Setting options

Vivien offers you many options to customize the functionality of the software. Use the commands on the Options menu to view and set options.

The Options menu is the same for all tabs.

Application Options

Application Options are general settings and apply to the entire application regardless of the event file that you are working on. For example, you could update these settings to display specific toolbars or indicate your file-saving preferences.

To modify application options

1. From the Options menu, choose Application Options.

Result: The Application Options window opens.

2. Modify options as desired, and then click OK.

General tab 

Options on the General tab affect the numeric separators used in Vivien.

• Show Vivien configuration wizard on startup: Select this checkbox if you want to see the product configuration wizard each time you launch Vivien. The wizard enables you to choose the level of Vivien that you want to run. If you leave this checkbox clear, the same level of Vivien that you chose when running the program for the first time appears by default.
• Check for Updates Automatically: Select this checkbox if you want Vivien to check for updates automatically every time it starts - for as long as it is connected to the Internet. For more information, see “AutoUpdate” and “Installing updates”.
• Region profile for new documents: The profile to be used for such items as units of measurement.
• Virtual View Camera Control: Click on the drop-down menu and select how the camera is controlled in Virtual View. See “Camera Control” for more information.
• Traditional Vivien: Select this option to use the standard 3D camera control in the Virtual View of Vivien.
• Other 3D Applications: Select this option if you want to use the 3D camera control that complies with a different 3D application.

Note: The Visual Camera Path Builder tool is disabled in Virtual View if the Virtual View Camera Control was set to Other 3D Applications in the General tab of the Application Options window.

Appearance

• Vivien Visual Theme: A Vivien visual theme changes how the UI windows and other elements are colored. Select Light Grey or Dark theme from the drop-down list to change how Vivien looks. The default setting is the Dark theme.

• Toolbar Icons Size: Select from the list the size icons will appear on the toolbar. The default setting is Large - 24X24 pixels.

An example of toolbars using the Large icon size (24 x 24 pixels).

An example of the same toolbars using Small icon size (16 x 16 pixels). 

• Toolbar Icon Style: Select the style you want icons to appear as, either mono colored (Default - Orange) or multi colored (Colored-highlights).
• Ruler Style: Changes how the Ruler looks in Wireframe views. Options include Classic White, View Color, and View Color with Border.

• Enable Instruction Tooltip: Select this checkbox to view helpful instruction tooltips whenever a function is performed.
• Decimal: Select the style for separating whole numbers from decimals. Available options are comma and period. Note that the decimal separator cannot be the same as the co-ordinate separator.
• Co-ordinate: Select the style you want to use to separate coordinates in Vivien. Available options are comma, period, semicolon, colon, or slash. Note that the co-ordinate separator cannot be the same as the decimal separator.

File Options tab

Options on the File Options tab affect your file opening and saving settings. It is important to save your work often during your work session. Vivien has an Auto Save function that helps to keep your data safe; however, it is always a good idea to get in the habit of manually saving your event document to an external disk periodically during your work session.

Auto Save Options

• Auto Recover: Select this checkbox to make Vivien store Auto Recover data for the currently open file. Vivien will store data at the interval specified in the Save every ___ minutes field. If for some reason Vivien closes unexpectedly, such as in the case of a power loss, your document can be recovered. This recovery is only up-to-date as of the last Auto Save, so it is recommended that you do not set this interval to be too long.
• Enable During Camera Path: Select this checkbox to enable auto recover when the camera path is playing in Virtual View.
• Keep Backup Files: Select this checkbox to save a copy of your document with the “.bak” extension every time you save the file. The backup copy is one save behind the saved copy and is saved in the same folder as the original document. Each new backup copy replaces the previous backup copy. If the main event document becomes corrupted, you can open the backup file to recover part/most of your data.

Note: The default settings for these options are Auto Recover enabled with an interval of 10 minutes and Keep Backup Files enabled.

Document Saving

• Compress files: Select this checkbox to compress your Vivien file up to ten times its original size without affecting the contents of the file. When you select this option, Vivien files will take up less space in your computer's memory. You will also be able to send these compressed files as email attachments much more easily.

Document Loading

• Reload last document on startup: Select this checkbox to ensure that the last document that you have been working on in Vivien is loaded automatically when you launch Vivien.
• Default to Read Only: Select this checkbox to load documents in read-only format. This format is helpful if you are loading someone else’s document and you do not want to accidentally make changes to it.

Hatch Pattern Options

• Hatch Pattern unit type: This setting will set a hatch pattern loaded from file to either Imperial or Metric.

Virtual View Export Options

• Export Options: Click to open the Export Options dialog box where you can choose a file name and folder location for the image file you wish to export.
• Folder Location: Select the Use Current file’s Folder checkbox to specify the active folder currently in use, or browse and select a different folder location.
• Image Name Template: Type the default name that appears automatically for all images you wish to export and save, or use smart variables to define the name that appears automatically for the image you wish to export and save.
• Insert Smart Variable: Click to open the Smart Variables window and select a smart variable text from the table of smart variables that are listed in the Event Info tab in Document Options.

Result: The name is displayed in the Virtual View Export Options box and appears automatically as the default name for all the images for export.

Tip: You can use smart variables to specify a file name using information listed in the Event Info tab in the Document Options window.

• Use smart variables “%Variable Name%” in the Image Name Template box and this information will be displayed automatically if stored in the Event Info tab. For example, type %Event Name% and the event name that was stored will be displayed.
• In addition to the smart variables in the Event Info tab, there are additional ones that work for Virtual View Export, such as: %file name% (displays the name of the Vivien file), %look% (displays Name of Look if in Lighting Quad or Virtual View), %camera% (displays the Camera Name if available). Note: Unlike the %file% smart variable, the %file name% smart variable produces the file's name without the .vvn extension.

Toolbars tab

Options on the Toolbars tab affect which toolbars display in Vivien. You can also show or hide the tooltips that display information about a specific object when you hover over it. Tooltips are displayed by default. For more information on toolbars, refer to “Toolbars”.

Simulation tab

Options on the Simulation tab affect the type of simulation that you want to use.

OpenGL Simulation

• Enable Enhanced Visualization: Clear this checkbox if your video card does not support enhanced features for simulation. This option enables enhanced visualization features. If this option is not selected, some advanced visualization features will turn off in the visualization and revert to a simplified visualization. Switching to another non-Virtual view, then returning back may be required to allow this change to take effect.
• Enable Anti-Aliasing: Clear this checkbox if your video card does not support Anti-Aliasing. Anti-Aliasing is a method of smoothing out and sharpening rough or jagged edges of images to produce a more polished result.
• Enable Deferred Rendering: Deferred Rendering provides a performance boost to Vivien's virtual views. Clear this checkbox to disable Deferred Rendering for all Virtual views whenever Vivien is run. On some systems, deferred rendering is not supported and will be automatically disabled.

Rendering Simulation

• Number of Cores: This box is auto-filled with the number of processors and/or processor cores available in your computer. It is used to specify the number of processors available for rendering. Modify this number only if you want Vivien’s renderer to use less than the total number of processors/processor cores available in your computer.
• Write log files: Select this checkbox to generate a log file during rendering. Log files are stored in the "Render" folder, which is located inside the "Bin" folder within the Vivien installation folder. The typical path to this folder is C:\Program Files\CAST Software\Vivien 2022\Bin (for 64-bit operating systems).

DMX Processing

• Number of Cores: Select the number of cores that you have available on your computer for DMX. Modify this number only if you upgrade the number of processors.

Full Screen Mode

 Select the full screen mode that will render your Virtual View simulation.

• Windowed Full Screen Mode: The default full screen mode of the Virtual View. Windowed Full Screen Mode renders all application windows that are open in your computer.

Tip: Shifting the viewing angle of the Virtual View in full screen will be smoother in Windowed Full Screen Mode, and also depending on the video hardware installed in your computer.

• Exclusive Full Screen Mode: The regular full screen mode that renders only the single application (Virtual View) that is active on your desktop.

