INTRODUCTION This disc contains an electronic version of the SIGGRAPH 96 Conference Proceedings. All of the contents of that book are included on the disc, along with additional electronic documents provided by the authors, and tools to use in viewing the disc's contents. This document contains a number of sections: - ADOBE ACROBAT PDF DOCUMENTS Information about Adobe Acrobat's PDF file format. - INCLUDED SOFTWARE Support software found on this CD-ROM. - DISC CONTENTS Complete listing of files found on this CD-ROM. We hope that you find this electronic publication useful. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADOBE ACROBAT PDF DOCUMENTS The majority of the documents on this CD-ROM are in the Adobe Acrobat PDF file format; installing one of the Acrobat Reader applications found on this CD-ROM or using an already-installed version of Acrobat Reader will help you to get the most benefit from this CD-ROM publication. For most supported platforms, the version of Adobe Acrobat Reader software found on this CD-ROM includes advanced searching capabilities. There are a few features of the Adobe Acrobat PDF file format that we would like to mention: - the files titled AUTHINDX.PDF and CONTENTS.PDF are lists of contributors, papers and panel statements. Each entry in these files is linked to another PDF document on the CD-ROM. If you select a paper's title, or a contributor's name, the PDF document attached to the link will automatically open. To return to the previous document, select the double left arrow on the Adobe Acrobat Reader menubar. - A number of papers have supplemental QuickTime animation files associated with them. Wherever possible, these animation files have been linked to still images in the Adobe Acrobat PDF files. Each image-to-animation link is distinguishable in two ways: - the image itself is bordered with a thin black box, and - when the cursor is moved over the image, the cursor will change to a "pointing index finger" shape. When an image-to-animation link is selected, an application capable of displaying a QuickTime animation will be started, and the animation passed to it. Your computer system may already be configured to handle this. If not, the configuration is simple. UNIX users should read the "PDFQTHLP.TXT" document found on this CD-ROM for more information. - Each paper has been enhanced with "article following" -- if you click in the title area of the papers, you will see an enlarged view of the paper, and be able to read it, column by column, from start to finish. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- INCLUDED SOFTWARE A suite of software has been included on this CD-ROM to assist the user in successfully viewing the electronic documents on the CD-ROM. Included are the following applications: - Adobe Acrobat Reader -- Adobe Acrobat PDF file reader for Macintosh / UNIX / DOS / Windows platforms - Apple QuickTime -- animation display software for Macintosh / Windows platforms - Compact Pro -- file compression software for the Macintosh platform - Sound Machine -- audio player software for the Macintosh platform - Sparkle -- MPEG animation software for the Macintosh platform - suntar -- UNIX "tar" format file software for the Macintosh platform - xanim -- animation display software for UNIX platforms - xpdf -- public-domain PDF file reader for UNIX platforms --------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISC CONTENTS At the top level you will find several files and directories. Their names and contents are: ACROBAT - directory Contains Adobe Acrobat Reader software for Macintosh / UNIX / DOS / Windows platforms. Each package has its own installation script, and a "README" file that will guide you through the installation process. AUTHINDX.PDF - file This file contains an alphabetically ordered list of all contributors to the SIGGRAPH 96 Conference Proceedings, with each entry linked to that contributor's PDF document on the disc. AWARD.PDF - file This file contains the SIGGRAPH 96 Computer Graphics Achievement Award text and awardee's image. CONTENTS.PDF - file This file contains the Table of Contents of the disc, with each entry linked to its PDF version on the disc. Once you have installed the appropriate Acrobat Reader application you can navigate the entire disc from this file. If you are using the Acrobat Reader version 1.0 reader, you will need to open each file individually -- the links built into this file will not function. COPYRITE.MAC - file This file contains the standard ACM Copyright Notice. COVERS.PDF - file This file contains the front and back covers, frontispiece (or title page), and cover image credits from the conference proceedings book. INDEX - directory This directory contains files used by the Adobe Acrobat Search engine. Of particular interest is the file with ".pdx" suffix -- it contains the Acrobat Search index for this disc. If you wish to take advantage of the advanced searching capabilities built into the version of Adobe Acrobat Reader accompanying this CD-ROM, it is this file you should access when initializing the search process. PANELS - directory This directory contains PDF versions of each of the panel statements, as well as the SIGGRAPH 96 Panels Chair's preface remarks. PAPERS - directory This directory contains PDF versions of all of the papers presented at the SIGGRAPH 96 conference, including supplemental electronic documents provided by the author. Also included is the SIGGRAPH 96 Papers Chair's preface remarks. PDFQTHLP.MAC - file This file contains instructions for configuring the UNIX version of Adobe Acrobat Reader so that linked QuickTime movies will be displayed in the "xanim" application when they are selected from within a PDF document. READ_1ST.MAC - file This file. SUPPRTSW - directory This directory contains software which will assist in uncompressing and displaying various kinds of documents. Software is available for Macintosh, UNIX, and Windows platforms. SUPPORT.MAC - file This file contains information on how to obtain technical support or to pass along comments and questions concerning this CD-ROM.