|==================================|
| |
| AUTODESK 3D STUDIO RELEASE 2 |
| |
| README.DOC |
| |
|==================================|
This file contains information about 3D Studio Release 2 that
became available after the documentation was printed. We recommend
that you look over this information now, and then print this file
and keep a copy with your Reference Manual. Later, when you're
more familiar with 3D Studio, reread this document. Also, if you
run into a problem with the program and can't find the solution in
the Reference Manual, look again at the Readme.doc.
In brief, this document covers the following:
- If you are using Corel Draw version 2.01 to export nested
polygons for import into the 2D Shaper, you must use a
special process when exporting the geometry.
- Third-party drivers designed to work with Autodesk 3D Studio
release 1.0x may not work properly with Release 2.
- Using inpoint with an external VTRADI driver and a drop-frame
time-coded tape will cause a problem when using a dropped
frame as an inpoint.
- If you are using a network with 3D Studio, you must disable
any parallel port redirection or 3D Studio won't be able to
locate the hardware lock.
- To use file transfer programs that use the parallel port
(such as Flying Dutchman), you must first remove the hardware
lock.
- There is an undocumented 3ds.set parameter called Mirror-
Clip-Any that affects the reflection properties of flat-
mirror reflections.
- Objects which are closer than the Z-Clip-Near setting will be
clipped in the reflected image of automatic reflection maps.
- Improper installation of external ADI drivers can cause
unpredictable results.
- When rendering to fields, double your segment time before
creating a preview to properly analyze precise placement on
field-specific keyframes.
- If you have problems with memory management in 3D Studio, we
recommend you obtain automated memory managers such as
Quarterdeck QEMM and Qualitas 386-to-the-Max.
- Render to fields for best results when rendering to video. If
you can't, then use the Vblur.ixp program from Video Post
to smooth the image. Never use Vblur.ixp when rendering to
fields.
COREL DRAW VERSION 2.01
When nested polygons are exported from release 2.01 of Corel
Draw as Adobe Illustrator (.ai) files, the program converts
the curves into hundreds of closely spaced vertices with
linear segments.
Follow these steps when exporting text or nested objects to
.ai format in Corel Draw 2.01:
1. Convert all text to curves. (Convert to Curves in the
Arrange menu, or [Ctrl]-[V].)
2. Break apart any objects with nested holes. (Break Apart
in the Arrange menu, or [Ctrl]-[K].)
3. Export the graphics normally, using the .ai filter.
(Ignore the Convert Text to Curves option.)
RELEASE 1.0X DRIVERS
Third-party drivers designed for 3D Studio Release 1.0x (such
as those made by Vibrant Graphics or Panacea) might not work
properly with Release 2. Please contact the manufacturer of
your driver for an upgrade.
VTRADI DRIVERS AND DROP FRAME
When using the external VTRADI driver and an NTSC tape using
"Drop Frame" SMPTE time code, if you specify an "in-point" at
a time code that does not exist on a "Drop Frame" tape, the
results will be unpredictable. Set the in-point to any valid
time code to avoid any problems (and we recommend using the
standard SMPTE "Non-Drop Frame" time code method).
HARDWARE LOCK
If you are using 3D Studio on a network system, you must
disable any parallel-port redirection, otherwise 3D Studio
probably won't be able to locate the hardware lock. Consult
your network documentation for information on how to disable
parallel-port redirection.
In order to use file transfer programs that use the parallel
port (such as Flying Dutchman and LapLink), you must first
remove the hardware lock.
MIRROR-CLIP-ANY = NO
This parameter affects the reflection of objects which
intersect or surround flat-mirror reflection objects. It has
no effect on other automatic reflections. When Mirror-Clip-
Any is set to NO (the default) only those faces in an object
that completely fall below the surface of a flat-mirror
surface are clipped (not reflected). When this parameter is
set to YES, all faces in an object that even partially fall
below the surface of the flat-mirror surface are clipped.
In almost all cases, leave this parameter set to NO. Here is
one of the rare conditions in which you should set it to YES:
You might have a flat-mirror object that is surrounded on
it's non-mirror sides by a "shroud" (such as the prism head
on a 35mm camera that surrounds the primary mirror inside of
it). The mirrored side of the object is facing AWAY from the
shroud, but under default conditions, at certain angles, the
shroud appears reflected in the flat mirror even though it's
behind the mirror. In this case, you want to turn off the
reflection of the shroud, so set Mirror-Clip-Any to YES. Now,
only those faces that are TOTALLY in front of the mirror will
be reflected.
The general rule here is: Leave this parameter set to NO,
unless you see a reflection that should not appear, then try
YES.
AUTOMATIC REFLECTION MAPS AND CLOSE OBJECTS
If an object with an automatic, non-flat reflection map is
placed closer than the Z-Clip-Near distance from another
object, that object will appear clipped in the reflection
map. If you see pieces of an object missing in the reflection
of a very close object, either lower your Z-Clip-Near value,
or increase the overall scale of your scene so that the
objects are greater than the Z-Clip-Near distance (in units).
CONFIGURING ADI DRIVERS
CAUTION: Improper installation of ADI drivers can cause
unpredictable results in the operation of 3D Studio.
Please read carefully the section, beginning on page 42 of
your Installation and Performance Guide, that describes
proper configuration of ADI drivers. It's important that you
use the DOS set command to set the environment variables that
3D Studio checks. 3D Studio uses these environment variables
to find the ADI driver when the driver is needed by the
program. If you do not set an environment variable before
starting 3D Studio and attempt to use an ADI device from
within the program, the function of the program might be
limited and unpredictable results might occur. If, while
running 3D Studio, you plan to use an ADI device but realize
that you have not set your environment variables, save your
work, exit the program, and then set the variables as
instructed in the Installation and Performance Guide before
returning to the program.
PREVIEWING FIELD RENDERINGS
If you are going to render an animation to fields instead of
to frames, and you need to examine certain fields using the
Preview/Make function in the Keyframer, you must temporarily
scale the animation to double its size before making the
preview flic. In this way, each frame of the preview flic
represents a field instead of a frame.
Use the following procedure to create a "field-accurate"
preview flic:
1. After loading your animation, select Time/Scale Segment
in the Keyframer and set the number of frames to twice
that displayed in the "Scale to:" field.
2. Use Preview/Make to create the preview flic.
Although the flic will not accurately play back the
speed of the animation, each frame will correctly
display the position of the objects for each field of
the animation.
3. IMPORTANT: Reload the original .3ds file to restore the
correct frame count before rendering your animation. For
best results, do not use Time/Scale Segment to halve the
number of frames back to their original total.
This technique is only necessary when examining an animation
which might have abrupt changes on a field. For example, if
you are moving an object out of camera view with a linear
Position key to make it "disappear."
AUTOMATED MEMORY MANAGERS
If you feel you're having memory problems while using 3D
Studio, or can't properly shell out to external programs,
reread the sections entitled "EMS and 3D Studio" and "Using
CFIG386.EXE" in the Installation and Performance Guide.
Your memory manager might require manual configuration to use
various memory management schemes for different application
programs.
As noted in the Installation and Performance Guide, automated
memory managers such as Quarterdeck QEMM and Qualitas 386-to-
the-Max automatically reconfigure memory as needed by
different applications. We highly recommend that you try
these memory managers if you have any questions about your
memory configuration.
VIDEO RENDERING TIPS (FIELD RENDERING AND VBLUR.IXP)
When rendering to NTSC or PAL videotape, you should render to
fields 99 percent of the time. Field rendering increases the
smoothness of motion and provides an extra level of
antialiasing that you can't achieve by rendering to frames.
Rendering by fields to videotape only appreciably increases
rendering time when you're using automatic mirror reflection
maps and shadows. (Note: Shadows are only calculated for the
first frame of an animation if only the camera and non-
shadow-casting lights are moving. Also, you can turn on the
[First Frame Only] button in the Automatic Reflection Map
dialogue box in the Materials Editor so that only the first
frame of an automatic (cubic) reflection map is calculated.)
If, for some reason, you decide to render to NTSC or PAL
video with Render-Fields turned off, you can use the
Vblur.ixp program within Video Post (with a recommended value
between 0.6-0.8) to slightly blur the image on the vertical
axis. Vblur.ixp also reduces some of the "ropiness" on edges
and mitigates finely detailed moire patterns that wouldn't
otherwise be smoothed when Render-Fields is off. You should
also consider reducing your Texture-Blur value from 1.4-2.0
to 0.7-1.2 so your textures don't appear too blurry.
In summary, if you are rendering to NTSC or PAL video and
want the highest quality of antialiasing with the most speed,
and you are NOT using many automatic reflective objects or
shadow-casting lights, you'd use:
Phong shading
High Anti-aliasing (4x4 sample)
Anti-alias Threshold: 0
Texture Blur: 1.2-2.0 range
Filter Maps: On
Turbo: On (unless you're using very detailed bump maps)
Render-Fields: Yes
Video Post: No image filtering from vblur.ixp.
If you are using automatic reflection maps and shadow-casting
lights (with moving lights and/or objects in the scene), you
should compare your rendering speed using the above settings
with the following settings:
Texture Blur: 0.7-1.3 range
Render-Fields: No
Video Post: 0.6-0.8 image filtering from vblur.ixp.
CAUTION: Never use Vblur.ixp with Render-Fields turned on.
This causes flashing in the image because the two fields are
filtered together.
[End of Document]
|==================================|
| |
| AUTODESK 3D STUDIO RELEASE 3 |
| README.DOC |
|==================================|
This file contains information about 3D Studio Release 3 that
became available after the documentation was printed. We
recommend that you look over this information now, and then print
this file and keep a copy with your Reference Manual. Later, when
you're more familiar with 3D Studio, reread this document. Also,
if you run into a problem with the program and can't find the
solution in the printed documentation, look again at the
README.DOC.
This document has been divided into 10 sections:
I. Preliminary Information
II. Memory Management
III. Operating Systems and Hardware
IV. Hardware Lock
V. Displays and Output Device Configuration
VI. New 3ds.set Parameters
VII. Rendering Notes
VIII. Network Rendering
IX. IPAS Notes
X. Miscellaneous Notes
I. PRELIMINARY INFORMATION
I.1. MODIFYING THE EXECUTABLE FILES
Customers are reminded not to tamper with or modify in any way
the supplied executable files (3DS.EXE) or unpredictable results
will occur. If the program does function unpredictably, it has
been modified or damaged. At that point, the only way to restore
normal program function is to re-install 3D Studio from the
release disks using the INSTALL procedure.
I.2. ALWAYS USE THE 3DS.SET FILE
3D Studio is designed to work in conjunction with the parameters
contained in the 3DS.SET file (or an alternate .SET file that you
may be using for the same purpose). We do not recommend running
3D Studio without the 3DS.SET or alternate file. See page 22 in
the Installation Guide for instructions on how to use an
alternate settings file.
I.3. COMPUSERVE FORUM ON 3D STUDIO
The CompuServe Information Service has a Forum dedicated to
3D Studio questions and issues. Use GO ASOFT to access the
Forum.
I.4. CORRECTIONS TO TUTORIALS
A. On page 13-18, after step 3 at the top of the page, you must
click on an item in the lights branch first for the omni light
icon to appear.
B. On page 18-5 at step 4, make sure that the Hide button is also
on.
C. On page 20-3, in the paragraph following the illustration, the
reference to chapter 3 in the Reference Manual should read as
follows: "All the options are described in detail in chapter
3, 'The Pull-Down Menus,' in the Reference Manual."
D. On page 23-14, in step 7 at the top of the page, turn on the
Selected button before moving the selected faces.
I.5. CONFIGURING YOUR DIGITIZING TABLET
When you set the area of your digitizing tablet in the Program
Configuration dialog box (described in chapter 3 of the Reference
Manual), the defined area is lost when you reset or exit the
program. To solve this, save a 3ds.prj file after setting your
tablet area, and the area will be restored each time you enter
3D Studio.
II. MEMORY MANAGEMENT
II.1. PAGING TO DISK
If you don't have enough RAM, 3D Studio will use your hard disk
as virtual memory. This is called "paging to disk." When it
happens--usually during rendering -- 3D Studio slows down a great
deal. To see if 3D Studio is paging to disk, select Status from
the Info menu (or press ?). If the "Swap File" value in the
Status dialog box is greater than 0, you're paging to disk and
probably should get some more RAM. In any event, once you begin
paging, you need to exit 3D Studio and restart it to clear the
swap buffer.
Note also that in chapter 3 of the Reference Manual, in the
description of the Info Menu/Status command, you are referred to
the Advanced User's Guide for more information on memory. This is
incorrect. See instead "Virtual Memory Management" in the
Installation Guide.
II.2. AUTOMATED MEMORY MANAGERS
If you feel you're having memory problems while using 3D Studio,
or can't properly shell out to external programs, reread the
sections entitled "EMS and 3D Studio" on page 104, and "Using
CFIG386.EXE" on page 108 in the Installation Guide.
Your memory manager might require manual configuration to use
various memory management schemes for different application
programs.
As noted in the Installation Guide, automated memory managers
such as Quarterdeck QEMM and Qualitas 386-to-the-Max
automatically reconfigure memory as needed by different
applications. We highly recommend that you try these memory
managers if you have any questions about your memory
configuration.
II.3. "ABNORMAL PROGRAM TERMINATION" ERROR MESSAGE WHILE PAGING
On certain machines, you may receive an "Abnormal Program
Termination" error while paging to disk. This occurs because the
PharLap parameter is set, and it's incompatible with some bios'.
To disable this, move to your 3ds executable directory, and type:
CFIG386 3DS.EXE -LFU -VSCAN 4000
To determine what your current settings are, type:
CFIG386 3DS.EXE
(Read the parameters from the bottom up.)
