Generation Properties

Generation lets you modify dress-up features, type of view generation mode, type of generative view style and so on.

Select the Generation tab to access properties.

This page discusses:

See Also
In the Knowledge Base
Why are fillets not represented using Symbolic, Approximated, Original Edges or Project Original Edges representation types in views obtained by copying-pasting As Result the CATIA V4 solid?
In which cases can you avoid projection of extraneous fillet symbolic representation?

Dress-up

Hidden Lines
Generates hidden lines.
This enables the Auto-hide option.
Center Line
Generates the center line.
Note: The view plane must be perpendicular to the rotation face axis.
3D Colors
Generates the colors of a part. Clear the Disable generative view style usage check box in clears this check box.
Pattern
Generates patterns.
Axis
Generates axis lines.
Note: The view plane must be parallel to the rotation face axis.
Thread
Generates threads.

The technological results enable you to generate the same threads from an original part and its copy (created using Paste Special as Result with Link). Some salient features are as follows:

  • CPU and memory consumption are decreased while creating or updating a view containing such threads.
  • This functionality is not available for views generated using the CGR, Approximate, and Raster generation modes.
  • After creating technological results for a given part, it is recommended not to deactivate them.

    When you do so anyway, some thread dimensions may become not-up-to-date (and are displayed using the color defined by Activate Elements' Analysis is selected, see ).

  • Thread dimensions created with the Thread Dimension command are not generated from 3D constraints (and they are displayed in the black color).

    Therefore, it is not possible to drive 3D constraints from such dimensions.

  • In Part Design, you can delete one or more elements contained in the Technological Results node (to restrict the information you provide).

    When the Technological Results node is available in a 3D shape representation, the drafting view is computed with it, disregarding the geometry dimensions.

    Then, elements missing in the node are not projected in the Drafting view.

    For more information, see Part Design User's Guide: Handling 3D Shapes. For more on the pasting as a result with links, see Part Design User's Guide: Handling 3D Shapes in a Multi-Representation Environment. For more on technological results, see Part Design User's Guide: Creating Technological Results.

Smooth Edges
Generates the smooth edges corresponding to either tangent continuity or curvature continuity.
Notes:
  • Smooth Edges is available only for the views generated using the Exact mode of view projection.
  • When you select Fillets along with Smooth Edges, the following behaviors are observed, depending upon the choice of the fillet edge projection:
    • When you select Boundaries, only one edge corresponding to the actual fillet edge in 3D is projected.
    • When you select any of the other three options, such as Symbolic, Approximated Original Edges, or Projected Original Edges, two edges are projected — one edge reflects the fillet, and the other reflects the smooth edges. These two edges are either projected as separate edges, or overlapping; depending upon the scenario.
Auto-hide
Simplifies the representation of the hidden lines in views by only keeping the hidden lines not hidden by the part itself. Only available only when the Hidden Lines is selected.

When there is a clash between the various geometries to be projected, some of the resulting 2D edges may not be displayed properly.

In this case, the missing edges are normally seen as the hidden edges. These edges can be visualized by activating Hidden Lines for the view. However, Hidden Lines displays all the hidden lines. Therefore, you can select Auto-hide (available only in the Exact view mode) to simplify the representation of the hidden lines which only keeps the hidden lines not hidden by the part itself.

With Auto-hide:

  • A segment hidden by its own part is not displayed.
  • A segment hidden by another part is displayed as hidden (using dashed lines).

Fillets
Boundaries
Generates fillets as thin lines, representing the mathematical limits of the fillets.

Boundaries are not projected if they correspond to two faces which are continuous in curvature. They are projected only if they correspond to a smooth edge which is situated between two faces whose curvature radii vary. This mode are used automatically to represent a connection between two faces which are not joined by a fillet, no matter what option you select.

Symbolic
Generates fillets as original edges, projected in a direction that is normal to each corresponding surface.
Approximated Original Edges
Generates fillets as original edges, at the intersection of the two surfaces joined by the fillet.
Projected Original Edges
Generates fillets as original edges, projected on fillet surfaces in the direction of the view projection.

This option also avoids projecting fillets which overlap with the actual geometry edges, thus enabling you to create the associative dimensions on views.

However, this is applicable only for those fillets which have two supporting faces, out of which at least one of the faces is planar.

