“View type” palette (for RT_Render rendering method)

View Type list box / View type palette

You can use the RT_Render rendering method to render the current view. The longer you do not change anything, the better the resulting image. If you change the scene or model, the program starts rendering the image again. To prevent Allplan from rendering the same view indefinitely, you can define a time limit based on various stopping criteria.

The predefined RTRender view type is based on this rendering method.

Note: These settings apply only to the on-screen image or to a bitmap image that you create directly after rendering by means of the Save Contents of Viewport as a Bitmap... tool. But when you create a bitmap image by means of the Render tool, the settings you make there apply.

Parameters

Name

You can change the name of the view type.

Rendering method

RT_Render (cannot be changed for the predefined RTRender view type)

Image resolution

Custom

If this option is not selected, Allplan automatically uses the resolution that results from the current size of the viewport.

Select this option if you want to use a different resolution to render the image. Specify the required resolution by using the Default or Resolution setting.

Note: When this option is selected, Allplan resizes the resulting image to the width of the active viewport at first. To get a bitmap image at the required resolution, you must use the Save Contents of Viewport as a Bitmap... tool to save the rendered image.

Default

Only if the Custom option is selected.

You can select one of the predefined resolutions, thus defining the size of the rendered image.

Resolution

Only available if the Custom option is selected.

Click the button to open the Rendering size palette, where you can specify a resolution that is different from that in the Default box. You can see the selected resolution on the button.

If the Custom option is not selected, the button is grayed out and not available. In this case, you can see the resolution that results from the current size of the viewport on the button.

General settings

CPU power

By entering a percentage, you can define how much CPU power you want to use for RT rendering at most.

The higher the percentage, the faster the CPU or the faster it can render the image. However, this can slow down other applications.

To prevent this, reduce the CPU power reserved for RT rendering.

Rendering progress

When you select this option, you can see information about the rendering progress directly in the viewport. For example, you can see the time the program has used so far to calculate the current view and the time it will require to calculate the next frame.

Stop criterion

If you want to enter a time limit for RT rendering, you can define a stop criterion:

• Off
  There is no stop criterion; RT rendering is infinite (i.e. Allplan calculates the image until you change the view).
• Frames
  The number of iteration frames you specify under Total frames is used as a stop criterion.
• Time
  The stop criterion of the time for the RT rendering calculation is triggered as soon as the time you enter for Total time has elapsed.
• Quality
  The quality level of the RT rendering result that you specify in Quality is used as the stop criterion.

Total frames, Total time, Quality

Only if you have selected a stop criterion.

Enter a value:

• Total frames
  Specify a value between 5 and 10,000 iteration steps.
• Total time
  Enter a value between 5 seconds and 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds.
• Quality
  You can choose between Low, Medium, High, and Very high.

Virtual ground plane

Select this check box if you want the virtual ground plane stretch to infinity. If you do not select this check box, Allplan displays the virtual ground plane based on the settings defined in Surroundings.

White model

The resulting image looks like a white paper model.

Using this technique, Allplan masks colored surfaces and textures, displaying the scene in light and dark shades at a low contrast.

Example of the rendered image with and without the “white model” option:

Resulting image without (on the left) and with (on the right) the White model option.

Projection type

Select the type of projection you want to use for the perspective of the rendered image.

• Standard
  The regular central perspective is used for the display.
  
  This setting has an effect only if central projection is selected (the Perspective view option is selected in the 3D View palette). Otherwise, this setting will have no effect.
• Two-point perspective
  The two-point perspective (over-corner perspective) is used for the display.
  
  This setting has an effect only if central projection is selected (the Perspective view option is selected in the 3D View palette). Otherwise, this setting will have no effect.
• Spherical
  The rectangular projection is used for the display.
  
  You can use this option to render spherical panoramas (see "Creating 360° views").
  
  Important!
  So that Allplan displays spherical panoramas correctly, you must select the image resolution so that it is at a ratio of 2:1 (for example, 4,000 x 2,000 pixels) and save the rendered image in JPG or TIF format.

