The World of Computer Software/The World of Computer Software.iso/xyz21.zip/XYZ.DOC

Text File | 1992-05-08 | 14KB | 250 lines

                    XYZ-EGA 3D Object Editor.
                       By Dale P. Stocker
                        Vs. 2.0 Apr. 1992


     This  program  is  an  object  editor  to integrate  the two
programs  Surface Model  and  Automove.  Both  of these  programs
are freeware, so with any text  editor you can have a free 3D CAD
system.  This  program  is  free  and  can  be  distributed  free
provided you make no changes and ask for no money.  If  you  have
the money to spare  and find you would like to give something for
the  program you can send any amount you would like to  encourage
the  programmer to continue to create free software. If you  have
some software you would like make for you, let me know.
     If  you  would  like the source code  for  the  programs  in
Quickbasic  you can send me  $10.00  for processing and disk  and
I  will  send you the program code. This includes  the  code  for
SM2DKB. Note that I may be moving soon. Send this to:

        Dale P. Stocker
        3493 E. Cedar Lake Dr.
        Greenbush Mi. 48738

*     The  original version 1.1 of this program was call  XYZ.  I
will  refer to this program as XYZ so you may want to rename  it.
If  have  used XYZ you will know most of the operations.  I  will
mark  what is new with * before the line. The first major  change
is  that  it will only support EGA or VGA. I got a  better  video
card and monitor. Note that the function keys have been added for
some  of  the operations. Use the F1 help key for a list  of  the
functions.
*     The old version 1.1 files are not directly compatible  with
this version as the color field is not there. I plan on adding  a
conversion  program in basic. This will also give you  access  to
the file format if you want to play with it.
     You  can start XYZ with  a command line and a file  name and
XYZ  will  automatically  start  to edit that object.  If you  do
not  enter  a command line a menu will come up  with  the  active
files on  the  logged  disk.  The  program  uses three files. The
main    file   has    the  extension  3DL for the  lines  of  the
object.  This file  is  binary  and  can  be  used  independently
of the  others.  The  other  two  files  are 3DP for points   and
3DS. 3DP is a standard ASCII format of  X,Y,Z  locations. 3DS has
the surfaces Surface Model will use.  When  the  program  creates
the  Surface Model file  it  combines  these  together.   If  you
want  a wire frame  object to use as a model  to  make   surfaces
on, just  start with the 3DL file. This is  all   you   need  for
editing and to make an Automove file.
*     A  new file format has been added. This is the .3DA  for  a
ASCII  output of the .3DL file so you can edit it  directly.  The
program can now export, import, and merge these file types.
     After  you have come up to the editing screen your  drawing,
if any, will be displayed in the top position. The curser will be
at 0,0,0 with the jump set to 10. F1 is a basic help key. Most of
the  functions are one letter commands. You move the curser  with
the  arrow  keys and the + and - keys to move in and out  of  the
axis you are looking at the object from.
*     Mouse support has been added. The left button acts  as  the
enter  key. The middle button calls up the facing menu,  and  the
right  button  acts as the "S" key. In the facing menu  the  left
button calls the top view, the middle button calls the front view
and the right button calls the side view.

(Alt+M)  Turns the mouse on and off. This was th 2.1 update.

(S) / (Enter)..   Start to enter a surface  with  the "S" key  or
Enter, you  can  now  draw lines.  You  will  leave a point  when
you  enter  and  can continue from there. To  make   a   surface,
connect all the points in the surface  and  press  enter.  If you
are  not concerned with real surfaces  don't  worry   about   the
formalities and just draw the lines as you like.  This  is   fine
for  this program and Automove. Without making   surface   values
Surface Model will not have anything to go on so you will need to
connect all lines of the surface together for Surface Model. What
I  do is make  the wire frame image without  duplicating   lines,
then   delete   the points (3DP) and surface (3DS) files.
*   In the (W) write menu, there is now a option to delete these
files automatically with the (D) option.
      I   can then  go  back  into XYZ and put on  the  surfaces.
You should have a lot  of  double  lines. For example, to make  a
cube,  every line would   be   doubled as you would have to  draw
over  it  at  least once to make a  full square side. After   you
have  made  a  side, or are done drawing,  press   "S"  for   the
completion  of that surface. You can use escape when drawing  but
only  back   to  the   previous point entered.  The  new  version
also  uses  the  (Ins) Key to start and the (Del) Key  to  end  a
surface.  *  Note that the function keys are used in version  2.1
as well as the mouse buttons.

