Shareware Overload/ShartewareOverload.cdr/graf/arend4.zip/MANUAL.DOC

Text File | 1990-02-13 | 115KB | 3,167 lines

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                            NOTICE


AutoRENDER is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind,
either expressed or implied.  Control does not warrant that
the functions contained in the program will meet your
requirements.  You assume responsibility for the
installation, use, and results obtained from the program.  In
no event will Control be liable to you for any damages,
including any lost profits, lost savings or other incidental
or consequential damages arising out of the use or inablility
to use such program even if Control has been advised of the
possibility of such damages, or for any claim by any other
party.


                         DISTRIBUTION

This version of AutoRENDER is shareware in the U.S. and
Canada.  Please help distribute it, by sharing unmodified
copies of the disk set.  AutoRENDER is not shareware outside
the U.S. and Canada; please don't copy it there.

If you use AutoRENDER often, a bound copy of the manual is
available for $89.  Along with the manual you will receive
program diskettes containing additional drivers.  These
include approximately 70 additional video graphics boards
supporting high-res VGA, EGA, PGA and others, 18 additional
pointing devices, and 32 additional laser, thermal, and dot
matrix printers. For information on whether your particular
board, pointing device, and/or printer is supported directly,
please contact Control Automation, Inc.

To find out more information please contact Control
Automation, Inc. at 2350 Commerce Park Dr. NE, #4 Palm Bay,
FL 32905 [phone].  To order a bound manual please
complete the order form found in the file named ORDERFRM.


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                      TABLE OF CONTENTS


CHAPTER 1 - QUICK START                                    3

CHAPTER 2 - SETUP                                          7

CHAPTER 3 - IMPORTANT CONCEPTS                            19

CHAPTER 4 - RUNNING AutoRENDER                            24

CHAPTER 5 - LOAD COMMAND                                  27

CHAPTER 6 - SAVE COMMAND                                  29

CHAPTER 7 - TURN COMMAND                                  30

CHAPTER 8 - PICK COMMAND                                  32

CHAPTER 9 - MOVE COMMAND                                  35

CHAPTER 10 - ZOOM COMMAND                                 38

CHAPTER 11 - DISPLAY COMMAND                              40

CHAPTER 12 - REDRAW                                       41

CHAPTER 13 - QUIT COMMAND                                 41

CHAPTER 14 - HARDCOPY COMMAND                             41

CHAPTER 15 - DXF CONVERSION                               45

APPENDIX A - DEFINITIONS                                  47

APPENDIX B - ERROR MESSAGES                               54


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CHAPTER 1 - QUICK START

AutoRENDER is a powerful software program for generating
rendered images from DXF files.  Much of the power of
AutoRENDER is in its ability to let the user explore his or
her own creative talents.

This documentation is designed for the experienced computer
user.  If you are familiar with installing various software
packages, you should be able to install and start AutoRENDER
by simply reading this chapter.

After the program is loaded, a brief tutorial will get you
started.


1.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

In general, AutoRENDER will run on any MS-DOS compatible IBM
PC/XT/AT or compatible computer with a Hard Drive.  It is
recommended that your system have a math co-processor and
640K of RAM.

A list of video graphics boards, pointing devices, and
printers that are supported in this version of AutoRENDER is
found in Section 2.3.


1.2 INSTALLATION

INSTALL

To install AutoRENDER, copy the files from all three disks
into a directory.  If you have any questions, refer to
Section 2.1.


RUNNING AutoRENDER

Each time you wish to select another hardware device, you
must rerun the ACONFIG program.

AINIT.BAT initializes the HALO device drivers that are used
by AutoRENDER.  After running ACONFIG, and before running
AutoRENDER, you must type AINIT to intialize the device
drivers.

To run AutoRENDER once it is installed and initialized,
enter the directory where your AutoRENDER files reside and
type AREND.

You are now ready to start working with AutoRENDER.  To quit
AutoRENDER, select the Quit option from the main menu by
typing Q.


4
1.3 INTRODUCTORY TUTORIAL

This tutorial introduces you to many of the basic AutoRENDER
concepts. Once you have completed this tutorial, you should
be able to explore most of the other commands on your own.

This tutorial covers the basic operation of AutoRENDER.


GENERAL GUIDELINES

The following are a few general AutoRENDER guidelines:

     * The working area of the display is broken into two
       basic parts, labeled the Command/Status Window
       (located at the bottom of the display) and the Screen
       View Window where drawing takes place.

     * There are 10 basic Command Modes.  You select modes by
       striking the first letter of the desired mode or by
       highlighting the command with the pointing device and
       clicking it. The different modes are listed across the
       bottom of the Command Window.

     * After entering a Command Mode, select sub-commands by
       striking the first letter of the command, or by
       highlighting the command with the pointing device and
       selecting it.  An exception to the first letter rule
       is when you are prompted to select On or Off.  These
       are selected by the Up Arrow or Down Arrow
       respectively.

     * If you want to abort what you are doing at any time,
       strike the Escape Key. If you are using a pointing
       device with multiple buttons, buttons 2 and 3
       correspond to Escape while button 1 selects options.

     * Often, after displaying a prompt, AutoRENDER waits for
       a user keystroke before continuing.  If you are using
       a pointing device, simply click the pointing device to
       continue.  If you are prompted for a Yes or No answer,
       clicking the pointing device means Yes.  If you want
       to select the No option, you must type "n".

Now let's quickly run through some basic AutoRENDER commands
that will demonstrate its powerful rendering capability.


A. LOAD A DXF FILE

Select the Load option from the main menu by striking "L", or
moving the highlighted box to Load and clicking the mouse.

You are now prompted to select the type of file to load.
Select the DXF option.

After you have selected the DXF option, you are prompted to
specify the DXF filename.  Use the sample DXF file,
Caster.dxf, that was supplied with the AutoRENDER software.

5
You are now prompted to enter the units that AutoRENDER
should work with for displaying the DXF file.  Typically, you
will enter the units that the DXF file was created in.
Select 4 (inches) for this example.

After you have specified the units that AutoRENDER should
work with, you are prompted to specify the circle sides.  The
circle sides define the number of line segments that
AutoRENDER will use to display circles.  Specify 20 for this
example.

The Caster is now displayed and the command window is
returned to the main level.

You can see from this example that most commands are
structured in a very logical command sequence.  This will
help you to use most of the commands without referring to the
manual.


B. SELECT ISO VIEW

Now let's view the caster from a different direction by
selecting an isometric view.  Select the Pick option from the
main menu.

You are now given three options to choose from.  Select the
View option.

After you have selected the View option, you are prompted to
specify the view number.  Select view 7 which is the
isometric format.

The display is now updated with the isometric view.


C. ZOOM ALL

We will now select a Zoom option that will fill the model to
the extents of the screen.  Select the Zoom option from the
main menu and then select All.

Now strike the "Enter" key or select the mouse to activate
the Zoom All operation.

The screen is now updated with the maximum extents of the
model fit to the screen window.


D. FAST DISPLAY

AutoRENDER has an option for fast display processing.  When
fast display processing is turned on, AutoRENDER eliminates
lines or edges from the scene that it assumes are not
necessary.  This can greatly increase the speed at which
rendering and other display modes are performed.  Select the
Turn option from the main menu and then select the Fast sub-
option.

6
Now select the On option by striking the Up Arrow or by
highlighting it and selecting it with the mouse.

Fast Display mode is now active and will influence all
subsequent display operations.  We will now redraw the
display to see the effect.

Select Redr from the main menu.  Strike the "Enter" key or
select the mouse to activate the redraw of the screen.

The screen will now be updated with Fast Display mode on.


E. RENDERING

One of AutoRENDER's display options, Fill Surface Facets,
will now be selected to demonstrate AutoRENDER's powerful
display capability.

Select the Disp option from the main menu and then select
Fill.

Now strike the "Enter" key or select the mouse to activate
the Fill Surface Facets Rendering mode.

Fill Surface Facet Rendering is now activated.  To display
the current model with filled surface facets, redraw the
display as before.  A message "working..." will appear as the
display is being processed.

You may want to try the Display Light Source rendering option
(Lite) in the display menu.  This option allows a realistic
light source shaded rendering.


F. STATUS KEYS

Several status keys are provided to report information about
the current operation of AutoRENDER.  Function keys F1
through F5 provide this information and can be selected by
simply depressing the key.  After selecting the function key,
the status information is displayed and held until another
key is struck.  You may now want to explore the status
information associated with each function key.


G. QUIT

After you have completed your rendering session with
AutoRENDER, you may return to DOS by selecting the QUIT
option from the main menu.  Strike the "Enter" key or select
the mouse to activate the QUIT option.  Your request to quit
is now verified with a Yes/No option.  Strike the "Y" key and
the "Enter" key to verify that you do actually desire to quit
AutoRENDER.

After you have selected the "Y" option, you are returned to
DOS.


JUST THE BEGINNING

This has been just a quick introduction to the power of
AutoRENDER.  The concepts covered in this tutorial were very
basic.  We are sure that you will find most features logical
and easy to use and hope you have fun with your new 3D
rendering freedom.


CHAPTER 2 - SETUP

Before you can use AutoRENDER, you must install the software
on your personal computer (PC).  To assist you in this
process, this chapter is broken into two sections:

        *  Loading and Configuring AutoRENDER on your PC

        *  Hardware Compatibility

It is important to note that the Installation process is used
to set up your system for video graphics boards, pointing
devices and printing devices.

The Configuration program has been designed in a logical and
easy to follow menu format so as not to require the use of
this documentation.  However, we recommend that you review
the information in Section 2 as you configure the software, and
that you read all special instructions pertaining to your
video graphics board, pointing device, or printer.

You must run the ACONFIG Program and select a video graphics
board before you can use AutoRENDER.

Each time you wish to select another video graphics board,
pointing device, or printer you must rerun the ACONFIG
program.


2.1 INSTALLATION

This section explains how to load AutoRENDER onto your
hard drive.


BACKUP COPY OF DISKETTES

Before doing anything else, you should make a backup copy of
your AutoRENDER diskettes.  Backup all of the diskettes.

Use the DOS DISKCOPY command to make the backup copies.
Refer to your DOS reference manual if necessary.  Store the
original diskettes in a safe place and use the duplicates as
your working copy of AutoRENDER.


INSTALLATION

Using your backup copy of diskettes, copy the files from all
the diskettes into a directory on your hard drive.  Type
ACONFIG.  The configuration program will automatically lead
you through the installation process.

As part of the configuration process, you are prompted to
specify the video graphics board installed in your system.  A
complete list of the video graphics board drivers available
in this version is found in Section 2.3.

If your specific board is not listed, look for a compatible
mode.  For example, almost all color boards have a CGA
compatible mode.

With some video graphics boards, you are given the option to
modify the board attributes.  You do not want to modify these
attributes unless you have the technical knowledge to do so.

After selecting a video graphics board, you are prompted to
select a pointing device (i.e. mouse or digitizing tablet)
for use with AutoRENDER.

Select the pointing device that you will be using.  If you do
not have a pointing device, select the "No Pointer" option.
After selecting one of the pointing devices listed, you may
be prompted for other information about the device such as
the communications port to which it is attached, the size of
the tablet, etc.  Enter the appropriate responses in each
case.

Section 2.3 contains a list of pointing devices available in
this version of AutoRENDER.  If your device is not listed,
determine if there is a compatible device driver.

