Raylectron v3 User Guide

5/27/2018 Raylectron v3 User Guide

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v.3

USER GUIDEHow to use Raylectron Render

SoftByte Laboratory, Inc


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Table of ContentsOverview ..................................................................................................................................................................................

The Raylectron technology ..................................................................................................................................................

Flexibility ..............................................................................................................................................................................

Installing Raylectron for SketchUp ..........................................................................................................................................

Raylectron within Sketchup .....................................................................................................................................................

Raylectron Toolbar (in SketchUp) ...................................................................................................................................

Raylectron Textures Exporter ..........................................................................................................................................

Raylectron render + Material Editor ...............................................................................................................................

Raylectron Instancing .......................................................................................................................................................

Raylectron Fix Reversed Faces ........................................................................................................................................

Raylectron PlatonicSolids .................................................................................................................................................

Raylectron SketchyMesh .................................................................................................................................................

Material Editor (in SketchUp) ..............................................................................................................................................

How to edit materials ......................................................................................................................................................

Units of measurement: ...................................................................................................................................................

Standard Materials (first tab) ..........................................................................................................................................

Light Emitter (second tab) ...............................................................................................................................................

Grass and Fur (third tab) .................................................................................................................................................

Quick start up ..........................................................................................................................................................................

Bottom Status bar (in Raylectron) ...........................................................................................................................................

Menu bar (in Raylectron) ........................................................................................................................................................

File menu .............................................................................................................................................................................

View menu ...........................................................................................................................................................................

Threads (x) menu ................................................................................................................................................................

Help menu ...........................................................................................................................................................................

Stand-alone Raylectron ............................................................................................................................................................

Viewing your model ............................................................................................................................................................

Model View Tab / Raylectron Viewer: ............................................................................................................................

View size ..........................................................................................................................................................................

3D Stereo vision ..............................................................................................................................................................

Wire mesh view ...............................................................................................................................................................

X-Ray view ........................................................................................................................................................................

Pan/Rotate/Zoom .............................................................................................................................................................

FPS navigation (Animation) .............................................................................................................................................

Camera settings ...............................................................................................................................................................

Camera undo/redo ..........................................................................................................................................................


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Zoom extents ...................................................................................................................................................................

Saving the view image to file...........................................................................................................................................

Rendering your model .............................................................................................................................................................

X-Ray level ............................................................................................................................................................................

2 point perspective ..............................................................................................................................................................

Lighting .................................................................................................................................................................................

Light sources ....................................................................................................................................................................

Ray tracing (CPU version only) ........................................................................................................................................

Path tracing (CPU and GPU versions) ..............................................................................................................................

Photon tracing (CPU version only) ..................................................................................................................................

Render settings ....................................................................................................................................................................

Sun/Sky .............................................................................................................................................................................

Static background image .................................................................................................................................................

FOG ...................................................................................................................................................................................

Environment maps (tab) .....................................................................................................................................................

Special effects (tab) - Depth of Field (DOF) .........................................................................................................................

Render View (tab) ...............................................................................................................................................................

Adjusting the rendered output ...........................................................................................................................................

Tone mapping ..................................................................................................................................................................

General adjustments ........................................................................................................................................................

Saving your rendered image to file .....................................................................................................................................

Saving to AVI video file (rendered model) ..........................................................................................................................

Model settings (save/load) ..................................................................................................................................................

Render data (save/load) ......................................................................................................................................................

Material editor (in Raylectron) ................................................................................................................................................

How to edit materials in Raylectron ....................................................................................................................................

Material (first tab) ...............................................................................................................................................................

Emitter (second tab) ............................................................................................................................................................

Grass and Fur (third tab) .....................................................................................................................................................

Animation (tab) settings ..........................................................................................................................................................

General settings ...................................................................................................................................................................

How to walk in the model ...................................................................................................................................................

Recording your model animation ........................................................................................................................................

Recording your render animation .......................................................................................................................................

Playback ................................................................................................................................................................................

Saving to AVI video file ........................................................................................................................................................

Network settings (more speed) ...............................................................................................................................................


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Want more speed (CPU and GPU OpenCL) .............................................................................................................................

Support ..................................................................................................................................................................................

Purchase / Order ...................................................................................................................................................................

OverviewRaylectron has the ability to easily render 3D models made in Google Sketchup into a photo-realistic image. Simply sele

material and apply some effects to it, or make it a light. It's that simple! You can set how to illuminate your model, light

sun, sky, ambient occlusion, environment map etc. You can rotate, pan and zoom. You can stop the render, save it, reo

later and resume the render. No need to remove walls to see the interior render, simply use the X- Ray vision. While th

render is going, you can view the progress, and, you only need to stop it whenever the quality is to your satisfaction.

"Raylectron does not need any editing by other graphic software (such as Photoshop) to produce photorealistic rende

The Raylectron technology

The technology behind Raylectron, unlike others, is unique. Developed from the law of light propagation, it is able to

perform faster while retaining the basic fundamental law of physics. Using many proprietary algorithms developed by

SoftByte Labs over the course of many years of research, it is able to achieve photorealistic output without material set

complexity (you cannot tell the difference between a photograph and the rendered output). In fact, it is so easy to use,

anyone can use it. Raylectron employ three different technologies, each, as easy as the other. Depending on your

requirement, you can achieve photorealism in less than a minute, and for the perfectionist, you stop it when you know

perfect!

Flexibility

While Raylectron attempts to set various settings on its own to make it easy for you, it also allow you to set everything

yourself. And when we mean everything, we mean everything. Define your materials parameters and globally save the

be used again later. Save your render data and resume your render at a later date, even on another machine. Rotate, z

and pan right from the Raylectron model viewer. Start/Stop your render without re-exporting your model, ideal for fine

tuning lights, materials and camera position. View and rotate your environment maps right in the Raylectron environm

map viewer, support HDR maps, also create animation. But that's not all. You have complete control over all the settin

and the best part is, they are not complicated at all and are self-explanatory.


