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Autodesk AutoFlix version II The Animation Tool Kit (ATK) The ATK is a set of AutoLISP routines that help you produce CAD-based animation from AutoCAD drawings. The ATK is primarily focused on an AutoCAD-to-AutoShade route for the production of an animation. This explains why you are prompted for AutoShade filmrolls and AutoShade types, and why AutoShade script files are the main method for producing animated motion. (see ATKDOC.dwg view STEPS1) However, the ATK is not dependent solely on AutoShade. It is designed to give you the capability to produce complex animations starting in the AutoCAD environment. (You must have AutoCAD Release 10 or later.) You can incorporate resulting output files of various formats in other products currently on the market to create animations. o INSTALLATION SUGGESTIONS The AutoFlix support files (i.e., .lsp, .dwg, .mnu) must be located in an AutoCAD support directory. This can be the \ACAD directory itself, the samples directory, or your current drawing directory. Note: If you are using AutoCAD Release 10, you should use the Menu command to load the ASHADE.mnu menu and access the ATK AutoLISP routines in AutoCAD. If you are using AutoCAD Release 11, load the AACAD.mnu. o FILE TYPES AND FILE-NAMING CONVENTIONS The following table lists the types of files you will be producing and using with your animation routines: File type Description .BLT ASCII list of dwg files created by blockit.lsp or kinetic.lsp. .DWG AutoCAD drawing file .FLI Autodesk Animator animation file (VGA). .FLM AutoCAD/AutoShade filmroll file. .MOV Afega animation file (EGA). .MVI Movie instruction file, an ASCII list of .sld or .rnd files. .RND AutoShade render file. .SCR AutoShade script file generated by path.lsp. .SLD AutoCAD slide file. .PTS ATK point list file. o FILE NUMBERING SCHEME The ATK creates a number of transitional files during the process of producing your final animation. The name for each files is derived from the drawing file (.dwg) you are working with, unless you specify otherwise. In cases where multiple files are created (as with kinetic animation), a numbering scheme is applied to prevent files from being overwritten. The numbering scheme works as follows: a number starting at 0001 is appended to the first four characters of the drawing name. (You can specify another name.) For example, the drawing atktut.dwg produces kinetic filmroll files named atkt0001.flm, atkt0002.flm, and so on. (This means you can have 9999 frames in an animation sequence. However, we do not recommend that you have this many frames in a single animation.) Pay attention to the filenames you are using: drawings that share the first 4 characters create animation files that overwrite one another. Examples house1.dwg and house2.dwg both produce hous0001.flm, hous0002.flm, and so on. In cases like this, it is best to use a separate directory for each animation you are producing and to specify that directory in your ATK Setup Block. (See "Atksetup and Atkedit" later on in this document.) o ANIMATION ROUTINES These are the primary animation routines in the ATK: o ATKSETUP.LSP Inserts an ATK Setup Block into your drawing and displays a dialogue box for setting ATK options. Atksetup works only on systems that sup- port the Advanced User Interface (AUI). If your system does not support the AUI, most of the Atksetup options are offered when you run path.lsp. o ATKEDIT.LSP Edits an ATK Setup Block in your drawing. Atkedit works only on sys- tems that support the AUI. o PATH.LSP Creates an AutoShade control script that moves a camera along a polyline path. The camera is moved in AutoShade. The AutoShade script opens filmrolls, moves a camera, sets lens length, camera twist and target points, and tells AutoShade how to render and save your final images. o KINETIC.LSP Lets you to move entities along polyline paths. Entities are moved in the AutoCAD drawing. (Cameras are moved in AutoShade.) Kinetic creates one of the following types of files: o filmroll (.flm) files for use with Path o drawing (.dwg) files for use with Blockit o slide (.sld) files from either the current view or a path.lsp script o BLOCKIT.LSP Animates a series of AutoCAD Blocks along polyline paths. Blockit cre- ates one of the following types of files: o filmroll (.flm) files o drawing (.dwg) files o slide (.sld) files o SLDVIEW Reads an AutoShade script file that path.lsp creates and applies it to the AutoCAD Dview command. You produce a sequence of wireframe images generated by Dview. Use Sldview if you don't have AutoShade but still want to do animated walkthroughs of 3D models using AutoCAD slide (.sld) files. (see ATKDOC.dwg view STEPS2) You can use these routines together or by themselves to produce your AutoCAD animation. Each of the above routines is explained in detail in the remaining sections of this chapter. o ATKSETUP and ATKEDIT (see ATKDOC.dwg view ATKBLOCK) Atksetup.lsp inserts the atksetup.dwg Block and lets you edit the attribute values attached to the Block. These values control the way the ATK works with your drawing. They control output types, storage directories, and Autodesk RenderMan settings. You use Atkedit to edit and change Atksetup values after you've inserted the Block. If there is more than one ATK Setup Block in the drawing, you're prompted to select one for editing. Important: Atksetup (and Atkedit) is only available for displays that support the Advanced User Interface (AUI) pull-down menus and pop-up dialogue boxes. Not all the settings offered in the ATK Setup dialogue box work with AutoShade 1.0 or 1.1. If you try to use them, AutoShade aborts the script process. The settings supported only by AutoShade Version 2 and AutoShade Version 2 With Autodesk RenderMan are indicated in the text with "Version 2 only" in parentheses. An [R] in front of a setting in the dialogue box means that setting applies only to Autodesk RenderMan. 1. To load atksetup.lsp, select atksetup on the Animation menu. 2. You are prompted for a name for the ATK Setup Block: ATK Setup name: <Enter a name> You can enter any name. The name helps you keep track of different ATK setups. 3. You are prompted for a location for the ATK Setup Block: ATK Setup location: <Pick a point to place the Block> Atksetup displays the Atkedit dialogue box with the following items (items preceded by [R] relate to Autodesk RenderMan): o Name for ATK Setup Block o Directory to place files o Filmroll name o Scene to use o Lens length o Twist amount o Intersection o Smooth shading o Background color # o AutoShade output o Save image with o [R] RSB name o [R] Destination o [R] Image resolution o [R] Pixel samples o [R] Shadows o Name for ATK Setup Block: Name of the Block. Enter any valid unique name. You can edit the name you entered initially. The new name is applied to the ATK Setup Block as soon as you select OK. o Directory to place files: Directory name. Lets you use a directory not currently within the AutoCAD search path to store all the animation files that the ATK creates, for example, filmrolls, slides, and script files. The current working directory is the default. If you enter a directory that does not exist, ATK resets the name to the current working directory. (ATK checks directory validity by trying to create the file 00atk00 in the specified directory. If the directory exists, the file remains there. The file contains no data.) o Filmroll name: Filmroll title. This sets the filmroll title for all the ATK