Evolution

Using the Epoch Viewer

You can view the solid models and dynamic solids models used in Epoch in the following ways:

As a part of a setup together with other setup components (for example, road network, waypoints, and other models). To do so, open the required setup and go to the Viewer tab.
Individually as a plain model. To do so, double-click the model in the project explorer.
As a part of a schedule result (see 4. Generate and View the Schedule for more information).

Viewer toolbar

The toolbar in the viewer contains a number of tools that allow you to customise your view and manage the waypoints.

Note: The tools for managing the road networks are only available when you view your model as a part of a setup.

The viewer toolbar is located above the viewer workspace. The following table describes each function available in the toolbar.

	Interactive Mode Select the required solids, points, or objects. See Selection type for more information on selecting elements of your setup in the viewer. Tip: Hold down `Alt` while in the interactive selection mode to enable viewer navigation in the hands-free selection mode. See Hands Free Mode for more information. Tip: Press `Shift` to select multiple solid groups.
	Hands Free Mode Zoom (by scrolling), rotate (by left-clicking and dragging), and pan (by middle-clicking) the viewer.
	Selection method Select points, objects, and solids in Rectangle, Polygon, or Lasso mode.
	Selection type Select elements of your setup using the following modes: Block: Select blocks from a block model that you have opened in the Origin Solids viewer. Edge: Select midpoint on the road network. Vertex: Select a point on the road network. Facet: Select non-attributed surfaces or AutoCAD DXF file (`.dxf`) surfaces. Object: Select solids, equipment, and waypoints.
	Toggle Lowlighting Selection Highlight the model that contains your current selection. Other models will be dimmed.
	Eye-dome lighting enabled Apply shading to the models and objects in the viewer to improve depth perception. This feature is enabled by default. To disable eye-dome lighting, click the toggle button in the Settings panel (Home ribbon > Project group > Settings) or disable it for an individual viewer by clicking the (Eye-dome lighting enabled) button in the viewer toolbar (when you disable the eye-dome lighting directly in the viewer, the icon will change to (Eye-dome lighting disabled)).
	Shrink Solids Shrink solids in the viewer to make their boundaries more visible. To return to the default view, click again. This tool is useful when creating sequences between solids and adding dependencies on a single bench. See Dependencies in Origin Solids and Dependencies in Epoch for more information.
	Shrink Blocks Shrinks blocks while viewing your dynamic solids model to achieve the best visibility. Note: This feature is available only in dynamic solids setups. See Dynamic Solids Pits in Evolution for more information. Tip: Keep this feature enabled when performing solid cuts. See Solid Cuts for more information.
	Enable Tooltips Display all pinned attributes for the solid over which you are currently hovering.
	Distance Measure distances for point and surface sequences. See Measurement for more information.
	Section Models Note: For this function to work in Epoch, you need to drop a block model into your Epoch viewer. See Using the Block Model Viewer for more information.
	Filter Blocks Note: For this function to work in Epoch, you need to drop a block model into your Epoch viewer. See Using the Block Model Viewer for more information.
	Orthographic Projection Display all data at the same size regardless of distance.
	Perspective Projection Display data as it would appear if you were looking at it (distant objects will appear smaller).
	Toggle Stop Signs Show and hide stop signs on a road network. Stop signs only appear on road network points where the loaded or unloaded velocity has been set to 0. To change the velocity for a given road network point, enter the Vertex selection type, select the point on the road network, and change the Loaded or Unloaded Velocity to `0` in the Properties panel. Click Save to save the changes you have made. The stop sign on the selected network point will become visible when you toggle the button on. Note: The (Toggle Stop Signs) tool is only available when you view your model as a part of a setup.
	Set centre of rotation to selected object Set the viewer’s centre of rotation based on the object you have selected.
	Turn on coordinate grid in the view Display the coordinate grid in your view. Note: The coordinate grid is only visible in plan view. To re-enter the plan view, click the button next to the (Turn on coordinate grid in the view).
	Plan view Display your setup in a birds-eye view (by clicking the button), or in either east-west or north-south alignment (by selecting the required direction from the drop-down).
	Background colour Select either the dark (black) or light (light grey) background colour.
	Create a waypoint collection Save the current waypoints in the viewer as a set that can be added to other setups. See Creating a waypoint collection for more information. Note: This tool is only available when you view your model as a part of a setup.
	Waypoint editor Move, add, and link waypoints in your setup. See Waypoints in Evolution for more information. Note: This tool is only available when you view your model as a part of a setup.
	Save viewer screenshot Save the current view of your viewer as a PNG image `.png`, as follows: Click (Save viewer screenshot) on the toolbar. In the Save Viewer Screenshot panel, configure the following: Click Browse to navigate to the location where you want the file to be saved, enter the file name, and click Save. Set the dimensions of the image by entering the required width and height or setting the multiplier. Note: The default screenshot resolution is 1920 x 1080 pixels. Note: The multiplier scales the dimensions of the screenshot by the factor that you set. For example, if you set the multiplier to `3`, the default screenshot dimensions will be tripled to 5760 x 3240. Click Apply to update the dimensions using the selected factor. Optionally, set the following: Use the toggle button to include or exclude viewer labels in the screenshot. Set the sample count to improve image smoothness. Note: The default sample count is `2`. The higher the value, the longer it will take to save the image. Click OK. The image will be saved in the specified location.

See also: Evolution display settings

Viewer guidelines

Evolution allows you to view Vulcan layers (linework) by dropping Vulcan design database (.dgd.isis) and Vulcan archive (.arch_d) files into the viewer. This creates guidelines that can help you decide where to make solid cuts (see Solid Cuts for more information). For example, if you have files with grade control polygons (marked out regions that group areas of similar grade), you can drop them into the viewer to identify which regions of the pit or on a certain bench should be scheduled.

When you drop a .dgd.isis or .arch_d file from the file explorer, the Import Layers panel will appear.

Choose which layers to import by selecting the corresponding checkboxes. The selected layers will be imported into Evolution as a single object, unless you select the Import each layer as a separate guideline object checkbox. In that case, Evolution will create an object for each imported layer, enabling you to customise the way each layer is displayed in the viewer.

After applying the required settings, click OK. The layers you selected will be added to the viewer and project explorer as guideline objects. You can apply the imported guideline objects to any Evolution viewer by dragging and dropping them from the project explorer.

Evolution will also create a Guidelines category in the View Manager and list the layers under it.

For each imported layer, you can set a uniform colour and thickness for all lines on that layer. To do so, select the object in the View Manager and click the Apply Uniform Style button.

Next, set the line size and choose the required colour from the colour picker menu. Evolution will reflect your settings in the viewer.

Tip: Click Revert to Original Style to discard the changes that you have made.

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