VRML & 3D on the Web for Dummies/VRML4DMYZ.iso/mac/OUR_CD.TXT

Text File | 1996-05-24 | 27KB | 605 lines

OUR CD

CD-ROM and software compilation copyright (C) 1996 by IDG Books Worldwide,
Inc.  All rights reserved.  Individual programs are copyrighted by their
respective authors and may require separate licensing.  Neither this
CD-ROM nor any portion of it may be distributed without prior written
permission from IDG Books Worldwide.  The IDG Books Worldwide logo,
....For Dummies,  For Dummies, Dummies Man, and Software for the Rest of
Us! are trademarks under exclusive license to IDG Books Worldwide, Inc.
from International Data Group, Inc.

Contents:

   * Introduction to Our CD
   * About Evaluation Software
   * The CD at a Glance
   * Installing Software
   * Browsers
   * Builders
   * Building Materials
   * Our Stuff: Sample Worlds
   * Our Stuff: Objects and Textures
   * Our Stuff: Notes
   * Our Stuff: Videos
   * Appendix: VRML 1.0c Specification

Introduction to Our CD:

Hi! Welcome the the VRML and 3D on the Web For Dummies CD -- a book CD with
a difference. "And what difference is that?" you may well ask. "The '...For
Dummies' difference," we reply, heartily.

Mainly, we've taken some pains to make sure that this CD is NOT
"shovelware". Shovelware is a bunch of stuff mainly intended to fill out a
book's CD and make the list of included software on the back cover look
really impressive. Generally, shovelware has little or no explanation in
the book, often has had important capabilities removed, and sometimes its
license is tied to a fixed expiration date, and so may have already expired
by the time you buy the book. We don't do that.

We explain the operation of all the principal tools on this CD in this
book; specifically, we explain in detail how to use the VRML browsers and
Caligari and Virtus builders. We made sure that no important VRML features
were left out of these tools. And we negotiated custom terms with our
cooperating vendors so that any software that expires has a useful lifetime
starting when it is first installed.

This CD, which works with both Macs and PCs, contains:

   * Evaluation copies of the software discussed in this book
   * Building materials from professional model and texture makers
   * Sample VRML worlds, objects and a texture or two from yours truly,
     Dave and Doug.
   * Video tutorials (Lotus ScreenCam "movies") about Pioneer and
     Walkthrough Pro (for the PC).

This document you're reading now is to help you find and install the
software. There are two versions of this document:

   * OUR_CD.TXT (a plain text file), and
   * OUR_CD.HTM (a file you can load into your Web browser, such as
     Netscape, using the File-->Open File command in the File menu).

(Note that on a Macintosh, you can't double-click OUR_CD.HTM to view it.
Use File-->Open File. Also, some versions of Mosaic for the Mac can't load
a file with an HTM extension. Try copying OUR_CD.HTM to your hard drive and
renaming it OUR_CD.HTML before loading.)

If you are reading OUR_CD.HTM on your Web browser, you can click
highlighted text to move to the thing we're talking about. (You need to be
online to move to anything beginning with "http:".) You can also find
additional notes, corrections and other stuff on our Web site:
http://www.brightleaf.com/vrml4dum/. You can send us email at
[e-mail] -- in fact, please do; we'd love to hear comments or
corrections -- but unfortunately we can't promise to respond to individual
questions or problems.

About Evaluation Software

The principal tools on this CD are evaluation versions ("evals"), included
here to save you the time and trouble of obtaining evals from the vendors.
Because VRML is so new, many of the tools on the CD are "beta" software
(not yet for sale and still being tested) -- which means they are not
bug-free.

The tools on this CD include all the VRML features of the for-sale
versions, so if they weren't restricted in some way, the software vendors
would go broke -- some of these tools are worth hundreds of dollars! As a
result, the tools come with special license restrictions, so please read
and respect the licenses. The licenses for some tools on our CD are
time-limited, so the license expires a given number of days or usage hours
after you install them. After that, they no longer operate.

