Creates a new Component tab.

The Emboss function applies a characteristic cross section on the area bounded by a closed or open 2D group. A group may contain one or more contours. A group that contains a number of closed shapes will automatically cause the system to use an in-out algorithm in order to define what is in and what is out. Areas that are in will be affected, and areas that are out will not be affected. Emboss may be applied to open contours with fade effect.

To display the Emboss Definition dialog box, select the Emboss option from the Component menu, click on the icon, or press F2. The dialog box below appears:

Figure 4.29. Select Groups Dialogue

You should set the groups for embossing: Select the Inc (Included) group for groups to be embossed. Select the Exc (Exclude) group for groups to be ignored by the embossing process. At this stage you should press Next to continue, or Cancel to stop.

Figure 4.30. Setting Parameters For Embossing Dialogue

In this dialog box, you may view and edit the cross section. This view holds two definitions: the Section and the Symmetry. Pre-defined sections are displayed on the right side of the dialog box. Select one of these pre-defined sections to apply this cross section to the geometry. The bottom part of the dialog box displays switches that define the way in which the section will be applied on the surface.

There also features an advanced window function. Press on the icon to open the file retrieval window.

Setting Embossing Parameters - Section View.  Each cross section can be customized, and control points on the sections may be edited. These control points are indicated by small circles (curve control points), or small rectangles (end control points). Pressing the right mouse button over this area invokes a pop-up menu.

	Note
	In order to prevent creation of negative angle walls when moving control points, the end points also move when such a situation occurs.

Figure 4.31. Cross Section Menu

	Note
	A component can only hold surfaces of one type - fractal or mesh.

Table 4.5.  Emboss Type

Stretched	Sets the maximal height of the embossed surface to the widest point in the embossed contour. From this point on, the system stretches the cross section for every local point of the embossed surface. The result will be smooth embossing but the edge side will not be maintained.
Edge Angle	Gives the first priority to the cross section angle and gives the embossed surface a constant edge angle. The result might give sharp edges or flat top for the embossed surface, relative to the local width of the embossed contour.
Cross Section	Gives the first priority to the cross section shape, scaling it to become larger or smaller to fit the embossed geometry. The maximal Z height is derived from the maximal width of the embossed contour.
Rubber	Rubber, acts like Stretched function with an increased smoothing operation. The system stretches each local point of the emboss surface and adds additional smoothing algorithms. Note Works for fractal only!

Setting Embossing Parameters - Symmetry View.  Each cross section can be embossed in a symmetric or a non-symmetric way. The non-symmetry feature let you sculpt special effects such as water drops, cloth folds and so on. To get into the symmetry definition, select Symmetry at the top of the section view.

Figure 4.32. Setting Parameters For Embossing Symmetry Dialogue

As shown, the elliptical default section is displayed stretched (embossed asymmetrically). The embossing is influenced to the 45° direction. The stress value is on the scale of 0 (symmetric) to 1.0 (most influenced). Changing the stress direction and magnitude can be done either by typing the values into the edit boxes and pressing Apply Params, or by dragging the small circle around with the mouse.

Reset	Retrieves the influence to 0.0 (fully symmetrical).
Application	Sets the influence shape as follows: Linear The influence is linearly affected by the distance from the part center. Curved The influence is affected by both the distance from the part center, and a wave shape. Figure 4.33. Symmetric Embossing Example Figure 4.34. Asymmetric Linear Slope Example Figure 4.35. Asymmetric Curved Slope Example

Merge Into Part.  The sections can be embossed in two different combinations:

Atop Level	This option adds the current embossment onto the already existing surface geometry. Figure 4.36. Atop Level Example
Into Volume	This method combines the current embossment with the existing surface geometry. Figure 4.37. Into Volume Example

Fade open contours.  Select In/Out to commit fade affect on the section. When this option is not selected, open chains will be closed automatically by imaginary straight lines. This option applies only to open chain images.

Figure 4.38. Fade Geometry	Figure 4.39. Fade Disabled
Figure 4.40. Fade In	Figure 4.41. Fade Out

The Emboss Ruled Surface function is similar to the Emboss command. A characteristic cross section will be applied on the area bounded by the 2D group. A group may contain one or more contours. To activate select Emboss Ruled Surface from Component menu or click on the relevant icon. A wizard will walk you through the process of creating the ruled surface.

Surface Type. 

