Distributable NXT image viewer for clients ?

Hi Al

I know I am probably making work for you here - but have you ever considered providing a cut down freely distributed nxt image viewer similar to the SU viewer ?.The reason I ask this is that more and more I am asked by clients to provide alternatively interior colour schemes based on NXT renders . - lately I have been producing fairly large PS file with lots of colour layers to change appropriate elements.Now we have colour channels it would be a real boon to send a nice simple presented viewer of which they can change colour elements themselves. Certainly would enhance your `project` interior type software.

This is not urgent or at the top of my xmas list but just a thought that came to me the other day when a client asked `can I play with the colours myself ?`

Thanks

Boothy

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Boothy on April 4, 2011 at 7:35am

Sorry `Material Channels`!

Boothy

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Permalink Reply by Render Plus on April 4, 2011 at 7:59am

We are working on an OpenGL Viewer. The main purpose was to let you change views in the Batch Renderer without having to return to SketchUp. (We are also planning to save the names of your SketchUp views so you can switch to a saved view and re-render without having to return to SketchUp.

We hadn't thought of including Material Channels in this, but it might be a good idea.

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On a similar note, we are working on a 'Dual Format" PDF file which will let users create a PDF file containing the rendered image, with a button to replace the rendered image with an interactive 3D PDF image. Material Channels probably wouldn't work here.

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Permalink Reply by Boothy on April 4, 2011 at 8:08am

Sounds Good !

Boothy

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Permalink Reply by Boothy on April 4, 2011 at 8:14am

Will the open gl viewer cut out having to re extract geometry ?

Boothy

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Permalink Reply by Render Plus on April 4, 2011 at 8:27am

That's the idea. It displays the model (perhaps not perfectly) from the extracted data and view, and lets you set a new view and re-render without having to extract the data again.

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Permalink Reply by Boothy on April 4, 2011 at 8:29am

Nice !

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Permalink Reply by Render Plus on April 4, 2011 at 8:34am

Regarding your original question, Rich Hart points out that if you save a nXtImage into your batch folder after rendering, you can distribute that folder and another person who has IRender nXt installed, even if not authorized, and they can open that nXtImage using IRenderBattch.exe and then use the Material channels to edit the image.

I think we would need to make this easier (for example the user should not need to have SketchUp installed either), and it we could make a version of IRenderBatch.exe without all the buttons which wouldn't work if they weren't authorized. And it would be nice if the only thing you needed to send was the nXtImage file.

If you save a nXtImage into your batch folder after rendering, you can distribute that folder and another person who has IRender nXt installed, even if not authorized, and they can open that nXtImage using IRenderBattch.exe and then use the Material channels to edit the image, as Boothy is asking.If you save a nXtImage into your batch folder after rendering, you can distribute that folder and another person who has IRender nXt installed, even if not authorized, and they can open that nXtImage using IRenderBattch.exe and then use the Material channels to edit the image, as Boothy is asking. If you save a nXtImage into your batch folder after rendering, you can distribute that folder and another person who has IRender nXt installed, even if not authorized, and they can open that nXtImage using IRenderBattch.exe and then use the Material channels to edit the image, as Boothy is asking.

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Permalink Reply by Render Plus on April 4, 2011 at 8:35am

Filters and Color Channels and other features would probably work as well.

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Permalink Reply by Render Plus on April 4, 2011 at 8:46am

Boothy - would it be sufficient to let users change colors with RGB sliders, or would you want to restrict them to a set of pre-defined colors?

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Permalink Reply by Boothy on April 4, 2011 at 8:50am

Steady - we do not want clients doing our jobs for us !

thats the good thing about PDFs it restricts how much the end user can change (and not make a right *#*# of it ) - I think depending on the type of end user - a balance should be struck there.I would prefer a more `dumb` inteface that is easy for newbie to understand and would allow the client control of material content but not atmosphere lighting etc but I suppose you could restrict this in the render process such as not selecting any light channels. This would really be good for things like point of sale where you good change graphics etc easily without changing overall interior effect.

The material channels also need a little bit of anti alaising with adjacent pixels but I assume this is much easier said than done.

All good stuff - I like to engage on a Monday !

Boothy

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Permalink Reply by Boothy on April 4, 2011 at 8:54am

I would love to say a set of restricted colours which would be easier to present - but whatever you pre selected they would be probably wrong in the clients eyes - so I would say opt for the RGB option unless the pallette was quite large

Thanks

Boothy

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Permalink Reply by Render Plus on April 4, 2011 at 9:04am

Perhaps we will make a version which only does Material Channels, and not all the other stuff.

(Perhaps Brightness as well, Perhaps Contrast as well - oops the list starts to get too long)

We cannot easily fix the "bugs" in Material Channels.

You might be able to lower the effects of anti-aliasing by starting all colors as neutral gray. Then any edge effects would be grey rather than the first color. The Gray might work better for transparent or reflective problems as well.