
              Autodesk's 3D Studio to VRML 1.0 Converter

The purpose of this program is to convert 3D Studio files into VRML
1.0 format.  It is only compatible with 3D Studio Release 4.

Attaching Anchors:  

WWW Anchors are hyper-links to other VRML worlds on the net.  When
using a VRML browser such as WorldView or WebSpace, browsing in 3D
is possible.  When browsing, place the cursor over an object that
has an associated WWW Anchor and then select that object.  A new 3D
VRML file will be loaded from the remote location.

To attach a WWW Anchor to an object, first make sure that the WWW
Anchor button over the URL list is highlighted.  Next, select an
object by either clicking on the object in the object list box or
manually typing in the name of the object in the object edit box.
Next, pick a URL that you want attach as a WWW Anchor or enter in
your own URL in the WWW Anchor edit box.  Once you have specified
an object and a URL, click on the 'Anchor' button.  The letter 'A'
should appear to the left of the object in the list, and the 
'Anchor' button should now read 'Un-Anchor'.  If you enter a URL 
that is not in the list of available URL's, the new URL will be 
added at the top of the list and into the url.lst (see below ) 
file as well.

A file named 'url.lst' will be created in your 3D Studio root
directory.  This file contains the URL hot list displayed in the 
WWW Anchor and WWW Inline selection list.  This file can be 
edited with a standard text editor. 

Attaching Inlines:

This operation is similar to attaching WWW Anchors.  Make sure 
that the WWW Inline button is highlighted.  You will now see the 
leftmost button which previously read 'Anchor' will now read 
'Inline'.  An 'I' will appear to the left of the object name 
after a URL is attached as an inline.

Adding User defined text:

To attach user defined text to the VRML file, click on the 
'Edit Info' button.  This will invoke the text/script editor.  
Enter the desired text to be attached, or load an existing text 
file.  When you are satisfied with the text, exit out of the 
program.  Saving is not necessary.  This text is now a part of 
the 3DS file.

Converting to a VRML file:

To save the 3DS scene as a VRML 1.0 file, click on the 'Convert'
button.  A window will appear containing a list of currently active
objects, and lights.  If the item is a mesh an 'M' will be 
displayed next to the object name.  If the object is a light an 'L'
will be displayed.  You can then select the objects to be converted
into the VRML file.  Each item selected will show a '+' to its" 
left indicating that it will be converted.  The buttons 'Match', 
'All', 'Invert', and 'None' have been provided as helpers.  The 
'Match' button is a string match, when pressed it will choose every
item that begins with the text that you have entered in the match 
edit box.  The 'All' button chooses all the items.  The 'Invert' 
button chooses all the items that are not already chosen, and 
un-chooses the items that are chosen.  The 'None' button 
un-chooses all the items.  When you have chosen the items to 
convert, click on the 'Save' button, which will open the Save File 
dialog.  When you are done converting the files, press the 'Exit' 
button.

Exiting the program:

Press the 'Exit' button to return to 3D Studio.

Keyboard accelerators:

Most of the buttons have keyboard accelerators.  The accelerators 
are case insensitive.  They are as follows:

        A       Anchor/Un-Anchor
        I       Inline/Un-Inline
        E       Edit Info
        C       Convert
        H       Help
        ?       About
        M       Match
        A       All
        N       None
        I       Invert
        S       Save
        Escape  Cancel
        Enter   OK and Exit

License information:

Press the 'About' button to see the license information.

Updates:

Updates and information about the program will be available at:

    ftp.autodesk.com in the /pub/multimedia/vrml directory.