In addition to providing more PharLap compatibility with certain
bios', these settings may provide slightly faster swap file
performance while paging for all systems. Feel free to
experiment, but remember... the best thing to do if you're paging
is to go out and buy more RAM. You'll save money (by saving
massive amounts of time) in the long run.
III. OPERATING SYSTEMS AND HARDWARE
III.1. WEITEK COPROCESSORS ARE NOT SUPPORTED IN RELEASE 3
The Weitek Math Coprocessor is not supported in Release 3. Only
the Intel and 100% compatibles are supported.
III.2. USING 3D STUDIO UNDER WINDOWS
A. If you want to run 3D Studio under Windows, we highly
recommend that you use the built-in Vibrant drivers. Avoid
using VGA or ADI drivers.
B. Note also that Vista cards do not function properly when using
3D Studio under Windows. You can model, but you can't render
to the Vista display.
C. Do not attempt to run 3D Studio as a slave system from the DOS
shell under Windows. You cannot exit slave mode in this
situation, because the Alt+Esc key combination required to
exit slave mode is intercepted by Windows, and causes Windows
to switch to another application.
D. In order to run 3D Studio under Windows 3.1, you must edit the
3ds.pif file to conform to your installation. Edit the
Start-up Directory field to match the drive and path where
3D Studio is installed. See page 96 in the Installation Guide
for more information on the PIF file.
E. Before starting 3D Studio under Windows, be sure your current
Windows/3D Studio configuration is functioning properly before
starting work in 3D Studio. If your configuration is not
operating properly, you may lose your work if you switch from
3D Studio to another application, and for some reason cannot
return to 3D Studio.
F. You may have problems running 3D Studio under Windows if the
display board you are using does not have enough onboard
memory. If you are experiencing unsatisfactory results that
may be due to display board memory, try reconfiguring for a
smaller resolution. Remember that 3DS requires at least a
640x480x256 display resolution.
G. Do not use 3D Studio under Windows with real mode display,
digitizer, or VTR controller drivers. For example, some VESA
BIOS extension TSRs are not compatible with Windows, thus
preventing 3D Studio from using a VESA display configuration.
III.3. 3D STUDIO R3 DOES NOT SUPPORT WINDOWS NT
3D Studio Release 3 does not run under the currently shipping
version of the Microsoft Windows NT operating system.
III.4. CONFIGURING OS/2 FOR 3D STUDIO
Although it has not been extensively tested, 3D Studio has been
shown to run successfully under OS/2, version 2.1. If you want
to try running 3D Studio under OS/2, we recommend that you set
the DOS settings for 3D Studio as follows:
A. Set DPMI to Enabled.
B. Set the DPMI Memory Limit to 64 MB, even if you do not have
this much memory.
C. Set Interrupt During I/O to ON.
III.5. ERROR: .RES FILE NOT FOUND
If you receive this error on starting 3D Studio, and the file
named 3DS.RES is in the same directory as 3DS.EXE, examine the
FILES parameter in your CONFIG.SYS file. The default value of 8
is insufficient; we recommend that you set FILES=40 as a minimum.
Similarly, we recommend that you set the BUFFERS parameter to a
similar value to ensure a sufficient number of file transfer
buffers. See your DOS manual for more information.
IV. HARDWARE LOCK NOTES
IV.1. ERRONEOUS HARDWARE LOCK ERROR MESSAGES
A problem has been identified with some hard disk controller-I/O
Ycards that causes the 3DS hardware lock to produce the erroneous
error message "SentinelPro must be plugged into parallel port,"
even though the hardware lock is properly installed.
This problem can be caused by controller-I/O cards that use the
WINBOND W83757F chip in the controller circuit. This chip can
produce extraneous electrical signals that result in erroneous
error messages from the hardware lock, even though a printer
works properly. Even keeping the printer turned on, as suggested
on page 101 of the Installation Guide, doesn't cure this problem.
Two manufacturers who use this chip, DTK and JOINDATA, have added
capacitor circuits to their controller cards, and corrected the
problem on their cards. However, there does not appear to be a
less noisy replacement for the WINBOND W83757F chip. If you
receive the error message, even though the hardware lock is
properly installed, either use another parallel port, or replace
the controller card.
IV.2. NETWORKS AND THE HARDWARE LOCK
If you are using 3D Studio on a network system, you must disable
any parallel-port redirection, otherwise 3D Studio probably won't
be able to locate the hardware lock. Consult your network
documentation for instructions on how to disable parallel-port
redirection.
In order to use file transfer programs that use the parallel port
(such as Flying Dutchman and LapLink), you must first remove the
hardware lock.
V. DISPLAY AND OUTPUT DEVICE CONFIGURATION NOTES
V.1. VISION 16
The 3D Studio Release 3 Installation Guide contains a section
about the Everex/Vision Technologies Vision 16 board on page 85.
On this page the environment variable settings are described,
note that a leading zero must be included in front of the
EV680MAP environment variable, such as:
SET EV680MAP=06
V.2. CONFIGURING ADI DRIVERS
CAUTION: Improper installation of ADI drivers can cause
unpredictable results in the operation of 3D Studio.
Please read carefully the section named "Configuring Protected-
Mode ADI Devices" beginning on page 81 of your Installation
Guide. This section describes proper configuration of ADI
drivers. It's important to use the DOS set command to set the
environment variables used by 3D Studio to find the ADI drivers
whenever they are needed by the program. If you do not set the
appropriate environment variable before starting 3D Studio and
then attempt to use an ADI device from within the program, the
function of the program might be limited and unpredictable
results might occur.
If, while running 3D Studio, you plan to use an ADI device but
have not set your environment variables, save your work, exit the
program, and then set the variables as instructed in the
Installation Guide before restarting 3D Studio.
V.3. BEFORE YOU USE YOUR RELEASE 2 RCPADI DRIVER
Your Release 2 RCPADI driver might not work with Release 3.
Before using it, check to see if your display device is covered
by the internal Vibrant drivers. If so, use the Vibrant drivers.
If not, try your RCPADI driver. If it works, fine. If it doesn't
work, contact the manufacturer of your display card for an
updated version of the driver for Release 3.
In order to use an RCPADI display driver such as RCPVESA.EXP
which was included in the 3D Studio R2, you must choose a
resolution larger than 640x480x256. This is due to a font
requirement by the R3 Materials Editor. The R3 Materials Editor
requires a font no larger than 8x14 when run in 640x480 mode.
V.4. NEW RDPVISTA.EXP
If you're currently using an RDPVISTA.EXP driver compiled before
September, 1993, it won't work with 3D Studio Release 3. We're
supplying a new version of this driver for you as a convenience
so you don't have to log into ASOFT on CompuServe and download
it. For more information about this driver, contact Truevision.
V.5. VIBRANT DRIVER UPDATES
As necessary, we will be uploading updates of the Vibrant drivers
on the ASOFT forum of Compuserve. Type GO ASOFT, enter a DL
library, and then type:
BRO ALL KEY: VIBRANT
V.6. USING TIGA-BASED DISPLAYS
If you are using a TIGA-based graphics adapter running TIGA
version 2.x, you must copy the VG920922.RLM file found in the
3DS3 root directory to your TIGA directory in order for the
Vibrant Graphics drivers to work correctly with the TIGA
standard. (The TIGA directory, typically called "C:\TIGA", is
created when you install the TIGA adapter.)
We recommend that you go through the following steps before
attempting to run the Vibrant TIGA driver with 3DS3:
A. Ensure that the TIGA 2.x driver has been installed correctly.
(Refer to instructions that came with your TIGA board.)
B. Make sure that the TIGA environment variables are properly
set. In general, this is accomplished by using the following
SET statements:
set TIGA=-m<drive>:<dir> -l<drive>:<dir> -i?
<drive>:<dir>\TIGACD
<drive>:<dir>\TIGALNK -lx
where <drive>:<dir> denotes the drive and directory that contains
the TIGA support files (often "C:\TIGA"), and '?' is the
interrupt setting (usually '0x60'). TIGACD.EXE and TIGALNK.EXE
are provided by your TIGA board manufacturer. You may wish to add
these statements to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Note that TIGALNK.EXE
may not always available or necessary with some TIGA boards.
C. Copy the VG920922.RLM file to your TIGA directory.
D. Reboot your system with these parameters in place. Watch for
any errors reported by the TIGACD program and verify that you
have the TIGA 2.x device driver active.
E. Start the Vibrant Configuration Program by typing 3ds vibcfg
from the DOS prompt within the 3D Studio Release 3 directory,
and configure for the board-specific TIGA selection or use
TIGA v2.x generic selection in the card list. Test the video
mode to ensure that you have properly installed the TIGA
device driver and Vibrant support files.
If you are running TIGA version 1.1, we suggest that you contact
your board manufacturer for a TIGA version 2.x upgrade, and then
For additional information on configuring TIGA-based systems for
we suggest you consult and download the appropriate files
found in the CompuServe ASOFT forum.
V.7. USING A COMPAQ MODEL AG-1024 TIGA-BASED DISPLAY
If you are using a Compaq model AG-1024, you will need to copy
the VG920922.RLM file from the 3DS3 root directory to your TIGA
directory. You will need the TIGA 2.x driver and the VIG-AG1.EXE
communication file for the AG-1024. These are available from
Compaq. Then follow the above instructions for TIGA 2.x.
For additional information regarding configuring your Compaq
AG-1024 for 3DS3, we suggest consult and download the appropriate
files from the CompuServe ASOFT forum.
V.8. DUAL MODE IN VIBCFG APPLIES ONLY TO VIBRANT DRIVERS
The Installation Guide mentions the use of the Vibrant DUAL
mode at the top of page 72. You can only use the DUAL mode with
Vibrant drivers. Configuring the DUAL mode with drivers other
than the Vibrant driver can cause unpredictable results.
V.9. RUNNING A FLIC WITH DRIVERS SUPPORTING OVER 256 COLORS
Only use flic drivers intended for running 8-bit flic files with
8-bit (256 color) flics. Attempting to run a standard 3D Studio
(8-bit) flic with a flic driver designed for more than 256 colors
will most likely cause serious, unpredictable results. In some
cases, it's possible to configure VIBCFG to run a flic with many
more than 256 colors, depending on the display board you are
using and the driver you select. There is no way for the program
to know what type of file you will be running under your
configuration, so it is not possible to warn a user that unwanted
results will occur.
V.10. USING HIGHCOLOR AND TRUECOLOR DISPLAYS FOR MAIN DISPLAY
Although the Vibrant Configuration program may allow it for your
display, we do not recommend using a high-color (15- or 16-bit)
or truecolor (24-bit) display as the Main Display. 3D Studio
will still run, but the display colors may be unpredictable, and
the display will run much slower than when it's in 256-color
mode.
V.11. DISK-TO-VTR WITH TARGA+ 64-BIT DISPLAY BOARDS
Because of random toggling problems with the twin 32-bit buffers
used in the Targa+ 64-bit display board, blank frames instead of
the intended image are rendered during Disk-to-VTR operations.
(This does not occur with the Targa16, Targa24, or Targa16/32.)
To avoid this, instead of using the Disk-to-VTR function, use the
command-line image loader and editing utilities supplied with
your VTR controller. For example, DiaQuest provides TPLUSLOA.EXE
which avoids this problem. Do not, however, use the GETTGA.EXE
which comes with the Targa+ boards, since this causes the same
problem.
V.12. VTR CONTROLLER DRIVER FROM LYON LAMB
A sample ADI driver for the Lyon Lamb MiniVAS and PCVAS VTR
controllers from Lyon Lamb Video Animation System, Inc. has been
included with Release 3, and can be found in the \DRIVERS
directory. To use this driver (LLMVAS.EXP), refer to the
accompanying LLMVAS.DOC file for instructions. In addition to
the inline support for DiaQuest controllers, Release 3 also
includes drivers for BCD and Videomedia VTR controllers, and the
Sony EVO-9650 VTR and LVR-3000N laser video recorder.
V.13. VTPADI DRIVERS AND DROP FRAME TIME CODE
When using the external VTPADI driver and an NTSC tape using Drop
Frame SMPTE time code, if you specify an inpoint at a time code
that does not exist on a Drop Frame tape, the results will be
unpredictable. Set the inpoint to any valid time code to avoid
any problems (and we recommend using the standard SMPTE Non-Drop
Frame time code method).
VI. NEW 3DS.SET PARAMETERS
VI.1. SHADOWS THAT MOVE WHEN THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE STABLE
If your shadows are moving during an animation -- even though
nothing else in the scene appears to be -- it's probably due to
the way the 3D Studio calculates shadow bias. In Release 1 & 2
and (as a default) in Release 3, the shadow bias is scaled
RELATIVE to the scene, as defined by all the geometry in the
scene. Thus, you can have an apparently static scene where the
camera and all objects in the camera view are stationary, but if
any object OUTSIDE of the scene is moving, the shadow bias will
change and the shadows will move.
To avoid this, set the shadow bias to ABSOLUTE by turning on the
SHADOW-BIAS-ABSOLUTE parameter in your 3ds.set file. This causes
the shadow bias value to be used directly, rather than scaling it
by the scene geometry dimensions. If you turn this switch on,
you will probably have to adjust your bias values to get the
results you want. If your scene is very large, then you will
have to use a larger bias value, and if your scene is small, you
will have to use a smaller value. ( A scene that is about 100
units deep will require little or no adjustment to bias).
A specific example would be: if your scene is 1000 units deep,
you'd have to make your bias 10 times larger than that it was set
when in RELATIVE mode.
Warning #1: Since this is a 3DS.SET parameter, it will affect all
scenes rendered, and will make scenes that were previously
correct look different.
Warning #2: Since this isn't carried with the project file, it
won't be propagated through your network when doing network
rendering. If you want to use this setting with network
rendering, you must make sure that it's set consistently among
all of your network slaves.
