Copyright: ©1996 Superscape VR plc. All rights reserved.
Citation: ©1996 Superscape VR plc. All rights reserved.


Visualiser window decoration


Title bar

Displays the name of the active application and the current VRT or SVR file along the top of the window.

To move the window drag the title bar.


Docking bar

A possible location to dock a toolbar. To move a toolbar here, simply drag it with the mouse.


Viewing area

The Visualiser viewing area corresponds to the window onto the current virtual world. If no world is loaded, the Anchor object is displayed in the center of the viewing area in front of a backdrop of an horizon, which helps you orientate yourself. You can change the horizon to a solid color if you prefer, by choosing Settings>Setup>Display.


Scroll bars

Displayed at the right and bottom edges of the window. The scroll boxes inside the scroll bars indicate your vertical and horizontal location. You can use the mouse to scroll the display.


Size bar

Drag the size bars at the corners or edges of the window to resize the window


Toolbar

The toolbar provides shortcuts to the common commands.

The toolbar is displayed by default at the top of the window in Visualiser.

The toolbar can float or dock with the window at any location.


View bar

The view bar lets you switch to one of the preset viewpoints for the world—the number of active icons in the bar corresponds to the number of preset viewpoints.

You can position the view bar in the same way as the toolbar.


Function bar

The function bar shows the functions assigned to the buttons on a proportional device, such as a Spacemouse.


Move bar

The movement bar lets you move around the virtual world by clicking and dragging on the arrow icons in the center. These move the viewpoint in the vertical plane (left icon), in the horizontal plane (middle icon) and tilt the viewpoint up and down (right icon). The movement bar itself cannot be moved.


Status bar

Displays messages. The left area of the status bar describes actions of menu items or toolbar buttons as you position the mouse pointer above them or select them. If you selected a toolbar button and you choose not to execute the command after viewing the description, move the mouse pointer away before releasing the button.

The right area of the status bar displays, from left to right, angular step, movement step, the time, the screen size and the current frames per second.


Visualiser dialog boxes


Active Viewpoints dialog box


Lists the preset viewpoints that have been setup in the world by the world designer. When you click a viewpoint, the viewpoint in the world changes to the new position immediately.

Each world can have up to 100 preset viewpoints that can be static, follow predefined paths, or attached to objects to create controlled objects which you can steer around the world.


Mouse Buttons and Movement dialog box


Specifies that the mouse button would cause movement in the axes defined below.


Specifies that the mouse button would act as it does in mouse selection mode, where moving the mouse pointer around the screen simply does that—clicking the left mouse button activates objects and the right button displays the history menu in most editors.


Lists the available sideways movements and rotations for each axis for the current mouse action. To assign movement or rotation to this mouse action, click on one of the available options from the drop-down list. These options are only available if the mouse is in Move mode.


Lists the available forwards and backwards movements and rotations for each axis for the current mouse action. To assign movement or rotation to this mouse action, click on one of the available options from the drop-down list. These options are only available if the mouse is in Move mode.


Specifies that the distance of the mouse pointer from the home position determines the speed of rotation or movement. This option is only available if the mouse is in Move mode.


Specifies that the distance of the mouse from the home position determines the absolute orientation or position of the viewpoint. This option is only available if the mouse is in Move mode.


Resets all the movement options to their default settings.


Visualiser Setup dialog box


Lists all the devices that Visualiser supports, their type (for example, proportional) and their current state (for example, enabled).


Enables the selected device.


Disables the selected device.


Resets the selected device to its default settings.


Adds a device to the list. Displays the Open File dialog box.


Specifies that you will be prompted to save the changes you have made in the preferences file (.CFG) when you exit the dialog box.


Specifies how you switch between mouse selection mode and movement mode. This can be done in one of three ways:

•	Keyboard - pressing SPACEBAR.

•	Key and Centre Button - using the center mouse button on a three button mouse.

