Edit object display (again) 1

[NXMold]

This is proving to be rather frustrating, I can't seem to get control of object colors and partial shading settings.

Example 1, I have a component with three dumb solids. Using edit object display on the solid bodies changes wireframe color but not shaded color... selecting the faces will allow me to change the color. I want to un-set all display properties of the faces and change the solid colors, is that possible?

Example 2, I have a component that I want to turn OFF partial shading in assembly. In the assembly I can override the component setting and turn it ON, or undo the override in component properties, but I cannot override to set partial shading off.

I keep looking for a switch to just clear/remove the color settings for an object (face, body, or component).

 

[JohnRBaker]

For item 1), are you talking about editing the color of the component in the context of the assembly or editing the solid bodies? There is a difference. When using Edit Object Display and you're in an assembly and you select a component, if under Preferences -> Assemblies... you have toggled on 'Component Member Select' then you will be selecting the solid body in the component and not the component itself. If however, you just select the component from the screen without being in an operation, you will be selecting the Component and not the solid body. Anyway, if you wish to unset anything associated with color and the solids or the component, just select the component part (make sure it's the component) and then using MB3 edit the display of the component, changing it's color. Now go back and pick the component again and now use MB3 and select properties and toggle OFF the 'Specific Component Color' and hit OK, and you should be all set.

As for 2) and Partial shading, it behaves slightly differently. In that case, irrespective of whether you are working in the context of a piece part or an assembly, with your 'Type Filter' set to 'No Selection Filter' select ALL of display and over the highlighted model press MB3 and select 'Edit Display' and toggle OFF the Partial Shading option (make sure that it's toggled OFF as you may need to select it twice). And then hit OK.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
NX Design
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

 

[NXMold]

Item 1, no I've been able to unset component colors in assembly, here I'm working in a single component here and changing color of the solid bodies has no effect (except on wireframe). I have to select all faces to change the color.

2, I'll have to try that in the morning. So far I have been using no selection filter and picking on components, I can unset the partial shading checkbox and hit apply (or set, apply, unset, apply... no difference) but it dosent take effect. I gather that your saying I must select ALL DISPLAY to get components, bodies, etc.

 

[hudson888]

Perhaps you're not selecting components but solid bodies, in which case the "Apply to all faces", tick under edit object display may need to be ticked on.

Regards

Hudson

 

[JohnRBaker]

Hudson,

Yes, that's the better solution when using Edit Object Display directly (I was using the 'workaround' that we used before we added that option).

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
NX Design
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

 

[hudson888]

John,

Yes good I saw your logic. Now if we could just make that tick a sticky setting in the future I'd be most appreciative.

best regards

Hudson

 

[JohnRBaker]

Hudson,

With NX 5, at least in your current session, once you toggle it ON, it will remain ON until you toggle it OFF.

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
NX Design
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/

 

[hudson888]

John,

Yes I know, I think it would be better if either the default was ON, or I could otherwise get it to stay on most of the time. Several users I have dealt with requested help with this and I thought to mention it because it may salve their discontent.

Best Regards

Hudson

 

[NXMold]

#1, The Apply to All Faces checkbox does the trick. I didn't see that, thanks.

#2, In an assembly I have a sub-assembly. In this, one component has partial shading on, the other off. In the top assembly I can turn partial shading on for the whole sub-assembly. At this point MB3|properties shows a check next to Specific Partial Shading. If I edit display again, uncheck partial shading, it goes back to the default (one shaded, one not) with no check by the Specific Partial Shading option. I tried selecting a window around the offending subassembly and repeating the process, but still cannot get partial shading to turn off.

So I can force shading (specific partial shading on) but cannot force wireframe display. Is this just the way its intended to work?

I know I can go down to the component level to get results, but sometimes it would be preferable to do it in assembly.

 

[hudson888]

I'm thinking your partial shading problems may stem from the window selection method. I'm not sure that you're not selecting bodies instead of components. Partial shading controls whether bodies are rendered as shaded or wireframe and nothing else, translucency shouldn't even come into it.

I'd encourage you to set up a test example to try this out.

Start by turning partial shading mode ON, using a file where you haven't been playing with the settings. Everything should render as wireframe. Now if you force it to select a Solid body to edit object display and tick partial shading that body should be the only thing shaded. If the body lives within a component then provided that you selected the solid body or the faceted body and not the whole component then looking at the component properties under the assembly tab, there will be no tick alongside the item "Specific Partial Shading". Also under those circumstances if you change between the Model and Faceted reference sets the shading should switch on and off. If on the other hand you select a component to edit display and tick Partial Shading on, then the properties show a tick for "Specific Partial Shading", and it does not matter if you change reference sets the component stays shaded.

