Overview
This chapter describes how to get started with the luminaire position module - the 3D Editor - in OptiWin 3D pro.
The 3D Editor is available from the Room dialogue by clicking the
button.
3D Editor interface
The editor interface is based on the original OptiWin, with new functions and enhancements for maneuvering in three dimensions.
Here is a picture of the 3D Editor interface after opening a calculated room:
The editor layout consists of three main sections: the editor window, object list and the object properties.
Menu button bars are located around the editor window: the main menu, object menu and calculation menu.
Main menu
Room list
Save room
Undo
Redo
Delete object(s)
Reports
Cut object(s)
Copy object(s)
Paste object(s)
Display Transparent Wireframe
Display Wireframe (non-transparent)
Display Surface model (Goraud shading)
Display Surface model / Wireframe (Flat shading)
Display calculated result
Select objects
Rotate camera (Orbit)
Move camera (Pan)
Zoom camera
Zoom in
Zoom out
Measure distence
Change calculation point status
Snap to grid
Set focus to active object
Zoom extents
Change calculation plane display mode (hidden, points, values, curves).
Copy current view to clipboard
Save current view to file
The [ X Y Z ] fields display the current movement axis. These are updated automatically based on the current camera angle, and determines the allowed object movement.
The current mouse coordinates are shown to the far right.
Object menu
 | Inserting new objects
|
Room presentation
| |
 | Object manipulation mode
Press space to automatically change between these modes. |
 | Luminaire details (requires 3D luminaire model data in database). |
  | Viewing angle
|
 | Store View/scenario
A user view remembers the current editor settings, e.g. display mode, calculation plane display mode, and emergency mode. |
Editor window
Main view
The main view occupies most of the editor layout.
Property Sliders
Sliders located around the view area can be used to adjust various view properties.
View orbiting
The view can be rotated using the orbit bars located on the bottom and right. The current rotation angle will be shown while moving the sliders.
Transparency adjustment
The background and object transparency can be adjusted with these sliders. Moving the slider to the left will make the objects more transparent (less visible).
Background clipping
When background data is present (2D/3D background) or the calculation visualization is active, this slider will clip the background with a clip plane.
Clipping the background data enables you to see inside the model, making it possible to modify occluded objects.
View Context Menu
Right clicking inside the main view will bring up a context-sensitive menu:
 | Read results This option will be available when a calculation has been performed and a calculation plane is selected. Choose this option to read out the results for the active calculation plane. Group functions “Create Group“ is only available when multiple objects are selected. "Split Group" is only available when a group is selected. Calculation Contains various calculation methods. See Calculation Methods for a detailed description of these methods. Generic editing Can be used to switch between scaling/rotation and object moving. The number of available functions depends on the current selection. Clipboard functions Depending on the type of active object, various clipboard functions can be accessed from here. |
While an object is activated the following menu items may also be shown, depending on object type:
 | Align to surface Visible for Luminaires and Calculation planes |
 | Convert to advanced luminaire group Only visible for luminaire groups |
 | Point editing Visible for room floor and calculation planes |
Object list
Object list
This list contains all room surfaces and objects, organized in a tree structure.
It can be useful to select objects directly from this list before working with them in the 3D Editor window.
Context menu
The object context menu can be accessed by right clicking a selected object in the list:
From this menu you can access generic functions like clipboard copy/paste/delete, and for some object types more specific functions like "Split Boxgroup".
Selecting "Focus on object" will center that specific object inside the main view.
Object properties
Object property sheet
By selecting an object, either from the object list or directly in the editor window, this tab will be activated to show the object properties.
Each object has a different set of properties:
Here is a list of some generic properties which are found on most object types:
Lock Locking an object will prevent the user from selecting it directly from the editor.
All properties for that specific object will be locked.
The user will not be able to copy, move or delete a locked object.
Color Used to set the color and/or reflection for the selected object.
Click the color to access a more detailed color setup dialogue.
Location Sets the object location relative to the room.
Angles Sets the object rotation around the Z (Turn), Y (Tilt) and X (Rotate) axis.
Selecting multiple objects
If you have several objects marked simultaneously, the common properties for these objects will be shown:
The property fields will indicate variable selection characteristics. Modifying these fields will set all selected objects to the specified value.
Calculation menu
 | Exposure
The exposure setting only affects the presentation, not the calculation result. |
 | Calculation results Turn the LUX-meter on/off. See integrated calculation. |
 | Display mode
|
 | Display color
|
 | Automatic surface subdivision Enabling this option will allow Cerise365 to subdivide surfaces automatically and can be used to get more accurate calculation results, at the cost of calculation speed. |
 | Information
|
Calculation results
Calculation plane results
The calculation results are organized in a list at the bottom of the screen:
Double clicking a plane will select the object and center it on the screen automatically.