VI.2. SETTING COLORS FOR THE TEXT EDITOR
There are undocumented parameters at the end of your 3ds.set file
that let you specify the color of text and selected text in the
3D Studio text editor. ED-TEXT-COLOR sets the color of the text,
and ED-SEL-TEXT-COLOR sets the color of selected text.
VI.3. IXP PROCESSES AND THE OUTPUT-RENDER-COORDS PARAMETER
When set to ON or YES, this 3ds.set parameter causes 3D Studio to
output screen coordinate minimums and maximums for each non-
instance object to a file on disk. This is required by some
third-party IXPs, such as FLARE.IXP, so that they can easily
determine where objects are located on the rendered image and
operate on those areas exclusively.
VI.4. BATCH RENDERING AND THE BATCH-RENDER-PAUSE PARAMETER
With this parameter set to YES or ON, if you render batch files
with multiple lines, the Renderer pauses at the end of each line,
or sequence, and displays the output. In order to proceed with
the next line of the batch file, you must press Esc. To perform
unattended batch rendering with multiple line scripts, set this
parameter to NO or OFF; the Renderer will skip the display of the
result of each line of the batch file.
VII. RENDERING NOTES
VII.1. OPTIMAL RENDERING PERFORMANCE FOR 486 COMPUTERS
For optimal rendering speed on a 486, we recommend the use of an
extended memory manager. We have found that some 486 computers
will render at almost twice the speed when an extended memory
manager is being used. The need for a memory manager for faster
rendering speed is only required for some 486 computers. Some
486 computers have an extended memory manager built into the
hardware.
VII.2. MAKING FLICS USING HIGH PALETTE MODE
The color compression routines in 3D Studio R3 are so much better
than the routines in version 2.0, that High palette mode has
become almost unnecessary. In fact, under certain cases, High
palette mode can actually produce unwanted color artifacts.
Therefore, we recommend that Medium palette mode be used for
making flics instead of High. There are still times when Low and
Custom modes may be necessary, and those should be used
accordingly. See "VGA Palette Control for Flics" on page 8-117 in
the Reference Manual for detailed instructions on how to create a
custom palette.
VII.3. AUTOMATIC REFLECTION MAPS AND CLOSE OBJECTS
If an object with an automatic, non-flat reflection map is placed
closer than the Z-CLIP-NEAR distance from another object, that
object will appear clipped in the reflection map. If you see
pieces of an object missing in the reflection of a very close
object, either lower your Z-CLIP-NEAR value, or increase the
overall scale of your scene so that the objects are greater than
the Z-CLIP-NEAR distance (in units).
VII.4. PREVIEWING FIELD RENDERINGS
If you are going to render an animation to fields instead of to
frames, and you want to examine each field before preparing the
final rendering, you can use the Preview/Make function in the
Keyframer to do so. However, you must first scale the animation
to twice its original length before making the preview flic. In
this way, each frame of the preview flic represents a field
instead of a frame. This technique is only necessary when
examining an animation which might have abrupt changes on a
field. Use the following procedure to create a "field-accurate"
preview flic:
A. Save your animation to disk before performing this procedure.
B. Load the animation and select Time/Scale Segment in the
Keyframer and set the number of frames to twice that displayed
in the "Scale to:" field.
C. Use Preview/Make to create the preview flic. Although the flic
will not accurately play back the speed of the animation, each
frame will correctly display the position of the objects for
each field of the animation.
D. IMPORTANT: Reload the original .3ds file to restore the
correct frame count before rendering your animation. For best
results, do not use Time/Scale Segment to halve the number of
frames back to the original total.
VII.5. RECOMMENDED GAMMA SETTINGS
There are certain instances in which you can't check the output
gamma on the output device because you're using a service bureau
to output your files. These include: D1 or D2 digital video,
print media, slides, etc. In these cases, it's best to ask the
tech people at the service bureau what gamma they want. If they
don't know or aren't sure, use a file output gamma of 1.8.
VII.6. GAMMA CORRECTION CAN MAKE DARK PIXELS VERY BRIGHT
It may be surprising to you to see very dark pixels that are
un-gamma-corrected become much brighter when gamma corrected
(especially to NTSC gamma of 2.2). This is because the gamma-
correction curve is extremely steep at the dark end of the
luminance scale. For example, the following table illustrates
how much a gamma value of 2.2 affects the original RGB pixel
value:
2.2 gamma-corrected
Original RGB value RGB value
0 0
1 20
2 28
3 33
4 38
5 42
6 46
7 49
8 52
9 55
10 58
Conversely, there is very little RGB shift at the upper end of
the gamma-correction curve... even with an extreme gamma value of
2.2.
2.2 gamma-corrected
Original RGB value RGB value
250 252
251 253
252 253
253 254
254 254
255 255
So, if you see large shifts at the lower end of the spectrum,
don't panic. That's how gamma-correction (especially NTSC gamma
correction with a 2.2 value) works.
If you're interested in learning more about gamma correction and
other important aspects of computer graphic color technology,
read "Illumination and Color in Computer Generated Imagery" by
Roy Hall, Published by Springer-Verlag. It contains everything
you ever wanted to know about the subject.
VII.7. WIREFRAME MATTE ATTRIBUTES
The Matte attributes in the Modify/Object/Attributes dialog box
will not produce a wireframe matte with objects that are assigned
Wire-attribute materials. The Matte attribute always assumes a
solid material.
VII.8. "OBJECT NEEDS MAPPING COORDINATES" ERROR MESSAGE
If one or more objects with a mapped material assigned but no
mapping coordinates applied, when you render them, 3D Studio
displays an alert box that advises you that one or more objects
needs mapping coordinates. this alert is displayed only once,
even if there is more than one such object.
VII.9. COMMAND LINE RENDERING OF .PRJ FILES
When rendering .prj files from the command line, or using a batch
file, note the following:
A. The rendering resolution saved in the .prj file is not
recognized. The output image uses the default resolution.
B. The /N (Render Fields) and /M (Show Hidden Lines) switches are
overridden by the settings saved in the .prj file.
VIII. NETWORK RENDERING
VIII.1. THE MOST COMMON NETWORK PROBLEM
YIf you're getting a large number of "Network Queue Failure"
reports, or multiple machines that render the same frame, it's
likely due to your machines not being properly synchronized via
your network's Set Clock function. If the time on your various
slave machines are more than ten seconds off, you will run into
these problems. In some instances, if your systems are more than
one or two seconds off, errors can occur. To avoid problems of
this nature, use a network that maintains synchronization
automatically.
VIII.2. IPAS ROUTINES AND NETWORK RENDERING.
When using network rendering and IPAS routines, it's best to use
a network with its own file management system, like Novell
NetWare. If you're using a DOS-based network (such as Lantastic),
you may get IPAS conflicts if you keep all of your IPAS routines
in a process directory on your central server, with all of the
slaves accessing that machine at once. In this case, there are
two things you can try:
A. Set the read-only flag for your IPAS routines.
B. Move your IPAS routines to a process path on each of your
slave machine's local hard disks.
VIII.3. CAUSE OF CORRUPTED TARGA FILES WHEN USING NETWORK
If you find that Targa files rendered by a fast (such as a 486/66
or Pentium) machine over your network are corrupted, the problem
may be that the rendering machine is faster than its network card
can handle. If this is the case, replace the network card with a
faster one.
IX. IPAS NOTES
IX.1. IF YOUR R2 IPAS ROUTINE DOESN'T WORK
Certain IPAS routines compiled with the Watcom compiler that work
with 3DS Release 2 won't work with Release 3 because of the
changes to Release 3's version of Phar Lap. Try running
YIPASFIX.EXE on the IPAS routine if it appears to allocate all
available RAM when you go into its Setup dialog. If that doesn't
solve the entire problem, contact the developer of the IPAS
routine for an update.
IX.2. USING SXP'S WITH DIFFERENT SETTINGS AND OVERLAPPING
OBJECTS.
If you use two materials that use the same SXP but have different
SXP settings on two different objects in your scene, and if the
objects are overlapping, rendering will go slower than usual. To
avoid this, you can copy the SXP to a unique file name (i.e.,
copy NOISE_I.SXP to NNOISE_I.SXP) and use each unique version of
the SXP in each material. This technique can also be used if you
want to morph materials between two objects that have the same
SXP, but with different settings.
X. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
X.1. README FILE FOR THE WORLD-CREATING TOOLKIT
The readme file on the R3 World-Creating Toolkit CD-ROM is called
CDREADME.TXT rather than CDREADME.DOC as mentioned on page 49 in
the Advanced User's Guide.
X.2. .PFB FONTS ON CD-ROM AND IN FONTS DIRECTORY
There are a total of 100 custom .PFB fonts included on the
World-Creating Toolkit CD-ROM, and a selection of them has been
added to the installation disks to be copied into the fonts
subdirectory. Because there is more space on 1.44 MB (3.5")
disks than on 1.2 MB (5.25") disks, more of these sample files
will be copied into your fonts subdirectory from the first type
of installation disks than from the second type. However, all 100
available fonts are included on the CD-ROM, no matter which type
of disks you have.
X.3. .PFB FONTS AND AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO
We do not recommend using the .PFB fonts that are included with
3D Studio in Autodesk Animator Pro version 1.3a, as the fonts
have been customized for use in 3D Studio.
X.4. RENDERING EASTER4.3DS FROM THE R3 WORLD-CREATING TOOLKIT
In order to render the EASTER4.3DS mesh file found in the World-
Creating Toolkit CD-ROM supplied to you with Release 3, you must
have the IPAS program called NOISE2_I.SXP file in one of your map
path directories. If you already have a file named NOISE2_I.SXP,
no further action is necessary. However, if you don't have such a
file, you can either copy NOISE_I.SXP as NOISE2_I.SXP or use the
Materials Editor to replace NOISE2_I.SXP with NOISE_I.SXP in the
material that uses this file.
X.5. ADDITIONAL SAMPLE FILES IN THE MESHES DIRECTORY
There are fifteen additional sample files in the meshes directory
and one additional sample file in the vpost directory that merit
special attention. They are described in the SAMPLES.DOC file,
which has also been copied into the same directory as this
readme.doc. We recommend that you load the sample files, read the
SAMPLES.DOC file, and experiment.
X.6. UTILITY TO CREATE IFL FILES
We've included a small utility on the Release 3 disks, called
MAKEIFL.EXE, that creates an .IFL file from series of
sequentially numbered image files. It's run from the DOS command
line using the following syntax:
MAKEIFL <file name> <prefix> <start frame#> <end frame#> (suffix)
The <prefix> argument is the first four letters of the image file
name. For example, the prefix for BOOK0000.tga is BOOK.
The (suffix) option lets you specify the file suffix. (The
default is .TGA.) To use another file suffix, enter GIF, CEL,
JPEG, or TIF here.
EXAMPLES:
MAKEIFL SKY CLDS 0 200
Creates SKY.IFL listing CLDS0000.tga to CLDS0200.tga.
MAKEIFL TVSCREEN SCRN 40 0 GIF
Creates TVSCREEN.IFL listing SCRN0040.gif to SCRN0000.gif.
To see brief instructions on how to use the utility, type:
MAKEIFL
NOTE: When the START frame number is higher than the END
frame, the list is created in descending order. This is a good
method to reverse the order of animated sequences and maps.
X.7. .VUE FILES HAVE CHANGED FROM RELEASE 2.0
.VUE files have changed in Release 3 so that the contents of the
file represent the absolute transformation matrix of an object.
This should make the object representation in the file less
confusing than it was in the old .VUE file. .VUE files created
in 3D Studio R2 (2.0) are compatible with Release 3, although
.VUE files created in Release 3 are not compatible with version
2.0. This change was implemented in Release 2.01, so that any
.VUE files created in that version are 100% compatible with
Release 3 .VUE files.
X.8. USING COREL DRAW VERSION 2.01 WITH 3D STUDIO
When nested polygons are exported from release 2.01 of Corel Draw
as Adobe Illustrator (.ai) files, the program converts the curves
into hundreds of closely spaced vertices with linear segments.
Follow these steps when exporting text or nested objects to .ai
format in Corel Draw 2.01:
A. Convert all text to curves. (Convert to Curves in the Arrange
menu, or [Ctrl]-[V].)
B. Break apart any objects with nested holes. (Break Apart in
the Arrange menu, or [Ctrl]-[K].)
C. Export the graphics normally, using the .ai filter. (Ignore
the Convert Text to Curves option.)
X.9. .AI FILES CANNOT BE LOADED BY ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR 4.0
.AI files saved by 3D Studio cannot be loaded into Adobe
Illustrator version 4.0, However, they can be loaded into Corel
Draw.
X.10. RESTORING DATA AFTER A CRASH
If you should (perish the thought) crash while in 3D Studio, AND
you have recently pressed the Hold button in the icon panel, you
can restore the data in the Hold buffer. The Hold buffer is
stored in the TEMP directory in a file called MODEH$$$.TMP.
Rename this file to anything with a .3ds extension (HOLD.3DS),
and then load the renamed file.
X.11. USING SHAPES/ALIGN LEFT AND ALIGN RIGHT IN THE 3D LOFTER
When you use Shapes/Align Left and Align Right on a SurfRev path
in the 3D Lofter, the direction of the path (clockwise or
counterclockwise) affects the direction of the face normals in
the resultant object. For example, using Align Left with the
default counterclockwise SurfRev path results in the face normals
pointing outward; but using Align Right with the same path
results in the face normals pointing inward. On the other hand,
using Align Left with a clockwise path results in inward pointing
faces, while using Align Right with a clockwise path results in
outward pointing faces.
X.12. USING TRACKS/FILE INSERT WITH MORPH KEYS
When you use the Tracks/File Insert command in the Keyframer with
Morph keys, the morph target objects must have the same names in
both the source and destination files.
