Quick Guide

This page will guide you through some features of 3DProS

      Using Object
      Features
      Creating custom controls
      Programming and using function
      Creating animation

Using Object

1. Creating Object

-         Click the shape you want to create on the toolbar.

 2. Selecting Objects

 -         Click the object in the ListBox to select it.

-         Hold Ctrl or Shift if you want select multi objects

-         Select all objects by choosing Edit -> Select All

 3. Editing Objects

 -         You can copy, cut, paste objects by right-click on the form and choose appropriate command

  4. Modifying Objects

 -         You can modify properties of each object by using the Object Inspector on the bottom left corner.

 5. Finding properties of each object 

-         Select the object you want to find information

-         Click icon  on the toolbar, a window will appear to show you all properties of this object.

Features

  1. Using Texture 

-         You can place bitmap on object’s surface by using Texture property.

-         The Texture property specifies the filename of the bitmap in Texture directory. 

2. Translating, Rotating and Scaling object 

-         You can translate, rotate, scale object by using panel on the right corner (or modifying properties : Tx, Ty, Tz, Rx, Ry, Rz, Rz, Sx, Sy, Sz in the Object Inspector) 

 3. Drawing functions

-         3DProS support many custom functions

-         Z = F(X,Y) ; Y = F(X) ; R = F(T); …

-         First create function by clicking icon on the toolbar, then specify its expression by using Expression property in the Object Inspector 

 4. Rotating 2D objects

 -         You can easily rotating 2D objects by using Status2D property

-         Status2D = (None, RotateX, RotateY, SetWidth, Box) 

 5. Mesh objects

 - 3DProS supports mesh objects (.X files) and it also allows you to add your custom mesh objects.

 6. Zoom in, Zoom out, Viewpoint

 -         You can change viewpoint by choosing View->Look To, and you can also zoom in, zoom out the scene by choosing View->Zoom In, Zoom Out

Creating custom controls

1. Creating by dragging and dropping

-         Select all objects you want to combine
-         Choose AutoCreate icon  on the toolbar

-         Set name and group of the new object and click OK

-         An icon representing this object will soon appear on the toolbar

-         Place a bitmap file on the Bitmap directory if you want to give it a symbol

2. Creating by programming

 -         Choose Shape -> Create

-         Provide information and default settings

-         Then you must give some code to tell the program how to draw this object, click Refresh to execute

-         If you have any comments, place it in the Info section

-         You can also inherit from existing objects by selecting Inherit From >>

-         Choose Save & Exit to save object. 

This example illustrates how to create a line of sphere

3. Editing existing objects

-         Choose Shape-> Edit Shape

-         A window will appear, select the object and the command you want to perform

Programming and using functions

 1. Programming

This example illustrates how to find central point

-         Create two points; name them p0, p1

-         Add this code fragment  to the code window

-         Click icon   or choose Project->Run to execute

 This example illustrates how to find symmetric points

-         Create some of points

-         Add this code fragment to the code window

-         Click icon  or choose Project->Run to execute 

2. Using functions

This example will show you how to use function

-         Create three points, select them

-         Click  icon on the toolbar

-         A window will appear to show you all available functions that you can use

-         Select the function you want to perform

 3. Creating and editing functions

 -         As you see above, functions are very useful. You can easily create function after you write code, by choosing Utilities->Function->Export function

-         To edit existing functions, select Utilities->Function->Edit Function

Creating animations

1. Creating by dragging and dropping

This example will show you how to create an animation by dragging and dropping

-         Insert a sphere into project

-         Click Project->Record to mark the beginning of the scene

-         Move the sphere by 10 unit

-         Click Project->Stop to mark the ending of the scene

-         Set time and frame-per-second of the scene

-         Click   to animate the scene

2. Creating by programming

This example will show you how to create an animation by programming

-         Place a sphere on the project and name it S

-         Add this code fragment to the code window

-         Click  to execute 

3. More examples

-         You can also create animations by using other languages such as: FreePascal, MinGW C++

-         Refer to other examples in the Example directory to find out what you can do with 3DProS