•	Centre Button (Hold) - the center mouse button can be set so that holding it down switches into movement mode. When released, the mouse returns to selection mode.

In selection mode, moving the mouse pointer around the screen simply does that—clicking the left mouse button activates objects and the right button displays the history menu in most editors. In movement mode, moving the mouse around the screen causes the viewpoint or controlled object to move in the virtual world. Pressing the left and right mouse buttons modifies the movement to use different axes.


Click this to set the axes for mouse movement. Displays the Mouse Buttons and Movement dialog box.


Specifies that the mouse home position is visible.


Specifies where the mouse must be in order to cause no movement. Floating sets the home position to the point where the mouse is clicked in the viewing area; Center sets the center of the screen to be used as the home position.


Specifies how the movement rates scale as you move the mouse further from its home position. When the slider is at the left end of the scale, the distance of the mouse from its home position is used directly to determine how fast to move. When the slider is at the right hand end, the mouse position is scaled more for large values than small. This means that while small mouse movements still cause small movements in the virtual world, large mouse movements cause progressively larger world movements.


Specifies how the rotations rates scale as you move the mouse further from its home position. When the slider is at the left end of the scale, the distance of the mouse from its home position is used directly to determine how fast to rotate. When the slider is at the right hand end, the mouse position is scaled more for large values than small. This means that while small mouse movements still cause small movements in the virtual world, large mouse movements cause progressively larger world movements.


Specifies that the button would cause movement in the axes defined below.


Specifies that the button would act as it does in selection mode.


Lists the available sideways movements and rotations for each axis for the current button option.To assign a movement or rotation, click on one of the available options from the drop-down list. These options are only available if the button is in Move mode.


Lists the available forwards and backwards movements and rotations for each axis for the current joystick option. To assign a movement or rotation, click on one of the available options from the drop-down list. These options are only available if the button is in Move mode.


The Spacemouse is the recommended input device for use with Visualiser. The Spacemouse senses the amount of pressure or twist applied to the ‘cap’ in each of the six axes. Pushing it forward pushes the controlled object or viewpoint forward. Rotating the cap rotates the controlled object or viewpoint.


Select the serial port that the Spacemouse is attached to.


The Spaceball is a common input device for use with the Visualiser. The Spaceball senses the amount of pressure or twist applied to the ball in each of the six possible axes. Pushing the ball forward pushes the controlled object or viewpoint forward. Rotating the ball rotates the controlled object or viewpoint.


Select the serial port that the Spaceball is attached to.


The Ascension Flock of Birds position tracker is a device that follows the motion of a small sensor (known as a Bird) in the real world, and communicates this position to the computer using a serial port.

The Bird is a small plastic device approximately one centimeter in size attached to a cable. Using the Bird merely consists of moving it in the real world. Up to three receivers may be used, so long as they are set up as a ‘standard flock’, where the first Flock of Birds unit has a receiver and a transmitter attached, and subsequent units have receivers only.


Select the serial port that the Flock of Birds is attached to.


Drag the slider to alter the delay between starting up the Flock of Birds and sending the initialization information. The range is from 1000 to 5000 milliseconds (1 to 5 seconds).


Specifies the axes of movement for the bird in the virtual world. To change the setup, click on a new X,Y, or Z option in the drop-down list of the axis you want to change.

The default setup should be fine for a horizontally mounted transmitter.


Specifies the axes of rotation for the bird in the virtual world. To change the setup, click on a new X,Y, or Z option in the drop-down list of the axis you want to change.

The default setup should be fine for a horizontally mounted transmitter.


Specifies that sudden changes in position are reported back to Visualiser. If this check box is clear, then sudden changes are damped out by the Flock of Birds.


Specifies whether you wish to send your own sync pulse to the bird. If you want to use the sync pulse signal supplied with the bird, make sure this option is clear.


Specifies the number of birds that you are using.


The Polhemus FASTRAK position tracker is a device that follows the motion of a small sensor in the real world, and communicates this position to the computer using a serial port.