Some of the license terms, such as the 90-day trial of Walkthrough Pro, are
exclusive to this CD. In some other cases, your license allows you to
download new versions of these products from the Web, and we'll give you
the URLs of each software vendor, just in case you want to try to do that
or to check for troubleshooting information

The CD at a Glance

The folders on the CD are organized as you see in the following indented
list.

Appendix (VRML 1.0c specification)
OurStuff
        Videos (Lotus ScreenCam movies for PC users only)
        Samples (Sample worlds used in the book)
        Objects (A few building blocks we've created)
        Textures (One or two textures we've created)
        Notes (Good stuff that wouldn't fit in the book)
Pc_Stuff (These programs only run on the PC)
        Browse (VRML browsers)
                Chaco
                        Plugins (For Netscape only)
                        Helpers (For other Web browsers)
                        Pueblo (A special-purpose 3D browser)
                Microsft
                        Internet Explorer for Windows 95
                        VRML add-in for Internet Explorer for Windows 95
                Virtus
                        Voyager
        Build (VRML builders)
                Caligari
                        Pioneer
                        Pioneerp (Pioneer Pro)
                        Truespc2
                Virtus
                        Walkthrough Pro
                EOS
                        Photomodeler LX (For creating 3D models from photos)
        VisNet
                Index.htm provides instructions for downloading optional VisMenu
                installer program for the CD.
MacStuff
        Browse
                Virtus Voyager
        Build
                Virtus Walkthrough Pro(builder and libraries)
        VisNet
                Index.htm provides instructions for downloading optional VisMenu
                installer program for the CD.

Material
                Acuris
                        Models and textures
                Viewpoint
                        Models

Installing Software

As with any software, each tool comes with the manufacturer's own unique
installation process. In general, to install a tool on a PC, just run
Setup.exe in that tool's directory. Mac users should double-click the file
they find in the folder and follow the setup dialog that ensues.

Each tool has its own unique hardware and software requirements or
preferences, which you will generally find in the manufacturer's
instructions or in our notes in this document. Some tools are for Windows
3.1 (and will therefore also work under Windows 95), some for Windows 3.1
with Win32, and others are only for Windows 95. Some will work faster when
your PC is equipped with "accelerated" graphics, especially graphics that
runs a special system from Intel called "3DR". A few also offer some audio
capabilities, so if your PC has stereo audio, you're in luck.

     NOTE: We suggest you do NOT try to install all the software
     immediately. In some cases (Netscape "plugins" in particular),
     the result would be that only the most-recently-installed
     software would be operational. In other cases, you may start the
     clock running on the software before you are ready to use it, and
     waste the time allotted to you for using it. Instead of
     installing all the software immediately, refer to the appropriate
     chapter in our book before you install a program to see if it's
     what you want, and install and try programs one at a time. It's
     okay if you end up with multiple programs installed -- just
     install them and try them one at a time.

     (VisMenu Installation note: If you would like to try an
     alternative way to install the software on this CD, VisNet plans
     to offer an installer for this book's CD, downloadable from their
     website. VisNet's installer program, VisMenu, employs a 3D world
     in which you click on 3D buildings representing the various
     vendors' programs; clicking on a building performs the
     installation automatically. It can also read and help you create
     VRML files. To download that installer, launch your web browser,
     go online on the Internet, and use File--> Open to load the
     Index.htm file you find in the Visnet folders. Click the link to
     VisMenu on the VisNet website, where you should find instructions
     for using VisMenu with this CD. VisNet also offers VisCis, a
     program that provides a 3D interface to Compuserve and VRML
     browsing that may be of interest to Compuserver users.)

In the next section of this document, we have provided some of our own
notes on the software. We include the URLs (the weird address you type into
a Web browser to go somewhere) for many of the vendors, as well. Sometimes,
URLs will change, making these obsolete. If that happens to you, try again,
ending the URL after the ".com" part.

Browsers

In this section, you'll find some notes on installing the following
browsers. If you are reading OUR_CD.HTM in your Web browser, just click the
items in this list to go to those notes.