X.13. EFFECT OF DOUBLE BUTTON IN TRACKINFO DIALOG BOX
When you use the Double button in the Track Info dialog box
to double the length of an animation segment, remember that it
overwrites the keys on the last frame of the active segment with
copies of the keys at frame 0. If you have a 30-frame active
segment, Double produces an active segment twice as long, or 60
frames. The keys on the last frame of the original active segment
(frame 30) are overwritten by the keys on frame 0.
X.14. USING INHERIT LINKS WITH FIRST KEYFRAME OTHER THAN FRAME 0
If you do an Inherit Links operation on a frame before the first
keyframe, the keys are created at the first keyframe, rather than
at frame 0, as stated in the Reference Manual.
X.15. ILLUSTRATION ERROR IN REFERENCE MANUAL
On page 5-31 of the Reference Manual, the illustration labelled
as union represents the original two polygons, and the topmost
illustration is the result of a union operation.
X.16. MORE ABOUT FACE MAPPING
As discussed on page 9-66 of the Reference Manual, the face map
button in the Materials Editor lets you place a mapped area in
each rectangular facet of an object without applying mapping
coordinates to it. This method can cause one facet to be mapped
with the same portion of the bitmap. That is, one of the
rectangular facets will display the same half of the map, twice,
rather than applying the entire map to the facet. At this
writing, there is no work-around, so plan your images
accordingly.
[END OF README.DOC]
Installation Instructions for PC Animate Plus --------------------------------------------- The install.bat batch file will install PC Animate Plus onto your hard disk. By default, the install process will copy from the installation disks in drive A to the hard disk drive C. If you need to change either default, you can modify the execution of the install program by listing new drives to be used in place of the default drives. To change the source disk drive, the drive where the install program will find the source files, list the source drive (Don't forget the colon!) on the command line. To change the destination drive, you MUST enter the source drive even if you will be using A: and then enter the new drive letter to use for the destination (Don't forget the colon!) For example, to read the installation disks from drive B, use the following command: install B: To install PC Animate Plus onto your hard drive D, use the following command: install A: D: To install PC Animate Plus from drive B onto drive D, use the following command: install B: D: There are two environment variables which PC Animate Plus uses. Properly setting these variables will enhance performance and ease of use. The three environment strings should be set in the autoexec.bat file so they are always set after booting your computer. The two environment variables are: TMP Specifies a disk/directory where PC Animate Plus should put it's temporary files. If not set, PC Animate Plus will use the current disk/directory. SB Specifies the port address and interrupt level of the SoundBlaster card, if you have one. PC Animate Plus uses the SoundBlaster for playing sound effects during animations. This environment variable is specified as the port number (in hexidecimal), followed by a comma (,), followed by the interrupt (IRQ) the board is set to. Incorrect settings can cause your computer to lock up, so be sure these are correct. For example, to specify a SoundBlaster board at port number 220h with interrupt 7 you would use the following setting for the SB variable: set SB=220,7
AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO 1.0
README.DOC
AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO AND AUTODESK ANIMATOR 1.0
CONVERTING .CEL FILES FOR USE IN AUTODESK ANIMATOR 1.0
The .cel file format has been updated in Autodesk Animator
Pro to support higher resolution. To convert Autodesk
Animator Pro .cel files for use by Autodesk Animator 1.0
use Oldcel.poc located in your \ani subdirectory.
To use Oldcel.poc:
1. Load the cel you wish to convert and select Use from
the Poco menu.
2. Select Oldcel.poc from the file selection window and
click on Use.
3. At the prompts, enter a filename and directory to save
the .cel file. Then, select Save.
The cel file will be converted and saved in the Animator
1.0 format.
TGAFLI PROGRAM
The TGAFLI program is a utility which was used with
Autodesk Animator to convert a sequentially numbered series
of Targa files into the frames of a flic. You can use the
Numpic.poc poco program in Autodesk Animator Pro to produce
the same results. (The description of Numpic is found in
"Custom Poco Programs" in Chapter 3 of your Autodesk
Animator Pro Reference Manual.) To convert a sequentially
numbered series of Targa files to a flic, run Numpic and
select Load Pics as Flic. Select the first of your
numbered Targa files. A menu will appear offering load
options. Select the type of load option you want and all
the files will be converted and made into flic frames.
Note: Eight-bit Targa files are automatically converted
without displaying an option menu.
Suggestion: For best results, all Targa files to be
converted should be the same format.
July 24, 1991 AAP1RD-01
Page 1 of 9
AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO AND AUTODESK 3D STUDIO
SHELLING FROM AUTODESK 3D STUDIO TO AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO
Autodesk 3D Studio uses all available extended memory to
execute its different modules and does not release the
memory until you quit the program. As a result, if you
shell out to Autodesk Animator Pro from 3D Studio, you will
not have enough extended memory for Animator Pro to run.
CFIG386.EXE is provided with Autodesk Animator Pro and is
automatically installed when you choose either Full
Installation or Executables Only. When CFIG386 is executed
it allows you to allocate the area of memory to be used by
3D Studio. This frees up the rest of extended memory for
use by Autodesk Animator Pro or other programs.
NOTE: The following section assumes an understanding of DOS
system calls, conventional and extended memory, and
hardware interrupts.
To set the -extlow or -exthigh switch options for
CFIG386.EXE, you must specify the physical memory address
for each. Be sure CFIG386.EXE is in the directory
containing Autodesk 3D Studio. Here is an example of how
to use CFIG386.EXE:
If you have 8 megabytes of extended memory, you can type:
CFIG386 3DS.EXE -extlow 400000h -exthigh 800000h
This tells Autodesk 3D Studio that it can only use high
memory starting at 4 megabytes and up to 8 megabytes,
leaving 4 megabytes for Autodesk Animator Pro.
Note: If you enter an incorrect value for any of the switch
options, you must clear the value, then restore Autodesk
3D Studio to its original default settings before you
attempt to execute the correct option switches. To restore
the default settings, type the following:
CFIG386 3DS.EXE -clear -minreal 4096 -maxreal 40000 -intmap 8
For further information on CFIG386.EXE and shelling from
Autodesk 3D Studio, please refer to the README.DOC file and
the Installation Guide included with Autodesk 3D Studio.
July 24, 1991 AAP1RD-01
Page 2 of 9
USING ANIMATOR PRO TIFF FILES WITH 3D STUDIO & OTHER PROGRAMS
The internal Autodesk Animator Pro Tiff converter
(Tiff.pdr) uses the LZW compression scheme which creates a
compressed color tiff file that may be incompatible with
some software programs (including Autodesk 3D Studio).
You can convert a Tiff file to greyscale directly from
Autodesk Animator Pro by using the Tiffgrey option from the
Picture File Format Menu. This creates a greyscale file
that can be read into 3D Studio or other software programs.
You can also use the Converter program to convert your Tiff
files to a greyscale or color file format compatible with
your software. For example, to create a Tiff file readable
by 3D Studio, use the Converter Program and select either
Greyscale, Color Mapped or Truecolor (RGB) followed by
either None or Pack-bits as the compression scheme.
Better yet, use the Gif format which is entirely compatible
with 3D Studio.
LOADING .FLC FLICS IN AUTODESK 3D STUDIO
Versions of Autodesk 3D Studio below version 2.0 do not
recognize the .flc file extension, so, simply rename your
.flc files to .fli before accessing them.
USING FLICS AND CELS AS ANIMATED 3D STUDIO BACKGROUNDS
When you use a .flc or anim cel file as an animated
background in Autodesk 3D Studio, the resolution of the
flic or cel must be the same as that of the image being
rendered in 3D Studio.
AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO AND MICROSOFT WINDOWS(TM) 3.0
You may run Autodesk Animator Pro as a non-Windows
application while running Windows in Real or Standard mode.
When running Windows in real mode, Windows will use
conventional and expanded memory while Autodesk Animator
Pro uses the available extended memory. To start Windows
in real mode, go to the Windows directory containing
WIN.EXE and type:
WIN /R
July 24, 1991 AAP1RD-01
Page 3 of 9
To go to DOS from Windows select the DOS Prompt icon. If
you are using a VESA compatible display board and intend to
use a screen resolution larger than 320x200, you will need
to load the required VESA BIOS extension program before
starting Autodesk Animator Pro. Once you return to
Windows, the VESA BIOS extension program will not be
retained in memory. Therefore, you must run this program
each time you go to DOS to run Autodesk Animator Pro from
Windows.
It is also possible to run Autodesk Animator Pro while
Windows is running in Standard mode. Your system will need
to have at least 12 megabytes of RAM available before
Windows and Autodesk Animator Pro are started. To start
Windows in standard mode, go to the Windows directory
containing WIN.EXE and type:
WIN /S
Autodesk Animator Pro will not run while Windows is running
in 386 enhanced mode.
PIXELPOP
In order to work properly, PixelPop must be the last TSR
loaded into memory. This allows you to remove it from
memory without conflicting with other programs.
Note: Be sure to follow the instructions on pg. 14 of the
"Autodesk Animator Pro Installation and Performance Guide"
to install the VESA TSR using your autoexec.bat file.
This will ensure that the TSR is loaded before you install
Pixelpop.
If you shell out to DOS and then try to remove PixelPop
from memory, it will also cause a conflict and the results
are not guaranteed. Pixelpop must be removed from memory
at the real DOS prompt.
AST PREMIUM 486/33 T AND AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO
We have discovered a problem in getting Autodesk Animator
Pro to run on an AST Premium 486/33 T. This EISA-based
computer utilizes a SCSI hard drive controller.
Preliminary testing indicates that the source of the
problem is with the controller (or its interaction with
DOS), but this is not a definitive conclusion. We are
continuing to test alternate configurations in coordination
with AST and will make our conclusions known to dealers
once a final determination has been made.
July 24, 1991 AAP1RD-01
Page 4 of 9
RUNNING ANIPLAY.EXE FROM A FLOPPY DISK
If you plan to run ANIPLAY.EXE from a floppy disk, you must
have a resource subdirectory containing AA.MU, the .DRV
(driver) file you want to use, AAMENU.FNT and AAHRMENU.FNT,
and any .PDR files that you may need.
Note: If you're using a Vesa driver, be sure to run
V7VESA.COM before running ANIPLAY.EXE.
ENVIRONMENT SPACE AND ADI DRIVERS
Environment space is an area of memory used to store any
set statements, the DOS path setting in autoexec.bat or
both. If you receive an "out of environment space" message
when loading your ADI drivers for Flitape or Flipaper, you
need to specify a "shell" statement in your config.sys file
that will allocate more environment space. To do this add
the following statement to your config.sys file:
shell=c:\command.com /e:750 /p
The statement to the right of the equal sign has three
parts. The first part selects a command interpreter to use
on start-up. The /e:750 portion expands the DOS
environment space beyond its 160-byte default value to 750
bytes. The /p switch executes the autoexec.bat file
commands once the command processor is installed.
USING FLITAPE WITH A VGA OUTPUT DEVICE
Flitape is designed for use with truecolor frame buffers
but can produce good results with a VGA display board
capable of outputting an image to a video recording
device.
When Flitape prepares an image for the display it converts
the flic to truecolor, resizes and, if necessary,
resamples the colors for a paletted display device.
However, when the colors are resampled, Flitape does not
take into account the number of pixels of a given color;
all are weighed equally.
The resulting effect may be a "swimming" of colors if the
flic has a broad range of colors and the output device is
paletted. This does not apply to truecolor frame buffers.
July 24, 1991 AAP1RD-01
Page 5 of 9
FLITAPE
USING FLITAPE WITH A VGA OUTPUT DEVICE
Flitape is designed for use with truecolor frame buffers but can
produce good results with a VGA display board capable of outputting
an image to a video recording device.
When Flitape prepares an image for the display it converts the flic
to truecolor, resizes and, if necessary, resamples the colors for
a paletted display device. However, when the colors are resampled,
Flitape does not take into account the number of pixels of a given
color; all are weighed equally.
The resulting effect may be a "swimming" of colors if the flic has
a broad range of colors and the output device is paletted. This
does not apply to truecolor frame buffers.
USING FLITAPE WITH DOS 5.0
An error message will appear when both a script file to read (-s)
and a log file to record (-r) are specified on the command line
using DOS 5.0.
Flitape looks at each flic name listed in the specified script file
and assigns a .FLI extension to the filename as the program
verifies the validity of each flic file. Even though the flic
listed in the script may have, for example, a .FLC extension,
Flitape looks for a flic with a .FLI extension and an error message
is returned.
You must rename the flics that are being called from the script
file, changing the extension to FLI.
Note: This only occurs when a log file is specified on the command
line in addition to a script file and does not occur while using
DOS versions other than 5.0.
INPUT DEVICES
SUMMAGRAPHICS TABLET
Correction to the Summagraphics Tablet information on page
3-68 of the "Autodesk Animator Pro Reference Manual":
The input devices for the summagraphics tablet are not
reversible. Be sure to install for the stylus if that is
your input device or install for the puck if you are using
a puck.
If you reverse the input devices, the results are not
guaranteed. Use the keyboard alternative to reconfigure.
July 24, 1991 AAP1RD-01
Page 6 of 9
INPUT DEVICE LOCK UP
Be sure that when you invoke Autodesk Animator Pro that
your input device is properly connected. If it is not or
if your selected COM port is incorrect your system may
appear to lock up. You can use the keyboard alternatives
to configure the input device once it is properly
installed. Reboot your machine, and from the Home Panel
type the following:
Summagraphics - 'E', 'C', '3', '2'
Wacom - 'E', 'C', '3', '3' and type in 'wacom.idr'
and press return.
Mouse - Automatically installed
Note: You may also delete the aa.cfg file from your \ANI
directory.
TARGA FILE FORMAT
The standard format for Targa files is Truecolor (RGB).
