Inserting a Heliodon Object

To insert a heliodon:

Click the Heliodon tool from the Visualization tool set.

Click to place the object in the drawing, and click again to set the rotation.

The first time you use the tool in a file, the Settings dialog box opens. Set the default properties, and click OK.

The heliodon graphic displays true North at the top of the heliodon. Normally, the drawing is oriented to page North (true North, not magnetic North), and true North matches the top of the page, with no compensation required for proper sun position. If the drawing was not created with this orientation, use the Object Info palette to specify a Rotation in degrees from page North. North set here should match true North in the drawing.

The white arrows represent the sunlight direction at the current time of day and the designated location. The gradient highlight shows the approximate position of the sun in the sky dome.

Once placed, a heliodon symbol is added to the drawing file and is listed in the Resource Manager in the Heliodon Symbols folder. Edit the 2D component of the symbol as described in Editing Symbol Definitions to change the appearance or the font style or size.

Heliodon objects display in, and can be controlled from, the Visualization palette. They can be identified by their location and time data.

Place several heliodon objects in the drawing, set to different times of day, to conduct a solar study. Turn the heliodon objects on and off in the Visualization palette to study the effects of the sun’s light and shadows cast at different times of day.

The properties can be edited from the Object Info palette.

Parameter	Description
Settings	Opens the Settings dialog box, to specify the heliodon parameters
Heliodon data	Displays the location, position, and time zone set for the heliodon
Show Solar Data	Displays solar information for the heliodon in the Object Info palette; select a Text Display option which includes “Data” to include the solar data in the heliodon text label
Daylight Savings	Select if Daylight Saving Time is in effect
Use Solar Time	Overrides the local time zone and daylight savings settings, using apparent solar time instead of mean solar time. When solar time is used, Daylight Saving Time cannot also be in effect.
Time/Day/Month	Specify the time of day, the day of the month, and the month, or select a winter or summer solstice or spring or autumn equinox from the Month list. The Time can also be specified as sunrise, dawn, midday, noon, dusk, sunset, or midnight.
Sun Brightness	Sets the brightness of the directional light representing the sun
Renderworks Only	A Renderworks render mode or background is required for the four next parameters
Soft Shadows	Creates soft shadows when rendering shadows with a Renderworks mode
Physical Sun	Creates a physical sun with color and brightness that is controlled by the heliodon settings (when rendering with a Renderworks mode); deselect the option to use a white directional light, set to 100% brightness
Physical Sky	Allows the heliodon settings, such as date, time, and use of warm colors, to control a physical sky Renderworks background, when one is applied (see Creating Physical Sky Backgrounds ). This creates more realistic solar animations, because the sky reflects the time of day and month of the year as the animation proceeds. Deselect this option to view the physical sky with bright, midday settings.
Warm Colors	Adds a rosier, richer appearance to physical sun and sky colors
Show Shadow Angle Calculator	Displays additional options for calculating shadow angles for selected walls
Object Display	Select how to display the heliodon object in 2D and 3D views; the heliodon symbol is a 2D graphic. ● 2D Graphic + 3D Light: Displays as a 2D graphic in Top/Plan view and as a light in 3D views ● 2D Graphic Only: Displays as a planar graphic in all views ● 3D Light Only: Displays as a light object; does not use a 2D graphic.
Text Display	Select the information to include in the heliodon’s text label; move the label control point to adjust the label position. ● None: Does not display a text label ● Time + Location + Date: Displays the time, city, and date ● Time + Location + Date + Data: Displays the time, city, date, and solar data including solar time ● Time + Date Only: Displays the time and date ● Time + Date + Data: Displays the time, date, and solar data ● Data Only: Displays the solar data
Solar Animation	Opens the Solar Animation dialog box; see Creating Solar Animations

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Parameter	Description
Time Display	Select the method of time display; Samples shows the time as it is currently formatted
12/24 Hour	Select whether to display the time in 12-hour or 24-hour time format; in 12-hour format, the date automatically displays as Month/Day, and in 24-hour format, the date automatically displays as Day/Month
Colon/Dot	Sets the time to display with a colon or dot between the hour and minute
2D Graphic	Select a heliodon symbol from a library; a selected symbol is automatically imported into the current file and displays in the Resource Manager
Location	Locations are derived from text files that can be found in the heliodon cities file in the Vectorworks application folder [Vectorworks]\Libraries (see Concept: Resource Libraries). Region text files with city, longitude, and latitude information can be added to the current set of files, or the information can be edited from this dialog box. Once a region has been selected, the corresponding text file is saved to the user folder; see Vectorworks Preferences: User Folders Tab.
Region	Select the region from among the major regions of the world, or click Add New Region from the bottom of the Region list, to create a new region If you add a new region, name the region in the Add New Region dialog box, then click Edit City to enter location information.
City	Select a major city from within the specified region
Edit City	If you have different information for the currently selected city, its information can be edited; new cities can also be added to the current region. Any edits are saved to the user folder.
City	If updating the currently selected city, do not edit the city name; if adding a city, enter the new city name
Latitude/Longitude	Specifies the city’s global coordinates
North/South/East/West	Sets the latitude (North/South) and longitude (East/West) hemispheres
Time Zone	Select the city’s time zone based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Add	Adds the new city to the selected region; the new city must have a unique name
Update	Updates the information of the selected city
Delete	Deletes the city from the selected region

Inserting a Heliodon Object

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Parameter

Description