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®
aXYZHUB
June 2014
User Manual
Learn More & Purchase
For more information and a complete list of features
and enhancements in aXYZHUB®, visit
https://secure.axyz-design.com/axyz-hub
To purchase aXYZ design products, go to
www.axyz-design.com online shop
To locate an aXYZ design Authorized Reseller
nearest you, visit
https://secure.axyz-design.com/resellers
Email: [email protected]
Copyright (c) aXYZ design® 2014
Contents
CHAPTER 1
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
What is aXYZHUB? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
CHAPTER 2
Installing Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Launching the installer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
CHAPTER 3
Interface Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Navigation Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
My Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Online Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Free Trials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
My Assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Search Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Dropbox Filtering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Tag Filtering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Asset Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Add to Processing Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Launch Batch Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Checkout
Merge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Xref . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Resize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
CHAPTER 4
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Installing AXYZ. . Characters
My Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Install My Character/s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Install My Character/s from Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Change working directoy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Add My Asset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
What is AXYZ HUB?
Overview
As Human characters in 3D scenes become ever more important in visualizations, animations and illustrations, we have developed a simple tool to improve your workflow!
aXYZHUB® will help you to:
Organize and Manage Characters: You now have a unique and simple way
to navigate, choose, catalog and keep clean and organized your 3D Assets to
optimize your workflow.
Add Characters to the Scene: Forget about opening individual files and
merge one by one, with aXYZHUB® you can populate your 3D scene within a
click. You donÊt need to remember where you have located your model files the
last time. All your assets are organized and accessible from aXYZHUB®.
Resize: Ohh no! My models are in centimeters and my project is in inches!
With aXYZHUB® you can forget about scaling issues. All your models are
scaled and ready to be used in your project.
Create Presets: Save hours of your precious time! You can create ready-to-use
presets of 3D Characters and Assets to simply merge in your scene each time
you need them.
Rendering Ready: If you work with V-Ray, Mental Ray or Thea, you are able
to set up your converted modelÊs versions to be directly accessible from
aXYZHUB® and ready to be rendered!
Keep your Catalog Updated: Each time AXYZ publishes a new character,
aXYZHUB® will inform you. This way, when you start an Arch Viz project
you will have the ability to evaluate if the new product additions are suitable
for you!


4
CHAPTER 2
Installation Instructions
AXYZ HUB
These instructions are for users who have recently downloaded aXYZHUB®. If you have not
already downloaded it please visit our website at: https://secure.axyz-design.com/axyzhub
Plug-ins for 3ds Max are automatically installed with aXYZHUB®.
screen
en
Figure 2-1
2-1. aXYZHUB® Installer Wizard screen.
5
CHAPTER 2
Launching the installer
Close all running applications. Shut down all the unnecessary programs that are running in
your system tray. Usually if you right-click an icon with your mouse youÊll get a menu that helps
you to exit the software.
1. License Agreement
Please review the License terms before installing aXYZHUB®. You must accept the
agreement to install aXYZHUB®.
2. Choose features
Check the components you want to install and uncheck those that you donÊt want to
install. Click Next to continue.
3. Choose Install Location
Setup will install aXYZHUB® in the following folder:
C:\Program Files (x86)\aXYZHUB\
To install in a different folder, click Browse and select a new one. Click install to Start
the installation.
4. Run aXYZHUB
You can run aXYZHUB® directly as a Stand-Alone app to purchase, look for the new
available characters, organize the purchased products and create your own 3D Asset
catalogue or simply run it from 3ds Max to add characters to your scene and render!
Enjoy!
Note Installer will add the necessary scri pts and menus to run aXYZHUB® from 3ds Max.
6
CHAPTER 3
Iterface Overview
The Main Screen
aXYZHUB® software has a clean, simple and intuitive interface and gives you a
straightforward way to add 3D Characters and Assets to your projects to improve
your daily workflow.
Figure 3-1. aXYZHUB® main Window.
7
CHAPTER 3
Navigation Modes
There are four ways to use aXYZHUB®: To organize and add your purchased 3D Characters in
your projects, to find and purchase new ones, or to download and try the free demo products or
to create your own catalogue of 3D Assets.
My Characters
Selecting this mode, aXYZHUB® will show you the 3D Characters installed in your
local drive. 3D Characters added to the Processing Queue will be ready to be loaded,
resized, xrefered, or merged into your project.
