Creating a Camera

You can pan and zoom into specific areas of your simulation and save the view as a fixed Camera position. You can then use these Cameras to make playback and recordings more dynamic, pertinent, and persuasive.

For example, when recording an ‘avi’ of your simulation, you could start from a wide Camera that shows the whole of your model, eventually zooming in on crucial areas of design or examples of Entity movement.

To Create a Camera:

1. Using the pan and zoom tools, arrange the view you would like the Camera to show.
2. or right-click in the workspace and select Create Camera based on the current view.
   • The ‘Edit Camera’ dialog is displayed with a new Camera listed in the left-hand pane.
3. To rename the Camera, highlight the default name, type a new name and press <Enter>.
4. To specify how LEGION Simulator will switch to this Camera during the course of a playback or recording, select one of these options from the drop-down list labelled Mode of switching to this Camera:
   • Instant – the view will cut instantly to this Camera.
   • Coarse – the view will change gradually from the previous Camera to this one.
   • Smooth – the view will glide smoothly from the previous Camera to this one.
5. Click Apply or OK to save your changes.
   • The Camera is added to the ‘Analysis’ tab of the Object Directory.
6. Repeat from step 1 to add any further Cameras.

Activating a Camera

To switch to a particular Camera’s point of view within the workspace, right-click anywhere in the workspace and select Activate Camera > Camera <name>.

The workspace view will change accordingly.

Updating an Existing Camera

1. To change an existing Camera’s viewpoint, first use the pan and zoom tools to arrange the view that you would like the Camera to show. Next, right-click in the workspace and select Update Camera > Camera <name>.
   • The existing Camera whose name you selected will now show the updated view when activated or used in a recording as an active Camera.
2. (Optional) You can undo Camera updates by pressing <Ctrl + Z>.

Setting a Layer View

If you have created Layer Views in the LEGION Model Builder, you can create events on the Screen Camera track which display these views during the course of playback. For instance, you may have created a Layer View containing Presentation CAD for trains or other vehicles.

If you want this Layer to be visible when passengers alight from trains in a simulation, you may switch the Layer View on at times which match the arrival of trains. To turn the Layer View off for the departure of trains, you will need to set Layer View events that revert to a view which does not contain the vehicle CAD lines.

To set a Layer View:

1. Right-click on the Screen Camera track at the point at which you want the event to start and select Set Layer View.
   • The ‘Layer View’ dialog is displayed. The new event and time are displayed in the Registered events box.
2. If required, enter a name in the Event name box.
3. To run this event when you next play back the simulation, leave the Enable this event box checked (if you don’t want to run this event in the next session, uncheck the box).
4. From the Activate layer view drop-down list, select the relevant view.
5. Click OK to place the event on the track.
   • To switch to a different Layer View, repeat the process at the required point on the track.

Setting an Active Camera

Having created Cameras, they are now available for use on the Screen Camera track and Record .AVI events. You can set as many as you need on the respective tracks.

When you set active Cameras on the Screen Camera track, the changes of Camera are apparent on screen as you play back or record the simulation.

Camera transitions just apply to video recordings and are not saved in Screen Camera track image files.

This procedure applies to Screen Camera tracks and Record .AVI events.

To Set an Active Camera:

1. Right-click on the relevant track at the point at which you want the event to start and select Set active Camera.
   • The ‘Camera’ dialog is displayed. The new event and time are displayed in the Registered events box.
2. If required, enter a name in the Event name box.
3. To run this event when you next play back the simulation, leave the Enable this event box checked (if you don’t want to run this event in the next session, uncheck the box).
4. From the Activate Camera drop-down list, select the Camera you would like to activate at this point. Click OK to save the event.
5. Repeat from Step 1 for any other active Cameras you would like to set.

Adding a Snapshot Event

A Snapshot event is only available on the Screen Camera track. This event ‘takes a picture’ of the simulation at a specified time and saves it as an image file. If you haven’t set any active Cameras on the Screen Camera track, the image taken will be of the whole model, otherwise it will use the current active Camera.

To Add a Snapshot Event:

1. Right-click on the relevant Screen Camera track at the point at which you want the event to start and select Add a Snapshot event.
   • The ‘Snapshot’ dialog is displayed. The new event and time are displayed in the Registered events box.
2. If required, enter a name in the Event name box.
3. To run this event in the next play or record session, check the box labelled Enable this event (see also "Disabling and enabling events before playback or recording" in About the Timeline).
4. From the Image dimensions drop-down list, select one of the three options:
   • Fit A4 sheet
   • Fit PowerPoint slide
   • User-defined – if you select this, enter Width and Height values (in pixels).
5. Select one of the three Image Format options:
   • JPEG (jpg)
   • Bitmap (bmp)
   • PNG (png)
6. 6. To apply these image, format, and Layout settings to all Snapshot events on this particular track, click Apply to all Snapshot events THIS track.
   Note: This button is only enabled when there’s more than one Snapshot event on the Screen Camera track.
   • A selection dialog appears:
     
   • Click on the items to reuse; hold <CTRL> while clicking to select multiple items.
   • Click the OK button. Settings of the selected items are applied to all Snapshot events in the Screen Camera Track in the active Timeline. Selections are remembered and items are automatically selected again the next time this dialog appears.
7. To change the default Layout of the saved Map image, click the Layout button and make any changes to the Layout.
   • The Layout Designer works in the same way as the ‘avi’ Layout Designer, which is dealt with in Customising the AVI Layout.
8. Click Apply or OK to save the event.
9. Repeat from step 1 for any further Snapshot events you wish to run.