Plane display modes can be setup quickly by using the checkbox for each mode (curves, values).
Glare calculation results
Glare calculation results will be displayed in a similar fashion under the “Glare” tab:
Inserting luminaires
Luminaires can be inserted from the object menu using the luminaire icon. This will display a drop-down list of luminaire structures.
From each luminaire structure type, a list of all the different luminaire types assigned to this room will be shown. Selecting one of these will insert the luminaire.
Inserting single luminaire
When inserting a single luminaire it will be placed near the room Origo:
Inserting luminaire group
When inserting a luminaire group, a default 3x2 group will be inserted near the room Origo:
Moving luminaires
In addition to using the object properties, object movement can be done interactively in several different ways:
Moving the object insertion point
The object can be moved in the two axis directions which is most logical for the current view angle (the active axis directions are shown on the main menu toolbar):
While moving the object, a tool tip will display the current position and the delta movement (position difference).
Moving the axis points (X/Y/Z)
The object movement will be limited to this axis, allowing you to perform accurate adjustments of the object position:
Pressing and holding down the Alt key, clicking anywhere on the screen and dragging the objects
This functionality also works when multiple objects are selected.
Rotating luminaires
Grip point rotation
Rotation is initiated by grabbing an axis rotation point (circular grip points). A circle will show which axis you are rotating around.
Rotate the object by dragging the grip point around the object:
A tool tip will show the current object rotation and the delta rotation.
Tip: By moving the mouse pointer further away from the object you can achieve greater precision.
Copying luminaires
Objects can be copied interactively in several different ways.
By using the clipboard functionality (Single/multiple objects)
The clipboard can be invoked by using the standard key combinations Ctrl+C (copy) and Ctrl+V (paste).
When pasting an object using this method it will be placed in a slightly different position, near the original object.
By holding the Ctrl-button (Single object)
While holding the Ctrl-button, click any object grip point (movement, scaling, rotation) and drag to create a copy.
By holding both the Ctrl and Alt-buttons (Multiple objects)
When holding both the Ctrl and Alt buttons entire selections can be copied simultaneously.
Click anywhere on the screen and drag to create copies of all the selected objects.
Example: copy using the Ctrl-button
Select an object, press the Ctrl-button and click one of the grip points. The Y axis is used in the example, and the object copy will be restricted to this axis.
By observing the delta movement value (∆) you can see the total movement (y: 0.8) in meter:
(Tip: As mentioned, this method works on any type of grip point. You can for example grab the Z axis rotation point to create a rotated copy of the object.)
Example: copy using both Ctrl and Alt-buttons
While multiple objects are selected, you can hold both the Alt and Ctrl buttons, then click and drag a copy of the objects.
The current view direction will determine allowed movement. In the example we are locked to the XY-plane:
The original luminaires are shown in the regular gray color, while the copies are highlighted in orange.
Luminaire groups
Scaling luminaire groups
When scaling luminaire groups the luminaires will be distributed evenly inside a scaling rectangle.
The rectangle corner points (green) will scale in both directions, while the center points (purple) will only scale in a single direction:
Rotating luminaire groups
When rotating luminaire groups, all the luminaires will be rotated around their own separate axis:
Planar/fixed rotation
To rotate several luminaires around a fixed axis you must first split them into separate luminaires.
Next, regroup the luminaires into a box group. The luminaires will now rotate around the same point in 3D space.
See an example of this operation.
Splitting luminaire groups
Luminaire groups can be split into separate luminaires.
To split a luminaire group you must first select it from the object list or directly from the editor window.
Next, right click to bring up the context menu.
Advanced luminaire groups
Advanced luminaire groups behaves much like a standard luminaire group while editing, except for the following:
Each luminaire in the group can be modified independently of the others.
Luminaires can be be rotated both as a group and around each luminaire axis.
Converting from regular groups or tubes
To convert a simple group or tube to an advanced group you must first select the group/tube. Next, bring up the right click context menu and choose "Convert to advanced luminaire group".
Selecting and grouping objects
Most objects can be selected from the object list or by clicking directly inside the editor window.
Selecting from the object list
The object list shows a tree structure of all objects in the current room. Select objects by clicking on their entry. Select multiple objects by holding Shift or Ctrl.
Object groups like the advanced luminaire group will have their own child nodes in the tree:
Object list showing parent and child nodes
Note that special objects like the room or the room calculation plane can only be selected from the object list.
