QuickDraw™ 3D enables your Macintosh® computer to display three-dimensional graphics using applications designed to take advantage of QuickDraw 3D. It also provides a common file format, called 3DMF (for “3D metafile”), for exchanging 3D documents, and acceleration services which support plug-and-play accelerator cards.
The following are required to install and run QuickDraw 3D:
• a PowerPC™ based computer with a minimum of 16 megabytes of memory (RAM)
• MacOS System 7.1.2 or later
Using QuickDraw 3D
The QuickDraw 3D folder includes the following applications, 3D models, and textures that allow you to explore the 3D capabilities of your Macintosh:
• SimpleText version 1.3.1 and Scrapbook version 7.5.1. These applications allow you to open and interact with 3DMF models.
• A new Scrapbook File with sample 3DMF models.
• A number of 3DMF models provided by Model Masters and Viewpoint Datalabs International.
• Textures provided by Wraptures and Xaos Tools.
You can expect more applications using QuickDraw 3D in the near future, including new versions of application programs you may already own. Contact your software vendors for more information about their plans to support this new technology.
QuickDraw 3D performance and image quality
For better performance, we recommend that Virtual Memory be turned off.
QuickDraw 3D has been optimized to display three-dimensional graphics of high quality. To display high-quality images, and obtain the best performance from your system, we recommend that you set your system to display thousands or millions of colors.
Troubleshooting
If you try to start an application that uses QuickDraw 3D and get the message “The application ‘<application name>’ could not be launched because QuickDraw 3D could not be found,” make sure that the following files are in the Extensions Folder, inside the System Folder:
• QuickDraw™ 3D
• QuickDraw™ 3D Accelerator
• QuickDraw™ 3D Viewer
If the files are there and you still get the message, it means that you don’t have enough memory to run the application. You may be able to open the application if you try the following:
• Quit other open applications.
• Reduce the amount of memory allocated to the application. This is done by:
- selecting the application’s icon in the Finder
- choosing “Get Info…” from the File menu
- typing a lower number in the boxes for Minimum Size and Preferred Size
• Install more memory (RAM).
If you are using a localized system, and you install this U.S. software, you will need to copy the “Scrapbook File” in the “QuickDraw 3D Folder” to the System Folder on your Macintosh. Otherwise, when you select the Scrapbook from the menu, you will get an empty scrapbook. Note that this operation will replace any existing Scrapbook File in the System Folder, thus erasing any previously stored contents.
Some of the sample models included with QuickDraw 3D, such as Big Ben and Red Hatchback, are highly detailed (they contain additional 3D modeling data such as vertex normals and surface UVs) and thus will require a larger amount of memory than the other supplied models. If you experience problems when opening these files from SimpleText, you should open only one file at a time.
How QuickDraw 3D uses memory
QuickDraw 3D is a shared library. When no applications that rely on QuickDraw 3D are open, the library does not take up memory space (RAM). Once a QuickDraw 3D-based application is open, the amount of memory taken up by the shared library doesn’t increase if other QuickDraw 3D-based applications are launched. Of course, each application will take up memory according to their size and the complexity of the files being used. The memory taken up by QuickDraw 3D becomes available when you quit all QuickDraw 3D-based applications.
While a QuickDraw 3D application is open, the QuickDraw 3D library allocates memory from “temporary memory.” This memory shows up in the “About This Macintosh…” window as memory used by the System. When you quit the application, the memory becomes available, but the size shown in the “About This Macintosh…” window may not reflect this. The memory previously used by QuickDraw 3D is, nonetheless, available for other applications (it is released to the applications as needed).
If you need to reinstall QuickDraw 3D
If you need to reinstall QuickDraw 3D, follow these steps:
1. Open the “QuickDraw™ 3D Install” folder and double-click the Installer icon.
2. After installing QuickDraw 3D, restart your computer.
3. If you want the items in the “QuickDraw™ 3D Extras” folder, drag the folder to the newly-created “QuickDraw™ 3D Folder” inside the “Apple Extras” folder.
Removing QuickDraw 3D
If you wish to remove QuickDraw 3D, follow these steps:
1. Open the “QuickDraw™ 3D Install” folder and double-click the Installer icon.
2. Choose Custom Remove from the pop-up menu.
3. Click the box next to each item to put a check in it.
Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, and MacOS are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. QuickDraw is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. All other product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Mention of non-Apple products is for informational purposes and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the selection, performance, or use of these products.