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Installing Raylectron for SketchUpRaylectron is for MS Windows 32/64 bit (Win7/8, Vista and XP). MAC coming soon.

Before installing Raylectron, make sure that SketchUp is closed.

After installation, you will find the Raylectron plugin in the Sketchup 'View' menu and on the toolbarwhere you can se

your materials and start the render.

Once you start the render, a new window will come up, click on the 'Render' button to start, or change some settings su

Network slaves, view size, camera, sun, sky, materials etc.

If you have any questions, suggestions or anything, let us know, either by email or in our Forum.

Raylectron within Sketchup

Raylectron Toolbar (in SketchUp)

Raylectron will install these following plugins...

Raylectron Textures Exporter: Export all the images/textures from the model. Export all the textures from

model to a directory. You can save these images/textures into bmp, jpg or png.

Raylectron render + Material Editor: Render your model for a Photorealistic image and a Raylectron MateEditor, it works entirely inside Sketchup and also work on Stand-alone, and the rendering process free Sketchup

you can continue working on your model.

Raylectron Instancing: Create an instance of the selected group(s) and/or Components(s). Have you ever tr

duplicate a high poly tree hundreds of times? ...and gave up because Sketchup uses all your memory and is bar

responding? No problem, we have a solution. Instancing of components and groups allow you to duplicate any

component or group without increasing the poly count and memory usage. In fact, each instance only takes up

poly, no matter how many poly the original has. Create huge forest, metropolitan area, grass etc.

o The following scene would normally require 5,145,528 poly, but using the Raylectron Instancing, only 3

poly were generated. 232 instances of a single tree of 22,179 poly. Imagine doubling or even quadrupli

the number of trees? Now you can see the importance of instancing.

Raylectron Fix Reversed Faces: It is always good practice to create your Sketchup model correctly with all

the faces oriented the proper way, so that the front-face is facing outwards where you might see it and it has a

required material/texture applied to it - and conversely the back-face is inside and never has a material applied

it's not seen.

o Click on the icon and drag your mouse over your model, it will make all your faces the proper w


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Raylectron PlatonicSolids:

We provide 5 different shapes, such as

o Icosahedron(20 faces)

o Dodecahedron(12 faces)

o Octahedron(8 faces)

o Cube or hexahedron(6 faces)

o Tetrahedron(4 faces)

When you check the box Subdivide into an IcoSphere without poles, it will enable the Select subdivide

recursion leveland will give you the result on how many triangles it will generate.

The higher the recursionLevel= the slower it will take to generate your IcoSphere.

You can also change the Radiusof the IcoSphere, the default is 12 inches.

Raylectron SketchyMesh: SketchyMesh is an easy terrain and shape builder. It is based on the formula z=f(x

for a grid where you enter your own ruby formula using x and y.

You don't need to know math, really, just modify the ones that comes with the plugin and see what it does. The

an Undo button to easily undo the mesh, so you can change the formula quickly on every turn. You can go the

"View" menu and turn on "Hidden Geometry". The example below has a material to it, but the plugin doesn't d

that, it only creates a mesh.


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Material Editor (in SketchUp)

How to edit materials

TheMaterial Editorlet you produce different effects, such as reflection (like mirror), refraction (like glass), transparency

glossiness, shininess, bump maps, normal maps and background images. Shadows are not fake or simulated like "Soft

shadows". Caustics are also real, not fake or simulated. Any material can be aLight Emitter,such as a fireplace, TV, lam

etc. Thegrass and Furgives you the ability to create your own grass with many settings, such as length, width of the bl

tilt, pull and gravity, you can also use the Fur for animals, carpet, fabric, hair, any texture with a fur like material.

Once you open a Model in Sketchup, click on the Raylectron icon in the Toolbar and the Raylectron - Material Editor w

open, then simply click on the Renderbutton to start your render or if you like to edit your materials, click on the

eyedropper icon/button and click on your model to edit your materials.

TheMaterial Editor(in Raylectron) does not have an eyedropperor the Units of measurement.

All Settingscan be used with Raylectron Material Editor (in Sketchup) or Raylectron Material Editor (Stand-alon

Units of measurement:To change the International System of Units (SI), click on the Ruler icon (bottom right window) and select the appropri

Units of measurement (Metric or Non-metric). i.e. Inches, Feet, Millimeters, Centimeters, or Meters.

Standard Materials (first tab)

This is the area where you change your reflection (like mirror), refraction (like glass), transparency, shininess,

roughness, bump maps, normal maps and background images. From your Sketchup model select (using the eyedropper

component material such as glass, stones, floor, wall, etc.

Examples: shininess or roughness to your wood floor, ceramic or marble tiles, metal, etc., bump depth to your wall

as bricks, stones, stucco, etc., glass to your windows, table top, wine glasses, etc., mirror to your wall or door.

Globally saved

o User Defined (drop down list): Click on this buttonto access all materials previously saved to th

registry. It can be accessed by all your Sketchup models.


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Roughness: The amount of blur to apply, such as frosted glass, shiny wood floor, etc.

Example1: Frosted light blue glass (indoor lighting) Example2: Stainless Steel, polished (outdoor lighting)

Settings: Settings:

Color RGB = 0, 128, 192 Color RGB = 145,145,145

Roughness = 0.01 Roughness = 0.01

Transparency = 0.96 (96% transparent) Shininess = 80%

Refraction IOR = Glass (1.51714)

Shininess:Mostly for non-reflective surfaces such as wood and tiles. Metals are reflective so use the

Reflectionsetting instead.

o Use specular shininess(check box): Used when Shininess is non-zero. Does not reflect anythin

other than the sun and/or artificial lights. Makes the object look more plastic.