After selecting a pointing device, you are prompted to select
a printer.  Select the printer that you will be using.  If
you do not have a printer, select the "No Printer" option.
After selecting one of the printing devices listed, you will
be prompted for default print information.

Section 2.3 contains a list of printing devices available in
this version of AutoRENDER.  If your printer is not listed,
determine if it has a compatible mode for a printer that is
supported.


AINIT

After the configuration process is complete, you are returned
to DOS.  The following message appears on the display:

        Type AINIT to initialize device drivers for
        AutoRENDER.

**  IMPORTANT - AINIT initializes the AutoRENDER device
**  drivers.  AINIT must be run each time you boot your
**  computer, before running AutoRENDER. If the device
**  drivers are not initalized, your video graphics board
**  and pointing device may not operate correctly.

Since AINIT resides in your directory, it must be run from
within that directory.

Once the device drivers have been initialized with AINIT, you
may enter AutoRENDER any number of times.  You only need to
rerun AINIT if you reboot your computer.

To simplify the process of running AINIT each time your
computer is booted, you may want to add lines of code to your
system's AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  These lines of code cause AINIT
to be executed each time the system is booted.  In this way,
you can enter AutoRENDER at any time without the need to run
AINIT.  The only time you will have to execute AINIT is if
you rerun the ACONFIG program.

Since AINIT must be run from the AutoRENDER directory, the
following lines of code change the path to that directory,
execute the AINIT.BAT file, and return the path to the main
directory of the C Drive.  In this example, it is assumed
that AutoRENDER resides in the C:\AR directory and that your
computer is booted from the C Drive.

        cd \ar
        command /c ainit
        cd \

It should be noted that when AINIT is run, device drivers may
be loaded into memory.  These device drivers increase the
amount of memory resident software that is active in your
system at a given time.


2.2  HARDWARE

This section contains information on the hardware which is
compatible with this version of AutoRENDER.  All peripheral
equipment must be properly installed before running
AutoRENDER.  This Section is associated with Section 2.1,
Installation and maintains an up-to-date listing of
compatible hardware and special instructions for that
hardware.

You will normally only need to install your hardware once,
when you first receive AutoRENDER, unless you change your
hardware configuration.

In general, the information in this section is in addition to
the basic hardware requirements discussed in Chapter 1.

This section contains information about specific boards.  Be
sure to check this information for any special instructions
pertaining to your board.  The special instructions pertain
to changing the video graphics board attributes.

As mentioned earlier, do not change these attributes unless
you have the technical knowledge to do so.  Control
Automation does not assume liability for any damage to your
hardware caused by modifications to the default board
settings.

If you do change the attributes, striking <Enter> without
inputing a value leaves the default setting for that
attribute.


VIDEO GRAPHICS BOARDS

The following are video graphic boards that are supported by
this version of AutoRENDER. If your board is not listed, look
for a compatible mode.

   Hercules Monochrome Graphics
   IBM Color Graphics Adapter
   IBM Enhanced Graphics Adapter
   IBM Personal System/2 VGA

   A - Hercules Monochrome Graphics
          Specifications:
              720 x 348, monochrome

   B - IBM Color Graphics Adapter
          Specifications:
              320 x 200, 4 colors
              640 x 200, 2 colors

   C - IBM Enhanced Graphics Adapter
          Specifications:
              320 x 200,  4 colors
              640 x 200,  2 colors
              640 x 200, 16 colors
              640 x 350, 16 colors
              320 x 200, 16 colors

          Special Intructions:
              The 64K EGA is not supported except in modes 0
              or 1.

   D - IBM Personal System/2 VGA
          Specifications:
              320 x 200,   4 colors
              320 x 200,  16 colors
              640 x 200,   2 colors
              640 x 200,  16 colors
              640 x 350,  16 colors
              640 x 480,   2 colors
              320 x 200, 256 colors


MOUSE POINTING DEVICES

This version of AutoRENDER interfaces the following Mouse
Pointing Devices:

        Logitech C7 Mouse
        Logitech Bus Mouse
        Microsoft Mouse
        Mouse Systems PC Mouse
        Summa Graphics SummaMouse

For the following mice, you must run the manufacturer's
supplied driver before running AutoRENDER.

        Logitech Bus Mouse
        Microsoft PC Mouse

All other mice use the HALO device driver installed by
AutoRENDER.  Make certain that the manufacturer's driver is
not intstalled.

The installation of all mouse pointing devices should be
straight forward, except for the following special
instructions:

    Summagraphics SummaMouse
       Special Instructions:
         The newer versions of the SummaMouse will not work
         with the SummaMouse driver, but will work with the
         Mouse Systems PC Mouse driver.  If your mouse does
         not work with the SummaMouse driver, first try the
         Mouse Systems PC Mouse driver.

         If the Mouse Systems PC Mouse driver does not work,
         you may need to modify the adapter cable to connect
         the mouse to the 25-pin PC serial port.  (In this
         case, be sure to use the SummaMouse driver.)

         The SummaMouse may require calibration before it can
         be used.  If the mouse does not respond when you
         first enter AutoRENDER, after configuring for the
         mouse, move the mouse diagonally across the optical
         tablet a few times.  Once the mouse is calibrated,
         you will see the cursor begin to appear in the
         Command Window.  No further calibration is needed
         unless the mouse power is turned off.


DIGITIZER POINTING DEVICES

This version of AutoRENDER interfaces with the following
Digitizer Pointing Devices in the specified emulation modes:

        Bit Pad One Emulation - 5 byte low resolution
           Calcomp: 2000 & 2100 series
        GTCO Digi-Pad (5) Emulation - 6 byte high resolution
           Calcomp: 2500 series

Digitizers must be connected to either serial port COM1 or
COM2.  The following pages have the serial configuration
setup for individual digitizers that do not come with a "PC"
compatible cable.

                                           ***WARNING***
  ***DO NOT USE THE MANUFACTURER'S DIGITIZER INSTALLATION***

Once you have physically connected the digitizer to a serial
port, then use the AutoRENDER Configuration Program in Section
2.1 to install the digitizer for use with AutoRENDER.

Do not use the installation or driver programs provided by
the digitizer manufacturer, as these programs may interfere
with the proper operation of AutoRENDER.

If you wish to use your pointing device with other programs
that use the manufacturer's drivers, you may need to remove
these drivers from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.  To test this,
enter the AutoRENDER directory and type AINIT while the
manufacturer's device driver is loaded; then run AutoRENDER.
If the pointing device does not function properly, you will
need to reboot (CTRL/ALT/DEL) the operating system on your
computer WITHOUT the mouse drivers before you can use
AutoRENDER.

If you change to the AutoRENDER drivers and the pointing
device does not seem to function properly, it might also be
because that the digitizer has retained prior configuration
information in its internal memory.  Try unplugging the power
supply and then plug it in again.  This clears the internal
memory.


A - CALCOMP 2000
       Tablet Sizes:
          6" x 6"
         11" x 11"
       Communications Protocol:
         BAUD RATE:  9600
         DATA BITS:  7
         STOP BITS:  2
         PARITY:     EVEN
       Switch Settings:
         DSW1(OPEN):  1,2,3,8,9
         DSW2(OPEN):  7,8
         DSW3(OPEN):  1-8
       Cable:
         As supplied with the digitizer or standard

B - CALCOMP 2100
       Tablet Sizes:
         8" x 10"
       Communications Protocol:
         BAUD RATE:  9600
         DATA BITS:  7
         STOP BITS:  2
         PARITY:     EVEN
       Switch Settings:
         DSW1(OPEN):  2,4,5,7,8
         DSW2(OPEN):  1,3-7
       Cable:
         As supplied with the digitizer or standard

C - CALCOMP 2500
       Tablet Sizes:
         12" x 12"
         12" x 18"
       Communications Protocol:
         BAUD RATE:  9600
         DATA BITS:  8
         STOP BITS:  1
         PARITY:     NO
       Switch Settings:
         DSW1(ON):   8
         DSW2(ON):   2,4
         DSW3(ON):   2,3,4,5
         DSW4(ON):   3,4,7
         DSW5(ON):   3,4,6
         DSW6(ON):   ALL OFF
         DSW7(ON):   ALL OFF
         DSW8(ON):   ALL OFF
       Cable:
         As supplied with the digitizer or standard


PRINTING DEVICES

This version of AutoRENDER interfaces to the following
Printing Devices:

   Epson EX-1000
   Epson GQ-3500
   Epson JX-80
   Epson LQ-2500
   Epson MX-80
   Hewlett Packard Laserjet
   Hewlett Packard Laserjet Plus
   Hewlett Packard Laserjet Series II
   Okidata Laserline
   Okidata Microline 192+
   Okidata Microline 193+
   Okidata 292
   Okidata 293+
   Okidata 294+
   Okidata Microline 292C
   Okidata Microline 393C
   Okidata Microline 394C

The following is a specification listing for each supported
printing device.

A - Epson EX-1000
       Printer type:  Dot Matrix
       Interface type:  Parallel
       Number of colors:  8 (up to 16.8 million dithered
              shades)
       Configurations
         Horz. DPI  Horizontal  Vert. DPI   Vertical    Aspect
                    Page Size               Page Size   Ratio
           60          480          72       unltd.      1.2
           60          816          72       unltd.      1.2
          120          960          72       unltd.      0.6
          120          632          72       unltd.      0.6

       Special Considerations
         Color printing on the Epson EX 1000 requires the
         installation of the Epson EX 800/1000 color option
         kit, #8391.

B - Epson GQ-3500
       Printer type:  Laser
       Interface type:  Parallel
       Number of colors:  2 (up to 256 dithered shades)
       Configurations
         Horz. DPI  Horizontal  Vert. DPI   Vertical    Aspect
                    Page Size               Page Size   Ratio
          100          800         100       1030        1.0
          150         1200         150       1550        1.0
          300         2400         300       3100        1.0

       Special Considerations
         Epson GQ-3500 graphics data memory is 470K bytes.
         Printer memory of 930K is required for a full page
         at 300 DPI.

C - Epson JX-80
       Printer type:  Dot Matrix
       Interface type:  Parallel
       Number of colors:  8 (up to 16.8 million dithered
         shades)
       Configurations

         Horz. DPI  Horizontal  Vert. DPI   Vertical    Aspect
                    Page Size               Page Size   Ratio
           72          576          72       unltd.      1.0
          120          960          72       unltd.      0.6
          240         1920          72       unltd.      0.3

D - Epson LQ 2500

       Printer type:  Dot Matrix 24 Pin
       Interface type:  Parallel
       Number of colors:  8 (up to 16.8 million dithered
         shades)
       Configurations

         Horz. DPI  Horizontal  Vert. DPI   Vertical    Aspect
                    Page Size               Page Size   Ratio
           60          480         180       unltd.      3.0
           60          816         180       unltd.      3.0
           90          720         180       unltd.      2.0
           90         1224         180       unltd.      2.0
          120          960         180       unltd.      1.5
          120         1632         180       unltd.      1.5
          180         1440         180       unltd.      1.0
          180         2448         180       unltd.      1.0

E - Epson MX-80
       Printer type:  Dot Matrix
       Interface type:  Parallel
       Number of colors:  2 (up to 256 dithered shades)
       Configurations

         Horz. DPI  Horizontal  Vert. DPI   Vertical    Aspect
                    Page Size               Page Size   Ratio
          120          960          72       unltd.      0.6
          120         1632          72       unltd.      0.6

       Special Considerations
         Also acceptable for MX-100, FX-80, LX-80, FX-100,
         and Okidata emulating MX-80.

