Views
In ProtaSteel, windows in which the structure is displayed are called Views. View is a viewport that displays a part or the whole of the model.
When a new project is started, a general 3D view (a similar View Window is shown above) is created automatically. 2D views are a special case of 3D views and a view can be switched between 2D and 3D modes.
Views can be given a name and can be saved with the project. By default, newly created views are not saved. To save a view, double click on an empty (black) part of the view. This opens the View Properties dialog box. Then check the Save.
A list of created views are displayed in Project Explorer in the left pane.
View Coordinate System
Each view in ProtaSteel has its own local coordinate system. The displayed coordinate system; however, is the Active Workplane. It is possible to display the coordinate system of the view by setting active work plane to coordinate system of view. Only x and y axes are shown in the View. Red arrow indicates the x-axis and green arrow indicates the y-axes.
It is possible to change the coordinate system of a view or switch between global coordinate system and view's coordinate system using View Toolbar.
Coordinate system of views created with Create Global 3D View are the same as World Coordinate System (WCS). Global coordinate system is named as World Coordinate System in ProtaSteel. There is only one World Coordinate System and it can not be changed.
For more details, read Overview of Coordinate System & Workplane Concept.
View Properties
Double-clicking any empty space of the view will open up the View Properties dialog.
- View Name: You can change the view name
- Up (+): Sets the upper boundary of depth of the view for visibility. Value of 0 means unlimited / infinite
- Down(-): Sets the lower boundary of depth of the view for visibility. Value of 0 mean unlimited / infinite
- Min X / Max X: Sets the lower & upper boundary of view visibility with respect to X axis
- Min Y / Max Y: Sets the lower & upper boundary of view visibility with respect to Y axis
- Up-Down Method: Sets the visibility of objects. This option works the same as in model views. If "Full" is selected only the objects which are fully in the described region are displayed, whereas if "Partial" is selected, elements which are partially in the described region are also displayed.
- Rotation: Show & set the current view rotation
- Filter: The objects in the view can be filtered by means of this button
- Drawing Settings: Access the Visibility & Selectability dialog
- Filter Point Modes: Controls visibility of points
- Filter Grid Mode: Controls visibility of grids
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