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Mike Mayer avatar image
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Mike Mayer asked Mike Mayer commented

Screen Locked Billboard text not showing up in slide (it's near 3D model origin)

Attached test model and png screenshot show where I've created a screen-locked presentation slide. I tried creating text bullets but they were not showing up. Went to General tab and noticed strange XY coordinates for each text location. Discovered the presentation slide text was showing up southwest of the black plus-sign 0,0,0 origin in the 3D model space, in perspective, on the model floor. The text should be showing up on the 2D screen locked billboard plane (which I have specified as a transparent frame). Also noticed the frame is not transparent. Using 2018.0.3, which is our current "vetted" version.

FlexSim 18.0.3
screen locked billboard text
billboard-text-problem-screenshot.png (230.3 KiB)
billboard-text-problem.fsm (85.2 KiB)
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tannerp avatar image tannerp commented ·
@Mike Mayer

I just tried this and I was having the same problem when using the presentation slide. However, if you're okay with not having the transparent billboard visual, I was able to successfully screen lock my text by selecting "Text" in the Visual Display box instead of "Presentation Slide." (While still in "Screen Locked Billboard" mode.) I believe you could use this locked text in the same way you would a transparent slide.

Let me know if this solution works for you. If not, we'd be happy to look into alternatives.

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Mike Mayer avatar image Mike Mayer commented ·

Thanks Tanner.

I did start out just playing with that screen locked 2D text, as it is very simple to use. However the more info I typed into the string(s), the more it started getting lost visually in the model detail. That's when I decided to try the screen locked billboard, which when it's working correctly puts the text on a plane.

Another colleague at our location suggested I use the Model Documentation dashboard instead. We rarely use it from model to model (we usually document our work elsewhere, externally). However, the Model Documentation dashboard is quite nice to use, and can be flexibly moved around and reshaped (or even hidden) as needed. Whereas the screen locked billboard is just that - locked to the screen. So I think I will go that route, and in hindsight is probably where I should have started.

In any event, perhaps FlexSim could put it as a low-priority fix for the billboard feature. Looks like the drawing pipeline for the billboard version of the text objects somehow got pointed to the 3D model floor near the origin, instead of being directed to the local coordinate system of the 2D billboard plane.

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Phil BoBo avatar image
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Phil BoBo answered Mike Mayer commented

I've added a case to the dev list to look into fixing the presentation slide text in screen-locked billboard mode. Thanks.

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Mike Mayer avatar image Mike Mayer commented ·

Thank you Phil. I see Jeff just gave the nod as well. I have been using the Model Documentation dashboard, which in hindsight is much more appropriate because what I'm writing turns out to be more paragraphical, and thus works well. The screen locked billboard of course shines when information (dynamic or static) needs to be presented on-screen, all the time, regardless of the 3D view orientation.

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