2D line styling not displaying in snapshots - autodesk-forge

We are implementing the 2D line style solution shown in the article https://forge.autodesk.com/blog/how-get-2d-line-style-view-3d-models
Once the styling is applied calling the viewer.getScreenshot() method the screenshot still displays the model in full colour.
Is there a parameter or setting needed to enable the screenshots to display with the styling currently in the viewer?
Thanks

our engineer team replied this looks like a limitation on the screenshot api, which doesn't take into consideration the NPR effects. We logged this with #LMV-3905.
With my experience, some 3rd party library might help to take snapshot of HTML DOM, one of which is http://html2canvas.hertzen.com/ . The usage is straightforward. The picture below is what I tested. I am not clear where those three shadows come from, just for your reference. you might need to check with html2canvas.
html2canvas(Viewer.container).then(canvas => {
document.body.appendChild(canvas)
});

Related

How to show/hide part of an element in Autodesk Viewer v7

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:

How to export view as multiple images in Revit API?

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.

Show dimensions in Autodesk Forge Viewer

I've started trying the autodesk-forge samples and I would like to customize how elements show up on the viewer.
So my question is: Is it possible to show the plan elements' dimensions (as shown in the picture below) with Autodesk-viewer?
I can see this dimensions if I click on an element, but I'm trying to get something like this when the viewer starts:
Thanks in advance.
There is no API to create dimensions at the moment, but you can use custom implementation to add Three.js lines like the dimension command is doing. You can basically add any 2D/3D custom graphic element to the viewer scene.
Unfortunately we have no sample that illustrates how to achieve that, you may take a look at the code of the Measure Extension, see line#60358 in viewer3D.js, but there is quite a bit of work to achieve...
Hope that helps.

An overlay GTK toolbar/widget

I am writing a custom application in C using GTK+2.0 and Cairo. Just for learning purposes (and if successful, then for deployment), I wish to recreate something similar to a overlay toolbar/widget (I am sorry if the terminology is not correct) that appears when a mouse moves over a given area on the window, and disappears when the mouse moves away. The toolbar, as I imagine, should appear on top of the existing widgets without displacing them or altering the widget packing in any way. Is it possible to accomplish? If yes, can you please point me to relevant tutorials/examples and/or outline a way to do the same?
Thanks in advance.
Not sure this is easily doable in GTK2. However, I learned recently that there's the GtkLayout widget which allows pixel exact rendering of widgets, so you can even display some widgets over others. Or you may implement your own container widget.
Please note that since GTK3, there's GtkOverlay which seem to do what you want.
You may also give a look to Clutter, which might allow this. Furthermore, there are projects of merging GTK and Clutter for GTK 4.
The little known GtkHandleBox is capable of doing what you want. I must warn you it is deprecated in GTK+3 because is going against the usual UI direction. Also, the correct positioning will be subject to the windows manager quirks, so I'd expect some issue in this regard.

Embed 3D models on website

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.