Selecting directly inside the editor window
To select objects directly in the editor just click on the object in the editor window.
To select several objects click and drag a rectangle indicating the desired selection area.
You can also select entities inside groups. To do this you must first select the group:
First click on the luminaire marked '030'.
After the group has been selected, simply click on the desired object inside the group:
The luminaire marked '030' has been clicked twice.
Mounting and snapping
Automatic mounting
When inserting new luminaires they will automatically be positioned at the correct height according to their type and properties:
Ceiling mounted luminaires will be placed according to their type (recessed, surface or pendant mounting).
Wall mounted luminaires will be placed in their standard height (usually 1.8m above the floor).
Floor mounted luminaires will be placed in their correct height above the floor.
Luminaire snapping
Object snapping can be enabled by pressing and holding the Shift button while moving an object. This will snap the object to the closest surface within 0.5m.
Objects will only snap to valid surfaces for their properties, e.g a wall mounted luminaire will never snap to the floor or the ceiling.
The snapping functionality can be useful to easily place wall mounted luminaires while looking at the room from above.
If you hold both Shift and Alt, the snapping function will snap to the surface directly behind the cursor. This can be useful while placing luminaires inside a 3D model.
Wall mounted luminaires
Some luminaires are configured for wall mounting. Luminaires exclusively configured for wall mounting will be inserted at a standard height (1.8m) and facing wall 1.
Since the snapping function always aligns the luminaire to a standard rotation, an option to snap 90 degrees is available for single luminaires:
When this option is enabled, wall-mounted luminaires will be rotated 90 degrees when snapped to a surface:
The luminaire to the right has the "Wall 90°" option enabled.
Note: The snapping function is available for all types of objects, but will not necessarily work very well with other object types than luminaires.
Place in ceiling
Luminaires can be automatically adjusted to the ceiling by pressing the button "Place in ceiling" located at the bottom of the screen.
This function can be useful if you change the luminaire type after inserting, and want to align them correctly to the ceiling.
If you have a curved ceiling this function can be used to automatically align all selected single luminaires to the ceiling surface.
Modifying room shape
Inserting and deleting walls
Wall editing options are only available while one of the room entities is selected.
To start editing the room shape, select a room entity (ceiling, wall or floor) from the object list, or click one of the walls while viewing top-down.
Inserting a wall
To add a new wall segment, simply right click the position where you want a new corner.
Choose “Insert point” from the context menu, and a new corner will be added:
When adding a corner, the nearest wall will be split in two, creating a new wall segment.
Deleting a wall
To delete a wall, simply right click a corner grip point then select “Delete wall“:
Remember that a room will lose its “aligned” state whenever a wall is added or deleted. This means any R-shaped or L-shaped room will become P-shaped rooms.
Calculation planes
Room calculation plane
The room calculation plane is always present in a room, and is placed at the heights specified in the room dialogue.
It can only be selected directly from the object list, and can only be configured with color and the number of calculation points:
When switching between normal and emergency calculation modes, this calculation plane will be automatically moved to its correct position.
If the room shape is changed, this calculation plane will be automatically resized to match the new shape, also taking border zone into account.
Note that modifying the room shape will also reset the number of calculation points for the room calculation plane.
Standard calculation planes
The standard calculation planes can be configured for either normal or emergency lighting, and will only save calculation results for that mode:
These calculation planes can be placed in any location, for example rotated and placed over a classroom blackboard:
The plane types "High-risk area" and "Panic area" are basically normal calculation planes with special names.
Surrounding/working area calculation planes (BS EN 12464-1)
This is a special type of calculation plane made to measure lighting in working areas.
The calculation plane consists of a surrounding area with one or more smaller working areas.
The surrounding area will be represented as a tree structure in the object list:
Escape Routes (EN 1838)
Escape Routes differs from normal calculation planes both in how you manipulate them and what calculation results they produce:
Escape route, normal view (left) and selected
An Escape Route is described of three or more points which describes the route center line.
Additionally, an escape route has two unique properties, Width and Distance:
The width determines the spacing between the route center line and the edge. The default value is 1.00 m.
The distance determines the density of calculation points along the center line. The default value is 0.20 m.
As described in the EN 1838 standard, only half of the route width is taken into consideration when performing calculations.
Advanced calculation modes
Standard calculation planes can be configured to perform different types of calculation.
Lighting calculation
Calculation accuracy
Various levels of accuracy can be achieved by modifying the lighting calculation parameters.
Standard presets are available from the view context menu:
Direct lighting only No surface reflection will be calculated, only direct light from the luminaires.