Notes:
  • This projection mode is equivalent to the CATIA V4 fillet projection mode.
  • The following information applies to Symbolic, Approximated Original Edges, and Projected Original Edges:
    • Only those fillets for which the fillet faces exist in the corresponding 3D are shown.
    • Dimensions on fillets are not associative for Symbolic and Approximated Original Edges.
    • Dimensions on fillets with two supporting faces including at least one planar face are associative for Projected Original Edges.
    • Such fillets cannot inherit 3D colors. Likewise, when using generative view styles, such fillets cannot inherit the 3DInheritance view dress-up parameters (defined in Me > Preferences > Standards > generativeparameters > *.XML file, > Drafting > ViewDressup > 3DInheritance).
    • Always bear in mind that those fillets representations are only a symbolical preview of the 3D.
3D points
Projects points from 3D (no construction elements), then select the type of 3D points to generate.
3D symbol inheritance
Keeps the symbols that are used in the 3D representation to project 3D points.
Symbol
Allows you to use a new symbol to project 3D points, and select the symbol of your choice from the drop-down list.
3D wireframe
Visualizes both the wireframe and the geometry on generated views. You can choose whether projected 3D wireframe can be hidden or is always visible:
Can be hidden
Hides 3D wireframe geometry to follow the standard removal of the hidden lines.
Is always visible
Always shows 3D wireframe geometry.

In this case, it follows the standard removal of the hidden lines.

Important:

In case of wireframes being coincident behind a part boundary, they may be seen as relimited lines when 3D Wireframe and Can be hidden are selected.

3D extracted representations

Indicates 3D representations that are projected in the view.

All design representations
Projects all design representations in the view.
First design representations
Projects only the first level of design representations in the view.
Notes:
  • The above options consider only the representations having the V_nature attribute as Definition.
  • If the first level representation does not have the V_nature attribute as Definition, the second level is considered as the first level representation.
As session
Projects all 3D representations in the session.
All representations
Projects all representations in the view.
First representations
Projects only the first level of design representations in the view.

Generation Mode

Only generate 3D shapes larger than
Generates 3D shapes larger than the specified size.
Enable occlusion culling
Saves memory when generating exact views from an assembly (or a part or product) which is loaded in the Visualization mode (i.e. when the Check cache coherency check box is selected in Me > Preferences > Common Preferences > General > Cache and Performance > Cache expander).

This loads only the parts which are seen in the resulting view (instead of loading all of them, which is the case by default), which optimizes memory consumption and CPU usage.

Clash detection
Identifies clash and projects the clashing bodies in the Exact view generation mode.
View generation mode
Changes how the view is generated.

A short description of the various view generation modes is provided below. For a detailed description (including the advantages and restrictions pertaining to each mode), see About the View Generation Modes.

To a lesser extent, you may also see .

Exact view
Turns the view into an exact view (the geometry becomes available).

If you select the Exact view mode, you can click Options to customize the preference for the integration of 3D polyhedral data.

CGR
Turns the view into a CGR view (only the external appearance of the component is used and displayed; the geometry is not available).
Approximate
Turns the view into an approximate view.

Although approximate views are not as high in precision and quality as exact views, this generation mode reduces the memory consumption significantly.

Performance may also be improved, depending on how you fine-tune the precision (see Options).

Therefore, the approximate mode is particularly well-adapted to sophisticated products or assemblies involving large amounts of data.

Raster
Turns the view into an image view.

You can configure a number of options such as the level of detail or the type of image to generate (shading, shading with edges, etc). You can also select the With texture check box (available only with the shading modes) to visualize the realistic rendering of the threads.

For more information about this option, see .

Important:

To use the raster generation mode, the Angle value must be set to 0 in Orientation and Scale.

Important:
  • When you select a mix of exact, CGR, approximate and/or raster views before launching the Properties dialog box, the options are disabled. To activate these options, make sure you select views which use the same generation mode.
  • Dress-up properties are specific to each view generation mode. These properties are thus not taken into account when you change the view generation mode. Reverting to the first view generation mode lets you recover the dress-up properties.

Generative view style

Generative view style
The Generative view style shows the generative view style which is applied to a single view or multiple selected views.
Reset to style values
Resets the values of the properties defined in the selected generative view style to the original style values. (To let you know when properties have been changed compared to the original generative style, an asterisk is displayed in front of them).