Example1: High gloss wood finish(indoorlighting) Example2: High gloss wood finish (outdoorlighting)

Settings:

Texture = any wood texture you like

Shininess = 0.5

Use specular shininess = on

Transparency: As the name imply, it will make your material a see-through appearance. It is the oppos

the Opaque setting in Sketchup.

Reflection: Used for non-shiny surfaces, such as mirrors, metals and chromes.

To get aMirroreffect, set your Reflection = 100%.


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Example1: Copper, polished (indoorlighting) Example2: Copper, polished (outdoorlighting)

Settings:

Color RGB = 235, 170, 126

Roughness = 0.0005

Reflection = 0.8

Example3: Copper, rough (indoorlighting) Example4: Copper, rough (outdoorlighting)

Settings: Color RGB = 235, 170, 126

Roughness = 0.02

Reflection = 0.8


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Example: Black glass (outdoorlighting)

Settings:Color RGB = 130, 130, 130

Roughness = 0.01

Reflection = 100%

Refraction: The index of Refraction such as glass, plastics etc. Used with the Transparencysetting.

Example1: Clear light blue glass (indoor lighting) Example2: Textured clear glass (indoor lighting

Settings: Settings:

Color RGB = 0, 128, 192 Texture = any texture you like

Transparency = 96 (96% transparent) Transparency = 100 (100% transparent)

Refraction IOR = Glass (1.51714) Refraction IOR = Glass (1.51714)


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User Defined drop box (Presets). Select pre-defined materials with already set Index of Refract

None

Air: 1.0002926

Diamond: 2.417

Glass: 1.51714

Glass (thin) single layer

Plastic: 1.46

Plexiglas (& Acrylic): 1.5

Water: 1.33335

Bump Depth: Bump depth is used to create raised or lowered texture surfaces. Positive values recess areas while negative values recess light areas.

o Example: Stainless Steel, rough or brushed with normal map(outdoorlighting)

Settings:

Color RGB = 163, 163, 163

Diffuse = 0.02

Roughness = 1 or higher or

o You could also use a brushed texture and use the bump depthof 10 or so, or

o Attached a normal mapto it (see above) with a Bump depth= 5 & Shininess=

Background image (check box):A background image does not produce shadows nor does it block light,

is visible.

Normal map image (check box):Attach a normal map image to the material. Used with the Bump level bump mapping. (see above for the blue/purple Normal map sample)

Apply(button): Apply to settings to the selected material. Make sure you click on Applyevery time you

make changes to your settings.

Saved Globally (check Box): Saves this material in the registry using its material name. It can be access

all your Sketchup models. It is like a Preset. Once saved it will be shown in the list of User Defineddro

down list.

This will only save the color and the setting of the materials, it will not save the actual texture i

itself.


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Hide Hints(check box): When you check this box, hints will be hidden, and when you uncheck the box t

Hints will be enable. Move your mouse over any settings to see a hint (help) of what these settings do

Ruler (icon): Click on the Rulericon and select the appropriate Units of measurement (Metric or Non-

metric unit).

o i.e. Inches, Feet, Millimeters, Centimeters, Meters.

Before clicking on the RENDER button, make sure you click on the APPLY button first, this will save the setting

you have changed them!

Render(button):Launch the Raylectron render for the current model. You can then set additional sett

rotate, pan, zoom and setup your grass/fur in real time within Raylectron.

Eyedropper(icon/button):Clickon the eyedropper and pick a material from your Sketchup model.

Closed: This will close the Raylectron - Material Editor in Sketchup window.

Light Emitter (second tab)This is the area where you change your light emitter material. From your Sketchup model select (using the

eyedropper) either your light bulb, light fixture and/or light panel component material and then select the type of l

beam, power, coverage and if needed the transparency of the light.

Make sure to make the front faces of your light component facing outwards where you can see it or your light w

not glow the proper direction. SeeFix Reverse Faces.

Raylectron does not require you to set up any lights. Design in Sketchup your light fixture and a light bulb, and

simply apply a Light material to the light bulb group or component.

The Emitter tab will provide you with

List of lights/emitters (drop down list). List all of the materials in the current model which are defined a

light/emitter. SeeSaved Globally.

Emitter status:

o On or Off (radio button): You can either turn ON the light or turn OFF the light.

If light is turn ON, then you are able to use the settings.

If light is turn OFF, the settings will be disable.

Light beam kind(radio button):Select the kind of light beam to use.

o Smooth spread

o Spot effecto Laser beam

o None

Power: Set the power. Light powers are not in watts but rather a percentage over other lights.

Coverage: Sets the light beam projection coverage angle.

o For example, use 45 to 90 for a spot light, and 180 for an area light.

Apply(button): Apply to settings to the selected Sketchup material. Make sure you click on Applyevery

you make changes to your settings.


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all your Sketchup models. It is like a Preset. Once saved it will be shown in the List of lights/emitters dr

down list.

This will only save the color and the settings of the material, it will not save the act

texture image itself.

Hide Hints(check box): When you check this box, the Hints will be hidden, and when you uncheck the

the Hints will be enable. Move your mouse over any settings to see a hint (help) of what these settings

Ruler (icon): Click on the ruler icon and select the appropriate Units of measurement (Metric or Non-munit).


Render(button):Launch the Raylectron render for the current model. You can then set additional sett

rotate, pan, zoom and setup your grass/fur in real time.

Eyedropper(icon/button): Clickon the eyedropper and pick a material from your Sketchup model.

Closed: This will close the Raylectron - Material Editor in Skecthup window.

