3D Documents in SpinFire Insight

SpinFire Insight offers several options for adding useful markup labels to your 3D model. The two categories of markup labels are dimensions and notes. Dimensions, or measurements, indicate lengths, areas, coordinates, or angles. Notes are comments created by users.

The Markups browser in the Workspace displays a hierarchical list of model notes and dimensions and coordinate systems.

The markup context menu can be accessed from either the label itself or its listing on the Markups browser pane.

To hide or show a markup, select or clear its check box in the Markups pane.

Example of a note and a dimension label.

Positioning

The markup dimension and note labels are similar in appearance and can be manipulated in similar ways. For example, you can position any markup label by dragging it, or you can prevent repositioning by selecting Lock Position from the markup context menu. Another example: A markup label normally rotates along with your model and can appear behind the model. You can prevent this by selecting Stay on Top from the markup context menu.

Comments and Hyperlinks

From the context menu, you can add a text comment and/or description to a markup label. There are two kinds of text that can be added to a markup label:

• Description - Appears as an extra line of text on the markup label itself. This is most useful for measurement labels.

• Comment - Appears as a bubble when the pointer hovers over the label. A markup label with a comment will have a mark in the lower-right corner.

This markup dimension label has a text comment attached to it. Notice the mark in the lower-right corner, indicating a comment.

A markup label can be made into a hyperlink, which gives a user access to a file or Web page. A markup label that is also a link is underlined.

Examples of valid link paths include:

• http://www.techsoft3d.com

• C:\MyDocs\SomeDocument.doc

• #view2

• [DocumentName]

• [DocumentName]#view2

You can add or edit a text comment or hyperlink using the Properties dialog box accessed from the right-click context menu.

Quick Links

3D Angular Menu

3D Radial Menu

3D Linear Menu

Smart Dimensions

3D Notes

Markup Dimensions

A markup dimension can measure a line, angle, diameter, surface area, or volume. You can call the different commands from menus on the 3D Document Toolbar. For details on how each of these commands works, see the 3D Dimensions.

The initial unit of measurement for any markup dimension is determined by the default settings in SpinFire Insight (see 3D Viewer Settings). You can change the units of measurement for any individual markup by choosing Units from its right-click context menu.

Notes

SpinFire Insight offers four types of notes:

• 3D Point Note - Attached to a point on the model.

• 3D Edge Note - Attached to a straight line on the model.

• 3D Note - Attached to any point in the 3D space.

• 2D Note - Not attached to any point in the 3D space. Label remains stationary.

• 3D Surface Note - Attached to any point of a surface.

For each of these, you select the appropriate location to attach the note, position the label, type the text of the label, and hit the Enter key when finished.

The title of a note is the same as the text in its label. The title identifies a note in the Markups browser pane. You can add or edit the text using the Properties dialog box accessed from the right-click context menu.

Note

Do not confuse the text of a note label with an optional text comment attached to a markup label. See 3D Notes for details.

See also

Options

3D Viewer Settings

Assemblies and Parts in a 3D Scene

Assembly Context Menu

Working with 3D Markups

Markup context menus enable you to change the attributes of selected markups; for example, you can change the background color of all linear dimension labels to differentiate them from the radial dimension labels in a particular workspace.

While each type of measurement will have a unique menu, the context menus contain the same basic commands, such as Copy, Delete, and Properties.

A context menu can be accessed by either clicking on the markup name in the Markups pane or right-clicking the markup itself.

Markup Context Menus

Point Markup Context Menu

Length Markup Context Menu

Distance Markup Context Menu

Angular Markup Context Menu

Radial Markup Context Menu

Smart Dimension Markup Context Menu

Notes Markup Context Menu

Boundary Area by Edges Markup Context Menu

Boundary Volume by Surfaces Markup Context Menu

Common Context Menu Commands

Hide/show a label

1. Right-click the markup dimension label itself or the name of the label in the Markups browser pane to open the context menu.

2. Click Hide (or Show) markup name to manage whether or not the label is displayed in the scene.

Set measurement units

1. Right-click the markup dimension label itself or the name of the label in the Markups browser pane to open the context menu.

2. Select Units, then click your choice of units on the flyout menu.

Note

Select Display Units on the flyout menu to show/hide measurement units in the label.

Click As Environment in the flyout menu to change the label unit of measurement to the default set in the 3D Viewer Settings page.

Set number of decimal places displayed in the measurement

1. Right-click the markup dimension label itself or the name of the label in the Markups browser pane to open the context menu.

2. Select Decimal Places, then click your choice on the flyout menu.

Keep a label in front of the model

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups pane to open the context menu.

2. Click Stay on Top. The Stay on Top setting has a check mark beside it when it is enabled.

Note

Markup labels (with the exception of a 2D Note) rotate along with your view of the model. This can result in the label appearing behind the model. You can prevent this with the Stay on Top setting.

Follow this same procedure to disable the Stay on Top setting.

Lock a label in position

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups pane to open the context menu.

2. Click Lock Position. The Lock Position setting has a check mark beside it when it is enabled.

Note

Follow the same procedure to disable the Lock Position setting.

The labels with the Lock Position setting enabled will still rotate with the view of the model. Lock Position only prevents the label from being moved with a drag operation. See “Keep a label in front of the model” on this page.

Copy the measurement

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups pane to open the context menu.

2. Click Copy on the menu. The measurement is copied to the Windows Clipboard for use elsewhere.

Delete a label

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups pane to open the context menu.