routines. Enter any name. The drawing name is the de- fault. o Scene to use: Name of the scene. The routine searches the drawing for scene (clapper) Blocks and the first one it finds is the default. If the routine finds no scene Block, the name defaults to "None." o Lens length: Length of the camera lens. The default is 30 mm. If you enter two values separated by a comma, Zoom is turned on and the two values applied. For example, 20,70 performs a zoom starting at 20 and ending at 70. o Camera twist: The overall camera twist angle the routine applies during camera motion. If you want to hold the camera at a fixed twist angle, prefix the angle with F. For example, F45 holds the camera twist angle at 45 degrees. o Intersection: This is On or Off. Default is Off. Entering On instructs AutoShade to perform surface intersection checking during the rendering process. This slows down rendering. o Smooth shade (Version 2 only): This is On or Off. Default is Off. Entering On instructs AutoShade to apply smooth shading to all polymesh surfaces in your 3D model. o Background color # (Version 2 only): Enter an AutoCAD Color Index (ACI) color number for the background color. Valid numbers range from 0 to 255 inclusive. Default is 0 (black). o AutoShade output: Enter Fullshade, Fastshade, Slide, Quickshade (Au- toShade Version 2 only), or RenderMan (Autodesk RenderMan only). You need enter only the first two characters of the output format. o Save image with: Enter record, hardcopy, saveimage (Version 2 only), or rib (Autodesk RenderMan only). Autodesk RenderMan renders RenderMan Interface Bytestream (RIB) files. o [R] RSB name: The name of an Autodesk RenderMan Setup Block (RSB). Atksetup searches the drawing for an RSB. The first one it finds is the default. If it finds no RSB, the name is set to "None." o [R] Destination: The Autodesk RenderMan rendering output destination. Default is TGA. Valid entries include framebuffer, tiff, targa, postscript, cpostscript, vga, and vista. o [R] Image resolution: The Autodesk RenderMan rendering image resolution. This setting lets you adjust the rendered image's screen resolution and aspect ratio. Enter three values; these must be two integers and one real. The first two numbers are the X and Y pixel count; the third number is the aspect ratio. The three numbers must be separated by a comma. Example:320,200,1 o [R] Pixel samples: The Autodesk RenderMan sample values. This sets the number of samples to be taken in each direction for each sample. Higher sample values improve rendering quality but slow rendering speed. Low values reduce rendering quality but increase rendering speed. (See the AutoShade User Guide for a detailed explanation of pixel samples.) Enter two integer values. The two values must be separated by a comma and cannot be less than 2. Example: 2,2 o [R] Shadows: Instructs AutoShade to produce shadow maps for Autodesk RenderMan renderings. Valid values are On or Off. Default is Off. o PATH.LSP Path.lsp is the central routine for the ATK. Use it to create AutoShade scripts. Then run those scripts in AutoShade to move and alter the camera to produce a series of renderings. Finally you use Afega (afega.exe), Autodesk Animator Flimaker (flimaker.exe), or Tgafli (tgafli.exe) at the command line to compile the renderings into an animation. You also use Path to create AutoShade scripts that sequence a series of filmrolls (created with kinetic.lsp or blockit.lsp) to make complex kinetic animations. Path.lsp scripts can be read by kinetic.lsp, blockit.lsp or Sldview to create a series of AutoCAD slide files that can then be compiled to make an animation. FEATURES -------- For those of you familiar with the original AutoFlix LISP routines, path.lsp completely replaces afwalk.lsp. The resulting AutoShade script file now controls the camera, target, lens, and twist information in AutoShade. o Path.lsp works with any AutoCAD polyline. o You can set lighting for an animation sequence by defining an AutoShade scene in the drawing. If no scene is defined, AutoShade's default lighting is used. (AutoShade default lighting is ambient light and light from a directed light positioned at the camera viewpoint.) o Path.lsp lets you define the camera path and target path along any series of kinetic motion filmroll files. The filmrolls can be read in either sequential or palindromic (ping-pong) order. Path.lsp contains the following camera and AutoShade control options: o Fixed camera placement o Lens length zoom o Fixed angle camera twist o All AutoShade output: Hard Copy, Full Shade, Fast Shade, Slide, and Quick Shade (Version 2 only). o Autodesk RenderMan output PATH SCRIPT FILE FORMAT ----------------------- AutoShade scripts that path.lsp produces contain a header section with the following information: o An outline of the type of animation being performed o The number of frames being generated in the animation o The source drawing from which the animation was created Comment statements mark the beginning of each animation frame; the end of the script file is indicated by the following text: '.**The end *****'. SAMPLE ANIMATION SCRIPTS The following text illustrates three frames from a sample walkthrough animation script: .*********************************** .* ATK.SCR .* .* Path 1.01 - Camera path animation .* script for AutoShade. .* .* Total frames: 30 .* Source drawing: ATK.DWG .* .* .********************************** .* Set record on, open filmroll, open .* a scene, turn perspective on, set .* lens length, and set screen .* percent. .*********************************** record on open ATK scene SHOT1 perspective on lens 30 spercent -1 .* .**FRAME 1************************* .* Position target, position camera, .* perform Full Shade rendering .********************************** target 7.4989,3.7495,0.0000 camera 10.8658,5.2543,0.0000 fullshade ATK0001 .* .**FRAME 2************************* .* Position target, position camera, .* perform Full Shade rendering .********************************** target 7.4989,3.7495,0.0000 camera 10.7010,5.4715,0.0000 fullshade ATK0002 .* .**FRAME 3************************* .* Position target, position camera, .* perform Full Shade rendering .********************************** target 7.4989,3.7495,0.0000 camera 10.5362,5.6888,0.0000 fullshade ATK0003 .* The following text illustrates three frames from a sample kinetic animation script: .*********************************** .* ATK.SCR .* .* Path 1.01 - Kinetic animation .* script for AutoShade. .* .* Total frames: 30 .* Source drawing: ATK.DWG .* .********************************** .* Set record on. .* record on .* .**FRAME 1********************************** .* Load filmroll, open a scene, turn .* perspective on, set lens length, set .* screen percent, position target, position .* camera, and perform Full Shade rendering. .******************************************* .* open atk0001 scene SHOT1 perspective on lens 30 spercent -1 target 7.1928,3.9280,0.0000 camera 10.8658,5.2543,0.0000 fullshade ATK0001 .* .**FRAME 2************************************ .* Load filmroll, open a scene, turn .* perspective on, set lens length, set .* screen percent, position target, position .* camera, and perform Full Shade rendering. .********************************************* open atk0002 scene SHOT1 perspective on lens 30 spercent -1 target 7.1928,3.9280,0.0000 camera 10.7010,5.4715,0.0000 fullshade ATK0002 .* .**FRAME 3************************************* .* Load filmroll, open a scene, turn .* perspective on, set lens length, set .