3D Viewer
by D.J. Coathupe

This application, Objects, is provided to enable you to view 3D object files which have been created using the Perspectives application reviewed in this month's RISC User magazine. Some sample files are included on this disc, within the !Objects.Files directory. Running Objects installs an icon on the icon bar in the usual way. To load data files either double-click on them once Objects has been installed, or drag them to the icon bar icon and the click Select on the icon. The object will then be displayed on the screen. To view the object as a stereoscopic image you will need a pair of red/green gels such as those supplied with the Virtual Reality feature in RISC User 5:8.

By moving the mouse around, you can change the viewing perspective, allowing you to view the object from all angles. Several objects can be held in memory at the same time; typing Return whilst in the viewing mode moves between loaded objects. To return to the Desktop from the viewing mode, click on Adjust.

There are several options available from the icon bar menu, which enable various aspects of the viewer to be toggled on and off. Each of these has an F-key equivalent (shown in brackets).

Stereoscopic (F1): Toggles the stereoscopic (3D) effect on or off.

Inv.Palette (F2): Inverts the palette from red/green on yellow to red/green on black.

Direct control (F3): Enables direct control of the view position using the mouse (when on) or dynamic control which rotates the object with a speed proportional to the mouse movement (when off). In dynamic control if the rotation gets out of hand it is possible to reset it by clicking Select.

High resolution (F4): Toggles between low/high resolution viewing modes. These are mode 8 and 19 respectively.

Reference grid (F5): Toggles the reference horizon on or off.

Reference box (F6): Toggles the reference box on or off.

Bounding box (F7): Toggles the object bounding box on or off (not correct on all objects).

Axis (F8): Toggles the co-ordinate axis on or off.

