Reference, Part 2 Menus FILE MENU Many of the Virtus WalkThrough VRML File menu options and commands are standard for the Windows operating system. These include New, Open, Close, Save, Save As, Print Setup, Print and Quit. If you are not familiar with these options and commands, review your Windows documentation. New Creates and opens a new Virtus WalkThrough file. Open Displays the standard Windows Open dialog from which you can select an existing file to open. Close Closes the current file. If you made any changes to the file since the last time you saved it, you will be prompted to save the changes before the file is closed. Save Saves the current file under the currently used name. Save As Opens the standard Windows Save As dialog, which allows you to save the current file under a new name. Revert to Saved Opens the last saved version of the current file. If you select this option, any changes made to the model since the last time you saved it will be lost unless you first use Save As and save the changes to the file under another name. Print Setup Opens the standard Windows Print Setup dialog with which you choose printout size, paper orientation and other printing features. Print Prints the active window centered on the page and enlarged within the constraints of the page. However, what you see is what you print. To print an entire Design View, select the Design View to make it active, zoom out until you can see all the objects, then choose Print. To print the Walk View, navigate in the Walk View to the desired viewing angle, then choose Print. When printing the Walk View, if your printer does not print grayscales, you may wish to print black object frames with white shading. This gives you a clean, black line drawing. To print objects with black frames and white shading, click Print White (so the checkbox is not selected) and choose Black Frames in the Preferences, Rendering dialog. Snapshot Allows you to save a view of a Virtus WalkThrough VRML model in BMP (bitmap) format (Windows) and PICT (Macintosh). The saved view can be a particular perspective in the Walk View, the drawing in a Design View, the Surface Editor window, the Tumble Editor window or a recorded walk path. Snapshot displays a pop-up menu listing possible file formats to save the snapshot in. In Virtus WalkThrough VRML, only the BMP and PICT formats are supported. To take a snapshot, click the window you wish to take the snapshot of (to make it the active window), then select Snapshot: BMP/PICT. Select the desired options for the snapshot and click OK. The options for the BMP snapshot are described below. If Aspect Ratio is selected in the Preferences, Navigation dialog, the selected aspect ratio will be applied to the snapshot, overriding the Size selection in the Snapshot dialog. After Snapshot: BMP is selected, a dialog with options specific to the BMP format type is displayed. After all options are selected for Snapshot, the standard Save As dialog will appear, from which you can select or type a file name for your snapshot. BMP Snapshot Options Size A pop-up menu with a list of common screen sizes measured in pixels, from which you can choose a size for the snapshot. Also on the pop-up is the Custom option, which allows you to enter a custom pixel width and height in the text boxes next to the pop-up menu. Color Displays a pop-up of 2, 16, 256 or Millions from which you can select a color mode. Also displayed is the Grayscale checkbox, which will save the snapshot in shades of gray if your monitor supports this mode. The number of shades of gray depends on which option is selected under the pop-up. Compression Includes the options On or Off. The default is On. Most software capable of reading the BMP format can deal with compressed format; however, some software cannot. If you have trouble reading a BMP snapshot into another program, try turning off compression. EXPORT VRML... Virtual Reality Modeling Language file format LIBRARY Allows you to create a new object library or open an existing object library. Choosing Library displays the standard Open dialog from which you can select an existing library to open. Once a library is open, Library items can be added to or copied from the library. An open library displays a window containing a list of Library item names and a Walk View where the library items are displayed one at a time. Clicking a name in the library list causes the associated library item to appear in the Walk View. In the Library Walk View, you can navigate around and through the library items. (See Navigation Methods.) To select an object from an existing library and copy it into your model, open the desired library and click on the desired library item name in the list. Copy the object by choosing Copy under the Edit menu. Make a Design View of your model active by clicking it or by selecting the appropriate Design View name from under the Window menu. (You do not have to close the open library, but you may. If you are planning to copy another object from the same library, it will be more efficient to leave the library open.) Point in the Design View where you want the library item to be placed and click. Check the appropriate Depth Control endpoint. (See Depth Control.) You can quickly check the floor marker by looking at the -f reading in the Position Indicator of the Tools window. Paste the object by selecting Paste under the Edit menu. Creating Library Items Library items are actually Virtus WalkThrough VRML models. They are usually, but not necessarily, built on a small scale. The more surfaces and the more translucencies and transparencies you have in a library item, the slower your rendering speed. Try to keep your library items as plain as possible. You can create library items while in an existing model or as a separate model. It is usually easier to create a library item if there are no objects nearby because working on a small scale requires you to be zoomed in very close; it is sometimes difficult to select a small object if larger objects are in the vicinity. A library item is usually several objects combined. Before adding a library item to a library, it is important to remember to group the objects by selecting all of them and choosing Group under the Design menu. Grouped objects are treated as a single entity. (See Group.) To add a library item to a library, create the library item and group it using the Group command under the Design menu. Select the grouped library item and copy it by choosing Copy under the Edit menu. Select Library under the File menu and open an existing library or select New to create a new library. Paste the library item by choosing Paste under the Edit menu. If you are adding the library item to an existing library, select the name of the existing library item occupying the position where you want your new library item to be located. When you paste the new library item, the existing library