VRML Tools for 3D Cyberspace

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HOME SPACE BUILDER 1.0 (tm) =========================== Restricted Beta2 Version ================== Home Space Builder 1.0 is the first inexpensive and powerful 3D+W3 authoring tool for middle- and low-end computers. It brings rich content and easy-to-create 3D metaphor of Home Space to millions of World Wide Web builders. Home Space Builder 1.0 conforms with VRML 1.0 (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) standard. We foresee the following principal uses of our product: - 3D Home Page Builder: design 3D Home Pages viewable by any VRML browser, - 3D Personal Web Organizer: create your own unique views of Web Village, and of Web Life within a natural and convenient 3D paradigm, - 3D Personal Desktop Organizer: create your own 3D Program Manager, 3D On-Line Help, arrange files and documents within your 3D Home Space, - General: design your own Home Spaces for fun, education, presentation, and other purposes. ABOUT THIS VERSION ------------------------ This is a restricted version of Home Space Builder 1.0 Beta2. It enables you to learn and perform all loading, viewing, and building operations, but does not allow you to save home spaces, though you can learn how to save MUS and WRL files. You can purchase full version of Home Space Builder 1.0 Beta2 following links at ParaGraph's Web site http://www.paragraph.com/whatsnew/homespce.htm ABOUT THIS MANUAL, AND THE ON-LINE HELP ======================================= This manual describes the features of Beta2 version which can be ordered at ParaGraph InternationalÆs Web Site http://www.paragraph.com/whatsnew/homespce.htm starting July 20. Beta2 Version is supplied with comprehensive On-line Help. All versions of Home Space Builder also contain ôon-the-fly helpö. Help string on a certain screen element appears in the bottom row of one of the on-screen windows when you position cursor over the element. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS ===================== Home Space Builder 1.0 requires at least 386/33, 4MB RAM, color monitor with 256 colors or more. To achieve better rendering performance, you will need 486/33 or higher, 8 MB RAM. Program files (.EXE, .DLL) take about 1.5 MB of disk space. Home Space Builder 1.0 runs on Windows 3.1 and later versions, Windows NT, Windows 95. MUS and WRL FILES ================= You are building your home spaces in the internal format of Home Space Builder and save them as .MUS files. As soon as your job is completed, you can export home space into VRML format and save it as .WRL file. Any consistent VRML browser should be able to load this .WRL home space from your 3D Web Site, and to view the scene. Please, notice that export VRML format will loose many multimedia and attachment features of Home Space Builder which are not supported in the current VRML standard. As soon as these features appear in the standard, we would include them in the export function. ADVANCED FEATURES OF BETA2 VERSION ================================== We included in Beta2 of Home Space Builder many new multimedia, embedding, and other features: - Drawing Walls and Faces, - Applying textures with transparent colors, - Sound attachments, and Sound Recording, - Attaching and Playing Movies, - Creating and replaying Walking Shows, - Making extended attachments (including embedded home spaces, executable modules), Multifunction attachments We also supply Beta2 with extended set of textures, pictures, and sample home spaces. An important improvement made in Beta2 is the Save as VRML function which is now in strict conformance with VRML 1.0 Final SPEC. Many people who tried our free Beta1 version asked the same question, ôWhat about shapes?ö This will come soon. The idea behind our product is ôlet us first build home spaces, and then settle themö. Each of home spaces you create with Home Space Builder 1.0 will be ready to receive visitors. INSTALLATION ============ Program modules, and Manual: ---------------------------- Copy a directory HSB and all its content to your hard disk. This includes the following files: MANUAL.TXT - This file in the plain text format HSB.EXE - Home Space Builder 1.0 program HSBHELP.HLP - On-line help ACCUSOFT.DLL - DLL file CTL3D.DLL - DLL file HTTPC16.DLL - DLL file NS16.DLL - DLL file TREGION.DLL - DLL file LICENSE.TXT - License Agreement Sample Home Spaces: ------------------------ They are located in subdirectories of the directory HSBDEMO on CD-ROM. You can either load these samples from CD-ROM or copy them to your hard disk and load them from that disk. WHAT YOU SEE ON YOUR SCREEN, and HOW IT WORKS ============================================== User Interface to Home Space