2. Click Delete on the menu. A dialog box asks you to confirm the deletion.

Note

Deleting a note or markup dimension label removes it permanently. If you would rather temporarily hide a label, see “Hide/show a label” on this page.

Properties

Change the font and background used in a label

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups pane to open the context menu. (See The SpinFire Insight User Interface and Browsers.)

2. Click Properties.This opens the markup Properties dialog box.

3. Click the button that displays the current font name and size. This opens the Font dialog box. (See 3D Viewer Settings.)

4. Select the desired font settings and click OK.

5. Click the Background… button to open the Color dialog box.

6. Select the background color for the label and click OK.

Note

A preview of the selected font and background is shown in the Properties dialog box.

This procedure changes the font of the selected label only. (See 3D Viewer Settings.)

Change the color of markup arrows and lines

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups pane to open the context menu. (See The SpinFire Insight User Interface and Browsers.)

2. Click Properties. This opens the markup Properties dialog box.

3. Click the Color… button associated with either Arrow or Line to open the Color dialog box.

4. Click the desired color and click OK.

Note

This procedure changes the color of the selected label only. (See 3D Viewer Settings.)

Change a dimension coordinate system

1. Right-click the dimension. This can be done either from the Markup browser or the label in the scene.

2. Select Properties to open the markup properties dialog box.

3. Select the desired coordinate system from the Relative to: drop-down menu.

4. Click OK.

Note

You can tell if a dimension measurement is taken relative to a coordinate system other than the Global Coordinate System by the triad icon on the markup label.

Add a link to a markup label

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups pane to open the context menu. (See The SpinFire Insight User Interface and Browsers.)

2. Click Properties.This opens the markup Properties dialog box

3. Click in the Hyperlink box.

4. Type the path of the Web page or file you want to link to, or click the folder icon to browse to a local file.

5. Click OK. The text of the label should be underlined.

Note

Examples of valid link paths include:

• http://www.actify.com

• C:\MyDocs\SomeDocument.doc

• #view2

• [DocumentName]

• [DocumentName]#view2

To link to a user view, type the pound sign (#) followed by the name of the saved view.

To link to another document within the .3D file, surround the name of the document with square brackets [ ]. For example, typing [Wheel] would open the Wheel document.

If you would like to link a user view within a 3D document, add the pound sign # followed by the viewname. For example, typing [Wheel]#view2 would open the Wheel document and display the view named view2.

SpinFire Insight will append the http:// protocol header to any relative link. Therefore, links to files must use an absolute path.

Add or edit a description or comment

To add or edit a description

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups browser pane to open the context menu. (See The SpinFire Insight User Interface and Browsers.)

2. Click Properties.This opens the markup Properties dialog box.

3. Click in the **Description **box and type a description.

4. Click OK.The description will appear on the label beneath the original measurement or note.

To add or edit a comment

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups pane to open the context menu. (See The SpinFire Insight User Interface and Browsers.)

2. Click Properties.This opens the markup Properties dialog box.

3. Click in the Comments box and type your comment.

4. Click OK. A mark will appear in the lower-right corner of the label, indicating the presence of a comment.

User views

This command is active only if defined user views exist.

** To switch between user views that contain the selected markup:**

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups browser pane to open the context menu. (See The SpinFire Insight User Interface and Browsers.)

2. Select User VIews. A flyout menu appears that lists the views containing the selected markup.

3. Click your choice on the flyout menu to switch views.

Add the markup to all views

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups browser pane to open the context menu. (SeeThe SpinFire Insight User InterfaceandBrowsers.)

2. Select Add Markup to All Views.

Add the markup to another view

This command is active only if defined user views exist.

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups browser pane to open the context menu. (SeeThe SpinFire Insight User InterfaceandBrowsers.)

2.  SelectAdd Markup to Another View.A flyout menu appears that lists the user views.

3. Click your choice on the flyout menu to copy the markup to the selected view.

Move the markup to another view

This command is active only if defined user views exist.

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups browser pane to open the context menu. (See The SpinFire Insight User Interface and Browsers.)

2. Select Move Markup to Another View. A flyout menu appears that lists the user views.

3. Click your choice on the flyout menu to remove the markup from the current view and place it in the selected view.

Remove the markup from view

This command is active only if defined user views exist.

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups browser pane to open the context menu. (See The SpinFire Insight User Interface and Browsers.)

2. Select Remove Markup from View. A flyout menu appears that lists the user views.

3. Click your choice on the flyout menu to remove the markup from the selected view only.

Special Context Menu Commands

Length and Distance Markups: Axis

Show or hide the measurement along a specified axis.

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups browser pane to open the context menu. (See The SpinFire Insight User Interface and Browsers.)

2. Select which measurement(s) to include in the markup. Choices are measurements with respect to theNormal,X-Axis, Y-Axis, Z-Axis, and Centerline, or All.

Radial Markups: Display

To show or hide the arc drawing

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups browser pane to open the context menu. (See The SpinFire Insight User Interface and Browsers.)

2. Select DrawArc.

   To show or hide arc measurements

3. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups browser pane to open the context menu. (See The SpinFire Insight User Interface and Browsers.)

4. Mouse over Display to see the flyout menu.

5. Select which measurement(s) to include in the markup. Choices areArc Diameter,Arc Radius, Arc Length, or All.

Angular Markups: Flip Axis

Flip the measurement axis 180 degrees.

1. Right-click the label itself or the name of the label in the Markups browser pane to open the context menu. (See The SpinFire Insight User Interface and Browsers.)

2. Click Flip Axis.