SECTION: PLUGINS - SOLIDWORKS2007

> How can I make the rendered image match what is shown in the viewport?

There are a few things to keep in mind when rendering, if the goal is to match what is seen in the viewport.

  • Always use an actual SolidWorks Camera. While it is possible to get camera information from a normal viewport, it is not sufficient to create an exact match
  • Keep in mind that the Feature Manager 'floats' over the left side of the screen. The portion of viewport 'under' the Feature Manager is still given to the plugin as being part of the viewport
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    > Textures work differently than I expected, is this by design?

    The way to work with Textures in the plugin may seem unconventional upon first use, but it has been purposefully designed to provide a quick workflow. Here are the basics of operation:

  • LMB : Clicking a Texture button with the left mouse-button 'selects' a Texture. Only one Texture is ever 'selected' for each Material. It is this Texture which will be shown in the Texture Editor, and on objects in the viewport. Selecting an empty Texture shows the untextured Material in the viewport. This action replaces the version 1.0 plugin's drop-down 'Viewport Texture' picker by allowing the viewport texture to be selected at any time, with one click.
  • RMB : Clicking with the right mouse-button opens or closes the Texture Editor.
  • Drag-and-Drop: Textures may be dragged from a Texture button onto another Texture button, or to the Texture preview window, assigning the path of the source Texture to that of the target Texture. If CTRL is held down during the operation, not only the path will be copied, but all of the source Texture's parameters as well. Textures may be dragged also over the Material Layers Tree, making it possible to drag a Texture from one layer to another (it is the same for colors as well)

    • While the Material Editor does emulate Maxwell MXED in many respects, Texture-handling is one area where it makes somewhat of a departure. This aspect has been designed with the plugin's goal of providing completely-modeless operation in mind, and to accomodate real-time editing of Textures.

    > What does 'There is no MAXWELL_ROOT environment variable on this machine' mean? ?

    If you try to render, and the Log View indicates that there is no 'MAXWELL_ROOT' Environment variable, it means that:

  • Maxwell Render is not installed on the machine. Download and install Maxwell Render 1.6 to fix the problem.
  • Maxwell Render is incorrectly installed on the machine. Uninstall/re-install Maxwell Render 1.6 to fix the problem.

    • An Environment Variable is a value that is available to every application on your machine. As such, the MAXWELL_ROOT variable points to Maxwell's home directory, and provides the ability for any application that wishes to locate Maxwell to be able to do so. So, it is very important that it is correctly set when you install Maxwell. Usually this is no problem, but there are always cases where installation is not completely successful, and it is possible that you may need to manually create the variable. Note that you should proceed with caution when accessing Environment Variables. If you alter Environment Variables without having very specific reasons, you may encounter problems with the applications that rely on them.

    To view your System's Environment Variables, go to: Start > right-click My Computer > Properties > Advanced > Environment variables:

    If Maxwell Render is installed correctly, there should be a MAXWELL_ROOT variable present, similar to the one shown. Note that the actual path may differ, depending on where Maxwell is installed on your machine.

    > Why aren't my Emitters working?

    Maxwell Emitters behave according to real-world parameters. Therefore, it is necessary to:

  • Make sure your scene scale is realistic - 100W spread out over 100 sq. meters is not very bright.
  • Make sure your camera settings are correct
  • Make sure that the Emitter power is defined correctly (don't forget efficacy for watt-based emitters)
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    > The Plugin does not seem to be working, what should I do?

    If the Maxwell for SolidWorks plugin shows up in SolidWorks' Add-in Manager, yet fails to load when it is selected, it may be necessary to manually install the VC++8.0 runtime.  This should normally be done by the plugin's installer, setup.exe at the first install, but it is possible for it to require manual installation. Manual installation of the runtime is very simple:

  • Close SolidWorks
  • Locate the plugin's downloaded installation package.
  • Inside, you will find a folder named 'vcredist_x86' or 'vcredist_x64', depending on the version you downloaded
  • Inside that folder, you will find an executable of the same name, 'vcredist_x86.exe' or 'vcredist_x64.exe'
  • manually execute the runtime installer
  • After the installation is complete, run the Maxwell for SolidWorks installer ('Maxwell.SolidWorks_x86.msi' or 'Maxwell.SolidWorks_x64.msi'), and choose the 'Repair' option.
  • Maxwell for SolidWorks should now work correctly.

    • If these steps do not help, gather as much information as possible about your situation, including:

  • A description of the situation
  • Any details you think may be relevant.
  • Your machine type, processor type, OS
  • Your Maxwell Render version.
  • Your SolidWorks version.
  • A list of other installed, non-standard, plugins.
  • Confirmation that the plugin libraries are present, and located in the correct directories.
  • Screen-shots of any error dialogs.
  • Any relevant log entries that may be present in Windows Event Viewer.

    • Once you have gathered this information, send it by email to 'support at nextlimit dot com'.

    > ERROR: "I don't get the plug-in properly installed or cannot use it at all"

    Make sure you have the latest SolidWorks Service Pack installed and try again.