I am brand new to Forge and making my way through some documentation but it seems quite hard to get some of the older examples working (pages don't load correctly etc) and I am currently using version 6, which seems newer than many examples too.
Is it possible in client-side code to take in some user data and generate a heatmap (overlayed ontop of the floor of a house) based on that data (i.e. different blocks of colour, it can be quite rudimentary).
This is using a Revvitt model uploaded to Forge and shown in the Viewer.
I have no experience with Three.JS but if anyone could point me in the right direction, show me a working example, or at least tell me if its possible I would greatly appreciate it!
There are a couple of options, with different levels of complexity:
You could use the official viewer APIs such as setThemingColor and clearThemingColors to add a semi-transparent color tint to selected objects.
If you need to overlay scene elements with anything more sophisticated, you could replace their original material with a custom THREE.ShaderMaterial. Just be sure to follow the documentation of three.js version 71 which is used by Forge Viewer. The process of adding new materials to Forge Viewer, and assigning them to specific objects is explained in https://forge.autodesk.com/blog/forge-viewer-custom-shaders-part-1. The article is a bit old, but I think the relevant parts of it (mainly the createShaderMaterial and selectionHandler functions) can be reused.
Related
We currently use the model derivatives API to upload 3D models and later visualize them in a browser with the Autodesk Viewer v7 (previously Forge Viewer).
For different reasons we have been trying to hide and show parts of the model, but to do so in some cases we need to be able to hide geometric pieces of some elements while still being able to see the rest. For example if we had an element in gray (see image below) we would like to make the part of the element in red transparent.
I have looked into the Viewer API docs and there are functions that allow showing and hiding complete elements, but not cutting elements along a custom path.
While the docs mention the overlay functionality which enables us to add custom geometries by interacting with the THREE library that the Viewer runs on, drawing a copy of the whole model seems inefficient and prone to giving bad results.
Searching in SO I found that the THREE v71 library (which is the version the Viewer uses) has the possibility of occluding elements with the colorWrite option. See these links for reference:
three.js transparent object occlusion
Occlusion of real-world objects using three.js
I tried implementing something similar by using the colorWrite key when creating a new Three Material in an overlay, but nothing happens. This makes me think that either the Autodesk Viewer overwrites the render order (which makes sense) or openly ignores the colorWrite option. Does anyone know why and if there is a workaround for this? Or does anyone know if there is another way to cut an element that I'm not considering?
Please note that we have to do this with multiple elements at the same time and that reuploading the model periodically is not an option for us.
I got the following feedback:
The approach linked in the SO thread doesn't work, because we ignore both the colorWrite material property and the renderOrder mesh property. I also think that the approach would not work as expected in general, because using an invisible object to occlude a part of another object would always be view-dependent, and also occlude other objects in the background (so it wouldn't just 'cut out' a part of a single object).
Generally, this is not really a use-case for LMV, because it's a viewing tool, not a solid modelling tool.
Cut planes might help to get some of what you want, but they also have limitations:
It's possible to define multiple section planes to construct a 'shape' (that's also what the section box does internally). But since they are infinite, you wouldn't be able to cut away parts of one object, but not other objects (or other parts of the same object that intersect the cutplane). They're also designed to be 'outward' facing. The section box, for example, can only be used to narrow the scene down to some elements of interest. It's not possible to do the opposite, i.e. cut out some inner part of the design and keep everything around it.
This is what the section box could offer:
Is it possible to export a view as more than 1 image? in any kind of split.
When exporting the view as an Image I want to keep the scaling consistent and Revit will not allow export an image with more than 15000 pixels. So on big Models I want to split the image to keep the meter per pixel consistent.
Any other suggestions are welcome.
I am not aware of any such possibility.
Please be aware of the following rule of thumb:
In general, if a feature is not available in the Revit product manually through the user interface, then the Revit API will not provide it either.
You should therefore research the optimal workflow and best practices to address your task at hand manually through the Revit user interface first.
To do so, please discuss and analyse it with an experienced application engineer, product usage expert, or product support.
Once you have got that part sorted out, it is time to step up into the programming environment.
I hope this clarifies.
I was able to do it by cropping different parts of the view and hiding everything outside the crop before the export. As the image export only export the visible elements.
I've encountered a different issue now, there are different visible objects outside of the actual model that interfere with the image export, sometimes those are elevation markers, site internal origin, other hidden annotations and many more.
Is there a way to hide absolutely everything outside the crop? do I need to go over every instance of a list of possible visible objects and hide them?
Thank you for sharing your solution to the original question on exporting several images displaying different elements by toggling their visibilities.
