Introduction
This is the Virtalis Reach home page where you use the Virtalis Reach Edge server to view and open all published visualisations you have been granted access to. Each tile represents a visualisation and each visualisation will have a parent project. Visualisations are created by publishing projects in the Virtalis Reach Hub. Refer to The Virtalis Reach Hub and Projects for further information.
You can click the Copy Link icon on the lower right of a visualisation tile to copy a link to the visualisation to your clipboard. You can then paste this into an email or chat program. Please note: Only authorised users can use this link.
Click a visualisation to open it. A progress bar is displayed while the visualisation is opening.
Once opened, you can double-click a visualisation to view it in full screen mode. Press Esc to exit full screen and return to the original view.
Click the yellow icon on the bottom left-hand corner to return to the Visualisations home page.
Navigation
You can navigate within an open visualisation using a keyboard, mouse, WebXR and Gamepad controllers or, if using a Head Mounted Display (HMD), by using the HMD controllers.
Click the Help icon on the lower right of the screen for navigation and icon information.
When selected/active, the tools are highlighted with a yellow background:
Teleport to Location
To teleport, simply point where you want to go and pull the trigger.
In horizontal teleport mode, an arc will be drawn from the controller with a torus at the end signifying the location of your teleport.
In vertical teleport mode, a line is drawn from the controller with a torus signifying the new height you will teleport to, but it will not move you horizontally.
Please note: At the moment there is no way to disable the continuous movement.
Immersive Mode
Select the Immersive mode icon to navigate within an open visualisation using a Head Mounted Display (HMD) by using the controllers.
Please note: This mode only becomes available when a HMD is connected.
Orbit Mode
Select the Orbit mode icon to orbit the origin of the scene (0,0,0).
Interaction Modes
Interaction Modes allow you to use the Virtalis Reach functionality in various ways.
View
Click the View icon to interact with the scene. This is the default mode when you first open a visualisation.
Product Tree
Click the Product Tree icon to display the product structure from the asset's original CAD data.
Click the Select icon to select assemblies and highlight them in the Product Tree and 3D scene.
Expand the Product Tree to display the full product structure and any metadata (if available) associated with a selected assembly.
Click the View icon on the bottom of the screen to close the Product Tree.
Grab and Move
You can grab and move assemblies, without having to select them first, when wearing a HMD and using XR mode. This is possible in private sessions and when collaborating, where the moving assemblies are visible to all.
Please note: You’ll need to be close to the object to be able to grab it.
You can enable the tool by selecting A or X depending on the controller you are using. Once you have enabled the tool, intersect the object with the short laser, then press and hold the trigger button.
Tips:
- Grab and move can be used with one or two controllers, you only need one controller to grab an object
- You can duel wield grabbed objects by grabbing an object with one controller and grabbing a different object with the other controller
- Use the drumstick visual on the controller to help you grab an object
Please note: You will not be able to transform an object that is being moved by another user or by transformation scripts.
Comment
Create a Comment
Click the Comment icon to create a new comment thread, review existing comments and add replies. You start a thread at a specific location and then you and your colleagues can add comments to it.
Tip: You can add emojis to your comment. For example, in Windows, press Win + period (.) and select the emoji you want to add.
Create a Thread
Click the Add new comment icon and then click on the object in the 3D view that you wish to comment on. A Create Thread pane will open on the right-hand side of the screen.
The Title will default to the assembly name in the Product Tree of the object you selected and you can change this if required.
Enter your message and click Create Thread to add your comment to the Threads pane on the left-hand side of the screen.
You can click the 3D scene outside of the Create Thread pane to cancel.
Respond to a Comment
You can use the Comment markers (the location that was selected in the 3D view when the comment was made) and Threads panes to aid with both locating markers and displaying what the comment author was seeing at the time of making the comment.
Select a comment in the Threads pane on the left-hand side of the screen to open it in a new pane on the right-hand side of the screen. You can type a response to the comment and click Send to add your comment to the thread.
View Perspective
Click the View perspective link under the comment to navigate the camera position to the same location and orientation the comment author had when they pressed Send.
Version History
Click the Version History icon to view the available versions of visualisations. If the visualisation has been updated, the updates will be shown along with the time and date of the update. The different versions can be opened and viewed by clicking Open next to the version.
Settings
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Click the Settings icon to set the following:
Performance Mode
Select this option to change the target frame-rate that the renderer attempts to achieve.
The default (performance mode off) target is 30Hz (45Hz in XR), and the renderer adjusts the levels of detail it displays based on reaching that performance requirement. When you enable performance mode, it increases this target to 60Hz across the board. What this may mean, for devices that do not have the graphics capability of rendering the current level of detail (LOD) at that frequency, is that the system drops to lower levels of detail until the frame rate stabilises at 60Hz. For devices that are able to keep up with the faster rendering requirements, the LOD quality may not be reduced.
Lighting Rig
Select this option to enable or disable a basic scene lighting preset.
Movement Speed
Different Virtalis Reach scenes can use vastly different scales - from precision parts a few millimeters across to entire processing plants spanning many kilometers. As such, a single movement speed will not be appropriate for all cases.
Use the slider to adjust the movement speed.
Experimental Settings
Controller Oriented XR Movement
Select this option to base the movement direction on the controller orientation and not the HMD orientation so that when you move with the joystick in XR you move where you are pointing, instead of where you are looking.
Select, Show and Hide Assemblies
Expand the Product Tree to display the full product structure and any metadata (if available) associated with a selected assembly.
Click the Select icon to select assemblies. The assembly will be highlighted in the Product Tree and 3D scene.
You can click the View icon on the right-hand side of the Product Tree to show and hide assemblies.
Fly to an Assembly
Select an assembly in the Product Tree and click the Fly to icon, which will attempt to fit the models of the selected assembly into the field of view of the camera.
Share and Collaborate
When you open a visualisation you create a session. If you and another user both open the same visualisation, you will each create your own independent session. For example, you change the visibility of nodes or trigger animation (and many other things that alter the scene) it will not affect the other user's session. When either user closes their session, it is terminated and the visualisation is unchanged.
When you share a session, other users can join and they will see the same virtual world, same visual state, same animations and so on. Everyone in the session can see each participant as avatars and is able to see what each participant has selected as the colour of the highlight will match the helmet colour of the person’s avatar. In the case that more than one person selects a component, the highlight colour will cycle between that of each corresponding avatar.
From an open visualisation, click Invite and copy the link to share your session with others.
Select Private session to prevent additional colleagues from connecting. This does not disconnect users already in the session.
Select Open session to enable other users to join your session.
Click Copy to copy the link to the clipboard, then paste into a chat program or email and send it to the group members you want to invite to your session. Provided that the recipient has a valid login and is a member of one of the groups that the visualisation was published for, they will appear in the session with their name shown above their avatar.
Click on the bottom left-hand corner to exit the session and return to the Visualisations page.