   * Virtus Voyager
   * Microsoft VRML Add-In (and Internet Explorer)
   * Chaco VR Scout
   * Chaco Pueblo
   * Live3D (not on the CD, but downloadable from Netscape)
   * Caligari Pioneer (browser/builder)

About Netscape Plugins

Netscape will only work with one VRML plugin at a time. If you install more
than one plugin (say, VR Scout plugin and Live3D), most likely only the
most recently installed plugin will operate. Chapter 2 offers some
instructions for switching between plugins, if you wish to do that. (It
involves swapping .DLL files in and out of the Netscape/Plugins folder.)

Virtus Voyager

Virtus Voyager (beta software) should run on any PC that runs Windows 95 or
on a Mac running System 7.

For PCs, run the file Setup.exe in Pc_stuff/Browse/Virtus.

For Macs, there are two versions: one for regular Macintoshes and one for
the Power Mac. Run the installation programs you find in
Macstuff/Browse/Virtus/Mac and Macstuff/Browse/Virtus/Powermac. If you run
the regular Mac version of the installation program (not the Power Mac
version), it will initially suggest installing itself on your CD drive,
which it can't physically do; make sure you tell the installation program
to use your hard drive instead.

Look for future versions of Voyager on the Web site
http://www.virtus.com/voyager.html#download, or go to the general Virtus
site, http://www.virtus.com, and look for directions. Voyager is a "helper"
application. See Part I for details of using helper applications.

Microsoft VRML Add-In and Internet Explorer

On our CD we include both Internet Explorer 2.0 for Windows 95 and the VRML
plug-in (which Microsoft calls an Add-In). The Microsoft Web site says: "To
use VRML Add-In, you must have Windows 95 and Microsoft Internet Explorer
2.0. You must have at least a 486/33 DX computer with 8 megabytes of memory
and a fast video card. VRML Add-In supports 8-, 16-, and 24-bit video."

To this, we add: You should also be using (or be content to use)
Microsoft's Internet connection software that comes with Windows 95. If you
are not currently using this connection software, the installation process
will step you through the process of adding it. Any other software (such as
Winsock) that you are using now to dial up and connect to an Internet
access provider will probably be de-activated during Microsoft's
installation process. To help you decide if you want to use Microsoft's
Internet connection software, read the Windows 95 help file (choose
Start-->Help and type Internet to see a list of topics).

If you're already using Internet Explorer 2.0 (or higher) for Windows 95,
just install the VRML Add-In. To install Internet Explorer, go to
Pc_stuff/Browse/Microsft and double-click Msie20.exe. If you OK the
license, the Browse for Folder dialog box asks you to "Choose the parent
directory for Microsoft Internet Explorer." (The parent directory is the
folder in which your Internet Explorer folder will be created.) We chose
the Program Files folder; the choice is yours. Continue until you get a
message that the installation succeeded.

The VRML Add-In installs automatically -- just go to
Pc_stuff/Browse/Microsft and double-click Vrml20.exe. No icons are added to
your Start menu.

Updates of VRML Add-In can be downloaded from
http://www.microsoft.com/ie/addon/vrml.htm, or go to the Microsoft home
page, http://www.microsoft.com, and look for instructions.

Chaco VR Scout

VR Scout 1.22 comes in two versions:

   * A plugin for Netscape (Windows 95 only)
   * A helper application (Windows 95 version and Windows 3.1 version)

Both require at least a 486DX processor (or a 486SX with a math
coprocessor), 8MB of RAM, and about 5MB of space on your hard drive. The
plugin requires Netscape 2.0 or later (the Windows 95 version) and runs
under either Windows 95 or Windows NT. The helper application runs under
Windows 95, NT, or 3.1.

Under Windows 3.1, Win32s is required. Chaco's readme file that is
displayed after installation provides instructions for downloading the most
recent Win32s if you don't currently have it. Or, you can install a version
from our CD by running Setup.exe in
Pc_stuff\Build\Caligari\Truespc2\Install\Win32s\Disk1.