Tip: In this mode, a single application is rendered, and as a result, when you have a dedicated video card, higher performance is achieved. However, shifting the viewing angle of the Virtual View in full screen may flicker between views or windows in Exclusive Full Screen Mode, and also depending on the video hardware installed in your computer.

File Locations tab

Options on the File Locations tab direct Vivien where to save and find certain files used during operation.

• Default Vivien Files Folder: This is the default path where Vivien files are saved. Edit the path to save files to a new location.
• Auto Recover: This is the default path where Vivien Auto Recover data is saved. Edit the path to save files to a new location. See “File Options tab”.
• Backup Files: This is the default path where Vivien Backup Files are saved. Edit the path to save files to a new location.
• Hatch Pattern Files: Enter the location of hatch pattern files (.pat files) on your computer here to add the file for use in Vivien.
• Virtual View Recordings: Enter the path where recorded video (.mp4 files) of your Virtual View Output will be saved.
• Temp Location: Enter the path to the temporary location for the Virtual View recordings.
• File Location: Enter the path to the location where Virtual View Output recordings will be saved.

Document Options

Document settings that are specific to the current event file, such as the event name, producer, and venue, are set here. You might want to modify these settings when you start a new event file.

Document Options are a variety of settings that control how Vivien operates and looks. Document Options are separated into 3 sections:

• Event/File: Settings and information specific to the current file.
• User Options: Settings to configure your working preferences in Vivien.
• Object Settings: Settings to affect how various objects are placed or drawn.

To modify document options

1. From the Options menu, choose Document Options.

Result: The Document Options window opens.

2. Modify options as desired, and then click OK.

Document Summary tab

Options on the Document Summary tab affect the document information The date stamps are not editable, but track the creation and modification dates of the file. However, you may change the format of the date and time by clicking the Format button.

• Revision History: A detailed log of the current file’s information and activity.
• Rev: The number of revisions to the file.
• Name: The name of the person who worked on the revision.
• Date: The last date which the file was saved last in the revision.
• Build: The version of Vivien the file was saved as in the revision.
• HH:MM: The amount hours (HH) and minutes (MM) the revision has been worked on.
• Save Count: The amount of times the file has been saved in the revision.
• File Name: The name of the file as of last revision.

To change the date and time format of a document

1. On the Created On section, click Format.

Result: The Date Time Format Selection dialog box appears.

2. To change the character that separates the day value from the year value, type the new character in the Date Separator box.
3. To change the character that separates the year value from the time value, type the new character in the Date Time Separator box.
4. From the Select Date Format drop-down list, select the date format.
5. To measure time using the 24-hour clock, click to enable the 24 Hour Time Format checkbox.

Note: A preview of the new date format appears in the Preview box.

6. Click OK when complete.

Event Info tab

Options on the Event Info tab affect the Producer, Event, Client, Venue, Supplier names and Date that are displayed in your event document.

Inside the Event Info panel, you can navigate through the cells easily with the TAB key. You can also search for information, sort and filter.

Note: This information appears in the reports generated on the Reports tab and on the default Title Block spreadsheet on the Spreadsheets tab. You can insert this spreadsheet into your Layouts, or print it as-is.

To input event info in the Event Info tab

1. From the Options menu, choose Document Options.
2. Click the Event Info tab.

3. Click the Filter drop-down and choose which information to display in the table:

• Show All displays all the rows.
• Show Favorites Only displays only the rows selected in the Fav column.
• Show Populated Rows Only displays all rows with user data.
• Organize by Event Info Wizard Pages displays the rows that were set in the Event Info Wizard.
• In the Value column, type all the pertinent information in the boxes provided.
• Reset Sort to Default button resets the list back to its default sort order.

4. Click OK.

Result: All reports are updated.

Regional Settings tab

Options on the Regional Settings tab set the geographic location of your event and the type of currency used in the event document. You can either select the country and city or enter the latitude and longitude of the location.

These settings are primarily used for renders that use environment options, which are reflected in Step 6 of the Render Wizard. For information on the Render Wizard, refer to “Rendering images”

Note: The default currency of your file is determined by your systems settings. For example, if you are in a European country, your system will default to using the Euro symbol. If you want to use a currency type that is different from the default, it can be changed here.

• Custom Location: Select this checkbox to enter the latitude and longitude values in the Latitude and Longitude boxes, respectively. Clear this checkbox to select a country and city from the Country and City drop-down lists, respectively.
• Time Zone: After selecting Custom Location, select the time zone for your show. When you select a time zone, the current time as set on your computer is displayed in the Current Time box. The GMT value is also shown.
• Currency: Select the Show Currency Symbol checkbox to show monetary symbols in the Vivien document. Specific currency symbols can be chosen from the Currency Symbol drop-down menu.

Note: Changing the currency symbol will only change the symbol shown. No conversion of currency will occur.

User Options

The User Options section enables you to set up your working preferences. You might, for example, want to specify how the snap operation will work or how much information will be displayed on your plot.

General tab

Options on the General tab affect the current scene selection, display and layer settings.

Current Scene

From the drop-down list, select the current layer for the drawing. The current scene can also be changed on the Scene toolbar

Display Options

Choose how much display information appears in your drawing.

• Enable Tooltips: Displays tooltips on your drawing. Tooltips are the pop-up messages that display specific information about an object or fixture when you hover over it in Drawing Wireframe.

A tooltip appears and displays the object information, including name (if applicable), layer, and other details such as the number of vertices and faces that make up the object.

Tip: The number of vertices and faces in tooltips can help you determine which object impedes the Virtual View performance.

• Show Dimension Layer selection dialog: Select this checkbox to be prompted to select a layer when inserting a new dimension.
• Show Linear Scale Layer selection dialog: Select this checkbox to be prompted to select a layer when inserting a new linear scale.
• Show Bounding Box for CAD operations: Select this checkbox to enable a framing outline or bounding box to appear as a substitute placeholder to objects when scaling or rotating in Wireframe. Using the bounding box improves the performance of Scale and Rotate tools.

Layer Options

Choose how layers are displayed in the Layer Database and highlighted in your drawing.

• Enable Layer Groups: Select this checkbox to display the layers in the Layer Database as items organized in Layer groups. Clear this checkbox to display Layers as a list. New Layer Groups are created in the Layer Database window. The Layer Groups and the list of layers will be displayed in the Layer Database and Properties windows.
• Prompt to confirm Layer Group delete operation: Select this checkbox to be prompted to delete the selected Layer Group.
• Position “Ungrouped”: Choose where the Ungrouped Layer Group is displayed in the Layer Database window.
• Top: Select this option to display the ungrouped layers at the top of the list of layers in the Layer Database window.
• Bottom: Select this option to display the ungrouped layers at the bottom of the list of layers in the Layer Database window.
• Greyscale Layer Behavior: Choose how the objects in the layer(s) will be displayed when the layer(s) are set to greyscale.
• Always display object custom color: When you select this option, objects that were set to a custom color (in Object Properties) will always be displayed in the custom color even if the object’s layer is in greyscale.
• Use greyscale layer for all objects: When you select this option, objects that were set to the layer color or a custom color will be displayed in greyscale when the layer(s) for all objects are in greyscale.
• Greyscale: Set the greyscale intensity for the selected layer(s).
• Layer Color Intensity: Select this option to display the layer in greyscale with the same intensity as that of the layer’s set color.
• Custom (for all): Select this option and click on the box to adjust the greyscale intensity for all the objects in the selected layer(s).
• Highlight Color: Set the color for the highlighted layer.
• Layer Color: Select this option to display the highlighted layer with the color of the layer.
• Custom (for all): Select this option and click on the color select box to select the color for all the objects in the highlighted layer.

Draw Defaults tab

Options on the Draw Details tab affect general preferences for snap, grid, and units settings.

Measurement Units

The units of measurement used in Vivien. The units can be toggled from metric to imperial at any time by double-clicking on the units display on the Status bar.

