General object properties

In WYSIWYG, there are four tabs that appear in the Properties window for every object. These four tabs are the General, Appearance, Light Emission, and Sidedness tabs.

For 3D solids and surfaces, the Set Piece tab also appears in the Properties window.

All tabs are explained here.

General tab

Options on the General tab affect the layer’s color and line weight.

Layer

A list of the layers in your document is displayed. Click on a list item to change the layer on which the objects will be drawn.

• The layers are listed below the Layer Groups if the Display with Layer Groups checkbox is selected.
• Only the layers are listed if the Display with Layer Groups checkbox is clear.
• Display with Layer Groups: Select this checkbox to display the layers as items organized in Layer Groups. Clear this checkbox to display only the list of layers.
• On the list of Layer Groups, click the arrow at the far left to expand or collapse a single Layer Group.
• Collapse All: Click the Collapse All button to display only the Layer Groups.
• Expand All: Click the Expand All button to display the Layer Groups and all the Layers.
• Use Layer Color: Select this checkbox to set the object’s color for Wireframe views to be the same as the properties of the layer on which the object resides. For more information, see Layer properties.
• Clear this checkbox, and then use the color button to set a specific color for the object.
• Line Weight: From the drop-down list, choose the specific line weight for the selected object. The applied line weight is visible in all Wireframe views in all modes. For objects only, you can also choose the default setting, ByLayer, which sets the object’s line weight to be the same as the properties of the layer on which the object resides. The value Default means that the document's line weight setting from the Document Options > Object Settings window is applied to the object or layer. For more information, see Layer properties.
• Attach to Axis: From the drop-down list, select the motion axis to which you want to attach the selected object or objects. For details on attaching objects to motion axes, see To attach an object to a motion axis.

Note: You cannot attach Camera Paths nor Cameras to axes. To create a moving Camera, you can either draw a Camera Path or use the DMX Camera.

Hatching

Section for managing hatching effects of closed objects.

Note: Hatching is only available for closed objects, e.g. surfaces, closed lines, 3D primitives, walls.

• Show Hatch Lines: Will enable hatching for the object.
• Available hatching styles: A drop-down list of previously created hatching styles that can be applied to the object.
• New/Edit...: Create a new hatching style or edit and existing style.

To add hatching to an object

Note: Not all objects support hatching. If hatching is not supported, the checkbox to enable hatching is disabled.

1. Right-click the object, and select Properties.

Result: The Properties window appears.

2. In the Properties window, click the General tab.
3. To enable hatching for the object, select the Show Hatch Lines checkbox.
4. Select the desired hatching style for the object from the Available hatching styles drop-down list.
5. Click Apply to enable the hatching style for the object.

To edit or create a hatching style

1. Right-click an object that supports hatching, and select Properties.

Result: The Properties window appears.

2. In the Properties window, click the General tab.
3. To enable hatching for the object, select the Show Hatch Lines checkbox.
4. To make a new hatch style or edit an existing style, click New/Edit....

Result: The Hatch Style Manager window appears. All existing hatch styles are displayed and can be edited here.

5. To create a new hatch style, click the New Hatch Style button.

The New Hatch Style button.

Result: The New Hatch Style window appears.

6. In the New Hatch Style window, enter the details of the new hatch style.
7. Click OK.
8. Click Apply to enable the new styles.

To clone a hatching style

1. Right-click an object that supports hatching, and select Properties.

Result: The Properties window appears.

2. In the Properties window, click the General tab.
3. Select the Show Hatch Lines checkbox.
4. Click New/Edit....

Result: The Hatch Style Manager window appears. All existing hatch styles are displayed and can be edited here.

5. To clone an existing hatching style, select the style you want to copy and click the Clone Hatch Style button.

The Clone Hatch Style button.

Result: The Clone Hatch Style window appears. All the settings of the selected hatch style will be copied into the window.

6. In the Clone Hatch Style window, edit any hatching setting that you want to be different from the original hatching style.
7. Click OK.

Result: The cloned hatching style will appear in the Hatching Style Manager window and be available for use.