The Tracker is a small plastic device approximately one centimeter in size attached to a cable. Using the Tracker merely consists of moving it in the real world. Up to three trackers may be attached to the FASTRAK (not four, due to the limitation of 18 axes). The one attached to the lowest numbered connector controls the first six axes, the next lowest controls the next six axes, and the third controls the final six axes. The number of trackers is sensed automatically by the software, and does not appear in the configuration information.


Select the serial port that the device is attached to.


Drag the slider to alter the delay between starting up the device and sending the initialization information. The range is from 1000 to 5000 milliseconds (1 to 5 seconds).


Specifies the axes of movement for the device in the virtual world. To change the setup, click on a new X,Y, or Z option in the drop-down list of the axis you want to change.

The default setup should be fine for a horizontally mounted transmitter.


Specifies the axes of rotation for the device in the virtual world. To change the setup, click on a new X,Y, or Z option in the drop-down list of the axis you want to change.

The default setup should be fine for a horizontally mounted transmitter.


The Virtual I-O i-glasses is a head mounted display (HMD) device that produces a stereoscopic display. You can only use the i-glasses with virtual worlds that have been specifically configured for stereoscopic HMDs—the layout of each world has two windows that display the same image and must be displayed in interlace mode in Visualiser.

The i-glasses is an orientation tracker only, providing pitching and rolling information through the serial port. If you require positional information, you need to use a second device such as the keyboard or mouse.

If you are using Windows 95, make sure that you are using a monitor which runs at 50 or 60 Hz refresh rate in SVGA mode. See the Virtual I-O i-glasses documentation for further details.


Select the serial port that the i-glasses are attached to.


Devices: Direct3D


Lists the available Direct3D driver modes. Select one of the following:

•	Direct3D HAL - a Direct3D hardware driver. You must be using a Direct3D enhanced graphics card or an MMX enhanced processor to use the driver in this mode. This mode will be unavailable if the hardware is not installed.

•	RGB emulation - a Direct3D software driver. All the graphic calculations are made in software rather than the dedicated hardware, which is very processor intensive. The Direct3D software driver is useful if you do not have a Direct3D enhanced graphics card, however, as it allows you to preview worlds on your computer that you may otherwise not be able to see.


You can network up to twenty-five Visualisers together so that people can interact with each other in the same world in real time. Windows Visualiser uses NetBios to transport the information around the network of users. To install and configure NetBios we recommend that you contact your System Administrator.


Specifies the user number for the computer. Each user is allocated a different viewpoint on startup. On a multi-user system, user 1 starts on viewpoint 1, user 2 on viewpoint 2, and so on.


Specifies the total number of users sharing the virtual world. This number can be different from world to world, and does not need to be the number of users on the network.


Drag the slider to adjust the time to wait for the initial connection before stopping the program. The default setting is 30000 milliseconds.


Drag the slider to adjust the time to wait before timing out on each machine.  The default setting is 10 seconds.


Selects the crosshair or the mouse pointer as the selection tool. When the crosshair is set as the selection tool, you select items by moving the world until the item is under the crosshair and pressing the activation key. If you have a proportional device such as a Spacemouse, you can use a crosshair to select items.

Select Crosshair Visible to display the crosshair tool in the center of the screen.


Drag the slider or type a value in the space provided to set the movement step size for each time you press a key in the world. Movement step has a range of 0–100000.


Drag the slider or type a value in the space provided to set the angular step rotation for each time you press a key in the world. Angular step has a range, in degrees, of 0.00–90.00


Locks the viewpoint in the selected axes.


Drag the slider or type a value in the space provided to set the amount of detail shown on screen by globally changing the distances at which all replacements are applied. Details level has a range of -10 to +10, with 0 as its default. Negative values give less detail and replacement distances are brought closer to the view point. Positive values give more detail by placing replacement points further away from the viewpoint.