Precision

This option affects the units of drawing precision. Based on your choice for measurement units, you can choose to display the drawing precision in centimeters, millimeters, whole numbers, or fractions.

General

Options that affect the general appearance and ability to work in Wireframe views.

• Background Color: The color that will be used in all wireframe views. Click the box to choose a different color.
• Show Crosshairs: Select this checkbox to set the cursor display to use cross hairs in plot views. Cross hairs are useful for lining up objects.
• Ortho: Toggles the ortho mode on and off. For information on ortho mode, “Orthographic mode”.
• Enable Grip Dragging: Select this checkbox to allow resizing of objects by dragging the selection markers.

Grid

Options that affect the drawing grid.

• Interval: Select the spacing between points on the drawing grid. Although the Vivien drawing grid might not be visible, it exists in the background. The settings in this group box are important when using the snap to grid tool. For more information on this tool, refer to “Snaps”.
• Angle: Select the angle of rotation for the drawing grid. Although the Vivien drawing grid might not be visible, it exists in the background. The settings in this group box are important when using the snap to grid tool. For more information on this tool, refer to “Snaps”.
• Origin: The point of origin. For more information on the origin, refer to “3D coordinate system”.
• Show Grid: Select this checkbox if you want to add a grid to your wireframe view (in every view except isometric).
• Grid Color: Click this box to choose the color that grid lines will be displayed as in the Wireframe view.
• Style: You can also choose the style of the grid by selecting the appropriate option button. Standard creates a grid with evenly spaced, closed squares. Open creates a grid with open squares. Point creates a grid of dots. The lines in the resulting grid are spaced at the interval specified in the Interval box. If the interval is short, you may have to zoom in on your plot to see the gridlines.
• SnapBox Size: Sets the size of the snap box that appears around the cursor when in snap mode. Consequently, this affects how close the cursor must be to the objects before the snap is applied.

Draw Order

Arrange the order in which fixtures, hang structures, and objects will be drawn in your model by selecting the items and moving them up or down with the arrow buttons. Whichever item appears at the top of this box will always appear on top of the other items in your model.

Snap

Enables or disables the snap function. For more information, refer to “Snaps”. Snap tools can be toggled at any time using the tools on the Tools toolbar.

Rulers

• On/Off: Select this checkbox to show the rulers in drawing modes.

Wireframe Details tab

The Wireframe Details tab affect what and how different objects are displayed in wireframe views.

• Wireframes & Layouts: Select to display information and drawing details of the object in Drawing Wireframes and Layouts.

Tips:

• Select the checkbox on the top row of the list to select all check boxes in the column below.
• Click the arrows in the left most column to expand and display the rows with additional options.
• Library Objects: Select this checkbox to always show library objects in drawing wireframe views, and then select the Library Symbols option.
• Library Symbols: Select this checkbox to always show the library objects as 2D symbols in 2D wireframe views. If this option is disabled, library objects will be displayed as 3D models instead of their 2D symbols.
• Fixture Symbols: Select this checkbox to always show fixtures as 2D symbols in 2D wireframe views, and then select the Fixture Symbol Fill option. If Fixture Symbols is disabled, fixtures will be displayed as 3D models instead of their 2D symbols.
• Fixture Symbol Fill: Select this checkbox to always display filled 2D fixture symbols in drawing wireframe views. If this option is disabled, fixtures will be displayed as 3D models instead of their 2D symbols.
• Truss Structures: Select this checkbox to always show truss objects in drawing wireframe views, and then select the Truss Cross-Member option.
• Truss Cross-Members: Select this checkbox to always display the cross-members of truss structures in drawing wireframe views. Clear this checkbox to hide the truss cross-members on your drawing to reduce the clutter or to increase the speed of the display.
• Text Labels: Select this checkbox to always show text labels in drawing wireframe views.
• Dimensions: Select this checkbox to always show dimensions in drawing wireframe views.
• Cameras: Select this checkbox to always show cameras in drawing wireframe views.
• Hatching: Select this checkbox to always show hatching styles assigned to objects in drawing wireframe views.
• Table Set Avatar: Select this checkbox if you want to see the dotted line around a Table Set that allows you to select every item inside of a Table Set without having to individually click each item.
• Guest Data: Select this checkbox to always show details about the guests assigned to each seating item.

Object Settings

The Object Settings section contains settings that affect how various objects are viewed, such as drawn objects, text, beams and dimensions.

Object Settings tab

Options on the Object Settings tab affect how various simple objects are drawn in wireframe views.

Line Weight

• Default: The default thickness lines created is 0.005”. Change the default using the drop-down menu.

Point Options

Options that affect how points are drawn in wireframe modes.

• Point Size: Sets the default size for all points. You can view a sample of the chosen size in the box to the right.
• Point Type: Indicates the default point type in your show document. You can choose to display points as a Dot, Cross, Square, or Circle.

Segment Options

Options that affect how multi-segment objects are drawn.

• Cylinder Segments: The number of segments into which you want to break a cylinder.
• Cone Segments: The number of segments into which you want to break a cone.
• Sphere Segments: The number of segments into which you want to break a sphere.

Stack Options

Options that affect how multi-segment objects can be divided horizontally.

• Cone Stacks: The number of horizontal divisions into which you want to break a cone.
• Sphere Stacks: The number of horizontal divisions into which you want to break a sphere.

Linear Scale Mode

Options that affect how linear scales are drawn.

• Draw from start: Select this checkbox to have linear scales drawn by specifying the start point and the end point (from one extremity of the pipe to the other).
• Draw from Center: Select this checkbox to have linear scales drawn by specifying the center point and one end point or extremity of the pipe.

Drawing Options

Options that affect how linear scales are drawn.

• Paste Base point: Select this checkbox to enter a base point before an object is copied or cut. This will be the object’s reference point for paste commands. Click to clear this checkbox to allow the base point to be the insertion point of the object.
• Interactive object creation: Select this checkbox to allow yourself to draw objects using the mouse instead of entering values in dialog boxes.

Fixtures and Beams tab

Options on the Fixtures and Beams tab determine the fixture settings and how detailed beam simulation appears.

• Fixture Hang Proximity: Use the Size scroll box to set the size of the proximity snap box that surrounds the selected fixture cursor, which affects how close the fixture cursor must be to the truss or pipe before the snap applies.

Fixture Symbol Fill

Options for fixture symbols to be filled with a choice of colors and fill percentage.

• Enable: Select this checkbox to enable Symbol Fill.
• Percentage: Select this radio button if you wish to fill using the same hue of the fixture Symbol, and set the percentage drop-down for the hue intensity.
• Custom Color: Select this radio button and click the cell to choose a different color.
• Use Gel Color: Select this radio button if you wish to fill using the gel color that is attached to the fixture. Gel color will be displayed if only one gel is applied to the fixture.

Notes:

• Once the Symbol Fill feature is enabled, the 2D fixture symbols will be displayed as filled in the Wireframe 2D views only, and not in Isometric views.
• Use Gel Color is only available and will display a color if a gel was applied to a fixture in WYSIWYG, and the file was opened in Vivien.

Beam Representation (Wireframe Views)

Settings to affect how beams are viewed in wireframe views.

• Beam Center Line Only: Select this checkbox to only display beams as stick beams. Selecting this option might increase system performance.
• Beam Cone: Select this checkbox to display beams as cones.
• Display Gobos in Virtual View: Select this checkbox to display gobos in beams.

Dimensions tab

Options on the Dimensions tab affect how various dimensions are drawn by default.

• Display Units: The type of measurement unit displayed for dimensions in wireframe views. Choose the default imperial measurement units between Feet & Inches or Inches.
• Display Dash (for Imperial): When this option is enabled, a dash is displayed between foot and inches in imperial measurements, e.g. 6’8 3/4”.
• Display Alternate Units: Select this checkbox to display a second measurement with your dimensions, in the alternate unit. For example, if metric is your set unit but also wish to display all of your dimensions with both metric and imperial values, enable this option. The drop-down offers the display unit options for the alternate unit displayed.

