Please provide feedback on PhotoView 360 in SolidWorks 2011 SP1 EV (Early Evaluation)

Hello,

I would like to encourage you to install PhotoView 360 in SolidWorks 2011 SP1 EV (Early Evaluation) that was made available for download on Monday, November 15, 2010. Those of you that participated in the Beta program and these forum discussions, related to PhotoView 360, know that we are closely monitoring (and responding to) feedback on PhotoView 360 in SolidWorks 2011. With your help, we would like to continue this effort with SolidWorks 2011 SP1 EV.

If you are currently not signed up for the SolidWorks Early Visibility Program you can easily sign up here.

PhotoView 360 improvements in SolidWorks 2011 SP1 EV

In response to the feedback we have received in previous service packs and the Beta program, we have made the following enhancements to PhotoView 360 in SolidWorks 2011 SP1 EV:

1. Improved Appearances – significant effort has been focused on improving the visual quality of the following appearances:
   
   • Metals - in particular, satin finish, matte, cast, and sandblasted metals
     
   • Plastics - in particular, clear plastics and satin finish plastics
     
   • Glass
     
   • Paint – in particular the car paints
     
   • Please note that in some cases, where the appearance was applied in the Beta version or pre-release version of SolidWorks 2011 (and in some cases Service Pack 0), the appearance must be re-applied to see these improvements. In a few instances re-application is necessary for appearances applied in previous versions of SolidWorks.
     
2. Stability and Performance Improvements – You will see many PhotoView 360 stability and performance improvements in SolidWorks 2011 SP1 EV, especially with larger assemblies.
   
3. Integrated Preview – For those that split the graphics window, the integrated preview is now locked to a particular pane in the split window. Note you can significantly improve preview render performance with a smaller graphics window (either splitting the graphics window or minimizing the graphics window).
   
4. Caustic Effects are Fully Implemented – Caustics are patterns of light formed by light reflecting or refracting from specular objects so that it focuses into bright patterns (see Examples of Direct Caustics below). PhotoView 360 always featured “indirect caustics” using the lighting from the environment image. However in SW2011 SP1, direct caustics, which use the highly controllable lighting from point, spot and directional lights have been enabled (note at least one of these lights must be on in PhotoView 360 to show direct caustics). The simple controls for caustics are found in the PhotoView 360 options dialog.
   

Forum discussion related to PhotoView 360 in SolidWorks 2011 SP1 EV

For those of you that download the early evaluation version SolidWorks 2011 SP1, we would like to encourage you to leave feedback related to PhotoView 360 as a reply to this forum discussion. We are closely monitoring the forums and are eager to hear your thoughts on this latest service pack. Similar to the beta program, the early evaluation service packs give us the opportunity to address issues ahead of subsequent service packs. Note that feedback that is an enhancement request should be submitted via the “Enhancement Requests” area found under “My Support” in the customer portal.

Examples of Direct Caustics

Without direct caustics the light passes through the glasses without significant refraction:

With direct caustics the refraction of the light through the glasses is calculated accurately:

Without direct caustics the light reflected off the metal ring only brightens the floor:

With direct caustics reflection of the light onto the floor produces an accurate pattern:

Thank you,

Marlon B.

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