Grass and Fur (third tab)

This is the area where you add/edit your grass and/or fur to your model. From the Model View tab select (using

eyedropper) either your terrain, landscape, carpet, hair, etc., component material and then select the length, the base o

blade, tilt angle, pull angle and the blade in sq.ft. You can also use this feature for grass, hay, fabric, such as sofa, chairs

so on, any texture with a fur/thread like material.


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The Grass/Fur tab will provide you with

Length (min): The min. length of the blade. Length (max): The maximum length of the blade.

Base width (min): The min. width of the blade. Base width (max): The maximum width of the blade.

Tilt angle (min):The min. tilt angle of the blade. Tilt angle (max):The maximum tilt angle of the blade.

Pull X (min): The min. amount of pull/force in the X axis. Pull X (max): The maximum amount of pull/force in the X ax

Pull Y (min): The min. amount of pull/force in the Y axis. Pull Y (max): The maximum amount of pull/force in the Y axi

Pull Z (min): The min. amount of pull/force in the Z axis. Pull Z (max): The maximum amount of pull/force in the Z axi

Gravity pull (check box):Turn the blade perpendicular to the pull/force direction.

Blades / sq. ft.: Set the number of blades per area. Start with 20 or so at first. Too high a number on a large arecan use large amount of memory.

Apply(button): Apply to settings to the selected Sketchup material. Make sure you click on Applyevery time yo



all your Sketchup models. It is like a Preset. Once saved it will be shown in the User Defineddrop dow

list.

This saves only the color and the settings of the materials, it will not save the actual texture image itsel

Hide Hints(check box): When you check this box, the Hints will be hidden, and when you uncheck the box the H

will be enable. Move your mouse over any settings to see a hint (help) of what these settings do.

Ruler (icon): Click on the ruler icon and select the appropriate Units of measurement (Metric or Non-metric un


Render(button):Launch the Raylectron render for the current model. You can then set additional settings, rot

pan, zoom and setup your grass/fur in real time.

Eyedropper(icon/button): Clickon the eyedropper and pick a material from your Sketchup model.

Closed: This will close the Raylectron - Material Editor window.


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Quick start upYou should run Sketchup and load a model to render. Then from the Sketchup 'Toolbar', select the 'Raylectron Render'

to bring up the Raylectron window. At this point, you can simply click on 'Render' oredit(by clicking on the eyedropper

your materials first, such as lights, mirrors, glass, walls, etc.

Once you have rendered a model, you can run Raylectron directly and reload the model without the need to run Sketch

unless you have since modified the model in Sketchup.

Your Sketchup model will now be displayed in the Raylectron 'Model View'tab where you canrotate,zoom and pan usi

the mouse. You may also view your model in wire mesh and x-ray mode.

You can also bring theMaterial Editorfrom the Menu bar (Viewtab) and right click on an object in your model to chang

material property.

Depending on your model, you may select to render it usingRay tracingmode (fastest),Photon tracing(slower, best qu

orPath tracing(suggested). You may change theLight sourceas well, for example, Sun, Sky or Lights, or both.

For outdoor scenes, you may first load anenvironment mapas a background and render it in path tracing mode.

You may also setnetworkslaves to render much faster.

Click on 'Render' to start rendering the way you have it positioned in the Model View tab. When render frames (sample

available, it will automatically display the result. If you use network slaves, you will need to click on 'Update view' when

new frames become available (seebottom status bar).

While your render is going, you can play around with the settings, such asTone mapping,Intensity etc. to tune your ren

result to the desired look. You can stop the render at any time to change material properties, lights, and Sun/Sky colors

intensity, change thecamera positionetc.

You should experiment with the settings provided to the left of the window, and in the menus because the default sett

may not produce the desired render output.

This is just a few tips on how to get started. See ourforum Q&Aand post your questions if you have any problem or if y

are not sure how to make something work. We'll help you out.
http://softbytelabs.com/Forum/viewforum.php?f=9http://softbytelabs.com/Forum/viewforum.php?f=9http://softbytelabs.com/Forum/viewforum.php?f=9http://softbytelabs.com/Forum/viewforum.php?f=9


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Bottom Status bar (in Raylectron)This is where you see the results and information about your model. The bottom Status Bar is located at the bottom of

Raylectron interface

First row of the Status bar: In the Model Viewtab, hover your mouse over the area you wish to see some information

your model

o Will show you the Camera Distance to the point.

o Material name & Face orientation. Will show you whether it is the Front or back face of the material.

o Hit Angle. The angle of the face from the camera.

Second row of the Status bar:

1. Total time the render is going (in seconds).

2. Total passes/samples (how many times it sampled all pixels. The more samples, the better quality.)

3. Total Faces (triangles) in the model.

4. Total frames per seconds (show you how many frames per second your video card can do for the loaded mode

Animation Tab)

5. Total number of Light(s) in the model.

6. Output resolution: Click to change size.

a. Set View Port. Let you change the output resolution of your model.

b. Fit to View.Will fit your model into the view port.

c. Auto Size.The model will resize with the window and always fit one of the windows dimensions exactly

d. Predefined size. Choose thesize you like to view your model (200%, 150%, 125%, 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%

Menu bar (in Raylectron)The Menu bar in Raylectron interface is where the drop down menus is displayed.