Calculate - Draft Large surface elements, few light reflections.
Calculate - Normal Medium-sized surface elements, a medium number of light reflections.
Calculate - Detailed Small surface elements, a large number of light reflections.
Calculate Uses the current settings for calculation (what was used last time).
When a room with a 3D background model is open, the special option Calculate without 3D model will also be available.
This can be used to perform a calculation with the current settings but without the 3D model, thus improving calculation speed.
Integrated visualization
After performing a calculation in the 3D Editor it is possible to view the results directly inside the editor window.
By activating the calculated result display mode, the calculation will be performed automatically then displayed inside the editor window:
A third menu will be displayed to the right of the main view (see Calculation menu). From here you can change exposure, calculated result display mode, activate Lux-meter etc.
While the Lux meter is active the results will be displayed below the editor window:
Calculated display mode
The calculation can be presented in four different modes, where the default mode is a combination of both the calculated results and the room objects.
Display mode | |
 Combined view |  Calculated surface model |
 Calculated wireframe |  Calculated surface model w/elements |
Note: objects can still be selected and modified while the calculated display modes are active, though most modifications will invalidate the calculation results.
Calculation results
Configuring which results to read
When running a calculation, you may choose whether or not to include ceiling and walls in the calculation results.
Manually reading results
If you add new or modify existing planes after performing a calculation, they will end up without valid calculation results.
After positioning a calculation plane at the desired position you can read the results for only that plane by selecting it and choosing "Read results" from the context menu.
Calculation point status
When working with a 3D Background model, it is possible for calculation points to be inside the model. These points will never receive any light, and should not be considered for the purposes of the light calculation.
Switching mode
To activate the calculation point status switching mode, activate the following button from the main menu bar:
While this button is active, only selected calculation planes will be shown with calculation points. An active calculation plane can be selected from the object list.
To change point statuses, select a plane then drag a selection rectangle around the calculation points. The points which are inside the selection rectangle will be inverted.
Before: | After: |
- + + + | + - - - |
Point values and ISOLux curves will be automatically updated after changing point states, along with the calculation results for that plane.
Example: Disabling calculation points
To change point status, drag a selection rectangle around a group of calculation points:
When you release the mouse button again, the points will be disabled:
Notice that luminaire values and curves have been updated automatically, along with the calculation results.
User views
Saving a user view
This function saves all active settings to a user view which quickly can be brought up at a later time. The user view can also be used in reports.
When saving a user view you will be asked for a name and description. Simple text formatting is allowed in the description field (e.g. tab, line feed):
The following settings will be saved in a user view:
Rendering mode, also works with integrated visualization
View settings, including aspect ratio
Background model clipping and transparency
Emergency mode (normal or emergency calculation)
Calculation plane settings (settings are saved per-plane)
User views will show up in the object list to the left. From here it can be activated or deleted. Double-click the definition to activate it automatically.
Select a view to bring up its properties. By default, all user views are selected for report inclusion, but this can be changed here:
When used in a report, emergency user views will be added to the emergency section.
Command Interface
The 3D Editor features a textual command interface which can be used to perform various operations.
Using the command interface
The command line can be invoked simply by starting to write a command in the editor window:
The command line can be useful to perform accurate movement/rotation operations, or to speed up work by not having to locate a specific menu button.
Command listing
Command | Description | Example |
move / by <direction> <mm> | Move the object in a specified direction. | "by n 1500" - move the active object 1.5 meters to the north |
move to <xyz> <position> | Move the object to a specific coordinate. | "move to z 1750" - move the active object to z = 1.75 meter |
rotate <axis> <angle> | Rotate around the specified axis (relative). | "rotate z 45" - rotate 45° around the z axis |
rotate to <xyz> <angle> | Set rotation angle around the specified axis. | "rotate to x 180" - set the rotation around the x axis to 180° |
zoom | Switch to the zoom tool. | |
select | Switch to the selection tool. | |
pan | Switch to panning mode. | |
orbit | Switch to orbiting mode. | |
focus | Focus the active object. | |
group | Group the selected objects. | Works with boxes and luminaires. |
split / explode | Split the active object into separate entities. | Works with boxgroups, luminaire groups and luminaire tubes. |
calculate | Perform lighting calculations. |
Note: most commands have a short version; for example "rotate" can be written as "rot" or just "r".
