Material

Description

Custom appearance in each view

The Custom appearance in each view option determines whether the pond will appear differently in the Plan view than in the Perspective view. If this option is unchecked, the pond will appear the same in both views.

Plan

The Plan tab contains properties that affect the appearance of the pond in the Plan view. This tab will not be available unless the Custom appearance in each view option is checked.

Perspective

The Perspective tab contains properties that affect the appearance of the pond in the Perspective view. This tab will not be available unless the Custom appearance in each view option is checked.

Fill Material

The Fill Material property determines the material that lines the bottom of the pond. To change the material, click the small image that displays the current fill material.

Material options

The appearance of the pond can be modified by clicking the small button that appears to the right of the fill material image.

Size

The Size property determines the scale of the pond material.

Angle

The Angle property determines the rotation angle of the pond material.  To change the material angle, move the Angle slider or type a value in the text field.

Offset X

The Offset X property determines the pond material’s left and right orientation. To shift the material left or right, move the Offset X slider or enter a value in the text field.

Offset Y

The Offset Y property determines the pond material’s forward and backward orientation. To shift the material forward or backward, move the Offset Y slider or enter a value in the text field.

Shininess

The Shininess property determines how glossy the material will appear. To change the appearance of the material, click the Shininess drop-down menu and select from the following options: Default, Off, Low, Medium, or High. The shininess property only affects the appearance of the material while in the 3D view.

Enable enhanced surface detail

The Enable enhanced surface detail property determines whether or not the pond will have increased detail when viewed up close.

Transparency

The Transparency property determines the opacity of the pond in the Plan view. To change the pond opacity, move the Transparency slider or type a value in the text field. Note that the Transparency property is only available when the Custom appearance in each view option is checked.

Line style

The Line Style property determines the appearance of the outline of the pond in the Plan view. To change the line style, click the Line Style button and select the style you wish to use from the dialog that appears. Note that a line style is only available when the Custom appearance in each view option is checked.

Options

Description

Depth

The Depth property determines how deep the pond is at its center. To change the pond depth, move the Depth slider or type a value in the text box.

Important: Depending on your local building codes, ponds deeper than a certain depth may require a fence or have other restrictions for safety purposes. Please check your local building codes before building a real pond.

Depth taper

The Depth taper property determines how steep the pond sides are. To change the pond depth taper, move the Depth taper slider or type a value in the text box.

Water level

The Water level property determines the percentage of the pond that is filled with water. To change the pond water level, move the Water level slider or type a value in the text box.

Water effect

The Water effect property determines how the water will appear during a Realtime Walkthrough. Water can be calm, have small ripples, or even include foam and steam (useful for creating natural spas and hot tubs).

For water effects to be enabled, the Improved water quality property must be checked, and you must have a 3D video card which is capable of these effects.

Water ripples will also occur automatically when water flows into the pond from another source such as a stream or waterfall.

Add fish

The Add fish property determines if koi are added to the pond during a Realtime Walkthrough.

In order for fish to appear, you must also enable wildlife in the Realtime Walkthrough tab of the Environment Settings dialog.

Caution: Koi cannot survive in spa water.

Brighten water at night

The Brighten water at night property determines if the water should be artificially lightened during Realtime Walkthroughs when the Time of day is set to Sunrise, Sunset, or Evening. To toggle pond lightening, click the Brighten water at night checkbox.

The Improved water quality property must be checked before the water can be brightened at night.

Improved water quality

The Improved water quality property determines if standard or improved water should be used during Realtime Walkthroughs. Improved water generates realistic reflections and refractions, but can cause older computers to run slower. To toggle the water quality, click the Improved water quality checkbox.

Edit points

Click the Edit points button to enable or disable point editing mode, which will allow you to modify the pond’s shape. See Editing Points for details.

Shape options

Click the Shape Options button to save the shape of the pond, or to load an existing shape. For more details, see Saving and Loading Shapes.

Rock Border

Description

Add Rock Border

The Add Rock Border property determines whether or not the pond is outlined with a string of 3D rocks. To toggle the rock border, click the Add Rock Border checkbox.

Rock material

The Rock Material property determines the material of the rock border. To change the material, click the small image that displays the current rock material. Note that the rock material will be disabled unless the Add Rock Border property is enabled.

Material Options

The appearance of the rock border material can be modified by clicking the small button that appears to the right of the fill material image.

Size

The Size property determines the scale of the rock material.

Angle

The Angle property determines the rotation angle of the rock material.  To change the material angle, move the Angle slider or type a value in the text field.

Offset X

The Offset X property determines the rock material’s left and right orientation. To shift the material left or right, move the Offset X slider or enter a value in the text field.

Offset Y

The Offset Y property determines the rock material’s forward and backward orientation. To shift the material forward or backward, move the Offset Y slider or enter a value in the text field.

Shininess

The Shininess property determines how glossy the material will appear. To change the appearance of the material, click the Shininess drop-down menu and select from the following options: Default, Off, Low, Medium, or High. The shininess property only affects the appearance of the material while in the 3D view.

Enable enhanced surface detail

The Enable enhanced surface detail property determines whether or not the rock will have increased detail when viewed up close.

Smoother rocks

The Smoother Rocks property determines whether the pond’s rock border uses smooth or rough rocks. To toggle the rock type, click the Smoother rocks checkbox. Note that the Smoother rocks property will be disabled unless the Add Rock Border property is enabled.

Rock size

The Rock size property determines the approximate size of each rock in the pond’s rock border. To change the rock size, move the Rock size slider or enter a value in the text field. Note that the Rock size property will be disabled unless the Add Rock Border property is enabled.

Edit border

Click the Edit border button to enable or disable rock border editing mode, which will allow you to modify the pond’s rock border per edge. When rock border editing mode is enabled, click the edges of your pond that you wish to toggle. Note that the Edit border property will be disabled unless the Add Rock Border property is enabled.

Information

Description

Area

The Area property displays the total size of the pond in square feet or meters.

Perimeter

The Perimeter property displays the total distance around the pond in feet or meters.

Volume

The Volume property displays the amount of water in the pond in cubic feet or meters. The water volume is calculated using the average depth, and should be used as an approximation rather than an exact figure.