F - HP LaserJet
       Printer type:  Laser
       Interface type:  Serial
       Number of colors:  2 (up to 256 dithered shades)
       Configurations

         Horz. DPI  Horizontal  Vert. DPI   Vertical    Aspect
                    Page Size               Page Size   Ratio
          750          600          75        787        1.0
          100          800         100       1050        1.0
          150         1200         150       1575        1.0
          300         2400         300       3150        1.0

       Special Considerations
         The HP LaserJet has a graphics data memory of 57K.
         Therefore, when printing with the Laserjet the page
         size supported is:

                         75 DPI - 85% of page
                        100 DPI - 48% of page
                        150 DPI - 21% of page
                        300 DPI -  5% of page

         When COM port 2 is specified, there MUST be two
         physical COM ports.  Otherwise DOS will assume that
         only COM port 1 exists.

G - HP LaserJet Plus and Series II
       Printer type:  Laser
       Interface type:  Parallel
       Number of colors:  2 (up to 256 dithered shades)
       Configurations

         Horz. DPI  Horizontal  Vert. DPI   Vertical    Aspect
                    Page Size               Page Size   Ratio
           75          600          75        787        1.0
          100          800         100       1050        1.0
          150         1200         150       1575        1.0
          300         2400         300       3150        1.0

       Special Considerations
         The HP LaserJet has a graphics data memory of 57K.
         Therefore, when printing with the Laserjet the page
         size supported is:

                         75 DPI - 100% of page
                        100 DPI - 100% of page
                        150 DPI - 100% of page
                        300 DPI -  50% of page

H - Okidata LaserLine
       Printer type:  Laser
       Interface type:  Parallel
       Number of colors:  2 (up to 256 dithered shades)
       Configurations

         Horz. DPI  Horizontal  Vert. DPI   Vertical    Aspect
                    Page Size               Page Size   Ratio
           75          600          75        775        1.0
          100          800         100       1050        1.0
          150         1200         150       1575        1.0
          300         2400         300       3100        1.0

       Special Considerations
         Okidata LaserLine graphics data memory is 512K
         bytes.  Printer memory required for a full page at
         300 DPI is 930K.

I - Okidata Microline 192 Plus and 193 Plus
       Printer type:  Dot Matrix
       Interface type:  Parallel
       Number of colors:  2 (up to 256 dithered shades)
       Configurations

         Horz. DPI  Horizontal  Vert. DPI   Vertical    Aspect
                    Page Size               Page Size   Ratio
           60          480          60       unltd.      1.0
           60          810          60       unltd.      1.0
           72          576          72       unltd.      1.0
           72          972          72       unltd.      1.0
          120          960         120       unltd.      1.0
          120         1620         120       unltd.      1.0
          144         1152         144       unltd.      1.0
          144         1944         144       unltd.      1.0

J - Okidata MicroLine 292, 293, and 294 Plus
       Printer type:  Dot Matrix
       Interface type:  Parallel
       Number of colors:  8 (up to 16.8 million dithered
         shades)
       Configurations

         Horz. DPI  Horizontal  Vert. DPI   Vertical    Aspect
                    Page Size               Page Size   Ratio
           60          480          60       unltd.      1.0
           60          810          60       unltd.      1.0
           72          576          72       unltd.      1.0
           72          972          72       unltd.      1.0
          120          960         120       unltd.      1.0
          120         1620         120       unltd.      1.0
          144         1152         144       unltd.      1.0
          144         1944         144       unltd.      1.0

K - Okidata MicroLine 392C, 393C and 394C
       Printer type:  Dot Matrix 24 Pin
       Interface type:  Parallel
       Number of colors:  8 (up to 16.8 million dithered
         shades)
       Configurations

         Horz. DPI  Horizontal  Vert. DPI   Vertical    Aspect
                    Page Size               Page Size   Ratio
           60          480         180       unltd.      3.0
           60          816         180       unltd.      3.0
           90          720         180       unltd.      2.0
           90         1224         180       unltd.      2.0
          120          960         180       unltd.      1.5
          120         1632         180       unltd.      1.5
          180         1440         180       unltd.      1.0
          180         2448         180       unltd.      1.0


CHAPTER 3 - IMPORTANT CONCEPTS

This chapter covers important concepts that will enable you
to use AutoRENDER effectively.  A thorough understanding of
the concepts presented in this chapter will help you tap the
full power of AutoRENDER.

The following sections are contained in this chapter:

        *  3D Coordinates
        *  3D Translations and Rotations
        *  AutoRENDER's 3D Workspace
        *  Orthographic and Perspective Views


3.1  3D COORDINATES

At some time in your life, you've probably used a sheet of
graph paper to help you make accurate drawings.  Typically,
you would lay out a two-dimensional coordinate frame with a
horizontal (X) axis and vertical (Y) axis.

In two dimensions, you locate points at specific locations
(coordinates) on the paper by starting at the origin (the
point where the axes cross) and then move along the X axis a
given number of divisions and up the Y axis a given number of
divisions.  Thus, every point on the paper can be specified
by a pair of X and Y coordinates.

A three-dimensional coordinate frame is simply a two-dimen-
sional frame with a third axis for depth.  This third, or Z,
axis is perpendicular to the plane formed by the X and Y
axes.  It sticks straight out of the graph paper.  In order
to visualize the third axis, 3D coordinate frames are often
shown at an angle.

Often, the negative axes are not shown, to reduce the
clutter.  The location of any point in the 3D frame can be
specified by a set of X, Y, and Z coordinates.  When a point
is defined relative to a given reference frame, it is said to
lie within that frame's coordinate space.


3.2  3D TRANSLATIONS AND ROTATIONS

The movement of a point in a coordinate frame is usually
described in terms of translations and rotations along and
about the X, Y, and Z axes.  When a point is translated along
an axis, the point is moved parallel to the axis a specified
number of units.

When a point is rotated, the point is swept around the axis
in a circular arc a specified number of degrees.  The center
of the arc lies on the axis.  The radius of the arc is the
shortest distance from the point to the axis.

The direction of a rotation (positive or negative) about a
coordinate axis is determined using the right hand rule.  To
determine the direction of a positive rotation, point the
thumb of your right hand along the specified coordinate axis,
towards its positive direction.  Curl your fingers towards
your palm.  They will wrap in the direction of a positive
rotation.  To determine the direction of a negative rotation,
do the same thing, but point your thumb in the negative
direction.


3.3  AutoRENDER'S 3D WORKSPACE

The objective of this section is to help you envision the 3D
world in which you will be viewing while using AutoRENDER.

AutoRENDER uses two basic levels of coordinate frames.  They
are the world and screen frames.  These coordinate frames are
defined in this section.


WORLD COORDINATE FRAME

With AutoRENDER, the points of all entities transferred via
the DXF file are relative to the World Coordinate Frame.
This reference frame and all entities associated with it make
up the 3D model.

Every point in the model has an X,Y,Z position relative to
the World Coordinate Frame.

The Screen Coordinate Frame will be discussed in the next
section.  The world's orientation and translation relative to
the screen frame make up the world's spatial position.
Orientation refers to the way the world is tilted relative to
the screen frame. The orientation is made up of 3 angles that
are relative to the X, Y, and Z axis of the screen.  The
world translation refers to the X, Y, and Z distances that
the world axis is positioned away from the screen axis.


SCREEN COORDINATE FRAME

Imagine that you are sitting at a table, building a model of
a city using pieces of wood for buildings.  Your working
surface is a board on which you have drawn a grid.  The grid
helps you locate the buildings.  As you build the model, you
slide the board around on the table -- instead of getting up
and walking around the table -- so that you can see different
views of the city .

Relating this scenario to AutoRENDER's 3D space, the board is
like the world and the pieces of wood (i.e. buildings) are
like entities in the world.

Your computer's video screen is like a window that looks into
this 3D world.  When you want to see a different view of the
model, you turn the world around, or move it back and forth,
until the right view presents itself to this screen window.
Your viewing position remains stationary -- only the world
moves.

The Move World option (see section 9.4) allows you to use the
keypad like a set of remote controls to move the world around
with respect to the screen.  In order to control the movement
of the world accurately, some way of measuring its position
and orientation is needed.  This is accomplished using
another reference frame called the screen frame.  It is like
a set of measuring sticks (coordinate axes) embedded in the
table, that allow you to specify the location of the world.

The screen coordinate frame never moves.  When you look into
AutoRENDER's 3D model space, you are essentially looking
through your video screen down the Z axis of the screen
frame.  In fact, you can think of the video screen and the
screen frame as being connected to each other.

The center of the screen frame always coincides with the
center of the video screen.  The positive X axis points to
the right and the positive Y axis points up so that the X-Y
plane is parallel to the screen.  The positive Z axis points
straight out of the screen, perpendicular to the X-Y plane.
The world is located relative to the screen frame using three
distances and three angles.

In summary, AutoRENDER's 3D workspace is organized using a
world and screen frame.  The screen frame is fixed and
immovable.  It provides a frame of reference for movements of
the world coordinate axes.  The world axes provide a
framework for a 3D model.  A 3D model is composed of entities
located relative to the world frame.


UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

You may use one of six units of measurement when specifying
locations in AutoRENDER's 3D workspace.  They are listed
below:

        Millimeters (mm)         Inches (in)
        Centimeters (cm)         Feet (ft)
        Meters (m)               Yards (yd)

Internally, AutoRENDER stores all distances in centimeters.
When the units are changed, the absolute distances stored by
AutoRENDER do not change, only the form in which they are
input or output.  Therefore, a thousand centimeters is a
thousand centimeters, regardless of whether you input or
output it as 393.7 inches, 10 meters, or 32.81 feet.

Additionally, AutoRENDER keeps track of distances as small as
.001 millimeters (.00004 in) and as large as 1.0E+35 meters.
However, regardless of the size of the number, only seven
digits are significant.  You are not allowed to enter numbers
longer than 10 digits from the user interface, regardless of
the system of units that you are working in.

All angles are input and output in degrees.  They are stored
internally as radians.


3.4  ORTHOGRAPHIC AND PERSPECTIVE VIEWS

When AutoRENDER's three-dimensional world is projected onto
your two-dimensional video graphics display, it is done
orthographically or with perspective.  The orthographic
projection preserves the true proportions of the 3D model.
The perspective projection distorts the model so that objects
appear smaller as they get farther away.

AutoRENDER typically functions in the orthographic mode,
until you turn the perspective projection on.


ORTHOGRAPHIC PROJECTION

The orthographic projection maps points from the world
directly to the screen along lines that are parallel to the
viewer's line of sight, i.e. the screen Z axis, and
perpendicular to the screen X-Y plane.  Orthographic
projections are commonly used to generate the standard views
used in scale drawings, i.e. left, right, top, bottom, etc.

AutoRENDER keeps track of the amount of a scene that is
projected onto the video screen using a variable called the
screen extent.  All points within one-half an extent width of
the screen origin are projected onto the screen.  If a screen
window is not square, the screen extent is mapped into the
smaller dimension (horizontal or vertical). Decreasing the
screen extent decreases your field of view but magnifies the
image projected on the screen.  Thus, the screen extent acts
like a magnification (zoom) factor.  All of AutoRENDER's zoom
commands ultimately affect the screen extent.


