Opens the Stage Editor.
To change the stage name in the Stage Editor
- Double-click the file’s name in the name field of the Stage Editor.
- Type the new stage name and press (Windows) or (Mac). The new stage name appears.
To change the order of stages in the Stage Editor
- Hold down the over the name of the stage that you want to move. The stage name appears as a label under the cursor.
- Drag the cursor towards the new location. A red arrow shows the direction of movement, and a red border is drawn around the
stage that the label is over.
- Release the middle mouse button when the label is where you want to put the stage. The stage appears in its new location.
To open a stage set in the Stage Editor
- Click ; The File Requestor appears. Either:
- Type the name of the stage set in the field and then click the button.
- Click the button. Click to select a stage set from the list, Select one or more stage sets from the file list. (To select more than
one item, hold down the key and click again. The picture shows an example.)
- Click the button.
- If a stage set is already loaded, Alias asks if you want existing stages to be deleted before the new stage set is loaded:
- To remove the stages from the Stage Editor, leaving them unchanged as files, Click .
- To add the new stage set to the existing stages, click .
- To stop retrieving stage sets, click .
Note
Selecting File > Open stage set in the Stage Editor is the same as selecting File > Open Stage Set from the Alias main menu.
To edit stage sets in the Stage Editor
- Click Open stage set; The File Requestor appears.
- Click the button. Select one or more stage sets from the file list. (To select more than one item, hold down the key and click again.)
- In the file Browser, select .
A special version of the Stage Editor appears, as shown in the next diagram. The , , and menu buttons have been replaced by and buttons.
If more than one stage set was selected, you can click the arrows in the top left corner of the editor to browse through the
stage sets. The browser field shows the name of the stage set currently displayed in the Stage Editor.
- You can change the status of the columns by toggling the check marks ON or OFF.
- To save the changes, in the Stage Editor click the button.
- To retrieve the stage set with the new settings, click the button in the File Requestor.
To retrieve a wire file as a new stage in the Stage Editor
Use File > Open to retrieve a wire file as a new stage, making the wire file the reference for that stage.
A File Requestor appears to select a file (stage) to retrieve:
- Type a file name in the field or click the button to list your saved wire files and double-click to select one from the list.
- To retrieve the file as a new stage, select the button.
Note
Selecting in the Stage Editor is the same as selecting File > Open from the Alias main menu.
To save the stage set under a different filename
- Specify a name in the File Requestor. Do one of the following:
- Type a new file name in the field.
- Click and double-click a stage set icon in the list. Any existing file that you select is overwritten with the current file.
- Click the button.
Each stage is saved to its referenced wire file, if its option is checked in the Stage Editor. If is not checked for a stage, that stage is not saved.
If a stage does not have a referenced wire file, the File Requestor appears.
Note
If you have not named the stage, the File Requestor supplies a default name for the wire file.
To rename a wire file
- Double-click in the field and type a new name.
- Click the button.
To delete stages in the Stage Editor
- Select the button to display the pop-up menu.
- Select or .
- A dialog box appears asking you to confirm the deletion.
- To delete, click .
- To cancel the deletion and close the dialog box, click .
To create a new stage in the Stage Editor
- Select in the Stage Editor.
A new stage appears in the list as NewStage.
- Double-click in the name field and type a name for the new stage. The new stage is the working level, and all objects that
you create are now placed in this stage.
To use a wire file as a new stage
To use a wire file as a stage:
- Select in the Stage Editor. The File Requestor appears.
- Click the button to display the File Lister and select the first stage wire file.
- Click the button to load the file into Alias. The name of the wire file is used as the stage name.
- Continue opening stages using until all the required stages are loaded. Stages are listed in the order in which they are created.
Alternatively, from the main Alias menu use .
To create stages
- Create a wire file that includes some of the geometry for an object (for example, the body of a car).
- Create another stage that includes a different set of the object’s geometry (for example, the wheels of a car).
- Create a third stage that includes an alternate set of the object’s geometry (for example, an alternate set of wheels).
- Create a fourth stage that includes an environment background and camera view (for example, use the Ramp texture as a background
with a blue to white ramp).
- Select to make a set of all the stages. You will be prompted for file names for each of the new stages. Later, you can select Open
stage set and all the wire files associated with the stage set will be retrieved.
Stage Editor icons
When a stage is referenced to a wire file, it displays the wire file’s icon next to the reference path or stage name. The
icon is updated each time that the stage is saved or retrieved:
- If the stage is not referenced to a wire file, the icon is labeled “UNDEFINE.”
- If a file is retrievable but has no picture icon associated with it, the icon is labeled “NO ICON.”
To change the size of the icons in the Stage Editor, click the round buttons in the title bar of the Stage Editor.
Save and the padlock icon
If you see a padlock icon instead of a check mark or dash, you do not have write permission for the wire file.
- A white padlock means that there are no write permissions and you cannot save this stage.
- A red padlock means that even though you can not save the file to that reference, you might have made changes to it. However,
you can save the stage to a new name.
Note
On Windows systems, the stage editor does not inform the user that files belonging to different owners are locked.
Note
If you are sharing files between users, establish ownership and permission methods that give users read and write permissions
for the shared files.
The difference between selected and working stages
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The stage that is highlighted across all six columns is the selected stage. It can be saved using in the Stage Editor or merged with the working stage.
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The stage that has a check mark in the column (which appears in yellow) is the working stage. Its wireframe model is accessible for the changes you want to make.
Its geometry appears, in the regular colors, in the modeling windows.
Columns
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You can make changes to a wireframe model only if the stage is checked ON for its stage. The Working Level stage is highlighted in yellow. This helps you to organize your scene,
especially if it contains a lot of information or library objects that are used in a number of different scenes.
