InfoCenter as a favorite

1 Display a panel by doing one of the following:

■ In the InfoCenter box, enter a keyword or phrase. Then press ENTER or click the Search button.

■ In the InfoCenter box, click the Subscription Center button.

■ In the InfoCenter box, click the Communication Center button.

2 Click the star icon that is displayed next to the link that you want to save as a favorite.

To remove a favorite link from the InfoCenter Favorites panel

1 In the InfoCenter box, click the Favorites button to display the Favorites panel.

2 Click the star icon that is displayed next to the link that you want to remove from the Favorites panel.

Use the Help System

You can click the Help button to display topics in Help.

You can get much more benefit from the Help system when you learn how to use it efficiently. You can quickly find general descriptions, procedures, details about dialog boxes and palettes, or definitions of terms.

The Help system contains complete information about using this program. In the Help window, you use the left pane to locate information. The tabs above the left pane give you several ways for finding the topics you want to view. The right pane displays the topics you select.

To display topics in Help

■ In the InfoCenter box, click the Help button.

How Help Topics Are Organized

Most topics in this Help system have three tabs above the right pane of the Help window. The tabs display different types of information.

■ Concept tab. Describes a feature or function. When you click the Concept tab, the Help Contents list in the

left pane of the Help window expands and highlights the current topic. The Contents tab displays the structure of the Help on that topic. You can easily display nearby topics by clicking them in the list.

■ Procedure tab. Provides step-by-step instructions for common procedures related to the current topic. After

displaying a procedure, you can click the Procedure tab to redisplay the current list of procedures.

■ Quick Reference tab. Lists reference information related to the current topic.

When you click a different tab, the topic remains the same. Only the type of information displayed—concept, procedures, or quick reference links—is different.

10 | Chapter 2 How to Get Assistance

Search in Help

Use the Help Search tab to find relevant topics based on keywords that you enter.

The basic search rules are as follows:

■ Type your keywords in uppercase or lowercase characters; searches are not case-sensitive.

■ Search for any combination of letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9).

■ Do not use punctuation marks such as a period, colon, semicolon, comma, hyphen, and single quotation

marks; they are ignored during a search.

■ Group the elements of your search using double quotation marks or parentheses to set each element apart.

Use Wild Card Characters

You can use the following wild card characters in any keyword:

DescriptionSymbol

Replaces one or more characters when used at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. For example, “*lish”, “p*lish”, and “pub*” will all find “publish”. Also, “anno*” will find “annotative”, “annotation”, “annoupdate”, “annoreset”, and so on.

Replaces a single character. For example, “cop?” will find “copy”, but not “copybase”.

Expands the tense of the word at the beginning or end of a word. For example, “plotting~” will find “plots”, “plotted”, and so on. Also, “~plot” will find “preplot”, “replot”, and so on.

Search for Phrases

When searching for a phrase, use double quotation marks (“ ”) to enclose words that must appear next to each other in the specified sequence. For example, enter “specifying units of measurement” to find only topics with all those words in that order. If you don’ t use the quotation marks around that text, Help finds all topics containing any one of the listed words, that is, all topics containing “specifying”, all topics containing “units”, all topics containing “of”, and all topics containing “measurement”.

TIP If you can’t find the information you need through a search, try using the Contents tab.

Use Boolean Operators

With the AND, OR, NOT, and NEAR operators, you can precisely define your search by creating a relationship between search terms. The following table shows how you can use each of these operators. If no operator is specified, AND is used. For example, the query spacing border printing is equivalent to spacing AND border AND printing.

ResultsExampleSearch for

Both terms in the same topic

“tree view” AND “palette”

viewpoint OR animationEither term in a topic

Topics containing both the words “tree view” and “palette”

Topics containing either the word “viewpoint” or the word “animation” or both

Use the Help System | 11

ResultsExampleSearch for

nwd NOT nwcThe first term without

the second term

user NEAR menuBoth terms in the same

topic, close together

NOTE The |, &, and ! characters do not work as Boolean operators. You must use AND (also +), OR, and NOT (also

-).

Find Information in Help Topics

The tabs on the left side of the Help window provide different methods for finding information.

Contents Tab

■ Presents an overview of the available documentation in a list of topics and subtopics.

■ Allows you to browse by selecting and expanding topics.

■ Provides a structure so you can always see where you are in Help and quickly jump to other topics.

Index Tab

■ Displays an alphabetical list of keywords related to the topics listed on the Contents tab.

Topics containing the word

“NWD”, but not the word “NWC”

Topics containing the word “user” within eight words of the word “menu”

■ Accesses information quickly when you already know the name of a feature, command, or operation, or

when you know what action you want the program to perform.

Search Tab

■ Provides a keyword search of all the topics listed on the Contents tab.

■ Accepts the Boolean operators AND (+), OR, NOT (-), and NEAR.

■ Accepts the wild cards *, ?, and ~.

■ Allows you to perform a search for a phrase when the phrase is enclosed in double quotes.

■ Displays a ranked list of topics that contain the word or words entered in the keyword field.

■ Arranges the results alphabetically by title or by location if you click on the Title and Location column

headings.

To find a specific word or phrase in the currently displayed Help topic

1 Click in the topic text and press CTRL+F.

2 In the Find text box, enter a keyword or phrase.

3 Click Next. If the keyword or phrase is located, the topic scrolls to display the result.

Print Help Topics

The quickest way to print the current topic is to right-click within the topic and click Print.

The Print button on the Help toolbar provides these print options:

■ Print the selected topic (recommended)

■ Print the selected heading and all subtopics

12 | Chapter 2 How to Get Assistance

NOTE When you select the second option, you may get numerous printed pages, depending on how many subtopics the currently selected topic contains.

To print a Help topic

1 Display the topic you want to print.

2 Right-click in the topic pane. Click Print.

3 In the Print dialog box, click Print.

To print a selected heading and all subtopics

1 Display the topic you want to print and make sure that the Contents tab is displayed.

2 On the Help toolbar, click Print.

3 In the Print Topics dialog box, click Print the Selected Heading and All Subtopics.

4 Click OK.

Show and Hide the Contents Pane

Use the Hide button on the Help toolbar to shrink the Help window to a compact size by hiding the pane that contains the Contents, Index, and Search tabs.

The compact window size is best for displaying procedures while you work.

Use the Show button to expand the Help window to display the pane that contains Contents, Index, and Search tabs. The expanded window size is best for locating and displaying conceptual and reference information.

Specify InfoCenter Settings

You can specify InfoCenter Search and Communication Center settings in the InfoCenter Settings dialog box.

In the InfoCenter Settings dialog box, you can specify the following settings:

■ General. Your current location, frequency for checking new online content and option to turn on or off

animated transition effects for the InfoCenter panels.

■ Search Locations. Locations (documents, web locations, and files) to search for information, as well as the

name that displays for each location and the number of results to display for each. Also, you can add or remove search locations. The Web Locations check box provides access to important information on the Autodesk website, including the Knowledge Base and discussion groups. When you add document locations, you can specify files on your local drive.

NOTE User-specified CHM (compiled help) files must be located on your local drive. InfoCenter cannot search CHM files located on network drives.

■ Communication Center. Set the maximum age of the articles displayed on the Communication Center panel.

■ Autodesk Channels. Channels to display in the Communication Center panel as well as the number of articles

to display for each channel.

■ Balloon Notification. Notifications for new product information, software updates, and product support

announcements. Also, you can customize the transparency and the display time of the balloon.

Specify InfoCenter Settings | 13

■ RSS Feeds. RSS feed subscriptions. You can add or remove RSS feeds. RSS feeds generally notify you when

new content is posted.

To specify locations to search for information

1 In the InfoCenter box, click the down arrow next to the Search button.

2 Click Search Settings.

3 In the InfoCenter Settings dialog box, Search Locations panel, in the right pane, select or clear the search

locations you want to include or exclude when you search for information.

4 Click OK.

NOTE With the Search All Available Languages option, you can specify whether to search the default language or all

available languages, including English, Japanese, and French. Select the check box if you want to search all available languages.

To add a new location to search for information

1 In the InfoCenter box, click the down arrow next to the Search button.

2 Click Search Settings.

3 In the InfoCenter Settings dialog box, do one of the following:

■ On the Search Locations panel, in the right pane, click Add.

■ On the Search Locations panel, in the right pane, right-click anywhere in the pane. Click Add.

4 In the Add Search Location dialog box, specify a file location to search.

5 Click Add.

NOTE A warning message is displayed when you add a search location with a file size larger than 5 MB. You

cannot continue to work in the application until indexing is complete.

6 Click OK.

To remove a search location

1 In the InfoCenter box, click the down arrow next to the Search button.

2 Click Search Settings.

3 In the InfoCenter Settings dialog box, do one of the following:

■ Select a location to remove, and then click Remove.

■ Right-click a search location. Click Remove.

4 In the InfoCenter - Remove Search Location dialog box, click Yes.

5 Click OK.

To specify the channels to display in the Communication Center panel

1 In the InfoCenter box, click the down arrow next to the Search button.

2 Click Search Settings.

3 In the InfoCenter Settings dialog box, in the left pane, click Autodesk Channels.

4 In the right pane, select or clear the channels you want to display in the Communication Center panel.

5 Click OK.

14 | Chapter 2 How to Get Assistance

To specify InfoCenter balloon notification settings

1 In the InfoCenter box, click the down arrow next to the Search button.

2 Click Search Settings.

3 In the InfoCenter Settings dialog box, in the left pane, click Balloon Notification.

4 In the right pane, select or clear the options to turn balloon notification on or off.

5 Enter the number of seconds to set the length of time for balloon notifications to display.

6 Enter the transparency value of the balloon or set the value using the slider.

7 Click OK.

To add an RSS feed to Communication Center

1 In the InfoCenter box, click the down arrow next to the Search button.

2 Click Search Settings.

3 In the InfoCenter Settings dialog box, in the left pane, click RSS Feeds.

4 In the right pane, do one of the following:

■ Click Add.

■ Right-click anywhere in the right pane. Click Add.

5 In the Add RSS Feed dialog box, enter the location of the RSS feed you want to add. Click Add.

6 In the InfoCenter - RSS Feed Confirmation dialog box, click Close.

7 Click OK.

To remove an RSS feed from Communication Center

1 In the InfoCenter box, click the down arrow next to the Search button.

2 Click Search Settings.

3 In the InfoCenter Settings dialog box, in the left pane, click RSS Feeds.

4 In the right pane, do one of the following:

■ Click Remove.

■ Right-click an RSS feed. Click Remove.

5 In the InfoCenter - Remove RSS Feed dialog box, click Yes.

6 Click OK.

Get More Help

You can access several additional sources of help.

■ Use Communication Center. Display the Communication Center panel for product updates and

announcements.

■ Press F1. Displays context-sensitive reference information.

■ Click the Help button in many dialog boxes. Displays reference information for the dialog box.

■ View the product Readme. Displays late-breaking information about this product.

Get More Help | 15

Other resources help you get information about Autodesk products and assistance with your questions about this program.

■ Autodesk website. Access http://www.autodesk.com.

■ Local support. Check with your dealer or Autodesk country/region office.

View the Product Readme

You can find late-breaking information about this software in the Readme.

It is suggested that you read through the Autodesk Navisworks Readme for information about recommended hardware, updated installation instructions, and known software problems. The Readme file is available from the product’s program group on the Windows Start menu.

Join the Customer Involvement Program

You are invited to help guide the direction of Autodesk design software.

If you participate in the Customer Involvement Program (CIP), specific information about how you use Autodesk Navisworks is forwarded to Autodesk. This information includes what features you use the most, problems that you encounter, and other information helpful to the future direction of the product.

See the following links for more information.

■ Learn more about the Autodesk Customer Involvement Program: http://www.autodesk.com/cip

■ Read the Autodesk Privacy Statement: http://www.autodesk.com/cipprivacy

When you join, you will be able to view reports that can help you optimize your use of Autodesk Navisworks.

To turn the CIP on or off

1 On the InfoCenter toolbar, to the right of the Help button, click the drop-down arrow.

2 Click Customer Involvement Program.

3 In the Customer Involvement Program dialog box, select to start or stop participating.

4 Click OK.

16 | Chapter 2 How to Get Assistance

Installation

This chapter provides information about installing and activating Autodesk Navisworks on a workstation.

Quick Start to Stand-Alone Installation

This section provides step-by-step instructions about how to prepare, and then install Autodesk Navisworks.

Prepare for Installation

To prepare for installation, you should review the system requirements, understand administrative permission requirements, and close all running applications.

Complete these tasks, and you are ready to begin installing Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011.

System Requirements for Stand-Alone Installation

The first task you need to complete is to make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements. If your system does not meet these requirements, problems can occur, both within Autodesk Navisworks and at the operating system level.

Whether your Windows operating system is the 32-bit or the 64-bit version, the version is automatically detected during installation.

See the following table for hardware and software requirements.

Hardware and software requirements

RequirementHardware/Software

Operating system

■ Windows 7 Enterprise

■ Windows 7 Ultimate

■ Windows 7 Professional

■ Windows 7 Home Premium

■ Windows 7 Home Basic

Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later of the following:

Hardware and software requirements

■ Windows Vista Enterprise

■ Windows Vista Ultimate

■ Windows Vista Business

■ Windows Vista Home Premium

■ Windows Vista Home Basic

Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later of the following:

■ Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

Service Pack 3 (SP3) or later of the following:

■ Windows XP Professional (32-bit)

■ Windows XP Home (32-bit)

32-bitWeb browser

Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6.0, SP 1 or

later

Graphics card

64-bit

Internet Explorer 7.0 or later

32-bitProcessor

AMD Athlon™ 3.0 GHz or faster (minim-

um); Intel® Pentium® 4, 3.0 GHz or faster

(recommended)

64-bit

AMD or Intel EM64T

32-bitRAM

512 MB (minimum) 2 GB or greater (recommended)

64-bit

2 GB

128 MB, 1024 x 768 VGA, True Color (minimum); 256 MB or greater - 1280 x 1024 32-bit color video display adapter, True Color (recommended)

18 | Chapter 3 Installation

Installation 1 GBHard disk

Microsoft-mouse compliantPointing device

Hardware and software requirements

Any speed (for installation only)DVD-ROM

Optional hardware

Open GL©-compatible 3D video card;

Printer or plotter; Modem or access to an Internet connection; Network interface card

Understand Administrative Permission Requirements

To install Autodesk Navisworks, you must have administrator permissions.

You do not need to have domain administrative permissions. See your system administrator for information about administrative permissions.

To run Autodesk Navisworks, you do not need administrator permissions. You can run the program as a limited user.

Avoid Data Loss During Installation

The Autodesk Navisworks installation process may stop if some applications (such as Microsoft® Outlook® or virus-checking programs) are running.

Close all running applications to avoid possible data loss.

Choose a Language

You can select a different language for installation instructions, and a language for individual product installations in the same install process.