item name and any library item names below it will move down in the library list and your new library item will assume the space. When you add a library item to a library, the name of the new library item in the library list will default to Object #. To change the name of a library item, highlight Object # in the list by clicking on it. Point to the highlighted name, press and hold down the mouse button. The existing name will appear to the right of the list. Drag the pointer to the right to highlight the name, then release the mouse button. A pop-up will appear where you can type the new name of the library item. Exit Exits Virtus WalkThrough. If a model is open and changes were made since the last time it was saved, you will be prompted to save any changes before exiting. EDIT MENU Undo Reverses the last operation. This command is available in the Design Views as well as all Editors. Cut Removes any selected objects, surface features or slices and places them in the clipboard. Cut objects, surface features and slices can then be pasted with the Paste command. (See Paste.) Copy Copies any selected objects, surface features or slices to the clipboard. The difference between Copy and Cut is that Copy leaves the original in place, and Cut removes the original. Copied objects, surface features and slices can then be pasted with the Paste command. (See Paste.) Duplicate Makes an exact copy of a selected object or surface feature and places it on or near the original. Duplicate does not copy to the clipboard as does the Copy command. (See Copy.) Duplicate will duplicate objects as well as object placement, scaling and rotation. For example, if you create an object, duplicate that object, and position the duplicate on the right side of the original so that the objects appear to be touching, you can then select Duplicate again and an identical object will be joined on the right side of the first duplicate. The duplicate's position relative to the object it duplicated is maintained as long as it remains selected. If you continue choosing Duplicate, the objects will continue duplicating to the right until you have a line of identical objects. This can be extremely helpful in modeling objects such as staircases...even spiral staircases. When you create the first duplicate, it carries the object's position, scaling and rotation information. It must remain selected until the next duplication or this information will be lost. When the next duplicate is made, the position, scaling and rotation are passed to it, and it must remain selected until the next duplication or the information will be lost. Changes to object type are not duplicated. For example, if you create an object 10 feet tall and then duplicate it and increase the height of the duplicate to 15 feet, subsequent duplicates will have a height of 15 feet; they will not grow in height by increments of five feet. If you wish to accomplish the effect of an incremental increase in size or shape, you must use the Scale Object Tool to adjust the size or shape of the first duplicate and then duplicate it. The Duplicate command duplicates all manipulations to the entire object. It does not duplicate edits to part of an object. Paste Pastes the contents of the Clipboard into the model. Clipboard contents can include objects, surface features or slices. Different rules apply for where these types of Clipboard content can be pasted. For example, you cannot paste a slice in the Design View because a slice has no meaning there. A slice can be pasted only in the Tumble Editor. Similarly, surface features have meaning only in the Surface Editor, and object polygonal outlines have meaning only in the Design View. When pasting an object in the Design View or a surface feature in the Surface Editor, first click where you want the center of the object or feature to be pasted, then choose Paste. When pasting a slice in the Tumble Editor, the angle of the slice is pasted as well as the position of the slice relative to the apparent origin and rotation of the object. A slice has a position and angle in the Tumble Editor; if copied and pasted, it will assume the same position. Paste also allows objects and grouped objects to be pasted to or from a library or another model. Delete (Del) Removes selected objects, surface features or slices without placing them in the Clipboard. Selected objects, surface features and slices can also be deleted by pressing the Del key or the Backspace key. The difference between Cut and Delete is that Delete removes objects completely, whereas Cut removes objects to the clipboard so that they may be pasted again. If you inadvertently cut or delete something, the Undo command under the Edit menu will reverse the last operation if you choose Undo immediately after cutting or deleting. Modify Selected A pullout submenu of modifiers that may be applied to selected objects in the Design View and to selected surface features in the Surface Editor. If a particular option is not available, it will be grayed. If the Walk View is active, all options are gray. All of the options in the Modify Selected submenu mirror the tools in the Design View Tools window or in the Surface Editor Tools window. The Modify Selected options are: UnRotate Removes any rotation of an object or surface feature applied with the Rotate Object Tool. You can also remove any rotation by selecting the object or surface feature and double-clicking the Rotate Object Tool in the Tools window. UnScale Reverses any scaling modifications of an object or surface feature that were applied with the Scale Object Tool. Scaling can also be reversed by double-clicking the Scale Object Tool in the Tools window. UnSkew Removes any skew modifications of an object that were applied with the Skew Object Tool. Skewing can also be removed by double-clicking the Skew Object Tool in the Tools window. Color Opens the standard Windows Basic Color Palette and Custom Color Selector in one window. (The Color Palette and Custom Color Selector are normally displayed in separate windows.) With this option, you may choose a new display color for all selected objects. To select a new display color for the selected objects, point to the desired color in the Windows Basic Color Palette and click. To define a custom color for the selected objects, point to a shade of color in the color refiner box (within the Custom Color Selector) and click. To the left of the color refiner box is the Windows Vertical Luminosity Bar (brightness control). You may slide the Vertical Luminosity Bar up or down to change the shade of a color in the color refiner box, thus creating a custom color. If you wish to add a selected custom color to the Windows Basic Color Palette, click Add. (See your Windows documentation for more about standard Windows color functionality.) The color of a selected object or surface feature can also be changed by dragging open the Color Bar