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Thread: Viewport is black!!!

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    Default Viewport is black!!!

    I am pretty green to 3D max. In my normal day I use 2012 Civil3D a lot but want to step into the next realm of visual media. This weekend Iuploaded the trail version of the 2013 3D max design and played with allweekend. As any new person I am just getting my bearings on command and how to’s. The one thing that bugs me to no end is whythe viewport turns dark. What I mean is if the screen is idle for 5 seconds theentire scene turns black….What gives? Is it just something I do not have toggled?
    Any advice would be appreciated.

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    Default Re: Viewport is black!!!

    I get this a lot too and usually clicking somewhere on the tool bar will refresh the screen. The "~" key will also refresh the viewport.

    As far as I know, this has to do with the video drivers. Not certain what your hardware is, but you can adjust your settings here: Customize > Preferences > Viewport tab and at the bottom are some Display Driver options. You may need to play around a bit to get the desired result. My setting are: Nitrous (Direct3D 9.0 -NVIDIA Quadro 5000). Sounds serious...

    Let us know if that works!

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    Default Re: Viewport is black!!!

    Thanks for the tip. I checked my vieport settings and it is identical to your description. The core value of this program is severely diminished when I cannot see what I am working on. It just makes no sense to me.... I mean I can see it but it is like looking at it at night.

    It is hard to believe this program is made by autodesk when there is little sinergy between programs like civil 3d and civil view 3D max. Yes I have figured out how to import corridors and surfaces but... I am not sure if this program is the vehicle for the use I want which is renderings of static views, any view, anytime when the model is built. Any adivce for what I am trying to achieve?

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    Default Re: Viewport is black!!!

    Seeing what you are working on is definitely a plus. Not sure what else to advise other that making sure your are running the current drivers for your video card.

    Yeah, Autodesk is working to make all their software more compatible with the rest. The problem is most of them were purchased from other companies so the developers are slowly reworking parts of each to play nice together. It's come a long way, but there is obviously still work to do. I have the same experience going into Civil 3D. It's a bit alien to me. Wait 'til you try Maya...

    Regarding importing of civil based models, Max will struggle with scenes that are far away from origin (0,0,0). Lines will degrade and precision will fall apart the further the model is away. It's still part of the core of the program and has been on our "please fix" list for a while. For now, we will typically move our model is a separate ACAD/Civil3D file and record the move values (that way we can repleat the same move if there are changes). It's a bit of a bubble gum and duct tape process, but it works for us.

    It may take a few projects to work out a pipeline system for your work, but Max could certainly be benefical for still renderings and animations. Don't give up on it quite yet.

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    Default Re: Viewport is black!!!

    Go to “Rendering/Environment”. Check/Change the Background Color.
    In the active viewport menu, open “Configure...”, go to the “Visual Style and Appearance” tab and check “Use Environment Background Color”. Click “Apply to Active View” and “OK”.
    Hope this helps.

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    Default Re: Viewport is black!!!

    I appreciate the advice and tried it, however nothing seems to be working. Our reseller is saying it is my graphics card but it is hard to believe.....maybe it is who knows. I was really hoping my trial would turn out better to see if the whole infra package is worth it. I am quicking giving up and thinking this program module is a waste of time. Thinking of switching, thoughts to photoshop with some CAD line work.

    Too bad, I just want to see my build all the time and not fade to darkness.

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    Default Re: Viewport is black!!!

    It seems I found a preference panel to stop the viewport from turning dark. Under civil view, preferences, force disable viewport checked. The only problem is my computer is blinking when it wants to go dark. It works for now....

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