Autodesk Animator Pro can save Targa files through use of
the Targa PDR converter, but it cannot directly load Targa
files.
There are two ways to convert Targa files to 8-bit color
format and load them in Autodesk Animator Pro. Either use
the Numpic.Poc Poco program (described below), or use the
Converter program to convert the Targa file to a format
loadable by Autodesk Animator Pro. (See the Utilities
User's Guide for instructions on how to use the Converter
program.)
AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO DISPLAY BOARDS
This list is an update to the chart on page 14 of the
Autodesk Animator Pro Installation and Performance Guide
describing the boards tested with Autodesk Animator Pro:
ATI WONDER
EVEREX TC
ORCHID PRO DESIGNER II
NOTE: The product formerly known as the Compaq Sunburst is
now shipping as the Compaq Advanced VGA and is currently
shipping in the DeskPro 386 20e and 25e machines. All
references to the Compaq Sunburst in the Autodesk
Animator Pro documentation apply to the Compaq Advanced
VGA.
July 24, 1991 AAP1RD-01
Page 7 of 9
USING A METHEUS PREMIER VGA DISPLAY & MICROSOFT MOUSE
The Metheus Premier VGA and some versions of the Microsoft
Mouse driver are incompatible. Microsoft Mouse versions
6.24 and 7.04 are known to work, but other versions may not
function correctly when using Autodesk Animator Pro with a
Microsoft Mouse and the Metheus Premier VGA board
installed.
AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO .PIC FORMAT
This is Autodesk Animator Pro's own .pic format. It is not
a standard file format that is readable by other programs.
TIPS & HINTS
LOADING TRUECOLOR FILES IN AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO
You can use the Numpic.poc Poco program to load single,
truecolor files of Targa or Tiff format. After running
Numpic, select Load Single RGB. The loaded image is
converted to 8-bit color format.
SAVING .CEL FILES IN .GIF FORMAT
If you need to save a cel file in .gif format maintaining
the cel actual size, do the following:
1. Save the cel to disk.
2. In the Files menu, select Flic and Load. In the file
selector, click on the *.cel button and load your
cel.
Result: Your cel is loaded as a flic and the screen
size is changed to the size of the cel.
3. In the Files menu, click on the Picture button and save
the current frame as a gif.
July 24, 1991 AAP1RD-01
Page 8 of 9
CHANGING THE SIZE OF YOUR FLIC
You can use the Match Size function in the Join panel to
reduce or enlarge the size of a flic. Do the following:
1. Reset the system and set the active screen to the size
you want your flic to be.
2. Select Join from the Flic menu, make sure the Match
Size button is active, and perform a Cut join.
Result: The incoming flic is resized to match the
resolution of the first blank frame in memory.
3. Delete the first blank frame, then save your resized
flic.
Note: Enlarged flics will result in chunky pixels.
July 24, 1991 AAP1RD-01
Page 9 of 9
AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO(TM) 1.3
README.DOC
AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO AND AUTODESK ANIMATOR(R) 1.0
CONVERTING .CEL FILES FOR USE IN AUTODESK ANIMATOR 1.0
The .cel file format has been updated in Autodesk Animator
Pro to support higher resolution. To convert Autodesk
Animator Pro .cel files for use by Autodesk Animator 1.0,
use oldcel.poc, located in your \ANI subdirectory.
To use oldcel.poc:
1. Load the cel you want to convert and select Use from
the Poco menu.
2. Select oldcel.poc from the file selection window and
click on Use.
3. At the prompts, enter a filename and directory to save
the .cel file. Then select Save.
The cel file will be converted and saved in the Autodesk
Animator 1.0 format.
TGAFLI PROGRAM
The Tgafli program is a utility that Autodesk Animator used
to convert a sequentially numbered series of Targa files into
the frames of a flic. You can use the numpic.poc Poco
program in Autodesk Animator Pro to produce the same results.
(You can find a description of numpic in "Custom Poco Programs"
in chapter 3 of your Autodesk Animator Pro Reference Manual.)
To convert a sequentially numbered series of Targa files into
a flic:
1. Run numpic and select Load Pics as Flic.
2. Select the first of your numbered Targa files.
A menu appears offering load options.
3. Select the type of load option you want and all the files
will be converted into flic frames.
Note: Eight-bit Targa files are automatically converted
without displaying an option menu.
Suggestion: For best results, all Targa files to be
converted should be in the same format.
October 19, 1992 AAP1_3RD-01
Page 1 of 9
AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO AND 3D STUDIO(R)
SHELLING FROM AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO TO 3D STUDIO
Generally it is better to exit Autodesk Animator Pro before
starting 3D Studio. However, if you have a lot of random-access
memory (RAM) (16 MB recommended) and would like to shell out to
3D Studio, you can use the following procedure:
1. Run cfig386 on ANI.EXE by entering the following
on the command line:
cfig386 ani.exe -maxreal FFFFh
This restricts the amount of real mode memory
Autodesk Animator Pro uses.
2. When you execute ANI.EXE, include a -mem parameter
on the command line followed by about 1/3 of the
memory on your machine. For example, for a 16 MB
machine you might enter:
ani -mem 5333333
This restricts the amount of protected mode
memory Autodesk Animator Pro uses.
USING ANIMATOR PRO TIFF FILES WITH 3D STUDIO AND OTHER PROGRAMS
The internal Autodesk Animator Pro TIFF converter
(tiff.pdr) uses the LZW compression scheme, which creates a
compressed color TIFF file that may be incompatible with
some software programs (including 3D Studio).
You can convert a TIFF file to greyscale directly from
Autodesk Animator Pro by using the Tiffgrey option on the
Picture File Format menu. This creates a greyscale file
that can be read into 3D Studio or other software programs.
You can also use the Converter program to convert your TIFF
files to a greyscale or color file format compatible with
your software. For example, to create a TIFF file readable
by 3D Studio, use the Converter Program and select either
Greyscale, Color Mapped, or Truecolor (RGB) followed by
either None or Pack-bits as the compression scheme. Better
yet, use the GIF format, which is entirely compatible with
3D Studio.
October 19, 1992 AAP1_3RD-01
Page 2 of 9
LOADING .FLC FLICS IN 3D STUDIO
Versions of 3D Studio below version 2.0 do not recognize
the .flc file extension, so you must rename your .flc files
to .fli(tm) before you can access them.
USING FLICS AND CELS AS ANIMATED 3D STUDIO BACKGROUNDS
When you use a .flc or anim cel file as an animated
background in 3D Studio, the resolution of the flic or cel
must match that of the image being rendered in 3D Studio.
PIXELPOP(TM)
In order to work properly, PixelPop must be the last
terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) program loaded into memory.
This lets you remove it from memory without conflicting with
other programs.
Note: Be sure to follow the instructions on page 14 of the
Autodesk Animator Pro Installation and Performance Guide
to install the VESA TSR using your autoexec.bat file. This
ensures that the TSR is loaded before you install PixelPop.
If you shell out to DOS and then try to remove PixelPop from
memory, it also causes a conflict and the results are not
guaranteed. You must remove Pixelpop from memory at the real
DOS prompt.
AST PREMIUM 486/33 T AND AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO
Autodesk Animator Pro has problems running on an AST(R)
Premium 486/33 T. This EISA-based computer uses a SCSI hard
drive controller. Preliminary testing indicates that the
source of the problem is with the controller (or its
interaction with DOS), but this is not definite. We are
testing other configurations in coordination with AST and
will make our conclusions known to dealers.
BERNOULLI BOXES AND AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO
When Autodesk Animator Pro and the driver for IOMEGA's
Bernoulli Box interact, the program can take a minute or two
to start up. This happens when you boot up your computer
with the Bernoulli Box turned on, then turned off the
Bernoulli without rebooting the computer. If you encounter
this problem, simply turn the Bernoulli Box back on.
October 19, 1992 AAP1_3RD-01
Page 3 of 9
ANIPLAY.EXE
ANIPLAY.EXE--FREELY DISTRIBUTABLE
You can freely distribute this program and its support files.
It is designed to let you deliver your presentations
independently of Autodesk Animator Pro 1.3.
Please acknowledge Autodesk somewhere in your presentation; we
have provided an opening credit for this purpose. If you want
to include aniplay.exe as part of a commercial software product,
please acknowledge our copyright in the package and/or
documentation.
RUNNING ANIPLAY.EXE FROM A FLOPPY DISK
If you plan to run aniplay.exe from a floppy disk, you must
have a resource subdirectory containing aa.mu, the .drv
(driver) file you want to use, aamenu.fnt and aahrmenu.fnt,
and any .pdr files that you may need.
Note: If you're using a VESA driver, be sure to run
v7vesa.com before running aniplay.exe.
ENVIRONMENT SPACE AND ADI DRIVERS
Environment space is an area of memory used to store any
SET statements, the DOS path setting in autoexec.bat, or
both. If you receive an "out of environment space" message
when loading your ADI drivers for Flitape or Flipaper, you
need to specify a SHELL statement in your config.sys file
that will allocate more environment space. To do this, add
the following statement to your config.sys file:
shell=c:\command.com /e:750 /p
The statement to the right of the equal sign has three
parts. The first part selects a command interpreter to use
on start-up. The /e:750 portion expands the DOS
environment space beyond its 160-byte default value to 750
bytes. The /p switch executes the autoexec.bat file
commands once the command processor is installed.
October 19, 1992 AAP1_3RD-01
Page 4 of 9
FLITAPE
USING FLITAPE WITH A VGA OUTPUT DEVICE
Flitape is designed for use with Truecolor frame buffers, but
can produce good results with a VGA display board capable of
outputting an image to a video recording device.
When Flitape prepares an image for the display, it converts
the flic to truecolor, resizes the flic, and if necessary,
resamples the colors for a paletted display device. However,
when the colors are resampled, Flitape does not take into
account the number of pixels of a given color--all are weighed
equally.
The resulting effect may be a "swimming" of colors if the
flic has a broad range of colors and the output device is
paletted. This does not apply to truecolor frame buffers.
USING FLITAPE WITH DOS 5.0
An error message appears when both a script file to read
(-s) and a log file to record (-r) are specified on the
command line using DOS 5.0.
Flitape examines each flic name listed in the specified
script file and assigns a .fli extension to the filename as
the program verifies the validity of each flic file. Even
though the flic listed in the script may have, for example,
a .flc extension, Flitape looks for a flic with a .fli
extension and an error message is returned.
You must rename the flics that are being called from the
script file and change the extension to .fli.
Note: This occurs only when a log file is specified on the
command line in addition to a script file; this does not occur
while using DOS versions other than 5.0.
INPUT DEVICES
SUMMAGRAPHICS TABLET
Correction to the Summagraphics(R) Tablet information on
page 3-68 of the Autodesk Animator Pro Reference Manual:
The input devices for the Summagraphics tablet are
irreversible. Be sure to install for the stylus if that is
your input device, or install for the puck if you are using
a puck.
If you reverse the input devices, the results are not
guaranteed. Use the keyboard alternative to reconfigure.
October 19, 1992 AAP1_3RD-01
Page 5 of 9
INPUT DEVICE LOCK UP
When you invoke Autodesk Animator Pro, be sure that your
input device is properly connected. If it is not or if your
selected COM port is incorrect, your system might lock up.
You can use the keyboard alternatives to configure the input
device once it is properly installed. Reboot your machine,
and from the Home Panel enter the following:
Summagraphics - 'E', 'C', '3', '2'
Wacom - 'E', 'C', '3', '3', and enter 'wacom.idr',
and press return.
Mouse - Automatically installed
Note: You can also delete the aa.cfg file from your \ANI
directory.
TARGA FILE FORMAT
The standard format for Targa files is Truecolor (RGB).
Autodesk Animator Pro can save Targa files by using the Targa
PDR converter, but it cannot directly load Targa files.
There are two ways to convert Targa files to 8-bit color
format and load them in Autodesk Animator Pro. Use either
the numpic.poc Poco program or the Converter program to
convert the Targa file to a format loadable by Autodesk
Animator Pro. (See the Utilities User's Guide for
instructions on how to use the Converter program.)
AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO DISPLAY BOARDS
This list is an update to the chart on page 14 of the
Autodesk Animator Pro Installation and Performance Guide,
describing the boards tested with Autodesk Animator Pro:
ATI WONDER
EVEREX(R) TC
ORCHID PRO DESIGNER II
NOTE: The Compaq(R) Advanced VGA is currently shipping in the
COMPAQ DESKPRO(R) 386 20e and 25e machines. All references
to the Compaq Advanced VGA in the Autodesk Animator Pro
documentation apply to the Compaq Advanced VGA.
USING A METHEUS PREMIER VGA DISPLAY AND MICROSOFT(R) MOUSE
The Metheus Premier VGA and some versions of the Microsoft
Mouse driver are incompatible. Microsoft Mouse versions
6.24 and 7.04 are known to work, but other versions may not
function correctly when using Autodesk Animator Pro with a
Microsoft Mouse and the Metheus Premier VGA board
installed.
October 19, 1992 AAP1_3RD-01
Page 6 of 9
AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO DISPLAY DRIVER
SUPERVGA.DRV
The supervga.drv is a display driver that works with many
(but not all) super VGA cards. You do not need to install
this driver if you are using a VESA driver with your display
card. To use supervga.drv, follow these steps:
1. Copy supervga.drv from the \VESA subdirectory to the
\RESOURCE subdirectory of where Autodesk Animator Pro is
installed.
2. Start up Animator Pro.
3. Select Screen Size from the Extra menu.
If the supervga.drv recognizes your card, you see some
extra resolutions available. Select one of these.
Due to the diversity of video hardware, the supervga.drv might
not work with your card. Symptoms of this are display problems
when you first go to the Screen Size menu or after you have
selected a display mode from the Screen Size menu. If this
happens, take the following steps:
1. Reboot your computer.
2. Change to the directory where Animator Pro is installed.
3. Delete the file aa.cfg.
4. Change to the \RESOURCE subdirectory.
5. Delete the file supervga.drv.
6. Change to the directory where Animator Pro is installed.
7. Start up Animator Pro as usual.
AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO .PIC FORMAT
This is the Autodesk Animator Pro .pic format. It is not
a standard file format that is readable by other programs.
TIPS AND HINTS
LOADING TRUECOLOR FILES IN AUTODESK ANIMATOR PRO
You can use the numpic.poc Poco program to load single,
truecolor files of Targa or TIFF format. After running
numpic, select Load Single RGB. The loaded image is
converted to an 8-bit color format.
October 19, 1992 AAP1_3RD-01
Page 7 of 9
SAVING .CEL FILES IN .GIF FORMAT
If you need to save a cel file in .gif format while
maintaining the cel's actual size, do the following:
1. Save the cel to disk.
2. In the Files menu, select Flic and Load. In the file
selector, click on the *.cel button and load your cel.
Result: Your cel is loaded as a flic, and the screen
size is changed to the size of the cel.
3. In the Files menu, click on the Picture button and save
the current frame as a GIF.
CHANGING THE SIZE OF YOUR FLIC
You can use the Match Size function in the Join panel to
reduce or enlarge the size of a flic. Do the following:
1. Reset the system and set the active screen to the size
you want your flic to be.
2. Select Join from the Flic menu, make sure the Match
Size button is active, and perform a Cut join.
Result: The incoming flic is resized to match the
resolution of the first blank frame in memory.
3. Delete the first blank frame, then save your resized
flic.
Note: Enlarged flics result in chunky pixels.
VIEWING THE NATURE IMAGES ON THE CD-ROM
You can view the images in the \NATURE subdirectory of the
CD-ROM. You can do this by viewing the individual files
using Autodesk Animator Pro, or by creating a script and
using ANIPLAY.EXE. See chapter 9 in the Autodesk Animator
Pro Reference manual for details on how to view the files
individually; see the Player User's Guide for details on
how to create a script.
To locate the nature images:
1. Change to the drive where your CD-ROM is located.
2. Change to the \IMAGES\NATURE subdirectory.
3. Enter "dir" to list the contents of the directory.
October 19, 1992 AAP1_3RD-01
Page 8 of 9
Autodesk Trademarks
The following are registered trademarks for Autodesk, Inc.:
ADI, Advanced Modeling Extension, AME, ATC, Autodesk, Autodesk
Animator, the Autodesk logo, AutoCAD, AutoCAD Training Center,
AutoLISP, AutoShade, AutoSketch, AutoSolid, James Gleick's
CHAOS: The Software, and 3D Studio.
The following are trademarks for Autodesk, Inc.: ACAD, Advanced
User Interface, AME link, Animator Pro, Animator Pro Player,
Animation Player, ATLAST, AUI, AutoCAD Development System, AutoCAD
Simulator, AutoCAD SQL Extension, AutoCAD SQL Interface, Autodesk
Animator Clips, Autodesk Animator Theatre, Autodesk Device Interface,
Autodesk Multimedia Training Center, Autodesk Software Developer's
Kit, Autodesk Training Center, AutoFlix, ContourView, Cyberized,
cyberParts, DXF, FLI, HyperChem, MTC, Multimedia Explorer,
SketchTools, Smart Cursor, Syntage, and World-Creating Toolkit.
The following are service marks of Autodesk, Inc: Autodesk
Strategic Developer, Autodesk Strategic Developer logo, Autodesk
Registered Developer, Autodesk Registered Developer logo, and
TinkerTech.
Third Party Trademarks
RenderMan is a registered trademark of Pixar used by Autodesk
under license from Pixar.
Fonts in VecArts subdirectory Copyright 1992 Vector Arts, Inc.
All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.
October 19, 1992 AAP1_3RD-01
Page 9 of 9
Animation Works ADDENDUM
========================
File: README.TXT
Animation Works Version 1.00
Gold Disk Inc.
This addendum describes changes and additions to the Animation Works programs and
documentation. These changes and additions were made after the publication
of the manual.
The Windows Notepad application or any other text editor can be used to view
the contents of this file.
EDITOR CHANGES
===============
Save Settings on Exit
---------------------
The Save Settings on Exit command has been added to the File menu of all
three editors. This command allows you to save your current preferences so
that they will be used again the next time you run the editor. You can save
your settings without exiting by holding the SHIFT key and selecting the
appropriate File/Exit Editor command.
Screen Setting Dialog Box
-------------------------
The Screen Settings dialog box in the Movie Editor, Canvas Size dialog box
in the Cel Editor and Background Size dialog box in the Background Editor
are different than described in the manual.
When you create a custom screen size you need only set the number of
horizontal and vertical pixels for the screen you want to use.
MOVIE PLAYER ADDITIONS
======================
Disable Keyboard/Mouse Input
----------------------------
The Disable Keyboard/Mouse Input option has been added to the main window
of the Movie Player application, and prevents movies from being stopped or
hidden through keyboard or mouse input. If this option is enabled, the only
way to stop the movie will be to reboot the computer. This option only
works with bound movies, or movies or play lists played from the
Animation Works Movie Player's command line. This option does not disable
keyboard input for interaction with movies, for example, Pause Until Mouse
Click.
Optional Command Line Parameters
--------------------------------
When you run a movie or movies from a command line using the Movie Player
or a bound movie, there are some optional parameters you can add to
perform various actions for you.
The commands use the format:
c:\animwrks\awpa.exe /<option>[!]
The '/' symbol specifies that an option follows.
The required <option> parameter designates the option to set.
The optional '!' will use the inverse of the option.
For example:
c:\animwrks\awpa.exe mymovie.awm /m
will not play any sounds that may be in the movie, whereas:
c:\animwrks\awpa.exe mymovie /m!
will play all of the sounds included in the movies.
The optional parameters are:
/w play in window.
/w! play on full screen.
/x exit player when done playing movie.
/x! do not exit player when done playing movie.
/m mute sounds (do not play wave/midi sound events).
/m! play all sound events.
/r repeat play list when done playing last movie.
/r! end play when finished last movie.
/b display black screen on loads.
/b! do not show black screen on loads.
/d disable keyboard input.
This will not allow switching to other applications
using the keyboard (Alt+Tab etc).
When you are playing a movie full screen, the mouse
cannot select another application.
You cannot exit the movie using mouse or keyboard unless a
stop event is issued during movie playback.
/d! enable keyboard input.
When present, these options will take precedence over the options saved with
the movie list file (AWL) or when the movie list was bound into a single
executable file.
Bound Movie Files
------------------
If the Bind Movie List dialog box appears you can type in the path and
filename you want to use for the executable file. You can also click on
the Browse button to display a Browse dialog box which will allow you to
select the directory and filename.
You can also select an icon that will be used for the bound executable file.
This is done by clicking on the Icon dialog box. This will bring up the
Browse For Bound Movie Icon dialog box. In this dialog box you can select
an .exe or .dll file. These files will have icons related to them. After
you select the file, click on the Open button. This will bring up a dialog
box displaying all of the icons associated with the file you chose. Select
one of the icons and click on OK.
MCI DRIVER
==========
THE MCI DRIVER IS LOCATED ON DISK 3 OF THE ANIMATION WORKS DISKS.
MCI Driver Installation
-----------------------
The MCI Driver installation instructions are correct if you are installing
through Windows 3.0 with MultiMedia Extensions. However, if you are
installing through Windows 3.1 use the following instructions:
1. Run the Windows Control Panel and select the Drivers Applet.
The Drivers dialog box will appear, listing the drivers already installed.
2. Click on the Add button.
The Add dialog box appears.
3. Select Unlisted or Updated Driver from the list box, and then click on OK.
The Install Driver dialog box appears.
4. Place the MCI Driver Disk (Disk 3 of Animation Works) in the appropriate
drive and enter the drive name in the edit box.
5. Click on OK.
The Add Unlisted or Updated Driver dialog box appears.
6. Select (MCI) Gold Disk Animation from the list box.
7. Click on OK to begin copying the drivers files.
There is also some sample code in the SAMPLE directory on Disk 3. This code
illustrates how the MCI driver can be used by another application to load,
play and control animations.
The MCI Driver information in Appendix E refers to version 1.10 of the Driver.
This should be version 1.0. Presently, there is no version 1.10 of
the MCI Driver.
ClipMedia
----------
Sound Files (C) 1992 ProSonus, All Rights Reserved.
DING.WAV POP.WAV
APPLAUSE.WAV BASEBALL.WAV
CLWNTOY2.WAV I-QUIT2.WAV
JAMES.WAV PSYCHO.WAV
SLIDEUP.WAV TADA.WAV
THUNDER.WAV Music1.MID
BROADCA1.MID CENTRAL3.MID
GOODVIB1.MID PERCOLA0.MID
PICKIN1.MID STROLLI1.MID
VICTORY1.MID
All remaining ClipMedia (C) Gold Disk Inc., All Rights Reserved.
Some portions of Gold Disk's ClipMedia were supplied by Heidi Turnipseed
(5 Rings Co.), GRAFX Group, and Eric Schwartz.
ANIMATION WORKS INTERACTIVE ADDENDUM
====================================
File: README.TXT
Animation Works Interactive Ver 1.0
Gold Disk Inc.
This addendum describes changes and additions to the Animation Works
Interactive programs and documentation. These changes and additions were
made after the publication of the manual.
Any text editor or the Windows Notepad application can be used to view the
contents of this file.
===================
GENERAL INFORMATION
===================
Running the Setup Program
-------------------------
The Setup program must be executed using the Windows Program Manager
application. As stated in the manual, the Run menu item under the File
menu should be used. The Setup program may not function correctly when
executed from another shell application.
Directory Structure
-------------------
When Animation Works Interactive is installed using the Setup program, a
predefined directory structure will be created under the main Animation
Works Interactive directory (eg. c:\animwrks). The directory structure is
as follows:
animwrks\movies - contains movie files
animwrks\actors - contains actor files
animwrks\sounds - contains sound files
animwrks\bkgnds - contains background files
It is suggested that you save your work in the appropriate directories
(actors in the actor directory, etc). If you wish to group files
into separate directories, the new directories should be created
within the appropriate directory, for example:
animwrks\actors\actors1
animwrks\actors\actors2
animwrks\actors\new
animwrks\actors\birds
Memory Considerations
---------------------
Animation Works Interactive will operate on a system with 2MB of RAM
memory. However for improved performance, it is recommended that your
system have a minimum of 4MB of RAM. If during the usage of Animation
Works Interactive, you encounter many "out of memory" messages you should
try some of the following suggestions to reduce the amount of memory
required:
* Keep the number of other Windows applications running at the same time as
Animation Works Interactive to a minimum.
* Avoid running all three editors (Movie, Cel, and Background)
simultaneously. After closing the current editor you can invoke the
desired editor by double clicking on its icon in the Program Manager.
* Use 16-color mode. Animation Works Interactive requires much more memory
on a 256-color system than on an 16-color system.
* Purge all resources (backgrounds, actors, sounds) that are not used
in your movie. In the Movie Editor, select the Purge Unused menu. In the
Cel and Background Editors, display the unused actor or background then
select the Delete Actor or Delete Background menu item.
* Reduce the number of images (bitmaps, pcx, gif files) used for backgrounds
in your movie; use full screen color backgrounds instead.
If the amount of available memory or resources becomes very low, a
"Critical! Low Mem" message will appear on the status line. When this
message appears you should save your work and free-up some memory by doing
some of the suggestions listed above. If you continue to make editing
changes during a low memory situation, a message will occasionally appear
warning you of the situation and suggesting that you save your work.
Single User
-----------
Each original copy of Animation Works Interactive can only be installed
and used on one individual PC system. It cannot be installed on a common
network PC and then shared.
Restrictions Without Windows Multimedia Extensions
--------------------------------------------------
Animation Works Interactive Version 1.0 uses the Windows Multimedia
Extensions to support sound and MCI events. If the extensions are not
available, these events will be ignored when movies containing them are
played. However, you can add these events when you are creating or editing
a movie but you will not be able to preview (play) the sound that is used
in the event.
Saving Compressed
-----------------
In the Movie, Cel, and Background editors you have the option of saving
your work compressed. When this option is selected, all the images will be
saved in a RLE compressed format. Some types of video drivers cause the
images to be compressed incorrectly. If your images are not correct when
reloaded after being saved in the compressed format, avoid using this
option. You may want to contact the video manufacturer and request an
updated driver.
Graphics Controllers With More Than 256 Colors
----------------------------------------------
Animation Works Interactive does not support graphics controllers that
have more than 256 colors (example: 24-bit color cards). The maximum number
of colors supported is 256.
========================
MOVIE PLAYER APPLICATION
========================
Automatically Loading and Playing a Movie or Play List
------------------------------------------------------
You can load a single movie or a play list file into the Movie Player,
automatically skipping its main window. Simply add the name of the movie or
play list file to the Movie Player's command line.
For example:
c:\animwrks\awpa.exe mymovie.awm
c:\animwrks\awpa.exe mylist.awl
This can be done using the Program Manager's File/Run menu item. You can
also, add a movie or play list to the properties of the Movie Player icon
by using the Program Manager's File/Properties menu. Then, when you double
click on the icon, the Movie Player will be executed and will
automatically load and play the movie or play list.
Playing a MIDI Sound While Loading
----------------------------------
You can add MIDI sound files in between your movie files in the Play
List. The Movie Player will play this MIDI sound while it is loading
the next movie.
Special "Exit Player" Command
-----------------------------
You can insert a special "Exit Player" command at the end of your Play
List. When this command is reached, the Movie Player application will
terminate. To add this command, select any entry in the Play List and
press the F8 key.
