Installation & Setup

On this page, we will guide you through the installation of Maxon Redshift and its individual setup in Vectorworks.

Quick Navigation

• Installation
• Configuration
• Where to Start?
• Things to know about the workflow
• Working on several projects with Maxon Redshift
• Switching between scenes in Vectorworks
• Using Stored Views in Vectorworks
• Info on Environment settings
• Working with Assets
• How to close Maxon Redshift?
• Undo/Redo Functionality
• Current Limitations
• Data Integration

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Installation

Like all Maxon products, Maxon Redshift is installed via the Maxon App. You can download it for free from this website and then use it to manage and purchase all your licenses and subscriptions.
You can find comprehensive documentation on how to use the Maxon App here.

During the Maxon Redshift installation you'll be asked to select all of your host apps that should get a direct connection to it (also see Figure 1 above). In our case at least the Vectorworks option have to be activated.

Once the Maxon Redshift installation is complete, you can launch Vectorworks. Maxon Redshift for Vectorworks should then be already visible in the default Tools Palette.
If you use a custom Tool Palette, you have to manually add Maxon Redshift to it.
To do this, first click on the ☰ menu above the Tools and select Customize... (see 1 in Figure 1).

The Workspace Editor will open, where you can select the Workspace to which you want to add Maxon Redshift. Then, search for the Rendering category in the Tools list and find the entry for Maxon Redshift (see 2 in Figure 2). Drag this entry to the right-hand list and place it where you want the corresponding icon to appear in the Tools Palette later (see 3). If you like, you can also assign a Key Shortcut for the selected Maxon Redshift entry below the right-hand list for even faster access.
Finally, apply all these changes by exiting the Workspace Editor using the OK button. After the Vectorworks interface has been redrawn, you will now find the new Maxon Redshift functionality in your Tool Palette.

If your Tool Palette is not a visible part of your current layout, you can of course also find Maxon Redshift using the Vectorworks Search function (see Figure 3). However, to activate it, Maxon Redshift must exist as a tool within the used workspace.

Configuration

When Maxon Redshift is activated by clicking on it in the Tool Palette, several icons appear in the header above it (see Figure 4):

1Auto Synchronization opens the Maxon Redshift for Archviz window and loads all data from the current Vectorworks project to it. Depending on the complexity of your project, it may take a moment for the scene to appear in the Maxon Redshift window. Progress dialog boxes in Vectorworks and in the Maxon Redshift window indicate the progress of this data synchronization.

2Camera Synchronization ensures that every change to the perspective in Vectorworks is immediately visible in the Maxon Redshift window. That window then behaves like an additional Vectorworks viewport during navigation. If Camera Synchronization is turned off, you can navigate independently in Vectorworks and Maxon Redshift. If Camera Synchronization is then turned on again, the Maxon Redshift view automatically snaps back to the Vectorworks perspective. In both Camera Synchronization states, navigating the camera in Maxon Redshift does not result in a live update of the Vectorworks perspective.
The following video shows active camera synchronization between Vectorworks and Maxon Redshift.

3Preferences opens the Vectorworks preferences for Maxon Redshift (see right side of Figure 4). In addition to helpful information about the versions of Maxon Cineware, Maxon Redshift and the Plugin used, you will also find some basic Options for working with geometries and materials here:

Geometry Detail: For parametric geometry, the desired level of detail for transfer to Maxon Redshift can be specified here. This usually affects less flat shapes, but is more evident in rounded and organic shapes, for example. A more subdivided geometry requires more memory and a longer conversion time, but can look more high-quality, especially in close-ups.
In the following Figure the Low Geometry Detail was used on the left side and the Very High details were used on the right side. The differences are particularly evident here in the polygon density of the rollers on which the doors run.

