Edit / View Array Parameters

Navigation: GUI Tools and Tree Options > Edit/View Array Parameters

Edit/View Array Parameters

On this page

Description

•Array icon

•Array raytracing speed

Example

Description

This feature allows for the set up of a planar array of entities in the FRED document by replicating an entity with user-specified dimensions. All of the arrayed elements will have the same properties as the base element the array was created from.

Navigation

This feature can be accessed by right mouse clicking on an entity in the object tree and selecting "Edit / View Array Parameters" from the list menu.

Controls

Control	Inputs / Description	Defaults
Entity	Identifies entity which will become an array of objects.	Name of entity right-clicked on
Parameters	Specifies size and orientation of the array.	See Below
Drawing Attributes
Draw the array outline	Draws a box around all the elements of the array.	Checked
Draw cell outlines	Draws a box around the individual array cells.	Unchecked
Draw cell centers	Draws a dot at the center of each array cell.	Unchecked
Draw row/column outlines	Draws a box around a row and/or column.	Unchecked
Draw cell contents	Draws the element in an array cell.	Unchecked
Array Outline Color	Specifies the color of the array bounding box.	Gray
Cell Outline Color	Specifies the color of the cell bounding box.	Gray
Cell Center Color	Specifies the color of the center of a cell.	Gray
Row/Column Outline Color	Specifies the color of the row/column bounding box.	Gray
Every N'th Item
A Direction: cell outlines	Specifies how many items in the A direction will have their cell outlines/center/contents drawn.	1
B Direction: cell outlines	Specifies how many items in the B direction will have their cell outlines/center/contents drawn.	1
C Direction: cell outlines	Specifies how many items in the C direction will have their cell outlines/center/contents drawn.	Disabled
A Direction: row/col outlines	Specifies how many rows or columns in the A direction will have their outlines drawn.	1
B Direction: row/col outlines	Specifies how many rows or columns in the B direction will have their outlines drawn.	1
C Direction: row/col outlines	Specifies how many rows or columns in the C direction will have their outlines drawn.	Disabled

OK	Accept settings and close dialog box.
Cancel	Discard settings and close dialog box.
Apply	Apply settings and keep dialog box open.
Help	Access this Help page.

Application Notes

Array trimming

•If an arrayed object is applied as a trimmer on another entity, only the base object will be used for trimming purposes. The arrayed elements will not be used for trimming purposes.

•When trimming is applied to an arrayed object, the base object is trimmed and then the result is arrayed. The trimming operation is not interpreted as being applied uniquely to each element in the array at the element's arrayed location.

Array icon

The array is identified in the Tree View by a single entity with an array icon next to it, as shown in this example: .

Array raytracing speed

The use of arrays should have no impact on the speed of a raytrace. If such a condition should occur the user should re-examine the construction of the base entity being arrayed. Noticeable slowness may occur when the trimming volume outer boundary of the base array element is over sized. In this case the trimming volumes of the array elements will have significant overlap and the raytrace engine must process many array cells when checking for ray intersections. When the trimming volume outer boundary is appropriately sized, fewer array cells will be processed and the raytrace proceeds significantly faster.

Example

An array with a spacing vector A = (1, 0, 0) and B = (0, 1, 0), an I value of (-2, +2) and a J value of (-1, +1) is shown in the following two figures.

An array with an spacing vector A = (1, 0, 0) and B = (1, 1, 0), an I value of (0, 2) and a J value of (-1,+1) is shown in the following two figures.