When you start the installation process, the installer automatically determines your operating system language. If a supported language is detected, your install pages are displayed in that language. If you want to change that language, you select a different one from the Installer Language list on the first page of the Installation wizard.

NOTE Some products may not have multi-language support at the time of product release. Additional language support may be available later. Check http://support.autodesk.com for the availability of additional language packs.

Using Language Packs

Language packs support use of different languages in each Autodesk Navisworks product, including exporters. Pack names start with NAVFREE_, NAVREV_, NAVSIM_, NAVMAN_, and exporters_ respectively.

NOTE You must install at least one language pack for each product.

It is possible to install additional language packs to Autodesk Navisworks products later. You can manually install the required language packs by double-clicking on the language pack MSI file.

Language packs are located on the installation DVD and unpacked downloaded media under the x86 folder for 32-bit products and under the x64 folder for 64-bit products.

■ Language packs for specific products are included in the NAVFREE, NAVREV, NAVSIM, NAVMAN, and

NWEXPORT subfolders of x86 and x64 folders.

Prepare for Installation | 19

■ Language packs for specific languages are included in the en-US (English), de-DE (German), es-ES (Spanish),

fr-FR (French), it-IT (Italian), ja-JP (Japanese), ko-KR (Korean), pt-BR (Brazilian Portuguese), ru-RU (Russian) and zh-CN (Chinese PRC) subfolders of the product folders.

So, for example, to install the 32-bit French language pack for Autodesk Navisworks Freedom, double-click x86/NAVFREE/fr-FR/NAVFREE_LP.msi.

Configure Button

During the installation process, you choose either a typical installation (install the product with default settings), or a customized installation. If you choose to customize, you start that process in the Begin Installation page. Select the appropriate product from the drop-down list, and click Configure.

After you click Configure, the following dialog boxes and options are displayed:

■ Project and Site Folders. These settings can be shared across an entire project site, or across a specific project

group depending on the required level of granularity. Refer to “Why should I specify the Project Folder and

Site Folder?” on page 26.

■ Select the Installation Location. Select the Product Install Path. Use the Browse button to select the drive and

location where product will be installed.

When you have completed your choices, click the Configuration Complete button. This takes you back to the Begin Installation page, where you can review your selections and complete the installation process.

If you do not wish to make configuration changes on the Begin Installation page, click Install.

Install Multiple or Bundled Products

Some Autodesk packages are comprised of multiple products or are part of multi-product bundles.

The Installation wizard for packages that are comprised of multiple products gives you the option to choose which products you want to install.

In the Installation wizard, for packages containing multiple products, you can choose which products and languages you want to install. During the install process, you are informed whether a copy of the software is already installed. You are also warned if your system does not meet the minimum system requirements for the product. Each product name is displayed on its own tabbed panel; you can configure them individually.

If you purchased a package that is a multi-product bundle, such as an educational or institutional package, you may have a package that includes several Autodesk products. For these bundled packages, an Installer disc contains information for all the products in the package. The Installer disc helps you install all of the products.

Install and Run Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011

You must have administrative permissions to install Autodesk Navisworks.

This section provides instructions for installing and activating Autodesk Navisworks for an individual user on a stand-alone computer.

NOTE Autodesk does not recommend or support the distribution of an Autodesk product using imaging software.

Install Autodesk Navisworks

The Autodesk Navisworks Installation wizard contains all installation-related material in one place.

20 | Chapter 3 Installation

From the Installation wizard, you can access user documentation, change the installer language, select a language-specific product, install supplemental tools, view support solutions, and learn about deploying your product on a network.

■ Review installation documentation before you install. It is recommended that you take the time to familiarize

yourself with the complete installation process before you install Autodesk Navisworks. You can access PDF versions of the licensing manuals and CHM versions of the installation manuals from the product's Installation wizard by selecting the Read the Documentation selection, or the Documentation link at the bottom, left pane of the install pages. You can also access PDFs from the product disc. For late-breaking information, it is also recommended that you review the product Readme.

NOTE To view or print PDF (.pdf) files, Adobe® Reader must be installed on your computer. If you do not have Adobe Reader, you can download the latest version at http://www.adobe.com.

■ Install Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011. From the Installation wizard, click Install Products. Follow the

on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Install Autodesk Navisworks Using Default Values

This is the fastest means of installing Autodesk Navisworks on your system.

Only default values are used which means it is a typical installation being installed to C:\Program

Files\Autodesk\Navisworks Freedom 2011.

To install Autodesk Navisworks using default values on a stand-alone computer

1 Insert the Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 DVD into the DVD drive.

The Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 Installation wizard launches in the language that best matches the settings on your computer.

If the Installation wizard does not start automatically, double-click Setup.exe at the root of the Autodesk Navisworks DVD.

2 In the Installation wizard, change the language of the installation instructions or accept the default language.

Click Install Products.

3 Select the languages and the products you want to install.

Click Next.

4 Review the Autodesk software license agreement for your country or region. You must accept this agreement

to proceed with the installation. Choose your country or region, click I Accept, and then click Next.

NOTE If you do not agree to the terms of the license and want to terminate the installation, click Cancel.

5 On the User Information page, enter your personal details and click Next.

IMPORTANT The information you enter here is permanent and is displayed in the Autodesk Navisworks Freedom

2011 window (accessed in the InfoCenter box by clicking the down arrow next to the Help button ➤ About Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011). Because you can’t change this information later without uninstalling the product, make sure you enter the correct information now.

6 On the Begin Installation page, click Install.

Click Yes to continue installing using the default configuration.

Install and Run Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 | 21

The wizard does the following:

■ Uses a Typical installation, which installs the most common application features. To see which features

are included in a Typical installation, refer to “Typically Installed Features” on page 26.

■ Installs Autodesk Navisworks to the default install path of C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Navisworks Freedom 2011.

■ Installs the products you selected in Step 3.

NOTE By default, the Installation wizard automatically enables the exporter plugins for all third-party products already installed on your computer.

7 On the Installation Complete page, choose:

■ View the Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 Readme. Open the Readme file with the information that

was not available when the Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 documentation was prepared.

NOTE If you do not want to view the Readme file now, clear the check box.

8 Click Finish.

Install Autodesk Navisworks Using Configured Values

With this installation method, you can fine-tune exactly what gets installed by using the Configure option.

You can alter the installation type, the install path, the license type, and specify the location of the Project and Site folders.

To install Autodesk Navisworks using configured values on a stand-alone computer

1 Insert the Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 DVD into the DVD drive.

The Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 Installation wizard launches in the language that best matches the settings on your computer.

If the Installation wizard does not start automatically, double-click Setup.exe at the root of the Autodesk Navisworks DVD.

2 In the Installation wizard, change the language of the installation instructions or accept the default language.

Click Install Products.

3 Select the languages and the products you want to install.

Click Next.

4 Review the Autodesk software license agreement for your country or region. You must accept this agreement

to proceed with the installation. Choose your country or region, click I Accept, and then click Next.

NOTE If you do not agree to the terms of the license and want to terminate the installation, click Cancel.

5 On the User Information page, enter your personal details and click Next.

IMPORTANT The information you enter here is permanent and is displayed in the Autodesk Navisworks Freedom

6 On the Begin Installation page, click Configure to make configuration changes. Each of the products you

selected in Step 3 has its own tab.

NOTE At any time you can click Configuration Complete to return to the Begin Installation page.

22 | Chapter 3 Installation

7 You can make the following configuration changes:

➤ On the Project and Site Folders page, you can specify:

■ Project Folder. Use the Browse button to select the directory that contains the product settings

specific to a project group.

■ Site Folder. Use the Browse button to select the directory that contains the product settings standard

across the entire project site.

Click Next.

8 On the Select the Installation Location page, you can make the following configuration change:

■ Product Install Path. Use the Browse button to select the drive and location where product will be

installed. Click Next and then Configuration Complete to return to the Begin Installation page. Then, click Install.

NOTE If you want a copy of your configuration summary information, click Copy to Clipboard.

9 On the Installation Complete page, choose:

■ View the Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 Readme. Open the Readme file with the information that

was not available when the Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 documentation was prepared.

NOTE If you do not want to view the Readme file now, clear the check box.

10 Click Finish.

Launch Autodesk Navisworks

Assuming that you’ve followed all of the previous steps outlined in this Quick Start section, you can launch Autodesk Navisworks and start taking advantage of its new and updated features.

You can start Autodesk Navisworks in the following ways:

■ Desktop shortcut icon. When you install Autodesk Navisworks, a shortcut icon is placed on your desktop.

Double-click the Autodesk Navisworks icon to start the program.

■ Start button. Click Start ➤ All Programs ➤ Autodesk ➤ Navisworks Freedom 2011 ➤ Autodesk Navisworks

Freedom 2011.

■ Location where Autodesk Navisworks is installed. If you have administrative permissions, you can run Autodesk

Navisworks in the location where you installed it. If you are a limited-rights user, you must run Autodesk Navisworks from the Start button or from the desktop shortcut icon. If you want to create a custom shortcut, make sure that the Start In directory for the shortcut points to a directory where you have write permissions.

NOTE When the product is started, by default, it uses the language that best matches the settings on your computer. You can also launch Autodesk Navisworks in another of the supported languages.

How to Launch Autodesk Navisworks in Another Language

To run Autodesk Navisworks in another of the installed languages, you need to add one of the language selector arguments to the desktop shortcut.

To run Autodesk Navisworks in another language

1 Right-click the Autodesk Navisworks desktop shortcut, and click Properties on the shortcut menu to open

the Autodesk Navisworks Properties dialog box.

Install and Run Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 | 23

2 On the Shortcut tab, enter a space in the Target field after ..\roamer.exe, and then enter one of the following

arguments:

-lang en-US for English localization

-lang de-DE for German localization

-lang es-ES for Spanish localization

-lang fr-FR for French localization

-lang it-IT for Italian localization

-lang ja-JP for Japanese localization

-lang ko-KR for Korean localization

-lang pt-BR for Brazilian Portuguese localization

-lang ru-RU for Russian localization

-lang zh-CN for Chinese (PRC) localization

3 Click OK to save the changes.

Repair Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011

If you accidentally delete or alter files that are required by Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011, Autodesk Navisworks might not perform correctly, and you might receive error messages when you try to execute a command or find a file. You can attempt to fix this problem by repairing Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011.

Repairing uses the features that were part of the installation type you chose when you initially installed the program.

To repair Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011

1 Do one of the following:

■ (Windows XP) Click Start ➤ Settings ➤ Control Panel ➤ Add or Remove Programs.

■ (Windows Vista and Windows 7) Click Start ➤ Control Panel ➤ Programs and Features.

2 From the list of programs, click Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011, and then click Change/Remove

(Windows XP) or Uninstall/Change (Windows Vista and Windows 7).

The Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 Installation wizard re-opens in Maintenance Mode.

3 Click Repair or Reinstall.

4 On the Select Repair or Reinstall page, click Repair My Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 Installation.

This option replaces all registry entries that Autodesk Navisworks initially installed and restores Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 to its default state.one of the following, and then click Next.

NOTE Reinstall My Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 Installation repairs the registry and reinstalls all files from the original installation. Use this option if the Repair My Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 Installation option does not solve the problem.

5 On the Repair Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 page, click Next to start the process.

6 On the Repair Complete page, click Finish.

Uninstall Autodesk Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011

When you uninstall Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011, all components are removed. This means that even if you've previously added or removed components, or if you've reinstalled or repaired Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011, the uninstall removes all Autodesk Navisworks installation files from your system.

24 | Chapter 3 Installation

To uninstall Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011

1 Do one of the following:

■ (Windows XP) Click Start ➤ Settings ➤ Control Panel ➤ Add or Remove Programs.

■ (Windows Vista and Windows 7) Click Start ➤ Control Panel ➤ Programs and Features.

2 From the list of programs, click Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011, and then click Change/Remove

(Windows XP) or Uninstall/Change (Windows Vista and Windows 7).

The Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 Installation wizard re-opens in Maintenance Mode.

3 Click Uninstall.

4 On the Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 page, click Next to remove Autodesk Navisworks from the

system.

5 When informed that the product has been successfully uninstalled, click Finish.

NOTE Even though Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 is removed from your system, the software license

remains. If you reinstall Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 at some future time, you will not have to register and re-activate the program.

Installation Troubleshooting

This section provides solutions to installation issues and answers to commonly asked questions that may arise while installing your products.

Additional troubleshooting information and support is also available at http://support.autodesk.com.

General Installation Issues

This section provides solutions to installation issues and answers to commonly asked questions that may arise while installing your products.

How can I check my graphics card driver to see if it needs to be updated?

It is recommended that you ensure your computer has the most current graphics card driver for the best possible display performance.

To identify your graphics card driver

1 Start Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011.

2 In the InfoCenter box, click the down arrow next to the Help button ➤ System Info.

The Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 information dialog box opens.

3 Review the information about your system including the graphics card driver and driver version, and click

OK to close the dialog.

To check the Web for an updated graphics card driver

■ Use Windows Update. If a more recent graphics card driver is available, select it to have Windows Update

download and install it.

■ Search the graphics card manufacturer’s website for the type of installed graphics card. If a more recent

graphics card driver is available, install it following the instructions provided by the manufacturer.

Installation Troubleshooting | 25

To install an updated graphics card driver

1 Check the Web for to see if an updated driver is available.

■ Use Windows Update.

■ Search the graphics card manufacturer’s website for the type of installed graphics card.

2 If a more recent graphics card driver is available, follow the instructions from the website to install download

and install it.

When performing a Typical installation, what gets installed?

A Typical installation includes the following features:

Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011

API

Sample RPCs

PDF manual

Contains full set of Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 files

Contains the Component Object Model interface for customizing and extending the Autodesk Navisworks functionality

Contains several Rich Photorealistic Content files for the Presenter tool

Contains various feature sample filesExample NWD files

Contains the Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 user guide in PDF format

Why should I specify the Project Folder and Site Folder?

You can share global Autodesk Navisworks settings, workspaces, datatools, avatars, Clash Detective rules, Presenter archives, custom Clash Detective tests, object animation scripts, and so on, with other users.

These settings can be shared across an entire project site, or across a specific project group depending on the required level of granularity.

Autodesk Navisworks examines the current user profile and the all users profile on the local machine, and then checks the settings in the Project Directory and the Site Directory. The files in the Project Directory take precedence.

How do I share the Autodesk Navisworks settings on a site and project basis?

Sharing Autodesk Navisworks settings requires you to export the desired settings as an XML file to the appropriate Site or Project directory’s global_options folder. The name of the XML file is not significant. However it must be stored in the global_options folder.

TIP When you configure global options, you can lock some of the options to prevent users from editing them later on local machines. To create a locked global options file, run the stand-alone Options Editor from the command line by typing “drive:pathname\OptionsEditor.exe” -l. The Options Editor opens with the locking facility.

To share settings on a site and project basis

1 Create appropriate Site and Project directories and subfolders in a central location to be accessed by other

Navisworks users.

26 | Chapter 3 Installation

2 In Autodesk Navisworks, click the application button ➤ Options Editor.

3 Click Export.

4 In the Select Options to Export dialog box, check all options you want to export and click OK.

5 In the Save As dialog box, name the XML file as desired and save it to the global_options folder in the

appropriate Site or Project directory.

See also:

■ Location Options on page 59

■ Global Options on page 57

■ Select the Project and Site Folders (optional)

Where are my product manuals?

All documentation created for Autodesk products are built in two different formats: PDF and CHM.

■ CHM files are made available during installation; click the Documentation link in the Installation wizard.

To access CHM files after the product is installed, use the Help system in the product.

■ PDF files are available after the product is installed; they are located in the Autodesk\Autodesk Navisworks 2011\<locale>\Manuals folder.

CHM files are installed to the \Autodesk\Autodesk Navisworks 2011\<locale> folder.

Uninstall and Maintenance Issues

This section outlines common issues and their solutions with regards to adding and removing features, reinstalling or repairing your installation, and uninstalling products.

When should I reinstall the product instead of a repair?

You should reinstall your product if you accidentally delete or alter files that are required by the program. Missing or altered files adversely affect the performance of your product and cause error messages when you try to execute a command or find a file.

If an attempt to repair an installation fails, reinstalling is the next best option.

Do I need my original DVD to reinstall my software?

When performing a reinstall of the product, you do not need to have the original DVD available.

Uninstall and Maintenance Issues | 27

Installation data is cached locally on your drive and that data is reused when reinstalling.

When I uninstall my software, what files are left on my system?

If you uninstall the product, some files remain on your system such as files you created or edited.

Your license file also stays on your workstation when you uninstall your product. If you reinstall on the same workstation, the license information remains valid and you do not have to reactivate the product.

28 | Chapter 3 Installation

Quick Start

This chapter helps you get up-to-speed with the Autodesk Navisworks interface.

Start and Quit Autodesk Navisworks

Once you’ve installed Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011, you can start it from the Windows desktop or from the command line.

To start Autodesk Navisworks, do one of the following from the Windows desktop:

■ Double-click the Autodesk Navisworks icon, or

■ Click Start ➤ All Programs ➤ Autodesk ➤ Navisworks

Freedom 2011 ➤ Freedom 2011.

Autodesk Navisworks starts in the language that best matches the settings on your computer. You can also start Autodesk Navisworks in another of the installed languages.

To quit Autodesk Navisworks, click the application button . At the bottom of the application menu, click Exit Navisworks.

The User Interface

The Autodesk Navisworks interface contains a number of traditional Windows elements, such as the application menu, Quick Access toolbar, ribbon, dockable windows, dialog boxes and shortcut menus in which you complete tasks.

Parts of Autodesk Navisworks Interface

This section briefly describes the main components of the standard Autodesk Navisworks interface.

The Autodesk Navisworks interface is intuitive and easy to learn and use. You can adjust the application interface to match the way you work. For example, you can hide docking windows that you rarely use, so they do not clutter the interface. You can add and remove buttons from the ribbon and the Quick Access toolbar.

You can apply a different theme to the standard interface. You can also switch back to the classic Autodesk Navisworks interface with old-style menu and toolbars.

See also:

■ Overview of InfoCenter on page 5

To change theme of the standard user interface

1 Click the application button ➤ Options.

2 In the Options Editor, expand the Interface node, and click the User Interface option.

3 On the User Interface page, select the required theme type from the Theme drop-down list.

4 Click OK.

Application Button and Menu

The application menu enables you to access common tools.

5. Scene View1. Application button and menu

6. Navigation bar2. Quick Access toolbar

7. Dockable windows3. InfoCenter

8. Status bar4. Ribbon

It provides access to many common file actions, and also allows you to manage your files using more advanced tools, such as Import, Export, and Publish. Some application menu choices have additional menus that show related commands.

To open the application menu, click the application button . Clicking it again closes the application menu. Double-clicking the application button exits Autodesk Navisworks.

30 | Chapter 4 Quick Start

TIP You can exit Autodesk Navisworks by double-clicking the application button.

Quick Reference

DescriptionOption

Closes the currently open file, and creates

(New)

a new file.

(Open)

(Open URL)

(Print)

(Print Preview)

(Print Settings)

Recent Documents List

You can view, sort, and access supported files that you have recently opened.

The most recent files are shown in the Recent Documents list. The list is ordered with the most recently used file at the top.

Opens files.

Opens a published NWD file located on a web server.

Prints the scene.

Shows a preview of how the document will print.

Specifies print settings.

Opens Options Editor.Options

Exits the program.Exit Autodesk Navisworks

By default, up to four files are shown. If you want to modify the size of this list, use the Options Editor.

You can pin the files by using the push pin button to the right. Pinning enables you to keep a file in the list until you turn off the push pin button.

Parts of Autodesk Navisworks Interface | 31

Sort and Group Files

Use the drop-down list at the top of the Recent Documents list to sort or group files by:

■ By Ordered List

■ By Access Date

■ By Size

■ By Type

Preview Documents

When you mouse over a file in the Recent Documents list, the following information is displayed:

■ Path where the file is stored

■ Date the file was last modified

■ Name of the person who is currently working with the file

To change the number of recent documents listed

1 Click the application button ➤ Options.

2 In the Options Editor, expand the General node, and click the Environment option.

3 On the Environment page, enter the number of recent documents to be listed into the Maximum Recently

Used Files box.

4 Click OK.

To keep a document in the Recent Documents list

■ Click the push pin button to the right of the document.

To view the Recent Documents list by access date

■ In the top-left corner of the Recent Documents list, in the By Ordered List drop-down list, select By Access

Date.

To view the Recent Documents list by size

■ In the top-left corner of the Recent Documents list, in the By Ordered List drop-down list, select By Size.

32 | Chapter 4 Quick Start

To view the Recent Documents list by type

■ In the top-left corner of the Recent Documents list, in the By Ordered List drop-down list, select By Type.

Quick Access Toolbar

At the top of the application window, the Quick Access toolbar displays frequently used commands.

You can add unlimited number of buttons to the Quick Access toolbar. Buttons are added to the right of the default commands. You can add separators between the buttons. Commands that extend past the maximum

length of the toolbar are displayed in a flyout button .

NOTE Only ribbon commands can be added to the Quick Access toolbar.

You can move the Quick Access toolbar either above or below the ribbon.

To add a ribbon button to the Quick Access toolbar

1 Display the tab and panel that contains the button you want to add to the Quick Access toolbar.

2 Right-click the button on the ribbon, and click Add to Quick Access Toolbar.

To remove a ribbon button from the Quick Access toolbar

1 Right-click the button on the Quick Access toolbar

2 Click Remove from Quick Access toolbar.

To display the Quick Access toolbar below the ribbon

■ Click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar drop-down button, and click Show Below the Ribbon.

Shortcut menu: Right-click any button on the Quick Access toolbar. Click Show Quick Access Toolbar below the Ribbon.

To display the Quick Access toolbar above the ribbon

■ Click the Customize Quick Access Toolbar drop-down button, and click Show Above the Ribbon.

Shortcut menu: Right-click any button on the Quick Access toolbar. Click Show Quick Access Toolbar above the Ribbon.

Quick Reference

By default, it contains the following tools:

DescriptionOption

(New)

(Open)

Closes the currently open file, and creates a new file.

Opens files.

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DescriptionOption

Ribbon

(Print)

(Undo)

(Redo)

(Select)

(Customize Quick Access Toolbar)

Prints the current viewpoint.

Cancels the most recent action.

Reinstates the most recent action.

Selects items with a mouse click.

Customizes the items displayed on the Quick Access toolbar. To enable or disable an item, click next to it on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar drop-down.

The ribbon is a palette that displays task-based tools and controls.

The ribbon is divided into tabs, with each tab is supporting a specific activity. Within each tab, tools are grouped together into a task-based series of panels.

To specify which ribbon tabs and panels are displayed, right-click the ribbon and, on the shortcut menu, click or clear the names of tabs or panels.

You can customize the ribbon depending on your needs in the following ways:

■ You can change the order of ribbon tabs. Click the tab you want to move, drag it to the desired position, and

release.

■ You can change the order of ribbon panels in a tab. Click the panel you want to move, drag it to the desired

position, and release.

You can control the amount of space the ribbon takes in the application window. There are two buttons to the right of the ribbon tabs, that allow you to choose the ribbon toggle and ribbon minimize states.

■ The first button toggles between the full ribbon state and the minimize ribbon state .

■ The second drop-down button allows you to select one of four minimize ribbon states:

Minimize to Tabs: Minimizes the ribbon so that only tab titles are displayed.

Minimize to Panel Titles: Minimizes the ribbon so that only tab and panel titles are displayed.

Minimize to Panel Buttons: Minimizes the ribbon so that only tab titles and panel buttons are displayed.

Cycle Through All: Cycles through all four ribbon states in the order, full ribbon, minimize to panel

buttons, minimize to panel titles, minimize to tabs.

Contextual Tabs

Some of the tabs are contextual. When you execute some commands, a special contextual ribbon tab is displayed instead of a toolbar or dialog box. For example, as soon as you start selecting items in the Scene View, the previously hidden Item Tools tab appears. When nothing is selected, it becomes hidden again.

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Slideout Panels

A down arrow to the right of a panel title indicates that you can slide out the panel to display additional tools and controls. By default, an expanded panel closes automatically when you click another panel. To keep a panel

expanded, click the push pin icon in the bottom-left corner of the slideout panel.

Floating Panels

If you pull a panel off of a ribbon tab and into a different area in the application window or the desktop, that panel floats where you placed it. The floating panel remains open until you return it to the ribbon, even if you switch ribbon tabs.

Tool Launcher

Some ribbon panels display a dialog box or a dockable window related to that panel. A tool launcher arrow in the lower-right corner of the panel indicates that you can display a related tool. Click the icon to display the associated dialog box or dockable window.

Check Boxes

Check boxes allow you to toggle an option on or off.

Sliders

When an option can be executed with varying intensity, the slider allows you to control the setting from lower to higher, or reverse.

To display the ribbon

If you use the Classic user interface, you can switch back to the ribbon.

1 Click the application button ➤ Options.

2 In the Options Editor, expand the Interface node, and click the User Interface option.

3 On the User Interface page, select Standard from the User Interface drop-down list.

4 Click OK.

To hide or show a ribbon tab

1 Right-click anywhere inside the ribbon.

2 Under Tabs, click or clear the name of a tab.

To hide or show a ribbon panel

1 Click the ribbon tab that you want to organize.

2 Right-click the ribbon tab.

3 Under Panels, click or clear the name of a panel.

To show or hide text labels on ribbon panels

■ Right-click a ribbon tab, and click or clear Show Panel Titles.

To return a floating panel to the ribbon

■ Mouse over the right side of the floating panel and click the Return Panels to Ribbon icon.

To toggle the ribbon size

1 Click the drop-down arrow in the ribbon tab bar, and select the desired minimize ribbon state.

Parts of Autodesk Navisworks Interface | 35

2 Double-click the name of the active ribbon tab or anywhere in the ribbon tab bar.

The ribbon toggles between the selected minimize ribbon state and the full ribbon state.

To reset the ribbon and the Quick Access toolbar

1 Right-click anywhere inside the ribbon.

2 Click Restore Default Ribbon.

Quick Reference

Home Tab

Contains tools to...Panel

control the whole scene.Project

Select & Search

Display

Viewpoint Tab

Save, Load & Playback

Motion Settings

select items in the scene via a range of methods, including using searches.

show and hide items of model geometry.Visibility

show and hide information including properties and links.

view and locate comments in the scene.Comments

launch TimeLiner Playback tool.Tools

Contains tools to...Panel

load and playback saved viewpoints and viewpoint animations.

apply various settings to the camera.Camera

set the linear and angular speed of motion and apply realism settings such as gravity and collisions.

control the lighting and rendering settings.Render Style

Animation Tab

36 | Chapter 4 Quick Start

Contains tools to...Panel

select and play back animations.Playback

enable scripts.Script

View Tab

Contains tools to...Panel

Navigation Aids

Output Tab

Send

Item Tools Tab

Hold

Look At

toggle navigation controls, such as the Navigation Bar, ViewCube, and HUD elements.

set the background style/colors.Scene View

control which floating windows are shown.Workspace

Contains tools to...Panel

print the current viewpoint.Print

send an email with the current file as an attachment.

Contains tools to...Panel

hold the selected items so that they move with you as you navigate around the scene.

zoom the current view onto the selected items.

Tooltips

control the visibility of the selected items.Visibility

Transform

Appearance

Links

reset the position, rotation, and scale of the selected items back to their original values.

reset the color and transparency of the selected items back to their original values.

reset the links on the selected items back to their original values.

Placing the mouse pointer over a menu choice or a button shows a tooltip containing the name of the tool, a keyboard shortcut (if applicable), and a brief description of the tool.

Some tooltips on the application menu, Quick Access toolbar, and ribbon are progressive. If you leave the cursor over the menu choice or a button for another moment, the tooltip may expand to show additional information.

While the tooltip is visible, you can press F1 for context-sensitive help that provides more information about that tool.

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Keytips

Autodesk Navisworks provides accelerator keys, or keytips, to enable you to use the keyboard, rather than the mouse, to interact with the application window.

Keytips are provided for the application menu, Quick Access toolbar, and ribbon. You can still use ‘old style’ keyboard shortcuts, such as CTRL + N to open a new file, and CTRL + P to print the current file.

To display keytips, press ALT. The keytips (letters or numbers) are shown on the screen next to the corresponding command or user interface element. Press the displayed accelerator key to immediately invoke the desired command or to show the user interface element. For example, pressing ALT, and then pressing 1 creates a new file.

To hide the keytips, press ALT again.

See also:

■ Default Keyboard Shortcuts on page 52

Navigation Tools

The navigation bar provides access to tools related to interactive navigation and orientation in the model including Autodesk® ViewCube® and SteeringWheels.

You can customize the navigation bar based on what you consider important to show. You can also change the docking position of the navigation bar in the Scene View.

The Classic User Interface

If you prefer, you can switch back to the Classic user interface, and use the toolbars and pull-down menus from the menu bar instead of the ribbon.

To switch to the Classic user interface

1 Click the application button ➤ Options.

2 In the Options Editor, expand the Interface node, and click the User Interface option.

3 On the User Interface page, select Classic from the User Interface drop-down list.

4 Click OK.

Menu Bar

The Menu bar contains all commands available in Autodesk Navisworks, grouped together by similar or 'like' functionality.

For example, all commands related to review functionality are located under the Review menu, all commands related to user assistance are located under the Help menu and so on.

When a menu has a right-pointing arrow, such as , there is a submenu associated with that choice.

38 | Chapter 4 Quick Start

When a menu item is followed by a series of dots, such as , there is a dialog box associated with that choice.

Quick Reference

File Menu

This menu contains commands for managing files.

DescriptionOption

New

Send by Email

Recent Files

Resets the program, and closes the currently open Navisworks file.

Displays the Open dialog box.Open

Displays the Open URL dialog box.Open URL

Displays the Print dialog box.Print

Enables print preview mode.Print Preview

Displays the Print Setup dialog box.Print Settings

Displays shortcuts to the most recently opened files.

Exits the program.Exit

Edit Menu

This menu contains commands for locating, selecting and editing geometry in your model.

DescriptionOption

Redo

Displays the Quick Find dialog box.

Quick Find Next

Reset Item

Reset All

Reverses the last performed operation.Undo

Reverses the last operation performed by the Undo command.

Gives you access to selection functionality.Select

Toggles hidden mode for selected items.Hidden

Toggles required mode for selected items.Required

Toggles hidden mode for unselected items.Hide Unselected

Enables you to reset all overridden items back to their original state.

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DescriptionOption

Enables you to sort the items in the Selection Tree alphabetically.

File Units an Transform

View Menu

This menu contains commands that control the Navisworks interface.

DescriptionOption

Control Bars

Scene View

Head-Up Display

Enables you to toggle the display of control bars.

Enables you to control workspaces.Workspaces

Enable you to control the views in the Scene View.

Enables you to toggle navigation controls, such as ViewCube, Navigation Bar, and HUD elements.

Enables you to control the SteeringWheels.SteeringWheels

Puts the video output into stereo mode.Enable Stereo

Displays the Stereo Options dialog box.Stereo Options

Displays useful scene statistics.Scene Statistics

Viewpoint Menu

This menu contains a set of commands that affect the current viewpoint, including model appearance and navigation.

DescriptionOption

Look From

Set Viewpoint Up

Navigation Tools

Edit Current Viewpoint

40 | Chapter 4 Quick Start

Enables you to look from a preset viewpoint.

Sets the viewpoint up vector to align with the selected orientation.

Enables you to select rendering mode.Rendering

Enables you to select lighting mode.Lighting

Enables you to display primitives.Display

Enables you to select navigation mode.Navigation Mode

Enables you to control the camera during interactive navigation.

Displays the Edit Viewpoint dialog box for the current viewpoint.

Tools Menu

This menu contains commands for advanced model analysis and reviewing, and also commands for customizing Autodesk Navisworks.

DescriptionOption

Toggles the TimeLiner Playback window.TimeLiner Playback

Toggles the display of links.Links

Toggles the display of quick properties.Quick Properties

Toolbars

Animation

Background

Enables you to control animation playback, and toggle scripts.

Enables you to select a background color for the Scene View.

Displays the File Options dialog box.File Options

Displays the Options Editor.Global Options

Autodesk Navisworks toolbars provide quick access to frequently used commands.

Every button on a toolbar includes a tooltip, which describes the function the button activates. Placing the mouse over a button displays a brief instruction on how to use this feature in the Status bar.

You can rearrange, open and close toolbars:

■ To move a toolbar, click the dotted line at the edge of the toolbar, and drag it to a different location.

■ To open or close toolbars, right-click an empty area next to the last toolbar on the screen, and choose from

the list of available toolbars on the shortcut menu.

When a Autodesk Navisworks toolbar button has a down-pointing arrow, such as , a submenu toolbar is associated with that choice. Click the triangle to open the menu, and select a specific option. As you move through the menu, additional help is displayed in the Status bar. When the option is selected, it becomes the current command and is displayed as a button in the toolbar. To repeat the command, click the button in the toolbar. To choose a different command, click the triangle again.

Some toolbar buttons enable you to choose a program mode. For example, to look around your model, you need to be in look around mode. To rotate the model, you need to be in Free Orbit mode and so on. Autodesk Navisworks remains in the selected mode until instructed otherwise. To identify the mode you are in, look at the buttons. If a button is highlighted and has a dark blue boarder around it, the corresponding mode is currently active.

To leave the mode, either click the same button again or choose a different mode.

Some buttons are used to toggle the display of dialog boxes, and dockable windows (for example, the Presenter window, the Animator window etc.). Again, if a button is highlighted and has a dark blue boarder around it, it means that the corresponding display element is currently open.

As you open more toolbars on the screen, or resize the Autodesk Navisworks window, the toolbars may get overlapped with each other to reduce the screen clutter. When this happens, some buttons will be hidden under

the overlaps. To quickly access the entire set of commands on a toolbar, click the chevron button at the right end of the toolbar. The remaining commands available for that toolbar will appear.

Parts of Autodesk Navisworks Interface | 41

Quick Reference

In this section, you will find a complete list of Navisworks toolbars and associated buttons.

NOTE The actual toolbar content can differ from this reference depending on the workspace you use.

Standard Toolbar

This toolbar provides quick access to file management commands. It also enables you to undo/redo your actions, and open the Help system.

DescriptionButton

Resets the program, and closes the currently open Navisworks file.

Displays the Open dialog box.

Displays the Append dialog box.

Saves the currently open Navisworks file.

Reverses the last performed operation.

Reverses the last operation performed by the Undo command.

Displays the Print dialog box.

Displays copyright and license information about your copy of Autodesk Navisworks.

Opens the Help system.

Selection Tools Toolbar

This toolbar provides access to the selection commands, plus enables you to hide geometry objects.

DescriptionButton

Turns on Select mode.

Toggles required mode for selected items.

Toggles hidden mode for selected items.

Navigation Mode Toolbar

42 | Chapter 4 Quick Start

Toggles hidden mode for unselected items.

This toolbar includes nine modes and six SteeringWheels for interactive navigation around your 3D models.

DescriptionButton

Selects the wheel.

Turns on Walk mode.

Turns on Look Around mode.

Turns on Zoom mode.

Turns on Zoom Box mode.

Turns on Pan mode.

Turns on Orbit mode.

Turns on Free Orbit mode.

Turns on Fly mode.

Turns on Constrained Orbit mode.

Rendering Style Toolbar

This toolbar controls the model appearance in Navisworks.

DescriptionButton

Selects Lighting mode.

Selects Rendering mode.

Toggles the rendering of surfaces.

Toggles the rendering of lines.

Toggles the rendering of points.

Toggles the rendering of snap points.

Toggles the rendering of 3D text.

Workspace Toolbar

This toolbar gives you quick access to the Navisworks review and analysis tools.

DescriptionButton

Parts of Autodesk Navisworks Interface | 43

Animation Toolbar

DescriptionButton

Toggles the display of links.

Toggles the display of quick properties.

Toggles the Viewpoints control bar.

Toggles the Selection Tree control bar.

Toggles the Comments control bar.

Toggles the Properties control bar.

Toggles the TimeLiner Playback window.

Controls workspaces.

This toolbar allows you to play back object and viewpoint animations, and toggle the scripting functionality.

DescriptionButton

Rewinds the current animation back to the beginning.

Steps back a single animation frame or keyframe.

Plays the current animation backwards.

Pauses the animation.

Stops playing the current animation, and rewinds it back to the beginning.

Plays the currently selected animation.

Steps one frame or keyframe forwards.

Fast forwards the current animation to the end.

Navigation Tools Toolbar

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Toggles the Scripter engine on and off in the Navisworks file.

This toolbar enables you to control the camera during interactive navigation.

DescriptionButton

Dollies and pans the camera so that the entire model is in the Scene View.

Zooms the camera so that the selected item fills the Scene View.

Puts the Scene View into focus mode.

Holds the selected items. As you move around the model, these objects will move with you.

Uses a perspective camera.

Uses an orthographic camera.

Toggles collision.

Toggles gravity.

Scene View

This is the area where you view and interact with your 3D models.

When you start Navisworks, the Scene View contains only one scene view, but you can add more scene views, if needed. Custom scene views are named “ViewX” where “X” is the next available number. The default scene view cannot be moved

Toggles crouching.

Toggles third person view.

Aligns the current viewpoint with the X axis.

Aligns the current viewpoint with the Y axis.

Aligns the current viewpoint with the Z axis.

Parts of Autodesk Navisworks Interface | 45

Looking at several views of your model simultaneously is useful when you compare lighting and rendering styles, animate different parts of your model, and so on.

Only one scene view can be active at a time. A scene view becomes active as you work in it. If you left-click a scene view, the scene view is activated and whatever you click is selected, or, if you click an empty area, everything is deselected. Right-clicking a scene view activates it, and opens a shortcut menu.

Each scene view remembers the navigation mode being used. The recording and playback of animations only occurs in the currently active view.

Each scene view can be resized. To resize scene views, move the cursor over the scene view intersection and drag the splitter bar .

You can make custom scene views dockable. Dockable scene views have title bars, and can be moved, docked, tiled, and auto hidden the same way as dockable windows. If you want to use several custom scene views, but don't want to have any splits in the Scene View, you can move them elsewhere. For instance, you can tile your scene views on the Viewpoints control bar.

NOTE You cannot undock the default scene view.

Full Screen Mode

In Full Screen mode your current scene view takes up the full screen.

To interact with the model in the scene view, you can use the ViewCube, the Navigation Bar, the keyboard shortcuts, and the shortcut menu.

TIP If you use two monitors, your default scene view is automatically placed on the primary display, and the interface can be placed on the secondary display to control the interaction.

To create a custom scene view

■ To split your active scene view horizontally, click View tab ➤ Scene View panel ➤ Split View ➤ Split

Horizontal .

■ To split your active scene view vertically, click View tab ➤ Scene View panel ➤ Split View ➤ Split Vertical

Toolbar: Classic user interface: Model Views ➤ Split Horizontal and Model Views ➤ Split Vertical

46 | Chapter 4 Quick Start

To make custom scene views dockable

■ Click View tab ➤ Scene View panel ➤ Show Title Bars.

All of your custom scene views now have title bars.

Toolbar: Classic user interface: Model Views ➤ Toggle Title Bars

To delete a custom scene view

1 If your scene view is not dockable, click View tab ➤ Scene View panel ➤ Show Title Bars.

2 Click to close the scene view.

NOTE You cannot delete the default scene view.

To toggle Full Screen mode

■ Click View tab ➤ Scene View panel ➤ Full Screen .

Command entry: F11

Shortcut menu: Viewpoint ➤ Full Screen

To resize the content of the active scene view

1 Click View tab ➤ Scene View panel ➤ Window Size .

2 In the Window Size dialog box, Type drop-down list, select the sizing type.

■ Use View - makes the content fill the currently active scene view.

■ Explicit - defines the exact width and height for the content.

■ Use Aspect Ratio - uses the aspect ratio of the current scene view to automatically calculate the width

of the content when the height is entered, or the height of the content when the width is entered.

3 If you selected the Explicit option, enter the width and height for your content in pixels.

If you selected the Use Aspect Ratio, enter the width or height for your content in pixels.

4 Click OK.

Dockable Windows

Most Navisworks features are accessible from dockable windows.

There are several windows to choose from, which are grouped into several functional areas:

Main Tools Windows

These windows give you access to the core Autodesk Navisworks functionality:

■ TimeLiner Playback

Parts of Autodesk Navisworks Interface | 47

Review-related Windows

These windows contain tools required to perform select/search/review operations:

■ Selection Tree

■ Properties

■ Comments

Viewpoint-related Windows

These windows contain tools necessary to set up and use viewpoints:

■ Saved Viewpoints

■ Tilt

■ Plan View

■ Section View

Windows can be moved and resized, and either floated in the Scene View or docked (pinned or auto-hidden).

TIP You can quickly dock and undock a window by double-clicking the window’s title bar.

A docked window shares one or more edges with adjacent windows and toolbars. If a shared edge is moved, the windows change shape to compensate. You can also float windows anywhere on the screen, if necessary.

NOTE The Tilt window can only be docked vertically on the left or right, taking up the full height of the canvas, or be floating.

By default, a docked window is pinned, meaning that the window remains displayed at its current size and can be moved. When you auto hide a window and move the mouse pointer away from it, the window is reduced to a tab displaying the window name. Moving the mouse pointer over the tab displays the window fully, but temporarily, over the canvas. Auto-hiding a window can show more of the canvas while still keeping the window available. Auto-hiding a window also prevents it from being undocked, grouped, or ungrouped.

NOTE When you dock windows inside the default scene view, you do not get pin and auto-hide functionality.

An undocked window is one that has been separated from the program window. Each undocked window can be moved around the screen or screens as desired. Although undocked windows cannot be pinned, they can be resized and grouped.

A window group is a way to have more than one window occupy the same amount of space on the screen. When windows are grouped, each window is represented by a tab at the bottom of the group. In a group, click a tab to display that window. You can group or ungroup window as necessary and save custom workspaces. After changing window positions, you can save your settings as a custom workspace.

Auto Hide Position

When you auto hide a window, it collapses against a specific side of the canvas - Top, Left, Right, or Bottom. The side to which it collapses is determined by the docking position. So, for example, if you dock a window to the left of canvas, it collapses to the left.

The Shortcut Menu

Right-clicking a dockable window displays a shortcut menu of available commands. If you right-click a single item, or select one or more items and right-click, this menu contains commands related to the items. If you right-click an area that contains no items or data, the menu contains commands related to the dockable window, if appropriate.

To show a dockable window

1 Click View tab ➤ Workspace panel ➤ Windows .

48 | Chapter 4 Quick Start

2 Select the check box next to the desired window in the drop-down list.

To move a dockable window

1 Click and drag the title bar at the top or side of the window.

2 Optional: to prevent a window from automatically docking while you drag it, hold down the CTRL key.

TIP The docking tool allows you to place windows in a specific relationship to the canvas areas.

To group dockable windows

1 Click and drag the title bar of the window to be added to another window or group.

2 Drop the window on the title bar of the receiving window or group. A tab with the name of the dragged

window is added to the bottom of the receiving window.

To ungroup dockable windows

1 Within the group, click the tab for the window you want to remove.

2 Click and drag the window tab out of the group.

3 Drop the window to ungroup it.

To auto hide dockable windows

➤ On a window title bar, click .

NOTE To move or group windows, you need to pin them first.

To pin dockable windows

1 Move the mouse cursor over the title bar to display the hidden window.

2 Click on the title bar. The window is now pinned, and can be moved and grouped.

To resize a dockable window or a group of windows

1 Place the mouse pointer over a window border until the mouse pointer changes to the splitter bar .

2 Click and drag the boarder to the desired size.

TIP You can resize both pinned and auto hidden windows. In an auto-hidden group, each window can be resized

separately from other windows. In a pinned group, resizing one window resizes the rest of the windows.

Docking Tool

The window continues to be displayed until you move the mouse pointer away from it. When you move the mouse pointer, the window is collapsed until you place the mouse pointer over the window tab on the side of the canvas where its docked.

