Troubleshooting Why Material Textures are Not Displayed in Camera Views

Reference Number: KB-01091
Last Modified: July 16, 2015

The information in this article applies to:

Home Designer Professional or Home Designer Architectural or Home Designer Suite or Home Designer Interiors or Home Designer Essentials



DESCRIPTION

When I take a camera view, I do not see the textures of materials, only solid colors for items such as flooring, cabinets, and wall paintings.  How do I turn on the display of textures so that I can see wood grain, tile and other materials correctly?



RESOLUTION

There are a number of factors that can contribute to the quality of the 3D views that you can generate in Home Designer.

If textures are not displayed in your 3D camera views, first, check to make sure that your video card meets the minimum system requirements for running the software.

If your video card meets or exceeds the system requirements, please check to make sure that you have your Default settings set appropriately by following these steps.

 


To Toggle Textures

  1. With a 3D view open, select 3D from the menu, or 3D> Camera View Options if you are using Home Designer Pro or Architectural, and look for the Toggle Textures option.

    • If Toggle Textures has a checkmark  to the left of the name, it is currently turned on and you can click outside of the drop-down menu to close it without selecting anything.

    • If Toggle Textures has a button icon to the left of the name, it is currently turned off so you should click on this menu option to select it and turn it on.

    • Toggle Textures is not available in Glass House Views.

    • In version 9 programs, Toggle Textures was located at 3D> Toggle Textures.



      The above camera view is the same as the one shown at the beginning of this article, but has Toggle Textures turned off. 


To adjust Render Quality in Home Designer 2012 and prior versions

  1. First, launch Home Designer and choose to Open the plan that is demonstrating this behavior.


  2. Next, select Edit> Default Settings  from the menu to open the Default Settings dialog.


  3. In Home Designer 2012 and prior versions, select "Render Quality" from the list and click the Edit button to open the Render Quality dialog.

    In the Render Quality dialog, ensure that you have the slider set to High.

    Note: The Render Quality dialog controls the quality of camera views, but does not affect Final Views or Final Views with Shadows. 

    • Low - Very fast rendering for older video cards. No textures or rounded surfaces, and no transparent surface.

    • Medium - Fast rendering for mid-grade video cards.  Lighting is approximated, and no transparent surfaces are calculated.

    • High - Highest-quality rendering with textures, transparent surfaces, and highly accurate lighting.

  4. Click OK to apply this change, and take a new 3D Camera  view. 

In version 9 and prior, one additional setting that could turn off the display of material textures in 3D views is 3D> Toggle Low Detail Mode .  This feature switched between High- and Low-Detail display modes.  Low-Detail Mode allowed quicker view drawing, editing and camera movements and helped to accommodate the limitations of older, less powerful video cards.

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