Builder 1.0 is very simple. It includes the following six windows: - VIEWER WINDOW (also, MAIN WINDOW or 3D WINDOW) - PLANE WALKER WINDOW (also, PLANE BUILDER WINDOW) with HEIGHT SCALE and CAMERA - WALKER TOOLBOX - BUILDER TOOLBOX - CHOOSER WINDOW (COLOR, PICTURE & WALLPAPER TOOLBAR) - IMAGE WINDOW Here is what are these windows about: - navigate through your 3D scene in the VIEWER WINDOW using the WALKER TOOLBOX buttons; sometimes, you also use the CAMERA to adjust viewpoint and view direction, - you can speed up navigation, jump to any place in the scene, and go through the walls moving PINOCCHIO button in the PLANE WALKER window, - build home spaces on the PLANE WALKER window using the BUILDER TOOLBOX buttons, and adjusting height with the laths of HEIGHT SCALE, - paint walls, applying textures, hanging pictures in the VIEWER window; select textures, pictures, and palette in the CHOOSER window, - move, resize, delete, zoom pictures in the VIEWER window by using additional buttons from the WALKER TOOLBOX. - edit your pictures in the IMAGE window MASTER MODE and GUEST MODE ========================== In the GUEST MODE, you can only view and navigate home spaces. Therefore, the BUILDER TOOLBOX, and the CHOOSER window do not appear on the screen. You can activate them either from the WALKER TOOLBOX or by setting MASTER MODE in the menu. MORE ABOUT NAVIGATING/VIEWING HOME SPACES ========================================= The four upper rows in the WALKER TOOLBOX provide you with 15 self-explanatory navigating/viewing buttons: - the six arrows allow you move forward/backward/left/right, and turn left/right, - three little fellows help you move up/down, and return to normal height position, - small cameras let you tilt view axis, and return to horizontal view, squares allow you to change view focus (tele/wide/normal), When you press any of these buttons, the PINOCCHIO button and the CAMERA in the PLANE WALKER window follow your actions. PINOCCHIO and CAMERA give you an alternative way to navigate and view: - dragging PINOCCHIO by the end of his nose is a fast-moving substitute for all arrow keys; - moving CAMERA up and down, and tilting it by the handle are the substitutes for little fellows and small cameras; - pressing and holding Tele and Wide buttons gives the same effect as pressing squares. The difference is that the restless PINOCCHIO can go through the walls and jump. Click anywhere on the PLANE WALKER WINDOW, and PINOCCHIO will appear right there, quickly changing your viewpoint. The WALKER TOOLBOX BUTTONS can do none of these. You can also use keyboard to navigate in the VIEWER WINDOW: 7 , Home - rotates left; 9 , Page Up - rotates right; 8 , Up Arrow - moves camera forward; 5 , 2, Down Arrow - moves camera back; 4 , Left Arrow - moves camera left; 6 , Right Arrow - moves camera right; + (Keypad Plus) - moves camera up; - (Keypad Minus) - moves camera down; Insert - tilts the camera up; Delete - tilts the camera down; Press Ctrl with any of these keys to double speed of the corresponding motion. BUILDING HOME SPACES ==================== Building home spaces is similar to sculpture work when you take a piece of material and cut off all unnecessary parts. There are three buttons on the BUILDER TOOLBOX that allow you create shapes. One is ADD BOX TOOL, another is REMOVE BOX TOOL, the last one is DRAW WALLS TOOL. When ADDING a box, you place it into space which is virtually unlimited in height and width, whereas its height range is bounded by current Lower/Upper Height Level settings of the HEIGHT SCALE. The box is solid and transparent from inside, and the only non-transparent sides are those which contact the outside space. So far, if you create a box from scratch without prior adjustment of its height, the box will only have the outer surfaces of the walls - no floor, no ceiling. Moreover, if you drag PINOCCHIO into box, you would only see the empty space all around. REMOVING a box, you create inner walls inside the previously built construction. To make the floor and the ceiling in a building, donÆt forget to adjust height laths before you remove a box so that the removed box will be within the added box. After the walls are ready, you can cut doors and windows by adjusting the height laths and removing boxes from the existing home space. Alternatively, you can draw walls by first pressing the DRAW WALLS TOOL and then drawing walls of in the PLANE BUILDER WINDOW keeping the Left Mouse Button pressed. To complete drawing, click the PINOCCHIO button on the BUILDER TOOLBOX. Drawing Faces is a new feature which is for now not fully implemented. You can access the Draw Face feature from the Menu associated with upper left square button in the PLANE BUILDER WINDOW. The