Inventor 2012 - Prevent Blurred Edges in Shaded Drawing Views

By Luke Davenport

Inventor employs a number of memory-saving tricks in drawing files to enable users to work as fast as their hardware will allow. One of these is the use of a static bitmap for shaded views instead of dynamic re-generation from the model geometry when zooming. This is fine for most scenarios but when you are zooming in very closely (or not so closely on larger models) you will probably notice the shading to be blurred and jagged at the edges like this:

This effect can be even more extreme on particularly large models such as Factory Design layouts, which may measure dozens of metres across. To correct this, simply go to Tools, Document Settings, Drawing tab, and change the shaded view settings to use a bitmap when ‘Offline Only’.

Your shaded view should then be much more presentable: