How to? XD 2.7 Preview Window efficiency

[Gwumpy]

What started as a simple question became a multifaceted series of questions as I experimented.  I will break these into several replies to make it easier to quote. 

While pursuing the forum I read a rendering question which lead me to realize that learning to optimize my time spent in the preview window would be the most efficient way to streamline total time spent since most of my time creating is done in the Preview Window.  

In the 'Using XenoDram v2.7' > Creating Objects > Optimizing for quality and speed > 
The focus is on rendering, which is a step you would ALWAYS take only after getting your objects to your liking via the preview window.

Keeping the question broad:  Are there methods to speed up the image generated in the preview window?  
I'd assume the less complex the object(s) are the faster, but I'm not therefore going to create less complex objects.

[Gwumpy]

One of my limited tests were to see if I could perceive a difference when changing the size of the window.  It wasn't noticable, which leads me to my second idea.


Is it correct to say that the smaller the scale of the object, the less resolution the preview window will compute?
Therefore is it not a personal preference between finding a balance with preview window "render" time (what else do you call it?) and how much detail is adequate?

[Gwumpy]

Small tangent but still preview related. Upon focusing on the age old question - if size matters lol Once getting a shape large enough it freely goes outside the confines of the small black line, but otherwise retains it's shape/properties.

What is the purpose of the black line that moves and changes (and keeps a perfect square?) as you move the application window?
      Can it be disabled?

[Gwumpy]

Similar to the purpose of a thumbnail sketch before a larger drawing, I have found a use for taking screenshots of the preview window during my process. 

For this reason I wondered if there is a meter or "percent completed" gauge of any sort? 

A lot of times when deeming it good enough I then realize a few of the points still need processing. It becomes difficult to tell if it's ever really done which bugs because I question whether making the object larger will smooth that out, and more importantly if I were to render, how accurate is the preview window.

[Gwumpy]

I thought I'd learned and practiced that the 'Object size' value window effects the main window where the holon layout is whereas the View> 'Camera zoom' value window is moving the position of the camera in relation to the holons although...

When changing the camera 'Object size' in the Holon toolbar it acts as a zoom in the preview window with no noticeable change to the main window but so does View> 'Camera zoom.
If these are (essentially?) the same, then why are they in two different places under different names?  More confusing, the numbers do not stay the same when changing only one. For example: I had the left the 'Object size' at it's default 40.00 with the View tab open.  Upon switching between orthographic views I watched the 'Camera zoom' number (default) 40 change to 48.99.  I put the value back to 40 and went to the new orthographic view where the exact same phenomenon happened again. 
I expected when I changed the viewing angle, the size of the object would remain the same, but since it did not, I made these notes.


 So then if they are in fact different from each other; then specifically how?
Could you give a use case scenario please?

[Garth Thornton]

While pursuing the forum I read a rendering question which lead me to realize that learning to optimize my time spent in the preview window would be the most efficient way to streamline total time spent since most of my time creating is done in the Preview Window.  

In the 'Using XenoDram v2.7' > Creating Objects > Optimizing for quality and speed > 
The focus is on rendering, which is a step you would ALWAYS take only after getting your objects to your liking via the preview window.

Keeping the question broad:  Are there methods to speed up the image generated in the preview window?  
I'd assume the less complex the object(s) are the faster, but I'm not therefore going to create less complex objects.

Yes and yes to the first two parts.
The optimizing topic addresses balancing density to minimize render time for a given shape.
The speed of a shape is not due to the complexity per se, but the actual density of the object, and how efficiently it fills the parts. Two factors affect this.

1. Constructors only use surfaces, not solid volumes, and are mostly efficient. But metamorphs warp shapes, and many can cause some parts to be stretched very thin and take a long time to fill.

2. Iterators iterate into copies, and multiple iterators tend to fill volume rather than just surfaces. The overall scales of iterators, combined with the orientation and positions, determines how dense the effective volume becomes. Filling a solid volume takes a lot of points, and when the density is uneven it takes many more. The more large iterators, the denser the object becomes. The Holon Volume indicator in the Shape page gives some idea, and near 100% or more is generally very slow. But there are situations where it is not bad, eg with an iterator having all scales 100 and a rotation that divides evenly into 360, which is still efficient.

Sometimes you want to fill a lot of space, such as with Sierpinski sponges, castles, and so on, and you expect longer rendering. The trick is not to let iterators overlap any more than necessary.

What I do is create whatever I like, but try to be efficient with iterators. The slower an object is, the more I have to like it to keep it.

[Garth Thornton]

Is it correct to say that the smaller the scale of the object, the less resolution the preview window will compute?
Therefore is it not a personal preference between finding a balance with preview window "render" time (what else do you call it?) and how much detail is adequate?

For this reason I wondered if there is a meter or "percent completed" gauge of any sort?

The preview resolution is just its size in pixels, limited also by the simple method of shading. Since the preview has no higher detail available for anti-aliasing, the shading effect is quite coarse.

Since what you really care about is how long the full size render will take to be good enough, the preview speed is just a relative guide.

There is no completion of preview or render, it's up to you to decide what is good enough. The New Pixel rate is the only guide I have as to how much the image is changing, but before long most "new pixels" are just making the surface a tiny bit smoother.

Rendering larger will add more detail and take longer to fill in. Where it helps most is for reducing the size in an editor afterwards for anti-aliasing.

[Garth Thornton]

Once getting a shape large enough it freely goes outside the confines of the small black line, but otherwise retains it's shape/properties.

What is the purpose of the black line that moves and changes (and keeps a perfect square?) as you move the application window?
      Can it be disabled?

The guide lines show the aspect ratio of the render, which are updated whenever you change the render size settings in the Rendering page or resize the program window. So it's square if your render size is square, otherwise a rectangle. It's there so you can see where the render will be cropped. There is no option to disable it.

[Garth Thornton]

I thought I'd learned and practiced that the 'Object size' value window effects the main window where the holon layout is whereas the View> 'Camera zoom' value window is moving the position of the camera in relation to the holons although...

When changing the camera 'Object size' in the Holon toolbar it acts as a zoom in the preview window with no noticeable change to the main window but so does View> 'Camera zoom.
If these are (essentially?) the same, then why are they in two different places under different names?  More confusing, the numbers do not stay the same when changing only one. For example: I had the left the 'Object size' at it's default 40.00 with the View tab open.  Upon switching between orthographic views I watched the 'Camera zoom' number (default) 40 change to 48.99.  I put the value back to 40 and went to the new orthographic view where the exact same phenomenon happened again. 
I expected when I changed the viewing angle, the size of the object would remain the same, but since it did not, I made these notes.


 So then if they are in fact different from each other; then specifically how?
Could you give a use case scenario please?

Object Size scales the object, so it gets bigger or smaller in 3D. Unless it's flat, making it bigger brings the front closer to the camera.

Camera Zoom adjusts the field of view of the camera. Increasing it makes the image larger, as a zoom lens, without bringing the object closer. Object size affects the perspective view as part of the object gets closer, while zoom does not.

So the main reason for adjusting object size is if it's too large and distorting or clipping near the camera (alternatively, increase camera Z distance, which is equivalent) or very small. If an object is very small and you just zoom in, it can appear rather flat. Sometimes that's what you want, for a more orthographic view from any angle.

The orthographic views have their own zoom and pan settings for convenience, as the main use is adjusting holon alignment and it helps when switching views repeatedly.