Avoid Using Movie Editor with Movie Player
------------------------------------------
Some problems may occur when you use the Movie Editor and the Movie Player
applications simultaneously.
Distributing Your Movies
------------------------
You are allowed to distribute the Movie Player application and its
associated files, according to the enclosed licence agreement. You may
also distribute any movies that you create so they can be played on
other systems. When distributing your movie, it is recommended that you
save the movie in the embedded format.
In addition to the movie files, the following files are required when
distributing the run-time player:
awpa.exe - * Movie Player application
awmp.dll
awdo.dll
pcx.dll - required with non-embedded movies that use pcx files
awmptsk.tsk
wipe.wip - required with non-embedded movies only
animwrks.ini - required when you distribute the resource files
(eg. actors) and want to maintain the directory
structure (actors, bkgnds, sounds, etc) instead of
putting them all into one directory
When distributing movies, the movie files (.awm) (and any MIDI sound
files used by the movies - because these aren't saved embedded) are
required.
When distributing Play Lists, the play list files (.awl) and the
individual movie files that are included in the play list are required.
When distributing non-embedded movies, all the resources (actors,
backgrounds, sounds, etc.) that are used in the movie are required.
When distributing these files you can put them all into one directory (for
example, the root directory of a floppy diskette or a separate hard disk
directory).
IMPORTANT: You cannot distribute the Movie Editor, Cel Editor, and
Background Editor applications. The files listed above are the only files
that you can distribute. Any attempt to distribute files that are not
listed will be in violation of the licence agreement.
========================
MOVIE EDITOR APPLICATION
========================
Storyboard and Cue Sheet Printing
---------------------------------
If you have installed a raster printer which supports bitmap transfers
using the Windows Control Panel, you can print the Storyboard or Cue
Sheet. When printing, the Movie Editor uses the printer selected in the
Control Panel. To print the Storyboard or Cue Sheet, select the Print
button located at the top of your Storyboard or Cue Sheet window. A Print
Options dialog box appears containing the following options:
FRAMES
You can indicate which frames will be included in the print
operation. Your choices are:
MATCHING CONDITIONS
Prints only those frames that meet the conditions specified in the
Storyboard/Cue Sheet Options dialog box.
ALL FRAMES
Prints every frame in the movie subject to the "Every nth Frame"
option.
FRAMES FROM/TO
Prints a range of frames subject to the "Every nth Frame" option.
You specify the starting and ending frame numbers in the From and
To edit boxes.
MOVIE NAME AT PAGE TOP
When checked, the filename of the movie will be printed at the
top-center of the each printed page.
PAGE NUMBER AT PAGE BOTTOM
When checked, the page number will be printed at the bottom-center
of the each printed page.
PRINT BACKGROUNDS (STORYBOARD PRINTING ONLY)
When checked, the background image of the frames will be included in
the print operation; otherwise, the backgrounds will not be printed.
NUMBER OF COLUMNS (STORYBOARD PRINTING ONLY)
Allows you to format the printed page by indicating the number of
columns.
WIDTH (STORYBOARD PRINTING ONLY)
Allows you to specify the width (in inches) of each printed frame.
The height of the frame will be automatically calculated so that the
width/height ratio will be the same as your current screen configuration.
SPACING (STORYBOARD PRINTING ONLY)
Allows you to specify the spacing (in inches) between each printed frame.
PRINTER SETUP BUTTON
Selecting the button will display a setup dialog box containing the
current print options for the selected printer. This setup dialog will
show the options specific to the printer driver you have installed. You
can change any of the print options in this dialog.
PRINT BUTTON
Select this button to begin the print operation.
Once printing has started, a dialog box will appear indicating the current
page being printed. You may stop printing at any time by selecting the
Abort button in this dialog.
Avoid Using Movie Editor with Movie Player
------------------------------------------
Some problems may occur when you use the Movie Editor and the Movie Player
applications simultaneously.
Insert Path Tools Does Not Place You Into Registered Motion Tool Mode
---------------------------------------------------------------------
The Movie Editor Tools section of the manual states that when you are
using the Insert Path Node After or Insert Path Node Before tools, you are
automatically placed into the Registered Motion Tool mode. This does not
occur. After selecting either Insert tool, you must select the path tool
you wish to use -- the Registered Motion Tool or any of the other path
tools.
Path/Magnetize
--------------
The reference manual states that "...the center of the magnet changes color
when it is over a path and it is valid for you to click the mouse to
magnetize; you can't magnetize when the center of the magnet is black.".
The magnet center no longer changes color when it is over an actor that you
can magnetize to; instead, the magnet will change shape so that the
bottom ends of the magnet turn inwards.
The Path/Magnetize menu item will have a checkmark beside it when the path
that is currently selected is a child path magnetized to another path. By
selecting the Path/Magnetize menu item when it is checked, you can
de-magnetize the selected path; therefore, it will no longer be a child to
another path.
Starting Wipe Events
--------------------
You should avoid starting a wipe event while a previous wipe event is
still in progress. Wipe events should only start when the duration of
the previous wipe event is completed.
======================================
CEL AND BACKGROUND EDITOR APPLICATIONS
======================================
Selection Menu
--------------
The selection menu is only enabled when an area is currently selected. If
the lasso and polygon selection tools are used, the area that is operated
on will be the rectangle that bounds the selected area.
Quick Methods of Display Attribute Dialog Boxes
-----------------------------------------------
To quickly display the Pen Width dialog you can double click on the Pencil,
Paint Brush, Air Brush, Straight Line or any of the Empty Shape tools.
To quickly display the Fill Pattern dialog you can double click on the Paint
Bucket or any of the Filled Shape tools.
To quickly display the Color dialog you can double click on the current
color indicator rectangles at the bottom of the tool window.
Select Color Eye Dropper Tool
-----------------------------
When you use the Eye Dropper tool in the Select Color dialog, clicking the
left mouse button will cause the pen color to be changed and clicking the
right mouse button will cause the fill color to be changed.
Constraining
------------
If you hold the Shift key or the right mouse button while using some
of the paint tools you can constrain the drawing. The type of constraining
varies for the different tools:
Rectangle Selection Tool - perfect square
Polygon Selection Tool - 45 degree angles
Eraser Tool - horizontal and vertical directions
Paint Brush Tool - horizontal and vertical directions
Pencil Tool - horizontal and vertical directions
Air Brush Tool - horizontal and vertical directions
Straight Line Tool - 45 degree angles
Rectangle Shape Tools - perfect square
Oval Shape Tools - perfect circle
Rounded Rect Shape Tools - rounded square
Polygon Shape Tools - 45 degree angles
Arc Shape Tools - during oval definition: perfect circle
- during arc definition: 45 degree angles
When Zoomed - horizontal and vertical directions
Grabber Tool
------------
The grabber tool allows you to move the entire image (background or cel)
to a different location on the screen. If any portion of the image is
moved and placed outside the borders of the drawing area it will be
clipped off.
If your current background size setting is larger than your physical
screen size, you may encounter problems using the Grabber tool.
Single Pixel Movements When Dragging
------------------------------------
To make fine movements while dragging, you can press the Ctrl key and any
of the arrow keys. This will cause the cursor to move by one pixel in the
direction of the arrow when you are using any of the tools that involve
holding down the mouse button and dragging.
Delete Cels Operation (Cel Editor)
----------------------------------
The manual incorrectly states that when you select OK in the Delete Cels
dialog box and the current actor has not been saved, the Cel Editor will
ask you to confirm the deletion. This is not true, you will not be asked
to confirm the deletion.
Importing Autodesk Flic (.FLI) Files (Cel Editor)
-------------------------------------------------
You can use the Cel Editor's Import menu item (under the File menu) to
read Flic files. The import operation will automatically create a new
empty actor. Each image in the Flic file is read and converted into a
separate cel of the actor. The resulting actor is an Animation Works
Interactive compatible actor that can be edited as usual and used in the
Movie Editor.
When you import a Flic file, a dialog box will be displayed asking you
to choose a transparent color. You can choose black, white, or no
transparent color.
New Menu Item Attributes/Canvas Size (Cel Editor)
-------------------------------------------------
A new menu item has been added to the Cel Editor that allows the user to
change the currently used canvas size. The canvas size determines the
largest cel that can be edited, created, or displayed and is set to the
physical screen size when the Cel Editor is started. This is useful for
example when editing an actor's cel that was created (perhaps on a
different computer) too large to edit within the physical screen size.
*** README.DOC *** The installation program used to install ImageCELs tm, INSTALL, is licensed software provided by Knowledge Dynamics Corporation, Highway Contract 4 Box 185-h, Canyon Lake, Texas 78133-3508 (USA), 1-512-964-3994. INSTALL is Copyright (c) 1987-1989 by Knowledge Dynamics Corporation which reserves all copyright protection worldwide. INSTALL is provided to you for the exclusive purpose of installing ImageCELs tm.
CorelDRAW! 3.0 Beta setup
=========================
WARNING: If you install under Windows 3.0, the installation may take
significantly longer than under 3.1. We strongly recommend the use of
Windows 3.1.
Note 1: If you do install under Windows 3.0, all the .DLL files used by the
tools you install (except the CorelCHART! .DLL files) will appear in BOTH
the executable directories (i.e. the directories where you installed the
particular tools such as CorelTRACE, CorelSHOW, etc.) and in your Windows
SYSTEM subdirectory. All necessary Windows 3.1 redistributable DLL's will
be copied only to your Windows SYSTEM subdirectory. To reduce space, one
copy of the duplicate files may be deleted, so long as the remaining copy
is in a directory that appears in the PATH statement in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file.
Under Windows 3.0, the directory containing CorelCHART! must appear in your
PATH statement. The SETUP program will automatically modify your
AUTOEXEC.BAT file to add the CorelCHART! directory to the beginning of
this statement. However, if your path is too long, or is set elsewhere,
you will need to modify the applicable files yourself.
Note 2: The file LOGFILE.TXT will be created in the root of the harddrive
where Windows is installed. This will contain a log of the choices you
made while running the setup routine. If you experience any problems
with the setup, please contact Corel Technical Support and have this
logfile available.
Note 3: To manually extract files from the CorelDRAW! install disks, use the
command:
WIN SETUP /Z <src> <dest>
where: src is the name of the file on the disk you wish to extract,
and <dest> is the name you want to give the uncompressed file.
Note 4: If you're installing the CD-ROM version of CorelDRAW to run under
Windows 3.0, the Adobe Type-1 fonts must be installed using a type manager
after installation of CorelDRAW is complete. The default CorelDRAW
installation will put the True Type and Type-1 fonts in your Windows SYSTEM
directory and the WFN fonts and symbols in C:\CORELDRW\FONTS. To install the
Type-1 fonts, select CUSTOM INSTALL and click on the ALL radio button
for fonts and symbols, or click on SOME and check the INSTALL TYPE 1 FONTS
button.
Note 5: The CorelDRAW! SETUP program can be used to install additional files
at a later time which you chose not to install originally. For example, if
you originally chose not to install the TARGA export filter, but later find
you need it, you can run SETUP to add that filter to your installation.
SETUP will install the TARGA export filter, plus a few additional files to
ensure that you have everything necessary to use that filter.
Note 6: If SETUP is unable to run because there is not enough space on the
disk containing your TEMP drive (usually drive "C"), then either free up some
space on that disk and run SETUP again, or edit the file SETUP.LST on your
CorelDRAW floppy disk #1. Change the line:
TmpDirName=<your TEMP drive and directory>
where: <your TEMP drive and directory> would be something like "D:\TEMP".
The harddisk containing your TEMP drive must have at least 750 K of free
space available.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IMPORTANT: Please check the directories for each of the applications you
chose to install to see if they contain separate READ___.TXT files.
If they do, then PLEASE READ THEM!
These files contain last minute information concerning the particular
program and can be viewed using Windows Notepad. They will have names
such as: READMOS.TXT (for CorelMOSAIC), READCHT.TXT (for CorelCHART),
READSHW.TXT (for CorelSHOW), etc.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
╔════════════════════╗ ║ Corel Systems ║ ║ proudly presents ║ ║ CorelDRAW! 5 ║ ║ -= RELEASE =- ║ ╟────────────────────╢ ║ S/N CD5-123-456789 ║ ╟────────────────────╢ ║ disk 01 of 16 ║ ╚════════════════════╝
CORELSCSI WINDOWS UTILITIES Version 1.00 Mar. 31th, 1992.
===========================================================================
NOTE TO MICROSOFT WINDOWS 3.0 USERS
===================================
If you are using Microsoft Windows in real mode, some unexpected results
may occur while running CDAUDIO and/or the Install program. This could be
caused by insufficient memory available to handle the program's demands.
Using standard or enhanced mode is recommended.
If you run into problems during the Install, try copying the files called
CDINST.* from the INSTINFO sub-directory on the floppy to your hard disk,
and then running CDINST from your hard disk instead of typing A:INSTALL.
IF YOU ARE USING MSCDEX and WINDOWS 3.0
=======================================
As recommended in your Windows 3.0 README.TXT file, because you will be
using MSCDEX, include the following entry in the [386Enh] section of
your SYSTEM.INI file:
device=LANMAN10.386
You must activate the drive by sending it a command before you start
Windows. For example, type the following at the DOS prompt and then start
Windows:
dir x:
where x is the drive letter for the CD ROM drive.
Before you do this you must get the LANMAN10.386 file off the Windows
diskettes. You need to find the LANMAN10.386 file and a program called
EXPAND.EXE (On the Ver. 3.0 5 1/4" release disks of Windows these programs
are found on Disk 4 and Disk 2 respectively). You should copy the program
EXPAND.EXE into your Windows directory. You should then use EXPAND.EXE to
expand the LANMAN10.386 to your Windows directory, using a syntax similar
to the following:
EXPAND A:LANMAN10.386 C:\WINDOWS
where A: is the floppy drive that contains the Windows diskette with
LANMAN10.386 on it and C:\WINDOWS is the drive and directory where Windows
is stored.