difference between walls and faces is that (a) a wall is always parallel to a coordinate axis, whereas a face can have any direction, (b) a wall is solid and visible from both sides, whereas a face is one-sided: it is visible when the triangle camera-->starting-point-of-a-face-->ending-point-of-a-face has a clockwise orientation. Coordinates ----------- All the three dimensions: x and y on the PLANE WALKER, and z on the HEIGHT SCALE, are measured in the same units. You can think of this unit as a meter, foot, whatever. Tile size on the wallpapers is measured by the same unit. When you drag the mouse cursor along the PLANE WALKER , you can see its coordinates. When drawing a box, you can see the x, y coordinates of the current mouse position and the current size of the box. How To Add/Remove A Box ----------------------- In order to set vertical size/position of the box, drag upper/lower laths on the HEIGHT SCALE. When one of the ADD/REMOVE BOX buttons is pressed, click in any place within the PLANE WALKER WINDOW to select the upper left corner of the box, and draw a dashed rectangle keeping the Left Mouse Button pressed. As soon as you release the Left Mouse Button, the plane size of the box is set. Press Left Button once more to fix the box on the plane (the bounding line becomes solid). Please, donÆt forget to click the PINOCCHIO button on the BUILDER TOOLBOX as soon as you finished adding/removing boxes: otherwise, you remain in the ADD/REMOVE mode and are expected to continue drawing operations. If you want to undo the job before you fixed the box, just press the PINOCCHIO button on the BUILDER TOOLBOX. If you have already fixed the box, use the Undo button on this toolbox. How To Build A Multi-Level Construction ---------------------------------------- In order to make two neighboring levels strictly adjacent, click a wall of the already built level. You will see the TOP LEVEL MARK of this wall on the HEIGHT SCALE. Move the laths of the height scale so that the bottom lath fits this mark, and then start building the upper level. When you build a multi-level home space, its plan may well become very complicated. There is an important feature that lets you simplify the plan. If you click the SET button on the BUILDER TOOLBOX, change the Lower/Upper Height Level settings, and choose the Show Only Current Level option, you will only see the plan of the vertical layer of your building in the PLANE WALKER window. How To Increase Available Height Of The Building ----------------------------------------------------- Click the SET button on the BUILDER TOOLBOX, and change the Upper Height Level. Pictures, Colors, and Wallpapers ----------------------------------- It is difficult to build a really beautiful home space without painting, papering, and hanging pictures on the walls. In Home Space Builder 1.0, itÆs easy to perform each of these actions: - click one of the Picture, Color, Wallpaper buttons in the CHOOSER WINDOW, - select the needed item, - drag and drop it on the surface. Notice that you can apply Wallpapers to any surface (walls, floor, ceiling, lids, whatever), but you can hang pictures only on vertical surfaces. To load pictures or wallpapers from a different location, click the desired itemÆs button (Picture, Wallpaper), press the Select Directory button at the right of the CHOOSER window and choose the needed directory with images. Image File Formats ------------------ Currently, Home Space Builder 1.0 supports the following popular image formats both for pictures and wallpapers (listed alphabetically by extensions): .BMP, .DCX, .DIB, .EPS, .GIF, .JPG , .PCT, .PCX, .RLE, .TGA, .WMF, .WPG Handling Pictures ------------------- Four additional buttons on the WALKER TOOLBOX are helpful to handle pictures: - to move/resize a picture, press the Double-ended Arrow button, target the Two-arrow Picture cursor on the picture, and perform the needed action: - to move a picture, hook it with straight arrow near the down left corner; - to resize a picture, hook it with the tilted arrow near the upper right corner. Note that pictures, unlike wallpapers, can only be resized proportionally. - to delete a picture, press the Crossed Picture button and then click on the picture, - to look closer on a particular picture, press the Target button either on the WALKER TOOLBOX or on the VIEWER WINDOW Menu Bar, and click on the picture, - to get a full-screen image of a picture, press a Magnifier Button either on the WALKER TOOLBOX or on the VIEWER WINDOW Menu Bar, and click on the picture. The image will be loaded into the IMAGE WINDOW. You can then make some manipulations with an image (zoom/unzoom, change brightness, contrast, and gamma-factor, and save the updated image), and