To delete a hatching style

1. Right-click an object that supports hatching, and select Properties.

Result: The Properties window appears.

2. In the Properties window, click the General tab.
3. Select the Show Hatch Lines checkbox.
4. Click New/Edit....

Result: The Hatch Style Manager window appears. All existing hatch styles are displayed.

5. To delete an existing hatching style, select the style you want to remove and click the Delete Hatch Style button.

The Delete Hatch Style button.

Result: The Delete Hatch Style dialog box appears.

6. In the Delete Hatch Style dialog box, to delete the hatch style click Yes.

Result: The selected hatching style be removed from WYSIWYG.

To change the print scale of hatching styles

Spacing for built-in line patterns found in hatching use a default scale of 1.0 equal to 0’6” (2.54 cm). Print Scale Options can be used to create a different scale when printing in PRES mode.

1. Right-click an object that supports hatching, and select Properties.

Result: The Properties window appears.

2. In the Properties window, click the General tab.
3. Select the Show Hatch Lines checkbox.
4. Click New/Edit....

Result: The Hatch Style Manager window appears. All existing hatch styles are displayed.

5. Click Print Scale Options.
6. The Print Scale Options dialog box appears.

7. In the Print Scale Options window, to create a custom print scale, select the radio next to Custom scale.

Note: To revert the print scale to its default settings, select the radio next to Print scale.

8. Edit the print scale settings as desired.
9. Click OK.
10. Click Apply.

Result: The print scale options change.

To import hatching patterns

To import Hatch Pattern files (.pat files), save these files in the folder location that was entered as the Hatch Pattern Files location in the File Locations tab in Application Options window. When you restart WYSIWYG, these patterns will be listed in the Hatch Style Manager.

1. Right-click an object that supports hatching, and select Properties.

Result: The Properties window appears.

2. In the Properties window, click the General tab.
3. Select the Show Hatch Lines checkbox.
4. Click New/Edit....

Result: The Hatch Style Manager window appears. All existing hatch styles are displayed.

5. Click Import Patterns.

Result: The Application Options window appears.

6. In the Application Options window, enter the location/folder which contains the hatch pattern files (.pat files) in the Hatch Pattern Files field.
7. Click OK.

Result: A dialog box appears warning that WYSIWYG needs to restart to display the imported hatching patterns in the Hatch Style Manager.

Appearance tab

Use this tab to specify the appearance of the different components that make up the currently selected items. The options in this tab differ based on your selected item.

You can use this tab to customize objects by adding different materials, colors, or textures to each element of the item. For example, if you have selected a library object, such as a podium, you can apply different materials, colors, and textures to each part of it (the body and the top portion).

You can also use this tab to rename the individual elements of the currently selected object. This is useful for objects that contain many elements with similar names, like risers.

Note: You can apply textures to venues, surfaces, risers, walls, library items, spheres, cylinders, and cones. You can apply transparency to everything. When customizing the selected element, you can choose between applying a custom color or a custom texture—you cannot choose both. In addition to either color or texture, you can also apply material.

Highlight the element that you want to customize, and then choose one of the following options:

Color/Texture

• Ignore Ambient Light: Select this checkbox to always show the selected element(s) in Shaded view using the color values derived from the Appearance options specified (e.g., texture). While light emission and light from fixtures will further saturate the colors displayed for the selected object, ambient light will never affect this object if this option is enabled. This option is useful when objects (except Screens) are textured with images or video, and these need to appear in their original colors at all times. In renderings, this setting is ignored if Light Emission is enabled.
• Layer Rendering Color: Select this option to set the object(s) color for Shaded views and renderings to the same as the properties of the layer on which the object resides. For more information on layer properties, see Layer properties.
• Custom Color: Select this option and then use the color button to set a specific color for the object(s).
• Texture from Library: Select this option to apply a texture from the library to the selected object(s). In the resulting window, navigate to and select the desired texture. You can apply textures to venues, surfaces, risers, walls, library items, spheres, cylinders, and cones. Click the ellipsis button (...) to change the selected texture file.
• Image Source: Select this option to apply to the selected object(s) a texture that you have created and saved in either .bmp, .jpg, .png, or .gif format.