Note: In the Draw Defaults window, if Imperial is the selected default measurement unit, the Display Units will be Imperial and the Display Alternate Units will be Metric and vice versa.

Linear Dimension

Options to affect the default settings of linear dimensions.

• Text Height: The default text height for linear dimensions object.
• Text Offset: Sets the default distance of the text above or below the dimension line.
• Extension: The default length of the extension lines for linear dimensions.
• Offset: Sets the default offset value for linear dimensions. The offset is the distance between the extension lines and the object being measured
• Arrow Size: Select the default size of the arrow head for linear dimensions.
• Arrow Type: Select the default arrow type for linear dimensions. There are several styles available to choose from.

Baseline & Continue Dimensions:

• Extension: The default length of the extension lines for both Baseline and Continue Dimensions.
• Spacing Size: The default length of the space between the stacked and subsequent baseline dimensions from the same extension base line.

Arc Length Dimension

Options to affect the default settings of arc length dimensions.

• Text Height: The default text height for arc length dimensions.
• Text Offset: Sets the default distance of the text above or below the dimension line.
• Extension: The default length of the extension lines for arc length dimensions.
• Offset: Sets the default offset value for arc length dimensions. The offset is the distance between the extension lines and the object being measured
• Arrow Size: Select the default size of the arrow head for arc length dimensions.
• Arrow Type: Select the default arrow type for arc length dimensions. There are several styles available to choose from.

Radial Dimension

Options to affect the default settings of radial dimensions.

• Text Height: The default text height for radial dimensions.
• Arrow Size: Select the default size of the arrow head for radial dimensions.
• Arrow Type: Select the default arrow type for radial dimensions. There are several styles available to choose from.

Linear Scale

Options to affect the default settings of linear scales.

• Text Height: The default text height for linear scales.
• Text Position: Select the default position of text that appears for linear scales.
• Tick Interval: Select the default interval at which ticks will appear on linear scales.
• Tick Mode: Select the default mode of which ticks appear on linear scales.
• Major Ticks: Select how major ticks will appear on linear scales.
• Tick Style: Select the default tick style that will appear on linear scales.

Fonts tab

Options on the Fonts tab enable you to select the default fonts for Text Labels, Dimensions and Linear Scales.

Text Labels (Drawing Wireframe)

The default setting of Text Labels text in wireframe views.

• Font: The default font used for the text. Select the desired font type from the drop down menu.
• Bold: Select this checkbox to make the default text bold.
• Underline: Select this checkbox to make the default text underlined.
• Italics: Select this checkbox to make the default text italicized.
• Arrow Type: The style of arrow head used on the dimension.
• Arrow Size: The size of the arrow head used on the dimension.

Dimensions (Drawing Wireframe)

The default setting of Dimensions text found in wireframe views.

• Font: The default font used for the text. Select the desired font type from the drop down menu.
• Bold: Select this checkbox to make the default text bold.
• Underline: Select this checkbox to make the default text underlined.
• Italics: Select this checkbox to make the default text italicized.

Linear Scales (Drawing Wireframe)

The default setting of Linear Scales text found in wireframe views.

• Font: The default font used for the text. Select the desired font type from the drop down menu.
• Bold: Select this checkbox to make the default text bold.
• Underline: Select this checkbox to make the default text underlined.
• Italics: Select this checkbox to make the default text italicized.
• Set Font for New Labels in Layouts: The default setting of Set Font for New Labels in Layouts text. Click this button to change the settings.

Fonts Seating Info tab

Options on the Fonts Seating Info tab enable you to set the default fonts, color, sizes, and so on for the text used to display Guest Names, Table Name and Number on the Guest Management tab.

View Options

View options set how objects are drawn and displayed in each respective view.

Wireframe view options

The properties of a wireframe view affect how objects are drawn and how much information is visible.

To modify wireframe view options

1. Select the wireframe view you want to modify.
2. From the Options menu, choose View Options.

or

Click the View Options tool on the Standard toolbar.

The View Options button.

Result: The View Options window opens.

3. Modify options as desired, and then click OK.

General tab

Options on the General tab affect the current scene.

• Follow Current Scene: Select this checkbox to use the currently selected scene. Clear this checkbox and select the desired scene from the Scenes drop-down list. To learn more about scenes, “Scenes”.

Tip: You can also change the current scene at any time from the Scene toolbar.

Draw Options tab 

Options on the Draw Options tab affect the draw defaults. This tab is similar in function to the Draw Defaults tab available in the Document Options window. For more information on the Draw Defaults tab, refer to “Draw Defaults tab”.

• Use Document Settings: Select this checkbox to reference the options selected on the Draw Defaults tab of the Document Options window. Uncheck this option to make specific changes for the active view.
• Get Document Settings: Retrieves the values set on the Draw Defaults tab of the Document Options window, but does not include the user origin.
• Plan View Drawing Height: The value of the height used in plan view.

View Type tab 

Options on the View Type tab affect the view type of the active view.

• View Type: The view types available are as discussed in “View types”.

Tip: You can toggle the view type using the tools on the View Type toolbar.

• Workplane: If 3D is selected as the view type, select the 2D workplane.
• Scrollbars On: Select this checkbox to display the scrollbars on the bottom and left side edges of the drawing view. Clear this checkbox to turn the scrollbars off.

Wireframe Details tab 

Options on the Wireframe Details tab affect whether text labels, tooltips, symbols and table set avatars are displayed. This tab is similar in function to the Wireframe Details tab available in the Document Options window. For more information on the Wireframe Details tab, refer to “Wireframe Details tab”.

• Use Document Defaults: Select this checkbox to reference the options selected on the Wireframe Details tab of View Options. Clear this checkbox to make specific changes for the active view.

Virtual view options

The properties of a Virtual view affect the view point, light fixture beam quality, and ambient light.

To modify Virtual or event view options

1. In Vivien, select the Virtual view you want to modify.
2. From the Options menu, choose View Options.

Result: The View Options window opens.

Tip: You can also use the View Options tool on the Standard toolbar to open the view options.

The View Options button.

3. Modify options as desired.
4. Click OK.

General tab

Options on the General tab affect the scene that is displayed in the Virtual View.

• Follow Current Scene: Select this checkbox to use the scene that is displayed in the drop-down list on the Scene toolbar. Clear the checkbox, and then select the desired scene from the Scene drop-down list. To learn more about scenes, refer to “Scenes”.

Tip: You can also change the current scene at any time by using the Scene toolbar.

• Virtual View Profile: Previously created Virtual view profiles can be enabled from the drop-down menu. See “Virtual View Profile”for details.

Resolution

These options allow you to set the maximum resolution at which the Virtual View appears within the Virtual View layout tab or within the Virtual View pane of the Quad layout tab or a Custom layout tab. This will be the resolution at which the Virtual View will record without letterboxes or pillarboxes, unless the Output Entire Pane option is selected in the Virtual View Output tool.

• Maximum Resolution (Camera Aspect Ratio Ignored): Select this checkbox to enable the options for Width, Height, and Lock Aspect Ratio to Width:Height. Maximum Resolution is defined by Width and Height, or by Width and Aspect Ratio.

When Maximum Resolution (Camera Aspect Ratio Ignored) is selected, all settings in the Resolution section will override the Aspect Ratio defined for the current Camera and all Cameras (World, Standard, or Flying). The Virtual View will conform to the resolution defined in this section.

• Width: Type the pixels to set the horizontal dimension of your Virtual View resolution. (100 to 9999)
• Height: Type the pixels to set the vertical dimension of your Virtual View resolution. (100 to 9999)
• Lock Aspect Ratio to Width:Height: Select this checkbox to define an aspect ratio and enable the Aspect Ratio Width:Height field.
• Aspect Ratio Width:Height: Type a value in this field to define an aspect ratio. Vivien will automatically calculate and display the Maximum Resolution Height. This field accepts values from 0 to 99 and up to four decimal places.

