Using Layers
Layers form the building blocks for all elements of the room or scenery design. Several shapes are possible, and these are manipulated via the Layer Manager to effectively ‘draw’ the room in 3D.
- Types of Layers
There are three different types of Layers:
Quad: A square, rectangle or trapezium (or trapezoid, in the North American sense).
Sector: A circle, sector, arc, semicircle, annular ring, annular sector or cylinder.
Free Plane: A freely configurable shape, defined by a list of ‘points’ entered as X/Y/Z values.
- Manipulating Layers
Using the Layer Manager, a series of properties can be applied to a Layer to choose how it is displayed. These are called ‘Layer Properties’.
Audience Listening Heights should be defined for any Layers to be mapped upon.
Quads can be used to create Floor Plans.
While Layers are being edited, a moving grid is shown to quickly identify the layer being edited.
- Drawing Workflow
From left to right, the first three buttons in the Layer Manager Panel are used to create new Layers.
The first (square) button will create a new Quad. The second (round) button will create a new Sector. The third (polygon) button will create a new Free Plane. Data can be entered in either Cartesian (depth and height) or Angular (angle and range) when creating Layers, meaning data can be entered easily from a laser rangefinder, or from traditional measurements. See ‘Cartesian vs Angular Data Input’ for more information.
After a Layer has been drawn (except Free Planes), it is possible to re-use the last set of data to Continue a Layer with the right-click menu, allowing for quick creation of continuous surfaces.