Regarding your second, new, question, on interfering elements such as 'elevation markers, site internal origin, other hidden annotations and many more':
Yes, indeed, I would suggest hiding those as well, just as you successfully handled the other 'standard' BIM elements, e.g., using the HideElements method, HideElementsTemporary, or, maybe better still for such special element types, hiding their entire categories using HideCategoriesTemporary.
My understanding is that we can add custom skyboxes to the viewer. As of now I am also aware the feature that changes background color and gradient. However, is it possible to add a custom background image? This would've been really helpful in our scenario.
As I know, if your models are translated from Inventor, and you had set custom background up before uploading, then you can see the user-defined background shows up in the Forge Viewer. In contrast, your models are from another software, I have to say sorry there is no APIs or existing feature for that without adding the skybox.
However, I have logged a similar case in our internal case system a few months ago to make our engineering team allocate time to take a look, its' id is DERI-4307. You can track updates of this request by sending this id to forge.help#autodesk.com in the further.
P.S. As I know, viewer requires some extra textures for changing the viewer background with custom images. Unfortunately, there is no way to generate this on none Inventor models currently. You can refer some information about the DERI-4307 here :
How to add custom environment map for background in autodesk forge?
I'm searching for Depth map algorithm for action scrip 3 (or some other language).
My goal is to generate depth map for static image on run time.
I have fount this example http://kode80.com/2009/06/29/papervision-zbuffer-and-dof/, i didn't have the time to investigate it's code but i have the filling its working only with 3d models.
Worst viable option is server side technology that does the work.
Extended description:
I have a task to develop flash application where 3d rotation of a head is simulated by a 2d image uploaded by the user.
There are some japan guys that have managed to do that (http://hairtry.jp/), but the technology that they are using is server side. It generates swf fail with precisely coped eyes and image for the depth map of the uploaded picture. I can't find out what is the sever side technology that they are using so I'm searching for any posible workarounds.
Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
Chavdar Slavov
your easiest solution would be to use a 3d engine, Paper vision seems to be getting out dated, theres a lot of documents on how to use, and tutorials but again not much has been happening with them lately. i suggest Away3d "www.away3d.com" they seem up to date.
for what your asking it is possible to do this 100% in flash but to create a 3d head at runtime and fill the face with hieght maps this is possible, you would need to look at bitmap manipulation.i dont think this is an easy task, what you should learn first is how to add an image to a spheric surface dynamically than look into height mapping by converting certain coulours from the image into different levels of depth i must say im sure this is advanced stuff, i manged to animate a globe that was this same method it looks dodgy but it gives you some source code in the FLA
http://www.ffiles.com/flash/animations/globe_animation_3496.html
The above link will allow you to download my source files, the animation it self is a scrolling image but i used Actionscript to give the globe depth and a sheric look
Is there a way to embed Sketchup models on a website? Preferably a free one, if it's a commercial solution I'd like a confirmation that it's actually worth the money... I know about the 3D warehouse thingy where you can rotate it (javascript and some images), but I can't upload anything to the 3D warehouse 'cause it always "resets the connection".
You can try the upcoming WebGL Functions in modern Browsers. There are some Javascript Libraries that can read model files and show them within your (HTML 5?) website. I have not used them yet, but try these links if this sounds interesting:
https://github.com/mrdoob/three.js/
https://github.com/timjb/sketchup-threejs/
I made a patch of an example game in three.js. Added ColladaLoader and Sketchup model + Third Person Shooter controls:
https://github.com/irony/Nemesis
Try it out (Works best in Chrome)
http://peaceful-woodland-4410.herokuapp.com/index.html
You can use http://sketchfab.com, they even have a SketchUp exporter.
Yes, you can do it without cost. See here: https://help.sketchup.com/en/article/3000258
EDIT:
There were some free rendering sites apart from Google, but they don't seem to be in operation anymore. Posting to the Google 3D warehouse is going to be your best bet. Regarding your problem posting there, try it with Chrome.
EDIT #2:
If you don't want to upload to Google 3D Warehouse, you can achieve a similar effect with a little work. 3D Warehouse doesn't actually give the visitor the power to manipulate something in 3D, but rather it lets them "rotate" the image horizontally by simply showing a series of preset images of the 3D from various angles. You can take shots of your 3D object, import to Photoshop and create your own gif of the spinning object. A little more work than relying on Google, so you'll have to decide if it's worth it.
EDIT #3: If all else fails you can simply post the 3D model on your site as a downloadable file and advise visitors to get Sketchup to view it.