Visibility groups — alternatives

A visibility group collects alternative parts where only one is visible at a time — and the public viewer shows a switch for it. Classic use: a shower column offered with two different shower-head sets; the shopper flips between them.

A visibility group collects alternative parts where only one is visible at a time — the public viewer shows a switch for it.

Step 1/7

A visibility group collects alternative parts where only one is visible at a time — the public viewer shows a switch for it.

Visibility groups — alternatives

Step 1 of 7

1. A visibility group collects alternative parts where only one is visible at a time — the public viewer shows a switch for it.
2. Open configurator settings — Matching & rules lives here.
3. A module option is a whole part, so a colour dot cannot represent it — Module images renders a product shot of each one from its own model, in this project’s lighting.
4. This demo offers shelf back panels as alternatives — open the editor to see how it is authored.
5. Show / hide is where alternatives live — pick two or more non-base parts; the base anchors the assembly and can’t be one.
6. Member parts render as a single switch in the public picker — not as separate part rows.
7. Couple groups on a shared axis and they flip together — “Round” vs “Square” across every slot in one move.

Creating one

Group two or more parts as alternatives and name the group after the slot it fills — e.g. Shower head. Requirements the panel enforces:

• At least two non-base parts that each have a model. The base part can’t be an alternative — it anchors the assembly.
• A part belongs to at most one visibility group.

The public picker then renders the group as a single switch, not as separate part rows.

Coupled visibility — axes

Groups can share an axis: alternatives that must switch together across several slots. When groups are on the same axis with matching values, flipping one flips its partners in the same move — the panel shows this as “Coupled with: …”.

Use this when a design language spans multiple slots — e.g. “Round” vs “Square” hardware where the head set, the valve trim and the handles must all flip as one.

Module images

A group’s options are whole parts, so a colour swatch cannot represent them — a shopper choosing between 22 shelf modules needs to see the modules. The panel generates those product shots for you.

In the configurator’s settings (gear icon), open Module images:

• The counter shows how many group options already carry an image.
• Render with picks which finish the shots are rendered in, when your modules share variation labels (Walnut, Oak) — one consistent finish across every shot.
• Generate images renders each module from its own model on a transparent background and uploads the result. Stop interrupts a run; Clear removes the images and the picker falls back to labels.

When several slots offer the same module — Shelf 1 two doors, Shelf 2 two doors — one shot represents the type in every slot.

Every shot is lit by the same fixed studio rig rather than the project’s environment, so the grid reads as one catalogue instead of unrelated photos.

The published picker renders these as image cells instead of colour discs, and the embed SDK hands them to your own UI as thumb on each group member.

Visibility vs. rules

Both can hide things — pick by intent:

• Visibility group — structural alternatives: the product genuinely comes in two arrangements and the shopper chooses one.
• Rules — conditional availability: everything coexists, but some combinations are invalid.

The Setup Check lints both — including coupling values that reference nothing (dead values that would make a switch position show an empty scene).