VScad3 Workspace Menu

2.3.1 Region.

"Workspace / Region..." : This will bring up the "Workspace" dialog. This dialog controls the default area that is visible in the view(s). For example, if a cube was created (using polyline or polygon entities) with coordinates ranging from 0 to 1 (in X, Y, and Z), then setting the Workspace "Bounding Region" to 0,1 (in X, Y, and Z) will cause the cube to just fit in the view(s). The Z Bounding Region values are important in that they control the front and back clipping planes. If a view is rotated, geometry that rotates outside the Z Bounding Region will be clipped. If the current "Depth Surface" is exported to a file or to VS3D, then the depth surface background height will be the same as the back clipping plane position (the minimum Z Bounding Region value). Note that the clipping plane positions can be overridden by using the View mode "Eye" dialog.

Clicking on the "Auto Adjust" button will automatically set the X, Y, and Z Bounding Region values based upon the fullest XYZ extents of the current CAD model geometry. In addition, the values that are set will assure that none of the geometry will be clipped if the view is rotated. The "Auto Adjust" button is a very handy tool for setting the appropriate Bounding Region to see all the entities, especially after loading or importing geometry.

When the dialog "Apply" button is clicked, all views are reset (un-rotated, un-zoomed, and un-panned). The view(s) will then show all entities that are within the bounding region. If the aspect ratio of the bounding region does not match the aspect ratio of the view dimensions on the page, then the view may show areas outside the bounding region to compensate. After a Workspace Region has been set, it is still possible to pan, zoom, and rotate each view via the main "View" mode. Clicking on the View mode "Reset" button will return the view to it's un-rotated, un-zoomed, and un-panned position, showing all entities that are within the current bounding region.

All view zooms and rotations will be about the point located at the center of the workspace region. After a view has been set to the desired orientation, use the View mode "Eye" dialog to move the far clipping plane out to a far distance so that no distant geometry is clipped (typically, best results are obtained by setting the Far Z clipping plane distance to a large negative number).

2.3.1 A