Select a previously created image from the drop-down list or click New to create a new image source from the Image Manager. See Image Manager for details.

• Video Source: Select this option to apply a video source or a subsource as a “dynamic texture” to 3D primitives--surfaces, risers, spheres, cylinders, or cones--or to individual elements of 3D primitives.

Select a previously created video source or subsource from the drop-down list, or click New to create a new video source or subsource directly from the Video Manager. See Video Manager for details.

• Use Normal Map: Select this checkbox to apply an Image Source that’s a Normal Map, to create the perception of fragmented surface texture detail and depth, making objects look more realistic.

Select an existing Normal Map image from the drop-down list or click New to create a new Normal Map image via the Image Manager.

Note: This drop-down lists all Image Sources that appear in the Image Manager; as such, Image Sources which are Normal Maps should be named appropriately, for easy identification.

• Scale: Select the height or depth of visual effect created by the Normal Map. From the drop-down list, select the percentage scale value from not visible (0%) to maximum value stored in the imported Normal texture/image (100%).

If you have chosen a texture option, then you can also set the properties of the texture as follows:

Texture Options

• Tile: Select this option if you want to have the texture repeated over the selected element in a continuous series of squares or rectangles, and then type the size of the frame in which you want the texture to appear in the Width and Height boxes. Based on the size that you enter, WYSIWYG calculates how many times the texture is repeated (or tiled) to completely cover the selected element.

When tiling a texture on a sphere, cylinder, or cone, by default it will completely wrap around the object. If you change the tile size, you will scale the texture up or down accordingly. If you revert back to the original tile values, you   return to the default view.

• Stretch: Select this option to have the texture stretch over the entire element surface. Based on the aspect ratio and the rotation angle, WYSIWYG evaluates the surface with all of its edges and stretches the texture so the best fit is used. Note that this option is not applicable when you apply textures to spheres, cylinders, or cones. For these objects, Tile is the only option.
• Keep Aspect Ratio: Select this option to keep the aspect ratio of the original image when it is stretched over the surface of the object you have selected. This option helps avoid distortion of complex textures. If the texture image cannot wrap completely over the entire surface of the object while maintaining its original aspect ratio, then the color that you choose in the Border Color box will be applied evenly around any excess surface area not covered by the texture (much like a picture frame around a picture).
• Border Color: If you have chosen to preserve the texture’s aspect ratio, click this box to choose the color that will be applied evenly around any excess surface area not covered by the texture (much like a picture frame around a picture).
• Normal Map Size Multiplier: If you have selected Use Normal Map, specify the number of times the Normal Map is multiplied across the object (element) to which it is applied. Type a valid number in the Normal Map Size Multiplier box. (Enter a valid number between 0.01 and 100.)

Notes:

• The default value of 1 results in no changes to the Normal Map’s size; values lower than 1 will increase the size of the Normal visual effect, and values higher than 1 will decrease it.
• The Normal Map Size Multiplier operates within the Tile or Stretch Texture Options.
• Texture / Source Tint: This option will allow the color of an object’s texture to be altered from the source color.
• Texture Rotation: If the texture has text or another recognizable image in it, you might need to rotate the image to get it right-side up. Select the rotation angle from this drop-down list.

Material Properties

Proceed with the following properties settings:

• Material: Click the ellipsis button (...) to choose a material for the selected elements. Click Default to remove the selected material from the element and return to the default material. For more information on materials, see Materials.

When a material is selected, the properties of the material will vary from one material to the next. The Material Properties section enables these default material settings to be changed. Each property value can be changed on a scale from 0%-100%. An explanation of the value is found on the right side of the property.

• Transparency: This setting controls the proportion of light that passes though the material. 0% being completely opaque, 100% being completely clear.

Note: The beam will pass through a surface with the Transparency value set to 80% or greater. The beam will not pass through the surface when the value is lower than 80%.