The docking tool indicates the relationship of a dragged window to the rest of the canvas, and enables you to pinpoint drag and drop destinations.

The tool contains an inner zone and outer zone of controls representing the drop destination. Five stickers of the inner zone are used to dock windows relative to the closest suitable area on the canvas, while four stickers of the outer zone are used to dock windows relative to the canvas itself.

Parts of Autodesk Navisworks Interface | 49

Status Bar

The docking tool also provides visual previews of what space will be occupied by a window. These previews are shown when you are moving a window and while your mouse is over one of the stickers.

TIP To quickly create a window group, use the sticker at the center of the docking tool when you drag a window to its location. This works anywhere on the canvas excluding the default scene view and the Tilt window. Custom scene views can be grouped with other windows.

To move a window with the docking tool

1 Click and drag the title bar at the top or side of the window towards the place where you want it to dock.

This activates the docking tool.

2 Drag the window over the sticker on the docking tool that represents the area you want the window to

occupy.

3 Release the mouse button to dock the window there. The window is automatically resized to fill the area.

The Status bar appears at the bottom of the Autodesk Navisworks screen. It cannot be customized or moved around.

The left-hand corner of the Status bar is used to display short instructions on how to use the Autodesk Navisworks features (applies to the Classic user interface only).

In the right-hand corner of the Status bar there are four performance indicators that give you constant feedback as to how well Autodesk Navisworks is performing on your machine.

Pencil Progress Bar

The progress bar under the left hand icon (pencil) indicates how much of the current view is drawn, that is how much drop-out there is in the current viewpoint. When the progress bar is at 100%, the scene is completely drawn, with no drop-out. The icon changes color when a redraw is in progress. Whilst the scene is being drawn, the pencil will change to yellow. If there is too much data to handle and your machine cannot process this quickly enough for Autodesk Navisworks, then the pencil changes to red, indicating a bottleneck.

Disk Progress Bar

The progress bar under the central icon (disk) indicates how much of the current model is loaded from disk, that is how much is loaded into memory. When the progress bar is at 100%, the entire model, including geometry and property information, is loaded into memory. The icon changes color when a file load is in progress. Whilst data is being read, the disk changes to yellow. If there is too much data to handle and your machine cannot process this quickly enough for Autodesk Navisworks, then the disk changes to red, indicating a bottleneck.

Web Server Progress Bar

The progress bar under the right hand icon (web server) indicates how much of the current model is downloaded, that is how much has been downloaded from a web server. When the progress bar is at 100%, the entire model has been downloaded. The icon changes color when a file load is in progress. Whilst data is being downloaded, the web server changes to yellow. If there is too much data to handle and your machine cannot process this quickly enough for Autodesk Navisworks, then the web server changes to red, indicating a bottleneck.

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Memory Bar

The field to the right of the icons reports the amount of memory currently being used by Autodesk Navisworks. This is reported in Megabytes (MB).

Undo/Redo Commands

You can undo or redo your actions in Autodesk Navisworks.

The default settings are adequate for regular Autodesk Navisworks usage, but you can adjust the amount of space allocated to the undo/redo buffer, if necessary.

To undo an action

■ Click Undo on the Quick Access toolbar.

Command entry: CTRL + Z

Toolbar: Classic user interface: Standard ➤ Undo

To redo an action

■ Click Redo on the Quick Access toolbar.

Command entry: CTRL + Y

Toolbar: Classic user interface: Standard ➤ Redo

Autodesk Navisworks Workspaces

Workspaces retain information about which windows are open, their positions, and the size of the application window.

Workspaces do not retain changes made to the ribbon or the Quick Access toolbar.

NOTE In the Classic user interface mode (that is, the ribbon is turned off), workspaces retain information about the dockable windows and the toolbars.

The workspaces can be shared with other users. You could, for example, create separate workspaces for occasional and power Navisworks users, or setup your own corporate standard.

Autodesk Navisworks comes with several pre-configured workspaces:

■ Safe Mode - selects the layout with the minimum features.

■ Navisworks Standard - selects the layout with commonly-used windows auto-hidden as tabs.

■ Navisworks Minimal - selects the layout giving the most space to the Scene View.

You can use these workspaces as-is or modify them in accordance to your requirements. When you first start Navisworks, the Navisworks Minimal workspace is used. You can choose a different workspace at any time by

clicking View tab ➤ Workspace panel ➤ Load Workspace , and then selecting the required workspace from the list.

Toolbar: Classic user interface: Workspace ➤ Workspaces

To save current layout to a new workspace

1 Set up your design review layout. For example, you can group together the Properties and Saved Viewpoints

windows.

If you use the Classic user interface mode, for example, you can close all toolbars except the Standard, Selection Tools, Navigation Mode, and Workspace.

Undo/Redo Commands | 51

2 Click View tab ➤ Workspace panel ➤ Save Workspace .

3 In the Save Current Workspace dialog box, enter a name for the new workspace. You can also select the

name of an existing workspace to overwrite it with your modified configuration.

4 Click Save.

To load a saved workspace into Navisworks

1 Click View tab ➤ Workspaces panel ➤ Load Workspace .

2 In the Load Workspace dialog box, browse to the folder containing the desired workspace, and select it.

3 Click Open.

Default Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are keyboard alternatives you can use to initiate commands normally accessed with the mouse.

For example, to open the Selection Tree, window you can press CTRL + F12, to open the Comments window, you can press SHIFT + F6, and so on. Keyboard shortcuts offer a means to let you work faster and more efficiently. Some dialog boxes or dockable windows can be closed with the same command used to open it.

52 | Chapter 4 Quick Start

Many keyboard shortcuts are already set for most commonly used actions. You can modify the default shortcuts or add new shortcuts, if necessary.

Quick Reference

DescriptionDefault Keyboard Shortcut

PgUp

PgDn

HOME

SHIFT

CTRL

ALT + F4

Zooms to view all objects in the Scene View.

Zooms to magnify all selected objects in the Scene View.

Takes you to Home view. This keyboard shortcut only applies to the Scene View windows. This means it will only work when this window has focus.

Deselects everything.ESC

Used to modify the middle mouse button actions.

Turns the keytips on or off.ALT

Closes the currently active dockable window when it is undocked, or exits the application if the main application window is active.

ALT + F6

CTRL + D

Switches between the dockable windows when they are undocked.

Turns on Turntable mode.CTRL + 0

Turns on Select mode.CTRL + 1

Turns on Walk mode.CTRL + 2

Turns on Look Around mode.CTRL + 3

Turns on Zoom mode.CTRL + 4

Turns on Zoom Window mode.CTRL + 5

Turns on Pan mode.CTRL + 6

Turns on Orbit mode.CTRL + 7

Turns on Free Orbit mode.CTRL + 8

Turns on Fly mode.CTRL + 9

Toggles Collision mode. You must be in appropriate navigation mode (that is, Walk or Fly) for this keyboard shortcut to work.

Default Keyboard Shortcuts | 53

CTRL + F

DescriptionDefault Keyboard Shortcut

Toggles Gravity mode.CTRL + G

Toggles Hidden mode for selected items.CTRL + H

CTRL + N

CTRL + Y

CTRL + F3

Toggles the Tilt window.

CTRL + F9

Resets the program, closes the currently open Navisworks file, and creates a new file.

Displays the Open dialog box.CTRL + O

Displays the Print dialog box.CTRL + P

Toggles Require mode for selected items.CTRL + R

Toggles Third Person mode.CTRL + T

Reverses the last operation performed by the Undo command.

Reverses the last performed operation.CTRL + Z

Opens the Help system.CTRL + F1

Toggles the TimeLiner Playback window.CTRL + F3

CTRL + HOME

Toggles the Section View window.CTRL + F10

Toggles the Saved Viewpoints window.CTRL + F11

Toggles the Selection Tree window.CTRL + F12

Dollies and pans the camera so that the entire model is in view.

Play selected animation.CTRL + Right Arrow

Reverse Play selected animation.CTRL + Left Arrow

Record viewpoint animation.CTRL + Up Arrow

Stop playing animation.CTRL + Down Arrow

Pause playing animation.CTRL + Space

Sets current view as Home.CTRL + SHIFT + HOME

Sets current view as Front.CTRL + SHIFT + END

Takes you to the first redline tag.CTRL + SHIFT + Up Arrow

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Repeats the previously run Quick Find search.

DescriptionDefault Keyboard Shortcut

Takes you to the last redline tag.CTRL + SHIFT + Down Arrow

Opens the Help system.F1

Toggles Full Screen mode.F11

Opens the Options Editor.F12

SHIFT + P

Activates the Pan tool on the Navigation bar.

Opens the last used SteeringWheel.SHIFT + W

Enables you to get context-sensitive help.SHIFT + F1

Toggles the Comments window.SHIFT + F6

Toggles the Properties window.SHIFT + F7

Opens the File Options dialog box.SHIFT + F11

Navigation with the Wheel Button

If you have a wheel mouse, you can use the middle mouse button to zoom, pan, and orbit.

Do this...To

scroll the wheel button forward.Zoom in

scroll the mouse wheel backward.Zoom out

Pan

hold down the middle mouse button, and then move the mouse to pan.

Orbit

Change the pivot point

press and hold SHIFT and hold down the middle mouse button, and then move the mouse to orbit about the currently defined pivot point.

press and hold the CTRL key and hold down the middle mouse button, then drag to the point on the model you want to use as the pivot point.

NOTE The above does not apply when using Walk, Fly, or any of the classic navigation modes, all of which have their own wheel/middle button behaviors.

Navigation with the Wheel Button | 55

Quick Reference

Mouse Wheel / Middle Button Navigation

Non-Navigational Tools

Classic Navigation Modes

Middle ButtonWheel

SHIFT + Middle Button

OrbitPanZoom In/OutSelect

Glide Camera (Faster)Glide CameraLook Up/DownWalk

OrbitPanZoom In/OutLook Around

-Zoom (Drag)Zoom (Roll)Zoom

-Zoom (Drag)Zoom (Roll)Zoom Box

-Zoom (Drag)Zoom (Roll)Pan

-Glide CameraZoom (Roll)Orbit

-PanZoom (Roll)Examine

-Roll-Fly

-PanTilt Up/DownTurntable

Standard Navigation Modes

Autodesk Navisworks Options

There are two types of options: File Options and Global Options.

File Options

For each Autodesk Navisworks file (NWF and NWD), you can adjust the model appearance and the speed of navigation around it. File options are stored with Autodesk Navisworks files (NWF or NWD), and reloaded each time you open these files.

OrbitPanZoom In/OutPan

OrbitPanZoom In/OutZoom Window

OrbitPanZoom In/OutZoom

OrbitPanZoom In/OutOrbit

OrbitPanZoom In/OutFree Orbit

OrbitPanZoom In/OutConstrained Orbit

OrbitPanZoom In/OutLook At

OrbitPanZoom In/OutSteeringWheels

The File Options dialog box is used to customize various file options, and can be accessed by clicking Home tab

➤ Project panel ➤ File Options .

56 | Chapter 4 Quick Start

Global Options

Global options, on the other hand, are set for all Autodesk Navisworks sessions. The Options Editor can be

accessed by clicking the application button ➤ Options, or it can be launched as a separate application. To do this, click Start ➤ All Programs ➤ Autodesk ➤ Navisworks Freedom 2011 ➤ Options Editor. The options are grouped together, and presented in a tree structure, making it quicker to find and change them.

Global options can be exported and imported, making it quick and easy for project managers, or systems administrators, to ensure the Autodesk Navisworks settings on all machines are identical.

To configure file options

1 Click Home tab ➤ Project panel ➤ File Options .

2 Use the File Options dialog box to customize various file settings.

3 Click OK to save the changes.

Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ File Options

See also:

■ “File Options Dialog Box” on page 162

Autodesk Navisworks Options | 57

To configure global options

1 Click the application button ➤ Options.

2 In the Options Editor, expand the desired node, and click the option you want to configure.

3 Click OK to save the changes.

Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ Global Options

See also:

■ “Options Editor Dialog Box” on page 165

To export global options

1 Click the application button ➤ Options.

2 In the Options Editor, click the Export button.

3 In the Select Options to Export dialog box, select the check boxes for all options you want to be exported

(or “serialized”). If an option cannot be exported, it is greyed out.

TIP To quickly select/deselect all options for a given category, use the top-level check boxes. For example, selecting the General check box, instantly selects all options under this node.

4 Click OK to export the selected settings.

5 In the Save As dialog box, enter a name for the settings file. You can also select the name of an existing

settings file to overwrite it with your modified configuration.

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6 Click Save.

7 Click OK to close the Options Editor.

Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ Global Options

To import global options

1 Click the application button ➤ Options.

2 In the Options Editor, click the Import button.

3 In the Open dialog box, browse to the folder containing the settings file, select it, and click Open.

4 Click OK to close the Options Editor.

Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ Global Options

Location Options

These options enable centralized sharing of global Autodesk Navisworks settings, workspaces, datatools, avatars, Clash Detective rules, Presenter archives, custom Clash Detective tests, object animation scripts, and so on, with other users.

Location Options | 59

The settings can be shared across an entire project site, or across a specific project group depending on the required level of granularity.

See also:

■ How do I share the Autodesk Navisworks settings on a site and project basis? on page 26

To configure location options

1 Click the application button ➤ Options.

2 Expand the General node in the Options Editor, and click the Locations option.

3 In the Project Directory box, browse to the directory that contains the Autodesk Navisworks settings specific

to your project group.

4 In the Site Directory box, browse to the directory that contains the Autodesk Navisworks settings standard

across the entire project site.

5 Click OK.

Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ Global Options

NOTE When you run Autodesk Navisworks for the first time, the settings are picked up from the installation directory. Subsequently, Autodesk Navisworks examines the current user profile and the all users profile on the local machine, and then checks the settings in the Project Directory and the Site Directory. The files in the Project Directory take precedence.

Display Units

Display units determine the scale of your model in Navisworks.

Display units are used to measure geometry in your scene, align appended models, set tolerances for clash detection, set texture sizes and so on.

When you open CAD and laser scan files, Autodesk Navisworks reads the file units directly from the files. If this is not possible (for example, the file is unitless), Autodesk Navisworks uses the default file units configured for that file type in the Options Editor whenever possible. Loaded files are scaled appropriately to the configured display units.

It is possible to rescale the file units, if they are found to be incorrect for the scene.

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To customize display units

1 Click the application button ➤ Options.

2 Expand the Interface node in the Options Editor, and click the Display Units option.

3 Select the Linear Units from the drop-down list. Be sure to choose the exact format required.

4 Select the Angular Units from the drop-down list.

Profiles

5 Enter the number of decimal places you want to see throughout the interface for your units in the Decimal

Places box. If the unit chosen is a fractional unit, rather than a decimal unit, then you have the choice of what level of fraction to display the units from the Fractional Display Precision drop-down list.