Light beams and distribution
Luminaire properties
When a luminaire is selected (single, group and tube) the Distribution section will be shown in the object property section.
 | This can be used to control the luminaire light beams and light distribution features. The upper part controls the light beam (show/hide) and its direction (I0, Imax). Check the Polar checkbox to show the light distribution data. The lower slider controls the length:
Enable Auto scaling to automatically scale the light distribution to the length of the light beam. |
Light beams
The light beam can be shown in two directions; I0 and Imax. For most symmetric luminaires, these directions will be the same.
For asymmetric luminaires the Imax value can be useful to adjust the luminaire to the correct rotation/position before performing a calculation, as the light beam shows which direction which has the most light
Light beam direction | |
 Light beam along I0 |  Light beam along Imax |
The light beam grip point can be dragged to a desired location within the room, and the luminaire will automatically be rotated correctly.
Calculated illumination
While a luminaire is selected, the direct illumination (Lux) will be calculated and shown at the end of the light beam:
The direct illumination for the selected luminaire.
Note: The direct illumination value is an approximation to the real value, and might not be accurate at very short (<1m) or very long (>50m) distances.
Light distribution
The light distribution data can be shown for all luminaires:
 | The light distribution is shown as a volumetric area surrounding the luminaire. The polar lines found in the luminaire information window can be recognized by the red and purple lines:  |
Position Labeling
Position labeling properties
If the project has been configured with a position labeling profile, an additional tab will be visible in the lower part of the luminaire placement window:
For basic labeling profiles you can create a label by simply clicking the "Generate PosNr" button.
Panel and circuit
If the profile has been configured with panels and/or circuits you will have to configure these before a label can be generated.
Lighting Scenarios
Requirements
To use lighting scenarios a project must be configured with a Position Labeling profile which includes panel and circuit setup.
Creating a scenario
Enter the scenario configuration screen by clicking the
button on the left toolbar:
The scenario configuration consists of its name, the emergency lighting mode and which panels and circuits which are included in the Scenario.
Loading a scenario
A list of all the scenarios in the current room can be seen in the object list on the left, and the active scenario is indicated by a green arrow.
You can load a scenario by double-clicking it. The luminaire placement screen will be updated, and only the luminaires included in the scenario will be visible.
If you now perform a calculation, the result will be saved for the active scenario.
Lighting calculation
Clicking the
button from the Luminaire positioning (located at the bottom menu), will bring up the calculation setup dialogue.
Easy setup
When opened, the calculation setup will show the most basic settings, with a generic slider to adjust overall quality:
Advanced setup
Pressing the button [Advanced] will expand the calculation setup window:
Element division
This is the base subdivision value used when generating the lighting model. Increasing the detail means decreasing the size of the surface elements.
Automatic surface subdivision
This section is only active if the "Automatic surface subdivision" checkbox above is checked. This slider determines how small the allowed subdivision elements can be.
Setting this to detailed will allow sharper shadow contours.
Calculation
The convergence value determines the point where reflected light is rejected because it's too weak, i.e how many reflections that will be performed before the calculation is completed.
Miscellaneous
If you wish to count the luminaires as objects which reflect and block light, check the first option.
To improve accuracy of this calculation, check the second option (divide into elements).
The setting "Use detailed luminaire definitions" is by default set to no state (see picture). This means that the room will be calculated with the global setting. If this setting is enabled, all calculations will be performed using 3D luminaire symbols even if they are disabled in the editor.
If the option "Save visualized calculation result" is enabled, a complete 3D model of the calculation will be saved along with the room. This option must be enabled to see the calculated results in scene definitions when creating a report, or else the report will fall back to showing the standard room representation.
Calculate with..
Here you can choose which surfaces to include/exclude in the calculation. This setting will be saved separately for each room.
3D Model imported in room
Here you can enable/disable the use of the 3D Background model data. This section can only be seen if the room has a 3D background model.
By converting colours to defined reflection you can control the reflection amount of the 3D model surfaces.
The "Clip 3D model" option will perform a much more accurate clipping than the CAD model import.
Using only direct calculation for small surfaces can be useful to speed up calculations by performing a much quicker calculation for very small surfaces. The input unit is square centimeters, e.g 5cm x 5cm = 25cm2.
The option "Check for calculation points inside objects" will disable calculation points that is detected as being inside the 3D model data.
Note: the test is not accurate and substantially increases the time it takes to read calculation results depending on the model complexity.
Calculation result
By setting the "Ignore Lux-values" options, calculation points with a Lux value less than specified will be ignored when the calculation results are presented. It can be useful to ignore the low values that might occur for calculation points located inside the 3D model (because of light leakage).
Note: adjusting the Lighting data slider on the top will automatically modify the other settings.
See the surface model setup chapter for examples of how these settings affect the calculation result.
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