rmulley Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 (edited) I just upgraded to version 9 finally but I'm seeing a big difference in the quality of the image exports. Anyone else having this issue or am I doing something wrong ? Here's an example of an export and one of just a screen shot.... Edited March 16, 2021 by rmulley graham_g 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZTEK Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 Can you share a copy of your file with one of the objects seen in your images?... to check your settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmulley Posted March 17, 2021 Author Share Posted March 17, 2021 I just set up a new project and placed a cube... same thing. I've attached the fmz file too. Cube Sample.fmz.zip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 37 minutes ago, rmulley said: I just set up a new project and placed a cube... same thing. I've attached the fmz file too. Cube Sample.fmz.zip I've tested your file and suggest you try enabling the "Antialias" option in the Display Options palette. This option smooths the "jaggies" in lines like you have in your exported image here. If you have any further issues, please contact us at support@formz.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZTEK Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 As Tech says, looking at your parameters, the only thing to do would be to activate the anti-aliasing in Display Options. The Mac I'm using is a mid-2012 MB Pro Retina 15" with a 1GB graphics card. However, I don't have any major problems with Shaded Full, except for not using Ambient Occlusion, and I rarely use shadows. If you work in Wintel it may be a driver update issue (?). I copy you two images at the same resolution to compare. One is a screenshot and the other I saved first as a jpg. Cube Sample.jpg Screen Shot.png Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2D2 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Also check the image options, if your graphics card is somewhat newer and you have 2-3 seconds of patience this allows for much higher resolution output. (may need better mapping quality and check for line-thicknesses) Is that what you're looking for ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmulley Posted March 18, 2021 Author Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) Thanks for the input guys. I've tried anti alias and I tried increasing the image size and resolution.... it still comes out looking pretty bad. Here's an example of a screenshot vs an export.... EDIT: 2016 MacBook Pro, Radeon Pro 450 2GB Never had an issue with V8.6 and in fact I ran an experiment and it came out significantly better from that version. Edited March 18, 2021 by rmulley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 have you tried different formats? JPG uses a lot of compression vs. tif. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZTEK Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 (edited) rmulley and Tech, In my post, I forgot to mention that I am currently still using version 9.0.6.1 on my Mac, due to some real-time graphics issues with the latest version 9.1, which I have not yet reported. As my MacBook is from mid-2012, with 1GB graphic card, I thought that it was more a hardware problem than a software issue with the new version, but maybe I was wrong. I just tested your Cube Sample file again in version 9.1, and the same jaggies of the lines happened this time when exporting. So it may be related to your hardware if it is not very recent and, indeed, the new version could have some graphics problem when exporting the images. I tested with different formats, and it happens with all of them. Changing the resolution, to higher or lower, doesn't change anything and the problem persist. MacBook Pro 15" Retina mid-2012 / macOS 10.15.7 Catalina / 8GB RAM / 1GB VRAM Screen Shot in png format in version 9.1 Exported image in jpg format in version 9.1 Edited March 18, 2021 by ZTEK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R2D2 Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Test from 9.1 export 2700/1760 to jpg here; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmulley Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 On 3/18/2021 at 12:50 PM, ZTEK said: rmulley and Tech, In my post, I forgot to mention that I am currently still using version 9.0.6.1 on my Mac, due to some real-time graphics issues with the latest version 9.1, which I have not yet reported. As my MacBook is from mid-2012, with 1GB graphic card, I thought that it was more a hardware problem than a software issue with the new version, but maybe I was wrong. I just tested your Cube Sample file again in version 9.1, and the same jaggies of the lines happened this time when exporting. So it may be related to your hardware if it is not very recent and, indeed, the new version could have some graphics problem when exporting the images. I tested with different formats, and it happens with all of them. Changing the resolution, to higher or lower, doesn't change anything and the problem persist. MacBook Pro 15" Retina mid-2012 / macOS 10.15.7 Catalina / 8GB RAM / 1GB VRAM Screen Shot in png format in version 9.1 Exported image in jpg format in version 9.1 I feel like it is a hardware issue. Your PNG looks better than your JPEG though.... with mine they look exactly the same with the jagged edges. I'll have to hold out on an upgrade for Apple Silicon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innesyates Posted April 28, 2021 Share Posted April 28, 2021 (edited) I am having exactly the same problem. Since upgrading from FZ 8.6 to 9.1, all images exported in shaded full or shaded work are of very poor