* screen percent, position target, position .* camera, and perform Full Shade rendering. .********************************************** .* open atk0003 scene SHOT1 perspective on lens 30 spercent -1 target 7.1928,3.9280,0.0000 camera 10.5362,5.6888,0.0000 fullshade ATK0003 AUTOCAD DRAWING PREPARATION --------------------------- The following steps summarize how to prepare your drawing in AutoCAD using path.lsp. o Create all polylines needed for generating the camera and target movement you want. o Choose kinetic or nonkinetic animation. o If you choose kinetic animation (objects move), you create a series of filmrolls. o If you choose nonkinetic animation (only the camera moves), you create a single filmroll. o Define number and sequence of animation frames or AutoShade filmrolls. o Choose the path for the camera position using 3D polylines as needed. o Choose the path for the camera look-at point using 3D polylines as needed. o Specify lighting and camera lens. o Specify type of AutoShade rendering. PATH.LSP STEPS -------------- The following steps lead you through path.lsp, prompt by prompt. 1. To invoke path.lsp, select Path on the Animation menu. Note: If no ATK Setup Block exists in the drawing, you are prompted to insert one. 2. Enter the name of your animation: Animation name <ATK setting>: This is the name used for the AutoShade script, rendering files, and .mvi files. The ATK Setup Block sets the default. Press return to accept the default or enter a new name. 3. Path.lsp asks whether you want kinetic animation: Kinetic animation <N>: o If you specify no kinetic animation, the default, you see the following prompt: Filmroll name <ATK setting>: The ATK Setup Block sets the default. Press return to accept the default or enter a new name. (Nonkinetic animation means entities don't move so you need only one filmroll.) o If you answer Yes to kinetic animation, you see the following kinetic animation prompts: Kinetic >> Number of filmrolls to use: Enter the total number of filmrolls needed for the kinetic animation. In kinetic animation, the entity moves so you need a separate filmroll for each position. This is an integer value and must not exceed 32,767. Kinetic >> Starting number <0001>: Enter the number for the first filmroll to use. This is useful for building sequences of animations. You sometimes want to pick up your filmroll numbering from the end of another sequence. Enter a number if you want the routine to start the number count from another number. For example, if you have a sequence of filmrolls that starts at the number 0020, enter 20 here. Kinetic >> Sequential or Palindromic <S/p>: This places the filmrolls into the script in either sequential (the default) or palindromic (ping-pong) order. Kinetic >> Filmroll title <ATK setting>: The default is the first 4 letters of the name you entered in the ATK Setup. The filmroll filename must be identical to the name created by the Kinetic and Blockit commands. For example, car is the title of a series of filmrolls named car0001.flm, car0002.flm, and car0003.flm. To use those filmrolls in this kinetic process, you'd enter CAR at this prompt. This is the last of the Kinetic prompts. 4. Next you provide the number of animation frames: o If the animation is not kinetic, you see the following prompt: Number of Frames: Enter the number of frames for the animation sequence. Because this Number of Frames value is used to divide polyline paths, there is an enforced minimum value of 3 frames. If you enter a number less than 3, AutoCAD prompts you to enter a higher value. The value you enter must be an integer and must not exceed 32,767. o If the animation is kinetic, you see the following prompt: Number of Frames <# of kinetic filmrolls>: The default number of frames is based on the number of filmrolls you entered earlier. 5. Next you set up the camera position control for your animation: Camera position: Path/Fixed/List <Path>: The default is Path. o If you choose Path, you see the following prompts: Camera path>> Select a polyline: This option makes the camera follow a selected polyline. Reverse path direction <N>: This option takes the polyline direction and reverses the point order of the polyline so that the camera moves in the reverse direction to which you drew the polyline. o If you choose Fixed, for a nonkinetic animation you see the following prompt: Camera, fixed view >> Pick a point: This option makes the camera stay at a fixed location. o If you choose Fixed, for a kinetic animation you see the following prompts: Camera, fixed view >> Pick a point (or press RETURN to use a Scene): You have the option of picking a point for the camera or of using an AutoShade Scene that contains a camera. If you press return to use a Scene, you see the following prompt: Camera, use Scene >> Enter name <SHOT>: Enter the AutoShade Scene name to use. The Scene need not be currently present in the drawing. The default Scene name is SHOT. If you press return to accept the default, make sure that you place a Scene named SHOT in your filmroll file before applying the Path script in AutoShade. o If you choose List, you see the following prompts: Camera list >> File to use: This option makes the camera follow a series of points you previously specified and saved to a file using the Ptsmark command. Enter the name of the ASCII file you want the Path command to read for the camera position points. (See the sections on Ptsmark and ATK point list file later on in this document.) Reverse path direction <N>: This option takes the polyline direction and reverses the point order of the polyline so that the camera moves in the reverse direction to which you drew the polyline. 6. Select a target, that is, a look-at point for the camera: Target position: Fixed/Path/Same path/List <Fixed>: (If you previously chose a Fixed Camera position, the Same Path option does not appear.) o If you choose a Fixed target, you see the following prompt: Fixed target >> Pick a point: This sets a fixed position for the camera to look at while it moves. Imagine looking at the base of a tree while walking around the tree. o If you choose a Path for the target, you see the following prompts: Target path >> Select a polyline: This makes the camera's look-at point follow a second path. Imagine gradually raising your eyes to look up at a tree while walking around the tree. Reverse path direction <N>: This option takes the polyline direction and reverses the point order so that the target path moves in the reverse direction to which you drew the polyline. o If you choose a List for the target, you see the following prompt: Target list >> File to use: This option makes the target follow a series of points you previously specified and saved to a file using the PTSmark command. Enter the name of the ASCII file you want the Path command to read for the target position points. Reverse path direction <N>: This option takes the polyline direction and reverses the point order so that the target path moves in the reverse direction to which you drew the polyline. -------------- Note: The next series of prompts appears only if you don't have an AUI display. If you have an AUI display, you will have already provided this information in the ATK Setup Block so skip the next section and go to the "Final Step". -------------- STEPS FOR NON-AUI DISPLAYS -------------------------- 1. Select a scene that defines your lighting: Scene Name for lighting <None>: If you want to use a specific lighting arrangement, define an AutoShade scene in the drawing and enter its name at this prompt. If you don't have a scene in the drawing, press returnto accept the default <None>. The script uses AutoShade's default lighting, and perspective is turned on. Note: This prompt doesn't appear if you applied a scene to a kinetic animation when you chose a Scene to apply a camera. 