Render[in] 0.

8 Public Beta Version

1- What is Render[in]? 2- Installation 3- Activate/deactivate the license 4- Interface 5- Rendering 6- FAQ 1- What is Render[in]? Render[in] is a new radiosity real time rendering engine developed by SB2. This plug-in is for Mac and PC users working with SketchUp 7or 8 versions free or pro. Render[in] allows you to: generate quickly a radiosity rendering in high photorealistic quality see the final result in a Preview window, without the need to launch a rendering create a project environment, infinite ground (realistic water, sand, grass) and a 3D sky create artificial light sources The plug-in is delivered in a public beta version. It is free to use, nonetheless you will need to register on our web site at www.renderin.com to obtain your serial number. NB: This is a beta version, we strongly recommend you to make a copy of your SketchUp files before using the plug-in. Studio Base 2 can not be responsible for any lost work. 2- Installation Please close SketchUp if open. Double-click on the Render[in] installer program. Launch SketchUp, choose Plugins from the menu bar, then Render [in].

3- Activate/deactivate the license License activation Check you are connected to the Internet Once launched the Render[in] license manager will be displayed:

Enter your serial number (composed of two numbers separated by a dash) the serial number is the one you received by e-mail. Click on Activate license. A message must confirm the activation. NB: To work on another computer, no need to uninstall the plug-in, just deactivate the license number and transfer it to the other computer. License deactivation Menu Plugins>Render[in]>License Click on Deactivate the license. 4- Interface A- Preview window Please go into the menu: Plugins>Render[in]>Preview, the Preview window is displayed showing the content of the SketchUp window.

The Preview is the SketchUp scene lit in radiosity with natural and artificial lights. When the SketchUp camera is moved, the Preview is automatically refreshed. When we create or edit the geometry in SketchUp, the Render[in] Preview does not take into account the modifications; in this case a red light will be displayed. Click on the Regenerate button to refresh the Preview; the light will turn green. B- Inspectors Palettes I- Material Inspector: Gives SketchUp materials some new parameters: Reflection, Shininess and Bump.

- Reflection: the material reflects the environment; values from 0 to 1 allow modifying the intensity of the reflection. - Shininess: to control the glossy of the reflection, the power is given by the slider; values from 0 to 1000. - Bump: only editable when the material has an associated texture; values from -1 to 1. Allows you to change gray levels of the texture to give a recessed effect for a negative value or a bulging effect for positive values. The medium 0 value gives no bump. II- Heliodon Inspector Change the ground and the sky of the project environment. Allow associating an infinite ground with 4 different types of materials: colored, sand, realistic water and grass, as well as a 3D sky with 4 types of clouds: Cirrus, Stratus, Cumulus and Cirrocumulus.

Force Sun Shadows: allow forcing the casted shadows even if they have not been activated from SketchUp. Background Environment: activate the infinite ground of SketchUp as well as a 3D sky in the Preview. Infinite Ground: provide 4 different infinite ground materials: a custom color, sand, water, and grass. Click on the image to edit the custom color. 3D sky: The sun position depends on the Shadows parameters of SketchUp. You can choose the clouds you want to activate: Cirrus, Stratus, Cumulus and Cirrocumulus. Moving the cursor or entering a numeric input from 0 to 100 makes changes to the clouds size and density. A 0 value creates a sky with no cloud. The effects are immediately taken into account in the Preview.

III- Artificial lights Inspector: Allows control of the artificial light when a surface or an object has been determined as a light source. NB: before setting these parameters you need to define into SketchUp which geometry is going to be the light source. How to transform a geometric element of SketchUp into a light source? Right click on the geometry; in the popup menu choose Create a Group or Create a Component. Then choose Create Light from the menu Plug-ins > Render[in]>Lights>Create Light; the created light becomes editable. NB. The geometry used to be the light source will always becomes invisible in the Render[in] Preview. Lights Inspector: Display the Lights Inspector from the Render[in] tools:

On/Off: to switch the state of the light. Color: click on the colored rectangle to modify the color of the light source. Power: set the power of the light values between 0 and 1 000 000. Angle: set the light angle from 0 to 180 Shadows: check for the light source to cast shadows; if unchecked the light passes through the materials, and shadows are not cast. Shadows Softness: activate the soft shadows values from 0 to 100. If the value is 0 shadows are cast sharp; shadows become more and more blurred as we move away from the element.

IV- Rendering Parameters Allow defining the parameters of the final rendering.

Rendering Size*: define the Height and Width of the rendering image. Click on the chain to keep the ratio. Anti-aliasing: allows smoothing the lines. Just for final rendering, it doesn't affect the Preview. radiosity*: choose the quality None, Medium, Normal, or High. Be careful this does not affect the display in Preview. Just to keep the fast refresh of the Preview, the radiosity quality level is always set on Medium. Lighting: choose it among the predefined types Interior or Exterior NB*: The rendering time depends on these values. They can greatly increase the rendering time. Just a hint; start to calculate renderings in small size and radiosity set on Medium.

5- Rendering

Click on le the Render button. Choose one of the rendering file formats: BMP, JPEG, PNG, TARGA, and then the saving location.

Once the rendering is launched, in the lower part of the Preview the progression is displayed in percentage.

The final rendering

6- FAQ 1- Q- When a component is being edited we don't see it in Preview. A- We must close the component then click on the Regenerate button of the Preview. 2- Q- If Regenerate button is gray (not available) and the diode is red, I cannot update the Preview. A- We must close the component then click on the Regenerate button of the Preview. 3- Q- I just edited the SketchUp geometry but the modifications are not taken into account into the Preview: A- In this case if in the Preview the diode is red, you need to update the Preview, click on Regenerate; the Preview will refresh the geometry then the diode becomes green. 4- Q- The textures seen in the Preview are well displayed. Nonetheless in the final rendering the textures are correctly set: A- Go back to SketchUp, right click on the geometry in question, and then choose Explode. SB2, August 2010