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Surfaces Editing Window Issues - Mac

Benji_W
Booster

I work on an Apple computer, which may have a different interface than the Windows version of Archicad. However, there are some issues with the Surfaces editing window on my platform.

 

  • The first issue is a small, but glaring one. Fixing this would GREATLY improve the usability of Cinerender, and would influence my software decisions as I continue to grow my architectural rendering skills. There is no way to expand the texture preview thumbnails in the Surfaces editing window. See attached image #1. The spherical preview of the material that I am editing is literally the size of my thumb on my screen. I work on a 27" iMac. Often, I find myself leaning in to the point where my nose almost touches the screen, just to see the effect that my settings changes are having. This same problem persists in the "Load Image from Library" window (see attached image #4). The texture preview is fixed at about 2" wide on my screen, and unable to be resized. If I could resize these windows (or expand them into external, resizable windows), then it would HUGELY transform my experience. At this point, I'm wondering if there isn't a better rendering solution (that's easier on my eyes). Rendering capability was the only reason I saw fit to pay for the Full Archicad license. Solve this little issue, and I'll feel much more secure about continuing to train myself to utilize the Archicad–Cinerender link.
  • If you do fix the previous issue with the Surface settings dialog, then I'd sincerely recommend upgrading the spherical preview object while you're at it. If you could change it to something with a few crevasses, peaks and flat planes, then it would provide a much better representation of the material that I am editing. For example, with a sphere, I have no way of previewing any settings that involve ambient occlusion. Displacement is also difficult to preview with a simple sphere. 
  • The final issue is a bug involving layers (Cineware engine only). See the attached images #1 and #2. In the first two, you'll notice that when trying to view layer settings, things get a bit wonky. Layer setting titles disappear, buttons are located in the wrong location. However, if I resize the Surfaces window, then everything resets itself, and I'm good to go (see attached image #3)...until I click on "Layer" again, or go into another layer window.  Mind you, this only applies to layers – if under the "Color" Cineware settings I select "Image" or "Noise" as my texture, then everything shows up fine. When I select "Layer" is when I have the issue – which is most of the time. Also...I assure you that having to resize the window a dozen times each I open the Surfaces dialog does eat up a good chunk of time.

 

Thanks in Advance,

 

-Ben

Archicad 25 – macOS Big Sur 11.6.1 – 27" iMac 2017
1 REPLY 1
joelsdg
Enthusiast

Ben, 
I have a similar issue on my MacBook Pro, in particular the Drawing Manager palette.

When I click on a header to organize the list by that header, any column widths that I've resized revert to their old widths.

For example, if I click on the Status header to organize all of the drawings by OK, Needs Checking, Embedded, etc. the drawings organize correctly.  But if I then stretch the width of a column, like Name or Path, Source View, etc. and click on any header, even if it's the same header, the width of the column I just resized reverts back to the narrower width it was before I made it wider.

Your issues feels like this, I assume it's some sort of bug.


Joel Smith

AC25, MacBook Pro 2019, macOS Monterey 12.2

AC 6.5-26; macOS Ventura; 2019 MacBook Pro 2.4gHz, i9