Purpose

The purpose of this tutorial is to provide an overview of DIALux. In this

tutorial we will present the DIALux graphical user interface and its basic
functionalities. DIALux can be used for planning of indoor lighting, exterior
scenes and street lighting; throughout tutorials 2, 3 and 4 we will walk you
through different indoor, outdoor and street lighting scenes, and we will
introduce different DIALux features.

Download and Installation

DIALux can be downloaded from DIALs homepage (www.DIAL.de). Once you
have downloaded the DIALux setup.exe file on your hard-disk, double-click on
the file to start the installation. Follow the simple instructions on the screen to
complete the process. DIALux requires version 5.5 or later of Microsoft Internet
Explorer.

What is DIALux?
It is a free software developed by Dial for effective and professional light
planning. With DIALux you can simply create photorealistic visualizations
of your own virtual worlds. Similarly, it is possible to import CAD data of
other architecture programs and different 3D models from the internet.
DIALux enables you to build daylight and artificial light scenarios through
which, you can glide with camera runs. Above all, you can carry out
different lighting calculations, and issue normative documentation to
validate your design.
Upon startup of DIALux, you will be prompted with the Welcome dialogue
screen, where you can select your indoor, outdoor or street lighting
project. If you already have an existing project, select Open Project.

Figure 1 Welcome Screen

The DIALux User Interface

DIALux has adopted the user interface of Windows XP. The user interface
is divided into three main work areas:

Project Manager
CAD Window
The Guide

Different features and edit options under these three work areas enable
the proper and effective planning of lighting installations within DIALux.

Figure 2 DIALux GUI

CAD Window
The CAD window is used for the interactive lighting design. With the
mouse, you can graphically select, rotate, zoom, move and roam the
room, the street or the exterior scene:

Left-button: used to trigger the selected option in the graphical user

interface.
Middle button (scroll wheel): used to move the lighting scene. It is
also used to zoom in or out, if scrolled up or down within the GUI.
Right button: Depending on the selected object and the working area,
various options can be accessed.

Similarly, you can right-click inside the room to access the select, rotate,
zoom, move and roam options; these options can also be selected from
the toolbar menu.

Figure 3 CAD Window

In addition to the 3D view, you can use the ground view, side view and the
front view to create your model. You can obtain different views of your
planning using the View toolbar. Similarly, you can right-click inside the
room to select the 3D view or the ground view of your design. Use the
tabs at the top of the CAD window to toggle between different views.

Figure 4 Different CAD Window Views

Project Manager
The Project Manager includes the Inspector and the respective tree
structure of the Project, Objects, Colors, Luminaire Selection and Output
menus. The Project Manager enables a smooth workflow with the
elements used in your design. Elements can be individually selected and
their properties can be viewed and modified in the Inspector.
Project menu
The Project menu organizes the global project information such as the
project name, contact/address information, and the location. The Inspector
lists different room, exterior scene and street elements. The following
figure depicts an indoor scene, where the room consists of room defining
surfaces (work plane, floor and ceiling), walls, objects, and luminaires.

Figure 5 Project Menu

Objects menu
The Objects menu enables the user to add new furniture to the project. It
consists of seven main subdirectories: standard elements, room elements,
windows and doors, exterior scene and elements, sports facilities,
calculation surfaces, points and grids, and object files. You can simply add
different elements to your project via the mouse using drag and drop.
Once you have inserted an object into your project, you can select it and
change its properties under the Project Manager.

Figure 6 Object Menu

DIALux allows the user to create and delete new object folders; the user
can also move/copy objects from one directory/folder to another.
Colors menu
Using the Colors menu the user can modify the surface properties of the
room elements. The Colors menu consists of four main subdirectories:
textures, colors, light colors and color filter. The textures and colors can be
applied to different room surfaces, and the light colors and color filter are
applicable to the luminaires. The user can simply insert a texture via the
mouse using drag and drop. Once you have you selected a texture, you
can view and modify its properties under Project Manager. Similar to the
Objects menu, you can create and delete new folders, and you can
move/copy textures from one directory/folder to another.

Figure 7 Color Menu

Luminaire Selection menu

The Luminaire Selection menu enables the user to insert luminaires into
the project. From the tree structure of the Luminaire Selection menu you
can import luminaires. Double-clicking on the Not Installed Catalogs will
open the internet homepage of the manufacturer, where you can
download different Plugins to your DIALux database. If you do not wish to
download the Plugins, you can directly import luminaires from the
manufacturers website; double-click on the Online Catalogues of a
manufacturer and select a luminaire directly from their website.
Keep in mind that the Inspector differentiates between a luminaire
arrangement and individual luminaires. Luminaire Arrangement is used to
change/modify physical properties (luminaire type, position, arrangement,
mounting height, etc) of the luminaire. To change the technical
properties (flux, power, PF, filter, etc) of your luminaire select individual
luminaires.

Figure 8 Luminaire Selection Menu

You can also import your own luminaire IES files into DIALux. DIALux
treats imported IES files a point source. Therefore, you do not need to
model individual LEDs within a fixture; in other words, you must simply
specify the properties of the fixture as a whole.
While software is running in the background, locate your file, right-click on
it and select insert into DIALux Project. Once you have inserted your
luminaire into your project, you can modify its properties under Project
Manager.

Figure 9 Importing IES Files

Output menu
The Output menu is used to display different outputs/calculations. The
user can select different outputs/calculations to be displayed on the
screen or to be exported as a .pdf document. To view an output type on
the screen, double-click on the corresponding icon. To view an output type
on a separate window, right-click on the output icon and select Open in
New Window.

Figure 10 Output Menu

To print, select the desired output types from the tree structure and follow
the command File Print Preview Print.

Figure 11 Output Menu Printing Outputs

Similarly, to export different outputs as a .pdf document, select the

required output types from the tree structure, select the PDF icon from the
main toolbar menu and save the document.

Figure 12 Output Menu Exporting Output

The Guide
The Guide enables the user to access all the necessary steps for quick
and efficient light planning. It consists of seven sub-menus: Indoor
Lighting, Outdoor Lighting, Street Lighting, Light Scenes, Emergency
Lighting, Daylight, Energy Evaluation, Sport Site Lighting, and Adjust
Guide. If The Guide is hidden, you can access it from the Window
Display guide window.

Figure 13 The Guide

The Guide can be customized based on the users needs. From the Adjust
Guide check/uncheck the task areas you want to show/hide, and apply
your selection.

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Figure 14 Adjust Guide

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