• Specular Level: This setting controls how prominent other specular effects appear on the material. 0% being no visibility of specular effects, 100% being a maximum visibility of specular effects.
• Specular Gloss: This settings controls the level of gloss a material will project. 0% will project the gloss over a wide area, 100% will concentrate the gloss in a small area.
• Specular Color Source: This setting controls the color of light projected on a material. 0% will show only the color of the light, 100% will show only the color of the material.
• Light Reflection: This setting controls the amount of light that is reflected off the material. 0% having no reflection, 100% being specular.
• Display Reflection in Shaded Views: This setting enables the display of reflections in Shaded view. For more information see Material reflections.

Object

The Cast Shadow feature gives you the option to display shadows and footprints of objects in Shaded view.

• Cast Shadow: Select this checkbox to display in Shaded view the shadow/footprint of the selected object.

Clear this checkbox if you do not want to display in Shaded view the shadow/footprint of the selected object. By default, Cast Shadow is enabled on all objects, and disabled on all fixtures and hang structures.

To rename object elements

You can use this procedure to rename object elements that have similar names, giving them a more descriptive name. For example, if you have customized a riser, you could give each side of the riser a distinct name according to its custom properties. This is especially useful for custom objects that you have drawn and are going to save as custom library items. Since you cannot rename individual elements of custom library items, it is best to do so before you save the item.

1. Under Elements, highlight the element that you want to rename. For example, highlight Riser - Back.
2. Click Rename.
3. Type the new, descriptive name for the element.
4. Click OK.
5. Click OK in the Appearance tab to save your changes.

Light Emission tab

Options on the Light Emission tab affect the light emission properties for the selected object(s) or the elements that make up an object. Light emission is defined as the ability for objects to glow or emit light and can be used to simulate LEDs, lasers, neon, light boxes, projection screens, and so on. Light emissions can be either Static or Dynamic.

Static light emissions can be seen in CAD, DESIGN and unpatched LIVE mode. With Static light emissions you can choose different light emissions for each element in an object.

Dynamic light emission can be seen in DESIGN mode and patched LIVE mode where each element of the object inherits the same light emission properties.

In DESIGN mode, the light emitting properties of the entire object are controlled using the Color Tool and the Intensity Tool. In patched LIVE mode, the dynamic color and intensity are controlled through DMX.

Note: Instead of using the Properties > Light Emission tab to change the light emission for the selected object, you can use the Quick Light Emission Tool. For details, see Quick Light Emission Tool.

Highlight the element that you want to customize, and then choose one of the following options:

Light Emission Glow

In this section, you can enable or disable the Light Emission Glow feature per object or per Element of an object.

Note: Glow must be enabled in the Light Emission section of the Visual Effects tab in the View Options window to show the light emission glow effect from objects in Shaded view.

• Enable: Select this checkbox to display in Shaded view the light emission glow effect (Static or Dynamic) from the selected Element of the selected object.

Clear this checkbox to disable the light emission glow effect from the selected object. By default, Light Emission Glow is enabled for all objects except Screens.

Tip: Screen objects have a separate glow option, called Screen/LED Wall Glow, which is enabled globally via the View Options > Simulation tab in Shaded view.

Notes:

• If Light Emission Glow is enabled for a selected Element of an object with multiple Elements (such as Risers, Cylinders, etc.), only the selected Element will show the light emission glow effect in the Shaded views of DESIGN and LIVE modes.
• The Light Emission Glow effect is not passed on to the Renderer when you use the Render Wizard to render the Shaded view.

Static Light Emission

• Enable: Select this checkbox to enable Static light emission for the object, and then choose the light emitting properties.
• Color: Click the color box to choose the static light-emitting color for the object. If you set only this value, and not the Dynamic Color Control, then this is the light-emitting color that the object will have in all Shaded views and renderings in all modes (CAD, DESIGN, LIVE). However, if you set the dynamic color value as well, then you can control the light-emitting color of the object in LIVE mode when connected to a console. (The static value still applies in DESIGN mode.)
• Intensity: Choose the static intensity of the light emission for the selected object. If you set only this value, and not the Dynamic Intensity Control, then this is the maximum light-emitting intensity that the object will have in all Shaded views and renderings in all modes (CAD, DESIGN, LIVE). However, if you set the dynamic intensity value as well, then you can control the light-emitting intensity of the object in LIVE mode when connected to a console. (The static value still applies in DESIGN mode.)

Dynamic Light Emission - Design Mode

• Enable Light Emission in Design Mode: Select this checkbox to enable the dynamic control of the light emitting properties of the selected object with the use of the Color Tool and the Intensity Tool. This can be defined for each Look, and you can cross-fade with Light Emission as you can with lighting.

Dynamic Light Emission - Live mode

Dynamic light emission will apply to all elements of an object.

Dynamic Color Control

• 16-bit: Select this checkbox to patch with 16-bit DMX control addressing for the Color of light-emission. In 16-bit DMX control, each DMX parameter is patched to two DMX channels, the first channel is for "regular" control and the second channel is for "fine" control.

• Universe: Select a value from this drop-down list to control the color properties of light-emission using DMX channels with a selection of Color Modes available for patching. Patch the selected object according to the WYSIWYG patch notation: universe.DMX address.

Select the patch universe of the selected object, and then type the starting DMX address in the Address box below it. If you set this value, it overrides the static color control that you chose above (if any) in LIVE mode when you are connected to a console.

• Address: After selecting the patch universe of the object, type the starting DMX address for the patch in this box.
• Color Modes: Select a color mixing pattern from this drop-down list to patch with the corresponding DMX channels. Each capital letter represents a color: R is for Red, G is for Green, B is for Blue, A is for Amber, W is for White, and uV is for Ultra Violet (or Indigo). The lowercase letters preceding White are c for Cool and w for Warm.

Dynamic Intensity Control

• 16-bit: Select this checkbox to patch with 16-bit DMX control addressing for the Intensity of light-emission. In 16-bit DMX control, the intensity parameter is patched to two DMX channels, the first channel is for "regular" control and the second channel is for "fine" control.

• Universe: Select a value from this drop-down list, to control the Intensity of light emitting properties using a DMX channel. The object must be patched according to the WYSIWYG patch notation: universe.DMX address. From the drop-down list, select the patch universe of the selected object, and then type the starting DMX address in the Address box below it.
• Address: After selecting the patch universe of the selected object, type the starting DMX address in this box.
• Maximum Intensity: Select a value from this drop-down list to set the maximum intensity of light-emission of patched objects.  

The DMX intensity value is treated as a percentage of the dynamic intensity value. For example, a DMX value of 127 results in 50% of the maximum intensity value that you set.

Notes:

• Switching between 8-bit and 16-bit and Color Modes. The object's light emission patching will update after changing between 8-bit and 16-bit addressing and the Color Modes setting. WYSIWYG will not attempt to close gaps in the patch, move blocks around to prevent stacked patching, or anything similar. After making such changes, please review the resulting patch in the Patch view and re-patch accordingly (using the Quick Light Emission Tool ).
• Saving WYSIWYG to previous versions. After patching light emission to 16-bit control and/or assigning a Color Mode setting other than RGB, RGBA, RGBW, or RGBAW, saving the WYSIWYG file back to a previous version will cause the following:

• The patch will be converted to 8-bit and the Color Mode to RGB, RGBA, RGBW, or RGBAW.
• RGB permutations such as RBG, BRG, etc., are impossible to maintain, so all these will be converted to RGB.
• RGB Color Modes that contain Cool White, Warm White, and/or Ultra Violet (Indigo) will be converted to White.
• The cWwW mode will be converted to RGB.
• All the Color Mode conversions will alter the patch significantly; the patch will further alter when 16-bit addresses save to 8-bit. The starting channel of the patch is always maintained, but extra channels or gaps will appear between patched objects.
• Saving the current WYSIWYG file to a previous version opens a Warning dialog box for confirmation:

Quick Light Emission Tool

Instead of using the Properties > Light Emission tab to change the selected object’s light emission, you can use the Quick Light Emission Tool. These tools allow you to quickly assign or change light emission properties for the selected object without opening the Properties window. You can enter repetitive information, as well as incremental information for each object as you click on it.