(B)..    The  "B" is used to start a box, or plane  surface.  You
position  the  curser to the two corners and  the  computer  will
figure  out the sides and points. The plane may be tilted,  going
into  or out of the view plane, but only in the up down axis.  It
does  not  fold side to side. ESC will stop the box and  get  you
out,  any other key will set the box. If you ESC the box left  on
the screen will remain till you re-draw the screen.

(E)..   If you  make a lot of  mistakes  use the "E"   option  to
edit  the  wire frame. You can use the + and - keys  to  sequence
through  the  lines till you find  the one you wish to  edit,  or
press  "S"  to skip ahead a number of lines from where  you  are.
Lines that are being edited are red on EGA monitors and  flashing
white  on  others.  The XYZ positions of the line  and  the  line
number  are displayed. If you wish to erase the line  press  "E".
this  sets the first X position to 32005 and will be  ignored  by
the program. The program will delete the line permanently if  you
use  the  remove double line function when you save.  Until  that
time you can get the line back by entering "M" to move the points
of the line. The "M" function allows you to change the XYZ points
that  make up the line. Enter pass each point if you do not  want
to change it. Both delete and move only affect the lines used  in
the  line  file (3DL) not any surface's.  To  do that   you   can
edit   the  surface  file. This is one reason I  make  the   wire
frame  object first. The dimensions I use for  drawing space  are
limited  to  32000  by  -32000. Numbers  higher  than this   will
have   some  problems. * The color option has been added and  can
be changed with the "C" key.

(F)..   To  change the side of the view you are  looking  at  the
object from  press  "F"  for facing. A box will pop up  with  the
three  sides. "T" for Top, "S" for Side, and "F" for front.  This
is  also  a way to re-draw the screen if it gets messy. I  use  a
destructive line when drawing so you can wipe out some of what is
on the screen. * Note that the mouse buttons also work.

(1..0).. The jump level  is  set  by  pressing the number form  1
to 9 or 0 for 10. This controls how far the curser or lines move.

(Z)..   The   program is able to Zoom and Pan. The  pan  function
will  not work when inputting lines.  The + and - keys  are  used
for  zooming in  and  out based on the jump level.  In  the  zoom
function, set by pressing the "Z", you can set all settings  back
to start by  pressing "0". Use escape to stop zoom and pan.

(C)..  You can use the "C" at any time to  Center  the drawing at
the curser. This is a bit better than panning the object with the
zoom function. It is also a way to quickly re-draw the screen.

(*)..  The "*" is used to add comments to the surface file.  This
can  be used so you know where certain objects or sides start.  A
comment  line  will appear at the bottom of the screen  for  your
input.

(O)..   This  program  has no cylinder function as it   is   only
line  oriented.  But  I often need circles, so I  put  in  a  "O"
function  to  create a sphere in space at the curser. I can  then
use  this  as  a  reference to make or trace  my  objects.  After
pressing  "O" use the  + and - keys to expand the sphere  by  the
level of the jump. Enter  when you have what you want.