Drag the slider or type a value in the space provided to set the size of the ‘window’ on the virtual world. Zoom level has a range of 256 – 16384. Low values show more of the world in the screen and high values zoom in so that less of the world is visible on the screen.


Specifies whether the background display to is a a solid background (Solid) or has a ground and sky (Horizon).

Each option has an additional No Redraw selection that instructs Visualiser to use the previous option but not update the screen each frame.


Proportional Control Type dialog box


Click the control type you want and click OK.


Proportional Device Setup dialog box


Displays the current control type. Click Select to choose a different configuration.

Visualiser has 40 preset control type settings that you can use to control how the viewer sees worlds. These work within the six basic axes of movement (so that moving in the Z+ axis moves forwards and rotating in the Y+ axis spins clockwise). They comprise 10 basic settings each with four different levels of sensitivity and viewpoint as follows:

Car Cntl	Lets you control and ‘drive’ car type objects.

Fly Cntl	Provides total control over an object.

Fly No Z	Same as Fly Cntl but with no object tilt.

Man Cntl	Lets you control and ‘walk’ humanoid type objects.

Plane Cntl	Lets you control and ‘fly’ airplane type objects.

View Move	Provides total control over the viewpoint.

View No Z	Same as View Move but with no viewpoint tilt.

View Spin	Moves a viewpoint around an object.

View Stat	Allows control from a stationary viewpoint. It only has movement in the three rotational axes.

View Walk	Where vertical movement or tilt is not required.

Following the basic settings in each case is a number between one and six, which indicates that the device should take input from that number of different axes simultaneously, and either Hi or Lo, which refers to the sensitivity of the viewpoint.


Click this to choose a new control type. Displays the Proportional Control Type dialog box.


Specifies how many axes (1–6) the proportional device operates in simultaneously. Select a number from the drop-down list.

When set to 1, only the axis with the greatest amount of force applied passes information to the world at any one time. This makes it easy to use the device to move the viewpoint or object in one direction without accidentally operating other axes. When the field is set to 6, information from all the axes affects the viewpoint or object. This increases operational speed but needs skill to accurately control the viewpoint or object.


Drag the sliders or type values in the boxes to set the sensitivity along and around each of the six basic axes of the control device. Sensitivity has a range of 0 (off) to 15 (maximum).

The higher the value (indicated by the number to the right of the slider), the more sensitive the device is to pressure in that axis, and the faster you will move or rotate in that axis.


Drag the sliders or type values in the boxes to specify the amount of force required before the device starts moving in the axis. A device’s translational and rotation deadzones are individually adjustable for the X, Y, Z axes in 64 steps (0–63).

The higher the value (indicated by the number to the right of the slider), the greater the input required to start the device operating in that axis. This can help to avoid accidentally moving a viewpoint or object with very small inputs from the device.


World Information dialog box


Displays the previous page of help text.


The world information for the current world. This text is read-only. Click Next and Prev to scroll forwards or backwards through the pages.


Displays the next page of help text.


Menu commands


Control menu


Restore command (Control menu)

Returns the active window to its size and position before you chose the Maximize or Minimize command.


Move command (Control menu)

Displays a four-headed arrow so you can move the active window with the arrow .

Note that this command is unavailable if you maximize the window.


Size command (Control menu)

Displays a four-headed arrow so you can size the active window with the arrow .

After the pointer changes to the four-headed arrow:

1	Press one of the arrow   to move the pointer to the border you want to move.

2	Press an arrow key to move the border.

3	Press ENTER when the window is the size you want.

Note that this command is unavailable if you maximize the window.

Shortcut:	Drag the size bars at the corners or edges of the window with the mouse.


Minimize command (Control menu)

Reduces the application window to an icon.

Shortcut:	Click the Minimize button on the title bar with the mouse.


Maximize command (Control menu)

Enlarges the active window to fill the available space.

Shortcut:	Click the Maximize button on the title bar; or double-click the title bar, with the mouse.


