See also: Textures in XKT Model Format

Introduction​

In this tutorial, we'll use xeokit's convert2xkt CLI tool to convert a binary glTF model with textures into xeokit's native XKT geometry format, which we'll then view in the browser using a xeokit Viewer.

The XKT format compresses models into a compact payload from which xeokit can load large numbers of objects over the Web in seconds, at full geometric precision.

XKT stores textures in such a way that, as they are loaded, they are transcoded within the browser straight to the optimal compressed format that’s supported by the user’s GPU. Transcoding consumes minimal browser resources, and the GPU footprint of the compressed textures is also minimal. This gives us a minimal memory spike while loading textures, and the ability to pack more more them onto our GPU.

To achieve this, XKT stores each texture in the KTX 2.0 Container Format (.ktx2) . Within each KTX2 container, the texture’s pixel data is is encoded in the UASTC Transmission Format. The UASTC format is designed to be efficiently transcoded into the optimal compressed format for the target GPU.

Internally, convert2xkt uses the Basis Universal Transcoder to convert the glTF textures into XKT textures. Likewise, XKTLoaderPlugin uses the Basis Transcoder to transcode the XKT textures to the GPU’s optimal format.

For our glTF model, we'll use an architectural model from Sketchfab. When that's converted and loaded into our viewer, it will look like the example below.

This model contains 571 visible objects, with 139642 triangles and 14 textures, and a xeokit Viewer can usually load it over a good Internet connection in ~2 seconds.

This guide provides a step-by-step process for creating and modifying a minimap for your 3D model using the Xeokit SDK. The minimap enhances the user's navigation experience by providing an overhead view of different floors (storeys) and enabling first-person navigation within the 3D model.

In xeokit v2.4, we have added the ability to dynamically reposition a model within xeokit's double-precision coordinate system. This means that once a model is loaded, it can be moved to any location within the full extents of xeokit’s double-precision coordinate system. This feature allows us to load a BIM model from an XKT file and a point cloud from an LAZ file, and then reposition either model to align them with each other.

A model can be dynamically translated and rotated, but cannot be scaled. Disallowing scaling of models is necessary for this mechanism to work efficiently within xeokit’s double-precision coordinate system.

In this guide, we'll introduce how to localize xeokit, so that we can dynamically it between different languages. Specifically, we'll show how to localize xeokit's core Viewer component and plugins, and how to localize xeokit's bundled BIM viewer application.

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to load an IFC model into a xeokit Viewer, and position it within the Viewer's double-precision 3D Cartesian World coordinate system using mercator-projected geodesic coordinates (longitude, latitude and height).

A xeokit viewer can exchange BCF viewpoints with other BIM software, allowing us to use the viewer to report and view issues in BIM models. In this tutorial, we'll demonstrate this capability by creating a BCF viewpoint with a xeokit viewer, which we'll then import it into a second xeokit viewer.

In this guide, we'll use convert2xkt to convert an IFC file to xeokit's native, fast-loading XKT format. Then, using JavaScript, we'll view the XKT model in the browser using xeokit Viewer component. As the Viewer loads our model, it will create 3D scene objects, along with a parallel metadata structure. We'll show how to use that metadata to navigate the scene objects and get information about them.

See also: Textures in Scene Representations

Introduction​

In this tutorial, we'll use xeokit's convert2xkt CLI tool to convert a binary glTF model with textures into xeokit's native XKT geometry format, which we'll then view in the browser using a xeokit Viewer.

Introduction​

The xeokit Viewer is designed for performance, but some of its special rendering effects can run slowly with huge models. Furthermore, if our models contain excessive geometry reuse (described below), then they can hit a pathological case for the Viewer and slow it down considerably.

Fortunately, xeokit has some options we can use to keep our Viewers smooth and responsive for these cases, which we'll describe in this article.

Introduction​

In this mini-tutorial, we'll use xeokit's convert2xkt CLI tool to convert a CityJSON model into xeokit's native XKT geometry format, which we'll then view in the browser using a xeokit Viewer.

CityJSON is a JSON-based encoding for a subset of the OGC CityGML data model (version 2.0.0), and is now published as an OGC community standard.

The XKT format compresses models into a compact payload from which xeokit can load large numbers of objects over the Web in seconds, at full geometric precision.

For our CityJSON file, we'll use a LoD-3 model of a railway line, which is one of the sample datasets provided at here. When that's converted and loaded, it will look like the example below.