in the Tools window. Opaque Makes a selected object or surface feature opaque (solid). If individual object surface opacities have been modified with the Surface or Tumble Editors, they will not be affected by this command. The object as a whole becomes opaque, but individual surface edits override this modify command. A selected object or surface feature can also be made opaque by double-clicking the Make Opaque Modifier in the Tools window. Translucent Makes a selected object or surface feature translucent (like glass). If individual object surface opacities have been modified with the Surface or Tumble Editors, they will not be affected by this command. The object as a whole becomes translucent, but individual surface edits override this modify command. A selected object or surface feature can also be made translucent by double-clicking the Make Translucent Modifier in the Tools window. Transparent Makes a selected object or surface feature transparent (invisible) except for a wire frame. (See Preferences, Rendering for more about wire frames.) If individual surface opacities have been modified with the Surface or Tumble Editors, they will not be affected by this command. The object as a whole becomes transparent, but individual surface edits override this modify command. A selected object or surface feature can also be made transparent by double-clicking the Make Transparent Modifier in the Tools window. Single Inflates a selected object in one direction if it is already inflated in two directions. For example, if an object is inflated double-rounded, like a sphere, the Single modifier will make the object inflate rounded, like a dome. A selected object can also be inflated in one direction by double-clicking the desired Inflation Modifier in the Tools window. Double Inflates a selected object in two directions if it is already inflated in one direction. For example, if an object is inflated pointed, like a pyramid, the Double modifier will make the object inflate double-pointed, like a diamond. A selected object can also be inflated in two directions by double-clicking the desired Inflation Modifier in the Tools window. Flip Reverses the direction of inflation for a selected object if the object is already inflated in one direction. A selected object can also be inflated in a reverse direction by double-clicking the desired Inflation Modifier in the Tools window. Straight Inflates an object with straight sides perpendicular to the object base, like a box. An object can also be inflated straight by double-clicking the Inflate Straight Modifier in the Tools window. Pointed Inflates an object with sides that converge to a point, like a pyramid. An object can also be inflated pointed by double-clicking the Inflate Pointed Modifier in the Tools window. Rounded Inflates an object with sides rounded to a point, like a dome. An object can also be inflated rounded by double-clicking the Inflate Rounded Modifier in the Tools window. Sides Allows you to change the number of sides for an object created with the N-Sided Object Tool. The maximum number of sides allowed is 32; however, the more sides in your objects, the slower your walk speed. With this command, you can alter the existing sides of objects. (See Preferences, Defaults). Levels Allows you to change the number of levels for an object whose inflation type is rounded or double-rounded. The maximum number of levels allowed is 16; however, the more levels in your objects, the slower your walk speed. With this command, you can alter the existing levels of objects. Levels of a rounded object are doubled if the object is inflated double-rounded. When an object is double-rounded, the maximum number of levels is 32, 16 levels in one direction and 16 in the opposite direction. (See also, Preferences, Defaults.) Select All Selects all objects (displays all handles). If your entire model is being created as a library item, use the Select All command to select all the objects and then group them with Group under the Design menu. All objects can also be selected by double-clicking the Select Object Tool. UnSelect Unselects objects or surface features (removes handles). Another method of unselecting is clicking on the background in the Design View or Surface Editor. Hide Selected Hides selected objects and surface features. Hiding objects or surface features allows you to work with overlapping objects or surface features without having to shuffle them. (See Surface Editor for more about overlapping surface features.) By default, hidden objects are hidden in the Design View and surface features are hidden in the Surface Editor, but they remain visible in the Walk View. By using the Option key (Macintosh) or Ctrl key (Windows) in conjunction with Hide Selected, you can hide objects and surface features in the Walk View. To hide objects in the Walk View, select the object(s) or surface feature(s), hold down the Option key (Macintosh) or Ctrl key (Windows) and choose Hide Selected under the Edit menu. Use of the Option key (Macintosh) or Ctrl key (Windows) with this menu command nullifies the use of the Ctrl-H (Windows) key equivalent. You must always select from the menu if you use the Option/Ctrl key. Once objects or surface features are hidden in the Walk View, you can hide them in the Design Views and Surface Editor as well. Selecting Show All or double-clicking the Hide Object Tool shows your hidden objects and surface features. The Show All command and the Hide Object Tool also function with the Option key (Macintosh) or Ctrl key (Windows). (See Show All.) Hidden objects and surface features are made visible before the model is saved so that all objects and surface features are displayed when the model is reopened. Show All Displays all objects or surface features that have been hidden with either the Hide Object Tool or the Hide Selected command. If objects or surface features are hidden in the Walk View, the Option key (Macintosh) or Ctrl key (Windows) must be held down in conjunction with Show All to display them. If you use the Option key (Macintosh) or Ctrl key (Windows) with this command, you must select the command from the menu; you cannot use the command key equivalent. Lock Selected Locks selected objects in the Design View and selected surface features in the Surface Editor. Locking objects or surface features prevents them from being edited. When an object or surface feature is locked, its polygonal outline is dotted rather than solid. Selecting UnLock All or double-clicking the Lock Object Tool will unlock all locked objects and surface features. The Lock Object Tool can also be used to lock objects and surface features. Locked objects and surface features are saved as locked; so if the model is saved, any locked objects or surface features remain locked when the model is reopened. UnLock All Unlocks all objects or surface features locked with the Lock Object Tool or with