To install any version of VR Scout simply run the file Setup.exe from the
directories listed below:

VR Scout 1.22 plugin Windows 95 Pc_stuff/Browse/Chaco/Plugins
VR Scout 1.22 helper Windows  95        PC_stuff/Browse/Chaco/Helpers/Win95
VR Scout 1.22 helper Windows 3.1        Pc_stuff/Browse/Chaco/Helpers/Win31

VR Scout comes with an evaluation license for 30 days. It will stop working
30 days after you install it. Chaco's license states that if you like VR
Scout at that point, you should buy it. If you don't like what you saw,
check the Chaco Web site to see if there is an updated version that you
might like better.

Download updated versions of VR Scout from the Web site,
http://www.chaco.com/vrscout/, or go to the Chaco home page,
http://www.chaco.com, and look for instructions.Pueblo

Chaco's Pueblo

Pueblo is a 3D browser for Windows 95 that reads VRML but only in the
context of something called "MUDs" (Multi-User Dimensions), where people
can interact with each other in a 3D world. We include Pueblo because it's
fun and an example of advanced 3D on the Web -- even though the advanced
stuff is non-standard and can't be viewed by other browsers but Pueblo. If
you're feeling adventuresome enough to try these worlds, see Pueblo.htm or
Pueblo.txt in the Ourstuff/Notes folder of this CD. To install it, run the
Pblo107.exe program in Pc_stuff/Browse/Chaco/Pueblo.

Live3D

Paper Software (a recent acquisition of Netscape) won't allow book
publishers to provide a copy of their Live3D plugin on their CDs, but you
can download Live3D from Netscape's Web site at
http://home.netscape.com/comprod/products/navigator/live3d/index.html.

Live 3D requires at least a 486DX processor (or a 486SX with a math
coprocessor), 8MB of RAM, and about 5MB of space on your hard drive. It
works under Windows 95, Windows NT, or Windows 3.1. It requires Netscape
Navigator 2.0 or later for Live3D.

Another way to get Live3D is to install the new Navigator 3.0, which
includes Live3D. You can get Navigator 3.0 from
http://home.netscape.com/comprod/products/navigator.

If, for some reason, Netscape has changed the download address for either
Live3D or Navigator 3.0, start at http://home.netscape.com and look for
directions.

No matter how you get Live3D, the file you download from Netscape will be
what they call a "self-extracting file". In other words, it contains the
installation files in an encoded form that take up less space (and so was
easier to download). Put the file into a directory of its own and then run
it. It will decode itself and create the actual installation files, putting
them into the same directory.

Once you have extracted the installation files, you're ready to start
installing. Among the newly-created installation files, you will find a
file called "Setup.exe". Run it and answer the questions it asks.

Builders

This book describes the use of VRML building tools from two vendors, Virtus
and Caligari. Our CD includes evaluation copies with licenses that provide
a sufficient period of use to get to know the tool and do some useful work.

Virtus

Virtus provides an evaluation version of their top-of-the-line tool,
Walkthrough Pro, with a generous 90-day evaluation period. It's designed
for the Macintosh and Windows 3.1 but also runs under Windows 95. (Despite
a message you'll see that suggests Walkthrough Pro is not fully functional
under Windows 95, in fact, it appears to be fine for the functions we
describe in this book.)

     Confusing note: At the last minute, Virtus engineers got carried
     away and called the custom 90-day evaluation version they created
     for this book "Walkthrough Pro VRML" and in other places (like
     the opening screen) "Walkthrough VRML", but it's really
     Walkthrough Pro. We mention this because we want to make sure you
     know that the product on this CD is NOT an earlier tool called
     Walkthrough VRML that had a lot of bugs. The application on this
     CD has all the VRML features of the latest, greatest version of
     Walkthrough Pro 2.5.2.

Walkthrough Pro also comes with a great set of object libraries, and even a
texture sample.

To install them:

   * PC users, double-click the Setup.exe file you'll find in
     Pc_stuff/Build/Virtus/Walktpro

     NOTE: If the program installs but does not run, saying that it
     cannot find files called AVIFILE.DLL and MSVIDEO.DLL, run
     Setup.exe in Pc_stuff/Build/Virtus/Walktpro/Video. This installs
     Microsoft Video for Windows, which includes those two files. Then
     try launching Walkthrough Pro again.