PERSPECTIVE PROJECTION

In real life, when we look out towards the horizon, the
objects in our line of sight appear to get smaller as they
get farther away, converging towards a point (i.e. vanishing
point) on the horizon.  This is evident when driving on a
long, straight highway -- it appears to narrow as it
approaches the horizon.  The perspective projection simulates
this phenomenon.

The perspective projection scales all of the points in a 3D
model according to the distance from the eye point to the
focal point. We will call this distance the view distance for
simplicity.  This causes the points to converge towards the
center of the video screen as they get farther from your eye.
The resulting distortion gives the image on the screen a
sense of depth.

The screen extent discussed in the last section, does not
enter directly into the perspective calculation.  However,
when perspective is on, the screen extent has the same
distorting effect on the screen image that a wide or short
angle camera lense has on a real life image.  As a general
rule, the perspective effect is most realistic when the
screen extent and view distance are the same.

The view distance is used to calculate the amount of
perspective applied to a scene.  The closer objects are to
your eye, the larger and more distorted they appear.  Any
parts of a model that lie more than one view distance away
from the screen origin, along the screen's positive Z axis,
will not be displayed.  This is because they lie behind the
hypothetical position of your eye -- so you can't see them.
The vanishing point in AutoRENDER's 3D space lies on the
screen's negative Z axis, an infinite distance from the
screen origin.  Thus, entities in a model will always
converge towards the center of the screen when perspective is
on.  The horizon is parallel to the screen X axis and passes
through the vanishing point.

When you use perpective to display a model, keep the
following in mind:

      1.  The center of the scene on which you wish to
          focus should be positioned near the origin of the
          screen coordinate frame.  For instance, if you
          model a house and want a perspective view of the
          inside of one of its rooms, you should move the
          model until the center of the room is located at
          the origin of the screen frame.

      2.  The view distance, or distance from the eye point
          to the focal point, should be consistent with
          reality.  For instance, if you want a realistic
          perspective view of the inside of a room 20 feet
          square, you would not set the view distance to
          100 feet.  You would probably set it somewhere
          between 10 and 15 feet.

      3.  Like the view distance, the screen extents should
          be consistent with reality.

      4.  Your eye always views AutoRENDER's 3D world by
          looking in along the screen Z axis.  It focuses
          on the screen origin.  Different views of a model
          are generated by moving the world relative to
          your eye, instead of moving your eye around the world.

      5.  When you want to zoom with perspective on, move
          the world along the screen Z axis, towards your
          eye, instead of using the zoom command.


CHAPTER 4 - RUNNING AutoRENDER

This chapter introduces the various features of the user
interface and how it is operated using your computer's
keyboard and/or a pointing device (i.e. mouse or digitizer).
The following subjects are covered:

        *  Basic Concepts
        *  Command Modes
           - Command Structure
           - Selecting Commands With The Keyboard
           - Selecting Commands With A Pointing Device
        *  Status Windows

The first section, Basic Concepts, reviews some of the
concepts discussed in Chapter 3 and introduces a few new
ones.  The next section, Command Modes, outlines AutoRENDER's
command structure and the manner in which commands are
selected.  The section on Status Windows describes how the
function keys are used to get information about AutoRENDER.


4.1  BASIC CONCEPTS

SCREEN LAYOUT

The layout of the screen when using AutoRENDER consists of
two principal areas:  (1) The Screen View Window; and (2) The
Command/Status Window.

The Screen View Window is where views of a model are
projected.  The actual model may extend beyond the display
area.  The Command/Status Window displays the current command
options.  Information about the model also appears in the
Command/Status Window.  The optional ability to turn off the
Command Window display is discussed in the Turn Section of
the manual.

The screen and world frames were introduced in Chapter 3, and
are briefly reviewed here.

The Screen Coordinate Frame is fixed.  Its positive X axis
always extends to the right, the positive Y axis up, and the
positive Z axis is normal to the screen (i.e. it projects out
of the center of the screen).

The World Coordinate Frame is associated with the entire
model.  When the World Coordinate Frame is moved, all
entities in the model are moved.


4.2  COMMAND MODES

COMMAND STRUCTURE

AutoRENDER has a hierarchical command structure.  At the top
of the hierachy are nine command modes.  Each command mode
has a group of subcommands associated with it.


SELECTING COMMANDS WITH THE KEYBOARD

You can select one of the subcommands by typing the first
letter of the command.

At any time, the <Esc> key may be struck to abort a
subcommand and return to the main menu of commands.


SELECTING COMMANDS WITH A POINTING DEVICE

A pointing device (i.e mouse or digitizing tablet) may be
used to select commands and subcommands, in place of the
keyboard.

When AutoRENDER is configured for a pointing device, a small
box, four characters wide and 1 character high, will appear
in the Command Window.  If it does not, move the pointing
device towards the bottom left hand corner of the screen.  It
will then appear. (If your machine locks up when you attempt
to use a mouse, AutoRENDER probably is not configured
correctly.  Reboot your machine and run ACONFIG).

Position the highlight box over one of the command options
and click the pen or mouse to select it.  On a multiple
button mouse, the first (leftmost) button is used to select
the option.  The first level of subcommands under that mode
will then be listed at the bottom of the Command Window.

If you are ever in the middle of a command and want to escape
from it, strike the <Esc> key or click the 2nd or 3rd button
of the mouse.

Often, after displaying a prompt, AutoRENDER waits for a user
keystroke before continuing.  Simply click the pointing
device to continue.  If you are prompted for a Yes or No
answer, clicking the pointing device means Yes.  If you want
to select the No option, you must type "N".


4.3  STATUS INFORMATION

To inquire about certain parameters, Status Windows are
employed.  To use the Status Windows, depress the appropriate
function key.  The Status Window overwrites the Command
Window.  A Status Window disappears when any subsequent key
is hit and the screen returns to the Command Window that was
displayed previously.

Status Windows cannot be invoked with a pointing device.
However, once a Status Window has been displayed, you can
return to the command mode by clicking the pointing device.


STATUS WINDOW KEYS F1 - F5

The Status Windows display the following information:

        <F1>  -  A triad indicating the current orientation
                 of the world coordinate frame is displayed
                 in the upper right hand corner of the
                 graphics screen.

                 Information about the current view is
                 displayed in the command window.  If the
                 view is one of the standard views (i.e. top,
                 right) the name of the view is displayed.
                 If it is one of eleven user definable views
                 (10-20), the view number is displayed.

                 If the current view was obtained by rotating
                 or translating the world with the Move World
                 command, the message "View Obtained With Keypad"
                 is displayed.  If the view was derived from
                 the eye point and focal point, the message
                 "View Derived From Eye/Focal Points" is
                 displayed.

        <F2>  -  The position of the eye point and focal
                 point in world coordinates is displayed.
                 The position of the light source in screen
                 coordinates is also displayed.

        <F3>  -  The current screen extent and display
                 parameters (i.e. wireframe, perspective) are
                 displayed.

        <F4>  -  The current system of units, the background
                 color, foreground color, and text color are
                 displayed.

        <F5>  -  The colors corresponding to the numbers 0
                 through 15 are scrolled in the status
                 window.  The <Esc> key will return to the
                 main menu.


CHAPTER 5 - LOAD COMMAND

The LOAD COMMAND is used to:

        *  Load a DXF file.
        *  Load an A3D file.
        *  Load an IMAGE file.
        *  Load and run a SHOW file.

The following sections describe each LOAD subcommand and how
to use it.


5.1  LOAD DXF

The LOAD DXF option loads the specified DXF file into
AutoRENDER.

You are first prompted for the filename of the DXF file that
is to be loaded.  If the name is entered without an
extension, the suffix .DXF is appended to it.  If the DXF file
resides in a directory other than the current AutoRENDER
directory, you should include the path with the filename.
This path option is typical for all AutoRENDER file handling.

Once the DXF filename has been specified, you are prompted
for the UNITS of the DXF file.  The UNITS are specified by
entering a number from 1 to 6 that correspond to the prompt
on the screen (1-mm  2-cm  3-m 4-in  5-ft  6-yd).  After the
UNITS have been specified, you are prompted to specify the
CIRCLE SIDES, i.e. the number of line segments that will make
up a circle.  For example, if the number of CIRCLE SIDES were
specified to be 12 then all circles will be 12 sided or made
up of 12 line segments.

When the DXF file is loaded, a compressed 3D model file is
generated and is placed in the current directory, you may
save it as an A3D.  The term "model" refers to the resulting
collection of entities extracted from the DXF file.  This 3D
model file is given the same filename as the DXF file and is
given the extension .A3D.  The .A3D file contains the same
information as the DXF file, but in a different format.  The
.A3D files are usually significantly smaller than their DXF
counterpart. The advantage of saving the .A3D file is that it
can usually be reloaded much faster than a DXF file.  This
feature saves having to wait for translation of the DXF file
every time it is loaded by AutoRENDER.

The model created from the DXF file is loaded into AutoRENDER
with the world in its default position (+Z projecting out of
screen and the origin of world coinciding with the origin of
the screen).


5.2  LOAD A3D

The LOAD A3D option loads a .A3D file created while loading a
DXF file.  See section 5.1, LOAD DXF, for a description of
the contents and use of the .A3D file.   You are then
prompted for the name of the .A3D file to load.  If the name
is entered without an extension, the suffix .A3D is appended
to it. If the A3D file resides in a directory other than the
current AutoRENDER directory, you should include the path
with the filename.


5.3  LOAD IMAGE

The LOAD IMAGE option loads an image file that was previously
saved with AutoRENDER (see section 6.1, SAVE IMAGE) or was
created with a software package that generates the HALO.PIC
format.  You are prompted for the name of an image file to
load.  If the name is entered without an extension, the
suffix .IMG is appended to it.  The image is loaded over
whatever is currently displayed on the screen.  It remains
there until the REDRAW command is invoked again, at which
point the model will be redrawn.  If the Image file resides
in a directory other than the current AutoRENDER directory,
you should include the path with the filename.


5.4  LOAD SHOW

The LOAD SHOW option is used to display a sequence of IMAGE
files that have previously been saved.  You are first
prompted for a filename identifying a text file in which the
names of image files are listed.  If the show filename is
entered without an extension, .SHO will be appended to it.
If the show file resides in a directory other than the
current AutoRENDER directory, you should include the path
with the filename.

You are next asked if you want the "Show Put In A Loop? (Y/N)".
If you type "Y" for Yes, the slide show will repeat itself
until you strike the <Esc> key.

Each image filename in the show file should be followed by a
decimal number indicating the number of seconds that the
image is to be left on the screen after it has been loaded
and before the next image is loaded.  All entries in PATH.SHO
should be separated by blank spaces or carriage returns.
Image filenames including the path should not exceed 80
characters in length.

If a filename in the show file does not have an extension,
the .PIC extension will be appended to it before the software
attempts to load the corresponding image file.

For example, if you wanted to show the image files
SLIDE1.PIC, SLIDE2.PIC, and SLIDE3.PIC in sequence, with 3
seconds between each image, you would type the following into
the show file:

                    SLIDE1  3
                    SLIDE2  3
                    SLIDE3  3

If a filename is not found, the show will continue without
displaying an error message until the entire .SHO file has
been processed.  At that time it will display the "Unable To
Open File!" or "Error Reading File!" message.


