

                README.TXT File
                README file for Real 3D V2 for Windows

                (C) Copyright Realsoft Finland, 1994



This document contains release notes for the Real 3D V2 for Windows
release 2.46. 

Real 3D V2.46: New features and bug fixes since 2.45:
-----------------------------------------------------

    1. The DPlay animation player supports now also FLC format.
    
    2. Autocad version 12 support added to DXF converter and the bug which caused
    conversions to fail in most cases fixed. In the final release conversion
    will probably generate Real 3D binary files instead of RPL files. Most likely
    the DXF export will be implemented at least for B-Spline and polygonal
    based objects. 

    3. ViewCtrl window has new controls:
        - Current Grid 
        - Check boxes for controlling 'Polygons/Curve/Knots' drawing settings.
        - CreateCamera button

    The Grid combobox allows you to select one of the defined grids easily.
    When modelling B-Spline objects, the Ctrl.Polygon, Curve and Knots 
    are frequetly needed options. Now these can be specified through the 
    ViewCtrl window. Create Camera button is handy when creating camera fly
    animations by using morphing.

    4. Animctrl window redesigned. The window can be resized making it
    more flexible when designing editor environments. 
 
    5. Animation Preview system implemented. The system supports 
    wire-frame and rendered previews depending on the settings of the
    animation window. In order to render wireframe previews, set 'wireframe'
    option and select the name of the view window to be used for rendering by
    using the new control 'Save'. Then just click the 'Preview' button and the
    animation is rendered, compressed and played back automatically. 

    The wireframe preview is based on 1 bit plane images (black and white). 
    The quality of ray-traced previews depends on the rendering settings and the 
    current screen depth (256 colors in standard SVGA). If there is no View
    window specified by the Save control the 'Preview' button is ghosted and
    cannot be selected.

    If you do not want the system to automatically compress and play the 
    animation, click play forwads (...>|) button instead of the 'Preview' button.
    This just renders and saves images allowing you then compress them manually,
    which naturally gives you more control over the compression process.

    When any view window is specified by the Save combobox, refresh messages
    are sent only to the specified window in order to save time.

    When the Preview button is clicked, the following steps are taken:
    - The current state of the program is stored by using undo feature. 
    - If the animation is not in the first frame, it is jumped to the beginning.
    - The animation is played by using current animation settings and the
      rendering settings of the view window specified by the 'Save' combobox.
    - The initial state is restored.
    - Rendered images are compressed to animation by using the DCon program.
    - The animation is played by using the DPlay program.

    6. Real now communicates with the Animation compresser (DCon) and player (DPlay)
    programs. When you render an animation by using the new 'Save' compobox in the
    animation window, the DCon program automatically initializes all of its 
    settings to reflect the rendered animation. 

    7. The delta converter contains new button 'Play' which can be used for
    playing compressed animations without starting separately the DPlay program. 
     
    8. The animation player (DPlay) suggests the last compressed animation
    in its 'file' field.  

    9. Online context sensitive help implemented. While browsing the menu press
    F1 to open help for the menu selection.

    10. rnd(min, max) function added to RPL word EVAL. This operator returns
    random values between given min and max values.

    11. If active view window has no title bar, it uses the title bar
    of the MDI frame window to display orientation, window name, etc.

    12. When view window is made smaller, the busy window's position is
    updated so that at least a part of its title bar is visible.

    13. Activating a select window updates the global current object.
    This allows you to cut objects through one select window and paste
    them to different place through another select window.

    14. Animate/Cancel removed. Extras/Cancel all and the Cancel button
    in the animation window can be used for this purpose.

    15. Show feature of the material window shows now the whole image.

    16. RPL word SCR_SAVE works. Usage:
        0 "filename" SCR_SAVE
    The first '0' parameter is to maintain compability with other platforms
    supporting multiple screens.
    
    17. Modify/Properties/Physical attr. dialog corrected.

    18. Numbering of loaded windows corrected. This caused problems
    when using frame commands referring to view window specific 
    attributes such as 'file name'.