6 Click OK.

Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ Global Options

Autodesk Navisworks can be adjusted to your level of CAD technical knowledge.

By default, a standard profile is used. If necessary, you can use a developer profile to display additional object properties.

To use a developer profile

1 Click the application button ➤ Options.

2 Expand the Interface node, and click the Developer option.

3 Select the Show Internal Properties check box to add additional object properties to the Properties window.

Profiles | 61

4 Click OK.

Menu: Classic user interface: Tools ➤ Global Options

Search Directories

Autodesk Navisworks searches for a variety of configuration files in subdirectories of three standard directories.

These files can be overridden on a per user, all users or per installation basis. The search directories are:

■ Application Data\Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 within the current user profile. For example, C:\Documents

and Settings\user\Application Data\Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 where user is the name of the current user.

■ Application Data\Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 within the all users default profile. For example,

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011.

■ Within the Navisworks install directory. For example, C:\Program Files\Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011.

Two additional directories, Site and Project, may be used to share various configuration settings with other users. When you run Autodesk Navisworks for the first time, the settings are picked up from the installation directory. Subsequently, Autodesk Navisworks examines the current user profile and the all users profile on the local machine, and then checks the settings in the Project Directory and the Site Directory. The files in the Project Directory take precedence.

See also:

■ Location Options on page 59

Gizmos

Autodesk Navisworks provides you with gizmo-based tools to interact with 3D objects. The following types of gizmos are used:

■ Transform gizmos. Manipulate objects’ transforms (translation, rotation, and scale) globally (as if they’d been

changed in the original CAD model).

■ Animation gizmos. Manipulate objects’ transforms temporarily for animation purposes.

■ Sectioning gizmos. Manipulate section planes and section box.

Each gizmo displays three colored axes at the correct angles relevant to the current camera position. Gizmos act like 3D objects in that the axis rotate with the viewpoint. However, they are overlaid over the top of the 3D

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scene, and can’t be obscured by other objects. When you mouse over a grabable part of the gizmo, the cursor

changes to a hand icon.

Scale GizmoRotate GizmoMove Gizmo

When you use gizmos, you can adjust snapping to control the precision of your operations (click the application

button ➤ Options ➤ Interface node ➤ Snapping page.

Gizmos | 63

64 | Chapter 4 Quick Start

Get a Whole-Project View

66 | Part 2 Get a Whole-Project View

Work with Files

In Autodesk Navisworks you can open NWD files (published data), and DWF files.

Use File Readers

NWD Files

An NWD file is a file created with Autodesk Navisworks publisher tool, and contains all model geometry together with review markups. You can think of an NWD file as a snapshot of the current state of the model.

NWD files are very small, as they compress the CAD data by up to 80% of the original size.

DWF Files

Autodesk DWF was specifically developed by Autodesk as a file format for architects, engineers, and GIS professionals to share design data. The DWF file reader reads all 3D geometry, as well as textures and properties.

Supported Entities

■ All 3D geometry

■ Texture maps

■ Texture coordinates

■ Colors (per-vertex, per-face)

■ Property fields

■ Categories

Unsupported Entities

■ 2D lines/plot sheets

■ Thumbnails

■ Marked-up sketches

■ More than one 3D sheet per file (any others are ignored)

■ NURBS surfaces

■ Cameras

See also:

■ “DWF File Reader Options” on page 178

Use File Exporters

MicroStation File Exporter

Manage Files

Open Files

To open files in Autodesk Navisworks, you can either use a standard Open dialog box or drag and drop files directly into the Selection Tree window.

NOTE If the chosen file is a CAD or laser scan file, Autodesk Navisworks automatically uses an appropriate file reader to open it, provided this file format is supported.

Autodesk Navisworks keeps a list of recently opened files (by default, up to 4 files are shown). You can open any

of these files by clicking the application button . If you want to modify the size of this list, use the Options Editor (General node ➤ Environment page).

You can use the SHIFT and CTRL keys to open several files at the same time. This automatically creates a new “Untitled” Navisworks file with the selected files appended together.

For NWD files, it is possible to publish them to a web server, and then open them directly from within Navisworks. You can start navigating the model even before the file has been fully downloaded. For this, 10 - 50% is usually sufficient. The greater the hierarchical structure of the model, the closer to 50% download is required. Similarly, the lesser the hierarchical structure of the model, the sooner you can begin the navigation.

To open a file

1 Click the application button ➤ Open ➤ Open .

2 In the Open dialog box, use the Files of Type box to select the appropriate file type, and navigate to the

folder where your file is located.

3 Select the file, and click Open.

Toolbar: Classic user interface: Standard ➤ Open Command entry: CTRL + O

To open NWD files located on a web server

1 Click the application button ➤ Open URL .

2 Enter the file address, and click OK.

68 | Chapter 5 Work with Files

Create Files

When you start Autodesk Navisworks, a new “Untitled” Navisworks file is automatically created for you. The new file uses default settings defined in the Options Editor, and in the File Options dialog box. You can customize these settings, as necessary.

If you have a Navisworks file already open, and want to close it and create another file, click New on the Quick Access toolbar.

Toolbar: Classic user interface: Standard ➤ New

Create Files | 69

70 | Chapter 5 Work with Files

Explore Your Model

Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011 enables you to walk through a scene in real time.

Navigate a Scene

In Autodesk Navisworks, you have a variety of options for navigating your scene.

You can directly manipulate your position in 3D space with navigation tools on the navigation bar. You can also use StreeringWheels® that travel with the cursor, and can save you time by combining many of the common navigation tools into a single interface.

You can use the ViewCube®, a 3D navigational tool that enables you to reorient the view of a model by clicking predefined areas on the cube. For example, clicking the front of the ViewCube turns the view until the camera is facing the front of the scene. You can also click the ViewCube and drag it to rotate the view freely.

You can use the tools on the Viewpoint tab ➤ Motion Settings panel to control the speed and realism of your navigation. So, for example, you can walk down stairs or follow terrain, crouch under objects, use an avatar to represent yourself within the 3D model.

Animating Navigation

As you navigate in Autodesk Navisworks, you can record viewpoint animations, and then play them back. For more information, see “Play Back Animations” on page 151.

Orientation in 3D Space

Although Autodesk Navisworks uses the X, Y, Z coordinate system, there is no hard-and-fast rule as to which way each of these particular axes actually “points”.

Autodesk Navisworks reads the data necessary to map which way is “up” and which way is “north” directly from the files loaded into your scene. If this is not possible, by default, Z is treated as “up” and Y is treated as “north”.

It is possible to change the “up” and “north” directions for the entire model (world orientation), and the “up” direction for the current viewpoint (viewpoint up vector).

NOTE Changing the viewpoint up vector affects navigation in modes that rely on the “up” direction of the current viewpoint, such as Walk, Constrained Orbit, and Orbit. It also has an impact on section views.

To align the viewpoint up vector to the current view

■ In Scene View, right-click and click Viewpoint ➤ Set Viewpoint Up ➤ Set Up on the shortcut menu.

To align the viewpoint up vector to one of the preset axes

1 In Scene View, right-click and click Viewpoint ➤ Set Viewpoint Up.

2 Click one of the preset axis. Choose from:

■ Set Up + X

■ Set Up - X

■ Set Up + Y

■ Set Up - Y

■ Set Up + Z

■ Set Up - Z

To change the world orientation

1 Click Home tab ➤ Project panel ➤ File Options .

2 In the File Options dialog box, Orientation tab, enter the required values to adjust the model orientation.

3 Click OK.

Product-Specific Navigation Tools

The navigation bar and SteeringWheels provide you with access to a set of product-specific navigation tools.

72 | Chapter 6 Explore Your Model

In Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011, some classic navigation tools have been replaced with new navigation tools. See the table below for more details.

Replaced byClassic tool

Can be switched back to classic?

NoPanPan

NoZoomZoom

NoZoom AllView All

NoZoom SelectedView Selected

NoZoom WindowZoom Box

YesOrbitOrbit

YesFree OrbitExamine

YesConstrained OrbitTurntable

NoLookLook Around

--Focus

YesWalkWalk

--Fly

Customizing Tools Behavior

For the navigation bar, you can use Options Editor to toggle between standard and classic modes for Orbit and Walk tools.

Control Navigation Realism

You can use Collision, Gravity, Crouch, and Third Person View to enhance your navigation experience.

TIP Use a combination of Collision, Gravity, and Crouch with the Walk tool. This allows you, for example, to walk up and down stairs and walk under low objects.

Navigation Bar Tools

The navigation bar contains a set of product-specific navigation tools.

Pan Tool

The pan tool moves the view parallel to the screen.

The tool is activated by clicking Pan on the navigation bar. Pan behaves the same way as the pan tool available on the SteeringWheels.

Zoom Tools

Set of navigation tools for increasing or decreasing the magnification of the current view of the model.

The following zoom tools are available:

■ Zoom Window . Allows you to draw a box and zoom into that area.

Product-Specific Navigation Tools | 73

■ Zoom . Standard click/drag zoom.

■ Zoom Selected . Zooms in/out to show the selected geometry.

■ Zoom All . Zooms out to show the whole scene.

Zoom Window

The tool is activated by clicking Zoom Window in the Zoom drop-down on the navigation bar. It behaves the same way as the classic Zoom Box mode.

Zoom

The tool is activated by clicking Zoom in the Zoom drop-down on the navigation bar. It behaves the same way as the Zoom tool available on the SteeringWheels.

Zoom Selected

The tool is activated by clicking Zoom Selected in the Zoom drop-down on the navigation bar. Alternatively,

you can click Item Tools tab ➤ Look At panel ➤ Zoom on the ribbon. It behaves the same way as the classic View Selected tool.

Zoom All

The tool is activated by clicking Zoom All in the Zoom drop-down on the navigation bar. It behaves the same way as the classic View All tool.

Orbit Tools

Set of navigation tools for rotating the model around a pivot point while the view remains fixed.

The following orbit tools are available:

■ Orbit . Moves the camera around the focal point of the model. The up direction is always maintained,

■ Free Orbit . Rotates the model around the focal point in any direction.

■ Constrained Orbit . Spins the model around the up vector as though the model is sitting on a turntable.

Orbit

The tool is activated by clicking Orbit in the Orbit drop-down on the navigation bar. It behaves the same way as the Orbit tool on the SteeringWheels. You can use the Options Editor to switch back to the classic Orbit mode.

Free Orbit

The tool is activated by clicking Free Orbit in the Orbit drop-down on the navigation bar. It behaves similarly to the classic Examine mode. You can use the Options Editor to switch back to the classic Examine mode.

Constrained Orbit

The tool is activated by clicking Constrained Orbit in the Orbit drop-down on the navigation bar. It behaves similarly to the classic Turntable mode. You can use the Options Editor to switch back to the classic Turntable mode.

and no camera rolling is possible.

The up direction is always maintained.

To use the classic Orbit tool with the navigation bar

1 On the navigation bar, click Customize ➤ Navigation Bar Options.

74 | Chapter 6 Explore Your Model

Look Tools

2 In the Options Editor, the Navigation Bar page under the Interface node, select the Use Classic Orbit check

box in the Orbit Tools area.

3 Click OK.

To use the classic Examine tool with the navigation bar

1 On the navigation bar, click Customize ➤ Navigation Bar Options.

2 In the Options Editor, the Navigation Bar page under the Interface node, select the Use Classic Free Orbit

(Examine) check box in the Orbit Tools area.

3 Click OK.

To use the classic Turntable tool with the navigation bar

1 On the navigation bar, click Customize ➤ Navigation Bar Options.

2 In the Options Editor, the Navigation Bar page under the Interface node, select the Use Classic Constrained

Orbit (Turntable) check box in the Orbit Tools area.

3 Click OK.

Set of navigation tools for rotating the current view vertically and horizontally.

The following look tools are available:

■ Look Around . Looks around the scene from the current camera location.

■ Look At . Looks at a particular point in the scene. The camera moves to align with that point.

■ Focus . Looks at a particular point in the scene. The camera stays where it is.

Look Around

The tool is activated by clicking Look Around in the Look drop-down on the navigation bar. It behaves the same way as the Look tool available on the SteeringWheels.

Look At

The tool is activated by clicking Look At in the Look drop-down on the navigation bar. It behaves the same way as the SteeringWheels Look tool when you press and hold the SHIFT key.

Focus

The tool is activated by clicking Focus in the Look drop-down on the navigation bar. See Focus on page 113 for more details.

Walk and Fly Tools

Set of navigation tools for moving around the model and controlling realism settings.

The following tools are available:

■ Walk . Moves through a model as if you were walking through it.

■ Fly . Moves through a model like in a flight simulator.

Product-Specific Navigation Tools | 75

Walk

The tool is activated by clicking Walk in the Walk/Fly drop-down on the navigation bar. By default, the tool behaves like the Walk tool on the SteeringWheels. You can customize the tool options in the Options Editor. You can also switch back to the classic Walk mode.

Fly

The tool is activated by clicking Fly in the Walk/Fly drop-down on the navigation bar. It behaves the same way as the classic Fly mode.

See also:

■ Control the Realism of Your Navigation on page 114

To use classic Walk tool with the navigation bar

1 On the navigation bar, click Customize ➤ Navigation Bar Options.

2 In the Options Editor, the Navigation Bar page under the Interface node, select the Use Classic Walk check

box in the Walk Tool area.

3 Click OK.

SteeringWheels Tools

Each wheel is divided into different wedges. Each wedge contains a navigation tool used to reorient the current view of a model. Which navigation tools are available depends on which wheel is active.

Center Tool

With the Center tool, you can define the center of the current view of a model. To define the center, drag the cursor over your model. A sphere (pivot point) is displayed in addition to the cursor. The sphere indicates that the point below the cursor in the model will be the center of the current view when you release the mouse button. The model is centered on the sphere.

NOTE If the cursor is not over the model, the center cannot be set and a prohibited cursor is displayed.

The point defined by the Center tool provides a focal point for the Zoom tool and a pivot point for the Orbit tool.

NOTE If you want to zoom from the Full Navigation wheels from your defined center point, hold down CTRL before zooming.

To specify a point on a model as the center of a view

1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels or the big View Object wheel.

2 Click and hold down the Center wedge.

3 Drag the cursor to the desired location of the model.

76 | Chapter 6 Explore Your Model

4 Release the button on your pointing device when the sphere is displayed.

To specify the target point for the Zoom and Orbit tools

1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels or the big View Object wheel.

2 Click and hold down the Center wedge.

3 Drag the cursor over the desired location of the model.

4 Release the button on your pointing device when the sphere is displayed.

5 Use the Zoom or Orbit tool to reorient the view of the model.

Forward Tool

You use the Forward tool to change the magnification of the model by increasing or decreasing the distance between the current point of view and the pivot point. The distance that you can move forward or backward is limited by the position of the pivot point.

The model is panned until the sphere is centered.

