Running a timeline simulation of a 3D model

You can run a timeline simulation of the 3D model in the IFC Model pane. This gives you a graphical simulation of the construction process of a 3D model, using the start and finish dates of the tasks in the project or in a baseline that has been specified in Asta Powerproject 4D to determine the point at which each 3D object in the 3D model appears. If the IFC Model pane is currently displaying an IFC group model, you can run a timeline simulation of the IFC group model in the same way.

If you display the IFC Comparison Model pane as well as the IFC Model pane, two timeline simulations of the same 3D model are displayed at the same time - one in each pane. Depending on the way in which the project has been configured in Project Viewer, a different timeline simulation may be displayed in each pane. For example, one may run using dates from the live data and the other using dates from a baseline.

If one or more fly pasts have been created in the project, you can use these to control the movement of the camera during timeline simulations. A fly past consists of a series of viewpoints - "fly past points" - which are each applied at a particular point in time during a timeline simulation. For example, a fly past could be configured to start with the camera pointing at the front of a building, then move to particular areas of the building that are being constructed at different points in time, showing these areas in greater detail.

You run timeline simulations using the following controls, which are available both in the Timeline group on the 4D tab of the Ribbon and on the dockable Timeline Controls pane:

Click the Track in Bar Chart control to specify that as a timeline simulation is run, the tasks in the bar chart that correspond to the objects that appear at each stage should be displayed automatically; if the control is currently selected, click it again to specify that tasks in the bar chart should not be selected automatically when a timeline simulation is run.
To play, pause and stop a timeline simulation, use the , and controls, respectively.
To run through a timeline simulation in reverse, use the control.
To run through a timeline simulation manually, use the control, either by clicking the and buttons or by dragging the slider control.
To go immediately to a particular date in a timeline simulation, select the date in the Date field.

Applying a fly past to timeline simulations

To apply a fly past to timeline simulations in the IFC Model pane, on the 4D tab, in the Timeline group, click the Fly Past dropdown and select the fly past that you want to apply. The fly past that you select is highlighted with a tick and will be used the next time you run a timeline simulation - either by clicking Play or by using the Tmeline bar control.

If the IFC Comparison Model pane is displayed, you can choose whether to apply fly pasts to this pane as well as to the IFC Model pane. To apply fly pasts to the IFC Comparison Model pane, on the 4D tab, in the Timeline group, click the Fly Past dropdown and select the Show on Comparison Model. The command is highlighted with a tick.

Select this command again to apply the selected fly past to the IFC Model pane only. The tick is removed from the Show on Comparison Model command.

Turning off all fly pasts

To turn off all fly pasts, on the 4D tab, in the Timeline group, click the Fly Past dropdown and select None.

Displaying the Timeline Controls pane

To display the Timeline Controls pane, on the 4D tab, in the 3D Viewer group, click the IFC Model Pane dropdown and select Timeline Controls. Because the Timeline Controls pane is dockable, you can position it wherever you want. This makes it easier to control timeline simulations, particularly if you work with more than one monitor and display your timeline simulations in panes that float above and are positioned away from the Project Viewer window.