    19. Save/restore bug related to iconized windows fixed.

    20. When animation window is loaded, it is no longer maximized.

    21. Keyframe window: Loop check box renamed as Closed.

    22. Keyframe window can now be scrolled to the last frame.

    23. Modify properties/Animation dialog has the frequency control formatted
    just like other edit controls.

    24. Frame/Time control added to timeline window.

    25. Render settings dialog no longer has Color check box.
    The File/Environment/Screen Palette selects either color or B/W 
    rendering.

    26. Many cosmetic changes to various dialogs.

    27. Macro execute no longer crashes with skeletons.

    28. Links no longer move their targets when rendering.

    29. Morphing method now morphs also the color of objects.

    30. Modify/Freeform/Exchange swaps the open&close attributes 
    automatically

    31. RPL method interface improved. See on-line help for more
    information.

    32. Examples referred by the animation tutorial chapter included.
    See 'examples\anim' directory.

    33. Useful 'ready to render' projects included. These projects
    can be found from the directory 'projects'. In order to render
    them, just click the 'Preview' button.

    34. Animate/Create/Morphing now creates new level object for the
    created morphing hierarchy when necessary. 

    35. Random value for 'rnd' variable is now generated once per each
    animation frame/sample. earlier it was updated only if there was 
    SFOR or SRPL tag associated with the method. Note that the value
    of this variable remains the same during one frame.
    
    36. The system how groups and links find their targets has been 
    improved. It is still based on the tag SIDE but now the value of
    the SIDE tag can freely be modified. Duplicate identifiers
    no longer cause problems because the object hierachy determines how
    the references are resolved. For example, the RightLeg could be
    created by duplicating the LeftLeg:
  
    Legs
        LeftLeg
           mesh SIDE=leg
           group SIDE=leg
        RightLeg
           mesh SIDE=leg
           group SIDE=leg

    
    and the system works just fine.

    37. Bugs related to material handlers and variables rnd, I, t, Frm, Smp and Res 
    fixed.

    38. The animation system now allows the user to invoke the on-line
    help about the method in question whenever error is detected. 
    The error message is given with two button: OK and HELP. By clicking
    OK the animation is just cancelled. By clicking the HELP button the 
    on-line help is opened showing the required parameter objects, tags and
    variables for the method which caused the error. 

    39. The function Animate/Edit can now be used for specifying 
    'Periodic/Non-periodic' and 'Interpolative/Extrapolative' information 
    for all animation methods where this attribute makes sense. 

    40. ICNT (max num. of objects to be created) tag now works for CREATION 
    method as described.

    41. The material Index handler procedures/formulas can now use all 
    general animation system related variables, such as Frm, T, Res etc.

    42. The Bug which caused small holes to rendered B-Spline objects fixed. 

    43. DPlay program now allows the user to define play-back speed with
        a scroll bar.

    44. Delta format has changed. Use D2BMP.EXE from a previous beta release
    to decompress old delta files and then compress the images using the new
    DCON.EXE. The format is now fixed and will not change before the final
    release.

    45. Dcon handles disk full situations.

    46. Creation/Modification visibility bug with parallel
        projection corrected.

    47. attr() works with window and material address variables.

    48. When saving a wireframe preview, the objects' color is temporarily
        changed to black so that a black and white wireframe image can be saved.

    48. The buttons in the material select window have been arranged
        more tightly.

    49. Render settings default aspect ratio is now 0.0.

    50. Nonlinear/Rotate and Nonlinear/Twist are now visually correct.

    51. Menu selections that have delayed creation (like Animate/Create/Path)
        can now be used from the RPL window.

    52. RPL words .S and VLIST corrected.

    53. RPL word SPRINTF takes the parameters in a more natural order. e.g.
            40 STRING temp
            1 2 3 "one %d, two %d, three %d" temp SPRINTF
            temp PUTS
        now prints 
            one 1, two 2, three 3
        not
            one 3, two 2, three 1
        as before

    54. RPL word PUTS can now have a format string, e.g.
            "Hi there!" PUTS
        prints
            Hi there!
        and
            2 3 + "high %d" PUTS
        prints
            high 5

    55. RPL window handles the Enter key correctly, i.e. it first opens
        a new line for output and only then executes the line where the cursor
        was when the Enter key was pressed.