CHAPTER 6 - SAVE COMMAND

The SAVE COMMAND is used to:

        *  Save an IMAGE file.
        *  Save the current view for later recall.

The following sections describe each SAVE subcommand and how
to use it.


6.1  SAVE IMAGE

The SAVE IMAGE option saves the current screen image for
later recall by AutoRENDER (see section 5.3, Load Image).

You are prompted for the name to be assigned to the file.  If
you don't enter an extension, the .PIC extension is appended
to the filename.  The screen image is saved in the HALO.PIC
format and is located in the directory specified by the path
attached to the filename.


6.2  SAVE VIEW

The SAVE VIEW option saves the current position of the world
coordinate frame and the current screen extent.  Refer to
sections 3.3, 8.2, and 9.4 for detailed information on these
parameters.  The world position and screen extent information
define the current view as it is seen on the screen.

You are prompted for a view number between 10 and 20,
allowing you to define up to 11 non-standard views.  You can
recall the view using the PICK VIEW command (see section
8.3).  This option is very useful for quickly returning to a
previously selected view.


CHAPTER 7 - TURN COMMAND

The TURN COMMAND is used to:

        *  Turn the command window on or off.
        *  Turn Fast Display mode on or off.
        *  Turn Perspective on or off.

The following sections describe each TURN subcommand and how
to use it.


7.1  TURN COMMAND

The TURN COMMAND option removes the command window from the
screen display area and disables all text output to the
command window.  This command is very useful when you want to
save images without the command window.  Once the command
window is turned off, user input will still be accepted by
AutoRENDER but will not appear on the screen.

After you have selected the COMMAND option from the TURN
mode, you are prompted to select On or Off.  You can select
On or Off by highlighting it with the pointing device and
selecting it, or by selecting it with the Up Arrow or Down
Arrow respectively.  Selecting On will enable the command
window and selecting Off will disable the command window.


7.2  TURN FAST DISPLAY

The TURN FAST DISPLAY option allows AutoRENDER to display and
render models with an increased time savings.  AutoRENDER
obtains the time savings by ignoring all surface facets that
face away from the viewer (backward-facing facets).  This
time savings on large models can be significant, but the
quality of the output may vary depending on factors that are
described in the following paragraphs.

When Fast Display incorrectly determines the direction a
surface facet is facing, AutoRENDER may fail to display the
facet, even if it really should be shown.

The concept of forward and backward-facing facets is related
to the display methods used by AutoRENDER and is not integral
to the DXF format.  Therefore, the information required to
distinguish forward and backward-facing facets is not
explicitly defined in DXF files, although it can usually be
inferred from the DXF data.

The DXF entity that causes the most Fast Display inaccuracies
is the 3DFACE.  You can insure that 3DFACEs get handled
properly by Fast Display using the following rule:

     When you create a 3DFACE, determine which side of the
     face lies on the outside of the object that the face is
     defining.  Then, when you enter the points of the 3DFACE,
     do it in an order such that, when the face is viewed
     from the outside of the object, the order of the points
     move in a counter-clockwise direction, from the first
     point to the last.

In general, the direction of surface facets in the model is
determined by the direction of the points of the facet.
Counter-clockwise points infer an outside surface while
clockwise points infer an inside surface.


7.3  TURN PERSPECTIVE

The TURN PERSPECTIVE option is used to apply perspective to
the display of the model.  When perspective is turned on, the
model is displayed with perspective. When perspective is
turned off, the model is displayed without perspective.

See section 3.4, Orthographic & Perspective Views, for an
overview discussion concerning the difference between
AutoRENDER orthographic and perspective projections.

The perspective projection is applied to the current view and
is based on the location of an imaginary eye (see section
9.1, Move Eye), the focal point or point on which the eye is
focusing (see section 9.2, Move Focal Point), and the extent
of the current view (see section 8.2, Pick Extent).  Using
the Move Eye/Focal commands to obtain perspective views is
the most reliable way of obtaining predictable results.

If the current view was obtained by selecting one of the pre-
defined views (see section 8.3, Pick View) or by dynamically
rotating and translating the world (see section 9.4, Move
World), some assumptions must be made about the location of
the eye point and focal point.  In either of these cases, it
is assumed that an imaginary focal point lies at the origin
of the screen frame.  The imaginary eye is positioned out on
the screen's positive Z axis at a distance from the origin
equal to the distance between the focal/eye points defined
with the Move Eye/Focal commands.

When these assumptions are made, the positions of the eye and
focal points in the world depend on the world's position and
orientation relative to the screen frame.  The coordinates of
these points in world space can be obtained using the <F3>
status key.

The origin of the screen coordinate frame (see Section 3.3)
is used as the focal point for the projection.  The vanishing
point lies at an infinite distance behind the focal point,
along the screen Z axis.  The screen X axis is coincident
with the horizon.

The amount of perspective applied to the current view is
based on the distance between the eye point and focal point
(i.e. viewing distance).

The screen extent, which is set with the Pick Extent command,
defines the amount of the scene taken in by the imaginary
eye.  Typically, its magnitude should be about the same as
the viewing distance, to achieve realistic perspective.

The extent of the current view can be displayed using the
<F5> status key.  It is given in the system of units
specified when the current model was loaded.

Varying the screen extent affects the perspective view the
way a wide angle lens affects the view seen through it.  If
the view's extent is set to be much larger than the view
distance, the scene will be distorted as if it were being
viewed through a wide angle lens.  Various combinations of
screen extents and viewing distances can give a wide variety
of results.

When you set the eye point or focal point (with the Move
commands) and perspective is on, the screen extent will
automatically be set equal to the distance between these two
points.  This will result in a realistic projection.

When you change views using the Pick View or Move World
commands, your control over the focal and eye points used to
generate perspective is less intuitive.  Therefore, you may
find it more difficult to anticipate the results of the
perspective projection using these options.

When you are rendering perspective views, you must be careful
to insure that the locations of the focal and eye points
relative to the physical coordinates of the model are
consistent with reality.  For instance, if you wished to
generate a perspective view of the outside of a model of a
house, you would want the focal point to lie somewhere near
the exterior of the house, not too far in front of or behind
the house.  Likewise, the eye point would be located at a
realistic viewing distance from the focal point.

If you wished to show a perspective view of the interior of a
room as seen by a person standing in it, you'd want to set
the focal point somewhere inside the room.  Likewise, the eye
point would be located inside the room or you would not get a
view consistent with reality.


CHAPTER 8 - PICK COMMAND

The PICK COMMAND is used to:

        *  Pick the background or foreground color.
        *  Pick the view extent.
        *  Pick the screen ratio.
        *  Pick the view number.
        *  Pick the command window text height.

The following sections describe each PICK subcommand and how
to use it.


8.1  PICK COLOR

The PICK COLOR option is used to specify colors to be used
for the background and foreground colors.  The actual colors
used depends on the number of colors available for the video
graphics card that is installed.

Colors are selected by number.  Function key <F5> scrolls
through three windows of information showing the colors
corresponding to the numbers 0 through 15.  Striking the
<Esc> key will exit back to the main menu.

The colors corresponding to valid entries (0-15) are listed
below.

     0 - Black               8 - Grey
     1 - Blue                9 - Light Blue
     2 - Green               10- Light Green
     3 - Cyan                11- Light Cyan
     4 - Red                 12- Light Red
     5 - Magenta             13- Light Magenta
     6 - Yellow              14- Light Yellow
     7 - White               15- White


BACKGROUND COLOR

The background color is used to clear the screen.  It is the
"base" color upon which all drawing takes place.  After
specifying the Background option from the Pick command, you
are prompted to input the desired background color.  The
current background color setting can be displayed with the
<F4> status key.


FOREGROUND COLOR

The foreground color is used to highlight the edges of
surface facets when rendering a model without the point light
source (see section 11.3, Fill Surface Facets).  It is also
the color assigned to the triad used to show the orientation
of the world coordinate frame. The current foreground color
setting can be displayed with the <F4> status key.


TEXT COLOR

The text color is used for the menu text and the box that
surrounds it.  Entering any color number from 1 to 15 will
set the text color accordingly.  The current text color
setting can be displayed with the <F4> status key.

When the text color is changed, the default in the
configuration file is updated.  If the program cannot find
the configuration file in the current directory, the message
"Unable to Modify Configuration File!" will be displayed.


8.2  PICK EXTENT

The PICK EXTENT option is used to define the extent of the
model displayed on the graphics screen.  For instance, if a
model 20 inches across is displayed with the extent set to 10
inches, only a ten inch portion of the model will show up.
If the screen extent is set to 40 inches, the model will
appear at about one-half the size of the screen.

The Zoom All command sets the screen extent so the model just
fits within the screen boundaries.


8.3  PICK SCREEN RATIO

The PICK SCREEN option is used to define the height to width
ratio of the video monitor.  This height to width ratio is
defined as the screen ratio and has a default value of 0.744.
When a new ratio is specified, the screen is updated to show
the new ratio and the default value is updated in the
configuration file.

If the program cannot find the configuration file in the
current directory, the message "Unable to Modify
Configuration File!" will be displayed.


8.4  PICK VIEW

The PICK VIEW option is used to recall a pre-defined view.
These views can be one of the seven standard views or they
may be one of eleven user defined views.

The seven standard views are defined by the numbers 1 through
7 as follows:

     1=Front  2=Back  3=Top  4=Bottom  5=Right  6=Left
     7=Isometric

The isometric view option, number 7, will generate an
isometric projection of the current view that is being
displayed.  For example, selecting view 1 and then view 7
will yield a different result than selecting view 3 and then
view 7.

Entering a number from 10 to 20 will recall one of the views
saved with the Save View command (see section 6.2).


8.5  PICK TEXT

The PICK TEXT option is used to adjust the height of the
command window and text within it.  This option is useful
when using very high resolution display devices.

The text is scaled by a factor from 1 to 10.  When the text
scale factor is modified with this command, the scale factor
is updated in the ACONFIG.DAT file.


CHAPTER 9 - MOVE COMMAND

The MOVE COMMAND is used to:

        *  Move the eye point.
        *  Move the focal point.
        *  Move the light source.
        *  Move the world by rotation or translation.
        *  Move to the original world position by returning
           the world rotation and translation to zero.

The following sections describe each MOVE subcommand and how
to use it.


9.1  MOVE EYE

The MOVE EYE option is used to specify the position of an
imaginary eye in world space.  After it is set and you
execute the REDRAW command, the world is moved so that you
are viewing the model from a direction defined by a line
drawn from the eye point to the focal point.

When you invoke the Move Eye command, you are prompted for
the X,Y,Z location in world space where you want the
imaginary eye located.  Enter the coordinates in the system
of units specified when you loaded the DXF file.  The current
system of units can be examined with the <F4> status key.

If the eye point is moved so that it coincides with the focal
point, the warning message "Eye Point/Focus Point Coincide"
will be displayed the next time the screen is updated.

After the new eye point is entered, the new view is
automatically displayed.  It is the view that you would see
if you were looking from the eye point towards the focal
point.  In order to generate the view, the world is moved so
that the focal point lies at the center of the screen with
the eye point positioned out along the screen's Z axis.  The
screen's Z axis points straight out of the screen toward you.

