WindowDisplay > Anti-Alias > Shaded Anti-Alias
 
 
 

Toggles anti-aliasing of shaded surfaces.

Use this tool to turn anti-aliasing on and off on shaded surfaces. This applies to surfaces shaded using either WindowDisplay > Hardware Shade or Diagnostic Shading. You have the choice of two methods to anti-alias shaded surfaces: Software Anti-Alias and Hardware Anti-Alias.

Software anti-aliasing gives you a better quality result, but does not apply while you tumble in the view. Once you stop tumbling, there might be a time lag while the anti-aliasing is re-applied. Hardware anti-aliasing works during tumbling as well but the quality is less. You can use both methods simultaneously if you want.

To use the Hardware Anti-Aliasing method, you must first check on Allocate Hardware Anti-Alias Resources on Startup, then set Hardware Anti-Alias to On. You need to restart your computer for those settings to apply.

Anti-Alias Shaded Settings

Software Anti-Alias

Set this option to Low, Medium, High, or User Defined to specify the level of software anti-aliasing. By default this option is set to Off. When you select User Defined, the following two options appear.

Samples

Sets the number of samples that will be taken and averaged. Generally, you should choose values lower than 36. Choosing a value that is too high for your scene may result in some artifacts, like banding.

Pixel Sample Radius

To create a smooth image, the technique used moves the camera slightly. Setting a value lower than 1 in this option means the camera jitters less than a pixel; values greater than 1 jitter it more than 1 pixel. Choosing a value that is high results in greater blurring than choosing a low value.

Hardware Anti-Alias

Set this option to 4x or 8x to use hardware anti-aliasing. You need to restart the application for this setting to apply. The default setting is Off.

Once you have chosen the appropriate settings in the option boxes, you only need to select the menu items to turn the anti-aliasing on (check mark) or off (no check mark).