2. Select a camera lens length. Camera Lens length or Zoom <30>: The default lens setting is 30mm. You can apply Zoom to exaggerate the perspective view while the camera is fixed or in motion. If you enter z for Zoom, you see the following prompts: Zoom >> Starting Lens length: Zoom >> Ending Lens length: Enter the starting and ending lens length. Entering a starting lens length of 25 and an ending lens length of 200, means that the camera starts with a wide-angle view and zooms into a close-up view. With a fixed camera, this is a simple way to give the effect of moving in on the target. Note: Ending lens length can't be the same value as the starting lens length. 3. Define a camera twist: Twist amount (or Fixed) <None>: The default is None. Specifying a final angle twists the camera view as you move through the animation, ending with the amount you specify. If you enter f for the Fixed twist amount option, you get the following prompt: Camera twist >> Fixed angle: The angle you enter holds the camera at this angle through the entire animation. 4. Select the type of shading/rendering output: Shade type: 1)Full 2)Fast 3)Quick 4)Slide 5)RenderMan <1>: o If you press return to select 1, Full Shade, you see the following prompt: Intersection on? <N>: Enter y if you want to run Intersection checking during the AutoShade rendering process. o Enter 2 for Fast Shade. o You can enter 3 for Quick Shade only if you have AutoShade Version 2, or AutoShade with Autodesk RenderMan. o Enter 4 to make AutoShade slides. o You can enter 5 only if you have AutoShade with Autodesk RenderMan. If you choose RenderMan, you see the following prompt: Save images by: RSB/RIB: o If you choose RSB, you see the following prompt: RenderMan setup block to use: Enter the name of a RenderMan Setup Block. The image is saved in the format specified by the RSB. o If you choose RIB, the image is saved to a RenderMan Interface Bytestream (RIB) file in the format specified by the RSB. This is useful if you prefer to batch-process-render your RIB files. 5. Select the way you want your images to be saved: Save images by: Record/Hardcopy/Saveimage <Record>: The default is Record. *** FINAL STEP FOR PATH.LSP *** If you are not performing a kinetic animation, a prompt asks whether you want to create the Filmroll. Create a filmroll now? <N>: Enter y if you want to have AutoCAD build the filmroll now. The default is No. If this is a Kinetic process, you will not get this prompt. At this point, Path generates an AutoShade script file and an animation .mvi file. When the routine is finished, you will see the filenames echoed at the AutoCAD command line. o KINETIC.LSP Kinetic.lsp moves selected AutoCAD entities along polyline paths and creates either filmrolls, drawings, or slides after each step. (Separate filmrolls have to be made for each step because, unlike cameras, entities cannot move within a filmroll in AutoShade.) The primary purpose of kinetic.lsp is to generate AutoShade filmroll files (one filmroll for each step). It does not generate AutoShade script files for image processing (see PATH.LSP.) PATH.LSP calls these filmroll files for final rendering in AutoShade. Note: You do not need to create the filmroll files before you use path.lsp. If you'd like the camera to move during the slide process, you can apply a prepared Path script to the current viewport. FEATURES -------- For those of you familiar with the original AutoFlix routines, Kinetic replaces the heart of Afkinet.lsp. o Kinetic moves and spins entities along any selected polyline. o You can spin entities along the World XYZ axes, a user-defined Z-axis vector, or a base point (node). (see ATKDOC.dwg view REFAXLES) o You can instruct Kinetic to create AutoCAD drawing (.dwg) files to use with blockit.lsp. An ASCII file with a .blt extension listing the drawings is created for easy loading into Blockit. o You can instruct Kinetic to create .sld files from the current viewport or the view can follow an (already created) path.lsp script file. o You can compile slide files directly with Afega or Autodesk Animator Flimaker. When kinetic.lsp creates .sld slide files, an ASCII file (with the extension .mvi) listing the slides is created to use with Afega or Autodesk Animator Flimaker. o Kinetic does not require an AutoShade scene to be defined in the drawing to function. If you want specific lighting, you must place scenes (any number) in the drawing before applying the Kinetic command. o The filmroll title can be up to four standard ASCII characters. The command offers as default the first four characters from the drawing. Kinetic echos the name of the filmroll as it is being created. o You might want to pick up the filmroll numbering from where you ended a previous sequence. Kinetic lets you specify a starting number for the filmroll naming process. o A test mode lets you test the animation sequence before creating an output file. AUTOCAD DRAWING PREPARATION --------------------------- The following steps summarize how to prepare your drawing in AutoCAD using kinetic.lsp. o Create all polylines needed for generating the entity path motion you want. o Define AutoShade scenes for lighting or fixed camera animation. o Create entity rotation axes using 3D polylines as needed. o Create entity rotation points (nodes) as needed. o To simplify selection, make Blocks out of any group of entities that move together. o For slide animation where you want camera motion, create a script file using path.lsp. KINETIC.LSP STEPS ----------------- The following steps lead you through kinetic.lsp, prompt by prompt. 1. Select Kinetic on the Animation menu. 2. Specify a name for the filmrolls: Filmroll title <ATK setting>: Enter the title for the filmrolls. There is a four-character limit. The default is the first four characters of the drawing name. 3. Specify the number of frames: Number of frames: Enter the total number of frames for this animation sequence. This will also be the total number of filmrolls generated. 4. Enter the starting number of the animation routine: Starting number <0001>: This is useful for building sequences of animations. You sometimes want to pick up your filmroll numbering from the end of another sequence. Enter a number if you want the routine to start the number count from another number. For example, if you have a sequence of filmrolls that starts at the number 0020, enter 20 here. The default starts at 0001. 5. Select the objects you want to move: Select objects: Select all the entities you want to move as a group. Press return or the spacebar to enter a blank line when you've finished selecting entities. 6. Specify where you want motion to start: Start motion at frame <1>: Enter the frame where you want the entities to start moving. For example, entering 5 starts the entity motion in frame 5. 