Notes:

• If Maximum Resolution is smaller than the Virtual View pane, the Virtual View output will appear with pillarboxes and letterboxes.
• If Maximum Resolution is larger than the Virtual View pane, the Virtual View output will appear with pillarboxes only OR letterboxes only and smaller than what is defined.
• To change the color of letterboxes and pillarboxes, see “Camera tab”.
• Simulation Information and Visual References will appear within the Virtual View output if any these options were enabled.
• Maximum Resolution will appear as the View Resolution label when View Statistics is enabled and displayed.
• The Maximum Resolution settings will be saved with the Virtual View Profile. Different Virtual View Profiles will allow different Maximum Resolution settings. Maximum Resolution can only be used within layout tabs or Virtual View Popup windows (i.e. not in Full Screen mode.)

Tips:

• You can output or record everything that is displayed in the Virtual View pane, which includes the Virtual View and the view options enabled (Gyroscope, View Statistics, Simulation Information, Visual References, etc.). For information on recording the Virtual View pane, see “Virtual View Output”.
• In complex files that are subject to fillrate bottlenecks (where Virtual View performance is low due to the video card not rendering and displaying frames on-screen fast enough), setting a lower Maximum Resolution may improve performance.

View Styles

These options allow you to define how the Virtual view appears.

Note: These options do not impact the Virtual view performance.

• Object Bounding Boxes: Select this option to show green bounding boxes around all objects in the scene. This view style was designed to be used in conjunction with the Consolidated Mesh feature (for details see “Consolidate Mesh”) and enables you to visually analyze an object’s complexity.
• Disabled Textures: Select this option to hide (not remove) all textures used in a scene. This option is useful when verifying why a particular texture doesn’t seem to sit properly on an object and you want to check the underlying geometry for anomalies. This option can also be useful when checking if a Normal Map is correctly applied to geometry.
• Disabled Normal Maps: Select this option to hide (not remove) all Normal Map textures used in a scene. This option is useful when the visual effect created by the Normal Map textures does not need to be visualized.
• Wireframe Geometry: Select this option to display all objects in a scene (except beams) as wireframe outlines instead of solids. This feature helps you analyze the complexity of a scene so you can alter objects as necessary to speed up rendering times and minimize file size. For example, when you see complex objects in your file (those shown with a high-density wireframe), you can optimize them by reducing their polygon counts, either with the Consolidated Mesh feature or by re-importing a less complex version.
• Sketch: Select this checkbox to display the Virtual View in freehand drawing style. The Sketch view style shows the basic drawing outline of 2D and 3D objects in black over white background. Selecting Sketch enables the Invert option.
• Invert: Select this checkbox to reverse the Sketch view style to show the drawing outline in white over black background.

Notes:

• No lighting visualization such as Beams, Footprints, and Flares will display when Sketch is selected.
• The Sketch view style requires Enable Deferred Rendering to be selected in the Simulation tab of the Application Options window. If Enable Deferred Rendering is not selected, the Sketch view style is not available. For more information on Enable Deferred Rendering, see “Simulation tab” in Application Options.
• Selecting the Sketch view style disables the Export Panorama option in the Virtual View Image Export window.

An example of a standard Virtual View export.

An example of a Sketch view style.

An example of an inverted Sketch view style.

Simulation Information

These options allow you to define how simulation information is presented.

• View Statistics: Enable this option to see information about the scene in the upper-left corner of the Virtual View. Note that enabling this view style will not modify the look of the scene. The information displayed is based on the Layers and/or Scene that are enabled. The following statistics are displayed:
• FPS: Shows the frame rate (frames per second) as the Virtual view is altered by moving the image with your mouse (which affects the fixtures in your file). Note that when the Virtual view is static (as it is most of the time), the FPS field displays “n/a”.
• Video Memory: The video memory capacity.
• Deferred Shading: The Beam quality setting.
• Volumetric or Enhanced Beams: The Beam simulation mode selected.
• View Resolution: Virtual View output resolution appears if Maximum Resolution is used. The text color will appear in WYSIWYG orange if the Virtual View output resolution is bigger than the Virtual View pane resolution.
• Window Resolution: Virtual View pane resolution.
• Objects: The total number of visible objects.
• Fixtures: The total number of visible fixtures.
• Sources: The total number of visible screen sources.
• Beams: Displays the number of beams currently appearing in the Virtual View. Note that it is normal for the number of beams to be different from the number of fixtures. For example, a three-cell Cyc fixture will count as a single fixture, but when all three cells are on, the number of beams will read "3".
• Glowing Screens: The number of screens currently appearing in the Virtual View.
• 2D Reflectors: The total number of 2D objects that reflect light when the Reflections checkbox is selected on the Light Tool window.
• 3D Reflectors: The total number of 3D objects that reflect light when the Reflections checkbox is selected on the Light Tool window.
• Lighting Complexity: Displays information about the complexity of the Virtual View. The four complexity levels—low, medium, high, and very high—are meant to help you understand how complex the current scene is. When the complexity level is high or very high, it is strongly recommended that you consider optimizing the file. For example, you could use the Consolidate Mesh feature to reduce the number of polygons in a highly-detailed model. For details, see “Consolidate Mesh”.
• Quality [Manual]: Virtual View performance setting.
• System Memory Used: The system memory currently used.
• Video Recording: Virtual View output recording On or Off.
• Performance Graph: Select to view a performance graph in Virtual View.
• Camera Information: Select to view information in Virtual View about the Cameras that you have drawn.

Visual References

These options allow you to define how visual references are presented.

• World Grid: Select to show the World Grid in Virtual View.
• World Axis: Select to show the World Axis in Virtual View.
• Gyroscope: Select to show the Gyroscope in Virtual View. The Gyroscope allows for continuous orientation monitoring while moving around in Virtual View.
• Wireframe Selection: Select to highlight fixtures selected in Virtual View when the view is switched to Drawing wireframe
• Fixture Tooltips: Select to display the specific information about a fixture when your cursor hovers over it in Virtual View.

Simulation tab

Options on the Simulation tab affect the beam quality and ambient light levels.

• Background Color: Modifies the background color used in the Virtual View. This color is visible when you zoom far enough away that you can see beyond the venue.
• Ambient Light: Use the slider to increase or decrease the amount of ambient light level shown in the Virtual View. The percent box indicates the degree of ambient light you have chosen.
• Ambient Color: Modifies the color of the ambient light. For example, use this feature if you'd like the Ambient light in your file tinted yellow or blue to match the type of house lighting in your venue. By default, the Ambient Color is set to white.

Quality

Quality controls the degree to which you want to emphasize beam quality over performance.

• Mode: Choose one of the following beam simulation modes. Note that when you select this value, and then choose the beam control options, you will automatically see the results in the Virtual View, enabling you to adjust them as necessary before you click OK to save your changes:
• Enhanced: Enhanced is the default beam mode. Select to enable enhanced beam control options affecting beam quality.
• Volumetric: This mode delivers higher quality visualization of beams then enhanced beams. Improved lens flair effects and beam throws are just some of the noticeable improvements. Due to the required system resources need to run Volumetric beams, system performance may be effected depending on system running Vivien.

An example of a scene using Enhanced Beams in Virtual View.

An example of a scene using Volumetric Beams in Virtual View.

Note: Deferred Rendering is required to run Volumetric Beams. If this option is not available, it means the graphics card on your computer does not support Volumetric beams.

• Beam: Choose the degree to which you want to emphasize beam quality over performance. Lower quality affects the beams’ footprint, sometimes making them appear blurry. While it is recommended that this value be set to High, if you notice a reduction in performance, particularly when viewing a complex scene with many moving lights, you can increase performance by lowering the quality to Medium or Low.

Note: If you find it necessary to use Low quality for acceptable performance, it is recommended that you upgrade to a more pow­erful system.