   * Mac users will find the installation program in
     Macstuff/Build/Virtus/Walktpro

For PCs, the Virtus Walkthrough Pro minimum system is:

   * 80386 or higher
     8MB RAM
     Windows 3.1
     VGA or SuperVGA adapter.

For PCs, the recommended system is:

   * 80486 or higher
     8MB+ RAM
     Windows 3.1
     VGA or SuperVGA adapter

For Macintoshes, the minimum system is:

   * PowerBook, Centris, Quadra, or Power Macintosh
     8MB RAM, System 6.0.5 or later

For Macintoshes, the recommended system is:

   * Centris, Quadra, Power Macintosh, or 68040 PowerBook
     8MB+ RAM, System 7.1 or later

You can't get updated copies of Walkthrough Pro from Virtus' Web site
(http://www.virtus.com), but you can (as of this writing) get beta copies
of 3D Website Builder (a very easy and basic VRML builder that uses
drag-and-drop methods) and of their browser, Voyager.

Caligari

Caligari provides evaluation versions of three (count 'em -- three)
programs on our CD:

  1. Pioneer: VRML builder/browser (beta software)
  2. Pioneer Pro: Professional VRML builder/browser (beta software)
  3. trueSpace2: Professional 3D modeler, renderer, and animator. (Not
     VRML, but can create scenes that Pioneer and Pioneer Pro can read and
     translate into VRML.)

     NOTE: The versions of Pioneer and Pioneer Pro that Caligari has
     provided for this CD are slightly more recent than the version
     described in the book. You will notice some minor additions in
     certain dialog boxes, a few changes to button appearances, plus
     some additional features such as the Publish button and the Path
     button. One important addition is the Boolean operations button.
     This button was formerly only found in Pioneer Pro, so in our
     book you'll find that we give you two ways to do some tasks: one
     way for Pioneer and the other for Pioneer Pro (using the Boolean
     button). You can now use the Pioneer Pro method in Pioneer.

Caligari's minimum system is:

   * A "fast" (e.g. 60 MHz or better) 486DX PC
     8MB of RAM
     Windows 95

The system we would recommend is:

   * A "fast" Pentium system
     8+MB RAM
     Windows 95
     Accelerated graphics hardware (preferably designed for Intel's 3DR
     rendering software)
     Stereo sound (if you want to use the audio feature)

To install Caligari's evaluation software, run the Setup.exe files you find
in Pc_stuff/Build/Caligari, the Pioneer, Pioneerp, and Truespc2 folders.
(For trueSpace2, you can alternatively run Truespac.exe In the installation
process, Pioneer and Pioneer Pro will also (optionally) install some
software for audio (Intel Realistic Sound Experience) and for rendering
(Intel 3DR). Note that the versions of Caligari products on our CD run only
under Window 95. Check Caligari's web site (http://www.caligari.com) for
versions that run under Windows 3.1 or Win32. Contact Caligari if any
installation issues arise.

Each program has its own evaluation period. Pioneer gives you 30 hours of
use or 60 calendar days after installation, whichever comes first. Pioneer
Pro gives you 10 hours of use or 30 calendar days. The trueSpace2 program
gives you 30 days of calendar time, period. Since Pioneer and Pioneer Pro
meter the number of hours you use them, be sure that you don't just leave
them running!

If, when the Pioneer evaluation period expires, you are not sufficiently
satisfied to buy the product, check Caligari's home page at
http://www.caligari.com to see if they will let you install a new version
of Pioneer that you might like better.

Caligari provides a set of tutorials which are great except that they do
not provide any narration to tell you what's going on. Still, they are fun
to watch and after reading the book (and perhaps watching our videos), you
might find them useful.

EOS Systems

At the last minute before publishing this book, we discovered Eos systems
Photomodeler/LX. This is rather advanced software for a "...For Dummies"
book, but it looked cool, so we asked if we could include a copy. It works
with scanned-in photographs of real objects, and turns them into 3D DXF or
VRML models.

Photomodeler/LX runs under Windows and comes with a tutorial. It's a beta
version, so it's not flawless, and it's a demo version that does real work.
It can be upgraded into a final, full-featured version by calling Eos
systems or emailing [e-mail] (and sending them some money).