    56. Ellipse axis search bug fixed (rendering errors with very small
        objects).
        
Known bugs
----------

    - DDcon and DPlay programs don't always handle FLI animations correctly.
    When this happens, use DWord format.

    - Cross Platform support not implemented yet ie. project files created
    in Amiga version cannot be loaded by Windows version.

    - It is necessary to have at least one Select window open in order to
      have key short cuts to function. This is a Windows MDI bug and will
      probably be in the final version.

    - When you render to a file, make sure that the base name of the file
      (given in the Render Settings dialog of the view window) plus the index
      are no more than 8 characters that is the maximum file name length under
      MS-DOS.
        E.g. If the index string (defined by the Format field of the Animation
        window) is '%04d.bmp' and file name is 'images\test', then the first
        frame will be rendered as 'images\test0001.bmp', which is a valid file
        name.

    - With some display drivers extremely zoomed in objects may cause Windows
      to crash due to hardware clipping limitations. Be sure to use the most
      recent drivers for your display card.


Backward compability
--------------------
    
    If you have projects saved with some recent versions
    (2.34 through 2.45) you should be able to read them into this
    version of Real 3D. One exception is that select windows have
    been changed in version 2.45.
    Projects saved with older versions of Real can not be completely
    utilized. You should, though, be able to read material and object
    sections from any project.
    
    This version of Real 3D can not be run under Windows NT operating system
    because of the dongle.


About the included example projects
-----------------------------------

As mentioned above, the projects directory contains some simple but nice
animations which can be easily previewed just by clicking the 'Preview'
button. The default resolution for all animations is 320x200 and rendering
time was measured by using DEC/ALPHA AXP150 PC.

- Abys:
	This animation demonstreates how to create waving sea by applying
	morphing to a bump map texture and a water creature by applying 
	morphing to a B-Spline shape representing the creature. Note that the
        creature has 'Not-reflected' attribute set in order to speed
        up rendering. This attribute causes the transparent water creature 
        not be reflected from other objects (from sea in this case).

	Average rendering time 1.5 min/frame.

- Ballbear:

	This is not an animation, so don't try to 'preview' it. The scene
        consists of three ballbrearings created by using Real 3D Boolean 
        Operations and sphere, cylinder, hyperboloid primitives. Rectangles
        were used for cutting material away from ballbrearings in order to
        reveal their inner structures.  

- Bbanim:

	This animation demonstrates how to create a complete ballbearing by
        using Boolean operations.  

	Rendering time when using 'Lampless' ray-tracing mode 30 sec/frame.

- Collide:
	Demonstrates the collision detection feature. A glass cube spins about 
        an axis due to collisions between the axis and the hole of the cube.

	The total rendering time per frame consists of the actual rendering
        time (1 min/frame) + the time required for detecting collisions
	(8 sec/frame).

- Cycle2:
	Simple inverse kinematics example. Hands and legs of the girl were
        animated by using inversed kinematics while camera flies around the
        girl. 

	Average rendering time 1 min/frame. 


- Cycle3:
	Another inversed kinematics example. However, the camera fly is
        much more interesting.

- Dice:
	Collision detection example. Dice were created by using boolean
        operations. Rendering time when using shadowless ray tracing 
        about 1 min and 15 sec/frame.

- Dynamite:
	This is a particle system example where creation methods create
        particles with random velocity and a directed force field is used
        for simulating gravity.

	Average rendering time 10 sec/frame.

- Engine:
	A car engine created by using Boolean Operations and 
	quadrics such as cylinders, spheres, hyperboloids and cones.

	Rendering time 30 sec/frame.

- Fly:
	Butterfly and flower. The wings have been animated by using
	morphing and the entire butter-fly follows a spline path.
	The flower has been animated by using morphing.

	Rendering time about 10 sec/frame when using shadowless ray
	traycing mode.

- Fly2:
	This was created in seconds by duplicating and mirroring the 
	Fly&flower object of the previous animation. 

- Girl:
	This is not an animation. Click the button '5 3 1 MENU' in order
	to render all windows. The purpose of this example is to
	demonstrate 'smoothness' of Real 3D B-Splines as well as
	modelling capabilities.

	Rendering time less than 30 sec per window. 