File menu

o Open ROF or OBJ file: Open a model exported from Sketchup, or and obj file.

o Open in Sketchup: Open your model in Sketchup.

o Save model settings: Save the model settings to file. It will load automatically the next time you open this mod

o Auto save every... Automatically save your render data while rendering. If anything goes wrong like a power of

then you can reload it and continue rendering using the last saved data information.

o Do not auto save: Do not save rendering data automatically.

o Pre-defined time Save your render data every 5 minutes to 3 hours.o Save render data as... Save the render data to file.

o Load render data... Load the render data.

o Load 360 degree environment map: Load an environment map (HDR is supported).

o Unload environment map:Remove environmentmap.

o Save image as... Save render image to file.

o Exit: Close Raylectron


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View menu

o Viewport...

o Set View Port: Let you change the output resolution of your model.

o Fit to View:Will fit your model into the view port.

o Auto Size:The model will resize with the window and always fit one of the windows dimensions exactly

o Predefined size:Choose thesize you like to view your model (200%, 150%, 125%, 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%

o Zoom Extents: Zoom your view to a distance which makes the whole model visible and centered in the viewing

o Auto update view: Will automatically updateyour render when the new frames (samples) become available.

o Rotate Environment map......

o Set...Enter map rotation in degree.o Follow camera : The map will rotate automatically when rotating your model.

o Pre-defined degrees: Select a degreefrom 0.00 to 337.5 to rotate your map.

o Camera settings: Will open theCamera settingswindow.

o Sun / Sky / Fog: Will open theRender settingswindow.

o Network settings:Edit your server and/or slave setting for more speed.

o Histogram:A bar graph of raw data that creates a histogram of the light distribution of your render.

o Material Editor:Edit your materials, such as light, color, grass, glass, bump map, etc.

Threads (x) menuo Select how many threads you would like to use.

o Set.Set maximum number of threads to use: (Depending on your CPU speed, you can tell Raylectron

only use a certain number of threads.)

Help menu

o Help= Will bring the User Guide (help file).

o Show hints = By pointing your mouse on a setting, a tool tips will give you a hint (help).

o Check version = Will connect to the internet to check for the latest updates/upgrades.

o First time use Quick startup.o First time rendering Quick startup in rendering.

o 3D Stereo viewer How to view 3D stereo image.

o About= about Raylectron and to register/activate your copy of Raylectron.

Stand-alone Raylectron

Raylectron was designed to work within Sketchup, but, unlike others, it does not "freeze" Sketchup. That is, you can

continue to work on your model while it is being rendered. Furthermore, if you need to change the camera position, ch

material settings, turn on/off some lights etc., you do not need to export your model. You can do all this within Raylect

and start/stop the render without any delay occurred by re-exporting the model. Raylectron include a model viewer wh

you can rotate/pan/zoom just like in Sketchup.


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Viewing your model

Model View Tab / Raylectron Viewer:

Each time you open a model, it will be shown in the Model Viewtab in which you canrotate,pan, zoom, resize, and ev

edit yourmaterials/lightsoutside Sketchup, no need to re-export your model. Start/Stop lets you fine-tune your

lights/materials andcamera position.This viewer is similar to the Sketchup viewer.

Keep in mind that this Model Viewer tab is your workplace, this is where you do most of your editing.

View size

On the bottom right of the interface Status bar, this is where you can change the size of your view port. Click on Click

change size --- and a pop window will open and select the resolution you need.

a. Set View Port. Let you change the output resolution of your model.

b. Fit to View.Will fit your model into the view port.

c. Auto Size.The model will resize with the window and always fit one of the windows dimensions exactly

d. Predefined size. Choose thesize you like to view your model (200%, 150%, 125%, 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%

3D Stereo visionStereoscopy (also called stereoscopics or 3D imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an

image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. Click on the check box 3D Stereo and Raylectron will make your mo

into a 3D Stereo image.

To view the 3D stereo image, sit an arm-and-a-half length away from your monitor (or more if full screen) and

looking at the center of the whole viewing area (between the two images), very slowly, cross your eyes until th

center converge into a single 3D image. If you cross your eyes too fast, you will miss it. Do not look anywhere e

nor tilt your head, until you see the 3D image. As you start to cross your eyes slowly, you will notice a third ima

appearing in the center, between the left and right image. This third image is the one that will converge into a 3

image. Crossing your eyes this way is the same as looking at your finger up very close, like a foot away or less,

except, this is done 3+ feet away from the monitor. Once you see the 3D image, you can rotate, pan and zoom

usual. The experience is phenomenal. You can then start your render this way to produce 3D stereo renders an

save them this way as well.


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Rendering your model

X-Ray level

Choose an X-Ray level to render through layers. Unlike the X-Ray in Sketchup, the X-Ray level in Raylectron let you hide

in front of the camera so you can see inside. These layers will still be visible in mirrors and will still cast shadows. They a

only hidden from direct view to the camera.

2 point perspective

Two-point perspective is a common drawing technique in which all vertical lines in the model will appear straight. Use tTwo-Point Perspective menu item to achieve a 2-point perspective view of your model. In another word, keep vertical

parallel.

Lighting

There are several ways to Illuminate your model, the lighting effects in Raylectron are very easy to use. Click on theyel

Light bulbicon (top left pan of Raylectron interface) to open the Lightingwindow.

Light sources

There are four (4) light sources in Raylectron,Artificial light, Sun, Sky(daylight) and Environment (map). Depending on scene, you will need to choose the light effect that you desire.

Ray tracing (CPU version only)

Ray tracing is the fastest way, but color bleeding and caustics will be missing. Shadows are ambient except for fast and

shadows. In most case, this is the best choice, and if no light sources are used, ambient lighting is used.

No shadows: Anything not receiving any direct light will be black.

Fast Shadows: Simulate shadows.

True Shadows: Realistic shadows.

Ambient Shadows: Use this if you have no lights, no sky and no sun. Or, if you have any light sources, you can

provide nice shadows, but they will not match shadows from spot lights for example. As its name implies, ambi

occlusion determine how dark a shadow is based on how visible the area is from the surrounding.

Ambient Shadows only apply to Ray tracing mode

You may also set the distance of the farthest occlusion possible in the Lighting settings.

Example1: Using artificial lights only.

Using Fast shadowsfor indoor view will most likely give you the fastest results if you have lights shining just about

everywhere. But for spot lights with narrower angles and a lot of areas not getting any direct illuminationfrom any light

such as viewing from outdoor, True shadows should be used for more realistic shadows.