Close command (Control menu)

Closes the active window or dialog box.

Double-clicking the Control-menu icon is the same as choosing the Close command.

Shortcuts:	ALT+F4

Click the Close button on the title bar with the mouse.


Switch To command (Control menu)

Enables you to switch between Windows applications, via the Task List dialog box.


File menu


Open command (File menu)

Loads a file that has been created using Superscape VRT. Displays the Open File dialog box.

Shortcuts:	CTRL+O


Close command (File menu)

Closes the current world. The default world is displayed.


Print command (File menu)

Prints the current screen to the specified Windows printer or to a file.

Displays the Print dialog box where you may specify:

•	The number of copies.

•	The destination printer and print quality.

•	Print to printer (as a .PCX) or to a file (as a .PCN)

•	Other printer setup options.

Shortcut:	CTRL+P


Print Setup command (File menu)

Selects a printer and printer connection. Displays the Print Setup dialog box where you may specify:

•	Page size—width and height

•	Paper orientation (landscape or portrait)

•	Other printer setup options.


World Information command (File menu)

Displays help text for the world in a read-only dialog box.

Shortcut:	I


Recent File command (File menu)

Displays the last four VRT or files that you had open. Clicking on a file reloads the world.


Exit command (File menu)

Closes the Visualiser application. You are prompted to save any unsaved changes that you have made to any of the current files.

If you click OK, the Save File dialog box is displayed showing the current VRT file. Click Save to save any unsaved changes to the current file and then click OK in the alert box to overwrite the existing data. Click Cancel to stop the operation.

If you have changed the preferences file but not saved the changes, the Save Preferences dialog box is displayed showing the current preferences file. Click Save to save the file and click OK in the alert box to overwrite the existing data. Click Cancel to stop the operation.

A final alert box lets you exit Visualiser or go back to the program by clicking Cancel. If you click Cancel, you are returned to Visualiser with the last world displayed.

Shortcuts:

Mouse:	Double-click the application's control menu icon

Keys:	ALT+F4


View menu


Toolbar command (View menu)

Specifies whether the Visualiser toolbar is displayed or hidden. The toolbar contains buttons for some of the most common commands in the application, such as File>Open. A tick (√) appears next to the menu item when the Toolbar is displayed.


View Bar command (View menu)

Specifies whether the view bar is displayed or hidden. The view bar lets you switch between preset viewpoints for the world. The number of icons in the bar corresponds to the number of viewpoints. A tick (√) appears next to the menu item when the view bar is displayed.


Status Bar command (View menu)

Specifies whether the status bar at the bottom of the window is displayed or hidden. The status bar describes the action to be executed by the selected menu item or depressed toolbar button, plus other information about the active world and Visualiser. A tick (√) appears next to the menu item when the status bar is displayed.


Move Bar command (View menu)

Specifies whether the move bar is displayed or hidden. The move bar is positioned at the bottom of the window and lets you move around the virtual world by clicking and dragging on the icons. A tick (√) appears next to the menu item when the move bar is displayed.


Function Bar command (View menu)

Specifies whether the function bar at the bottom of the window is displayed or hidden. The function bar shows functions attached to the buttons on a proportional device. A tick (√) appears next to the menu item when the function bar is displayed.

If the active world does not have functions assigned to buttons on a proportional device, this command is grayed out.


Select Viewpoint command (View menu)

Displays the Active Viewpoints dialog box that lets you select a different viewpoint, or the last selected viewpoint. This dialog box is a resident dialog box, so that you can see the viewpoint that you select before you click Close.


Settings menu


Setup command (Settings menu)

Displays the Visualiser Setup dialog box which consists of two tabs:

Devices	Enables and configures devices.

Display	Sets the display options.


Hide Window Frame command (Settings menu)

Displays the world without any title bar, menu bar or toolbar, letting you to display the world full screen.

Shortcut:	CTRL+H


Use System Palette Entries command (Settings menu)

Uses the system palette color values directly, instead of the color values from the world palette.