(R)..    To rotate the object only to look at it press "R".  This
will  take you to the rotate option. There will be a small  plane
on  the  screen.  Use the arrow keys to move it so the angle  you
like. To  change the jump angle press "A" and enter a jump value.
     After  you   have  the  perspective  you want  press  enter.
Your  object will be displayed in a Zoom/Pan mode so you can  get
the  view you want. As well as movement you can also  change  the
angles  a bit at a time, but this is slow with the entire  object
being  rotated.  The "X" and "S" key changes the X angle  by  the
jump  level. The "Z" and "A" keys work the same for the  Z  angle
and the "Y" and "U" keys are for the Y angle. If you press ESC it
will stop drawing and allow you to use the functions above.  This
gives you the option of changing the view before the  drawing  is
finished,  so  if you have a large object you won't have to  wait
till it is finished plotting. The  "B"  key that saves the screen
in  Basic  Bsave mode  in a file  XYZ-(Number).BAS. * They  saved
in low resolution mode and is the only place in the program  this
mode is used. I suggest using some other screen capture or  print
utility  for  screen  dumps. My print routing had  a  lot  to  be
desired,  so  I left it out. I no longer distribute  BL-XYZ  with
this  version of the program. The Bsaved files can still be  used
with this program.

(D)  /  (M)..  Some other functions I have included  are  "D"  to
distort   the  object by the factor you input for each  axis.  As
well  as this, I  have "M" to move the object by the  amount  you
input on each Axis.

(X)..    After  you have made your object press "X" to  exit  and
save.  You  will be asked you you want to  delete  any  duplicate
lines in the file.

(W)..   If  you  have made an object with surfaces you can   make
the surface model output file by pressing "W" to write the  file.
From   here you can chose Surface Model "S" or Automove "A".  You
do  not  need surface designation for Automove. * "D" will delete
the  .3DP and .3DS files so you can use the .3DL file as  a  wire
frame to start a new Surface Model file.

(I)..   This is a Import, Export, and Merge function. You will be
asked  what  one you want, just answer "I" for  Import,  "E"  for
Export,  and  "M" to merge. The Export saves the .3DL file  as  a
standard ASCII file. The format is:
         First point in X, Y, and Z
         The second point in X, Y, and Z
         And the color of the line from 1 to 15.

        The  Import will bring in the .3DA file as the main  file
you  are  editing with the new name as the .3DA file.  The  Merge
function  will add the .3DA file to the end of the file  you  are
working  on.  Note, no points or surfaces will be  referenced  to
this part of the file.

     Surface Model files are made with only one materiel. You can
edit  to  make what you want with a ASCII  editor.  The  Automove
creates  its file by setting dots along the lines of the  object.
You can chose the number of dots per segment. With a small object
you can use more than one but for larger objects use may want  to
use less than one as Automove will only take in 1024 points.

*     XYZ-DOT is not longer distributed with this  version.  They
will  still  work  with the .3DP file but  Surface  Model  has  a
utility program for this.

     If you have ideas or other programs you would like to  share
send them to me. I have other programs I was selling as shareware
that I may make freeware. If you would like one of these programs
send  me  a disk with some freeware programs as  well  as  return
postage.  I  have some programs for fantasy and  space  adventure
games, a program for banking, Michigan lottery, and one for basal
thermometer charting. The space programs require three disks  for
all  information. Other gaming materiel would be  useful.  Things
like  ship design and adventure ideas. I have quite a few if  you
are interested.

     There are some tricks I have learned to do with the program.
To make a  object that is a  mirror of the other side.  Draw just
one side then copy the file to a new name.  Use the "D" option to
flip the image and save it again.  Then combine the  two with the
Copy /b DOS command as Copy One.3DL /b + Two.3DL /b new.3DL.
*    There is now a merge function for this. The files must be in
the .3DA format.

    The  office of the AISB branch at Wurtsmith AFB Michigan  has
contributed  to the  final version of this program. This  program
is  free  to all government agencies. I do not  have  any  direct
access  to bulletin boards of the Internet. This office has  been
able to distribute these programs to you.  Thanks to  TSgt Don T.
Olsen  for his  help  in  this  area.  I  will  not  have  access
to  this for much longer. But I hope I can still get my  programs
out  to  you  and get some of the great  programs  off  of  these
places. My thanks the the creator of Surface Model, AutoMove, DKB
raytrace, and others.


     This  program is distributed as is and I am not  responsible
for any loss of data or other problems the program may cause. You
use  this  program  at  your own risk.  It  is  freeware  and  no
registration is needed.