Using the Block Model Viewer

Interactive Mode

Select the required blocks, 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 block 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 blocks in Rectangle, Polygon, or Lasso mode.

Selection type

Select elements of your setup using the following modes:

• Block: Select blocks from a block model.

• 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 equipment and waypoints in the viewer.

  Note:  If you have opened a solid model in the Origin Blocks viewer, use the Object selection type to select solids.

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)).

Section Models

View cross-sections of your block model in different axes by configuring the Sectioning Tools panel as follows:

1. From the Model drop-down, select the model from which you want to isolate the required section.

2. Under the Locate Block, select the axis (X, Y, or Z) that corresponds to the section you want to display.

3. Using the slider, set the required section in your view.

   Tip:  Select the required block and check its properties (including the coordinates) in the Properties tab. See Properties for more information.
   

4. Enter the value in the Section Width field.

   Note:  1 is the minimum width that you can set.

5. Optionally, set the following:

   • Select the Lock to grid checkbox to only display the sectioning planes that contain the entire blocks. If you do not select the checkbox, Evolution might display sections containing, for example, 0.75 of one row and 0.25 of another, as shown in the image below:
     

   • Select the Use index values checkbox to use the indices of the blocks in the model instead of block centroids. The indices are based on the number of blocks in each dimension.
     

   See also:  Properties in Origin Blocks Viewer

Filter Blocks

Filter the blocks in your model by setting the Block Filter panel the same way as shown for the Sectioning Tools panel in Section Models. See Section Models for more information.

Orthographic Projection

Display all viewer objects at the same size regardless of distance.

Perspective Projection

Display viewer objects as they would appear if you were looking at them (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.