Note
Some tools may make it impossible to change the working level. (The name fields of all the stages are grayed out.) This prevents
Alias from switching levels in the middle of geometry operations, such as building a curve or creating a patch. So that you can
switch your working stage, choose a neutral function such as .
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The modeling window source can be any stage. If is ON in the Open File Options window and you open a file, Alias imports the wire file and its windows to the working stage. It does not matter which stage is selected. You can use , or .
If you create a perspective or orthographic window, it belongs to the stage that is the current Window Source, which might
not be the working stage.
Each stage can have its own set of modeling windows.The windows that are displayed always belong to the current Window Source
stage. If that stage is stored, its windows are also stored.
Note
You store a stage by making it the current Working Level and using or by clicking the stage name in the Stage Editor, then selecting in the Stage Editor.
The stored windows do not have to match the visible ones, just as the current Working Level does not have to match the current
Window Source.
Note
Only one stage at a time can be the window source. The statistics windows and SBD window are derived from the Working Level
stage. The application windows (perspective and orthographic) belong to the window source stage.
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You use to choose which background (environment shader) you want when you render a scene. To edit the Background Source, set the
to the same stage as the Background Source and open the Multi-Lister.
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This toggle shows which stages are visible. Making a stage invisible is like making objects invisible (ObjectDisplay > Invisible). The entire stage and all its objects become invisible.
To make a stage visible or invisible without affecting other stages, click in its box.
All stages can be invisible except for the . You can remove the check mark, but the stage remains visible.
If you render a scene when all its stages are invisible, the image produced is completely black.
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The header at the top of the column is also a button. Click the button to make all the stages at once either visible or invisible.
To make all the stages visible, select ON.
To make all the stages invisible, select OFF.
In the following example, all stages are visible.
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If you check ON beside a stage name, when you retrieve a stage set, its wire file is retrieved. If you remove the check mark, the file
will not be retrieved.
This takes effect only when the stage set is saved. That is, if you click during a session but you have already changed the file, it is not retrieved.
lets you control which of the files listed in the stage set file are loaded when the stage set file is retrieved.
More than one user can be working on a common stage set, each one owning one or more of the referenced wire file and their
own copy of the stage set files. They can not use everything at once, but multiple users likely want to retrieve a combination
of their own files and a few from other users as reference files.
Tip
You can retrieve a referenced file at any time during a session, even if it has already been retrieved. You get the last saved
version.
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The header at the top of the column is also a button. To set all stages to be retrieved automatically, click this button and select ON.
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If you place a check mark in the column beside a stage name, this stage is saved when the stage set is saved. If you remove the check mark, the stage is not
saved. Therefore, it will not be overwritten accidentally, and any changes made to the stage are not saved.
More than one user can be working on a common stage set, so if you make changes to one of your own stages and want to use
it as a default each time you start (such as reference geometry or windows), turn the column OFF for that stage.
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The header at the top of the column is also a button. To set all stages so that the wire files will be stored, click this button and select ON.
Menus
Three menus are included at the bottom of the Stage Editor: the menu, the menu, and the menu.
File
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You use to replace the selected stage with its the last saved version. You can use it to change a stage reference and update your
model to the latest copy of someone else’s file or go back to an earlier, saved version of a file. If you use this option,
it writes over any changes you have made in your current work.
For instance, if you want to update someone else’s file information for a stage, you can return to the last saved version
of that stage, make the updates, and save the stage. Anyone retrieving that file now sees the new version.
A File Requestor appears so that you can select a file (stage) to retrieve:
- Type a file name in the field or click and double-click an icon to select it.
- To retrieve the stage again, click the button.
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You use to save a single stage set. A File Requestor appears to let you save the stage set under a different name if you wish. To
save the file, click the button.
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You use to save a stage as a wire file. If you create a new stage and it has no wire file, the File Requestor shows only the new
file.
If you have not named the stage, the File Requestor supplies a default name for the file. To change its name, in the field double-click the name and type a new one.
If there is a referenced file, the File Requestor shows the referenced file.
To save the stage, Select the button. Notice that the icon in the Stage editor is updated to display the icon saved with the wire file.
Edit
Select the button to display the pop-up menu.
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You use to merge all the stages in the Stage Editor into the working level stage.
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You use to merge the selected stage into the working level stage.
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You use to create a new, empty stage called NewStage.
Delete
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Select to delete all stages, including the root stage.
Note
Selecting in the Stage Editor is the same as selecting File > New from the Alias main menu.
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Select to delete only the highlighted stage.
When you delete a stage, you delete all objects, windows, shaders, lights, cameras, and anything else that it contains.
Because there must always be a stage in Alias, when you delete all stages, a new stage is created. It is called Stage# and includes a sequential number indicating how many stages you have opened during your current session.
Hints and tips
- All files are saved as wire files only (for example, IGES files can not be saved as stages).
- If your referenced file is a data transfer file (for example, IGES) but does not have a suffix such as “.iges” or “.igs”, the system adds the suffix “.wire” before prompting for a name.
- If the referenced file has no write permissions, the stage can not be saved and you are not prompted to save it.
- To create a rendered icon for the wire file, click the button in the File Browser. A small representation of the stage appears instead of the icon. This “thumbnail sketch” icon also appears in the Stage Editor.
- Selecting in the Stage Editor is the same as selecting from the Alias main menu.
- Lights from all visible stages illuminate the scene.
- Lights cannot be linked across stages.
- Image planes are associated with the window source stage and, as such, work across stages.
- When you render a scene composed of several stages, one SDL file is created for each stage. The SDL files are named according
to the name of the stage set in the Stage Editor. Object names are prefixed with the stage name in the SDL file.
- Objects on inactive stages are displayed in pale green.
- Stages are not templates but may include templates.
- If you save a new stage that has no associated windows, the icon beside its name will not be displayed.