Product Manager

Access: Editors menu > Product Manager

The Product Manager is the basic construction tool for creating layouts. Using it, you can set up products, establish their configuration, and determine their position in the active viewport.

List of Products in a Viewport

The Product Manager displays the products present in the active viewport at the top of the editor. In this zone, there are several buttons:

Icon	Function	Description
	Add Group	Creates a new product group. Products listed in this zone can be added to the group by drag-and-drop.
	Delete Group	Deletes the selected group.
	Set as Master	Defines the selected product as the one that provides the environment and post-processes for the active viewport.
	Load Layout	Opens a set of products that have been previously set up and saved.
	Save Layout	Saves the current set of products.
	Delete Product	Deletes the selected product from the list and from the active viewport.

The icon indicates that the product or the group is visible. The icon indicates that it is hidden. Click on the icon to change the visibility state.

In the Product zone, the name of the currently selected product is shown. You can rename the product by typing directly in this field. This is particularly helpful when working with a layout containing multiple examples of a single product.

The checkbox to the left activates or deactivates the visibility of this product in the viewport. To the right, if the product is the “Master” in the viewport, this state is indicated.

Render Options

Below the product tabs is the Render zone. In the Render zone, you can enable or disable the options to:

Option	Description
Use Enhanced Transparency	Enhanced transparency provides improved rendering for transparent surfaces, particularly for complex transparent surfaces, intersecting transparent surfaces, and transparent surfaces that surround other surfaces. Rather than using surfaces' bounding boxes to determine their distance from the viewpoint, enhanced transparency utilizes pixel-by-pixel analysis to determine the order in which the surfaces must be rendered. Using enhanced transparency increases the consumption of GPU memory and reduces the number of images per second. This option applies to the entire scene.
Place Dropped Products Under Cursor	If your software version contains the "Layout" option, you can add products to the scene by drag-and-drop. Keep this option checked in order to place new products at the location of the cursor when you release the mouse button to drop them. If this option is not enabled, dropped products will be placed at the 3D world's origin.

Option

Description

Use Enhanced Transparency

Enhanced transparency provides improved rendering for transparent surfaces, particularly for complex transparent surfaces, intersecting transparent surfaces, and transparent surfaces that surround other surfaces. Rather than using surfaces' bounding boxes to determine their distance from the viewpoint, enhanced transparency utilizes pixel-by-pixel analysis to determine the order in which the surfaces must be rendered. Using enhanced transparency increases the consumption of GPU memory and reduces the number of images per second. This option applies to the entire scene.

Place Dropped Products Under Cursor

If your software version contains the "Layout" option, you can add products to the scene by drag-and-drop. Keep this option checked in order to place new products at the location of the cursor when you release the mouse button to drop them. If this option is not enabled, dropped products will be placed at the 3D world's origin.

Properties Tab

The Properties tab contains the parameters regarding the product and its position in the viewport.

The Transformation zone allows for the specification of the coordinates in the world frame of reference for the selected product or model’s position (TX, TY, and TZ) and orientation (RX, RY, and RZ). The position coordinates are expressed in meters and the orientation coordinates in degrees. Enter the numerical values or click on the gizmo icons to modify your product’s position and orientation.

A final parameter, Rebuild dynamic environments, sets the conditions that control the automatic updating of local environments when the displayed configuration is modified. The product displayed must contain dynamic local environments for this parameter to have an effect.

Condition	Description
Never	Never allow dynamic updating of local environments when configuration changes are made. If rendering fluidity is more important than photorealism, use this option to avoid the slight delay in recalculation for larger or complex scenes.
Product only	Allow dynamic updating of local environments when configuration changes are made to the product containing dynamic local environments. If your software version contains the option "Layout" and you are viewing a multi-product scene, configuration changes affecting other products in the scene will not cause dynamic updating.
In layout	If your software version contains the option "Layout" and you are viewing a multi-product scene, allow dynamic updating of local environments when configuration changes are made to any product in the scene.

Master Properties Tab

The Master Properties tab contains the parameters regarding the product display options. If your software version contains the "Layout" option and you are viewing a multi-product scene, the options concern the "Master" product that imposes certain parameters on the scene.

Option	Description
Use background	Display the background of the current camera sensor. If you are viewing a multi-product scene, this applies to the "Master" camera sensor only.
Use Overlay	Display the overlay of the current camera sensor. If you are viewing a multi-product scene, this applies to the "Master" camera sensor only.
Use Post-Processing	Display the post-processing blend of the current camera sensor. If you are viewing a multi-product scene, this applies to the "Master" camera sensor only.
Show Global Environment	Use the global lighting environment of the current product. If you are viewing a multi-product scene, the "Master" global environment will be used for all products.
Show Surface using Environment Material	This option is used to show or hide surfaces using the environment material in the "Master" product, such as a skydome. These surfaces are visible by default but can be hidden by unchecking this option.

Cameras Tab

If favorite cameras were defined in your product, you will find them in the Cameras tab.

The cameras are shown in the Camera box. Click on the name of a camera to call it up in the viewport. This will also apply the background, post-processing effects, and overlay, if any are associated with the camera's sensor. Prevent the background, post-processing effects or overlay from being displayed in the Master Properties tab.

The name of the current camera is displayed in the upper left-hand corner of the viewport. Right-click on the name of the camera to open a context menu listing the cameras of the "Master" product. Select a new camera from this list to change the current camera.

Tip

The four favorite cameras are also available in the Product menu.

Note

You can place multiple products in the same viewport. In this case, only the camera sensors for the "Master" product are used. Calling up cameras for other products loads the camera position and orientation only.

Configuration Tab

Patchwork Explorer takes advantage of product configuration if it is present in the imported KDR file. The software thus offers the ability to easily explore all of the possible product combinations.

Configuration settings are displayed when the active product has configurable elements. To change the product configuration, modify these settings using the checkboxes and the drop-down lists.

Display of multiple product configurations is also possible for configurable products. See Loading Multiple Products Simultaneously.You can also place a configurable product multiple times in a viewport and configure each of these products independently. You can thus compose your scene with several variations of the same product or compare these product variations in separate viewports.

Animation Tab

If animations have been defined for your product, the Animation tab will be present.

Manage the playback of the animation with the following tools:

Option	Description
Timeline	From the drop-down list, select the preset animation timeline you want to play.
Timeline Scrollbar	Positions the rectangular cursor at any point on the bar to display the corresponding animation state. For increased precision, you can also provide the time in seconds in the field to the right of the slider.
	Places the cursor at the beginning of the animation.
	Initiates the animation playback from the cursor’s current position or pauses the playback if the animation is currently playing.
	Places the cursor at the end of the animation.
	Activates or deactivates looped playback.