Windows uses the last ten colors in the palette. These colors may also have been specifically defined by the world designer, which can cause your display to be strangely colored. By default these are not used, but if your world is incorrectly colored, you can switch to using all of the Windows System Palette.

Shortcut:	CTRL+F


Interlace On/Off command (Settings menu)

Switches the display between interlaced mode and normal.

You need to display the world in interlaced mode if you want to use the world with a HMD (Head Mounted Display) or 3D Glasses.

Some worlds are designed as two images with the same frame so that they can be used with a stereo device such as 3D Glasses. To use the device you need to display the frames on top of each other in interlaced mode, so that the device can interpret the image.

Shortcut:	CTRL+I


Increase Resolution command (Settings menu)

Increases the screen resolution.

With some graphics cards, you can use Visualiser in several different screen resolutions, depending on the configuration.

Shortcuts:	SHIFT++


Decrease Resolution command (Settings menu)

Decreases the screen resolution.

With some graphics cards, you can use Visualiser in several different screen resolutions, depending on the configuration.

Shortcuts:	SHIFT+-


Increase Texture Detail command (Settings menu)

Increases the resolution of textures in a world.

Lets you increase the resolution of textures on-the-fly. Increasing the resolution of a texture displays the image in greater detail but may slow down the speed of the world. Increase Displayed Texture Detail and Decrease Displayed Texture Detail let you increase the texture resolution when you want to look closely at the textured object and reduce it when the world is running slowly.

Textures have five levels of resolution ranging from maximum to a flat area of color.

Shortcuts:	CTRL++


Decrease Texture Detail command (Settings menu)

Decreases the resolution of textures in a world.

Lets you decrease the resolution of textures on-the-fly. Decreasing the resolution of a texture displays the image in lesser detail but may increase the speed of the world. Decrease Displayed Texture Detail and Increase Displayed Texture Detail let you reduce the texture resolution when the world is running slowly and increase it when you want to look closely at the textured object.

Textures have five levels of resolution ranging from maximum to a flat area of color. Reducing the resolution displays the texture in larger blocks of color (at lowest resolution, the texture is displayed as one block of color).

Shortcuts:	CTRL+-


Proportional Device Setup command (Settings menu)

Configures the proportional device that you are using. Displays the Proportional Control Setup dialog box, which lets you configure the control type, number of simulateous axes, sensitivity and deadzones for up to three active devices.


Reset Proportional Devices command (Settings menu)

Resets current proportional devices to their initial settings.

Sometimes proportional devices ‘creep’ even when you have not applied any pressure to the control device. This command lets you effectively apply a handbrake.

Shortcut:	CTRL+F12


Help menu


Help Topics command (Help menu)

Displays the online Help.


Whats This? command (Help menu)

Use the What's This? command to obtain help on some portion of the application. When you choose this command, the mouse pointer will change to an arrow and question mark. Then click somewhere in the application window, for example, on a toolbar button or a command. Help will be shown for the item you clicked.

Shortcuts:	SHIFT+F1


License command (Help menu)

Displays the Superscape license and warranty agreement.


About Superscape Visualiser command (Help menu)

Displays program, copyright and version information about Visualiser.


Toolbar


Reset World command (Toolbar)

Resets all objects and proportional devices in the world to their initial positions and values.

Shortcut:	F12


Zoom In command (Toolbar)

Zooms in from the current viewpoint.

Shortcut:	>


Zoom Out command (Toolbar)

Zooms out from the current viewpoint

Shortcut:	<


Angular Step Size command (Toolbar)

Sets the angular step rotation for each keypress. Angular step has a range, in degrees, of 0.00–90.00

The current step size is displayed in the status bar.


Movement Step Size command (Toolbar)

Sets the movement step size for each keypress. Movement step has a range of 0–100000.

The current step size is displayed in the status bar.


No help

No Help is available for this item.