have to close the IMAGE WINDOW to return to home space. The difference between the same buttons on the WALKER TOOLBOX and on the VIEWER WINDOW Menu Bar is that the former set a mode which will perform the action as soon as the tool is selected, while the latter perform a one-time operation after the picture is selected. To reset any of the above modes, press the Tilted Arrow button on the WALKER TOOLBOX. Handling Wallpapers ----------------------- Before you apply a wallpaper to a surface, you can adjust the tile size and the wallpaper offset . Click on the Details button (ôDö on the CHOOSER TOOLBAR), and type in the desired figures. If the tile size is greater than the wall, you will see only part of the enlarged wallpaper. If the Tile checkbox is not marked, tile size does not apply, and the whole wall is covered by a single tile, with its size transformed to fit the wall. In the current version, ôthe parts remember the wholeö. So, if you create a box (ADD BOX TOOL), cut it into two disjoint pieces (REMOVE 3D BOX MODE), and then apply a wallpaper to any part of an outer wall (cut into pieces), you will see that the other part is also covered by the same wallpaper. If you want to make a moving wallpaper: - select the Details menu, - select the Slide Direction checkbox, - click any point on the Crossed Circle that will appear to the right to indicate the slide direction. After you apply the wallpaper, it will be moving. You can stop it by pressing the Undo button or by unselecting the Slide Direction checkbox. How To Create And Use Albums ---------------------------------- Hang several pictures one above another on a wall (when moving the Hang Picture cursor, center the small cross-like target on the successfully hung up pictures). To leaf through the album, click the Leaf Through Selected Album button on the VIEWER WINDOW Menu Bar or select the Leaf Through Album tool on the WALKER TOOLBOX and click the desired album. Selecting the Leaf Through Album tool on the WALKER TOOLBOX and double clicking the picture, you involve automatic sequencing. To regulate the sequencing frequency, click the Picture Attach Editor button and type in the desired Exposure Time. Please, notice that the time is measured in relative units depending on the performance of your computer: so you will need experimenting to set the proper value. To stop automatic sequencing, repeat double click on the album. How To Create And Use Movies ---------------------------------- Movie is a sequence of two or more 2D image files in the same directory that have file names with the same prefix followed by a sequence number. For example, Home Space Builder interprets the following image files as eleven frames of a movie: myflik01.gif myflik02.gif myflik03.gif myflik04.gif myflik05.gif myflik06.gif myflik07.gif myflik08.gif myflik09.gif myflik10.gif myflik11.gif To put movie on a surface of a home space click the Movie button in the CHOOSER WINDOW. All movies present in the current directory will be displayed in the CHOOSER WINDOW in the order of their frames. Pasting, deleting, dragging along walls and resizing movies are similar to the same Picture operations. When placed on the wall, it immediately begins rolling. The movie can be stopped by pressing the Show Next Album Picture button on the WALKER TOOLBOX and making a double click on the movieÆs frame in the VIEWER WINDOW. Double click again to restart the movie. To roll movie in the reverse direction, double click on the frame with the Tab key pressed. Repeating double clicks, you subsequently roll the movie in the direct/reverse direction. ATTACHMENTS =========== To any picture, album or movie, you can attach Text, Sound Clip, Function or List of Functions (Multifunction). You make all attachments in the Picture/Album/Movie Attach Editor Window, which is activated by pressing Picture Attach Editor button on the VIEWER WINDOW Menu Bar. When a picture (album, movie) has attachments, cursor over the picture turns into a finger. You can double-click on a picture to execute attached function (or list of functions). With an Album, you can attach text, sound, and functions both to the whole album (default) and to each Picture. To switch between these options, select the appropriate radio button Album Attach Editor or Picture Attach Editor at the top of Album Attach Editor Window. By default, when cursor is over an Album, a text attached to the whole Album is displayed in the Info row at the bottom of the VIEWER WINDOW, and Album functions are performed. To see the text attached to a picture, and to execute functions individually attached to a Picture, press the Tab key, and click on the picture. In what follows, we briefly describe all attachments and functions. How