- Glass:
	This is not an animation but demonstrates the quality
	of Real 3D glass objects.

- Glass2:
	Animation where glass spoon follows a path like a snake
	and a glass vase is morphed.

	Average rendering time 14 min/frame

- Glass3:
	Another glass example. This is actually pretty nice with 24 bit.

- Intro:
	This is the intro project described in the forthcoming manual.

- Matmorph:
	This animation demonstrates how to create a water turbulence
 	by moving a waving bump map along a B-Spline object.

	Rendering time 25 sec/frame

- Morphing:
	Animation where two spheres are morphed to form a head
	of a human being. The texture is bound to the parameter
	space of the B-Spline by using 'B-Spline' mapping. When
	the head is stretched, the texture is stretched as well.

	Rendering time 1 min/frame.

- Pinball:
	Bowling alley simulation described in the manual. 

	Rendering time 1 min/frame.


- Pixtool:
	3D fonts created from particles by using pixel-tool. At the
	end of the animation, the logo is exploded by using radial
	force method. The scene consists of 1700 spheres.

	Rendering time 15 sec/frame.


- Power:
	This demonstrates Fonts created by using the True-type outline
	font generator. 

	Rendering time 45 sec/frame.

- Shark:
	This demonstrates how to create wriggling snakes, swimming 
	fish, etc. by subdividing B-Spline objects to subgroups
	and animating them using the direction method. 

	Rendering time 10 sec/frame.

- Stairs2:
	Simulation where three bowling pins falls down the stairs.
	
	Rendering time 2 min/frame.

- Turbul:
	Particle system example which consists of one creation
	method and one force field.

	Rendering time 30 sec/frame.

- Walker:
	Walking girl. This girl was animated by using the SWEEP
	method and hierarchical construction. One sweep method 
	rotates the shin-bone about the knee and another sweep
	method rotates the entire leg about the hip-bone.

	Rendering time 30 sec/frame.



Installing Real 3D V2 for Windows
---------------------------------
    Real 3D needs services provided by Microsoft Win32s. Therefore you must
    first install Win32s if not already installed or if your installed version
    is not the latest (version 1.1).

    In order to install Win32s, you need Microsoft Windows for Workgroups or
    Microsoft Windows 3.1 running in enhanced mode with paging enabled.

    If you install Win32s on Windows 3.1, it is necessary to run the MS-DOS
    Share utility before starting Windows. Add SHARE.EXE to your AUTOEXEC.BAT
    file. SHARE.EXE is not required if you are using Windows for Workgroups.

    It is recommended that your CONFIG.SYS file set number of files to at
    least 30. Set files=30 in CONFIG.SYS if there is no files command line
    or if it specifies less than 30 files.

    If your system uses any other Windows shell than Program Manager
    (PROGMAN.EXE) it must be disabled while installing Win32S and Real 3D.
    Such Windows shells are, among others, Norton Desktop for Windows and
    DashBoard.

    To disable a Windows shell change the line starting with
        shell=
    in the [boot] section of the SYSTEM.INI file to
        shell=progman.exe
        

    Installing Microsoft Win32S

        1. Run SHARE.EXE before starting Windows, NOT in a Windows DOS shell
        2. Start Windows
        3. Insert disk 1, containing installation files of Win32S in
           drive A: or B:
        4. Choose Run from the File menu of the Program Manager
        5. Type A:SETUP or B:SETUP
        6. Follow the instructions


Verifying Win32s Installation

    In addition to installing the Win32s system components, the Win32s Setup
    program optionally installs the Win32 card game FreeCell. After installing
    Win32s, you can run FreeCell to verify that Win32s is installed correctly.
    FreeCell is located in the Program Manager group Win32 Applications, which
    the Win32s Setup program creates.

    If the FreeCell game does not run, you may have software or hardware that
    is not compatible with Win32s. You can contact your local Microsoft
    subsidiary or sales office if you need help with Win32s. Install Real 3D
    only when you have made sure that the Win32s subsystem is functioning
    properly.

