Twilight Render V2 provides a powerful batch rendering tool.  With it, you can render multiple images from different scenes in your SketchUp session, each configured exactly how you want.  Each render can be scheduled to run for an alloted time or until completion.  You can even schedule when the rendering should begin!  Below we will step through the process of setting up and executing a batch render operation.

Note, Batch Rendering is only available in Twilight Render V2 Professional.

To start with Batch Rendering, open the Batch Render editor by selecting the Extensions menu, then choosing Twilight V2 -> Batch Render.  By default the Batch Render is empty; we will have to add render items to the list before we begin rendering.  Each render item corresponds to a single render and each item is rendered in order.

1. Add a render item by clicking on the '+' button at the top of the render item list.
2. Choose the scene to render.  This can be any of the scenes in your SketchUp file, or the Current View.  The Current View will always be the camera viewpoint at the time the render start button is clicked.
3. Set the render size, and choose if you want to fit the render to the screen dimensions.  This works just like an ordinary render.
4. Choose the preset to use, again just as you would in a normal render.
5. Optionally choose the camera settings.  You may notice that some settings are not present, specifically the Focal Length and Film Size.  The Batch Renderer will always use the predefined camera settings for the selected scene.
6. Choose the post processing features to use on the image.  Because the Batch Render is designed to run without intervention, you can not edit the post-processing features during the rendering process.  A test render made in the standalone Render editor may be necessary to determine the settings you wish to use.
7. Finally, and very importantly, you must choose a file location to save your image when it is complete.

Setting up a batch render is as simple as that.  Just repeat the process for each rendered item.

The next step, before starting your render, is to set the schedule.  Each item can be configured to run to completion or to run for a fixed length of time.  If you are using a biased preset such as Low or Low+, leaving the schedule as Complete is likely what you want.  Ending a biased preset render before it completes will usually result in loss of antialiasing.  On the other hand, using an unbiased preset like Interior will usually require a Timed schedule as these renders will continue to run for extremely long lengths of time.

Setting the schedule for a render item is easy.

1. Select the render item to edit.
2. Click on the Schedule drop down box and choose either Complete or Timed.
3. If selecting Timed, enter the number of minutes to render for.  It can be difficult to know how long to allow a render to run.  In most cases it is best to allow a render to run for the maximum amount of time available.  You can divide the available time evenly between renders or devote more time to larger and more complicated renders.

There are two additional options that you should carefully consider.  Both of these options are available from the Settings menu.

Stop-Next-Pass will allow a render to complete it's current pass before stopping and moving on to the next stage.  This really only makes sense for render items with Timed schedules.  If using an unbiased method such as Interior+, using this method will ensure that a full pass is completed and will avoid strange artifacts in the image.  However, using this option means that the render will likely run longer than the scheduled length of time.

Progressive Save will save the rendered image at 10 minute intervals, overwriting the image file each time.  This is useful in case of an unexpected loss of power or computer shutdown.

You are now ready to render!  There is one last option available.  You can choose to delay the start of the render for a fixed amount of time, or to start at a specific time of day.  Under Settings -> Delay, you can choose specific delay intervals.  By choosing Custom Start, you can choose to start the render at a specific time.  This can be very useful when setting up a render to run after you have left work for the day!

There are few final things to take note of.

• You can stop a render and move on to the next one at any time by clicking the blue arrow in the Batch Render toolbar.
• You can save your Batch Render schedule to a file by clicking the save button on the right hand side of the Batch Render toolbar.  Your Batch Render schedule will remain intact as long as you have your SketchUp scene open, however it will be lost when closing SketchUp or opening a new file.
• You can load a saved Batch Render schedule by clicking the load button (next to the save button) in the Batch Render toolbar.