README -- 17-May-95 -- WebSpace 1.0 Beta1 for Solaris Copyright 1995, Template Graphics Software Inc. All Rights Reserved. ******************************************************* * Yes! This is the WebSpace for Solaris Beta release! * ******************************************************* Requirements: * ZX (aka "Leo") or TZX 3D graphics accelerator * Solaris 2.3 or 2.4 (2.4 recommended) * Netscape 1.1 * 8MB disk space Installation: WebSpace 1.0 Beta 1 is distributed as a compressed tar file. In a new directory, e.g., WebSpace10B1, uncompress the tar file, then untar it: uncompress filename tar xvf filename You will see a bin directory (contains the WebSpace executable) and a doc directory (contains the HTML help files), a VRML directory (contains sample VRML files), this README, and possibly a few other files. Next you need to configure your Web browser to know about WebSpace. This is described in the following sections. Configuring Netscape for WebSpace You must tell Netscape about the new MIME type for VRML and also tell Netscape that there's a helper application associated with the new MIME type. You do this by editing two files in the Netscape lib directory (default location /usr/local/lib/netscape). 1) Edit "mime.types" and add the following line: x-world/x-vrml wrl 2) Edit "mailcap" and add the following line(s) x-world/x-vrml; \ /WebSpace_install_directory/bin/webspace -remote %s -URL %u; \ description="VRML document"; Replace "WebSpace_install_directory" with the absolute path of your WebSpace installation directory. NOTES: You may need root privileges to be able to edit these files. Alternatively, you can edit the files .mailcap and .mime.types in your home directory. Environment Variables Define environment variable WEBSPACEHOME. It should contain the complete path of the WebSpace installation directory. For example, setenv WEBSPACEHOME /home/whatever/WebSpace10B1 Using WebSpace Standalone WebSpace can be run standalone. In this case, only .wrl and .iv file types can be read. Note that since the help files are in HTML they will not be available. Help Files Help files are provided in the WebSpace installation directory. They are in HTML format and may be viewed with your Web browser. WebSpace uses environment variable WEBSPACEHOME to locate the help files. WEBSPACEHOME should be set to the absolute path of the WebSpace installation directory. Example VRML files Example VRML files are provided in the WebSpace installation directory. They may loaded directly into WebSpace or through your Web browser. For example, type: webspace urlHouse.wrl Tips 1) Viewers WebSpace provides two different 3D viewers: Walk Viewer (the default): For 3D scenes Examiner Viewer : For 3D objects VRML files should contain a "Viewer" hint that tells WebSpace which viewer to use by default. But in some cases it may be necessary to change viewers manually using the "View" menu. 2) Hot Objects WebSpace highlights "hot" objects (WWWAnchor nodes) that are links to other URLs by changing their color when the cursor moves over them. You can also highlight all the links simultaneously using the "Options/Show Hot Links" menu item. Note however that hot objects are *not* highlighted while you are moving in the Walk viewer (have the mouse button down), rotating the object in the Examimer viewer (have the mouse button down) or while the object is spinning in the Examiner viewer (click the trackball to stop spinning). 3) ViewPoints WebSpace supports the VRML "Cameras" hint which allows a VRML author to predefine named camera positions, or viewpoints. The WebSpace "ViewPoints" menu is dynamically created every time a VRML scene is loaded and allows you to select any of the predefined viewpoints. This is particularly helpful in a complex scene where "walking" around using the viewer controls is too slow. By default WebSpace will attempt to move "smoothly" to the selected viewpoint by interpolating the camera position along a spline. You change this behavior to "snapping" to the viewpoint by selecting the "View/Jump Cuts" menu item. 4) Inventor Files WebSpace also supports the full Open Inventor file format. These files are identified by the extension ".iv" and may contain nodes that are not (or at least not yet) allowed in VRML files. Inventor nodes include 2D text, 3D text and "engines" that define various types of predefined motion in the scene. 5) Rendering WebSpace currently uses the ZX and TZX accelerator boards only. In order to get acceleration on the ZX and TZX, you must be running the Sun X Server (i.e., OpenWindows 3.3 or 3.4). Maximum performance on the ZX and TZX can be achieved by turning off the WebSpace "dashboard". Use the Options menu to turn off the dashboard. With the dashboard turned off, you may use the arrow keys to navigate. Known Problems 1) Dashboard obscured In some cases graphics in the scene may be drawn on top of the dashboard. This problem is being investigated. 2) Example files Not all the links in the examples are valid. 3) Passing html requests back to netscape Sometimes this doesn't work correctly and either a second instance of netscape is created or webspace core dumps. This problem is being investigated. Registration If you would like to register for support, see the registration file in the WebSpace installation directory for details. A registration form is also available on our WWW page (address below). Contact us at: Template Graphics Software Inc. 9920 Pacific Heights Blvd San Diego, CA 92121 Fax: 619-452-2547 E-mail: webspace@tgs.com WWW: http://www.sd.tgs.com/~template NOTE: We welcome your feedback. However, due to the volume of user input, we are able to reply only to registered WebSpace users.