the Lock Selected command to allow editing. All locked objects or surface features can also be unlocked by double-clicking the Lock Object Tool. To unlock individual objects, hold down the Option key (Macintosh) or Ctrl key (Windows) and click the objects with the Lock Object Tool. (See Lock Object Tool.) Preferences Opens the Preferences dialog. The Preferences dialog allows you to set preferences for the appearance of the Design and Walk Views, navigation, measurement units and other application and model attributes. With the Preferences dialog, you can customize your application. The preferences are separated into different groups. To view the different groups of preferences, mouse down on the pop-up menu to the right of the word Preferences: and drag to select a group of preferences. Each time you save a Virtus WalkThrough model, any changes you made to the preference settings are saved with it. When you open the model again, its preferences are restored and override the application preferences. The buttons at the bottom of the dialog determine if the preference settings are to be used for new models, and they allow you to return the preferences to the factory-set defaults. Default Saves the current preferences as the application default preferences. Application default preferences apply to all new models you create. If you open an existing file, that file's preferences will override the application defaults. Revert Resets the preferences to the last selection of Default. If you wish to reset the preferences to the factory-set defaults for Windows, you must remove the VWALK. INI file from the VIRTUS directory located within the WINDOWS directory. If you wish to reset the preferences to the factory-set defaults for Macintosh, you must remove the WalkThrough Preferences file in the Preferences folder in the System Folder. OK Applies any Preferences dialog changes to the current model Cancel Voids any changes you made to the preferences The pop-up menu labeled Preferences at the top of the dialog has five selections. Each of the five selections displays specific options within the Preferences dialog. The five selections are Editor, Rendering, Navigation, Defaults and Units; their options are described below: Editor Preferences The Editor options allow you to change preferences common to the Design Views, Surface Editor and Tumble Editor. The Preferences, Editor options are: Aids Show Rulers - Displays rulers (see Rulers). Show Grid - Displays the background grid based on the ruler's major tick marks (see Grid). Show Depth - Displays the Depth Controls on the rulers (see Depth Controls). Show Guides - Displays Non-Reproducing Guidelines (see Non-Reproducing Guidelines). Show Origin - Displays Movable Origin (see Movable Origin). Snap to Grid - Snaps objects, surface features and slices to an invisible grid when they are created, moved or edited. The grid is based on the ruler tick marks in the Design View, Surface Editor and Tumble Editor. Handles of objects, surface features and slices will "snap" to the grid when Snap to Grid is selected. If you zoom in or out, the ruler tick marks change, therefore, the invisible grid changes. For example, if each tick mark represents one inch, handles snap to the nearest inch. If each tick mark represents one foot, handles snap to the nearest foot. If Snap to Grid is not selected, the ability to create, edit and move objects, surface features and slices is constrained only by screen pixels. If an object, surface feature or slice is created with Snap to Grid unselected and then edited or moved with Snap to Grid selected, the result is the object or surface feature will move in increments of the invisible grid but won't actually snap to the grid. This makes it possible for handles to fall between the ruler tick marks and trying to align objects or surface features can be tedious. However, if you move a handle rather than the whole object or surface feature, the handle will snap to the grid. Snap to Grid can also be selected and unselected under the Design menu, the Surface menu or the Tumble menu. Color Ruler - Allows you to specify ruler color (see Rulers, Color Bar). Grid - Allows you to specify Grid color (see Grid, Color Bar). Depth - Allows you to specify Depth Control color (see Depth Controls, Color Bar). Guide - Allows you to specify Non-Reproducing Guideline color (see Non-Reproducing Guidelines, Color Bar). Origin - Allows you to specify movable Origin color (see Origin, Color Bar). Background - Allows you to specify background color, the color of the drawing area in the Design Views, Surface Editor and Tumble Editor (see Color Bar). Tracking World - Displays information in the Coordinates Window in X, Y and Z coordinates (see Coordinates Window). View - Displays information in the Coordinates Window in horizontal and vertical screen coordinates (see Coordinates Window). Rendering Preferences The Rendering options allow you to change preferences related to rendering in the Walk View. The Preferences, Rendering options are: Shading Shaded - Displays objects with the effects of lighting. UnShaded - Displays object colors with no lighting effect. White - Displays objects with no color (white color fill) and no lighting effects. Drawing Fill & Frame - Displays both the color fill and wire frame of objects. Fill - Displays only the color fill of objects with no wire frame. Frame - Displays only the wire frame of objects. Frame color is a shade darker than the fill color unless Black Frames is selected. Black Frames Displays all object wire frames in black. If unselected, wire frames are displayed two shades darker than the color of the object or surface feature. Black Frames makes the distinction between two adjacent surfaces more apparent, which can be helpful when printing. Print Fill Prints objects with black lines and white surfaces (hidden line removal). The printed result is a clean line drawing. Openings See In Allows you to see in from outside an object, through translucent and transparent surfaces and surface features. See Out Allows you to see out from inside an object, through translucent and transparent surfaces and surface features. See Through Allows you to see connections between objects made with the Connect Surfaces Tool. Windows Users Only: Flash Graphics Turns on Virtus Corporation's drawing routines and uses those routines instead of standard Microsoft Windows drawing routines. Flash Graphics substantially speeds up the Virtus WalkThrough VRML application. Usually, Flash Graphics is turned on by default; however, some video boards are not compatible with Flash Graphics. The Virtus WalkThrough VRML application checks for compatibility with your system when you install, and if a conflict is detected, Flash Graphics is turned off. (See Requirements in Getting Started.) Dithering A technique that allows more colors, thus more color accurate renderings. Dithering is turned