I have created some large props and noticed that to get a figure to cast a clear shadow, I have to turn off "cast shadows". great! I get a good shadow from the figure but the prop no longer casts shadows on itself ( ie columns on floors etc) Is this a weakness in Poser rendering or is there a way around it.

??? When you turn off "cast shadows" the figure should cast no shadows at all. How about giving us a picture of your problem? If the problem is that the shadow is fuzzy around the edges, there are things that can be done to help that...

Another glitch was discovered (recently?) in Poser. If one adds a poser prop (or maybe even an imported prop) to a scene, then increases a dimension (or maybe all dimensions) of the prop drastically (perhaps 500% or more), the shadow-map calculations are screwed up. The end result is that props, perhaps even those that were not resized in any way, will either cast no shadows, or they will do so in an unpredictable or unsatisfactory manner.

OK:- The background is a prop and cast shadows (on the prop) is checked - not good

Now if I uncheck "cast shadows" on the prop I get a good shadow from the figure. However if I bring in another prop with "cast shadow" checked the figure shadow will go back to that in the first picture

Now if I uncheck "cast shadows" on the prop I get a good shadow from the figure. However if I bring in another prop with "cast shadow" checked the figure shadow will go back to that in the first picture

Select the light that is casting the shadow, and up the Map Size. Generally 1024 is an adequate value, but if the shadows are unusually complex (or occupy a large area) then a higher value may be needed. This will slow down rendering, but improve shadow in the result.

tried this:- doesn't help also 1024 seems to be the maximum