OS/2 Shareware BBS: Graphics/Graphics.zip/fs042b.zip/help.HLP

OS/2 Help File | 1997-08-22 | 20KB | 519 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. ForeSpace OS/2 ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

ForeSpace OS/2 is a graphical modeller designed to produce scene files for the
POV-Ray raytracer. This documentation is not intended to replace that provided
with POV-Ray but only to explain the use of ForeSpace.

ForeSpace has been written using IBM Visualage for C++ version 3.0 and the IBM
Open Class Libraries.

Author :

 Sean Ryan

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

www.mpx.com.au/~damien


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Object types ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are fifteen different object types currently supported by ForeSpace. All
of these different object types have common attributes such as textures and
transformations that can be modified through the object settings notebook.

Many of these object types also have unique attributes that can be accessed
through their associated pages in the object settings notebook.

The object types currently supported by ForeSpace are:

     Area Light
     Bezier patch
     Box
     Cone
     CSG
     Cylinder
     Disc
     Heightfield
     Plane
     Point light
     Polygon
     Sphere
     Spotlight
     Text
     Torus


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1. Bezier Patch ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Like the polygon object, the bezier patch has a graphical extended edit in
addition to a dialog box.

When you perform an extended edit on a bezier patch, the patches' control
points are displayed for you to move to shape the patch to your liking. These
control points are selected in the same way as other objects are normally.
While in this mode however, other objects cannot be selected.

When entering this mode, a floating toolbar will appear with a single button
Finish edit on it. Selecting Finish edit will remove the control points and
frame, and return ForeSpace to it's normal editing mode.

A bezier patch's extended attributes are accessed through it's page in the
object settings notebook.

The attributes are:

     Patch type

     Flatness

     U_Steps

     V_Steps

     Divisions

 The divisions attribute specifies how many lines on each axis ForeSpace will
 break the patch into for drawing. The more divisions, the smoother the patch
 looks but the longer it takes to draw. This attribute has no effect on the
 actual tracing of the patch.

 Please refer to POV-Ray documentation for details on the other options.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2. Box ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Boxes are simple objects with no extended attributes. They are created as cubes
1 unit in each dimension and centered on the origin.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3. Cone ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Cones have extended attributes of top and bottom radii and can be open or
closed. By default cones are closed with a bottom radius of 1 unit and a top
radius of 0 units.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4. CSG ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Constructive Solid Geometry objects are objects that are made by performing
boolean geometry operations between child objects. CSG operations available are
union , intersection, merge and difference. All currently available object
types are valid for use as a CSG's child object. See POV-Ray documentation for
an explanation of these operations.

The unique attributes of a CSG are, of course, the type of operation performed
between the child objects, and the child objects themselves. The CSG extended
edit page allows you to add or remove objects from the CSG's child list and
change the operation performed by the CSG.

The easiest way to create a CSG is to have selected all the objects you wish to
make the CSG from when you create it. This way the selected objects are
automatically included in the CSG's child list.

A primary object for the CSG must be selected from the list of children. This
object is only of relevance to a CSG of type difference, as it specifies the
object from which the others are subtracted.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.5. Cylinder ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Cylinders are created with a radius of 1 unit, with their base centered on the
origin and 1 unit long along the +z axis.

Cylinders have only one extended attribute - whether the cylinder is open or
closed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.6. Disc ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Discs are created with a radius of 1 unit, centered on the origin and lying in
the x-y  plane.

Discs have two extended attributes  - inner and outer radius. By default discs
have an inner radius of zero.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.7. Heightfield ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Heightfields are created as cubes 2 units each side, centered at the origin.

Heightfields have extended attributes of the filename, the waterlevel and the
smooth option. Please refer to POV-Ray documentation for a detailed explanation
of these attributes.

Note: Take care to ensure that the file specified lies within a path you have
included in the scene.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.8. Lights ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

All lights share some extended attributes. These are:

     Fade distance

     Fade power

     Shadowless

     Atmospheric attenuation

     A 'Looks like' object

     Colour

 Currently, the Looks like attribute is not supported.

 Please refer to POV-Ray documentation for an explanation of the other extended
 attributes.

 Light types supported by ForeSpace are:

     Area light

     Point light

     Spotlight
 Tip : Lights generally work better if you position them as far as possible
 from the objects you are illuminating (unless you are using atmospheric
 attenuation, of course).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.8.1. Area Light ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Area lights are essentially pointlights that, for the purpose of calculating
shadows, are broken up into a number of dimmer pointlights spread over an area.
The effect of this is to create more realistic shadows by softening their
edges.