on by default. The downside of Dithering is that the screen appears more grainy. Blended Translucency Offers a smoother look to translucent surfaces and, in most cases, a faster walk speed. Blended Translucency applies the color of translucent surfaces to objects you can see beyond the translucent surfaces. If Blended Translucency is turned off (not selected), a colored dot pattern represents translucent surfaces in the rendering. Navigation Preferences The Navigation options allow you to change preferences related to navigating the Observer through the Walk View and related to Walk View features. The Navigation options are: Aids Button Down - If this option is selected, the Observer moves when the mouse button is pressed and stops when the mouse button is released. If this option is not selected, the Observer moves when the mouse button is released and stops when the mouse button is pressed. Collision Detection - If this option is selected, the Observer is prevented from moving through opaque and translucent surfaces and objects. Cross Hair - Displays a cross hair in the Walk View that is used as a reference point for direction and speed of the walk through (see Navigation Methods). Velocity Grid - Displays horizontal and vertical marks at increments relative to the cross hair where walk speed changes. Camera Film - Allows you to specify the size in millimeters of the image on film. Lens - Allows you to specify a lens focal length for the view. Film and Lens work together to determine the angle of view as illustrated. Aspect Ratio The aspect ratio is the ratio of horizontal to vertical screen dimensions. Aspect Ratio options are: 35 mm Horz 36:24, 35 mm Vert 24:36, 2. 25 Square 1.1, 4x5 Horz 5:4, 4x5 Vert 4:5, Television 133:1:00, Academy Aperture 133:100, Euro Wide Screen 166:100, US Wide Screen 185:100, Anamorphic Aperture 235:100. To change the aspect ratio, point to the aspect ratio pop-up and mouse down. Drag to select the desired aspect ratio. After selecting the desired aspect ratio, you must select the Aspect Ratio checkbox to apply the new aspect ratio to the Walk View. If the Aspect Ratio checkbox is selected, the aspect ratio displayed in the pop-up menu box will override any size options set in the Snapshot dialog. (See Snapshot.) Defaults Preferences The Defaults options allow you to change preferences related to object depth in the Design Views. The Preferences, Defaults options are: X - Sets the default Depth Control value (inflation distance and position) for objects inflated along the X axis. Values must be entered in base units. Y - Sets the default Depth Control value (inflation distance and position) for objects inflated along the Y axis. Values must be entered in base units. Z - Sets the default Depth Control value (inflation distance and position) for objects inflated along the Z axis. Values must be entered in base units. Home X, Y, Z - Sets the default home position in X, Y and Z coordinates. The Home position can also be changed with commands under the View menu. If you enter coordinates in the text boxes, you must enter the coordinates in base units. (See Model Unit.) Sides Allows you to specify the number of sides for an object or surface feature drawn with the N-Sided Object Tool. The maximum number of sides allowed is 32; however, the more sides in your model, the slower your walk speed. Try to keep the number of sides at the minimum required to represent the desired shape. Levels Allows you to specify the number of levels for an object whose inflation type is rounded or double-rounded. The maximum number of levels allowed is 16; however, the more levels in your objects, the slower your walk speed. Try to keep the number of levels at the minimum required to represent the desired shape. Levels of a rounded object are doubled if the object is inflated double-rounded. When an object is double-rounded, the maximum number of levels is 32, 16 levels in one direction and 16 in the opposite direction. Units Preferences The Units options allow you to change preferences related to measurement units and world size. The Virtus world is a cube of 65,536 base units across; however, you may select a measurement base unit. This allows the world to be virtually any size, measured in units ranging from angstroms to light-years. The relative resolution within the world does not change, however. This means that as the measurement unit size increases, the world becomes more granular. Conversely, as the size decreases, the world becomes more precise. The Preferences, Units options are: Ruler Unit Allows you to select a unit for display on the rulers in the Design Views, Surface Editor and Tumble Editor (see Promotable). Selecting Custom for Ruler Unit is a special case and is described below. Custom Allows you to select a custom ruler unit. Selecting this option displays the following: Custom Name - A text box in which you can enter the name of your custom unit. Sym - A text box in which you can enter the symbol that will appear on the rulers and will represent your custom unit. Size - A text box in which you can enter the size of your custom unit relative to one meter. Promotable - Determines if units are displayed on the rulers in sub-units and super-units as the zoom scale changes. For example, if you select Meter as the unit and promotable is selected, when you zoom in (after a point) the rulers will display Centimeters, and when you zoom out (after a point) the rulers will display Kilometers. Model Unit The two possible options for Model Unit are Size and World. Size allows you to specify a multiple or fraction of the unit you selected and assign the result as the base unit. This is helpful if you want your rendering to be more detailed. Since Virtus WalkThrough VRML renders to the nearest base unit, a base unit size of .25 inches gives a more precise rendering than a base unit size of 1ft. Also, any surfaces smaller than the base unit tend to collapse in on themselves when rendered in the Walk View. The downside of a smaller base unit is that the overall size of the world shrinks. If you are modeling several city blocks, a base unit of. 25 is impractical because the world will be too small to fit the city blocks. Likewise, you can enter a number in the World text box and change the overall size of the world. For example, the world is approximately 65K base units across. If you have meters selected as the unit, you can enter 2 in the Size text box. The result is a world of 65K two-meter base units or 130K meters across. Or if you decrease the size of the World text box to 32.5K and have meters selected as the unit, the base unit Size would be .5 meters. Size and World are directly proportional; as the size increases, the world also increases. To avoid rounding errors, multiples of 2 or divisions of 2 are the best choices for the model unit options. VIEW MENU The View menu allows you to open new Design Views, to