Note: The Quick Light Emission Tool applies light emission properties to the entire object. All elements of the object will be assigned the same color when using the Quick Light Emission Tool.

To use the Quick Light Emission Tool

1. From the Tools menu, choose Quick Light Emission Tool.

Tip: You can also click the Quick Light Emission Tool from the Tools toolbar.

 The Quick Light Emission Tool button.

Select the light emission properties for the selected object. For details on each of the options, see Light Emission tab. If you want the value to auto increment for color, make sure you select the Auto Increment checkbox. WYSIWYG will assign the next sequential number based on the properties and requirements of the previous patch.

2. When you have chosen all desired values, click OK.

Sidedness tab

Options on the Sidedness tab affect how the selected object appears in Shaded views and Renderings. You cannot change the sidedness of any of the objects that come with WYSIWYG, either library objects or default venues. By default, all objects in the WYSIWYG library are double-sided, which means that when you rotate them in Shaded views, all sides display equally. Conversely, the default venues that come with WYSIWYG are single sided, which enables you to see “into” the venue when you rotate it in Shaded views.

You can, however, change the sidedness of objects that you have drawn in another program and imported into WYSIWYG (i.e., .dwg, .dxf files or SketchUp files) or objects that you have drawn in WYSIWYG, such as custom venues, surfaces or custom objects that you have added to the library.

For these objects, you can use this tab to change the sidedness from single to double-sided, or vice versa. For example, if you have drawn a venue as double-sided, you can select it and change it to single sided so that it behaves in the same manner as the default WYSIWYG venues (i.e., you can see into the venue as you rotate it in Shaded views). If you prefer to have an outside view of the custom venue, then the double-sided option is best as it prevents you from seeing “through” the walls. You can also use this feature to flip the faces of a custom surface from one direction to the other if you do not like the way the object appears in the Shaded view.

To change an object’s sidedness

You can use this procedure to change objects from single to double sided and vice versa. You can also flip the faces of a single-sided object so that they are oriented in the opposite direction, either inward or outward.

Note: You cannot change the sidedness of any of the objects that come with WYSIWYG, either library objects or default venues. By default, all objects in the WYSIWYG library are double-sided, which means that when you rotate them in Shaded views, all sides display equally. Conversely, the default venues that come with WYSIWYG are single sided, which allows you to see “into” the venue when you rotate them in Shaded views.

1. Select the object that you want to edit.
2. Right-click on the object, and then select Properties.

Tip: At any time, to access an object’s properties, you can click on the Properties tool on the Edit toolbar.

The Item Properties button.

Result: The Properties window appears.

3. Click the Sidedness tab.
4. Click the appropriate option button, either Double Sided or Single Sided. To leave the single-sided object’s faces oriented in the same direction in which they were drawn, proceed directly to step 6. To change the direction of the faces, see step 5.
5. If you are changing a double-sided object to single sided, and you want to change the direction in which the object’s faces are oriented (either outward or inward), select the Flip Normal checkbox.
6. Click OK.
7. Review your changes in the Shaded tab and make adjustments as required.

• Sidedness: Choose the sidedness of the selected object:
• Double Sided: Select this option to turn the single-sided object into a double-sided object. Note that you cannot change WYSIWYG’s default venues from single to double sided.
• Single Sided: Select this option to turn the double-sided object into a single-sided object. For example, if you have created a custom surface/wall/venue and have imported it as a double-sided object into WYSIWYG, you can select it and make it single sided so you can see “into” the venue when you rotate it in Shaded views. Note that you cannot change any of WYSIWYG’s library objects from double to single sided.
• Flip Normal: If you have imported a custom-drawn object or drawn an object in WYSIWYG and you see in the Shaded view that it appears incorrectly (the “faces” showing the texture/color are pointing inward), select this checkbox to flip the faces in the opposite direction, and then look at the object in the Shaded view again.