To Attach Text ------------------ Click on the picture and press the Picture Attach Editor button on the VIEWER WINDOW Menu Bar. Enter the text into the upper left area of the Picture Attach Editor Window (the text can have multiple rows). How To View Attached Text ------------------------- When you drag the mouse cursor over a picture, you see the first row of the attached text in the Info bar under the VIEWER window. To see the whole text in a special window, point the mouse cursor on a picture and click the Right Mouse button. How To Attach, Play, And Record Sound Clips ------------------------------------------- Sound Clip is a Windows .WAV file. You can attach .WAV files to a picture, albums, and movie. To attach a .WAV file click one of the above objects to select it and then click the Picture Attach Editor button in the VIEWER WINDOW Menu Bar. You can either select prepared sound fragment pressing the Browse button in the Picture Attach Editor Window or immediately record any sound accompaniment pressing the Record/Stop buttons. Duration of the recorded fragment should not exceed 30 seconds (follow the recording time indicator). Press the Play button to listen to the attached fragment. You can repeat recording, in which case previous fragment is automatically deleted. To enable playing attached .WAV files, select the object and click the Play Sound button in the VIEWER WINDOW Menu Bar. In Master Mode, you can also press the Play Sound button on the WALKER TOOLBOX. In this mode, cursor in the left corner of the Info bar in the VIEWER WINDOW indicates sound attachments for pictures. To play sound attachment, click on the picture. How To Select and Play Background Music --------------------------------------- MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a standard for electrically connecting instruments to a computer, and for storing music in computer files. A MIDI sound sequence is a list of two or more MIDI files that are played in order. To create MIDI-file list, choose the Midi Player item in the VIEWER WINDOW Menu. Set the required directory in the Select MIDI File Dialog Box, and subsequently select and Add .MID files to the Play List. To delete a file from the list, select it in the Play List column and press the Remove button. To delete all files (to clear up the list), press the Clear button. To each home space, a single Play List can be connected; it is saved together with the home space and is automatically replayed after you loaded .MUS file. To start playing a Play List which consists of a single MIDI-file, press the Start List button in the Select MIDI File Dialog Box. To stop playing, select the Midi Player option in the VIEWER WINDOW Menu and press the Stop button in the Select MIDI File Dialog Box. You can pre-play MIDI-files pressing the Play button in this window. The following is a brief description of all Functions that can be attached to a picture, album, and movie. None ---- Deletes all functions attached to a picture Conditional Exit ---------------- HSB quits with prompt. Unconditional Exit ------------------ HSB quits without prompt. Load 3D Space File ------------------ When this function is executed, HSB closes the currently open 3D Space and opens another 3D Space. When you select this function in the Picture Attach Editor Window, you are required to browse MUS files and select desired 3D Space that will be loaded when the function is executed. Full path to this file is then displayed in the Parameter row of the Picture Attach Editor Window. This function gives you unlimited opportunities to link Home Spaces together on your computer or on a local network. There are several additional options you can use when loading new 3D Space from inside the existing 3D Space: - You can open new 3D Space in the Default Mode (as defined in the Settings, see below), in the Master Mode or in the Guest Mode - You can Enable Walking Show associated with a new 3D Space, and if enabled, you can Cycle Walking Show - You can prohibit resizing of current VIEWER WINDOW - You can disable HSB Title associated with a new 3D Space - You can disable the following windows for a new 3D Space: PLANE WALKER/BUILDER, CHOOSER, WALKER TOOLBOX To involve these options, check the Advanced Options box in the Select 3D Space File Window when attaching the function to a Picture, Album or Movie. Load Any Program ---------------- HSB starts the specified program with any parameters entered in the Parameters row. When you select this function in the Picture Attach Editor Window, you are required to browse EXE; PIF; COM; BAT files and select needed executable module which will be launched when the function is executed. You can pass parameters to the executable module