    
    Installing Real 3D

        1. Insert disk labeled 2 in drive A: or B:
        2. Choose Run from the File menu of the Program Manager
        3. Type A:SETUP or B:SETUP
        4. Follow the instructions


    Disabling Win32s

        If you must disable Win32s or wish to do a clean reinstallation of
        Win32s, take the following actions:

            Remove the Win32s VxD line from Windows SYSTEM.INI file in the
            [Enh386] section:

                device=c:\windows\system\win32s\w32s.386


            Delete the W32sYS.DLL and the WIN32s16.DLL files from the
            <windows>\system directory and all files in the
            <windows>\system\win32s subdirectory (<windows> is the Windows
            installation directory such as c:\windows).

            Restart Windows

        Note that Real 3D can not be used if Win32 is disabled or has not
        been installed properly.



Benefits of registering your copy of Real 3D
--------------------------------------------
    As a registered Real 3D user you will get:

        * A special discount update offer for the production release
          of Real 3D V2 for Windows. The combined price of the beta release
          and the update is considerably less than that of the production
          version alone.
        * Access to Real 3D Customer Service
        * Direct notification of new versions and new products
        * Free program updates and support material through the BBS Service
        * Your ideas considered in the development of the program


REAL.EXE Command line options
-----------------------------
    The command line contains the names of the project files to be loaded.
    The command line is entered in the program item properties.
    To change the command line, activate the Real 3D icon, choose Properties
    from the File menu of the Program Manager, then Enter the command line.
    If no project files are specified in the command line, Real 3D reads the
    default project file 'startup.r3d' from the working directory (also
    defined in program item properties).

    The amount of memory that Real 3D may allocate is no longer controlled by
    /M command line option.
    
Reporting bugs
--------------

    Please fill in the form below and fax to:
        Realsoft
        +358 34 471 8533

    or send it to us through BBS.

    Please describe in detail the steps needed to produce the bug and how the
    bug affects the program. Also state whether the bug is repeatable or
    occurring randomly. If you are using some special hardware or software in
    your system, don't forget to mention them.



    =======================================================================
    B U G   R E P O R T	                              Date:    ___/___/____

    User:
        Name: 
        Address: 
        Phone/fax:

    Program Serial Number:

    Hardware:
        Computer model/CPU:
        Installed RAM:
        Display card:

    Software:
        Dos version:
        Display driver:

    Description of the bug:

    =======================================================================



Using the Dongle (hardware protection module)
---------------------------------------------
    The previous dongle has been replaced by the more expensive one and
    hopefully more reliable one. The new dongle is fully compatible with the 
    old one and hopefully will work fine with all possible hardware configurations.

    The dongle should be plugged to the LPT1 parallel port. The dongle has
    markings to show which end will be connected to the computer. If the
    dongle is not plugged properly, the program may start but will not
    function properly.

    Most printers can be connected to the computer through the dongle and
    used when the Real 3D is not in use. If a printer is connected and the
    program fails, please check that the power to the printer is on.
    If turning the printer on does not correct the situation, the printer
    must be disconnected from the dongle. 

    If you are using a dongle from the first beta release (the dongle
    has metallic silver color), you must do the following:

        1. Make the Real 3D directory the current directory. This is the
           directory you specified during the installation. For example:

            c:
            cd \real

        2. copy the file REALPR16.OLD over REALPR16.DLL

            copy realpr16.old realpr16.dll

    It is necessary to use either REALPR16.DLL or REALPR16.OLD from this
    beta package. Older versions will not work correctly.
    
    

Using display cards
-------------------
    This program is compatible with Microsoft Windows 3.1 in enhanced mode.
    Thus all display cards that have a driver for Windows 3.1 should
    function with Real 3D. Note that it is possible that the display driver
    is compatible with Windows 3.1 but NOT with Win32S
    

    
DCON.EXE - Animation maker
--------------------------
    The name of the picture must be stripped of the frame number and
    the file extension. The Format field defines the the number of digits
    in the file name as well as the file extension. For example, to create
    delta file 'car.dlt' from image files car000.bmp thru car119.bmp, the
    fields of the dialog might be as follows:

    Picture:    c:\real\images\car
    Deltafile:  c:\real\delta\car.dlt
    Format:     %03d.bmp
    From:       0
    To:         119
    Type:       DWord Delta

    When using delta formats, the DWord delta is recommended, since it
    is much faster to play back than the other delta formats.