Examples of rendered images in different types of projection:

Comparison of rendered images of perspective views in central perspective (left) and two-point perspective (right)

Post-process settings

Automatic exposure

You can choose to correct the exposure of the image:

• Off
  No automatic exposure is used for rendering; however, you can control exposure/brightness as required via Exposure in the Viewport Toolbar.
• Mean and median (average)
  In normal lighting conditions, both settings give you comparable rendering results.
  
  But the situation is different with extreme lighting: Median is well suited for scenes with strong light in the background, such as views of rooms by daylight with a view to the window. Mean, on the other hand, is better suited for overexposed scenes where you want to neutralize overexposure, such as scenes at night with street lights.
  
  Summing it up, Median brings out dark areas, whereas Mean balances out areas that are too bright.

Examples of rendered images with different settings for automatic exposure:

Comparison of rendered images with different settings for automatic exposure: you can see the effects of median (left), and mean (right) on an interior scene (top) and an exterior scene (bottom).

Tone mapping

You can readjust overexposed areas by reducing the dynamic range.

When you render scenes with great differences in brightness, such as scenes that contain both bright areas illuminated directly and shaded areas, you can thus reproduce the full range of light intensities present in natural scenes.

The greater the value, the more limited the dynamic range.

Examples of rendered images with different settings for tone mapping:

Comparison of rendered images of perspective views of interiors with different settings for tone mapping: 0 (top), 30 (middle), and 60 (bottom).

White balance

You can readjust the color temperature of the rendered image to the lighting of the rendered scene.

You can use values between 1,000 and 10,000 Kelvin. The smaller the value, the warmer the scene. The greater the value, the colder the resulting image.

Examples of rendered images with different settings for white balance:

Comparison of rendered images of perspective views of interiors with different settings for white balance: 3,200 K (left), 5,500 K (middle), and 7,500 K (right).

Noise reduction filter

Here you select the calculation method for reducing image noise using a noise filter:

• Off
  Noise reduction is off.
• RT Denoiser
  The method used here supports all graphics cards and reduces the noise content without affecting pixel images (also in HDR format, e.g. sky) or textured surfaces that may be stored as backgrounds.
• NVIDIA OptiX
  Only available if an NVIDIA® graphics card is installed.
  Improved noise filter that leverages the power of the NVIDIA® GPU. This enables considerably shorter computing times with same-time optimized display.

Tip: You can also remove noise by changing the dynamic range. To do this, use the Tone mapping option. When you render perspectives of interiors, you can also reduce noise by defining the lighting accordingly (see New or Edit light palette -> Skylight option).

Example of rendering result with RT Denoiser at different levels of noise reduction:

Rendering result with RT Denoiser at different settings for the strength of noise reduction (each after identical computing times and iteration steps): Noise reduction Off (upper left), Strength set to Medium (upper right), Strong (lower left), Very Strong (lower right).

Example of the rendering result of an interior view with NVIDIA OptiX:

Comparison of the rendering result of an internal view without (left) and with NVIDIAOptiX (right) after 5 (top) and 50 (bottom) iteration steps, respectively 10 s (top) and 2 min (bottom) computing time.

Example of the rendering result of an exterior view with NVIDIA OptiX:

Comparison of the rendering result of an external view without (top) and with NVIDIAOptiX (bottom), each after 5 iteration steps or 10 s computing time.

Comparison of the rendering result of an external view without (top) and with NVIDIAOptiX (bottom), each after 50 iteration steps or 2 min computing time.

Intensity

Only if the RT Denoiser or NVIDIA OptiX option is selected under Noise Reduction Filter.

You can define the intensity of noise reduction.

Smoothing

Only if the RT Denoiser option is selected under Noise Reduction Filter.

You can define how much you want to smooth edges.

Example of rendering result with RT Denoiser on different noise reduction settings: