Area Light

Area Light is a function allowing the Lighting effect of rectangular light sources to be simulated. A practical example is that of the area lit by fluorescent tubes. The two screenshots below show how Area Light might be used.

1.It is best to switch to the appropriate 2D projection, depending on the direction you wish to set.

2.Go to the Lighting item in the Room group, Insert tab, and select Area Light.

3.Use one click to set the origin for the light source.

4.Moving the mouse or entering figures on the keyboard enables you to determine the orientation and size of the graphic representation of the Area Light.

5.Clicking again or confirming with the Enter key ends the creation stage.

There are a number of properties which can be edited for an Area Light. A selected Area Light is shown below in Perspective projection, together with its properties.

Property	Description	Can be changed by means of
Type	An Area Light can be converted into a Spot Light, a Point Light or a Directional Light.	Property Editor
Color	Sets the Color of the light.	Property Editor
Intensity	The figure is given in candelas (cd). 1 cd is approximately the Intensity of the light from one candle. The Intensity of an Area Light diminishes exponentially in relation to the distance from the origin.	Property Editor
Realtime Shadows	Enables or disables the calculation of shadows for realtime rendering.	Property Editor
Light enabled	This switches the light source on and off.	Property Editor
Length and Width	This is relevant for photorealistic rendering. The larger the source of light, the softer the shadow in the image rendered.	Property Editor
Shadows	This is whether Shadows should be calculated during the rendering process or not.	Property Editor
Show Geometry	If this option is enabled, the light source as well as the light emitted will be shown in the rendering.	Property Editor
Name	It is possible to give a Name to any of the light sources.	Property Editor
Target	The target interactor will set the direction of the Area Light.	Interactor (see image)
Origin	The origin interactor allows the origin of the light source to be changed.	Interactor (see image)
Position	The Area Light can be moved.	Section of line (see image)