The File Menu

The File menu is a standard Windows menu. It provides a number of functions related to file management.

New

Creates a new scene.

Open

Opens an existing scene.

Save

Saves the scene.

Save as...

Saves the scene as a new file.

Export

Exports the current scene to an alternate file format. The DirectX and POVRay file formats are the preferred export formats for 3D Canvas. With all other formats, only the geometry of the scene will be exported.

Import

Imports an object from an alternate file format. The DirectX file format is the preferred import format for 3D Canvas. With all other formats, only the geometry of the scene will be imported.

Compress

Compresses the current file. This removes all cached layer information. This reduces the size of a 3D Canvas file considerably. This operation is typically done in order to make a file small for distribution.

This will make the loading of the file slow the next time the file is opened, since cache layer information will have to be restored.

Note that Compressing in conjunction with Zipping can reduce file size tremendously. A Compressed and Zipped file can be as little as 10% of the original file size.

Properties

Opens the File Properties window which provides a number options for the appearance of the scene including background color, image and fog properties.

Exit