change a Design View to another view, to make the Walk View active and to manipulate the position of the Observer and the center of the active view. Change View A pullout submenu that lists alternate Design Views to which you can switch from the current Design View window. (See also New View.) Change View is only available when a Design View or the Surface Editor is active. If an option in the Change View submenu is not available, it will be grayed. The Change View options are: Top, Bottom, Front, Back, Left, Right and Opposite. Selecting one of the views on the Change View submenu will change the active Design View to the selected view. This allows you to move quickly between Design Views without having to open a window for each view. (See also New View.) Opposite Used in the Surface Editor to flip the selected surface so you are able to see and edit the opposite side. It also changes the action of the Placement Modifiers. (See Surface Editor.) Opposite is used in the Design Views to change the current view to its opposite parallel view. For example, if you're in the Top View, Opposite will change the view to the Bottom View. Left and Right are opposite, as are Front and Back. New View A submenu listing the views that can be opened in a new window (see also Change View). The new views that you can open include the Design Views and the Walk View. Selecting a view name from the list opens a new view window. The new window is positioned slightly off center from the active window. It is possible to stack several windows on top of each other. However, this is not recommended since open windows in Virtus WalkThrough VRML require memory to show the representations of objects. All open views are listed under the Window menu. Use Change View to switch between windows in the Design Views since Change View does not open a new window, but changes an already open window. Walk View Creates a Walk View if one is not currently displayed. If a Walk View is currently displayed, this command will make the Walk View the active view. Unlike Design Views, only one Walk View can be open at any time. Home Commands The concept of home is important because the four View menu commands in this section relate to the home position. Home is a 3-D location in the world that can be used as a base or reference for the Observer or for a Design View. The default home position is 0, 0, 5'6". These commands allow you to specify the home position, move the Observer to the home position or move the center of the active view to the home position. You may also set the Home position in the Preferences, Defaults dialog. Set Home to Editor Specifies home as the center of the current Design View window. By using the home position as a reference point, you can quickly move the Observer or the center of the active Design View to the home position from anywhere in the Design View window. To move the Observer home, use the Home Observer command. To move the center of the Design View home, use the Home Editor command. Because each Design View is 2-D, this command only changes the home position on the axes associated with the particular Design View. (See Dimensions XYZ.) You can, however, set 3-D coordinates by setting the home position in two perpendicular Design Views. For example, setting the home position in the Top View specifies the X and Y coordinates. If you change to a view perpendicular to the Top View (the Front, Back, Right or Left), you can use the scroll bars or the Move View Tool to adjust the view along the Z axis. After adjusting the view so the center is at the desired Z coordinate, select Set Home to Editor again to set the home Z coordinate. If you change the Origin of the view (see Movable Origin) after setting the home coordinates, home is still defined by the true coordinates. Set Home to Observer Specifies home as the position of the Observer. By using the home position as a reference point, you can quickly move the Observer or the center of the active Design View to the home position from anywhere in the active Design View window. To move the Observer home, use the Home Observer command. To move the center of the Design View home, use the Home Editor command. Because each Design View is 2-D, this command only changes the home position on the axes associated with the particular Design View. (See Dimensions - X, Y and Z). You can, however, set 3-D coordinates by setting the home position in two perpendicular Design Views. For example, setting the home position in the Top View specifies the X and Y coordinates. If you change to a view perpendicular to the Top View (the Front, Back, Right or Left), you can drag the Observer to a new position along the Z axis. After adjusting the Observer to the desired Z coordinate, select Set Home to Observer again, to set the home Z coordinate. If you change the Origin of the view (see Movable Origin) after setting the home coordinates, home is still defined by the true coordinates. Home Editor Returns the center of the active Design View to the home position. Home is specified with the Set Editor to Home command, the Set Observer to Home command or in the Preferences, Defaults dialog. Home Observer Returns the Observer to the home position. Home is specified with the Set Editor to Home command, the Set Observer to Home command or in the Preferences, Defaults dialog. Center Observer Moves the Observer to the center of the active Design View. Reset Origin Resets the Origin to true 0, 0 coordinates if it has been changed. (See Movable Origin.) Level Observer Orients the line of sight in the Walk View, making it level if it has been altered with the Shift key when navigating. (See Navigation Methods.) DESIGN MENU The Design menu is available only when a Design View is active. If the Surface Editor, Tumble Editor or Walk View is active, the Design menu is replaced with the active window's associated menu. Snap to Grid Snaps objects, surface features and slices to an invisible grid when they are created, moved or edited. The grid is based on the ruler tick marks in the Design View, Surface Editor and Tumble Editor. Handles of objects, surface features and slices will "snap" to the grid when Snap to Grid is selected. If you zoom in or out, the ruler tick marks change and, therefore, the invisible grid changes. For example, if each tick mark represents one inch, handles snap to the nearest inch. If each tick mark represents one foot, handles snap to the nearest foot. If Snap to Grid is not selected, the ability to create, edit and move objects, surface features and slices is constrained only by screen pixels. If an object, surface feature or slice is created with Snap to Grid unselected and then edited or moved with Snap to Grid selected, the result is the object or surface feature will move in increments of the invisible grid but won't actually snap to the grid. This makes it possible for handles to fall between the ruler tick