Amapi Frequently Asked Questions
Subject |
Question |
Reply |
| Minimal configuration |
IBM-PC or Compatible | • Pentium • 32 Mb RAM • 65 Mb free on the Hard Disk • Screen with 32000 colors • Windows 95 / 98 or Windows NT 4.0 |
| Minimal configuration |
Apple Power Mac or Compatible | • Power Macintosh • 32 Mb RAM (20 Mb for Amapi) • 65 Mb free on the Hard Disk • Screen with 256 colors • System 8.0 or upper |
| Windows95/ WindowsNT4 | Is Amapi working at the same speed with Windows95 and WindowsNT4 ? |
For rendering, Amapi is about 3 times faster with WindowsNT4 than Windows95 |
| Amapi best known Users | Who are the Amapi best known Users | Schools using Amapi: - Art College San
Francisco - Ateliers de Paris - ENSI - Ecole des Mines de Paris - Parsons School of Design
- Strate College - Tokyo National University of Fine Arts - Créapole - Ecole Superieure
d'Art et de Design d'Amiens - Ecole Superieure de Réalisation Audiovisuelle - Ecole
Superieure Estienne - Ecoles d’Architecture de Lille, Grenoble, Paris - Ecoles des
Beaux-Arts de Rennes, Strasbourg, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Grenoble - ENSAM - Universite
de Lille - Universite de Technologie de Compiegne Companies using Amapi: - Aerospatiale - Calor SA - Casterman - Walt Disney - Excelsior - Haiku Studio (Philips Media) - Infogramme - Kalisto - Oxbow - Renault - Salomon - SEB - Warner Bros - Waterman - View by View - Institut Français du Pétrole - Peugeot - CNES - CNRS - Cryo - Design Art California - many DDE - Forster Digital Imaging - Groupe Editions Mondiales - Bruno Vaerman - Groupe Zodiac - Ifremer - EDF Gascogne - Mecatec - Paris Match - Pierre Bretagnolle - Roland Digital - Stereomagic Co. California - Tekila |
| Constraints | The Constraints don’t work with Amapi 3D: shift or control + shift | Verify the Constraints Preferences and check if the 2 boxes are enabled. |
| Catalog | Objects/Materials bookmarks | When you open the Catalog, it always opens on
Objects, even if the previous time you worked with the Materials That is more, if you open the Materials and you select an Objects Bookmark, nothing is displayed. It is the same in the reversed case if you open the Objects and you select a Materials Bookmark. |
| Damaged File Amapi Crash |
What can I do if I get a Damaged File or an Amapi Crash ? | With Amapi or any other program (graphic or
else) take the following method : Save your file at any step of its realization : call it gizmo1, gizmo2,… gizmo n). If you get a problem about a Damaged File or an Amapi Crash with the gizmo n file, take the gizmo n-1 file to restart without any problems and avoiding to loose a lot of time. Don’t forget to set up : Edit/Preferences/ Security Settings
|
| Hull tool | Why the Hull tool doesn’t work with my curves ? | About "Hull" surfaces (3 curves): - All the curves MUST have a null dimension (x or y or z = 0) and each curve MUST lie in a different plane: xy (z=0), xz (y=0) & yz (x=0). - Section & outline must share a common point: you have to apply one point of the section curve to one point of the outline curve with the snap tool, or when you are beginning to draw a curve from the last point of the previous one, hold the SHIFT key to be forced on this point. If it doesn't work, check each curve with the single axis scale to be sure when a curve had been drawn on xy axis, the z value is 0,00. So, you have to decide by yourself (depending of your project and how you see the it) which is the Section curve, which is the outline and which is the profile. Tip : Use a cube or modify its dimensions to make a bounding box for your curves ! You will be sure to draw 2D curves. Remove 3 faces if you want to work easier. |
| Smoothing tool | What are the Smoothing tool options ? | Partial Smoothing : If you select some
points on the current object and then you select the Smoothing tool, only the selected
area will be smoothed. If you select the Smoothing tool and then you select some points on the current object, the selected area will be excluded of the smoothing. |
| Bending tool | About the bending tool, you can bend rectangular sections, but they must be defined with more than 2 points (like the bending curve) | |
| Text tool (Mac) | Problems on PowerMac with the Text tool | On Mac, it is possible that eps fonts
(postscript type font 1) into the system folder make problems with the Text tool If Norton Utilities 3.5 is installed in your system, it could allows you to unfreeze your machine and continue to work with the Text tool |
| Imports | • 3D Studio 4 • IGES 3.2 • 3DMF (Mac) • Illustrator 3.0 • Amapi • Pict (Mac) • Artlantis Render (exported from Amapi) • VRML 1.0 • DXF 14 | |
| Exports | • 3D Studio 4 • Illustrator 3.0
• 3DGF (Mac) • Lightwave 4.0 • 3DMF (Mac) • PICT (Mac) • Amapi
• POV 3.0 • Amapi 2.xx • Artlantis Render 3.02 • RayDream Studio 5.0
• RenderMan • DXF14 • STL • DXF 2D • Strata Studio Pro 2.0
• FACT • Truespace2.0 • HPGL • VRML 1.0 • IGES 3.2 Plugin 3D Studio Max 2.5 Softimage (PC)=Optional |
|
| Exports | Some files with smoothed objects in Amapi, are facetted when exported | In the <Edition/Preferences/IO Settings> menu, activate the I/O Smooth objects check box and enter the smoothing angle (default 30°) for the selected format. |