If perspective is on (see section 7.3, Turn Perspective
command) when you change the eye point, the extent of the
current view will be changed automatically to maintain
realistic perspective.  You can modify this setting with the
Pick Extent command, if desired.

The specification of an eye point and focal point is
sufficient to determine the direction from which a scene is
viewed, but it doesn't provide enough information to
determine the orientation of the scene on the screen (i.e how
it is tilted).

AutoRENDER assigns an orientation to the scene based on the
following hypothetical situation.  Assume that you are
viewing the scene with your eye at the imaginary eye point
and you are looking towards the focal point.  The view
generated by the software is the one you see if you do not
tilt your head to either side.  That is, AutoRENDER keeps the
world oriented such that an imaginary line drawn between your
eyes is parallel with the ground plane.  This ground plane is
always assumed to be the XY plane of the world.

If you strike the <F1> status key, a triad indicating the
current orientation of the world coordinate frame will be
displayed in the upper left hand corner of the graphics
screen.


9.2  MOVE FOCAL

The MOVE FOCAL option is used to specify the position of the
focal point.  It defines the point in world space that the
imaginary eye is focusing on.  When you invoke this command,
you are prompted for the XYZ coordinates of the desired focal
point.

When the screen display is updated (using the Redraw command)
after the focal point has been changed, the model is moved so
that the focal point coincides with the center of the
graphics screen.

If the focal point is moved so that it coincides with the eye
point, the warning message "Eye Point/Focus Point Coincide!"
will be displayed the next time the screen is updated.

After the new focal point is entered, the new view is
automatically displayed.  It is the view that would be seen
if you were looking from the eye point towards the focal
point.  In order to generate the view, the world is moved so
that the focal point lies at the center of the screen with
the eye point positioned out along the screen's Z axis.  The
screen's Z axis points straight out of the screen toward you.

If perspective is on when you change the focal point, the
extent of the current view will be changed automatically to
maintain realistic perspective.  You can modify this setting
with the Pick Extent command, if desired.

The preceding section on the Move Eye Point command provides
additional information on the way views are generated from
the eye/focal points.


9.3  MOVE LIGHT

The MOVE LIGHT option is used to locate the point light
source used when rendering the model with the Display Light
command.

You are prompted for the XYZ position of the light source in
screen space.  These XYZ coordinates should be entered in
terms of the currently defined units.  The current system of
units can be displayed by striking the <F4> status key.

By default, the light source is located 10,000 centimeters
out on the positive Z axis of the screen coordinate frame
(i.e. out in front of your video screen).


9.4  MOVE WORLD

The MOVE WORLD option allows you to dynamically rotate and
translate the world using the keypad.  This option operates
with the Num Lock key off, therefore be sure to turn off the
Num Lock before attempting to move the world with the keypad.

Once a view is obtained with the keypad, it will not change
with subsequent redraws until you invoke either the Move Eye
Point, Move Focal Point, or Pick View command.


ROTATE

When the MOVE WORLD ROTATE subcommand is invoked, the current
orientation of the world relative to the screen axes is
displayed in the command window in degrees.  The current
world position, with respect to the screen, is also shown in
the current units.

The step size in the upper right hand corner indicates how
much the world will be rotated, in degrees, with each stroke
of the arrow keys.  The step size is changed up or down by
the + (plus) key and - (minus) keys respectively.

This discussion assumes that you have a standard IBM or
compatible computer and keyboard.

Striking the RIGHT and LEFT arrow keys will rotate the world
in the positive and negative directions, respectively, about
the screen X axis (the horizontal).

Stiking the UP and DOWN arrow keys will rotate the world in
the positive and negative directions, respectively, about the
screen Y axis (the vertical).

Striking the PG UP and END arrow keys will rotate the world
in the positive and negative directions, respectively, about
the screen Z axis (a line coming out of the screen).

If you are moving a large model with the keypad and want to
speed things up, use the <Esc> key to exit the redraw process
prematurely, and then strike another keypad key to move it
again.  Repeat this process quickly to visually align the
model without waiting for it to completely redraw each time
it is moved.

By default, while the world is being rotated, a triad is
displayed to show the current orientation of the world axis.
Striking the F1 function key will enable and disable the
triad from being shown.


TRANSLATE

When the MOVE WORLD TRANSLATE subcommand is invoked, the
current position of the world relative to the screen axes is
displayed in the command window in the current system of
units.

When the DXF file was loaded into AutoRENDER, a Zoom All was
automatically performed on the model.  Therefore, the initial
position of the model may not be zero.

The step size in the right hand corner indicates how much the
world will be translated, in units, with each stroke of the
arrow keys.  The step size is changed up or down by the + (plus)
key and - (minus) keys respectively.

The keypad layout for translation is identical to that just
described for rotations.

Striking the RIGHT and LEFT arrow keys will translate the
world in the positive and negative X directions respectively
(the horizontal).

Striking the UP and DOWN arrow keys will translate the world
in the positive and negative Y directions respectively (the
vertical).

Striking the PG UP and END arrow keys will translate the
world in the positive and negative Z directions respectively
(a line coming out of the screen).  The effect of translating
in the Z direction can only be seen with perspective on.


9.5  MOVE ZERO

The MOVE ZERO option returns to the view that you started
with when the current model was first loaded.  It aligns the
world axis with the screen axis and does a ZOOM ALL.


CHAPTER 10 - ZOOM COMMAND

The ZOOM COMMAND is used to:

        *  Zoom with the entire model in the screen.
        *  Zoom by a specified scale factor.
        *  Zoom with a window.

The following sections describe each ZOOM subcommand and how
to use it.


10.1  ZOOM ALL

The ZOOM ALL option is used to make the model fill the entire
screen.  This is done by fitting the outer most edges of the
model within the boundaries of the screen.


10.2  ZOOM FACTOR

The ZOOM FACTOR option is used to zoom by a specified scale
factor. After entering the scale factor, the scale factor is
applied to the current screen extent and the model is
redrawn.  For instance, if you enter a factor of 1.5, the
current screen extent is divided by 1.5, so that a smaller
segment of the model fills more of the screen.


10.3  ZOOM WINDOW

The ZOOM WINDOW option is used to zoom a portion of the
screen until it fills the entire screen.

You are first prompted to put a box around the portion of the
current display that you want to fill the entire screen.
When the prompt is displayed, strike any key to continue.  A
small box will appear at the center of the screen that you
will use to zoom with.

When zooming with the keypad, you draw a window around the
portion of the 3D world that you want to zoom in on.  When
the command is executed, the world is moved and the view
width is changed so that the selected portion fills the
entire screen window.

Keypad Layout.  The following keys are activated to perform
the specified functions:

        <right arrow>     Move Window in Positive X Direction
        <left arrow>      Move Window in Negative X Direction
         <up arrow>       Move Window in Positive Y Direction
        <down arrow>      Move Window in Negative Y Direction
           <Pg Up>              Increase Size of Window
            <End>               Decrease Size of Window
             <+>                  Increase Step Size
             <->                  Decrease Step Size

When using the keypad to zoom, the keypad operates in a two
dimensional (2D) mode.  The window is oriented in the X-Y
plane of the Screen Axes with the arrow keys.  The <Pg Up>
and <End> keys increase or decrease the window to the desired
size but do not affect the location of the window in the
plane.

When using a pointing device instead of the keypad to zoom,
the pointing device controls the zoom window's movement in
the X and Y directions.  Clicking the device is equivalent to
striking the keyboard's <Enter> key.  On a three-button
mouse, the two rightmost buttons can be used to
increase/decrease the size of the zoom window.  Otherwise the
<Pg Up> and <End> keys must be used to change the window's
size.

When zooming, the step size affects the number of keystrokes
it takes to make the window fill the screen, as well as the
size of each movement of the window in the X or Y direction.

After you place the box around the portion of the model that
you wish to blow up to the size of the entire screen, depress
the ENTER key or click the first button of the mouse and the
screen will be updated to display only the boxed area.


CHAPTER 11 - DISPLAY COMMAND

The DISPLAY COMMAND is used to:

        *  Display in wireframe.
        *  Display with hidden lines removed.
        *  Display with fill surface facets.
        *  Display with light source rendering.

The following sections describe each DISPLAY subcommand and
how to use it.


11.1  DISPLAY WIREFRAME

The DISPLAY WIREFRAME option is used to display the model as
a wireframe. When this mode is active, the model will be
displayed as a wireframe each time the screen is updated.


11.2  DISPLAY HIDDEN LINES REMOVED

The DISPLAY HIDDEN LINES REMOVED option is used to display
the model as a wireframe with hidden lines removed.  When
this mode is active, the model is displayed with hidden lines
removed each time the screen is updated.


11.3  DISPLAY FILL SURFACE FACETS

The DISPLAY FILL SURFACE FACETS option is used to display the
model with hidden lines removed and filled facets.  When this
mode is active, hidden lines are removed and all surface
facets are solid-filled in the color assigned to each facet.
Edges are highlighted in the foreground color (see section
8.1, Pick Color).


11.4  DISPLAY LIGHT SOURCE RENDERING

The DISPLAY LIGHT SOURCE RENDERING option is used to display
the model with light source shading.  When this mode is
active, the model is rendered with each surface facet
assigned a color intensity based on the position of the
light. The color intensity is calculated based on the angle
between a line perpendicular to the surface and a line
pointing from the first point on the facet towards the light
source.

Light source rendering is only possible on video graphics
boards that support at least 256 colors simultaneously, such
as the IBM PGA card.  If you attempt to enable this display
mode without having cond AutoRENDER with the proper
video graphics card, the message "Video Card Color Palette
Inadequate!" is displayed.


CHAPTER 12 - REDRAW COMMAND

The REDRAW COMMAND is used to:

        *  Clear and redraw the screen.

The following section describes the REDRAW subcommand and how
to use it.


12.1  REDRAW

The REDRAW option is used to clear the screen to the
background color (see section 12.1, Pick Color) and redraw
the screen.  You can abort a redraw at any time without
affecting the current model by striking the <Esc> key.


CHAPTER 13 - QUIT COMMAND

The QUIT COMMAND is used to:

        *  Leave AutoRENDER and exit to DOS.

The following section describes the QUIT subcommand and how
to use it.


13.1  QUIT

The QUIT option is used to leave AutoRENDER and exit to DOS.

After selecting the QUIT option, you are given the
opportunity to abort the exit to DOS by the prompt, "Are You
Sure? (Y/N)."  If the yes ("Y") option is selected,
AutoRENDER will return you to DOS.


CHAPTER 14 - HARDCOPY COMMAND

The HARDCOPY COMMAND is used to print wireframe, hidden line,
and rendered AutoRENDER images to various printing devices.
The print software generates an image based on the current
model that is loaded in the database and the display
parameters selected.

See chapter 2.1 for installation and printer configuration.

Printing devices are supported in the following groups:

        * Laser Printers
        * Ink Jet Printers
        * Thermal Printers
        * Dot Matrix Printers
        * Various Other Color and B/W Printers

The following section describes the HARDCOPY subcommand and
how to use it.


14.1  HARDCOPY

The HARDCOPY option is used to print AutoRENDER images to
various printing devices.

The print utility will automatically use EMS (extended
memory) if it is available, otherwise it will use available
disk space.  Image printing using EMS will be significantly
faster than using a hard disk.