7. Specify where you want motion to stop: Stop motion at frame <# of frames in animation>: Enter the frame where you want the entities to stop moving. For example, entering 10 stops the entity motion at frame 10. DEFINING THE MOTION PATH ------------------------ Specify the type of motion path: Entity motion: Path/Fixed/List <Path>: 1. IF YOU SPECIFY PATH. Motion path >> Select a polyline: Select the polyline path you want the selected entities to follow. Reverse path direction? <N> This option takes the polyline direction and reverses the point order so that the entities move in the reverse direction to which you drew the polyline. Note: This option is useful where you want two groups of entities to follow the same path but in opposite directions. You are now prompted for the rotation values: Rotation >> X/Y/Z/ Reference (press RETURN when finished): Enter X, Y, Z, or R to set any of the items listed. The default is no rotation. o If you select any of the X, Y, or Z options, you see one of the following subprompts. Spin >> X axis: Spin >> Y axis: Spin >> Z axis: Enter the amount of rotation in degrees. For example, entering 720 would perform 2 complete turns. o If you select the 'R'eference option, you see the following prompt: Rotation point >> Select a node, 3Dpoly (or hit RETURN to define): o If you select a node, you must specify the rotation X,Y,Z settings. You see the following rotation settings prompt: Rotation >> X/Y/Z (press RETURN when finished): Enter x, y, or z to set any of the items listed. The default is no rotation. If you select any of the X, Y, or Z options, you see one of the following subprompts: Spin >> X axis: Spin >> Y axis: Spin >> Z axis: Enter the amount of rotation in degrees. For example, entering 720 performs two complete turns. o If you select a 3D polyline, a prompt asks you to enter the amount of rotation around the polyline. Rotation >> Rotation amount: Enter the amount of rotation in degrees. o If you press return to define a rotation reference entity, you see the following prompts: Rotation base >> Pick a point: You must pick a point. Use this prompt to create a reference axis (3D polyline) to spin the entities around. Rotation Z axis direction>> Pick a point <none>: o If you pick a point, you see a rotation point as if you had selected a 3D polyline earlier: Rotation >> Rotation amount: o If you press return for none, the single point created acts as a base point for "world axis" rotation. This means the entities can be spun only in absolute X, Y, or Z directions based on their positions in the World Coordinate System. Rotation settings X[0.00] Y[0.00] Z[0.00]: Rotation >> X/Y/Z (hit RETURN when finished): 2. IF YOU SPECIFY FIXED. If you specify Entity motion: Fixed, a prompt asks you to supply a point (node) or 3D polyline (3Dpoly) around which you want to rotate the selected entities. Rotation point >> Select a node, 3Dpoly (or hit RETURN to define): o If you select a node, you must specify the rotation settings X[0.0] Y[0.0] Z[0.0]. You see the following rotation settings prompt: Rotation >> X/Y/Z (press RETURN when finished): Enter x, y, or z to set any of the items listed. The default is no rotation. If you select any of the X, Y, or Z options, you see one of the following subprompts: Spin >> X axis: Spin >> Y axis: Spin >> Z axis: Enter the amount of rotation in degrees. For example, entering 720 performs two complete turns. o If you select a 3D polyline, a prompt asks you to enter the amount of rotation around the polyline. Rotation >> Rotation amount: Enter the amount of rotation in degrees. o If you press return to define a rotation reference entity, you see the following prompts: Rotation base >> Pick a point: You must pick a point. Use this prompt to create a reference axis (3D polyline) to spin the entities around. Rotation Z axis direction>> Pick a point <none>: o If you pick a point, you see a rotation point as if you had selected a 3D polyline earlier: Rotation >> Rotation amount: o If you press Return for none, the single point created acts as a base point for "world axis" rotation. This means the entities can be spun only in absolute X, Y, or Z directions based on their positions in the World Coordinate System. Rotation settings X[0.00] Y[0.00] Z[0.00]: Rotation >> X/Y/Z (hit RETURN when finished): 3. IF YOU SPECIFY LIST If you specify Entity motion: List, a prompt asks you for a filename: Point list>> File name: Enter the name of the ASCII file you want to have Kinetic read for the entity motion control points. Reverse points direction? <N>: This takes the point list and reverses the order (the direction) of the points. The default is No. ENDING SELECTION AND SELECTING AN OUTPUT FORMAT ----------------------------------------------- Once you've finished entering the rotation information, you see the Select objects: prompt once more. Select objects: You can then select another group of entities to move and repeat the Path/Fixed/List and Rotation process previously described in "Defining the Motion Path". If you press return without selecting a new entity, Kinetic asks you the following question: Are you finished with the selection process? <Y>: o A No answer causes a prompt to ask you to select more objects. o A Yes answer moves you to the last prompt. (If you failed to select anything to animate, the routine loops back to the Select objects: prompt.) SELECTING AN OUTPUT FORMAT -------------------------- Once you've finished selecting objects, you select an output format. Set output format to Drawing/Filmroll/Slide/Test/ <setting>: o If you select the Test option, you see the animation play out. When the process has finished, you are prompted as follows: *press any key to reset animation* Then you see the following prompt: Set output format to Drawing/Filmroll/Slide/Exit <Test>: o This displays the new option to Exit the program cleanly. If you select the Drawing option, the routine produces a file with the suffix of .blt (BLock lisT). o If you select the Filmroll option, the routine produces files with the suffix of .flm. o If you select the Slide option, you see the following prompts: Would you like the view to follow a PATH script?<N> If you answer Y you are prompted as follows: PATH script file to use <default drawing name>: Enter the name of the Path Script you want the current viewport to follow. Apply hide? <N>: Answer Y if you want to apply Hide to each new view generated. Note: Depending on the complexity of your drawing, this step can easily take a long time. Apply AutoCAD shading? <N>: This prompt appears only if you are using the ATK with AutoCAD Release 11. If you answer y, the AutoCAD built-in shading is applied to the view and then saved to a slide (.sld) file. Note: This works well with afega.exe. Compiling the animation to 320- by-256 VGA with flimaker.exe may not produce acceptable results. Remove paths? <Y>: If you choose Yes, the default, all polylines selected to be used as motion paths are removed for the duration of the animation process. Note: 3D polylines used for rotation axes cannot be removed from the view. If you use Ctrl+C to exit the command, you might have to use Undo to restore your motion paths. At this point, using the routine with the Slide option produces a .mvi file. You see what kind of file was created at the AutoCAD Command: prompt. o BLOCKIT.LSP Blockit.lsp is a routine that performs animation by manipulating or swapping Blocks. 