Run Setup.exe in the folder Pc_stuff/Build/Eos.

Building Materials

Two vendors of professional-quality models, Acuris and Viewpoint DataLabs,
provide samples on our CD. While building materials aren't specific to the
PC or the Mac, you'll find that because the models provided are either 3D
DXF format or Caligari object format, they are mostly useful in Caligari
tools. (Walkthrough Pro does not import either format but does come with
its own set of model libraries.) The textures provided by Acuris are,
however, just fine for either Caligari or Virtus builders.

There is no installation necessary for these building materials. Just use
them directly from the CD or copy them into a convenient directory on your
hard drive.

   * Acuris models and textures are in Material/Acuris
   * Viewpoint models are in Material/Viewpt

See also Readme.txt in the Viewpt folder and Acuris.txt in the Acuris
folder. For more information and possibly additional sample models, see
Acuris at http://www.acuris.com and Viewpoint at http://www.viewpoint.com.

Our Stuff

Not to be outdone by the pro's, we've included some of our own stuff on
this CD. Read all about it. You'll find it all in the Ourstuff directory.

Sample Worlds

Here are a few sample VRML worlds (.WRL files and their associated
textures) that we refer to in the book. See Ourstuff/Samples.

Objects and Textures

Here are a few useful objects and texture files we've created, some of
which we refer to in the book. Have fun. See Ourstuff/Objects.

Notes

These notes are actually things we had to trim from the book because it was
getting too big, but which we thought were pretty useful anyway. See
Ourstuff/Notes.

Videos (Lotus ScreenCam Movies)

[Image]

We're not videographers, so these Lotus ScreenCam "movies" aren't exactly
Steven Spielberg quality (maybe America's Funniest Home Videos quality),
but we hope you'll find them useful. These are programs that you run, and
they take over your PC screen to show a sort of video replay of our PC
screen. They show you the basics of using Caligari's Pioneer and Virtus'
Walkthrough Pro.

To run these movies, you need a PC running Windows or Windows 95, and high
resolution graphics (600x800 by 256 colors or more is best). If you have
Super VGA graphics (most new PCs do), you can use Windows Control Panel to
set the resolution of your screen.

Look in Ourstuff/Videos for the following files. A "P" prefix indicates
Pioneer, and "V" indicates Virtus Walkthrough Pro.

You can run these files directly from the CD; for better performance, copy
them to your hard disk before running them. Just double-click the files to
run them. A control panel appears that you can use to pause, rewind,
fast-forward or replay the video. Drag that panel around on your screen if
it gets in the way. Exit the panel between movies.

Pioneer:

   * P01navig.exe: Basic navigation
   * P01prim.exe: Primitives
   * P02axes1.exe: Axis and mouse control
   * P03scale.exe: Scaling objects
   * P04rotat.exe: Rotating objects
   * P05coord.exe: Coordinate systems
   * P06selec.exe: Selecting and viewing objects
   * P07paint.exe: Painting objects
   * P08view.exe: More control over what you see
   * P09textr.exe: Applying textures
   * P10txmap.exe: Controlling texture mapping

Walkthrough Pro:

     Note: Lotus ScreenCam (the program that records and runs these
     movies) has a little problem with Walkthrough Pro on some PCs. If
     a Walkthrough Pro movie appear to have letters and other symbols
     in the "toolpad" instead of icons, here's a fix that usually
     works: Exit ScreenCam, launch Walkthrough Pro and leave it
     running, then launch the ScreenCam movie.

   * V01intro.exe: Quick introduction
   * V02prim.exe: Making primitive shapes
   * V03shape.exe: More on shapes
   * V04surf.exe: Using the Surface Editor
   * V05cabin.exe: Creating a cabin
   * V06paint.exe: Painting and texture-mapping the cabin.

Appendix: VRML 1.0c Specification

For folks that really want the nitty-gritty of VRML, here is the VRML
specification as an HTML file. Look in the Appendix folder and load
vrml10c.htm into your Web browser to view it.