 
DPLAY.EXE - Animation player
----------------------------
    The command line switches for DPLAY are:
        /r<n>  repeats n times, for example
                /r3 repeats three times

	/w<n>  delay between frames. The default /w1 uses the minimum delay.

	/p	starts to play the last converted delta file immediately.

    You can drag a delta file from the file manager and drop it on
    DPLAY's window.


SHOWIMG.EXE - Image display utility
-----------------------------------
    The command line switches for SHOWIMG are:
        /d<n>   delay between images is n seconds
        /r<n>   repeats n times
        /1      shows the image in actual size
        /2      shows the image in half the actual size
        /3      shows the image in one third the actual size
        /4      shows the image in one fourth the actual size
        @file   uses script file that lists the images to be shown

    E.g.
        SWOWIMG /d5 *.bmp
    shows every bmp image in the current directory for 5 seconds.

    You can drag image files from the file manager and drop them on
    SHOWIMG's window. They will be added to the file list.
    
    
About the fonts used in the Select window
-----------------------------------------
    The select window uses four different fonts to distinguish between
    various types of objects. For example level objects can have
    a bold font while mapping objects have an italic font.

    The default fonts are Arial 10 pt fonts. If you wish to change them,
    delete the [Fonts] section (5 lines) from the REAL.INI file. When you
    next time open a Select window, a dialog is opened where you can select
    the fonts. After selecting the four fonts choose Close. These settings
    will be saved in the REAL.INI file.


The Visual Time Line Interface
------------------------------
    The TimeLine window allows interactive editing of the object time lines,
    i.e. the frames where the object is activated and deactivated can be
    changed by dragging the object's time line. This provides the user with
    a graphical interface to the animation system.


The Keyframing Window
----------------------
    This window provides the user with visual and intuitive interface for
    defining key frame values for key frame objects. In order to use this
    window follow the steps described below:

        1. Create a bunch of objects representing your key frame situations.
            Note that their hierarhical structures must match and, if you are
            using free form objects, they must have equal number of vertices.

        2. Select all key objects and apply the function Animate/Create/
            Keyframe to them.

        3. Make the created method object the Current Working Object and open
            the Keyframing window by selecting the menu Animate/Keyframe.

        4. Now you can modify the key values of objects by dragging them with
            the mouse.


The Color Window
----------------
    This window provides the user with modeles way of defining colors. In other
    words, you don't have to close this window in order to activate other Real
    3D functions (which is the case if you use the Palette window).

    The window has scroll bars and edit controls to define the RGB value for
    the color. A box shows the color.

    In the bottom of the window there are 16 custom colors. The color value
    of a custom color can be selected by clicking the left mouse button over
    the desired custom color slot. The color can be changed by using the
    scrollbars or by entering the RGB values in the edit controls. To store
    a color in a custom color slot, click the right mouse button over the slot.

    Buttons:
        Ok    - sets the current color to the value of the controls. When
                visible objects are created they are of the current color.
        Fetch - fetches the color of the selected object to the Color window.


The fractal landscape generator
-------------------------------
    This release of Real 3D has a fractal landscape generator that differs
    from the one described in the manual.

    The following replaces the manual entry for the fractal landscape
    generator.

    Create a mesh representing a fractal 'landscape'.
    DIALOG: Fractal Landscape
    DEFINE: rectangle.

        Controls of the Fractal Landscape dialog:

        Size
            This field defines the resolution of the landscape mesh.

        Depth
            This defines the relative depth of the landscape to be created.
            The higher the value, the higher the profile.

        Addition
            If checked, turns random additions on.

        Sigma
            Initial standard deviation of the random number generator.

        H
            Determines the fractal dimension of the landscape. D = 3 - H.

        Power
            Defines the shape. If the value is large, mountain peaks are
            sharp and valleys are flat.  If small, then mountain peaks
            are flat and valleys deep. The value of 1.0 gives a normal
            landscape, where neither peaks nor valleys are flattened.

        Seed
            Seed value for random number generator. Using identical seeds
            allows identical landscapes to be created.

        Minimum
            Sets the 'water level' of the landscape. All points that would
            fall below the minimum are set to minimum. The value is given
            in percents of the total landscape height.
            