3D model motion can often be more complex than simple path traversing. The Blockit routine lets you predefine a series of Blocks, say a helicopter with its blades in five different rotation and pitch positions, and then insert them according to the Block's position along a selected path. Because you're working with Blocks, you can change any one of the Block's three scale values X, Y, or Z, (or all three combined) while the Block travels along the motion path. This is called "setting the Block for scale distortion." You can set the scale distortion to perform either sequentially or palindromically (ping-pong). It may seem like an obscure form of animation, but potential applications would be spring compression or bending joints. Features Blockit.lsp has the following features: o Aligns the Block with the path This option aligns the X axis of your Block with the path you select for it to follow. You should construct your Blocks so that they are "pointing" in a left-to-right (X axis) direction. (see ATKDOC.dwg view BLOCKIT1) o Provides control over motion using an optional motion path This option provides control over your Blocks as they move about in 3D space. The optional path is defined with a second 3D polyline and controls the Y-axis direction of the animated Block. o The optional path, when used with the 'Align block with path?' prompt, can be used to tilt Blocks as they go through turns, flip Blocks upside down at specific points, and maintain proper orientation if the main path loops in 3D space. o The optional path when not used with the 'Align block with path?' prompt can point the Y axis to a corresponding location on the optional path. When you use the optional path in this way, you must construct your Blocks so that they "point" in a bottom-to-top (Y-axis) direction. (see ATKDOC.dwg view BLOCKIT2) An example of using this option is having a Block that represents a vertical pencil with the eraser end located at 0,0,0 and the lead tip at 0,5,0. It's pointing up the Y axis. There are two polylines, one a straight vector at 6 units of elevation: this is your main path. The optional path is a polyline that spells out the word "welcome" at 0 elevation. By applying Blockit to the pencil Block, supplying the optional path, and saying No to the Align block with path? prompt, the resulting animation shows a pencil in 3D space writing out the word "welcome." o Lets you use ASCII or .blt files Reading an ASCII file listing the Blocks can simplify setting up the animation. Note: Kinetic, when sending output to Drawing, creates an ASCII file in the correct format. The file format is simple: each Block name must be on its own line. If the line is preceded by an asterisk (*), that line is ignored. Sample .blt file: * ATK Block list CAR0001 CAR0002 CAR0003 CAR0004 CAR0005 * This is where the car turns CAR0006 CAR0007 CAR0008 * This is where the car stops CAR0009 CAR0010 AUTOCAD DRAWING PREPARATION --------------------------- The following steps summarize how to prepare your drawing in AutoCAD using blockit.lsp. o Create all polylines needed to generate the Block path motion you want. o Define AutoShade scenes for lighting or fixed camera animation. o Create an ASCII file listing the Blocks you want to use. o Create the Blocks needed for the animation. BLOCKIT.LSP STEPS ----------------- The following steps lead you through blockit.lsp, prompt by prompt. 1. Select Blockit on the Animation menu. You're prompted to specify a name for the filmrolls (a separate filmroll is needed for each position of the Block because entities cannot move within a filmroll in AutoShade): Filmroll title <dwgname>: 2. Enter the title for the filmrolls. There is a four-character limit on filmroll titles. The default is the first four characters of the drawing name. 3. Specify the number of frames: Number of frames: Enter the number of steps for this animation sequence. This will be the total number of filmrolls generated. 4. Enter the starting number of the animation routine: Starting number <0001>: This is useful for building sequences of animations. You sometimes want to pick up your filmroll numbering from the end of another sequence. Enter a number if you want the routine to start the number count from another number. For example, if you have a sequence of filmrolls that starts at the number 0020, enter 20 here. The default starts at 0001. 5. Enter the name of the file containing a list of Blocks to use in the animation or press returnto enter the Block name(s) one by one: o Block list file <press RETURN to enter names>: Enter a filename or press return to enter single names *press RETURN when finished* o Block >> Name: This prompt loops asking each time for a Block name. A null entry (pressing return) ends the loop. 6. Specify where you want the motion to start. Start motion at frame <1>: For example, entering 5 starts the Block motion in frame 5. 7. Specify where you want the motion to stop. Stop motion at frame <# of frames in animation>: For example, entering 10 stops the Block motion at frame 10. DEFINING THE MOTION PATH ------------------------ Specify the type of motion path: Path/Fixed/List <path>: The default is any polyline to be used as a motion path. 1. IF YOU SPECIFY PATH If you specify the Path option, you are prompted to pick a polyline: Block motion path >> Select a polyline: Select the polyline you want the selected entities to follow. Reverse path direction? <N>: This takes the point list and reverses the order (the direction) of the points. The default is No. Upon selection, the routine reports that it is Dividing polyline and collecting points... You are then prompted for an optional path. 2. IF YOU SPECIFY FIXED If you specify the Fixed option, you are prompted to supply a point for the selected entities to be rotated about. Block fixed position >> Pick a point: Either enter a point or pick it from the screen. You are then prompted for an optional path. 3. IF YOU SPECIFY LIST If you specify the List option, you are prompted for a filename: Point list>> File name: Enter the name of the ASCII file you want Blockit to read for Block insertion points. (See the Ptsmark section on page 91 and the ATK Point list file section on page 93.) Reverse points direction? <N>: This takes the point list and reverses the order (the direction) of the points. The default is No. You are then prompted for an optional path. DEFINING THE OPTIONAL PATH -------------------------- The optional path prompts are as follows: Optional Path - Path/List <None>: The optional path controls the pitch of the Block as it moves along the motion path. It cannot be the same path as the motion path. The default is None. 1. IF YOU SPECIFY PATH If you select Path for the optional path, you see this prompt: Optional path >> Select a polyline: Select a polyline to use for optional Block motion control. Reverse path direction? <N>: This takes the point list and reverses the order (the direction) of the points. The default is No. Then you see the scale settings prompts. 