If a gap appears between each horizontal line of the image,
you may need to con your printer to suppress line
feeds.  See chapter 2.1 for installation and printer
configuration.

After selecting the HARD option from the main menu, the Print
Utility menu is shown.  The following is a description of
each setting and option in the Print Utility menu.


COLOR OUTPUT

When available for the configured printer, this option allows
black and white or color to be selected.


IMAGE ROTATION

This option allows the output to be rotated 90 degrees on the
page (landscape).  Selecting ON will rotate the image while
selecting OFF will cause the image to be printed as shown on
the video display.


AUTOMATIC CENTERING

When available for the cond printer, this option allows
the output to be automatically centered on the page.
Selecting ON specifies automatic centering.


HORIZONTAL OFFSET

When available for the cond printer, the horizontal
offset specifies the horizontal distance the image will be
shifted on the paper.  The horizontal offset value is in
inches.


VERTICAL OFFSET

When available for the cond printer, the vertical
offset specifies the vertical distance the image will be
shifted on the paper.  The vertical offset value is in
inches.


PRINTING WIDTH

The printing width specifies the horizontal width, in inches,
of the output image.


PRINTING HEIGHT

The printing height specifies the vertical height, in inches,
of the output image.


NUMBER OF COPIES

This option will specify the number of copies for the printer
to produce.  This allows the printing device to produce
multiple prints without regenerating the image each time.


COMMUNICATION PORT

This option allows the user to specify the port connected to
the printing device. Some devices only support serial (COM)
ports while others support only parallel (LPT) ports.  The
program only allows the user to select the type of port
appropriate for the cond printing device.


RESOLUTION

This option allows the user to select the desired resolution
supported by the printing device.  The resolution is given in
dots per inch (DPI).  It should be noted that the higher the
resolution, the longer the print will take to produce.  For
quick prints, select the lowest resolution and then print the
final draft at a high resolution.


DISPLAY OPTION

The display option allows the user to specify how the image
will be printed.  The available options are wireframe,
hiddenline removal, solid fill - edges highlighted, and light
source rendering.


PERSPECTIVE

The perspective option specifies whether or not perspective
will be applied to the image.


BACKPLANE REMOVAL

When the backplane removal option is on, backplanes will be
removed from wireframe images.  This option is the same as
Fast Display.


ZOOM ALL

The zoom all option can be enabled or disabled.  When it is
enabled, the image will be generated such that the entire
model will be shown on the paper.  This is in essence the
same as doing a zoom all from the main program before
printing. Zoom all cannot be enabled when the perspective is
on.


DEFAULT DISK DRIVE

The default disk drive option specifes the drive that will be
used if additional memory is required to print the image.  If
EMS (extended memory) is available, it will automatically be
used.  If EMS is being used as a virtual disk, set the
default disk drive to the virtual disk drive letter.  EMS
printing will be significantly faster than image printing
using a hard disk.


SHADE CONTRAST

The Shade Contrast option is only available when the Light
Source Rendering display option is selected.  The Shade
Contrast is used to vary the contrast between the darkest and
lightest shade of the print.  Higher Shade Contrast values
produce darker pictures and have more contrast.


UNIT OF MEASURE

This option allows Metric or English units to be selected for
print sizes.


PRINT

The print option will initiate the printing process based
upon the current menu settings.


QUIT

Selecting the quit option will leave the print utility and
return to the main program.


SYSTEM INFORMATION

Information about the currently cond printer and the
printing memory space required is shown in the system
information box.  The memory space required to print the
current image is shown.  If the net memory indicates there is
insufficient memory available, the following steps can be
taken to increase the available memory.

        1. Change disk drives to a drive with more memory.
        2. Reduce the printing resolution.
        3. Reduce the printing area (printing height and
           width).


CHAPTER 15 - DXF CONVERSION

This chapter covers the DXF conversion process and is broken
into the following sub-sections:

        *  Conversion Process
        *  Entity Conversion


15.1  CONVERSION PROCESS


AutoDesk redefined the DXF format with the release of AutoCAD
version 2.0.  AutoRENDER will only support the newer
specification of DXF, i.e. 2.0 or higher.

All DXF entities are translated using standard floating point
notation (7 digits of accuracy).  If more than 7 digits of
accuracy is specified in the DXF file, the floating point
values will be truncated and a different representation of
the geometry may result.

Unless otherwise specified, the entity elevation value is
used to position the entity along the Z axis.

Layers or layer names are not supported by AutoRENDER,
therefore all layers are turned on during the translation
process.

All line types are transferred as solid lines.


15.2  ENTITY CONVERSION

All DXF entities are converted to one of two AutoRENDER
entity types. These two entities are facet (polygon) and
polyline.  The facet is a multisided planar surface patch
made up of 3D points that define its boundary.  A minimum of
three points are allowed to define a facet.  The polyline
entity is a 3D line made up of a minimum of two points.


3DFACE

The 3DFACE entity is translated as a closed facet in 3D
space.  Thickness and elevation values are ignored.  The
forward or backward direction of the face is defined by the
direction of the first three points (see section 7.2).


3DLINE

The 3DLINE entity is translated as a polyline in 3D space.
Thickness and elevation values are ignored.


ARC

The ARC entity will be translated as a polyline with the
number of segments based on the user specified number of
sides in a circle.  If a thickness is specified, the arc will
be extruded along the z axis according to the sign of the
thickness, i.e. positive thickness will extrude in the
positive Z direction.


ATTDEF

The ATTDEF entity is not supported at this time.


ATTRIB

The ATTRIB entity is not supported at this time.


BLOCK

The BLOCK entity will be translated as a definition for the
insert entity.  The only restriction is that the block will
retain the original creation color and not the layer's color
on which it is inserted.


CIRCLE

The CIRCLE entity will be translated as a facet with the
number of sides on the circle specified by the user.  If the
entity has a thickness, the circle will be extruded along the
Z axis in a direction corresponding to the sign of the
thickness.


DIMENSION

The DIMENSION entity is not supported at this time.


INSERT

The INSERT entity will insert the duplicate entity which was
defined as a block.


LINE

The LINE entity will be translated as a polyline if no
thickness is assigned, otherwise a four sided facet will be
created by extruding the line along the Z axis.  The
extrusion direction will correspond to the sign of the
thickness.


POINT

The POINT entity will be translated as a polyline only if
there is a thickness specified, otherwise this entity will be
ignored.


POLYLINE and VERTEX

The POLYLINE entity is supported as of Autodesk's Release 9
which includes curves, splines, wide lines, and polyarcs.
The wide lines are not translated as filled entities, they
are translated as a closed facet which defines the outside of
the wide line.  In all cases, if a thickness is given the
entity will be extruded along the Z axis in a direction
corresponding to the sign of the thickness.  The only
variation from AutoCAD's representation of a polyline is that
a wide polyarc in AutoCAD will not be shown as a series of
four sided facets, but rather as one facet.


SHAPE

The SHAPE entity is not supported at this time.


SOLID

See Trace.


TRACE

The TRACE and SOLID entities are handled identically and will
be translated as a three or four sided closed facet.  If a
thickness is specified, the facet will be extruded along the
Z axis in a direction corresponding to the sign of the
thickness.


TEXT

The TEXT entity is not supported at this time.


VERTEX

See Polyline.


APPENDIX A - DEFINITIONS

Appendix A contains an alphabetic listing of important
concepts and terms used by AutoRENDER and found in this
manual.


ABORT

To abort is to exit command execution and throw away all
input.  When a command is aborted, the model is not affected
in any way.  The Command Window returns to the main menu and
all intermediate data entry is forgotten.  The <Esc> key is
used to abort a command unless otherwise specified.


AXIS

The terms Axis and Coordinate Frame are often interchanged in
this manual.  Refer to the following definitions for more
information:  Coordinate Frames; Screen Coordinate Frame; and
World Coordinate Frame.


BACK FACING

Back Facing refers to the condition where the polygons on the
back side (the surfaces facing away from the user) of each
entity are not displayed.  Removing the back facing facets
does not mean that all hidden lines are removed.  Refer to
Hidden Line Removal.


BACKGROUND COLOR

The Background Color is the color assumed by all pixels on
the display that do not identify entities, the Command/Status
Window, and text. The Background Color is selected with the
Pick Color command (see section 8.1).


COMMAND WINDOW

The Command Window appears in the box at the bottom of the
display.  It contains executable command strings.


COORDINATE FRAMES

AutoRENDER uses two distinct coordinate frames to facilitate
the display of models:

        Screen Coordinate Frame
        World Coordinate Frame

The terms Coordinate Frame and Axis are often interchanged in
this manual.


ENTITY

Entity is a term used to refer to 3 dimensional items in the
model resulting from the transfer of entities from the
original DXF file.


EXTENT

Extent is the number of units, in the given units of
measurement, that the shortest dimension of the display area
represents.  For example, an extent of 1000.0 mm means that
the display can accomodate all entities in the model that are
contained in a width or height of 1000.0 mm.

The extent can be modified at any time to include or exclude
various parts of the model.  The extent is calculated to fill
the shortest screen dimension, usually the vertical
dimension.


FIELD OF VIEW

The Field of View (extent) refers to that part of the model
that is currently shown on the display.  It is possible to
zoom in on part of the model or view the entire model at any
specific time.  The Field of View is established with the
Pick Extent option (see section 8.2).


FOREGROUND COLOR

The Foreground Color is the color in which wireframes are
drawn.  The Foreground Color is also used to highlight the
edges of entities when the Fill Surface Facets display mode
is active (see section 11.3).

The Foreground Color is selected from the Pick Color command,
section 8.1.


HIDDEN LINE REMOVAL

Hidden Line Removal refers to the condition where all lines
that could not be seen in the cuurent model are removed.
When the Hidden Line Removal display mode is selected,
surfaces that could not be seen because one object lies in
front of another are removed.


IMAGE (.PIC) FILE

An image file is a pictoral representation of what appears on
the display; a pixel map that stores each pixel (if on, what
color, etc.).  AutoRENDER appends .PIC to Image files unless
the user appends an extension.  The image .PIC file is in the
HALO format.  Thus, these images can be used with other
programs that use the HALO .PIC format, such as Dr. HALO and
Halo DPE.  An Image file is a function of screen resolution,
number of pixels on the monitor and therefore may not be
compatible with other monitors.  Image files cannot be
manipulated when they are reloaded as they do not contain any
entity information.


KEYPAD

Some of the most powerful features of AutoRENDER involve the
use of the keypad.  The keypad refers to the set of keys
normally on the right most portion of the keyboard.  The Move
World command (section 9.4) and Zoom Window command (section
10.3) use the keypad.


MODEL

The total of all entities in AutoRENDER.  These entities are
associated together by a coordinate frame that defines their
position relative to the screen.


NORMAL

A normal is a vector (line) that is perpendicular to a planar
surface, projecting in the direction the surface is facing
(i.e. it is located on the front side of the surface).  Every
surface facet in AutoRENDER has an associated normal.

The direction of the normal to the surface facet is important
when Fast Display processing is active (see section 7.2).


<num> (NUMBER)

When related to input, <num> means a positive integer number
(1, 2, etc.).


ORIENTATION

Orientation refers to the angles at which an entity is
located with respect to a given coordinate frame.  For
example, it refers to the angles at which the world is
located with respect to the Screen Coordinate Frame.

The word orientation has a different meaning from the word
position.  See also position.