• Detail: Use the slider to increase or decrease the level of details displayed in Volumetric mode. An increase in details will result in a decrease in performance. The default detail setting is 0.

Brightness

Use the Brightness sliders (or type a value in the corresponding box) to control the visual brightness of beams, footprints, and lens flares.

Every fixture/bulb in the Vivien library has “brightness value” defined in its properties. The “brightness value” of a fixture/bulb is the relative intensities between light beams from different fixtures based on their published photometric data.

The Beam, Lens Flare and Footprint sliders will alter all beams relatively in comparison to all the fixture beams in the scene. For example, you can see this when a bright fixture is hung beside a fixture that is less bright. (i.e. 10” Fresnel with 2KW bulb is hung beside a 6” Fresnel with 500W bulb, both at full intensity). The relative brightness between both fixtures matches the difference in intensity from both fixtures with reference to their published photometric data.

A scene with many lights may be better visualized when some of the beams’ components are less bright. Note that brightness settings affect all beams in the scene equally and are for aesthetic purposes only; the sliders are not connected to the fixtures’ intensity.

The Brightness sliders enable you to balance the brightness values for different scenes, each scene varying based on the density and intensity of its fixtures. These values are saved into the scene file and will, therefore, change when new scenes are loaded.

Note: The default value of 50 is the baseline value generated by the values from the library definitions. If the scene does not show any beams or footprints, ensure that none of the brightness sliders is set to zero.

• Beam: Controls the brightness of the beam cone. A scene with many overlapping beam cones will tend to saturate, which can be reduced by decreasing the brightness.
• Footprint: Controls the brightness of the beam footprint. A scene with many overlapping footprints will tend to saturated, which can be reduced by decreasing the brightness.
• Lens Flare: Controls the brightness of the lens flare, which is the dominant visual effect when the camera is aimed directly into a fixture’s lens. In addition, when you are behind a fixture that is directed away from the camera, the lens flare component is used to create a simulated beam cone.

Shadows

• Enable: Select Enable to display shadows. Turning on Shadows creates a more realistic Virtual View, but adds extra complexity, which may also slow down performance as more calculations are required.
• Soft Shadows: Select Soft Shadows to display higher quality soft shadows. Use this option to soften the shadows for best visual quality, for example when capturing a screenshot of a look.

Alpha Beam Shadows

• Enable: Alpha Beam Shadows in Virtual View is enabled when Volumetric Beam quality is selected. Select Enable to display Alpha Beam Shadows.
• Num. Levels: Click on this drop-down list to select the number of levels to be calculated for Alpha Beam Shadows. For example, if you select 2 from the drop-down, a beam’s color and intensity will be calculated based only on alpha levels that pass through 2 surfaces, and any additional surfaces with alpha levels will be ignored as the beam will pass through them.

Note: Each Alpha shadow level supported for this feature requires additional video memory from your graphics card and can impact performance, depending on your scene and computer hardware.

Materials

• Enable: Select Enable to toggle materials functionality. When a material is applied to an object, it affect how the object interacts with light. This interaction is visible in Virtual view and in rendered images.
• Reflections: Select Reflections to toggle reflections on materials. When a reflection is applied to an object, it will reflect light depending on the material settings. This interaction is visible in Virtual view and in rendered images.

Screen Glow

• Enable: Select Enable to toggle a glow that will emit from screens, increasing the realism of visualizations. When enabled use this slider to adjust the intensity of the glow.

An example of LED Wall with Glow enabled in Virtual View

Performance tab

Options on the Performance tab are features that let you manage between system efficiency and visual quality.

Performance

You have the option of improving system performance by selecting which and how the following objects are displayed.

Objects

You have the option of showing these object types in Virtual View.

• Draw Truss/Pipes: Select to show pipe and truss objects in Virtual View. If this checkbox is cleared, pipe and truss objects will not appear in Virtual View, which reduces the amount of geometry being drawn in Virtual View and therefore improves performance.
• Draw Fixtures: Select to show fixture bodies in Virtual View. If you clear this checkbox, fixture bodies will not appear in Virtual View, only their beam appears, which reduces the amount of geometry being drawn in Virtual View and therefore improves performance.

Show Footprints/Shadows

You have the option of showing footprints and shadows in Virtual View for one or more of the following two object types:

• Truss/Pipes: Select to show truss and pipes with cast shadows and footprints in the Virtual View. Disable this option to improve application’s performance.

Note: The footprint/shadow of a hang structure object appears in Virtual View only when the Cast Shadow option in the Appearance tab of its Properties window is enabled.

• Fixture Bodies: Select to show the bodies of fixtures with cast shadows and footprints. Disable this option to improve the application’s performance.

Note: The footprint/shadow of a fixture appears in Virtual View only when the Cast Shadow option in the Appearance tab of its Proper­ties window is enabled.

By default, the Cast Shadow option is disabled on truss, pipes, and fixtures when created in your drawing; on the other hand, all objects have the Cast Shadow option enabled by default.

Visual Effects tab

Options on the Visual Effects tab are visual effects that can be added to enhance visualization.

Ambient Occlusion

Varies the ambient light contribution to the scene by using localized geometric visibility.

• Enable: Select this checkbox and use the slider to adjust the amount of ambient light. You may type the value in the adjacent box.

A visualization with Ambient Occlusion disabled.

A visualization with Ambient Occlusion enabled. Note the subtle shadows that appear where the stage meets the floor, on the stairs, and where the pedestals meet the stage.

Global Illumination

Simulates the indirect illumination of light bouncing off of geometric surfaces onto other surfaces.

• Method: Determines how object are illuminated. Approximation Method 1 illuminates objects from all directions. Approximation Method 2 illuminates only the visible sides of an object.
• Range: Determines how far illumination will travel from objects.
• Brightness: Determines how luminous objects will appear.
• Quality: Determines the quality of light illuminated from the object.

A visualization with Global Illumination disabled.

A visualization with Global Illumination enabled. Note how the glowing cylinder light up environment.

Source Disc

Creates a halo of light around a fixture's aperture to simulate light diffusion for very bright sources.

• Bloom: Select this checkbox and use the slider to adjust the size and brightness of the Source Disc Bloom. You may type the value in the adjacent box.

A visualization with Source Disc Bloom disabled.

A visualization with Source Disc Bloom enabled. Note the slight bloom or halo of blue light that appears around the Fixture's Source Disc.

Light Emission

Creates a glow effect from objects for which Light Emission has been enabled to simulate light emitting from light boxes, projection screens, etc.

• Glow: Select this checkbox and use the slider to adjust the glow effect from the light emitting objects in Virtual View. You may type the value in the adjacent box.

Light Emission is enabled for each object in the Light Emission tab in the Properties window of the selected object.

A visualization with Light Emission Glow disabled.

A visualization with Light Emission Glow enabled.

Note: This option can be disabled per-Object/per-Element via Light Emission or LED Wall tabs in objects’ Properties.

Environment tab

Options on the Environment tab control non-uniform atmospheric effects in enhanced beams.

Smoke Simulation

Enhanced beams can display non-uniform atmospheric effects in their beam cones.

• Smoke Density: Select the Smoke Density checkbox to display a non-uniform smoke suspension in the beam cone. Use the slider to change the density of the smoke.
• Animate Smoke: Select the Animate Smoke checkbox to make the non-uniform smoke move, and then specify the direction and speed using the X, Y, Z sliders. When the slider is in the middle at 0, smoke will not be animated in that axis. Move the slider off 0 to animate the smoke in that direction. The further away the slider is from 0, the faster the smoke will travel. (For example, to make the suspended smoke move in an upward direction to simulate a rising smoke effect, move the Z slider to the positive (right) side of 0, leaving the X and Y sliders at 0. To increase the speed at which the smoke is rising, move the slider further along on the positive scale.)
• Turbulence: Select the Turbulence checkbox to display atmospheric smoke effects and low-lying ground smoke or fog effects with irregular and turbulent flow.