If you are using one of the Full Navigation wheels, hold down the CTRL key before using the Zoom tool.

NOTE In orthographic views, the Forward tool is limited to the distance between the current position and the pivot point. In perspective views, it is not limited, so you can move the cursor through the pivot point.

To adjust the distance between the current point of view and the pivot point you use the Drag Distance indicator. The Drag Distance indicator has two marks on it that show the start and destination distances from the current point of view. The current traveled distance is shown by the orange position indicator. Slide the indicator forward or backwards to decrease or increase the distance towards the pivot point.

To reorient a view by moving towards or away from the model

1 Display the big Tour Building wheel.

2 Click and hold down the Forward wedge.

The Drag Distance indicator is displayed.

NOTE If you click the Forward wedge once, the model moves forward 50% of the distance between the current location and the pivot point.

3 Drag the cursor up or down to change the distance from which you view the model.

4 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

Product-Specific Navigation Tools | 77

Look Tool

With the Look tool, you can rotate the current view vertically and horizontally. When rotating the view, your line of sight rotates about the current eye position, like turning your head. The Look tool can be compared to standing in a fixed location, and looking up, down, left or right.

When using the Look tool, you adjust the view of the model by dragging the cursor. As you drag, the cursor changes to the Look cursor and the model rotates around the location of the current view.

In addition to using the Look tool to look around a model, you can also use the tool to transition the current view to a specific face on the model. Press and hold the Shift key before selecting the Look tool on one of the Full Navigation wheels.

Walking Through a Model

When using the Look tool from the big Full Navigation wheel, you can walk through a model by using the arrow keys on the keyboard. To adjust the walk speed, use the Options Editor.

Invert Vertical Axis

When you drag the cursor upward, the target point of the view raises; dragging the cursor downward lowers the target point of the view. To invert the vertical axis for the Look tool, use the Options Editor.

To look around a view with the Look tool

1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels or the mini Tour Building wheel.

2 Click and hold down the Look wedge.

The cursor changes to the Look cursor.

3 Drag the pointing device to change the direction in which you are looking.

4 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

To look at a face in the model with the Look tool

1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels.

2 Press and hold down the SHIFT key.

3 Click and hold down the Look wedge.

The cursor changes to the Look At cursor.

4 Drag over the objects in the model until the face highlights that you want to look at.

5 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

To look around and walk through a model with the Look tool

1 Display the big Full Navigation wheel.

2 Click and hold down the Look wedge.

The cursor changes to the Look cursor.

78 | Chapter 6 Explore Your Model

Orbit Tool

3 Drag to change the direction in which you are looking.

4 While holding down the button on your pointing device, press the arrow keys to walk in the model.

5 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

6 Click Close to exit the wheel.

To invert the vertical axis for the Look tool

1 Display a wheel.

2 Right-click the wheel, and click SteeringWheels Options.

3 In the Options Editor, the SteeringWheels page under the Interface node, select the Invert Vertical Axis

check box in the Look Tool area.

Dragging downward and upward lowers and raises the target point of the current view.

4 Click OK.

You use the Orbit tool to change the orientation of a model. The cursor changes to the Orbit cursor. As you drag the cursor, the model rotates around a pivot point while the view remains fixed.

Specify the Pivot Point

The pivot point is the base point used when rotating the model with the Orbit tool. You can specify the pivot point in the following ways:

■ Default pivot point. When you first open a model, the target point of the current view is used as the pivot

point for orbiting the model.

■ Select objects. You can select objects before the Orbit tool is used to calculate the pivot point. The pivot

point is calculated based on the center of the extents of the selected objects.

■ Center tool. You can specify a point on the model to use as the pivot point for orbiting with the Center tool.

■ CTRL+Click and drag. Press and hold down the CTRL key before clicking the Orbit wedge or while the Orbit

tool is active; then drag to the point on the model you want to use as the pivot point. This option is only available when using the big and mini Full Navigation wheels or the mini View Object wheel.

NOTE While the Orbit tool is active, you can press and hold the CTRL key at anytime to move the pivot point used by the Orbit tool.This pivot point is used for subsequent navigation until it is moved.

Maintain Up Direction

You can control how the model orbits around the pivot point by choosing to maintain the up direction of the model. When the up direction is maintained, orbiting is constrained along the XY axis and in the Z direction. If

Product-Specific Navigation Tools | 79

you drag horizontally, the camera moves parallel to the XY plane. If you drag vertically, the camera moves along the Z axis.

If the up direction is not maintained, you can roll the model using the roll ring which is centered around the pivot point. Use the properties dialog box for the SteeringWheels to control whether the up direction is maintained or not for the Orbit tool.

To orbit a model with the Orbit tool

1 Display one of the View Object or Full Navigation wheels.

2 Click and hold down the Orbit wedge.

The cursor changes to the Orbit cursor.

3 Drag to rotate the model.

NOTE Use the Center tool to re-center the model in the current view, if you are using one of the Full Navigation

or View Object wheels.

4 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

To orbit around an object with the Orbit tool

1 Press ESC to make sure no commands are active and to clear any previously selected objects.

2 Select the objects in the model for which you want to define the pivot point.

3 Display one of the View Object or Full Navigation wheels.

4 Click and hold down the Orbit wedge.

The cursor changes to the Orbit cursor.

5 Drag to rotate the model.

6 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

To turn on selection sensitivity for the Orbit tool

1 Display one of the View Object or Full Navigation wheels.

2 Right-click the wheel, and click SteeringWheels Options.

3 In the Options Editor, the SteeringWheels page under the Interface node, select the Center Pivot on Selection

check box in the Orbit Tool section.

4 Click OK.

The extents of any objects that are selected before the wheel is displayed are used to define the pivot point for the Orbit tool. If no objects are selected, the pivot point used by the Orbit is the one defined by the Center tool.

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To maintain the up direction for the Orbit tool

1 Display the mini View Object wheel or one of the Full Navigation wheels.

2 Right-click the wheel, and click SteeringWheels Options.

3 In the Options Editor, the SteeringWheels page under the Interface node, select the Keep Scene Upright

check box in the Orbit Tool area.

4 Click OK.

Orbiting the model is constrained along the XY plane and Z directions.

To roll the model around the pivot point with the Orbit tool

1 Display the mini View Object Wheel or one of the Full Navigation wheels.

2 Right-click the wheel, and click SteeringWheels Options.

3 In the Options Editor, the SteeringWheels page under the Interface node, clear the Keep Scene Upright

check box.

4 Click OK.

5 Click and hold the Orbit wedge.

The cursor changes to the Orbit cursor.

6 Press and hold the SHIFT key to display the roll ring. Drag to roll the model.

7 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

Pan Tool

To start the Orbit tool with the middle mouse button

1 Display one of the wheels other than the big View Object or Tour Building wheels.

2 Press and hold down the SHIFT key.

3 Press and hold down the scroll wheel or middle button on your pointing device and drag to orbit the model.

4 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

When the pan tool is active, the Pan cursor (a four-sided arrow) is displayed. Dragging the pointing device moves the model in the same direction. For example, dragging upward moves the model up while dragging downward moves the model down.

TIP If the cursor reaches the edge of the screen, you can continue panning by dragging further to force it to wrap around the screen.

Product-Specific Navigation Tools | 81

To pan the view with the Pan tool

1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels, or the mini View Object wheel.

2 Click and hold the Pan wedge.

3 Drag to reposition the model.

4 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

To start the Pan tool with the middle mouse button

1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels, or the mini View Object wheel.

2 Press and hold down the scroll wheel or middle button.

3 Drag to reposition the model.

4 Release the wheel or button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

Rewind Tool

As you use the navigation tools to reorient the view of a model, the previous view is saved to the navigation history. The navigation history holds a representation of the previous views of the model along with a thumbnail. A separate navigation history is maintained for each window; it is not maintained after the window is closed. Rewind navigation history is view-specific.

The cursor changes to the Pan cursor.

With the Rewind tool, you can retrieve previous views from the navigation history. From the navigation history, you can restore a previous view or scroll through all of the saved views.

NOTE When you rewind and record a new navigation history, the rewound views are replaced by new views. The navigation history is not saved between sessions.

To restore the previous view

1 Display a wheel.

2 Click the Rewind wedge.

To restore a previous view with the Rewind History panel

1 Display a wheel.

2 Click and hold the Rewind wedge.

The Rewind History panel is displayed.

3 While holding down the button on your pointing device, drag to the left or to the right to restore a previous

view.

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Dragging to the left restores an older previous view. Dragging to the right restores a view that is newer than the one you are currently viewing. You must have previously used the Rewind tool to see views available on the right. The current position in the navigation history is indicated by the orange box that is dragged along the Rewind History panel.

Up/Down Tool

Unlike the Pan tool, you use the Up/Down tool to adjust the height of the current viewpoint along the model's Z axis. To adjust the vertical elevation of the current view, you drag up or down. As you drag, the current elevation and the allowed range of motion is displayed on a graphical element called the Vertical Distance indicator.

The Vertical Distance indicator has two marks that show the highest (Top) and lowest (Bottom) elevation the view can have. While changing the elevation with the Vertical Distance indicator, the current elevation is shown by the bright orange indicator, while the previous elevation is shown by the dim orange indicator.

Walk Tool

To change the elevation of a view

1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels or the Tour Building wheels.

2 Click and hold down the Up/Down wedge.

The Vertical Distance indicator is displayed.

3 Drag up or down to change the elevation of the view.

4 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

With the Walk tool, you can navigate through a model as if you were walking through it. Once you start the Walk tool, the Center Circle icon is displayed near the base of the view and the cursor changes to display a series of arrows. To walk through the model, you drag in the direction in which you want to move in.

Constrain the Walk Angle

When walking through a model, you can constrain the movement angle to the world up vector. If the Constrain Walk Angle option is enabled, you can freely walk around while maintaining a constant camera viewpoint

Product-Specific Navigation Tools | 83

elevation; if the walk angle is not constrained, you will “fly” in the direction you are looking. Use the Options Editor to constrain the movement angle to the world up vector for the Walk tool.

Use Viewpoint Linear Speed

By default, the linear navigation speed in viewpoints is directly related to the size of your model. You can set a specific speed of motion for all viewpoints (Options Editor ➤ Interface ➤ Viewpoint Defaults) or for the current viewpoint (Viewpoint tab ➤ Save, Load & Playback panel ➤ Edit Current Viewpoint). Use the Options Editor to make the Walk tool Use Viewpoint Linear Speed settings.

Movement Speed

As you walk or “fly” through a model, you can control the movement speed. Movement speed is controlled by the distance in which the cursor is moved from the Center Circle icon and the current movement speed setting. You can adjust the movement speed setting permanently and temporarily as you use the Walk tool. To permanently adjust the movement speed, use the Options Editor or the < and > keys when the Walk tool is active. To temporarily increase movement speed, press and hold the + (plus) key while using the Walk tool.

Change the Elevation

As you use the Walk tool, you can adjust the camera elevation by holding down the SHIFT key. This temporarily activates the Up/Down tool. With the Up/Down tool active, drag up or down to adjust the elevation of the camera. You can also use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys as you walk to adjust the height of the view.

To use the Walk tool to move through the model

1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels or the mini Tour Building wheel.

2 Click and hold down the Walk wedge.

The cursor changes to the Walk cursor and the Center Circle icon is displayed.

3 Drag in the direction you want to walk.

NOTE While walking, press and hold down the + (plus) key to temporarily increase your movement speed.

4 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

To change the movement speed for the Walk tool

1 Display a wheel.

2 Right-click the wheel, and click SteeringWheels Options.

3 In the Options Editor, the SteeringWheels page under the Interface node, use the Walk Speed slider in the

Walk Tool area.

Dragging the slider to the left decreases the walking speed; dragging the slider to the right increases the walking speed.

4 Click OK.

To constraint the Walk tool to the world up vector

1 Display a wheel.

2 Right-click the wheel, and click SteeringWheels Options.

3 In the Options Editor, the SteeringWheels page under the Interface node, select the Constrain Walk Angle

check box in the Walk Tool area.

4 Click OK.

Movement when walking is done parallel to the world up of the model.

To make the Walk tool use the viewpoint linear speed

1 Display a wheel.

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Zoom Tool

2 Right-click the wheel, and click SteeringWheels Options.

3 In the Options Editor, the SteeringWheels page under the Interface node, select the Use Viewpoint Linear

Speed check box in the Walk Tool area.

4 Click OK.

To adjust the height of the current view from the Walk tool

1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels or the mini Tour Building wheel.

2 Click and hold down the Walk wedge.

The cursor changes to the Walk cursor and the Center Circle icon is displayed.

3 Do one of the following:

■ Press and hold down the SHIFT key to enable the Up/Down tool; drag up or down.

■ Press and hold down the UP ARROW or DOWN ARROW key.

4 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

You use the Zoom tool to change the zoom magnification of a model.

NOTE When you start the Zoom tool from the Full Navigation wheel, incremental zooming must be enabled in the Options Editor in order to use CTRL+click and SHIFT+click.

Zoom Constraints

When changing the magnification of a model with the Zoom tool, you cannot zoom in any further than the focus point or out past the extents of the model. The direction you can zoom in and out is controlled by the center point set by the Center tool.

NOTE Unlike the Zoom tool on the big View Object wheel, the Zoom tool on the mini View Object wheel and the Full Navigation wheels are not constrained.

To zoom the view with a single click

NOTE You must enable incremental zoom when using the Full Navigation wheels, or a mini View Object wheel. For

the big View Object wheel, the incremental zoom is always enabled.

1 Do the following to make sure the Enable Single-Click Incremental Zoom-In option is selected:

a Display the Full Navigation wheel.

b Right-click the wheel, and click SteeringWheel Options.

c In the Options Editor, the SteeringWheels page under the Interface node, select the Enable Single-Click

Incremental Zoom-In check box in the Zoom Tool area.

d Click OK.

Product-Specific Navigation Tools | 85

2 Display a wheel that has the Zoom tool.

3 Click the Zoom wedge.

The magnification of the model is increased and you are zoomed in closer to the model. If you hold down the SHIFT key while clicking the Zoom wedge, the model is zoomed out; you can hold down the CTRL key to zoom in.

To zoom a view in and out by dragging

1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels, or one of the View Object wheels.

2 Click and hold down the Zoom wedge.

The cursor changes to the Zoom cursor.

3 Drag vertically to zoom in or out.

4 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

To zoom into an area of the model by specifying window

1 Display one of the Full Navigation wheels or the mini View Object wheel.

2 Press and hold down the SHIFT key.

3 Click and hold down the Zoom wedge.

The cursor changes to the Zoom cursor.

4 Drag the pointing device to define the opposite corner of the window that defines the area in which you

want to zoom.

NOTE Holding down the CTRL key while defining the second point of the window determines if the first point of the window is used as the corner or center of the window being dragged. When the CTRL key is held down, the first point defines the center of the window.