PIXELS

Pixels are the individual dots of light on the screen.  Each
monitor has an associated screen resolution in number of
pixels.  This resolution may vary depending upon the video
graphics board used.  For example, a standard EGA card has a
screen resolution of 640 x 350 pixels.  A PGA card has a
resolution of 640 x 480 pixels.

Image files store a map of which pixels are on/off and what
colors are represented.  Because of this, an image file
generated on a monitor with one screen resolution cannot be
transferred to a monitor with another resolution.


PLANAR

Planar refers to a series of points that all reside in a
single plane.  In AutoRENDER, planar means that all points on
a surface facet lie in one plane.


POINT LIGHT SOURCE

Point Light Source refers to shading entities in multiple
shades of each primary color.  AutoRENDER uses a single light
source to determine the various shades.  Surfaces are
rendered in the various shades of the entity color and edges
are not highlighted.


POSITION

Position refers to the (X,Y,Z) coordinate location
(translation) of an entity.  In this context, the meaning of
the word position differs from that of orientation.  See also
orientation.


RENDERING

Refer to Surface Rendering or Point Light Source.


RIGHT HAND RULE

To correctly use the Fast Display Command (Section 7.2), you
must understand the Right Hand Rule.

The Right Hand Rule determines the direction of the normal to
a surface (or which way the surface is facing).  To be
correctly defined, all surfaces of an entity must face out.

The direction of the normal is determined by wrapping the
fingers of the right hand in the direction in which the first
three points of the given surface or facet were generated.
The thumb then points in the direction of the normal.  Thus,
when creating a facet, the points must be generated or added
in a counterclockwise direction for the facet to be facing
forward (for the normal to be projecting out of the screen).

When rotating the world, the Right Hand Rule determines the
direction of the rotation.  For example, if you rotate the
world in a positive direction about the X axis, point your
thumb in the direction of the positive X axis.  Your fingers
then wrap in the direction the world is rotated.


ROTATION

Rotation refers to moving an entity about or around a
specified axis.  In essence, rotation changes the orientation
of an entity.  This differs from translation, which refers to
moving an entity along or parallel to a given axis.
Rotations in AutoRENDER are performed in accordance with the
Right Hand Rule.  See also Right Hand Rule.


SCREEN COORDINATE FRAME

The Screen Coordinate Frame is a fixed axis associated with
the monitor display.  Its positive X axis always extends to
the right, the positive Y axis up and the positive Z axis is
normal to the screen (i.e. it projects out of the screen).


SCREEN VIEW WINDOW

The Screen View Window is where the model appears on the
display and where drawing takes place.  The actual model may
extend beyond the display area.  The Command/Status Window
displays the current command options.  Information about
AutoRENDER also appears in the Command/Status Window.


STATUS WINDOW

The Status Window is the box that appears at the bottom of
the display.  It will contain status information selected by
the <F1> through <F5> function keys.


STEP SIZE

The concept of step size in used in conjunction with the
keypad.  Step size refers to the number of units the world is
translated with each strike of the appropriate keypad key.
It refers to the number of degrees the world is rotated with
each keystroke.   Step size is also used with the Zoom Window
function to refer to the relative speed with which the window
is moved or scaled.


SURFACE FACET

A surface facet is a bounded surface contained in a single
plane.  The boundaries are called edges.  To be defined, a
surface facet must consist of at least three nonlinear
points.


SURFACE RENDERING

Surface Rendering refers to the process of shading or filling
in all surface facets. When the model is shaded, it more
clearly resembles its actual real life counterpart.  Surfaces
are shaded in the appropriate entity color and edges are
highlighted in the Foreground Color.


TEXT COLOR

The Text Color refers to the color in which the text in the
Command/Status Window is displayed.


TRANSLATION

Translation refers to moving the world along or parallel to
the screen coordinate frame.  This differs from rotation
which refers to moves about or around the screen coordinate
frame.


UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

AutoRENDER works with the following units of measurement.

        Millimeters (mm)
        Centimeters (cm)
        Meters (m)
        Inches (in)
        Feet (ft)
        Yards (yd)

When the units are selected, AutoRENDER converts all values
to the specified units.


VIEW DISTANCE

View Distance refers to the distance from which the model is
viewed.  This is defined as the distance from the eye point
to the focal point. The view distance is used to calculate
the perspective effect when the Perspective Display feature
is on.  The shorter the view distance, the more dramatic the
effect of perspective.


WORLD

The World refers to the entire 3D space that is available for
the placement of entities of a model.  Although you only work
within a given field of view at any time, the actual size of
the world is virtually unlimited.  Positions and orientations
of the world are based on the World Coordinate Frame.


WORLD COORDINATE FRAME

The World Coordinate Frame is the X, Y, Z axis associated
with the entire model.  When the World Coordinate Frame is
moved, all entities in the model are moved.


ZOOM WINDOW

The Zoom Window is a 2D window that appears in the Model
Display Area.  This window is associated with the Zoom Window
Command, section 10.3.  The Zoom Window zooms in on the portion
of the screen that is enclosed in the window.  When the zoom
is executed, the portion of the display enclosed in the
window fills the entire screen.


APPENDIX B - ERROR MESSAGES

In this appendix, AutoRENDER error messages are summarized
along with a brief review of probable causes for each one.
The errors have been grouped into the following categories:

      File I/O Errors
      Math Errors
      Memory Errors
      Printer Errors
      User Input Errors
      Warnings

Each Error Message category is presented in a separate
section of this Appendix.


B.1  FILE I/O ERRORS

File Input/Output (I/O) errors occur when reading/writing
information from/to files.  The following AutoRENDER I/O
error messages are possible:

Aren1.ovl Not Found!
      This program overlay does not exist in the current
      directory.

Aren1.ovl Corrupted!
      This program overlay has been modified or does not
      function properly.  Reconfigure AutoRENDER.

Aren2.ovl Not Found!
      This program overlay does not exist in the current
      directory.

Aren2.ovl Corrupted!
      This program overlay has been modified or does not
      function properly.  Reconfigure AutoRENDER.

Cannot Create Temp File!
      Not enough room on the disk to create a temporary file.
      Make more room and try again.

Error Reading File!
      Failure to read an open file.

Error Writing File!
      Ran out of disk space while attempting to write file.

Image/Video Card Incompatible!
      An attempt has been made to load an image file that was
      saved from an incompatible graphics board. The image
      file must have been saved from a board with screen
      dimensions and color attributes equivalent to the one
      in current use (i.e. EGA will not load onto PGA).

Invalid DXF File Format!
      The specified DXF file contains information that is not
      compatible with AutoRENDER and does not adhere to the
      DXF standard.  This error may or may not terminate the
      DXF translation process.  A file, <filename>.log, is
      written to the disk and contains the line numbers of
     the DXF file where the error occurred.  The filename
     corresponds to the name of the DXF file being converted.

Unable To Modify Configuration File!
      Aconfig.dat could not be found in the current
      directory.  See Pick Screen Ratio, section 8, and
      Pick Color Text, section 8.

Unable To Open File!
      The user-specified path/filename.ext does not exist.
      Path/filename strings cannot be longer than 25
      characters.


B.2  MATH ERRORS

The following error messages occur when AutoRENDER performs
calculations and the result is not a valid answer:

Can't Calculate Plane Coeff!
      This error is generated when AutoRENDER attempts to
      calculate plane coefficients for a facet whose first
      three nodes lie on a straight line, or on top of each
      other.

When AutoRENDER cannot calculate a facet's coefficients
during the drawing process, it simply does not display the
facet.  This error is not fatal and generally does not
indicate a serious problem with the model.  It is simply a
warning indicating that one of the facets in the model is not
a valid plane surface and will not be displayed when Fast
Display, Hidden Line Removal, or Rendering is selected.

Floating Point Exception - Restart!
      This error is most likely to be caused by a bad A3D
      file.  Strike any key and you will be returned to DOS.

Math Error - Invalid Input!
      User input (i.e. screen extent) was probably too large.
      Strike any key and AutoRENDER will return to the main
      menu.


B.3  MEMORY ERRORS

Memory errors occur when no more memory is available or when
memory must be reallocated.  The following memory error
messages are possible:

CANNOT ALLOCATE MEMORY FOR DATABASE
      If AutoRENDER is too large to be loaded on top of
      software or drivers that are already loaded into
      memory, it gives you this message.  You can free up the
      memory necessary to load AutoRENDER by removing the
      memory-resident software/drivers.

ERROR IN DATABASE CONFIGURATION
      This indicates that the host computer does not have
      sufficient memory to support the current database
      configuration.  Remove memory-resident software.

MEMORY NOT AVAILABLE FOR OPERATION!
      The DXF file is too large to completely translate to
      A3D file format.  If you get this error message while
      you are rendering (shading) a model, you may still be
      able to shade the model properly by rotating it about
      the screen Z axis.

MUST HAVE AT LEAST 512 KB OF RAM
      AutoRENDER will not run on machines that have less than
      512 KB of RAM.

NOT ENOUGH MEMORY
      Because of memory-resident software or drivers, there
      is not enough RAM available to load and run AutoRENDER.

UNABLE TO TRANSLATE DXF FILE, DRAWING TRUNCATED!
      The specified DXF file contains more information than
      AutoRENDER can handle.  As much information as possible
      was used and the rest was discarded.


B.4  PRINTER ERRORS

Printer errors occur during an attempt to print from
AutoRENDER.  The following printer error messages are
possible:

HALO PRINTER ERROR: Device timeout!
      AutoRENDER has aborted a print request due to an
      inability to communicate with the printer.  Check
      cabling or printer status.

HALO PRINTER ERROR: I/O Error!
      A failure has occurred during communication with the
      printing device.  Check cabling or printer status.

HALO PRINTER ERROR: Paper Out!
      The printing device has reported that it is unable to
      begin or continue printing.  Check printer paper or
      status.

HALO PRINTER ERROR: User Abort!
      The user has requested that the print job be aborted.


B.5  USER INPUT ERRORS

User input errors result from improper input for the given
variable or for the computer configuration.  The following
are the input error messages:

Distance Too Large!
      The largest distance (absolute value) that AutoRENDER
      will accept is 1.0E+9 meters.

Invalid Color Selection!
      An attempt was made to select a color that is not
      available with the video graphics board currently
      installed.

Invalid Input!
      This is a generic error message used to flag inputs
      that do not fit in the context of the command receiving
      them.

Invalid Request!
      This is a generic message that AutoRENDER uses to tell
      you that it cannot perform the requested operation.

Too Many Divisions!
      AutoRENDER memory constraints do not allow the addition
      of a circle or radius with the number of divisions
      specified.

Video Card Color Palette Inadequate!
      An attempt has been made to activate the Light Source
      Rendering when the current video graphics card does not
      support 256 simultaneous colors.


B.6  WARNINGS

The following warnings are given when you are about to
execute an improper operation:


OPERATION ABORTED!
      A AutoRENDER command procedure was interrupted with the
     <Escape> key.

OPERATION FAILED!
      This error is internal to AutoRENDER.  If it occurs,
      call the AutoRENDER support line.

UNABLE TO INITIALIZE
     AutoRENDER was unable to read the configuration file
     named "ACONFIG.DAT".  This error should never occur
     unless the file has been corrupted by an attempt to edit
     it.  If this error message occurs, you should
     reconfigure by running the ACONFIG Program.