Figure 4.42. Wizard Page 1, Surface Type

We can select from creating a surface from a single flow line (I), creating a surface from two flow lines (II), and creating a surface from two flow lines and a Z guide line (III).

Surface from:	I,II,III Picture:	Method:	Restrictions:
Single flow line.		We need to define single flow line by clicking on it on the screen.	None, even from a regular line we can make a ruled surface
Two flow lines.		We need to select two different flow lines.	We must have two different flow lines in separate layers.
Two flow lines and a z guide line.		We need to select two different flow lines and an embossed flow line as z guide line.	We must have two different flow lines in separate layers, and an embossed part for Z guide line.

First we need to click on the flow line we need, afterwards we can select a starting point by clicking on the "set flow line starting point button". 

Another option we can use is to set the flow line direction by clicking on the button  

This is how the start point and the direction looks like: 

After we finished setting up the flow line we will press next and receive the parameters page

parameters,

Figure 4.43. Wizard Page 2, Parameters

The parameters we can use are:

Section alignment: normal alignment or vertical alignment.

Contour type: the contour type we use lines or curves.

Edges: the surface edge from upper right to left, upper left to right and center.(in two flow lines and two flow lines with a z guide line we have only the center edge)

Figure 4.44. Wizard Page 2, sections

On the sections part we can choose how our surface sections will look like.

We can copy a section to use or use an old section we used by copying it and paste it on the section preview, after every change we made on the section preview we need to press on apply button .

We can also save the section we used so we can use it later on a different project.

These buttons written under display the capabilities of creating a surface by placing sections as we require and we can use different sections on the same part.

Button Image:	Definition:	Comments:
	Pick section.
	Add Section	After we choose add section we need to click on the flow line.
	Remove section	After we choose remove section we need to click on the place we want it to delete.
	Remove all sections
	Break flow line to add section.	Adds a new point on the flow line.
	Swap entity type.

When the section we wish to add is ready we just need to add him to the surface by using the marking on the flow lines, afterwards we will directly receive the result.

and don't forget we can always remove the section if the result is no good for us.

This function creates a 3D surface based on the picture shade analysis. Choosing this command from the menu, or pressing the button, or pressing F4 will bring up the following dialog box:

Figure 4.43. Select Groups Dialogue

You should set the groups for shade analysis: Select the Inc (Included) group for groups to be embossed. If no groups are marked, you can press Next anyway. The bitmap will be completely embossed, regardless if there are any groups. Select Next to open the file retrieval window. Select the picture you want to emboss. Select Open; for the following embossing dialog box to open:

Figure 4.44. Shade Analysis Definition Dialogue

This command performs calculations regarding the shades on the surface according to the previously defined parameters in the Shade Analysis Definition dialog box. This dialog box is divided into four main sections:

	Opens a picture file. Acceptable formats are: BMP, JPEG, PCX, TIF, GIF.
Single	Single embossing for the selected bitmap.
Multiple	Makes the embossing area of tiled bitmaps which are repetitions of the selected bitmap file: Height # Number of repetitions in the Y direction. Width # Number of repetitions in the X direction. Flip No Flip All repetitive bitmaps are embossed in the same orientation. Flip Horizontal Reverts every even column of tiles. Tiles will match along the left and right edges. Flip Vertical Reverts every even row of tiles. Tiles will match along the top and bottom edges. Flip Both Reverts every even row or column so bitmaps will match along four (4) edges.
Fit	Stretches the picture to fit the display window in the dialog box.
Brightness	Controls the amount of light to which the picture will be exposed.
Contrast	Defines the relation between dark and light. Positive changes produce a wider range of luminance. Negative changes produce a narrower range of luminance.
Levels	Selects the number of gray levels with which you want to display the picture. Two gray levels will produce a black and white picture. More gray levels will result in a more accurate display of the surface created from the picture.
Filters	Originl Resets the bitmap to its original gray scale colors. Engrave Changes the bitmap to a series of horizontal lines with varying widths - up to the value declared in the Value field. Mosaic Changes the bitmap to constant color polygon. The polygon size is set by the Value field. Oil Paint Alters the bitmap picture to a less sharp image, giving an oil paint effect. Inverse Reverses the grayscale value within its 256 shades. Edge Emphasizes the edges of color groups.
	Apply the changes to the displayed picture according to the selected values.
Reset	Shows the picture in the original form.
Anchor	Selects the zero location of the surface to be produced.
Dimensions	Enters the surface width and height values. If no group is marked, the default is the actual picture size in units (that is derived from the DPI defined in the File → Open dialog). If marked groups exist on the layout, the picture dimensions will be set automatically to match this size.
Position	Selects the X,Y position of the surface. If marked groups exist on the layout, the picture position will be set automatically to fit in the marked area.
	This set of nine (9) buttons covers the most common points to indicate the "sun" location in order to choose the shade orientation. The picture of the tree (below) demonstrates the real shade location on the surface.
Surface	Z Max Selects the surface maximum Z height. Z Min Selects the surface minimum Z height. Tol Enters the minimal patch size in units or percent. The smaller the value, the result will be closer to the bitmap image. Smoothing There are four (4) levels of smoothing for creating a shading surface from the picture (No Smooth, Smooth Lite, Smooth Med, and Smooth Heavy). Use smoothing to reduce the amount of disturbances in the picture that cause a rough surface. The Smooth Heavy level will reduce the disturbances efficiently and create the smoothest possible surface. Atop Surface This option adds the current embossment onto the existing surface. Into Volume This method combines the current embossment with the existing surface geometry.