Area lights can be scaled, rotated and translated to achieve the desired
effect. Consult POV-Ray documentation for information regarding the effects of
the area-light's extended attributes.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.8.2. Point light ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Point lights have only the extended attributes common to all lights.

Scaling and rotation transformations have no effect on the point light object.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.8.3. Polygon ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Polygon objects are two-dimensional, lying on the x-y plane. They have no
extended attributes, but do allow graphical editing, using the polygon editor.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.8.4. Spotlight ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

In addition to the extended attributes common to all lights, spotlights have
radius, falloff and tightness attributes. Please refer to POV-Ray documentation
for an explanation of these.

Spotlights are created at the origin, facing along the -z axis. Translate the
spotlight to the desired location and rotate it to face the required direction.

Scaling transformations have no effect on the spotlight object.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.9. Plane ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Planes are created lying on the x-y plane. ForeSpace graphically represents
planes as finite, streching from 2 to -2 on both x and y axes, with the plane
normal indicated by a 0.5 unit length line along the +z-axis from the center of
the plane. When traced however, POV-Ray treats planes as infinite solids, with
the outside being everything on the normal side of the plane.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.10. Sphere ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The sphere object has no extended attributes.

It is created as a sphere of radius 1 unit, centered on the origin.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.11. Text ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Text objects are created lying on the x-y plane, facing along the +ve z-axis.
The bottom-left of the first character is at the origin, with additional
characters streching along the +ve x-axis. The characters depth is 1 unit: top
at z = 1, bottom at z = 0.

Extended attributes are : the text itself, the TrueType font file to use, and
x/y offsets used to space characters.

Currently, the representation of text objects is simply a box approximating the
size of each character - it is not precise. This will be addressed in a future
release of ForeSpace.

The font files presented in the list box are all the TTF files found in the
include directories specified for the scene. If you wish to use any additional
fonts, either copy the TTF files to an included directory, or add your font's
directory to the include directories list box in the scene globals dialog box.

The x/y offset values are zero by default. Values entered in these fields will
added as additional spacing between each character.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.12. Torus ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The torus object has extended attributes of inner radius, and outer radius.
These values specify the radius of the hole in the torus and the radius of the
outer edge of the torus respectively.

It is created with an inner radius of 1 unit and an outer radius of two units,
centered on the origin, and lying in the x-z plane.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Object settings notebook ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The object settings notebook has all the common attributed of objects
represented on the first page. For each type of selected object that has
extended attributes, an additional page will appear, on which that extended
attributes may be altered. If several objects of the same type are selected,
any attributes that are altered will be applied to every object selected.

The common attributes are:

     Name

     Layer

     Transform before texture

     Hollow

     No Shadow

     Texture

     Transformations

 If multiple objects are selected, changes will apply to all.

 Note:  Editing the name field when multiple objects are selected has no
 effect.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.1. Transform before texture ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

When transform before texture is selected, the object will have it's
transformations applied to it before it's texture is applied to it. This
prevents the texture on the object from becoming distorted by any scaling done
on the object itself. The texture can be transformed independently of the
object.

The default is to transform the object first.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2. Texture selection ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

A texture can be selected for the object from the list box or from the previews
window.

Textures are created through the Texture Manager.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.3. Object Transformations ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

By default the values shown are the actual values of the transformation
elements of the selected objects. If these values are changed, the changes will
apply to all selected objects.

Selecting the Values indicate change in variable button will reset all the
fields to zero, and any values entered will be added to the selected object's
existing values. ie: Entering a 1 in the first translation field will move all
selected objects 1 unit positively along the x axis, regardless of their
current individual x axis positions.

A * indicates that this value varies among the selected objects. If you change
other values but leave the * then these varied values will not be altered. For
example, suppose you have several objects distributed around the x-y plane and
you wish to bring them into alignment along the x-axis without altering their x
values. After selecting all the objects and opening the object settings dialog,
you will see a * in both the x and y translation fields. Change the y value to
0 and leave the x value as a *. Now the objects are all lined up along the
x-axis with their original x translation values.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Extended attributes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Each object type that has unique attributes (such as the innner/outer radii of
the torus, or the colour of a light source) has an associated page in the
object settings dialog that allows you to edit these attributes.

