When a project is first started, it is set to automatically process the project on all changes (see Automatic Processing). This means that shapes, once they are sufficiently marked, will appear automatically in 3D with no further user interaction. Also when a shape is modified (photo mark moved, relation added, deleted, etc.) the shape algorithm will automatically run and all shapes will be updated.
When the project gets too large or
certain relations are added, the processing might take longer than a few
seconds. In this case you may wish to switch to manual processing. You can
switch to manual processing when the delay message appears, by using the Project Information Dialog or by clicking
on the ‘processing man’ symbol 
in the Status
Bars at the bottom of the application window. When the ‘processing
man’ symbol is ‘standing’ 
that means that manual processing
is in effect. Changes to shapes will not be immediately reflected in the 3D
data when manual processing is enabled. You can make a number of changes and
then press the processing button on the main toolbar.
When the project is a Shapes-based project the main processing button will bring up the Shape Optimization Dialog.