Page 198 - Mastering SolidWorks

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Using the DisplayManageR 167

Figure 5.29
turning off shadows in
the modeling window

When you are using Real View Display, you can take advantage of a special setting called
Ambient Occlusion. With this combination, the SolidWorks model can throw shadows on itself,
and holes in the model appear in shadow. It gives some of the effect of a rendering, but it is just
the RealView display.
Ambient Occlusion has some limitations; for example, it does not show shadows on the part
while rotating, only when you stop rotating the view (unless you use Draft Quality Ambient
Occlusion, found at Tools ➢ Options ➢ Display). It also only works when in Shaded mode (with
or without edges).
Figure 5.30 shows a part with the various Ambient Occlusion settings. Ambient occlusion
does slow down the graphics performance of SolidWorks, but it can also help a part look more
realistic without you having to take the time to do a rendering. Depending on your graphics card
and workstation, Real View, Ambient Occlusion, and other advanced graphics settings may or
may not noticeably affect display calculation time. It is best practice, of course, to work without
these advance settings, unless they do not affect performance.

Figure 5.30
This ambient occlusion
scene gives more
realistic shadows
without rendering.

Draft-Quality No Ambient
Ambient Occlusion Ambient Occlusion Occlusion

If you want to turn off reflections on the floor while modeling, you can apply a Basic scene or
turn off the reflective floor in the Scene PropertyManager, as shown in Figure 5.31. From here
you can also perform other common tasks, such as aligning the floor with a different plane,
offsetting the floor, and adjusting the brightness of the scene.
To apply a scene to a document, you can use the Appearances, Scenes, And Decals tab of the
Task pane; expand the Scenes heading; choose from Basic, Studio, or Presentation scenes; and
double-click or drag the scene into the graphics area. Note these differences between Basic,
Studio, and Presentation scenes:
◆ Basic scenes use only a background color.