marks and trying to align objects or surface features can be tedious. However, if you move a handle rather than the whole object or surface feature, the handle will snap to the grid. Snap to Grid can be selected and unselected under the Surface menu or the Tumble menu and in the Preferences, Editor dialog. Zoom In Increases the apparent scale and size of objects in the view by a factor of 2. With each Zoom In, the minor tick marks on the rulers represent a smaller unit of measurement. There is a limit to the range of the Zoom In command, after which selecting Zoom In will have no affect. Zooming in can also be accomplished by clicking the Zoom In Tool. Zoom Out reverses the effect of Zoom In. Zoom Out Reduces the apparent scale and size of objects in the view by half. With each Zoom Out, the minor tick marks on the rulers represent a larger unit of measurement. There is a limit to the range of the Zoom Out command, after which selecting Zoom Out will have no effect. Zooming out can also be accomplished by clicking the Zoom Out Tool. Zoom In reverses the effect of Zoom Out. Group Groups all selected objects, treating them as a single object. A grouped object can be moved, copied, rotated and scaled. It is important to group library items with the Group command before copying them to a library. UnGroup Ungroups selected objects that were grouped with the Group command. Once you ungroup an object, all the objects that make up the group remain selected until you click somewhere else inside the view. This means if you want to change the color of a grouped object, you can ungroup it, select a new color and group the objects again. This only works if you want all objects within the group to be the same color. It is possible to have groups within other groups. If you ungroup an object but cannot edit it, try ungrouping again. VRML Anchor... Allows you to embed the VRML file information into a selected object as a URL (Universal Resource Locator) WWW (World Wide Web) anchor. SURFACE MENU Available only when the Surface Editor is the active window. If the Design View, Tumble Editor, or Walk View is active, the Surface menu is replaced with the active window's associated menu. (See also Surface Editor.) Snap to Grid Snaps surface features to an invisible grid when they are created, moved or edited. The grid is based on the ruler tick marks. Handles of surface features will "snap" to the grid when Snap to Grid is selected. If you zoom in or out, the ruler tick marks change; therefore, the invisible grid changes. For example, if each tick mark represents one inch, handles snap to the nearest inch. If each tick mark represents one foot, handles snap to the nearest foot. If Snap to Grid is not selected, the ability to create, edit and move surface features is constrained only by screen pixels. If a surface feature is created with Snap to Grid unselected and then edited or moved with Snap to Grid selected, the result is the surface feature will move in increments of the invisible grid but won't actually snap to the grid. This makes it possible for handles to fall between the ruler tick marks and trying to align surface features can be tedious. However, if you move a handle rather than the whole surface feature, it will snap to the grid. Snap to Grid can also be selected and unselected under the Design or Tumble menu and in the Preferences, Editor dialog. Zoom In Increases the apparent scale and size of objects and surface features in the view by a factor of 2. With each Zoom In, the minor tick marks on the rulers represent a smaller unit of measurement. There is a limit to the range of the Zoom In command, after which selecting Zoom In will have no affect. Zooming in can also be accomplished by clicking the Zoom In Tool. Zoom Out reverses the effect of Zoom In. Zoom Out Reduces the apparent scale and size of objects and surface features in the view by half. With each Zoom Out, the minor tick marks on the rulers represent a larger unit of measurement. There is a limit to the range of the Zoom Out command, after which selecting Zoom Out will have no affect. Zooming out can also be accomplished by clicking the Zoom Out Tool. Zoom In reverses the effect of Zoom Out. Move Forward Used with multiple surface features that overlap, Move Forward shuffles the order of the overlapping features by moving a selected surface feature forward one position. For example, if the selected surface feature has three surface features in front of it, Move Forward will cause only two surface features to be moved in front of the selected feature. The third surface feature will move behind the selected feature. Move to Front Used with multiple surface features that overlap, Move to Front shuffles the order of the overlapping features by moving a selected surface feature to the front of all the overlapping features. Move Back Used with multiple surface features that overlap, Move Back shuffles the order of the overlapping features by moving a selected surface feature back one position. For example, if the selected surface feature has two surface features in front of it and two behind it, Move Back will cause three surface features to be moved in front of the selected feature and only one behind it. Move to Back Used with multiple surface features that overlap, Move to Back shuffles the order of the overlapping features by moving a selected surface feature to the back of all the overlapping features. TUMBLE MENU The Tumble menu is available only when the Tumble Editor is active. If the Design View, Surface Editor or Walk View is active, the Tumble menu is replaced with the active window's associated menu. (See also Tumble Editor.) Snap to Grid Snaps slices to an invisible grid when they are created, moved or edited. The grid is based on the ruler tick marks. Handles of slices will snap to the grid when Snap to Grid is selected. If you zoom in or out, the ruler tick marks change and, therefore, the invisible grid changes. For example, if each tick mark represents one inch, handles snap to the nearest inch. If each tick mark represents one foot, handles snap to the nearest foot. If Snap to Grid is not selected, the ability to create, edit and move slices is constrained only by screen pixels. Snap to Grid can also be selected and unselected under the Design menu or the Surface menu and in the Preferences, Editor dialog. Zoom In Increases the apparent scale and size of objects and surface features in the view by a factor of 2. With each Zoom In, the minor tick marks on the rulers represent a smaller unit of measurement. There is a limit to the range of the Zoom In command, after which selecting Zoom In will have no affect. Zooming in can also be accomplished by clicking the Zoom In Tool. Zoom Out reverses the effect of Zoom In. Zoom Out Reduces the apparent scale and size of objects and surface features in the view by half. With each Zoom Out, the minor tick marks on the rulers