Online Store
This mode can be selected if you want to view and purchase new 3D Characters and
Software. Products added to the Processing Queue will be ready for the Checkout
through aXYZ design Online Store.
Free Trials
Activating this mode, all the available Free Demos and Trial Products will be shown
in the 3D Asset Window. Products added to the Processing Queue will be ready for the
Checkout through aXYZ design Online Store.
My Assets
When this mode is selected your own 3D Assets catalogue will be displayed. Models
added to the Processing Queue will be ready to be loaded, resized, xrefered, or merged
into your scene.
Note Purchased product will be hidden during the navigation while in Online Store Mode.
8
CHAPTER 3
Search Filters
You can filter and improve your search results by using the Dropdown Filters alone or in combination with the Filter by Tag utility.
Dropdown Filtering
You
Yo can use the dropdown menues to filter and find the right 3D Character for your
project.
This filtering mode offers an easy way to organize your search by formats,
proj
materials,
polycount, collections and more!
ma
There
are three available dropdown menu widgets that can be setup to show
Th
different filtering attributes. To configure follow these steps:
1.
2.
Go and click in the menu Filter > Custom Filter 1
Select and check one of the available attributes. The new Filter will be displayed
in the first dropdown menu on top of the screen.
Tag Filtering
If you are looking for a particular character, Filter by Tag will allow you to type-in a
specific search word. You can also add new tags to your characters and organize them
as you prefer.
Figure 3-2. Dropdown and Tag Filters Setup windows.
Note Dropdown Filtering is only available for aXYZ design 3d Characters.
9
CHAPTER 3
Asset Window
Here you will find all the aXYZ design 3D Characters installed in your local drive, those available in the Online Store and the 3D Models added to the 3D Asset catalogue. Passing over the
thumbnails will allow you to start adding them to the Processing Queue!
Figure 3-3
3-3. Asset Thumbnails
Thumbnails.
Add to Processing Queue
Depending on the Navigation mode you have previously selected, when passing over a
3D Character thumbnail a Shopping Cart or a Plus symbol will be displayed.
The shopping cart means that the 3D Characters and products added to the Processing Queue will be processed through aXYZ design Online Store and will generate a
purchase order.
Those added using the Plus symbol will be either „Merged‰, „Resized‰ „Xrefered‰
or „Loaded‰, depending on the selection in the „Launch Batch Process‰ dropdown
menu.
Note Orders generated by aXYZHUB® will be processed through https://secure.axyz-design.
com/ website. Payment system is 100% guaranteed by PayPal (www.paypal.com).
10
CHAPTER 3
Launch Batch Process
Depending on the selection of the dropdown menu inmediately aside the big PLAY icon or the
selected Navigation Mode, you will be able to launch three different processes that are described
bellow.
bed bbel
bello
ello
low.
w.
Figure 3-4. The Processing Queue Window.
Checkout
If the selected navigation mode is „Online Store‰ the dropdown menu function will
automatically be set to „Checkout‰. Clicking on the „Launch Batch Process‰ icon will
generate a purchase order on aXYZ Online Store. Your internet broswer will show up
the cart page (https://secure.axyz-design.com/cart) allowing you to review the list with
the added products and confirm to continue the purchasing process.
Merge
If either „My Characters‰ or „My Assets‰ navigation mode is activated and the „Merge‰ function is selected, 3D Characters in the Processing Queue will be merged into
your scene.
aXYZHUB® will automatically find and change texture mapÊs absolute paths, no matter where your 3D Assets are located. In addition, imported models will be linked to a
null object and placed in a way to aid selection and translation.
Note Remember that Merge, Load, Xref and Resize functions will be active only if you are using
aXYZHUB® from 3ds Max.
11
CHAPTER 3
Xref
XREFs (External Reference Files) allow you to view, or „reference‰ another 3D Asset
file within the file you are working on. As a „reference‰ drawing it cannot be edited,
but you can see it, move and rotate. In this case, texture paths will be kept as in the
original model files.
Load
Launch this command if you just want to load one of the 3D Characters or Assets configured in aXYZHUB®. Any scene opened in 3ds Max will be replaced.
Resize
Select „My Characters‰ navigation mode and forget about scaling rigged characters
manually! When using the „Resize‰ function, characters in the Processing Queue will
be scaled to the standard drawing units supported by 3ds Max. aXYZHUB® will generate one model file for each unit and prepare them for the next time you will merge
them into your project scene.
