First, we wanted to thank everyone for participating in the SolidWorks 2011 Beta program and especially those of you that have tested PhotoView 360 for SolidWorks 2011. We also want to assure you, that we at SolidWorks, are closely following the discussion regarding PhotoView 360. In addition to following the forum, many of you have been contacted directly to get your opinion on the Beta 1 version of PhotoView 360 for SolidWorks 2011. Most importantly we would like to thank those of you that have taken the time to submit Beta issues through our Beta service request system. These Beta service requests provide us with valuable, detailed information that helps guide the development of the software.

As PhotoView 360 for SolidWorks 2011 is in Beta, we would like to mention that we have many opportunities to utilize your feedback to improve the software. We all know there is more work to be done on PhotoView 360 for SolidWorks 2011. We will be releasing improvements and fixes to many of the issues that you have raised in this first part of the program in subsequent beta releases. I would like to describe some of these changes that you can expect in the Beta 2 release of PhotoView 360 for SolidWorks 2011 (Beta 2 should be released in the near future).

Appearances:

A fundamental concept in PhotoView 360 for SolidWorks 2011 is that what you see in SolidWorks OpenGL graphics or SolidWorks RealView graphics (if you are using a supported graphics card) should be a fairly accurate representation of what you will get in the PhotoView Preview Window which should be a highly accurate representation of what you should get in the final rendering. Basically 90% of the work to set up a rendering can be done in SolidWorks Standard without needing to preview render the model. We acknowledge that in some important instances, as a result of quality issues, this has not been the case in the Beta 1 version of PhotoView 360 for SolidWorks 2011. In our ongoing effort to maintain this WSYWIG (what you see is what you get) workflow, look for the following issues to be addressed in Beta 2:

1. Appearances appear too reflective in PhotoView 360 Beta 1. We have adjusted the reflectivity of our appearances so that colored reflective appearances are no longer so reflective that you cannot see the appearance’s color when rendered in PhotoView 360.
   
   1. Note that this change will also provide sharper more realistic reflections in RealView for many appearances (particularly plastic appearances).
      
2. The mapping of textures and the scale of surface finishes should now match between the rendering and OpenGL or RealView (note surface finishes are only visible in RealView and PhotoView). This should address issues where the scale of the surface finish or mapping of the  texture is very different when the model is rendered.
   
3. Previously the default amplitude of surface finishes above the reference surface was incorrect resulting in surface finishes that appeared too large for most models. Note that the amplitude of surface finishes now use absolute model units as opposed to a percentage of the model’s dimension. This should resolve issues where the surface finish appears too large and will also give the user the ability to define the surface finish using real world units.
   
4. The resolution of these issues along with other improvements will return the quality of appearances in the rendering to what you have come to expect in PhotoView 360.
   

Final Rendering:

Another fundamental concept in PhotoView 360 for SolidWorks 2011 is that the user should have full access to SolidWorks as the final rendering is taking place.  Just like in SolidWorks 2010, while PhotoView 360 processes the rendering in its own window you can edit the model that is being rendered or open any other model to continue working in SolidWorks. In Beta 1 there was a quality issue that prevented you from working with the model. This issue has been resolved in Beta 2. In Beta 2 you can minimize the Preview Window and the Final Render window and continue working in SolidWorks.

Also note that in Beta 2 we have added the ability to schedule static renderings and also animations. Note that when you schedule a static rendering, only a small part of the software is used to process the rendering which consumes a very small fraction of the system resources that are required to create a final rendering through SolidWorks. On the other hand rendered animations still require SolidWorks to be loaded in order to utilize the MotionManager to compute the animation.

Performance and System Resource Consumption:

Beta 2 will feature some improvements to performance and system resource consumption while working with the Preview Window. Though the job will not be complete by Beta 2, you should notice that working with the preview is faster and more responsive.

Other Beta 2 Improvements:

1. The DisplayManager is the central location for the user to manage all items added to develop the look of the model in OpenGL, RealView or PhotoView 360. We have put a lot of effort improving the quality of the DisplayManager in Beta 2.
   
2. Decals (which are now available for SolidWorks Standard users): users will see improvements in the display of decals in PhotoView 360 for SolidWorks 2011.
   

These are just some of the improvements to expect in the upcoming Beta 2 release of SolidWorks 2011. We still have much more to do and are working hard to address the issues raised by Beta participants. Please know that we are constantly monitoring the feedback in the forums and we will continue to contact participants individually. As always we are very grateful for those of you that submit beta issues as Beta Service Requests. These are very helpful and are one of the most effective ways to guide the future development of PhotoView 360 and SolidWorks.

Lastly, thank you for participating in the SolidWorks 2011 Beta program.

Marlon Banta

Product Definition