Object types that have extended attributes are

     Area Light
     Bezier patch
     Cone
     CSG
     Cylinder
     Disc
     Heightfield
     Point light
     Spotlight
     Text
     Torus


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Mouse editing ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The easiest method of transforming your objects is to use the mouse to
translate, rotate, scale or shear the selected objects by simply left-click and
dragging on a view. The particular operation performed by the mouse is selected
by clicking on one of the toolbar buttons or by selecting the corresponding
menu item under Edit/Mouse action.

When transforming objects in this way, you can constrain the movement to one
axis by holding down the control key. Additionally, while  scaling objects you
can force uniform scaling (in two axes) by holding down the alt key while you
drag.

In both cases the key must be pressed before clicking the left mouse button.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. The Sidebar ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The sidebar provides real-time feedback from your  mouse editing by displaying
the current values for a selected object. Note that only one of the selected
objects is displayed at a time. You can choose from among the selected objects
in the list box at the top of the bar.

These values may also be edited by hand and the applied to the object by
pressing enter or by clicking apply. Once again, these changes only apply to
the object selected in the object list box. If you wish to make changes to all
selected objects simultaneously, use the object settings dialog.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Selecting objects ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are two methods for selecting objects.

     Selecting with the mouse

     The Select Object dialog


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.1. Selecting objects with the mouse ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Objects can be selected by shift-dragging the mouse over object's vertices or
shift+control+dragging to toggle selection.

This action can be performed on any view.

Note: For drawing efficiency, the plane object only has vertices along it's
edges not where lines meet in the middle, so you must drag the selection box
over it's edges or the plane's normal line to select it.

Note: When selecting a CSG object by this method, only the ultimate parent
object is selected. The individual children that it is made of are not.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.2. Select Object dialog ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog can be found by clicking the arrow toolbar button, or from the Edit
menu.

The select object dialog provides a list of all currently visible (see layers)
objects, representing hierarchy by indenting child objects.

Any number of objects can be selected from this dialog.

Note: When transforming CSG's, you generally only want to have the CSG
selected, not it's children too. If you have both the parent and a child
selected, any operations you make will effect both. ie: the parent will be
moved, and the child will be moved within the parent - effectively moving it
twice. It's perfectly Ok to move just the child around within it's parent
though.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Layers ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

For large or complex scenes, it's sometimes handy to be able to block out all
the objects you are not working on at the time. This speeds redraws and makes
selecting objects easier.

To accomodate this, ForeSpace has 32 layers which you can toggle on or off
using the layers dialog. This is accessed through the 'L' toolbar button or
from the Edit menu.

Each object exists within a layer, selectable in the  object settings dialog.
If that a particular layer is on, then all objects that reside in that layer
will be visible. By default all layers are on.

When an object is created, it will be placed in the first visible layer (or
layer 1 if you're working blind :-).

Objects that are not in a currently visible layer will not appear in the select
object dialog and are not selectable by shift-dragging. When a trace is done,
however, all objects are always exported regardless of their current visiblity
status in ForeSpace.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. The View Windows ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The four view windows provide a means of graphically interacting with, and
viewing your objects.

By default the views are (clockwise from top left) looking down the -x axis,
the -y axis, the -z axis (top down view) and the camera view.

These defaults may be changed using the Tools/Configure Views dialog.

All views allow mouse interaction with the exception of the camera view which
does not allow editing, but does allow mouse selections to be made.

All views except the camera view may be panned and zoomed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.1. Panning a view ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

View windows can be panned by simply right-clicking and dragging on the view.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.2. Zooming a view ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

View windows can be zoomed by clicking and holding both (left and right) mouse
buttons and dragging the mouse. Move left to zooming and right to zoom out.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Message Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The file you selected could not be opened for one or more of the following
reasons:

     The file could not be found.  It may have been deleted, renamed, or
      moved.
     There are too many open files.  If this is the case, increase the FILES=
      number in your CONFIG.SYS.
     Access to the file was denied.  Check the file's attributes and make sure
      that you have write access to the file.
     The file may be in use by another process.  Stop all processes that could
      be using the file and try opening the file again.
     The disk is full.

 Check that none of the above conditions is true and try the opening the file
 again.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Message Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This action is invalid until you have opened a file.  Open a file by selecting
Open... from the File pull-down menu.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ <hidden> Message Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Help is not available due to one or more of the following reasons:

     The HELP.HLP file is not present on the HELP path.  Ensure that the \HELP
      directory is present along your HELP path, and that the HELP.HLP file
      exists.
     The HELP.HLP file is corrupted.