Ti ps To avoid warning messages during the
batch conversion, pleas e uncheck Display Toplogy-Dependence Warning from:
Customize > Preferences > General > UI Display
Figure 3-5. 3ds Max Preference Settings window.
12
CHAPTER 4
Installing AXYZ Characters
My Characters
aXYZHUB® software has an easy way to install all your aXYZ design 3D Characters and start
using them to populate your Arch Viz Projects. The installed 3D Characters will be displayed
when „My Characters‰ icon is selected.
Figure 4-1. Installing 3D Characters & Assets Menu.
Good Practices
Be organized
After a purchase at aXYZ design Online Store you will be able to download your product files in *.zip format. Copying them in a centralized location will help you keep
your purchases safe and organized. There is no need to unzip them if you are using
aXYZHUB®.
Keep it safe
Separate your data from your operating systems and applications. Ideally, you should
save data files on a separate drive or partition and run periodical backups.
13
CHAPTER 4
Ctrl + I
Install My Character/s
1.
2.
Click in the menu File > Install My Character/s.
A browsing window will be displayed.
Search for your *.axp, *.zip or *.max files and simply load them.
aXYZHUB® will automaticaly install and make them ready-to-be-used in
your visualization projects.
All aXYZ design products are distributed in *.zip files. Installing 3D Characters using
the .zip file will automatically setup the different renderer material configurations for
the product. If instead, you directly use *.max format you will need to manually configure them.
Figure 4-2. 3D Asset Setup window.
By clicking the „Edit‰ button on the installed 3D Character thumbnails, the „3D Asset
Setup‰ window will be displayed. From there you will be able to change the Title of
the 3D Asset, add new searching tags and description texts and configure the different
renderer files for the model.
Ti ps If aXYZHUB® detects V-Ray as your active
renderer, it will look for the *.max file with _VRAY
suffix defined in the 3D Asset Setup window.
14
CHAPTER 4
Ctrl + P Install My Character/s from path
This option allows you to install multiple 3D Characters located in the same folder of
your computer drive.
1.
2.
Click in the menu File > Install My Character/s from path.
A browsing window will be displayed.
Select the folder where your *.zip, *.axp or *.max files are located.
aXYZHUB® will automaticaly install and make them ready-to-be-used in
your visualization projects.
Change working directoy
By default aXYZHUB® 3D Character config files and setups are installed in:
C:\Users\YOU\aXYZHUB
However, you can change this path to any other position in your local or network drives. If you want to share aXYZHUB® content and setups with other users or computers
over a network, you should change the working directory to a shared folder.
Computer 1
_______
aXYZ Products
+
aXYZHUB
Working Directory
Computer 2
_______
Computer 2
_______
aXYZHUB App
aXYZHUB App
Computer 2
_______
Computer 2
_______
aXYZHUB App
aXYZHUB App
Example:
\\Fileserver\aXYZ design\aXYZ Products
---> Here you can locate the .zip files of your products.
\\Fileserver\aXYZ design\aXYZ Products\HUB
---> This could be the location of aXYZHUB config files.
Figure 4-3. Shared folder setup example.
15
CHAPTER 4
Ctrl + N Add My Asset
This tool allows you to create your own 3d Assets catalogue to be available and ready
to-be-used through aXYZHUB®. Searching for 3D models and scenes and merging
them into your scene is easy!
Figure 4-4
4-4. 3D Asset browser window.
1.
Click in the menu File > Add My Asset.
2.
The 3D Asset Setup window will be displayed.
Fill-in all the necessary fields as explained in the next page.
Ti ps If no *.max file is defined for one of the
renderers available in the 3D Asset Setup window a
warning message will be shown during the merge/
load in 3ds Max.
Note Dropdown Filters will not be available when MY ASSETS mode is selected. Use Filter by
Tags instead.
16
CHAPTER 4
Title
Add a simple and usefull title to identify your model.
Tags
Add some search terms and tags to be able to easily find your model.
Thumbnail File
Add a nice render of your 3D Asset to be displayed in aXYZHUB® main window while „My Assets‰ mode is selected.
Default / V-Ray / Mental Ray / Thea Files
Tell aXYZHUB® where your 3D Asset files are located for each different renderer. The „Default‰ field will define the model used when „Default Scanline
Renderer‰ or another renderer not supported by aXYZHUB® is being used.
Descri ption
Use this available space if you want to add some extra text or description.
Figure 4-5. 3D Asset Setup Window.
17