        Maximum
            Sets the 'mesa level' of the landscape. All points that would
            rise above the maximum are set to maximum. The value is given
            in percents of the total landscape height.


New controls in the Material dialog
-----------------------------------
    These controls have been added to the Material dialog for previewing
    materials.

    Prev
        When checked, loads a special material preview project.
        The name of the project is PREVIEW.PRJ. This project
        should contain a View window whose name is 'Preview'.
        When Apply is pressed, the Preview window is rendered.
    
    Save
        Saves the preview image to a file so that it can be used in the
        Material Select window. The name of the image is created so that
        the first 8 characters of the material name are taken and a
        '.MPV' postfix is attached. The path is MPREV (relative to the
        current directory). For example:

            material name       preview image
            ---------------------------------
            wood                mprev\wood.mpv
            bumpymaterial       mprev\bumpymat.mpv

        You should select material names so that they are unique in
        the first 8 characters.

                    
Creating a project for material preview
---------------------------------------

    Create a View window. Use View/Window Size to change the size to
    be the preview size. Use Project/Windows/Window Name to
    change the name of the View window as 'Preview' (without quotes).
    Move the window to a suitable place, for example the top left
    corner of the Real 3D window.

    Create an object that will be used in the preview and apply a
    mapping to it. The name of the mapped material is not important.
    
    Select the root object and add SPRV tag to it. You can use 
    Modify/Properties/Tags to add the tag. The value of the tag is
    not important, only the existence of the tag. This tag is needed
    because the 'Preview' View window renders only the first object it
    finds having this tag.
    
    Close other Real 3D windows leaving only the 'Preview' View window open.
    Choose Project/Project/Save sections. Check Windows and Objects only.
    Choose OK. Save as PREVIEW.PRJ.


Changing the size of the preview items
--------------------------------------

    Add lines similar to the the following into Real 3D initialization
    file REAL.INI. This file can be found in the Windows directory.

        [MatPreview]
        IconWidth=64
        IconHeight=64

    Use appropriate values for IconWidth and IconHeight.
    This changes the Preview Size values shown in the View/Window Size
    dialog as well as the size of the preview images in the Material Select
    Window.


Material Select window
-----------------------
    This user configurable window allows materials to be applied to
    objects through a visual, image based interface.

    A material select window can contain a number of rendered images with
    corresponding material names. The desired material can then be selected
    by clicking the left mouse button over the corresponding image. After
    selecting the material, the mapping buttons can be used to apply a
    mapping.
    
    In order to use this window the following steps must first be taken:

        1. Use the Material dialog to create the preview images for
           the materials that will be shown in the Material Select
           window.
        
        2. Open a material preview window. Choose Add and define the name
           of the material and the file name of the rendered image.
           Choose OK.

    The preview window can be saved with an environment.



NEW RPL WORDS
=============

----------------------------------------------

WORD

    GETWSTACK

SYNTAX

    iCnt GETWSTACK iActual ... vP1 

PARAMETERS

    iCnt - Number of items to be fetched or zero for fetch all.

RESULT

    iActual - Actual number of items fetched.
    ... vP1 - Vectors fetched from the vector stack.

DESCRIPTION

    Attemps to fetch 'iCnt' item from the Vector Stack on the RPL stack.
    If the 'iCnt' is zero, all items are fetched. The 'iActual' holds
    the actual number of fetched items which may be less than asked number.

EXAMPLE

    ( Move selected object to given position )

    : MoveTo
        O_GETSEL        ( fetch selected objects
        1 GETVSTACK     ( attemp fetch one item from the vector stack
        IF              ( make sure we really got what we asked
            0 M_MOVECOG ( move objects to fetched position
            REFRESH     ( refresh windows
        ENDIF
    ;

----------------------------------------------

WORD

    DATABASE

SYNTAX

    sDataName DATABASE aAddr

PARAMETERS

    sDataName - name of the data structure to be fetched

RESULT

    aAddr - address of the data structure

DESCRIPTION

    Attemps to fetch the address of given data structure on stack.
    The following data names are supported:

    "real"  - Real 3D root data structure
    "editor" - Editor 
    "anim" - Animation System



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