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Shadow intensity multiplier: If set to 2, your shadows will be twice as bright.

Max range in feet: Used by Ambient Occlusion to determine the contrast of the shadows.

Sun/Sky settings(button): Will bring you to theRender settingswhich you can edit the Sun and Sky.

Photon tracing (CPU version only)

Photon tracing will produce true illumination, true shadows, true caustics and color bleeding, for any kind of lights, big o

small, sun and sky, indoor and outdoor. It is also slower than Path tracing and Ray tracing but it is 100% photorealistic, w

Path tracing being second best and Ray tracing third best.

Photon radius: You may set the photon radius to 2 or more to speed it up, but corners will be darker than theyshould, unless this is not a concern.

Full spectrum (rainbow effects by refractive materials) check box: Produces a rainbow effect. This is still

experimental.

Sun/Sky settings(button): Will bring you to theRender settingswhich you can edit the Sun and Sky.

Photon tracing is notrecommended for speed. Use Path tracing instead, it is faster and generate just a

the same result.

Render settings

This is where you set your render settings, such as Sun, Sky, Ground colors, Fog and Static background settings. The Defis already set to standard setting, but can be change to your liking.

Sun/Sky

Change the Sky and Horizon color. The diffused color is the color emitted by the sky and horizon. The intensity sets the

intensity of the light emitted by the sun, sky and horizon. You can also set the Sun position using the Azimuth (position

relative to the North) and Elevation (relative to the ground).

Static background image

The Static background image is a fixed image to use as the background, which does not illuminate nor create shadows.

FOGWork the same way as in Sketchup.

Example: Enter a number in inches from where you want the Fog to Start, and enter how far you want the fog

End or in theModel ViewerTab, hover your mouse over the area you wish the fog to start and end, and use the distanc

shown in the bottom Status bar.

Settings:

Fog Color 153, 151, 155

Fog Start = 5

Fog End = 1500


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Environment maps (tab)

In computer graphics, environment mapping, or reflection mapping, is an efficient image-based lighting technique for

approximating the appearance of a reflective surface by means of a pre-computed texture image. The texture is used to

store the image of the distant environment surrounding the rendered object.

Gamma 2.2 corrected (check box): Gamma correction is a key process for producing color-accurate rendered

images. It allows details within darkness to show up much more easily (brighter colors).

HDR 360 panorama (check box): Check this box if it is a HDR 360 panorama.

Skydome (check box):Check this box if it is sky dome.

o A skydome is a 360 hemisphere map. They are made using a fisheye lens pointing directly up a

sky. The edges of the skydome will be the horizon.

Follow camera (check box):Rotate the maps as you rotate your model.

Intensity (check box):Sets the intensity of the environment map emits.

Special effects (tab) - Depth of Field (DOF)

Focus Distance (Blur effect). Depth of field refers to the amount of an image which is in focus and the amount which

becomes blurry. Objects that fall outside (are in front of or behind) the depth of field will look blurry.

Settings:

Focus distance = 4 Aperture size = f/24

Depth of field (DOF) is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in

image. Although a lens can precisely focus at only one distance at a time, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on each

of the focused distance, so that within the DOF, the un-sharpness is imperceptible under normal viewing conditions.

Focus distance: Sets the distance in which objects will be in focused. It allows you to set which objects you wa

have in focus and which objects you want to have out of focus.

o In theModel ViewerTab, hover your mouse over the area you wish to Focus, and use the distance show

thebottom Status bar.


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Model settings (save/load)

You can save the model settings to file. This will save all settings, including changes to your materials, window position

size etc. These saved settings will reload automatically when you load your model. Click on the Menubar and select Fil

and click on either Save Model Settings.

Render data (save/load)

You can save the Render data to a file and re-load it later to continue rendering. Click on the Menubar and select File

click on either Save render data as or Load render data

Material editor (in Raylectron)

How to edit materials in Raylectron

The Material Editor is very similar to theRaylectron - Material Editor (in SketchUp)it let you produce different effects, s

as reflection (like mirror), refraction (like glass), transparency, glossiness, shininess, bump maps, normal maps and

background images. Any material can be aLight Emitter,such as a fireplace, TV, lamp, wall, etc. Thegrass and Furgives

the ability to create your own grass with many settings, such as length, width of the blade, tilt, pull and gravity, you can

use the Fur for animals, carpet, fabric, hair, any texture with a fur like material.

The Raylectron - Material Editorsetting will be disabled when no material have been selected. To enabLeft-clickon an object in your model to edit its material.

Material (first tab)

This is the area where you change your reflection (like mirror), refraction (like glass), transparency, shinine

roughness, bump maps, normal maps and background images. From your Sketchup model select (right-click) yo

component material such as glass, stones, floor, wall, etc.

Example: shininess or roughness to your wood floor, ceramic or marble tiles, metal, etc., bump depth to yo

wall such as bricks, stones, stucco, etc., glass to your windows, table top, wine glasses, etc., mirror to your wall

door.

To bring up the Material Editor, go to the Menu barand select View and then Material Editor.

Simply right click on your model, in theModel Viewtab to select and edit your material component.

TheMaterial Editor(in Sketchup) does not have Color, you simply choose the color directly from Sketchu

SeeSample materialimages and settings such as Copper, Stainless Steel, Clear glass, Mirror, Wood, Black glass,

List of Materials (drop down list). List all of the materials in the current model which are defined as a

light/emitter. (if no materials were defined, then this field will be blank)

Roughness: The amount of blur to apply, such as frosted glass, shiny wood floor, etc.