2. IF YOU SPECIFY LIST If you select List for the optional path, you are prompted to specify a file: Optional path >> File to use: Select a polyline to use for optional Block motion control. Reverse path direction? <N>: This takes the point list and reverses the order (the direction) of the points. The default is No. Then you see the scale settings prompts. SCALE SETTING PROMPTS --------------------- You see a series of scale setting prompts. The scale settings let you increase and decrease the size of the Block as it moves along the path. Scale settings are as follows: [X] 1.0,1.0,S [Y] 1.0,1.0,S [Z] 1.0,1.0,S. Values must be greater than 0. Default values start at 1 and end at 1. If you specify values of 0.5, 2 for X, the object starts at half its size and ends at double its size along the X axis. Scale >> X/Y/Z: If you select X, you see the following prompts: Scale >> Block X start <1>: Scale >> Block X end <1>: If you select Y, you see the following prompts: Scale >> Block Y start <1>: Scale >> Block Y end <1>: If you select Z, you see the following prompts: Scale >> Block Z start <1>: Scale >> Block Z end <1>: Enter the amount of scale change you want, setting a start and end scale value. If you enter the same values for both prompts, you don't see this prompt: Scale >> Sequential or Palindromic <S>: This prompt controls the values for the scaling of the Block along the path. The default is Sequential. SELECTING BLOCK ALIGNMENT ------------------------- Next you must align the Block. Align block with path? <Y> The default is Yes. If you want to apply a rotation to the Block as it travels along the path, then enter n. You then see the following prompt: Block rotation <none>: Supplying a value here rotates the Block along the entire path or fixed point. (You don't get this prompt if you entered y [the default] to the Align block with path? prompt.) Starting angle <0>: If you want the Block to start its rotation process at a particular angle, enter that value here. ENDING SELECTION AND SELECTING AN OUTPUT FORMAT ----------------------------------------------- Once you have finished entering the rotation information, you see the Block list prompt once more. Block list or <name>: If you press return twice without entering any new block information Blockit asks you the following question: Are you finished with the selection process? <Y>: An n answer restarts the selection process. A y answer moves you to the last prompt. If you failed to select anything to animate, the routine loops back to the Block list or <name>: prompt. Selecting an Output Format Once you've finished selecting objects, you select an output format. Set output format to Drawing/Slide/Test/Filmroll <setting>: o If you select the Test option, you see the animation play out. When the process has finished, you see this prompt: *press any key to reset animation * And then this one: Set output format to Drawing/Slide/Filmroll/Exit <Test>: This displays the new option to exit the program cleanly. o If you select the Slide option, you see the following prompt: Would you like the view to follow a PATH script?<N> o If you answer y you are prompted as follows: PATH script file to use <default drawing name>: Enter the name of the Path Script you want the current viewport to follow. Apply hide? <N>: Answer Y if you want to apply Hide to each new view generated. Note: Depending on the complexity of your drawing, this step can easily take a long time to process. Apply AutoCAD shading? <N>: This prompt appears only if you are using the ATK with AutoCAD Release 11. If you answer y, the AutoCAD built-in shading is applied to the view and then saved to a slide (.sld) file. Note: This works well with afega.exe. Compiling the animation to 320- by-256 VGA with flimaker.exe may not produce acceptable results. Remove paths? <Y>: If you choose the default Yes, all polylines selected as motion paths are removed for the duration of the animation process. If you use Ctrl+C to exit the command, you might have to use the Undo command to restore your motion paths. At this point, using the routine with the Slide option produces a .mvi file. o If you select the Drawing option, the routine produces a file with the suffix of .blt (BLock lisT). o If you select the Filmroll option, the routine produces files with the suffix of .flm. You see what kind of file was created at the AutoCAD Command: prompt. o SLDVIEW Sldview is basically a .SLD slide walkthrough routine. Sldview reads PATH.LSP's AutoShade script files and produces a series of slides that you can then compile into an animation. To use Sldview you must first generate a camera path script using PATH.LSP. Sldview is simple: the only options that Sldview offers you is whether or not to apply Hide, or, if you are using Release 11, apply the AutoCAD built-in viewport shading to each frame of your animation. Other than these options, Sldview takes all its instruction from the PATH.LSP script. Note: It does not read any generic AutoShade script, only scripts similar to those generated by PATH.LSP. AUTOCAD DRAWING PREPARATION --------------------------- To prepare your drawing in AutoCAD, follow these steps: o Generate a camera motion script with path.lsp. o Remove from view all unwanted polyline paths and entities. o SLDVIEW STEPS The following steps lead you through sldview.lsp, prompt by prompt. 1. Select .SLD Walkthrough on the Animation menu. 2. Enter a script name: PATH script to use <drawing name>: Enter the name of the script you want Sldview to follow. Do not include the .SCR extension. If Sldview fails to find the file you requested, it reports File not found. 3. Select hidden line removal: Apply hide <N>: Enter Y if you want hidden lines removed. Note: Depending on the complexity of entities in your drawing, the hidden-line process can take a long time to perform. 4. If you are using Release 11, you can use AutoCAD shading: Apply AutoCAD shading <N>: Enter Y if you want AutoCAD to apply viewport shading to the view. Note: This works well with afega.exe. Compiling the animation to 320- by-256 VGA with flimaker.exe might not produce acceptable results. At this point Sldview begins to read the script and echos to the screen each slide as it is being created. When finished, it displays the following message: Animation list <supplied name>.mvi has been created. o ANIMATION SUPPORT TOOLS The following animation support tools are contained in ptools.lsp: o PCIRCLE - Converts a circle into a polyline to use as a motion path o PLENGTH - Measures path lengths o PREVIEW - Previews a scene o PTSMARK - Displays path numbers o PTSOUT - Creates a point file o PTSIN - Constructs 2D or 3D polylines from ATK .pts files o REVPOLY - reverses the direction of polylines o PCIRCLE Pcircle converts a circle into a polyline for you to use as a motion path. 1. Select Pcircle on the Animation screen menu. 2. You're prompted to choose a circle: Select circle to convert: Pcircle converts the circle to a polyline. o PLENGTH The Plength command measures path lengths. Plength returns the total and segment length of any polyline. It uses the AutoCAD Divide command to calculate the total length, so the accuracy of the measurements of each segment depends on the number you enter. 1. Select Measure Path Length on the Animation menu. 2. You're prompted to choose a polyline: Select a polyline: 3. You're prompted to enter the number of frames you want the polyline divided by: Number of frames: Plength divides the polyline by the number you specified and displays the following messages: Single segment length for xx frames = xxxx Total length = xxxx For example, if you had a polyline 20 units long, and you choose to divide it into 5 frames, Plength displays the following messages: Single segment length for 5 frames = 4 Total length = 20 o PREVIEW Use Preview to preview a scene or an animation script. The Preview command reads a script created by path.lsp, requests a scene to display, and uses Dview to reproduce the specified scene in the current active viewport. From the Animation pull-down menu, select Preview a Scene. You supply a script name (without the .scr extension) and the number of the scene you'd like to view. If Preview fails to find either the scene or the file, you are alerted by prompts on the AutoCAD command line. Preview allows you to view a range of frames, and if you want, places a pause between each frame. One good use for Preview is to create a storyboard by opening 4 viewports and moving between them, selecting a different scene number to preview. This should give you a good feel for the way your animation will unfold. 