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Can I make parts of the model tree inaccessible for viewers ?

Jangli
Jangli's picture
Registered: Sep 22 2008
Posts: 5

Hi, I am new to Acrobat 3D so maybe this is a typical newbie question with an obvious answer:

I would like to make the lower levels of the model tree inaccessible for viewers, while still keeping the parts on that level in the model. If I delete the lower levels in the 3D toolkit, they become invisible. I merely want to stop the viewer of the PDF file from digging down past a certain detail level.

Is this something I can do in Acrobat 3D or should I get the engineers to create subassys (i.e. creating groups that cannot be disassembled further) at a certain level before I import the file into Acrobat ? I am not even sure whether that is possible at all.

What I want to do is create a service manual where the lowest clickable level of objects represents the parts that can be ordered from the spares department.

Thanks for any advice that points me in the right direction.

My Product Information:
Acrobat 3D 8.1, Windows
dhallida
dhallida's picture
Registered: Jul 26 2007
Posts: 31
Hi jangli,
Obviously you are using V7 or V8. In those versions, deleating parts of the model in the 3D Toolkit is certainly a way to do what you wish to do. There really isn't a way to prevent provent "deeper" vavigation of the model with the ut-of-the-box tools. In general the same can be said for 3D Reviewerand Acrobat pro Exteded v9. There is additional capability to show/hide individual parts both within Acrobat and 3D Reviewer, but no easy way to prevent navigation of the model tree. In v9 however, you can incrementally import portions of the model, so the task is easier. Also, if needed, you can load new files into an existing model. Both of these options could lessen the work that neds to be performed to simplify the model.

Hope this helps!

I am an Adobe Business Development Manager specializing in Manufacturing. I am a vetran of many years in manufacturing and PLM, and focus much of my efforts in 3D PDF and how it can be used to solve numerous customer business problems and challenges.

Jangli
Jangli's picture
Registered: Sep 22 2008
Posts: 5
Thanks for your reply, dhallida. There are still some unclear points for me, however. If I use the 3D toolkit to delete parts of the model, those parts will become invisible. That is not what I am trying to do, as this changes the machine part in the PDF. I merely want to prevent the user from drilling down into a subassembly that cannot be ordered as a single spare part, i.e. the model tree should stop at the level that I set somehow. I have seen 3D models in the Gallery that do have a restricted model tree, so I am pretty sure this is doable. I just don't know how.

Upgrading to v9 is not exactly what I intended to do either, as I have purchased Acrobat 3D as part of the Technical Communication Suite. The upgrade price for this single tool is simply too high - considering that all the extras are absolute overkill for what I am trying to achieve.

So, if anyone has a good idea how to get more control over the Model Tree, I would be very happy.
olin
olin's picture
Registered: Sep 12 2008
Posts: 3
I agree. There needs to be a way to limit how far the end user of the PDF is allowed to drill down into the model tree. Importing or deleting parts is not a viable option for this particular concern.
My temporary work-around has been to go through the entire model tree and rename everything. It's not a great work-around because it is very time consuming and really doesn't do what I really want it to.
UVSAR
UVSAR's picture
Expert
Registered: Oct 29 2008
Posts: 1357
The model tree displays the mesh by "node" (the same as 3D Toolkit does) and even in V9 there's no option to hide part of the tree - but you can combine an assembly of individual parts into a single node, and thus stop the tree view at that level. You can still apply different materials to bits of the assembled mesh, but of course you can't animate the original parts or control their visibility anymore.

..and no, you can't stop people seeing the tree view pane either. Adobe assumed if you were embedding a 3D model (and they mostly assume it's a CAD file) then your readers need to be able to inspect it completely, and so hiding some aspect of the model's structure seemed silly. Course, there's always the feature request list for 9.2.....