Shininess: Mostly for non-reflective surfaces such as wood and tiles. Metals are reflective so use the

Reflection setting instead.

o Use specular shininess (check box): Used when Shininess is non-zero. Does not reflect anythin

other than the sun and/or artificial lights. Makes the object look more plastic.


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Transparency: As the name imply, it will make your material a see-through appearance. It is the oppo

the Opaque in Sketchup.

Reflection: Used for non-shiny surfaces, such as mirrors, metals and chromes.

Refraction: The index of Refraction such as glass, plastics etc. Used with the Transparency setting.

User Defined drop box (Presets). Select pre-defined materials with already set Index of Refract

None

Air: 1.0002926

Diamond: 2.417

Glass: 1.51714

Glass (thin) single layer

Plastic: 1.46

Plexiglas (& Acrylic glass): 1.5

Water: 1.33335

Bump Depth: Bump depth is used to create raised or lowered the texture surfaces on 3D models. Posi

values recess dark areas while negative values recess light areas.

Background image: (check box):A background image does not produce shadows nor does it block light

it is visible.

Normal map image (check box):Attach a normal map image to the material. Used with the Bump level

bump mapping.

Color: Change the color of the selected material.

Apply(button): Apply to settings to the selected material. Make sure you click on Applyevery time you



Emitter (second tab)

This is the area where you change your light emitter material. From theModel Viewtab select (right-click)

either your light bulb, light fixture and/or light panel component material and then select the type of light beam, po

coverage and if needed the transparency of the light.

Make sure to make the front faces of your light component facing outwards where you can see it or your light w

not glow the proper direction. SeeFix Reverse Faces.

Raylectron does not require you to set up any lights. Design in Sketchup your light fixture and a light bulb, and

simply apply a Light material to the light bulb group or component.

The Emitter tab will provide you with

List of lights/emitters (drop down list). List all of the materials in the current model which are defined a

light/emitter. (if no lights were defined, then this field will be blank)

Emitter status:

o On or Off (radio button). You can either turn ON the light or turn OFF the light.

If light is turn ON, then you are able to use the settings.

If light is turn OFF, the settings will be disable.


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Light beam kind(radio button):Select the kind of light beam to use.

o Smooth spread

o Spot effect

o Laser beam

o None

Power: Set the power. Light powers are not in watts but rather a percentage over other lights.

Coverage: Sets the light beam projection coverage angle.

o For example, use 45 to 90 for a spot light, and 180 for an area light.

Transparency: You can make your light emitter transparent while still emitting light.

Emitting color:Choose a color the light will emit.

Mult.All lights power by: Multiply the power of all lights by this amount.

Apply(button): Apply to settings to the selected Sketchup material. Make sure you click on Applyevery



Grass and Fur (third tab)

This is the area where you add/edit your grass and/or fur to your model. From theModel Viewtab select (right

either your terrain, landscape, carpet, hair, etc., component material and then select the length, the base of the blade,

angle, pull angle and the blade in sq.ft. You can also use this feature for grass, hay, fabric, such as sofa, chairs, and so o

any texture with a fur/thread like material.

SeeSamples of Grass and Furimages such as short and long grass, short and long fur.

Grass/Fur (drop down list). List all of the grass/fur in the current model which is defined as a grass or fur. (igrass and fur were defined, then this field will be blank)

Length (min): The min. length of the blade. Length (max): The maximum length of the blade.

Base width (min): The min. width of the blade. Base width (max): The maximum width of the blade.

Tilt angle (min):The min. tilt angle of the blade. Tilt angle (max):The maximum tilt angle of the blade.

Pull X (min): The min. amount of pull/force in the X axis. Pull X (max): The maximum amount of pull/force in the X ax

Pull Y (min): The min. amount of pull/force in the Y axis. Pull Y (max): The maximum amount of pull/force in the Y axi

Pull Z (min): The min. amount of pull/force in the Z axis. Pull Z (max): The maximum amount of pull/force in the Z axi

Gravity pull (check box): Turn the blade perpendicular to the pull/force direction.

Blades / sq. ft.: Set the number of blades per area. Start with 20 or so at first. Too high a number on a larg

area can use large amount of memory.

Apply(button):Apply to settings to the selected Sketchup material. Make sure you click on Applyevery tim




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Animation (tab) settingsAnimations are a series of scenes that are displayed in succession to give a hands-free tour of a model. We included tw

different ways to make an animation

1) Sketchup Animation way...

2) FPS Navigation way: This style is called FPS (First-person shooter) navigation mode, it is like these FPS shooter

games, you can walk or fly, climb stairs or any obstacle (such as table, chairs, etc.) it will go on top of it. Easier a

smoother to control the animation.

General settings

You can edit the Walk speed, mouse sensitivity and gravity, desired frame per second in the Animation Tab.

PFS navigation settings: When enabling the FPS movement in theModel Viewertab, use the settings to adjust the wal

speed, slow, normal and fast. You can also adjust the mouse sensitivity and enable or disable Gravity.

Enable gravity (check box):The camera will be at all times 56 (1.68 meters) above the object underneath the

camera, so if you go over an obstacle, the camera will climb over it, the same if the platform descent it will give

the impression you are going down.

Disable gravity(check box):Which means you are not falling due to gravity, the camera will be floating/flying, i

look up and go forward, you will go up, same as if you are in the air and you look down, the camera will give yo

impression you are going down. Great for using it for Aerial views.

Function keys

Enable gravity (F3) key: Gravity is on.

Play Animation (F5) key: Play animation.

Stop Animation (F6) key: Stop the recording or click on the FPS navigation check box.

Record Animation (F7) key: Start the recording.

Save Animation to Video File (F8) key: Save the recorded animation to a video file.

Desired frames per seconds: Set the desired number of frames per seconds when saving an animation to an AVI file. C

on the FPS navigationcheck box in the Model Viewer tab and look at the bottomstatus barwhich will give you an

approximate value on how many frames per second your video card can do for the loaded model .

o EX: 30 frames/sec. Anything below 10 is not very good.