1. From the Animation pull-down menu, select Preview a Scene. 2. You're prompted to enter the name of the script: Name of script to preview <current drawing name>: If different to the default script name, enter the Path-generated AutoShade script to preview. 3. You're prompted to choose a frame: Frame number (press Return to view a range): Enter the frame number you want to view with Dview. Press return if you want to view a range or sequence of frames. 4. You're prompted to choose the start frame: Start preview at frame (press Return for all): Enter the frame number where you want your preview to start. If you press return, you view all the frames in the animation script. 5. You're prompted to choose the stop frame: Stop preview at frame (press Return for end): Enter the frame number where you want your preview to stop. If you press return, the program displays all frames from the starting frame to the end of the animation script. 6. You're prompted for pauses: Pause between frames? <Y>: The default is Yes. Enter n if you don't want Preview to pause between frames. o PTSMARK Use Ptsmark to display path numbers. Ptsmark displays path frame numbers or line vectors, or both, showing the orientation of points along the two polyline paths. (see ATKDOC.dwg view PTSMARK1) The PTSmark line vectors are not true entities (grdraw vectors) and you can remove them with a screen redraw. The line vectors alternate in color from green to red to help you differentiate them. The path frame numbers are real entities (text) and are stored on the layer PATH_NUMBERS. The path numbers are the same color as the selected polyline. 1. Select Display Path Numbers on the Animation menu. 2. You're prompted to enter the number of frames: Number of frames: We recommend that you enter the number of frames you plan to use in the animation. 3. You're prompted to choose the first polyline or list: First path>> Pline/List <Pline>: o If you select Pline, you're prompted to select a polyline: Select a polyline: You can reverse the direction of the path: Reverse path direction? <N>: o If you select List, you must enter a filename: File name: You can use a .pts file for your first path. 4. You're prompted to choose the second polyline or list: Second path>> Pline/Fixed/List <None>: Select a second path, point, or list to check the point orientation with the first path. o If you select Pline, you're prompted to select a polyine: Select a polyline: You can reverse the direction of the path: Reverse path direction? <N>: o If you select Fixed, you must pick a point: Pick a point: o If you select List, you must enter a filename: File name: You can reverse the direction of the path: Reverse path direction? <N>: o If you press return to select None, the default, Ptsmark places numbers along the first path automatically, skips the next prompt, and prompts you to specify the size of the displayed text. 5. Choose whether you want Ptsmark to place numbers along the first polyline: Show numbers <N>: Enter Y to have Ptsmark place numbers along the polyline. You see this prompt only if you selected a second point or path. 6. Choose the size of the text displayed above the path: Text size <xx.xx>: You can adjust the text size of the frame numbers that Ptsmark places along the polyline. The default size is 1/30 the total screen size. Note: The numbers are placed on the line perpendicular to the current view. o PTSOUT Use Ptsout to create ATK point list files (.pts) from the path frame numbers created with Ptsmark. (see ATKDOC view PTSMARK2) 1. Select Ptsout on a menu. 2. You're prompted for a point filename: Name for point file: Specify a filename. Note: Ptsout adds the .pts extension automatically. 3. Select the final number: Select the last number: o POINT LIST FILE FORMAT All ATK routines can read in motion points from an ASCII file as long as the file follows these two simple rules: o There must be an integer indicating the number of point lists the file contains. This value must be located on its own line, preceding all point lists. o Each point list must be on its own line and consist of a list of three reals. o Any other text information is ignored. Note: If text is placed on the same line as point data, point information is ignored. (The asterisks used in the comment fields of the following example are there for appearance.) ATK POINT LIST EXAMPLE **Total points in this file: 7 **Frame 7 (5.68423 7.8766 0.0) **Frame 6 (4.90556 7.42774 0.0) **Frame 5 (4.18417 6.71802 0.0) **Frame 4 (3.57968 5.92426 0.0) **Frame 3 (3.14921 5.16737 0.0) **Frame 2 (2.80943 4.67796 0.0) **Frame 1 (2.5634 4.27233 0.0) o USING PTSMARK AND PTSOUT These commands let you build custom, nonlinear motion paths from regular polylines. You use Ptsmark to display motion points along a selected polyline and Ptsout to create an ATK point list (.pts) file that any of the ATK main routines can then use. Example: 1. Create a polyline 2. Run Ptsmark and select the polyline. 3. Choose the default <none> for the second Pline prompt. This places numbers along the selected polyline. 4. Move the numbers to the locations you want. 5. Run Ptsout, enter a filename and select the last number. This creates a .pts file. o PTSIN Use Ptsin to construct 2D or 3D polylines from ATK .pts files. The following illustration shows a polyline made using Ptsin: 1. Select Ptsin on the Animation screen menu. 2. You're prompted for a point filename: .PTS file to read: 3. Specify the type of polyline: Type of polyline to create 2D/3D <2D>: o REVPOLY Revpoly stands for REVerse POLYline. It does just that: it takes a polyline and reverses the direction the vertices advance. This reversal changes the direction that objects move along the polyline. When you use RevPoly, spline or curve fit polylines are decurved before being reversed. In some cases, the UCS temporarily flips to align itself with the selected polyline before reverting to its original position. This is all part of the polyline reversal process and is not cause for concern. Note: A spline fit polyline takes on the current SPLINESEGS setting after applying the Revpoly command to it. 1. Select Revpoly on the Animation screen menu. 2. You're prompted to select a polyline: Select a polyline to convert: ====================================================================== S H A R E W A R E License is granted for the use of this software and documentation on a no charge, sharing basis. You may distribute and copy this software and documentation freely as long as it remains a complete unaltered package and is not sold for profit. If you find AutoFlix version 2 a useful tool in your work, a contribution of $35 would be appreciated. When we receive your payment, we will send you a package containing the latest version of AutoFlix, a typeset and printed manual describing AutoFlix, and several sample movies which illustrate what you can do with AutoFlix. Your contribution helps continue the development of low-cost design tools like AutoFlix. Please mail contributions to: Autodesk, Inc. Customer Service Attention: AutoFlix 2320 Marinship Way Sausalito, CA 94965 U.S.A. Or, in the United States, call (800) 525-2763 to charge to your credit card. Please feel free to share copies of AutoFlix with your colleagues. (C) 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 Autodesk, Inc.