represent a larger unit of measurement. There is a limit to the range of the Zoom Out command, after which selecting Zoom Out will have no affect. Zooming out can also be accomplished by clicking the Zoom Out Tool. Zoom In reverses the effect of Zoom Out. Reverse Slice Changes which side of a slice is removed. The direction the slice line is drawn through an object determines which side of the object is removed. If you drag from left to right or from top to bottom, the portion above or to the right of the line will be sliced off. If you drag from right to left or from bottom to top, the portion below or to the left of the line will be sliced off. Reverse Slice reverses the slice direction. The Reverse Slice effect can also be achieved by holding down the Option Key (Macintosh) or Ctrl key (Windows) when the slice line is drawn. WALK MENU The Walk menu is available only when the Walk View is active. If the Design View, Surface Editor or Tumble Editor is active, the Walk menu is replaced with the active window's associated menu. Button Down Controls how movement in the Walk View starts and stops. If Button Down is selected (denoted by a check), movement begins when you press and hold down the mouse button. When you release the mouse button, movement stops. If Button Down is not selected, movement stops when you press and hold down the mouse button and begins when you release the mouse button. (See Navigation Methods.) Button Down can also be selected in the Preferences, Navigation dialog under the Edit menu. Cross Hair Turns on and off the display of the cross hair in the center of the Walk View. The cross hair orients the mouse pointer when navigating through the model. (See Navigation Methods). The cross hair can also be turned on and off in the Preferences, Navigation dialog under the Edit menu. Velocity Grid The horizontal and vertical marks in the Walk View that display the points at which the walk speed changes. Novice Virtus WalkThrough VRML users may find the velocity grid helpful while learning to navigate. The default for the velocity grid marks is off (not visible), but they can be turned on and off with the Velocity Grid command under the Walk Menu or by selecting Velocity Grid in the Preferences, Navigation dialog under the Edit menu. Normal Displays all translucent and transparent object surfaces and surface features, and displays object color fill and wire frames. These object rendering attributes can also be selected in the Preferences, Rendering dialog under the Edit menu. Faster Speeds up the walk through your model by not allowing you to see through transparent or translucent object surfaces or surface features. Object rendering attributes can also be selected in the Preferences, Rendering dialog under the Edit menu. Fastest Speeds up the walk through your model by displaying only wire frames of objects; no object color fill is displayed. Object rendering attributes can also be selected in the Preferences, Rendering dialog under the Edit menu. Record Allows you to record a walk path. You may also record a walk path by selecting the Record Tool in the Tools window. Record allows access to the recording function when in Full Screen mode. Play Allows you to play back a recorded walk path. You may also play back a walk path by selecting the Playback Tool in the Tools window. Play allows access to the playback function when in Full Screen mode. Stop Stops a recorded walk path if one is playing. You may also stop a recorded walk path by selecting the Stop Tool in the Tools window. Aspect Ratio Reads the aspect ratio setting in the Preferences, Navigation dialog and applies it to the Walk View. Aspect Ratio can also be selected in the Preferences, Navigation dialog under the Edit menu. Full Screen Opens the Walk View window to fully cover your computer screen, including the Menu Bar. The Menu Bar is still there, but it is hidden. If you hit the SPACEBAR, the Walk Menu will appear next to your cursor. To change back to a normal screen mode, bring up the Walk Menu and select Full Screen again. You can also hit the Esc key to exit Full Screen mode. WINDOW MENU The Window menu displays the names of all open windows, views and models and it contains commands for displaying the Tools window and the Depth window. The Window menu helps you quickly navigate through open views and open models. The lower section of the Window menu lists all open models. You can select a model name from the list and that model will become the active model, moving to the front of your screen. The middle section of the Window menu lists all open views for the active model. You can select a view name from the list and that view will become the active view, moving to the front of your screen. Cascade Arranges all open windows so that they're positioned neatly on top of the each other. Tile Arranges all open windows so that they're positioned neatly in a tile pattern, one next to the other. Windows Users Only: Arrange Icons Arranges all minimized document windows (icons) so that they're positioned neatly at the bottom of the program window, from left to right. Tools Window Displays or hides the Tools window. There is only one Tools window, though there are several sets of tools. If the Tools window is hidden in one view or editor, it is hidden for all views and editors. Depth Window Displays or hides the Depth window. The Depth window is a ruler, like the Design View rulers, that contains a Depth Control. (See Depth Controls.) The Depth window displays the position and inflation distance for the active design view. If you change to another design view, the Depth window will change to display the position and inflation distance for the new view. The measurement scale of the Depth window ruler is the same as the scale of the rulers in the Design View. As you zoom in or out in the view windows, the Depth window ruler scale changes. Help Menu (Windows only) The Help menu allows you to search an on-line text file for help with Virtus WalkThrough VRML. The Help menu is a standard Windows menu. See your Windows documentation for more about the Help menu. Contents The content for the Help file is the same as that for the original Virtus WalkThrough VRML. Because of this, references to Import, Export, Place, several Snapshot options, the Lighting Editor and Layers are included, even though these features are not available in Virtus WalkThrough VRML. Contents displays an alphabetical listing of all topics available in the online help file. Search for Help On Allows you to enter a text string to search for specific information within the on-line help file. How to Use Help Displays information about the Windows Help menu system Macintosh Users The standard Macintosh Balloon Help is available by turning on Balloon Help from the Finder. and instructions for its use. About Virtus WalkThrough VRML Displays the version number and copyright notice for the application.