Help
Menu |
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The main menu should be present on startup, and can be toggled using the '~'/'`' key. |
Opening files |
Files can be opened using the file selection window or by command line argument. Files may also be streamed from an internet site if the full path is given to the object. For example if you wish to stream a file from http://www.cs.ualbera.ca/ named file.yxv, you should supply the command line with
./renderer http://www.cs.ualbera.ca/file.yxv
Saving files |
Although the file save feature was orignally added for convenient conversion of our raw objects into the newer file format, but can be used to further compress current files, or save files that have modified object positions. First, the user will be prompted with the save options dialog. This dialog allows the user to choose the number of basis vectors for each channel(in multiples of 16, lower providing smaller file sizes with lower quality), as well as compression options for the basis and the look-up tables(Note: if a compressed file is loaded, and then saved with no compression, the quality of the file will be lowered from the lossy nature of the decompression). Finally a file dialog allows the user to select the appropriate filename. Currently you are not allowed to overwrite an existing file.
Viewing objects |
There are two different modes used when viewing objects. The first mode is the single object viewing mode, while the second is for multiple objects.
Single Object Mode
In single object mode, the user controlls the rotation of the object about two axis' with a left mouse click and a drag. A drag in the vertical diretion will rotate the object around the x-axis, while the horizontal drag will rotate the object around the y-axis.
Multiple Object (Fly) Mode
In the multiple object mode, the user controls the viewing angle of the camera using the left mouse click and drag as in single object mode. But the user is free to strafe left or right using 'a' and 'z' keys, or translate vertically using 'w' or 's' keys. A right mouse click and drag will allow the user to move the camera forward and backward in the current viewing direction, parallel to the x-z plane.
Render Information |
Render options |
The render options dialog allows the user to switch rendering modes from hardware to software(provided the hardware is supported) as well as toggle the use of MMX optimized code when in software mode. You can also choose the quality of the rendering by selecting the percentage of the basis vectors to use in rendering(NOTE: these will be rounded to the nearest integer divisible by 16, since this is required by the hardware). Additionally, you can select the size of the texture resolution to speed up rendering.
Editing Scenes |
Initially the system is in one of the viewing modes descriped above, but you can press 'e' or 'E' to set the mode to edit mode. Edit mode allows the user to move/scale/rotate the objects in the current scene while viewing the changes in the 3d window. The currently active viewport (front/side/top) is determined by which viewport has received the latest mouse click. The current viewport can be translated with right mouse click and drag. The viewport can also be zoomed in and out using the 'a' and 'z' keys. The 3d viewport is navigated in the same manner described by the current viewing mode.
Selection and Deselection
Selecting an object can be done if no other object is selected. To selec an object, simply pick the object in one of the front/top/side views with the mouse. To select multiple objects, first select one object, then select the other objects while holding down control. The selected objects will be drawn with a wireframe overtop of their texture.
The following assume that there is a currently selected object
Rotation
Press the 'r' key to enter rotation mode. Now click and drag the mouse up and down to rotate the object.
Moving
Press 'g' to enter grab mode. Now click and drag the mouse to move the object.
Scale
Press the 's' key to enter scale mode. Now click and drag the mouse up and down to scale the object.