Minimum samples per frame: Sets the maximum number of samples/passes the render must produce before saving th

rendered frame. The more the better quality, but slower.

Video save quality: Click on the box to set the video quality to a low number if the video file is to remain small. If the v

file size is no concern, you may set it higher or at maximum quality.

How to walk in the model

FPS Navigation way: In Once theFPS navigationis enabled , simply move your mouse around (this will allow y

to look around), use the Left-clickbutton to move forward, it is just like playing a FPS shooter games.

Click on the FPS navigation check box in theModel Viewer Tabto enable/disable FPS movement.

You can use the keyboard key W to moveforward, S to move back, A to sidestep left and D to sidestep right and th

and right arrow keys to turn left or right.


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Sketchup Animation way: Letyou go around your model by rotating, panning and zooming, once readyto reco

click on Record Animation(F7), once done, click on Stop Animation(F6). Play your animation by clicking on P

Animation(F5) and if satisfied with your animation, you can save your recorded animation by clicking on Save

Animation (F8) to a video file.

Recording your model animation

Click on theFPS navigationcheck box and start walking around your model, this will gives you a feel on how the Anima

works. Once ready, press F7key to start recording, walk around your model and when finish press on F6key to stop

recording.

Recording your render animation

You will need to record your animation on theModel Viewtab first, then click on theRender Viewtab and click on Sav

animation to video file icon or press (F8) key. If you want to stop the recording, click on Stop animation icon (F6) key.

Depending on the size and the length of your animation, it might take from an hour to several hours to

create the render animation. If you want to stop it, then click on Stop animation icon (F6) key, your

animation will be saved till this point.

Playback

Press F5key or click on the Play animationbutton, if satisfied press on F8key to save your Video file.

If not satisfied, redo the steps inRecording your camera. The new video will over write the old one.

Saving to AVI video file

Once satisfied with you recording, press on F8key or click on Save animation to video fileicon to save your video file

will save it in .AVI format.

Network settings (more speed)

To really speed up processing time, you may run Raylectron off as many slaves as you have on your network. Here's howworks...

Install Raylectron on the machine SketchUp is installed on. This will be called the Master or Server, because this is w

you do your work. Next, from the folder you have installed Raylectron into (not the Sketchup plugin, but C:\Program

Files\Raylectron\ for example), copy the file Raylectron.exe to all your other machines on your network. Or you can ins

Raylectron on them as well, even if you do not have Sketchup installed. You do not need to register each copy you insta

slaves.

Now, create a shared folder on the master or on one of the slave machine where all the other machines can access

example, \\PC001\SharedRender Make sure each machine can access that folder.

Now that you have copied Raylectron.exe in all the machines, and have setup a shared folder, run Raylectron.exe o

these machines, and, from the "View" menu, select "Network Settings". Click on the "Slave" radio button to make this a

slave, and change the port number or use the default. Then, at the bottom, enter the path to the shared folder, it shou

look something like this \\PC001\SharedRender and click on Apply and close that window. You can leave the render op

minimize it.

Now that all your slaves are setup and ready to go, run Raylectron from your master machine and go to the "Netwo

Settings". Click on the "Server" radio button because this will be the master. Now you need to enter the IPs or machine

names of all you slaves in the list. So click on "Add" and do so. Notice a checkbox next to each one? That's if you want t

or not use some of the slaves but want to keep the name in the list.


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Now set the port to the same as that of the slaves. The master and all the slaves must use the same port. Also ente

path of the shared folder at the bottom. You can also set the master not to render so that you can use your machine fre

while the slaves are rendering.

Close this window and you are now ready. Clicking on the Render button will automatically copy the necessary files

the loaded model to the shared folder and instruct all the slaves to render that model. You will notice on the master th

display will not update automatically. This is to keep the network utilization at a minimum. Watch the frames in the sta

bar. When new frames are available, you can click on "Update view" and the master will instruct each slaves to send ba

what they have rendered so far, and the display will show the result.

Note that these settings will be saved, so if you exit the render and go back, the render will use the slaves again, un

you disable it in the "Network Settings".

DO NOT start another render instance using the same network slaves. You can, for example, run 5 rend

each using their own slaves.

Want more speed (CPU and GPU OpenCL)We created two installs which one works with the CPU only (a little slower) and the other one works with theGPU with

OpenCL (Graphic card) which makes your render much faster. If you have a fast and a top of the line video card, the GP

install is the way to go.

If you choose the GPU install, you will get the Path Tracing mode only, but if you choose the CPU install, you will get the

Tracing, Path Tracing and the Photon Tracing.

Support

EmailFor any Technical support, including installations, bugs report, suggestions, or any other problems please contact us via

email [email protected]

ForumPlease also visit ourSupport/Forumfor more resources & tutorials, FAQ, Hints, How To, ask questions, view answers, ge

models, post your enders, see our gallery, screen shots and more.

Video tutorials...

The following video tutorials link will explain each and every aspect of Raylectron, why & how. Click here to see the Tut

The videos are on YouTube and we suggest you view them in HDfor better clarity.

Purchase / OrderRaylectron is fully operational, no restrictions of any kind, except for watermark. Once you purchased Raylectron the

watermark will be remove. It will also entitle you to one year free updates. This is a Non-Recurring fee, it is a one time

only, and the software will work for as long as you have it.

Secured online purchase:

Immediate Secure online delivery of registered copies of Raylectron is available with credit card and PayPal orders. Pho

Fax, Checks and Mail orders, please see ourweb sitefor up to date ordering information.

For Educational/Reseller/Governmentsite license and discount, please email :[email protected]

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Documents

Raylectron v3 User Guide