by typing them in the Parameter row of the Picture Attach Editor Window. This function enables you to design your Home Space as a 3D Program Manager. Create New 3D Space ------------------- HSB opens new 3D Space as if the New button on the BUILDER TOOLBOX was pressed. Activate ôOpen 3D Spaceö Dialog ------------------------------------ HSB opens the same dialog box as is invoked by choosing the Open 3D Space item in the menu, and offers you to select a Home Space that will then be loaded instead of current Home Space. Activate ôSave 3D Spaceö Dialog ----------------------------------- HSB opens the same dialog box as is invoked by choosing the Save 3D Space item in the menu, and offers you the same actions. Activate ôCopy Allö Dialog -------------------------- HSB opens the same dialog box as is invoked by choosing the Copy All item in the menu, and offers you the same actions. Switch to ôMasterö Mode ----------------------- Switches current HSB mode to the Master Mode. Switch to ôGuestö Mode ---------------------- Switches current HSB mode to the Guest Mode. Activate Image Window --------------------- HSB opens the IMAGE WINDOW and loads into it a picture to which the function is attached or the currently displayed picture of the album or frame of the movie. The next four functions are self-explanatory: Play Attached Sound ------------------- Stop Playing Sound ------------------ Start Playing MIDI List ----------------------- Stop Playing MIDI List ---------------------- Play .AVI or .FLI files ----------------------- HSB starts playing one of the standard Windows movie files (.AVI or .FLI). When you select this function in the Picture Attach Editor Window, you are required to browse AVI; FLI files and select the needed one (its name with full path will be displayed in the Parameter row). Unlike the ônativeö HSB movies, these files are replayed in a separate on-screen window. Link to Universal Resource Locator ---------------------------------- HSB opens the Select URL Dialog Box, allowing you to type in or paste URL Name which appears in the Parameter row. How to Link To URLs ------------------- Home Space Builder 1.0 is neither a VRML nor a HTML browser, but it can communicate with HTML browser Netscape 1.1. When you double click on a picture with the attached URL (as always, there is a ôfinger cursorö indicating that the picture has an attached URL), this URL is transferred to Netscape 1.1. If the URL is correct, Netscape loads the resource. We do not guarantee proper communication with any other HTML browser. Please, remember: when running Home Space Builder with Windows NT, Netscape 1.1 must be open when you are linking to an attached URL. This feature gives you unlimited opportunities to create your own views of WWW within a convenient 3D environments. A simple example of home space serving as Personal Web Organizer is shown in our sample file WEBORG1.MUS. Multifunction ------------- The Multifunction attachment is an indispensable feature to create Walking Shows (see below). When Selecting the Multifunction item in the Picture Attach Editor Window, HSB displays the Multifunction Editor Dialog Box. You form and/or modify the list of attached functions. using the Add Function To Selected List, Delete, Clear All, Up and Down buttons. To play the whole list of functions in their order, double click on the picture. You can use several additional functions in the Multifunction Editor Dialog Box (all of them are self-explanatory): Stop Movie, Reverse Movie, Show Next Album Picture, List Through Album, Show Last Album Picture, Show Album As Movie, Multifunction: Stop Executing, Multifunction: Wait The End Of Played Sound. Delay Executing Of The Function Queue ------------------------------------- HSB displays the Select Delay Window so you can define the Execute Deferment in seconds. When Multifunction Attachment is replayed, this function suspends execution of the list. WALKING SHOWS ============= As soon as your Home Space is ready, you might want to demonstrate it in some special way. This is possible with Walking Show feature, enabling you to record and replay sequences of ôwalkingö actions within a Home Space. These actions include: - Navigation with WALKER TOOLBOX buttons and the corresponding keyboard keys (navigation with PINOCCHIO, CAMERA, and any operation with HEIGHT SCALE, as well as any building and decorating operations will NOT effect walking show and can cause errors) - Selecting pictures, activating IMAGE WINDOW, executing attached functions and lists of functions (Target button for close view is disabled during Walking Show) - Playing attached sound To start recording Walking Show, press the Footprints button on the WALKER TOOLBOX. Perform all needed