Turbulence is enabled when Volumetric Mode is selected in the Qual­ity section in the Simulation tab of the View Options window. Turbu­lence is disabled when Enhanced Mode is selected in the Quality section in the Simulation tab of the View Options window.

Ground Smoke

Options in this section apply to low-lying ground smoke or fog effect.

• Enable Ground Smoke: Select this checkbox to display low-lying ground smoke or fog effect, and enable its properties for changes.
• Base Height: Specify the height of the horizontal bottom plane of the ground smoke from the floor of the drawing where Z coordinate is at 0.
• Height: Specify the maximum height of the ground smoke when it rises from its horizontal bottom base.
• Variance: Use the slider to increase or decrease the maximum peaks and troughs of the ground smoke turbulence. You may type the value in the adjacent box. The ground smoke will be displayed without turbulence if the slider is set to the minimum at 0. The ground smoke turbulence will be displayed with maximum peaks and troughs when the slider is set to the maximum at 100.
• Intensity: Use the slider to increase or decrease the brightness of the ground smoke or fog. You may type the value in the adjacent box.
• Edge: Use the slider to show a softer or harder ground smoke edge. Increase the slider to show a more defined smoke edge. Decrease the slider to show a less defined and fuzzier outline of the smoke edge. You may type a value in the adjacent box. See below the example images of Ground Smoke Edge at 40 and 75.

Time of Day tab

Just as you can simulate time of day/outdoor lighting when setting up your renderings in the Render Wizard, you can now achieve the same effect in the Virtual view in real time for all events that take place outside. Just like when you are setting up a rendering, in order to achieve the correct outdoor lighting conditions in the Virtual View, you must define the geographical location for your event and set the direction North. For details, see the “Regional Settings tab” and “To draw a compass” respectively.

Time of Day Lighting 

• Enable Time of Day Lighting: Select this checkbox to consider outdoor lighting conditions in the Virtual View, and then specify the lighting conditions below. The Virtual view adjusts accordingly, in real time.
• Date: The date determines the position of the sun and/or moon and the resulting amount of light available. Type the date when the event will take place.
• Time: The time determines the position of the sun and/or moon and the resulting amount of light available. Type the time when the event will take place.
• End: Select this checkbox if you want to specify an end time for the event, and then type the date and time in the boxes provided.
• Timeline: By defining Start and End Dates/Times, you can check lighting conditions between those times. Use the Timeline slider to adjust the current Virtual view time.
• Sky Conditions: The amount of light available determines the brightness of the resulting image in the Virtual View. Use the Sky Conditions slider to adjust the quality of light (cloudy or clear).
• Enable soft shadow: Select this checkbox, and then use the slider to set the softness of shadows that are created by sunlight. The softer the setting, the less sharp the resulting shadow.
• Regional Settings: Click to set the geographic location of your show. You can either select the country and city or enter the latitude and longitude of the location. These settings are used in Virtual Views and renderings that use environmental options.

Camera tab

Options on the Camera tab affect the Cameras in your file.

Camera

• Camera: Select a camera to change the point of view.

Notes:

• To display the original point of view and remove any previous association with a camera, select World camera, right-click on the Virtual View and click Reset Camera from the menu that appears.
• You can also control the camera view point with the camera toolbar. For details, see “Using the Camera toolbar”.
• Pan tool moves objects: Select this checkbox if you want to rotate the model on the target. Clear the checkbox if you want the pan tool to rotate the camera around the target. You can use the right, left, up, and down arrow keys in addition to the mouse button to pan to the desired location.

Camera Path

• Follow Camera Path playback: Select this checkbox if you want to lock Virtual View to the Camera Path’s view whenever the Camera Path is playing.

Fixture POV

• Display Information of Selected Fixture

Camera Target

• Display Target: Select this checkbox to show the focus point of the selected camera in the Virtual View.
• Infinite Lines: Select this checkbox to have lines displayed to infinity.

Letter/Pillar Box

• Color: Click the Color box in the Letter/Pillar Box section, to select the color of the letter or pillar bars that will be displayed in the Virtual View, to indicate the viewing definition boundaries as a result of the Aspect Ratio that was set.

Camera Model

• Display Model: Select this checkbox to show drawn camera objects in Virtual View. A camera object selected in Drawing Wireframe view will also display the outline frame of its POV in Virtual View.
• Display Tooltips: Select this checkbox to show the camera name and camera information when your cursor hovers over it in Virtual View. You must select the Camera Information checkbox on the Simulation Information section in the General tab of the Virtual View’s View Options window to show camera information in Virtual View.

Note: The camera object and camera information also appear in virtual reality mode to help you identify the camera position, viewing angle, and other information.

Enhanced beam quality color theory

The footprint technology of the Enhanced Beam simulation in our Virtual Views calculates footprints using color modulation, which is based on color theory. When a light beam strikes an object, some of the light is absorbed and some is reflected. The reflected color that the human eye can see is a subset of the source light spectrum that was not absorbed by the object.

For example, when a red light is shining on a blue riser there will not be any light reflected back to the human eye. The blue riser absorbs all colors that are not blue (its own color). Since there is no blue in the red source light, the light is completely absorbed. This means no footprint is displayed on the blue riser in our visualization.

Another scenario affected by this modulation would be a white beam hitting a black object. The white light contains all colors in the spectrum, while pure black is the total absence of color. As a result, the black object absorbs the entire spectrum of color and therefore reflects no light. This means no footprint is displayed on the black riser in our new visualization.

The next scenario shows two beams, a non-pure red and a non-pure blue, hitting a pure-green riser. The pure green riser absorbs all color components from the beam except for the green component and therefore reflects only green light. As we can see, the blue beam has a bit more green in its spectrum than the red beam, as it is slightly brighter than the red beam footprint. This example also shows that the portion of the footprints which fall on the grey floor result in the reflected color matching the beam colors. Using color theory, grey which has an equal amount of red, green and blue would therefore absorb an equal amount of the beam color components as well as reflect an equal amount of these colors, resulting in the reflected color (footprint) being the same as the beam color.

Note: If you have a black stage, the footprints do not display on the stage because they are totally absorbed. To display footprint colors on black, use an unpure black or dark greys instead.

Event Resources view options

The properties of the event resources affect which columns display and how the event resources are sorted and grouped.

To modify event resources view options

1. On the Event Resources tab, in the bottom portion of the window (the spreadsheet portion), right-click and select View Options.

Result: The View Options window opens.

2. Modify options as desired, and then click OK.

To group event resources information

You can group the event resources information shown in the Event Resources tab so it is easier to read. For example, if your drawing includes seating items and A/V equipment, you can group the information by these categories, as shown in the following procedure.

1. On the Event Resources tab, in the bottom portion of the window (the spreadsheet portion), right-click and select View Options.

Result: The View Options window opens.

2. From the Key 1 drop-down list, select Type.
3. Select the Group By checkbox below this list.
4. From the Key 2 drop-down list, select Model.
5. Select the Group By checkbox below this list.
6. Click OK.

Result: The information in the spreadsheet is now itemized by Type and Model.

Resources tab 

• Columns: To adjust a column’s location in the event resources, highlight the appropriate column heading in the Columns box, then click Up or Down to relocate it in the event resources view. To hide a column in your view, clear the check mark beside the column name.
• Word Wrap: Select this checkbox to view all the text on a line in the spreadsheet.
• Follow Current Scene: Select this checkbox to use the scene that displays in the drop-down list on the Scene toolbar. Clear this checkbox and select the desired scene from the Scene drop-down list. To learn more about scenes, refer to “Scenes”.

Note: You can also change the current scene at any time from the Scene toolbar.

Sorting and Grouping

• Key 1, 2, 3: To specify how entries should be sorted, choose the desired column headings in the Key 1, Key 2, and Key 3 drop-down lists.
• Ascending, Descending: Click Ascend or Descend to sort the criteria in ascending or descending order, respectively.
• Group By: Select the Group By checkbox to divide the spreadsheet into sections/pages, one section/page for each value in the Key 1 field.