quality. The exported images look much worse than how they appear on the screen. I have anti-aliasing switched on, but all the linework is pixelated, and some of the elements appear outlined in red, as though they're selected (they're not). I've tried turning ambient occlusion on and off, and exporting to a variety of formats, but the poor quality result is consistent. The image attached below is in png format, shaded full, at around 4000 x 3000 px. I'm using an M1 Mac Mini (apple silicon) with 16 GB RAM, running OS 11.2 (Big Sur). For now, my solution has been to stop using FZ 9.1 and go back to 8.6, but today I realized that it's also possible to get a reasonable result from taking a screenshot instead of exporting an image. The screenshots look fine, but the resolution is obviously limited by the monitor being used. When I render the model in Maxwell, everything looks perfect. Edited April 28, 2021 by innesyates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
setz Posted April 28, 2021 Share Posted April 28, 2021 Red lines are selection preview. Quick fix is turn it off or what I do is just lock all layers, export, unlock all layers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZTEK Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 Innes, To solve this problem, you don't need to go back to version 8.6. Version 9.0.6.1 (A286) works fine, and as v.9.1 is far superior to v.8.6. Related to this problem, reading on other forums such as the Vectorworks forum, some users have also complained of similar issues when using some of the latest versions on macOS Big Sur. In general, they attribute them to changes that Apple would have implemented to the OpenGL. I hope ADS will soon release an update to v.9.1 that fixes them. 🤞 As Stez says, the objects outlined in red correspond to the selection preview. In my case, I use a keyboard shortcut when I want to disable it temporarily, which works very well. Besides the issue you mention, I'm curious to know if you have discovered any other problems using formZ 9.1 on the M1 Mac Mini. I couldn't wait any longer, and I just bought one as an intermediate solution to replace my elderly MacBook Pro before Apple released the Pro Mx models. Best, Marcelo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
¢hris £und Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 Ztek, I am expecting my M1 Mini today or tomorrow. I expect it to be Frustraining (frustrating + entertaining). I am replacing my 2012 Mac Pro with it. Even though, I am waiting for the M1 iMac. ¢£ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZTEK Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 (edited) Great Cris, I am in the same boat. Very excited about the new Macs. I also know I am going to run into a lot of bugs and problems. After thinking about it for a while, I decided to take the leap and not delay the transition any longer. This way I will have everything running smoothly when things get really interesting in a while. Please, be sure to share in the forum your impressions. Best, Marcelo Edited April 29, 2021 by ZTEK ¢hris £und 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innesyates Posted April 29, 2021 Share Posted April 29, 2021 On 4/28/2021 at 3:23 PM, setz said: Red lines are selection preview. Quick fix is turn it off or what I do is just lock all layers, export, unlock all layers. thanks for the tip! cheers Innes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innesyates Posted April 30, 2021 Share Posted April 30, 2021 On 4/28/2021 at 5:50 PM, ZTEK said: Innes, To solve this problem, you don't need to go back to version 8.6. Version 9.0.6.1 (A286) works fine, and as v.9.1 is far superior to v.8.6. Related to this problem, reading on other forums such as the Vectorworks forum, some users have also complained of similar issues when using some of the latest versions on macOS Big Sur. In general, they attribute them to changes that Apple would have implemented to the OpenGL. I hope ADS will soon release an update to v.9.1 that fixes them. 🤞 As Stez says, the objects outlined in red correspond to the selection preview. In my case, I use a keyboard shortcut when I want to disable it temporarily, which works very well. Besides the issue you mention, I'm curious to know if you have discovered any other problems using formZ 9.1 on the M1 Mac Mini. I couldn't wait any longer, and I just bought one as an intermediate solution to replace my elderly MacBook Pro before Apple released the Pro Mx models. Best, Marcelo Thanks Marcelo, I hope for an update for 9.1 as well, and eventually for a native version for apple silicon. Like you, we purchased the M1 Mac mini to replace on older Macbook and couldn't wait. The M1 mini is very snappy. It's completely silent and stays cool, I haven't even heard the fan come on yet. The performance is very good but with large models in FZ, complex drawings in Vectorworks, and rendering with Maxwell and Twinmotion, things start to lag a bit. With maximum RAM limited to 16 GB, it's not really a long-term solution for workstation-level performance. I'm looking forward to the newer higher performance silicon macs. cheers Innes ¢hris £und and ZTEK 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmulley Posted May 5, 2021 Author Share Posted May 5, 2021 On 4/29/2021 at 7:11 PM, innesyates said: thanks for the tip! cheers Innes ...to add to this Even if you are clicking 'save' in a dialogue box it will preview selection on whatever is behind the dialogue box. I move the save dialogue box off to the side. This was pre- 9.1 though because I can't save a decent enough quality image for export now anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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