actions and press the Footprints button to stop recording. All actions are automatically saved to the file with the same name as current Home Space and extension .WLK. To start Walking Show, choose the Walking Show item in the menu. Alternatively, you can launch Walking show when loading a Home Space by checking the Enable Walking Show box in the Open 3D Space Dialog Window. Once you check this box, you can additionally check the Cycle Walking Mode box to make Walking Show repeat. To stop Walking Show, press any navigation key on the WALKER TOOLBOX (it is also canceled by any Load and Save operation). LOADING AND SAVING FILES ======================== Loading Files ------------- Home Space Builder 1.0 (Beta2) can load only .MUS files (not .WRL files!). Select the Open 3D Space item in the VIEWER WINDOW Menu Bar, and select the desired file. To start building home space from the scratch, press the New 3D Space button. Two additional checkboxes, Enable Walking Show, and Cycle Walking Mode in the Open 3D Space Dialog Window let you launch and repeat Walking Show immediately after loading a Home Space file. You can preview accompanying text and title for the Home Space pressing the 3D Space Info button in the Open 3D Space File Window when loading Home Space. Saving Files ------------ There are two modes to save home spaces: the Copy All mode, and the Save 3D Space mode. When designing your own home space, you probably use lots of pictures and textures located somewhere on your computer and also, maybe, on a network. If you assume that all this will be available next time you load the museum, simply select the Save Museum item and indicate the directory and filename for the destination .MUS file. All textures and pictures will acquire absolute references (paths) to the existing files. Thus saved home space is actually your local copy: you cannot expect that it will be portable to any other computer. If you want to make a portable copy, select the Copy All item and perform the same operation. All pictures and textures will be copied to the destination directory of your .MUS file (you can see ôprogressö windows), and all references to picture/texture files will be relative to this directory (no paths will be indicated in the .MUS file). In any case, you have to select the desired file format before saving your home space. File Formats ------------- Home spaces can be saved in three formats: - .MUS files (the only files that can be loaded by Home Space Builder 1.0), - .WRL files (can be loaded by any VRML browser compliant with the VRML 1.0 final SPEC), - .D96 files (export to the advanced ParaGraphÆs file format; you will need this conversion for future products in the Home Space product line). NOTE. Some VRML browsers process Carriage-Return Line-Feed sequence incorrectly. To change this sequence for Line-Feed symbol only, you can run the program CRLF2LF.EXE which is included in the package. In the command line or with Microsoft Windows Run, enter CRLF2LF.EXE <Input .WRL file> <Output .WRL file> All CRLF sequences in the <Output .WRL file> will be changed for LF symbols. Save Options --------------- You can use extended authentication features of HSB by saving MUS file in a Read Only mode, and in a Guest Only mode. When you load a file that was formerly saved in the Read Only mode, you can switch to the Master Mode and change the scene, but in case such changes were made, you cannot repeatedly save this file under the same name. The Guest Only mode completely protects your Home Space from updating. When a file saved in this mode is repeatedly loaded, both the Master Mode item and the Save 3D Space item in the menu are disabled. You can change the Title picture, and assign an accompanying text to a Home Space by checking the Advanced Save 3D Space Options box in the Save 3D Space File Window. To preview accompanying text, and title, press the 3D Space Info button in the Open 3D Space File Window when loading a Home Space. If you save a Home Space using the Copy All operation, it is possible to copy executable files, and Help file to the destination directory. To do this, check the Copy Executable HSB Files box in the Select Destination Path Window. When saving WRL file, you can edit file names for textures in order to match specific requirements of diverse VRML browsers. To do this, press the Alias Editor button in the Save 3D Space File window. You can then select needed texture file names in the Texture File Names listbox, and supply all of them with a prefix you type or paste into the Alias Prefix row. The three options: Full, Absolute, Relative vary the way texture file names in the listbox are added to the Alias Prefix. With Full, the filenames will be appended to a prefix