Select OK to apply changes. Select Cancel to exit the function without changes.

Figure 4.46. Shade Analysis Example

The Picture to Part module has simplified applying textures on a surface. You can now create almost any image as texture and apply it to the surface. Using this option you can create new user-defined 3D textures.

To define a new texture, mark geometry and send it to the clipboard. Then select the Component → Texture option. Selecting this option will prompt you with the following dialog box:

Figure 4.58. Select Groups Dialogue

Select the groups to be affected by the texture command. Pressing Next will lead to the Texture Input dialog box:

Figure 4.59. Texture Dialogue

	Enter the width of patterns and the space between each pattern (in % of pattern size) along the horizontal axis.
	Enter the height of patterns and the space between each pattern (in % of pattern size) along the vertical axis.
ToStretch	Distorts the texture shape according to the ratio between the width and the height of the pattern. Using this method will cause circles, for instance, to be textured as ellipses.
Handmade (%)	This parameter gives "personal touch" to the embossed texture. Each texture element has its unique geometry, with random change from the designed one. Giving a value of 0 will output the designed texture geometries as is, without any random effects.
	Opens the file retrieval window.
	Allows you to save the texture under a selected name to a *.TXR file.
	Opens the Emboss dialog box for selecting the shape of the section with which you want to create the texture.

To define a new texture, select <paste> at the list box, and the contours from the clipboard will be imported to the texture window.

The texture files can be loaded directly into the Texture Definition dialog box by selecting them from the list.

The texture will be applied inside all marked groups. Unmarked areas remain untouched. After defining the Texture parameters, select Next, to open the Emboss window.

This function enables you to flatten a surface between two Z level values into a selected Z value. All the surfaces between these levels will be equalized to the selected value without touching the surfaces outside the selected range.

Figure 4.60. Surface Equalize Dialogue

Press OK to confirm your selection, or press Cancel to abort without changes. Press Help to open the On-line Help menu.

Create offset surfaces in the Z-axis. Choose this option from the Component menu, and the Offset Value Entry dialog box will appear. This option enables you to select the offset value.

Figure 4.61. Offset Value Dialogue

To offset desired surfaces:

This function is useful for planning male and female models where a gap exists between the two parts of the model.

A simple tool for giving the embossed surface a "personal touch" making it look like handmade work. The Touch function works over marked areas only. By selecting Touch, the following input dialog box is displayed:

Figure 4.62. Select Groups Dialogue

Select the groups to be affected by the texture command.

Pressing Next will lead to the Add Touch dialog box:

Figure 4.63. Add Touch Dialogue

Press OK to start the touch effect process. Press Back to return to Select Groups dialog box. Press Cancel to ignore this selection. Press Help to open the On-line Help menu.

Trims walls with an angle bigger then selected.

	Note
	In the Picture to Part tab of the System Options the Patch approximation (pix) value must be set to 0.

Figure 4.64. Add Trim Dialogue

Trim to	To what height to trim the surface. Top The wall is trimmed to the highest point of the wall. Average The wall is trimmed to the average height of the wall. Bottom The wall is trimmed to the lowest point of the wall. Zero The wall is trimmed to 0.
	From what angle to trim.

Press OK to start the touch effect process. Press Back to return to Select Groups dialog box. Press Cancel to ignore this selection. Press Help to open the On-line Help menu.