| DXF Format | What is the DXF Format level supported by Amapi 4.0 | Amapi imports and export the DXF 14 Format level |
| IGES Format | What is the IGES Format level supported by Amapi 4.0 | Amapi imports and export the IGES 3.2 Format level |
| Export from Amapi to Adobe Illustrator | When imported into Adobe Illustrator, the file is not in a perspective view but in orthogonal view | The Adobe Illustrator export is linked with the Printer preferences : If the Print to Scale check box is enabled, the scene is forced into orthogonal view |
| Quicktime (Mac) | Quicktime lib missing | On the Mac, enable the Quicktime AND Quicktime PowerPlug extensions or Quicktime for PowerPC BUT NOT Quicktime GX |
| Editing Nurbs | How can I change the tangents on a Nurbs curve? | In Amapi 3D, after creating a Nurbs curve you
can edit the tangents with the Stretch tool:
|
| Mold tool | How can I get the 'Circle of Influence' in the Mold tool? It used to be a toggle with SPACEBAR in Amapi Studio 3.0. | Hit the CONTROL-SPACEBAR sequence |
| Print in plane perspective | Why, when the scene is forced in plane perspective (orthogonal mode), the printing windows is not scalable? | When in Amapi 3D the scene is forced in plane perspective and be sent to printing, the same function as "print to scale" is used, even if it is not selected in the "Printer Settings". This function works with the paper format available in your printer. Amapi will use the scale factor parameter (100.00 = 100% ; 25.00 = 25% ; ...) |
| DXF 2D Export | Why the shapes of the curves generated by Amapi as DXF 2D files are sometime altered? | To export curves as DXF 2D files, when the printing screen appears change the 72 dpi value to 10 000 dpi. This will avoid to alter the shapes of curves |
| Printing modes | Could I print and render an image with measures,
dimensions |
Amapi allows you to print in wireframe mode only with
measures and/or hidden lines and/or scale (in this case, the view is forced in orthogonal
mode). If you want to print a rendered image, you must use the menu Render/Render to file and give a name to make a PICT (Mac), BMP, JPEG, TIF or TGA file. This file should be printed trough an other program like Photoshop or else, but not with Amapi. A rendered image doesn't show the measures |
| Rendering | Why do I print in wireframe mode only, when I am in the Amapi working area ? | In its working area , Amapi holds
vectorial objects only and send wireframe to the Printer. It can print with measurements, with scaling… (see Printer Preferences) So, to print a rendered picture go to <Render/Render file>, render the image to a file (e.g. BMP) and then use other imaging tool to open the image file and send it to the printer. You may even be able to drag-and-drop the file directly to the printer icon. |
| Rendering | How to record a rendered picture ? | First of all, open the Render/Setup Render
menu and set parameters : Shadows, Background color, Anti Aliasing, … Render file : Picture size in pixels. The pictures is generated in 72 dpi definition. If you need a better definition (i.e. 300 dpi) for printing purposes, generate a picture with a bigger size. When, on your screen you have the good picture (perspective, light, shading, …) open menu <Render/Render file> and you can record it as a BMP, TGA, PCT, TIF or JPG. Then open this file with Photoshop (or equivalent) to change the picture resolution (i.e. 72 to 300 dpi), change the mode from RGB to CMYB… and print it. |
| Rendering /Materials | Why do some materials are not displayed in the catalog ? | The materials displayed in the
catalog are procedural 3D textures (shaders) and they can be applied on objects by
Drag & Drop. The materials not displayed in the catalog are pictures (bitmap) and they can be applied on objects with the Apply an image button in the Rendering interface. You may save them as new materials after applying them on an object |
| Rendering /Materials | Why do when you try to map some pictures, Amapi 3D shows an error message or leaves | The pictures used for the mapping must be in RGB or grey levels modes but not in indexed colors (Leaving risk on Mac) |
| Rendering/Mapping | Why the plane mapping doesn’t work with some objects ? | In this case, double click on the object to get its infos and click on the " suppress the confused points " button. |
| Rendering/Mapping | Why do an object mapped with a bitmap material loose it's material when opened after being saved. | If you use bitmap material with your object, the pictures must be copied in the same folder than the object on which they are applied |
| Animation | Key framer Limitations | The Key framer doesn’t work with 2D curves : it works only with the meshes and volumes |
| Animation | Scene with some animated objects
|
Into a scene with some animated objects, take care to set the same number of frames per object in each object’s Key framer |
| Camera Animation | The scene remains steady when seen trough a moving camera | Into the <Render/Setup Render> menu, you have to select camera0 (or camera1…) instead of Amapi view. |