Using active Layer for adding Redshift assets: Maxon Redshift not only allows you to calculate realistic renderings and animations, but also to add numerous high-quality materials and objects as assets. Maxon Redshift for Archviz provides a Library Browser for this purpose, as well as numerous tools for placing individual or randomly distributed asset instances. This preset determines how these added assets are to be managed in Vectorworks. By default, a Redshift Object Class and a Redshift Layer are created for this purpose. Alternatively, the layer currently active in Vectorworks can also be used for these new assets coming from Maxon Redshift.
The following video gives an impression of how assets can be selected and added in Maxon Redshift. You can learn more about his on this page about the Add Tool or on the pages about the Surface Scatter Tool and the Scatter Brush Tool.

Show Redshift Objects in Vectorworks: This option is enabled by default and ensures that assets added in Maxon Redshift for Vectorworks are also visible in Vectorworks. Otherwise, these assets remain hidden in Vectorworks.

Show Redshift Scatters in Vectorworks: Various scatter functions in Maxon Redshift allow assets to be distributed across surfaces in large numbers, e.g., to cover terrain with realistic flowers or tufts of grass. If this option is enabled, these distributed assets will also be visible in Vectorworks. Otherwise, they will remain hidden.

Bake Procedural Shaders / Bake Quality: Maxon Redshift can also interpret and render Vectorworks materials. However, since Vectorworks also allows procedural shaders to be used in materials, these must be converted to regular bitmap textures before they can be used by Maxon Redshift. This process is known as “baking”. This Bake process is activated via this option. In addition, the desired texture resolution can also be set for this purpose. It should be noted that larger texture resolutions may contain more detail for close-ups, but also take longer to convert and require more memory. Please note that a large number of ready-made materials optimized for Maxon Redshift can also be accessed via the Maxon Redshift Library Browser. These can then be assigned directly to objects in the Redshift Viewport, overwriting the original Vectorworks materials.

Where to Start?

The fastest way to get started with Redshift is to begin with the chapter on The Interface of Maxon Redshift. It explains all the functions of the user interface and provides links to related topics, such as Working with Materials, Rendering, or creating animations in The Storyboard. If you have installed and configured Maxon Redshift for Vectorworks as described above and integrated it as a tool in your workspace, simply activating synchronization is sufficient to start Maxon Redshift and start working on your project right away.

Things to know about the workflow

Working on several projects with Maxon Redshift

Maxon Redshift for Archviz does not allow you to switch between multiple projects. Therefore, if you are working on multiple scenes in Vectorworks at the same time, you must close the Maxon Redshift window before switching to another project in Vectorworks. You can then switch to the other project and reopen Maxon Redshift.

Switching between scenes in Vectorworks

If you have switched to another scene in Vectorworks while the Maxon Redshift window was open, data synchronization between Vectorworks and Maxon Redshift will be stopped. You must first switch back to the original scene displayed in Maxon Redshift, then you can close Maxon Redshift and switch to the new scene. Then you can finally reopen Maxon Redshift. This ensures that no data can be lost.

Using Stored Views in Vectorworks

The camera views saved in Vectorworks are not automatically synchronized with Maxon Redshift. Maxon Redshift has its own comprehensive stored views system for managing camera and scene data. However, you can call up a saved view in Vectorworks. This automatically updates the view in Maxon Redshift. A Stored View can then be created for this view in Maxon Redshift.

Info on Environment settings

The Environment in Maxon Redshift has priority of Vectorworks, once it is set. Once the Environment is created, manually or automatically, the changes made in Vectorworks do not have effect on it:

The following rules apply for opening a Vectorworks scene in Maxon Redshift for the first time (initial sync):

• If the Vectorworks file contains a Heliodon:
  The sun position, time of day, and geolocation are transferred to the Maxon Redshift Environment.

• If the Vectorworks scene uses a Renderworks Physical Sky:
  The sky settings are transferred to the viewer.

• If no sun, sky, or lights are defined in Vectorworks:
  A default Environment is created in Maxon Redshift.

• If other lights exist in Vectorworks but no sun/sky:
  No default Environment is created in Maxon Redshift.

After a first scene transfer:

• Only geolocation changes are automatically updated in Maxon Redshift after the initial transfer.

• Other Environment settings changed in Maxon Redshift are not overwritten by changes in Vectorworks.

• When reloading the file or resyncing:

• Maxon Redshift loads its previously saved Environment settings.

• Only geolocation is re-synced from Vectorworks.

Georeferencing:

Heliodon overrides georeferencing settings. If Vectorworks has Document Georeferencing enabled without a Heliodon, the document’s geolocation is used during initial Environment creation in Redshift and if the user updates georeferencing during the session, and no Heliodon exists, updated coordinates are transferred to all views.

Working with Assets

All objects added in Maxon Redshift can be edited both in Maxon Redshift and in Vectorworks. We have summarized everything you need to know about working with assets and the limitations to be aware of on this page.

How to close Maxon Redshift?

In principle, the Maxon Redshift window can remain open throughout. However, if you no longer need a rendered display for other work and do not want to assign any new materials or assets, you can simply close the Maxon Redshift window at any time. All changes made will be retained and automatically transferred to Vectorworks. A corresponding dialog box will inform you of this (see figure below).

Additional options include using the Send to Cinema 4D function to open the current Vectorworks project in Maxon Cinema 4D. This is made possible by the internal Cineware conversion of the data to the native Maxon Cinema 4D data format.

Undo/Redo Functionality

The Maxon Redshift viewer and Vectorworks share a combined undo stack. This means:

• Users do not need to worry about which window is active when pressing Undo.

• Undo will revert the last user-visible change, even if it involved both applications.

• Camera movements are not included in Undo.

• Scatter distribution counts as one Undo action.

When the Maxon Redshift viewer is closed, Its Undo history is cleared. Any viewer-created Undo items in the Vectorworks stack are also cleared. When reopening, the Maxon Redshift viewer starts with a clean Undo history.

Current Limitations

At the time of writing this documentation, these are the current restrictions when using Undo or Redo:

• Moving the Camera in the Maxon Redshift Viewport (no Undo/Redo)
• Overriding materials (no Undo/Redo)
• Deleting assets that have a material override (Undo will bring back the asset, but with the original material)
• Creation of a Surface Scatter asset distribution (no Redo)
• Deleting a Surface Scatter asset distribution (no Undo/Redo)
• Creation of a Scatter Brush asset distribution (no Undo/Redo)
• Deleting a Scatter Brush asset distribution (no Undo/Redo)
• A new stroke with the Scatter Brush Tool (no Undo/Redo)
• Changes to the Redshift Render Settings (no Undo/Redo)
• Changes to the Redshift Environment settings (no Undo/Redo)
• Creation of a Stored View (no Undo/Redo)
• Deleting a Stored View (no Undo/Redo)
• Editing of data of a Stored View (no Undo/Redo)
• Switching between Stored Views (no Undo/Redo). An Undo just brings you back to the original Vectorworks perspective.

Data Integration

All data coming from Maxon Redshift is being serialized into the corresponding Vectorworks document. Currently, there is no possibility to wipe the Maxon Redshift data out of the Vectorworks document (this functionality is planned for the next release).

So if you want to keep a ‘clean’ version of the project, you should make a copy of it before using Maxon Redshift. In fact, even opening a Vectorworks scene that has already been processed by Maxon Redshift on systems without Maxon Redshift will not cause any problems.

The layers and proxies will still be displayed (if the display of proxies is active) and can be manipulated on a machine without the Maxon Redshift viewer or a Maxon Redshift license. Upon loading the document on a machine with the Maxon Redshift viewer and synchronizing the document, the corresponding changes (proxy manipulations) will take effect in the Maxon Redshift viewer. If you already have lots of Maxon Redshift data in the document and do not need it any more, it is recommended to remove the corresponding layers (Redshift Objects and Redshift Scatters). The remaining data (environment, settings) is still present in the file, but it's not showing and does not take a lot of disk space.