Having done that the same logic can be applied to the application of translucency but it is controlled separately from the partial shading. You'll find similar settings in all the same places. The only overlap is that if you're using partial shading, remembering that translucency applies only to shaded objects, anything set to be translucent but with partial shading off will appear as wireframe.

Apply to all faces can also affect your partial shading results with some really weird results if you turn it off and have the misfortune to select bodies rather than whole components. That is to say you could do the same thing by just applying partial shading to individual faces. You might try forcing select faces while editing object display to turn partial shading on and off in the same example.

Best Regards

Hudson

 

[cowski]

This process sounds a bit more difficult than it needs to be. When working with an assembly, is there any reason to pick the solid body rather than the component? Are there any desirable results that you cannot get by picking the component?

 

[NXMold]

Oh, I see. If I select solid bodies everything works properly. When selecting components my options are more limited.

I see that display settings are not hierarcal. I can set faces and bodies in a screw component, then assemble that screw into another component. From this assembly I can then set either the screw component, or screw body properties, but they are only applicable to this particular assembly. If the assembly gets put into another higher level assembly, the display properties will be taken from the original lowest-level components. Furthermore, while I can un-set component properties so that display reverts to original, I cannot seem to un-set solid body properties that have been modified at the assembly level.

How's anyone supposed to figure this out? I have parts that change colors like a disco chameleon as I move through the assemblies, its disorienting.

 

[NXMold]

Oh neat, each component can have a different color pallete. That helps to explain the disco chameleon effect.

 

[hudson888]

Guys,

The explanation is long because the what if's are many. The concept in practice is simple. The facility for users to apply these settings in a variety of ways does however produce variable results and you have to be aware of that which previous users may have let behind. Good housekeeping is ALWAYS best practice .

Yes when selecting components there are few options basically it is just on or off.

You really do need to experiment with it to get a grasp of whether you consider it to be hierarchical or not. Lets just say that if you apply settings at all levels then it naturally makes things more complicated and it can be tricky to specifically turn off partial shading.

Reasons to be able to pick solids or faces with components might be that you just want to shade a single face or the component contains several solids. Using partial shading for one face at a time is a VERY handy way to be able to see where clashes between parts occur.

Best Regards

Hudson

 

[BOPdesigner]

Example #1 I experience this everytime I try to change the color of a body imported from a Parasolid file. How come I have to pick the solids faces in this case, but I don't have to pick them when the body is from an IGES or STEP import?

 

[hudson888]

You mean that all the edges of the parasolids appear to be a single color but when shaded the bodies may be a different color? I don't know it has been like that for a while.

The other translators use a null part and inherit their display settings from that file.

Best Regards

Hudson

 

[NXMold]

"John,

Yes good I saw your logic. Now if we could just make that tick a sticky setting in the future I'd be most appreciative.

best regards

Hudson"

I just stumbled across a setting in NX5.0.3.2 customer defaults, gateway, edit object display, apply to all faces. Is this what your after?

 

[hudson888]

Yes I have it turned on in my installation but others have it turned off. If I was administrator on every system that I needed to use then the world would naturally be a better place. It can be a user group world thing depending on the site. I just think it should always be a user setting or turned on period.

There are some settings that are controlled solely by customer defaults of which this appears to be one. And others where the saved behavior persists from session to session, hence "sticky". I discovered this as you probably did having not bothered to check until it came up in this forum. The difference between the sticky and customer defaults is often slight and in cases especially like this one pretty low priority. But I'd like to see more sticky settings used for dialog preferences, if only because these issues tend to disappear once they're implemented.

Best Regards

Hudson

 

[NXMold]

Yes, the sticky settings are nice. After browsing the customer defaults again today, I wonder how many of those settings are sticky and therefore changing them in the customer defaults would be redundant or ineffective.

I also wish that the "save dialog memory" switch for roles made some sort of sense, or had a help description that made some sense. I can never figure out what that does, and have to check my notes to remember if I want it on or off.

 

[JohnRBaker]

Even for the so-called 'sticky' options, I would still set my Customer Defaults to what I would like their normal setting to be since every dialog that uses Dialog Memory has a 'reset' button, and hitting that will reset all options and settings in the dialog back to the Customer Default settings.

As for the 'save dialog memory' toggle, I toggle it off whenever I save/update my role (someone once told me to do that and so I do, but I can't recall what the issue was that prompted the developer to tell me to toggle it off).

John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
NX Design
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Cypress, CA

http://www.siemens.com/plm

http://www.plmworld.org/museum/