without changes. With Absolute, drive name, if present in the listbox, will be suppressed. With Relative, the whole path will be suppressed, and only the texture file mane will be appended to a prefix. In addition, you can manually edit actual texture file names in the Alias row. SETTINGS ======== To change HSB settings, choose the Settings item in the menu. There are six groups of settings in the HSB Settings Window: Default Search Directories -------------------------- You can set default directories to search Textures (pictures and wallpapers), Sound, and MIDI files. Default HSB Title ----------------- Allows you to change the Title picture and to restore the Default Title. Fast HSB Images --------------- Sets Fast Image Convert mode and/or Fast Chooser Preview Of Images mode. With Fast Image Convert mode, image files are converted into internal HSB format. This essentially speeds up loading and previewing image files, but requires additional disk space. Fast Chooser Preview Of Images mode speeds up previewing image files in the CHOOSER WINDOW. HSB Desktop Color ----------------- Sets new color and restores default color for HSB desktop. ôOpen 3D Spaceö Window Settings ------------------------------- Determines whether PLANE BUILDER/WALKER WINDOW, and CHOOSER WINDOW are present on the desktop after a Home Space is loaded. Desktop Settings ---------------- The Enable Searching Message checkbox determines whether the lower on-screen bar with file names appears when you are loading a 3D Space. The Enable Desktop checkbox determines whether HSB windows pop-up on the top of the HSB desktop or on the top of Windows desktop. HOT KEYS, and ACCELERATORS ========================== Tab --- - Displays the Text attached to a Picture when cursor is over an Album. - Executes a Function (Multifunction) attached to a Picture when cursor is over an Album. Ctrl-Left Mouse Button ---------------------- Copies a Wallpaper, Picture, Album, or movie into the Basket (a clipboard). Shift-Left Mouse Button ----------------------- Pastes a Wallpaper, Picture, Album, or movie from the Basket (clipboard) to the wall. Ctrl-Shift-Left Mouse Button ---------------------------- Pastes a Wallpaper, Picture, Album, or movie from the Basket (clipboard) to the wall, and then copies it into the Basket. Alt-X ----- Quits HSB. Alt-A, Alt-Enter ----------------- Activates the Picture Attach Editor Window with the selected picture, album or movie. Alt-S ----- Plays the attached Sound Clip. Alt-L ----- Displays next picture in the selected album. Alt-I ----- Opens IMAGE WINDOW with the selected picture. Alt-V ----- Positions camera directly in front of the selected picture, album or movie. Alt-R ----- Executes function or list of functions attached to the selected picture, album or movie. Alt-M ----- Displays the menu. Backspace --------- Undoes previous action. A FEW MORE TIPS =============== Here are some additional options that could be helpful for designers of home spaces. Arranging On-Screen Windows --------------------------- When building a home space, it is often convenient to have the VIEWER window sufficiently big. In this case, it can cover partially or completely any of the remaining windows, except for the WALKER TOOLBOX which will always pop-up. In order to quickly access to other windows, you donÆt need to move/resize the VIEWER window. Just activate these windows using two additional buttons on the WALKER TOOLBOX: an Excavator button brings the PLANE WALKER with HEIGHT SCALE and CAMERA, and the BUILDER TOOLBOX on the top, and the neighbor Drawer button does the same for the CHOOSER window. Disabling The BUILDER TOOLBOX ----------------------------- Some designers would like to divide their job into steps: first build the home space itself, and then perform all painting, wallpaper, picture and attachment operations. In this case, it is convenient to disable the BUILDER TOOLBOX which is unnecessary for the second step. To do this, just press the Walking Little Fellow button on the WALKER TOOLBOX. The BUILDER TOOLBOX will be disabled, and you can more efficiently use the PINOCCHIO button to move through the plan and choose the walls you wish to furnish. Hiding/Unhiding Windows ----------------------- You can hide/unhide the HEIGHT SCALE and the CAMERA windows by repeatedly pressing Height Scale and Camera buttons on the BUILDER TOOLBOX. TRADEMARKS ========== Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Windows are trademarks of Microsoft, Inc. WebSpace is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Home Space and Home Space Builder are trademarks of ParaGraph International. HAVE FUN WITH HOME SPACE BUILDER 1.0 ! Please, send your comments to hsbbeta2@paragraph.com (Subject: HSB)