Layouts view options

You can set the view options on the Layouts tab to affect how the layout is printed.

To modify layout view options

1. On the Layouts tab, click the Layout for which you would like to change the print format.
2. From the Options menu, choose View Options.

Result: The View Options window opens.

3. Modify options as desired, and then click OK.

Layouts tab

Options on the Layouts tab affect the appearance and printout of the layout.

• Name: Name of the layout.
• Background color: Sets the background color of the layout view. This does not affect your printed copy.
• Grid On: Select this checkbox to display gridlines on the view. Gridlines are for reference only and they assist with the design of items on the page. Gridlines do not appear in the printed output.
• Color: Sets the color of the gridlines.
• Show placeholders: Select this checkbox to display only the placeholders for the various items in the layout. If unchecked, both the placeholders and contents of the items in the layout are displayed. This is to facilitate the layout setup and does not affect the printout.

Snap

• Snap: Select this checkbox to snap the items in the layout to the gridlines.
• Interval: Specify the interval between the points on the grid.
• Units: The units of measure for the layout. The coordinates at the bottom of the layout change according to the selection. This does not affect the printed output.
• Paper Size: Choose the desired paper size. If you do not find the size you want, choose Custom and specify the width and height as desired.
• Landscape: Select this checkbox to set up the page in landscape format.

Tile Printing

• Show page guides: Select this checkbox to display the printable outline on each sheet of paper that comprises the layout. The solid outline is the chosen printer’s paper size and orientation.
• Show page numbers: Select this checkbox to display the page numbers of the layout in the center of each page. The page numbers are for reference only and do not appear in the printed output.
• Tile options: Enables one of the following:
• Top-Left: Places the top-left corner of the layout in the top-left corner of the first page and then arranges the remaining pages accordingly.
• Centre: Places the center of the layout at the center of a page and then arranges the remaining pages accordingly.
• Split Centre: Places the center of the layout at the corner of four pages and arranges the remaining pages accordingly.

Images view options 

In Vivien Virtual Event Designer, you can use the View Options feature of the Images tab to display and change the name of the selected image.

To view image options

1. On the Images tab, with the desired image selected, from the Options menu, choose View Options.

Result: The Properties dialog box opens, listing the name of the selected image.

2. To change the name of the selected image, type the new name, and then click OK.

Virtual View Profile

Virtual View Profiles are a feature that can be used to improve your workflow by making it easier to manage multiple Virtual Views and their settings. The Virtual View Profile contains all options of the Virtual View. Use the View Options to configure the Virtual View as you wish, and the settings will be stored in the Virtual View Profile. To store other combinations of Virtual View options, simply create another Virtual View Profile to save the combination in. Virtual View settings can then be easily toggled by selecting different Virtual View Profile shortcuts. You can also use the Virtual View Settings Tool to configure Virtual View options in addition to managing Virtual View Profiles.

Note: By default, the Virtual View Profile is set to "Default" for a new file. This means the same Virtual View Profile is shared amongst all views by default and all views are initially synchronized.

The gray colored bar in Drawing Quad, Lighting Quad, and Virtual View displays the name of the Virtual View Profile you currently have selected.

If you prefer not to use a Virtual View Profile, then set your Virtual View Profile to "None", and the Virtual View will work like before. The "None" profile is individually associated to one particular Virtual View. Vivien files saved in versions before Vivien 2014 will have their Virtual View Profile set to "None".

Note: Virtual View Profile will save settings associated to the General, Performance, Environment, and Time of Day tabs in the View Options window. It DOES NOT include any options found in the Camera tab or  "SCENE" properties controlled via the Scene toolbar.

To create a new Virtual View Profile using the Navigation Pane

Note: A new Virtual View Profile sets all options to default settings.

1. In the Navigation Pane, select Virtual View Profiles.
2. In the Virtual View Profiles shortcut area, right-click and select New Virtual View Profile.

Result: The Enter new shortcut name dialog box appears.

3. In the Enter new shortcut name window, enter a name for the new Virtual View Profile.
4. Click OK.

Result: The new Virtual View Profile is created. A shortcut to the Virtual View can be found in the Navigation Pane.

Note: Alternatively, you can create a new Virtual View Profile using the Virtual View Settings Tool.

To clone an existing Virtual View Profile using the Navigation Pane

1. In the Navigation Pane, select Virtual View Profiles.
2. In the Virtual View Profiles shortcut area, right-click the shortcut of a profile you want to clone and select Clone Shortcut.

Result: The Enter new shortcut name window appears.

3. In the Enter new shortcut name dialog box, enter a name for the clone Virtual View Profile.
4. Click OK.

Result: A new Virtual View Profile is cloned from the original, retaining all settings of the original.

Note: Alternatively, you can clone a Virtual View Profile using the Virtual View Settings Tool.

To delete a Virtual View Profile using the Navigation Pane

1. In the Navigation Pane, select Virtual View Profiles.
2. In the Virtual View Profiles shortcut area, right-click the shortcut of a profile you want to delete and select Delete.

Result: A dialog box appears  asking if you really want to delete the profile.

3. Click OK.

Result: The Virtual View Profile will be deleted.

Note: Alternatively, you can delete a Virtual View Profile using the Virtual View Settings Tool.

Virtual View Settings Tool

The Virtual View Settings tool is a feature that allows you to further improve workflow using Virtual View Profiles. The changes made in this Tool update the Virtual View Options and vice versa. This tool can be open at all times and offers quick access to some of the more popular Virtual View settings. Settings available in the Virtual View Settings Tool are:

• Mode
• Quality
• Detail
• Materials
• Glow
• Reflections
• Smoke
• Ambient Light
• Beam
• Footprint
• Lens Flare

To create a new Virtual View Profile using the Virtual View Settings Tool

1. From the Tools menu choose Virtual View Settings Tool.

Result: The Virtual View Settings window appears.

2. In the Virtual View Settings window, click New.

Result: The Enter new shortcut name dialog box appears.

3. In the Enter new shortcut name dialog box, enter a name for the new Virtual View Profile.
4. Click OK.

Result: The Virtual View Profile is created. You can edit the settings of the profile from the Virtual View Settings window, or by going to the Options > View Options menu.

Note: Alternatively, you can create a new Virtual View Profile using the Navigation Pane.

To clone an existing Virtual View Profile using the Virtual View Settings Tool

1. From the Tools menu choose Virtual View Settings Tool.

Result: The Virtual View Settings window appears.

2. From the Virtual View Profile drop-down menu, select the Virtual View Profile you want to clone.
3. Click Clone.

Result: The Enter new Virtual View Profile name dialog box appears.

4. In the Enter new Virtual View Profile name window, enter a name for the cloned Virtual View Profile.
5. Click OK.

Result: A new Virtual View Profile is created, retaining all the settings of the original Virtual View Profile.

Note: Alternatively, you can clone a Virtual View Profile using the Navigation Pane.

To delete a Virtual View Profile using the Virtual View Settings Tool

1. From the Tools menu choose Virtual View Settings Tool.

Result: The Virtual View Settings window appears.

2. From the Virtual View Profile drop-down menu, select the Virtual View Profile you want to delete.
3. Click Delete.

Result: A dialog box appears asking if you really want to delete the profile.

4. Click OK.

Result: The Virtual View Profile will be deleted.

Note: Alternatively, you can delete a Virtual View Profile using the Navigation Pane.

To select a Virtual View Profile

1. In the Navigation Pane, select Virtual View Profiles.
2. In the Virtual View Profiles shortcut area, click the shortcut of a profile you want to select.
3. The selected Virtual View Profile is enabled.

or

1. From the Tools menu choose Virtual View Settings Tool.

Result: The Virtual View Settings window appears.

2. From the Virtual View Profile drop-down menu, select the Virtual View Profile you want to use.

Result: The Virtual View Profile is enabled.