5 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

To zoom in and out by scrolling the mouse wheel when the SteeringWheels is displayed

1 Display one of the wheels other than the big Tour Building wheel.

2 Scroll the wheel forward or backward to zoom in or out.

3 Release the button on your pointing device to return to the wheel.

Quick Reference

You use the Zoom tool to change the zoom magnification of a model. The following mouse click and key combinations are available to control how the Zoom tool behaves:

■ Click. If you click the Zoom tool on a wheel, the current view is zoomed in by a factor of 25 percent. If you

are using the Full Navigation wheel, incremental zoom must be enabled in the Options Editor.

■ SHIFT+click. If you hold down the SHIFT key before you click the Zoom tool on a wheel, the current view is

zoomed in by a factor of 25 percent. Zooming is performed from the current pivot point, and not the location of the cursor.

■ CTRL+click. If you hold down the CTRL key before you click the Zoom tool on a wheel, the current view is

zoomed in by a factor of 25 percent. Zooming is performed from the current pivot point, and not the location of the cursor.

■ Click and drag. If you click the Zoom tool and hold down the button on your pointing device, you can adjust

the magnification of the model by dragging up and down.

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■ CTRL+click and drag. When using the Full Navigation wheels or the mini View Object wheel, you can control

the target point used by the Zoom tool. By holding down the CTRL key, the Zoom tool uses the location of the previous pivot point defined by the Zoom, Orbit, or Center tool.

■ SHIFT+click and drag. When using the Full Navigation wheels or the mini View Object wheel, you can zoom

in to an area of the model by dragging a rectangular window around the area you want to fit in the window. Hold down the SHIFT key and then click and drag a window around the area in which you want to zoom.

NOTE If you hold down the CTRL key along with the SHIFT key, you can zoom in to an area of a model using a center-based window instead of one defined by opposite corners.

■ Mouse wheel. When a wheel is displayed, scroll the mouse wheel up or down to zoom the view of the model

in or out.

NOTE When you use the Zoom tool from the Full Navigation wheel or the View Object wheel, the point in the view where you click to zoom becomes the Center point for future Orbit operations until you either use the Zoom tool again or use the Center tool. If you press CTRL before you click the Zoom wedge, the Center point does not change.

Classic Navigation Modes and Tools

In the Classic user interface, there are nine navigation modes available from the Navigation Mode toolbar to control how you move around the Scene View: six camera-centric modes and three model-centric modes.

TIP You can use some of these classic navigation modes with the standard (ribbon) user interface. The Options Editor allows you to select between old and new modes.

In a camera-centric mode, the camera moves within the scene, whereas in a model-centric mode, model moves inside the scene. For example, orbit and examine modes essentially do the same thing, except that orbit mode moves the camera around the focal point and examine mode moves the model around the focal point.

NOTE Navigation modes and SteeringWheels are mutually exclusive, so activating navigation mode deactivates the current SteeringWheel menu.

Movement in each mode is based on the keyboard arrow keys, the SHIFT and CTRL keys, and mouse drags. The mouse wheel is also supported, allowing quick and easy zooming or tilting, depending on the current navigation mode.

TIP Dragging with the left mouse button while holding down the CTRL key performs the same actions as dragging with the middle mouse button, which is useful if you only have a two-button mouse.

The SHIFT and CONTROL keys modify the movement, for example holding down SHIFT in walk mode speeds up movement, and holding down CTRL in this mode, glides the camera left/right and up/down.

NOTE Gliding the camera is opposite to panning the model. Gliding is a camera-centric motion and panning is a model-centric motion.

Quick Reference

DescriptionMode

Walk. Enables you to walk through the model on a horizontal plane ensuring that “up” is always “up”.

Look Around. Enables you to look around the model from the current camera posi-

Product-Specific Navigation Tools | 87

DescriptionMode

tion and gives the effect that you are moving your head around.

Zoom. Enables you to zoom into and out of the model. Cursor up zooms in and cursor down zooms out.

Zoom to a Box. Enables you to drag a box so that the contents of the box fill the view.

Pan. Enables you to pan the model rather than the camera.

Orbit. Enables you to orbit the camera around the model, ensuring that “up” is always “up”. The camera always orbits around the focal point of the model.

Examine. Enables you to rotate the model about.

Fly. Enables you to fly around the model like in a flight simulator.

Walk Mode

In Walk mode, you can navigate through a model as if you were walking through it. In this mode, the up direction is always maintained.

Once you start walk mode, the cursor changes to the walk cursor. To walk through the model, you drag in the direction in which you want to move in.

To use walk mode to move through the model

Turntable. Enables you to spin the model around the up vector. This navigation mode behaves as though the model is sitting on a turntable, ensuring that “up” is always “up”.

1 Click Walk on the Navigation Mode toolbar.

2 To move, hold down the left mouse button as you drag in the direction you want to walk, or use the cursor

keys. The camera spins left and right, and moves forwards and backwards.

NOTE Holding down the SHIFT key speeds up this movement.

3 To glide, hold down the CTRL key as you drag the mouse. The camera glides left and right and up and

down.

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As walk mode is camera-centric, this mode differs from the normal pan mode in that the camera is moved rather than the model.

4 To tilt the camera up and down, spin the mouse wheel.

Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Navigation Mode ➤ Walk Command entry: CTRL + 2

Look Around Mode

In Look Around mode, you can rotate the current view vertically and horizontally. When rotating the view, your line of sight rotates about the current eye position, like turning your head.

To look around a view

1 Click Look Around on the Navigation Mode toolbar.

2 To look around, drag the left mouse button, or use the cursor keys. The camera looks left, right, up or down.

3 To rotate the camera around its viewing axis, hold down the CTRL key.

Zoom Mode

In Zoom mode, you can zoom into and out of the model.

To zoom the view

1 Click Zoom on the Navigation Mode toolbar.

NOTE Holding down the SHIFT key speeds up this movement.

Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Navigation Mode ➤ Look Around Command entry: CTRL + 3

2 Drag the left mouse button up and down, or use the up and down cursor keys, to zoom in and out

respectively.

Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Navigation Mode ➤ Zoom Command entry: CTRL + 4

Product-Specific Navigation Tools | 89

Zoom Box Mode

In Zoom Box mode, you can zoom into an area of the model by dragging a rectangular box around the area you want to fit in the Scene View.

To zoom in to an area of the model by specifying box

1 Click Zoom Box on the Navigation Mode toolbar.

2 Drag a box with the left mouse button over the Scene View to fill the view with the contents of the box.

NOTE Holding down the SHIFT or CTRL keys, or spinning the mouse wheel, temporarily enables normal Zoom

mode.

Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Navigation Mode ➤ Zoom Window Command entry: CTRL + 5

Pan Mode

In Pan mode, you can move the model, rather than the camera. For example, dragging upward moves the model up while dragging downward moves the model down.

To pan a model

1 Click Pan on the Navigation Mode toolbar.

2 Drag the left mouse button to pan the model up, down, left and right.

NOTE Holding down the SHIFT or CTRL keys, or spinning the mouse wheel, temporarily enables normal Zoom

mode.

Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Navigation Mode ➤ Pan Command entry: CTRL + 6

Orbit Mode

In Orbit mode, the camera moves around the focal point of the model. In this mode, the up direction is always maintained.

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To orbit a model

1 Click Orbit on the Navigation Mode toolbar.

2 To rotate the camera around the model, drag the left mouse button, or using the cursor keys.

NOTE Holding down the SHIFT key, or spinning the mouse wheel, temporarily enables normal Zoom mode.

3 To glide the camera, hold down the CTRL key as you drag the mouse. The camera glides left and right and

up and down.

As orbit mode is camera-centric, this mode differs from normal pan mode in that the camera is moved rather than the model.

Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Navigation Mode ➤ Orbit Command entry: CTRL + 7

Examine Mode

In Free Orbit mode, you can rotate the model around the focal point.

Fly Mode

To examine a model

1 Click Examine on the Navigation Mode toolbar.

2 To rotate the model around the focal point, drag the left mouse button, or using the cursor keys. If the

mouse is moving when you let go of the button, the model keeps spinning. Clicking on the model stops this.

NOTE Holding down the SHIFT key, or spinning the mouse wheel, temporarily enables normal Zoom mode. Holding down the CTRL key, temporarily enables normal Pan mode.

Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Navigation Mode ➤ Examine Command entry: CTRL + 8

In Fly mode, you can move around the model like in a flight simulator.

Product-Specific Navigation Tools | 91

To use Fly mode to move through the model

1 Click Fly on the Navigation Mode toolbar.

2 Hold down the left mouse button to move the camera forward. As in a flight simulator, the left mouse

button banks left/right when dragged left or right and tilts up/down when dragged up or down.

NOTE Holding down the SHIFT key speeds up this movement.

3 Use the up and down cursor keys to zoom the camera in and out respectively; use the left and right cursor

keys to spin the camera left and right respectively.

NOTE Holding down the CTRL key rotates the camera around its viewing axis, while still moving forward.

Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Navigation Mode ➤ Fly Command entry: CTRL + 9

Turntable Mode

In Turntable mode, you can spin the model around the up vector as though the model is sitting on a turntable. In this mode, the up direction is always maintained.

To spin model on a turntable

1 On the navigation bar, click Turntable on the Navigation Mode toolbar.

2 Drag the left mouse button left and right, or use the left and right cursor keys, to spin the turntable left and

right respectively.

NOTE Holding down the SHIFT key or spinning the mouse wheel, temporarily enables normal Zoom mode. Holding down the CTRL key, temporarily enables normal Pan mode.

3 To tilt the turntable up and down, spin the mouse wheel, or use the up and down cursor keys.

Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Navigation Mode ➤ Turntable Command entry: CTRL + 0

View All Tool

Makes the complete model fit into the Scene View.

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Using this function dollies and pans the camera so that the entire model is shown in the current view, which is very useful if you get lost inside a model or lose it completely.

Occasionally, you may get a blank view. This is usually because there are items that are very small in comparison to the main model, or items that are located a long way away from the main model. In these cases, right-click an item in the Selection Tree and click Zoom Selected to find your way back to the model before trying to figure out which items are “lost”.

To view everything

➤ Click View All on the Navigation Tools toolbar.

Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Navigation Tools ➤ View All

Shortcut menu: Scene ➤ View All

Zoom Selected Tool

Zooms the camera so that the selected items fill the Scene View.

To view selected items

➤ Click Zoom Selected on the Navigation Tools toolbar.

Menu: Classic user interface: Viewpoint ➤ Navigation Tools ➤ Zoom Selected

Shortcut menu: Scene ➤ Zoom Selected

ViewCube

Autodesk® ViewCube® navigation tool provides visual feedback of the current orientation of a model. You can use the ViewCube tool to adjust the viewpoint of your model.

Overview of ViewCube

The ViewCube tool is a persistent, clickable, and draggable interface that you use to switch between views of your model.

When you display the ViewCube tool, by default it is shown in the top-right corner of the Scene View over the model in an inactive state. The ViewCube tool provides visual feedback about the current viewpoint of the model as view changes occur. When the cursor is positioned over the ViewCube tool, it becomes active. You can drag or click the ViewCube, switch to one of the available preset views, roll the current view, or change to the Home view of the model.

TIP When the navigation bar is linked to the ViewCube, both can be moved around the Scene View. See Reposition

and Reorient the Navigation Bar on page 101 for more information.

Control the Appearance of ViewCube

The ViewCube tool is displayed in one of two states: inactive and active. When the ViewCube tool is inactive, it appears partially transparent by default so that it does not obscure the view of the model. When active, it is opaque and may obscure the view of the objects in the current view of the model.

In addition to controlling the opacity level of the ViewCube when it is inactive, you can also control its size, and the display of the compass. The settings used to control the appearance of the ViewCube are located in the Options Editor.

ViewCube | 93

Use the Compass

The compass is displayed below the ViewCube tool and indicates which direction North is defined for the model. You can click a cardinal direction letter on the compass to rotate the model, or you can click and drag one of the cardinal direction letters or the compass ring to interactively rotate the model around the pivot point.

Drag or Click ViewCube

When you drag or click the ViewCube tool, the view of the model reorients around a pivot point. The pivot point is displayed at the center of the object that was last selected before using the ViewCube tool.

To display or hide the ViewCube

■ Click View tab ➤ Navigation Aids panel ➤ ViewCube .

To control the size of the ViewCube

1 Right-click the ViewCube tool, and click ViewCube Options.

2 In the Options Editor, the ViewCube page under the Interface node, select an option from the Size drop-down

list.

3 Click OK.

To control the inactive opacity of the ViewCube

1 Right-click the ViewCube tool, and click ViewCube Options.

2 In the Options Editor, the ViewCube page under the Interface node, select an option from the Inactive

Opacity drop-down list.

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Autodesk NavisWorks NavisWorks Freedom - 2011 User Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Welcome to Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011

What Is New in This Release?

How to Get Assistance

Finding Information Using the InfoCenter

Overview of InfoCenter

Search for Information

Access Subscription Center

About Subscription Center

Manage Files with Autodesk Vault

Use Communication Center

Overview of Communication Center

Save and Access Favorite Topics

Use the Help System

How Help Topics Are Organized

Search in Help

Find Information in Help Topics

Print Help Topics

Show and Hide the Contents Pane

Specify InfoCenter Settings

Get More Help

View the Product Readme

Join the Customer Involvement Program

Installation

Quick Start to Stand-Alone Installation

Prepare for Installation

System Requirements for Stand-Alone Installation

Understand Administrative Permission Requirements

Avoid Data Loss During Installation

Choose a Language

Configure Button

Install Multiple or Bundled Products

Install and Run Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011

Install Autodesk Navisworks

Install Autodesk Navisworks Using Default Values

Install Autodesk Navisworks Using Configured Values

Launch Autodesk Navisworks

How to Launch Autodesk Navisworks in Another Language

Repair Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011

Uninstall Autodesk Autodesk Navisworks Freedom 2011

Installation Troubleshooting

General Installation Issues

How can I check my graphics card driver to see if it needs to be updated?

When performing a Typical installation, what gets installed?

Why should I specify the Project Folder and Site Folder?

How do I share the Autodesk Navisworks settings on a site and project basis?

Where are my product manuals?

Uninstall and Maintenance Issues

When should I reinstall the product instead of a repair?

Do I need my original DVD to reinstall my software?

When I uninstall my software, what files are left on my system?

Quick Start

Start and Quit Autodesk Navisworks

The User Interface

Parts of Autodesk Navisworks Interface

Application Button and Menu

Recent Documents List

Quick Access Toolbar

Ribbon

Tooltips

Keytips

Navigation Tools

The Classic User Interface

Menu Bar

Toolbars

Scene View

Dockable Windows

Docking Tool

Status Bar

Undo/Redo Commands

Autodesk Navisworks Workspaces

Default Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigation with the Wheel Button

Autodesk Navisworks Options

Location Options

Display Units