IF YOU ARE USING MSCDEX and WINDOWS 3.1
=======================================
If you are using a CD-ROM drive with Windows 3.1, you should use version
2.21 of Microsoft MS-DOS CD-ROM Extensions (MSCDEX) with all
configurations of CD-ROM drives. If you use version 2.20 or later, you
must also remove the following setting from the [386Enh] section of the
SYSTEM.INI file:
device=LANMAN10.386
This setting can cause some CD-ROM drives to timeout and fail with
versions later than 2.20 of MSDCEX. However, if you must use a version
earlier than 2.20 of MSCDEX, the above setting is required in the
[386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file.
WINDOWS TAPE BACKUP SOFTWARE (WTBACKUP)
=======================================
If you are using the Windows Tape Backup (WTBACKUP) software. ASPILS_D.SYS
must be install in your config.sys. The install for the 'DOS Applications'
will automatically install it. If you only want to run the Windows Tape
Backup software, then you must copy ASPILS_D.SYS file from the 'DOS
Applications' disk to your hard drive and add the following line in your
config.sys:
DEVICE=c:[path]\ASPILS_D.SYS
For ASPILS_D.SYS to take effect, you must re-boot your PC.
COMMON PROBLEMS WITH WTBACKUP V1.01
===================================
1. One common problem will be moving WTBACKUP files to another directory
after installation. There is an entry [CorelSCSI] in WIN.INI pointing
to CorelSCSI directory. WTBACKUP.EXE and WTBACKUP.INI should always be
placed in this directory.
2. ASPIDLL.DLL and MEMMAN.DLL are required. They should be placed in the
same directory (preferred) as WTBACKUP. They may be moved to another
directory as long as they are accessible (WINDOWS or PATH directory).
3. You must have ASPI manager installed (such as ASPILS_D or ASPI?DOS).
You must have the tape drive powered and ready BEFORE running WTBACKUP
or CTBACKUP.
Why? ASPI manager creates a snap-shot of SCSI ID map on the first access
and saves it. All response to subsequent calls to GET_DEVICE_TYPE will
be based on the initial ID map, therefore, if you did not have the drive
turned on or change SCSI ID after the scan ASPI manager will not know
about it. BUT, if you are using ASPILS_D.SYS, WTBACKUP will clear the
cached data each time it is executed so the program will always see the
current configuration.
4. EMMExclude switch in [386Enh] is a MUST. Windows will may trample over
the LS-2000 card memory address, if Windows is not told about it.
Add the following line to youe system.ini if:
the LS-2000 is at D800 use: EMMEXCLUDE=D800-DBFF
the LS-2000 is at C800 use: EMMEXCLUDE=C800-CBFF
the LS-2000 is at E000 use: EMMEXCLUDE=E000-E3FF
the LS-2000 is at D000 use: EMMEXCLUDE=D000-D3FF
the LS-2000 is at DC00 use: EMMEXCLUDE=DC00-DFFF
the LS-2000 is at CC00 use: EMMEXCLUDE=CC00-CFFF
the LS-2000 is at E400 use: EMMEXCLUDE=E400-E7FF
the LS-2000 is at D400 use: EMMEXCLUDE=D400-D7FF
Note: the LS-2000 default memory address is D800
5. CHKDSK (or similar utility) should be run before attempting backup to
make sure your FAT is not corrupt.
6. Each tape operation may seem to freeze Windows momentarily (a lot longer
for a Rewind). It is because ASPI manager is BLOCKING. There is no way
to avoid this problem. All applications (including
WTBACKUP) will not respond until tape operation is finished. Please
be patient...
7. You must understand that a tape drive is a sequential device. If you
are trying to do a select restore, you may have to wait for a long time
while tape is seeking to the location. Time for a coffee.
UNDOCUMENTED FEATURES WITH WTBACKUP
===================================
1. On the initial screen, return & cursor keys won't work. Instead, you can
use Alt-B, Alt-V, Alt-R, Alt-E for Backup, Verify, Restore & Exit.
Next version should have a proper welcome screen (may be with animating
tape drive).
2. If you have multiple tape drives, you must first select an "Active Tape"
from Tape->Device menu. Usually, a tape name in main window shows the
SCSI inquiry data, you may go into Tape->Device->Setup to assign your
own.
3. GO button maybe selected before selecting SaveSet or DriveList. WTBACKUP
will prompt for more info it needs to do the job, but you will not get a
chance to change other options.
4. In backup mode, when the SaveSet List is displayed, it is not meant for
you to select an existing SaveSet. It is just for a show.
5. There are two options in WTBACKUP.INI you may add/change:
- CATALOG = <directory> points to directory where CATALOG/VOLUME
files stored defaults to the same directory as WTBACKUP.EXE useful
if you want to share the files with CTBACKUP
- FONT = <font> <size> you can TRY to change the default text font
it is up to Windows' strange font matching algorithm whether it
will be used or not (may come up with a compromise)
e.g. FONT = HELV 13
KNOWN PROBLEMS
==============
Readme.bug is a list of the known problems with the CorelSCSI Windows
utilities.
QUESTIONS
=========
If you have any suggestions, or questions regarding this product that your
distributer cannot answer, you can contact:
CorelSCSI! Technical Support Division at
Voice: (613) 728-1010 Fax: (613) 761-8051
WINDOWS FOR WORKGROUPS USERS
----------------------------
CorelCDX doesn't support Windows for Workgroups. If you plan to
use Windows for Workgroups, you require MSCDEX version 2.21 or
later; this is provided with Windows for Workgroups. CorelSCSI
drivers work with MSCDEX.
Once you've installed MSCDEX, replace the CorelCDX device line
statement in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file with the MSCDEX device line
statement. Replace this statement:
C:\CORELDRV\CORELCDX /M:10 /D:MSCD000
with this statement:
C:\WINDOWS\MSCDEX /V /M:10 /S /D:MSCD000
The /S switch in the MSCDEX device line statement lets you use
Windows for Workgroups.
CDCOPY and Multi-session Discs
------------------------------
Some 'multi-session' CD-ROM drives currently only recognize a
disc as being multi-session if it is recorded in XA format (ie
multi-session PhotoCD). As CDCOPY writes Mode 1 data (not XA
format), these drives mistakenly interpret the disc as single
session. Drives which are known to be able to recognize multi-
session Mode 1 data discs include Chinon CDS535, Sony CDU561,
Toshiba XM3401. Contact the manufacturer of your drive to verify
its ability to read multi-session, non-XA discs.
After recording multiple sessions of data on some brands of 74
minute CDR discs, the Philips CDD521 CD Recorder may experience
problems trying to reload the disc at a later date. The problem
can be avoided by either:
(1) using 63 minutes CDR discs
(2) try using a different brand of 74 minute CDR discs
(3) use CDCOPY with /lw switch (data is written as the 'final'
session on the disc - disc will then be non-writable).
If you experience this problem, you may need to contact Philips
Consumer Electronics Tech Support at 1-800-835-3506 concerning
a possible firmware upgrade for your CD Recorder.
Philips CDD521 - Additional Sense Codes
---------------------------------------
In the event of a SCSI error, the drive reports a sense code
which provides an indication of the cause of the error. Below
is a partial list of sense codes reported by the Philips CDD521.
x08: COMMUNICATION FAILURE
communication failure internal to drive prevented
requested operation from being preformed.
x09: TRACK FOLLOWING ERROR
focusing or radial tracking did not succeed.
x15: POSITIONING ERROR
seek to requested location on disc failed.
x29: POWER-ON RESET OR BUS RESET OCCURRED
power-on reset or bus reset occurred since last
issued command.
x2C: COMMAND SEQUENCE ERROR
requested command is not allowed in this sequence.
x31: MEDIUM FORMAT CORRUPTED
drive is unable to read/write information due to
corrupted or unknown disc format.
x33: MONITOR ATIP ERROR
error occurred in recorded data, likely due to dust
or chock.
x34: ABSORPTION CONTROL ERROR
error may have occurred in recorded data, due to laser
power clipping.
x44: INTERNAL CONTROLLER ERROR
drives internal controller detected an error which
could not be otherwise explained.
x47: SCSI PARITY ERROR
controller detected a parity error.
x50: WRITE APPEND ERROR
write command failed.
x57: UNABLE TO READ TOC, PMA OR SUBCODE
drive was unable to read TOC, PMA, or subcode data
from the disc.
x81: ILLEGAL TRACK
attempt to access a non-existant track.
xA9: REQUEST FOR FIXATION FAILED
disc could not be fixated due to existance of a blank
area (reserved track) on disc.
xAA: END OF MEDIUM REACHED
while writing, the end of medium was detected or track
limit of 99 was reached.
xAB: ILLEGAL TRACK NUMBER
invalid track # specified in command descriptor block.
xAD: BUFFER UNDERRUN
writing stopped because cache buffer emptied - data was
not written to the drive quickly enough.
xAF: OPTIMUM POWER CALIBRATION (OPC) ERROR
power calibration failed, possibly due to wrong type of
medium installed, laser or drive failure.
xB0: CALIBRATION AREA ALMOST FULL
few Optimum Power Calibration areas left.
xB4: CALIBRATION AREA FULL
Calibration area is full - no further writes can be made
to disc.
xD1: CAN NOT RECOVER FROM TRACK
recovering from a corrupted track failed.
xD2: CAN NOT RECOVER FROM PROGRAM MEMORY AREA
recovering from a corrupted PMA failed.
xD3: CAN NOT RECOVER FROM LEADIN AREA
recovering from corrupted leadin area failed.
xD4: CAN NOT RECOVER FROM LEADOUT AREA
recovering from corrupted leadout area failed.
xD5: CAN NOT RECOVER FROM OPTICAL POWER CALIBRATION AREA
recovering from corrupted Optical Power Calibration
area failed.
README for MicroStation PC Version 4.0
For MicroStation installation and configuration procedures, see
Chapter 1 ("Setting Up") in the User's Guide. A "quick setup"
procedure is on page U1-3 of that chapter. Several other
documentation files are provided with MicroStation. After you install
the software, please read the documentation files of interest to you.
You can use any text editor to read these ASCII files, or you can
read them in MicroStation. To do the latter, choose "Text" from the
Display sub-menu of the pull-down File menu, as described in
Chapter 1 of the Reference Guide.
The following documentation files are installed in MicroStation's
"DOCS" directory (typically "C:\USTATION\DOCS"):
* "DOCNOTES.TXT"--This file contains descriptions of software
enhancements that were made after the MicroStation User's Guide,
Reference Guide, and Customization Guide went to print. Many of these
enhancements were in response to the suggestions of Beta testers.
Documentation errata are also in this file. New users should
particularly note the changes for User's Guide chapter 3 (p. U3-#)
before starting the lessons in that chapter.
* "FIXES.TXT"--This file contains information about problems in
previous versions of MicroStation that are fixed in this version.
* "CERTNOTE.TXT"--This file contains information about hardware
and software dependencies, product delivery and use, and known
problems. All users are encouraged to read the certification notice. In
particular, production managers should use the information in the
notice to help determine whether the revised software will increase
or decrease productivity according to the known problems described
there.
The following documentation file is installed in MicroStation's MDL
directory (typically "C:\USTATION\MDL"):
* "README.MDL"--This file contains numerous changes for the MDL
Manual. MDL is a new application development facility for
MicroStation. There is an introduction to MDL in Chapter 4 of the
Customization Guide.
README for MicroStation PC Version 4.0.3
For MicroStation installation and configuration procedures, see
Chapter 1 ("Setting Up") in the User's Guide. A "quick setup"
procedure is on page U1-3 of that chapter. For information about
issues specific to this version, see the release notes.
Several documentation files are provided with MicroStation.
After you install the software, please read the documentation
files of interest to you. You can use any text editor to read
these ASCII files, or you can read them in MicroStation. To do
the latter, choose "Text" from the Display sub-menu of the
pull-down File menu, as described in Chapter 1 of the Reference Guide.
The following documentation files are installed in MicroStation's
"DOCS" directory (typically "C:\USTATION\DOCS"):
* "DOCNOTES.TXT"--This file contains descriptions of software
enhancements that were made after the MicroStation User's Guide,
Reference Guide, and Customization Guide went to print. Many of these
enhancements were in response to the suggestions of Beta testers.
Documentation errata are also in this file. New users should
particularly note the changes for User's Guide chapter 3 (p. U3-#)
before starting the lessons in that chapter.
* "FIXES.TXT"--This file contains information about problems in
previous versions of MicroStation that are fixed in this version.
* "CERTNOTE.TXT"--This file contains information about hardware
and software dependencies, product delivery and use, and known
problems. All users are encouraged to read the certification notice. In
particular, production managers should use the information in the
notice to help determine whether the revised software will increase
or decrease productivity according to the known problems described
there.
The following documentation file is installed in MicroStation's MDL
directory (typically "C:\USTATION\MDL"):
* "README.MDL"--This file contains numerous changes for the MDL
Manual. MDL is a new application development facility for
MicroStation. There is an introduction to MDL in Chapter 4 of the
Customization Guide.
Product: MicroStation PC
Version: 5.0.0
Date: October 28, 1993
Copyright 1993, Bentley Systems, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Including software, file formats, and audio-visual displays; may only be used
pursuant to applicable software license agreement; contains confidential and
proprietary information of Bentley Systems, Inc. and/or third parties which is
protected by copyright and trade secret law and may not be provided or
otherwise made available without proper authorization.
Certain file formats Copyright 1987-1993, Intergraph Corporation
BRAS raster display software Copyright 1993, Intergraph Corporation
RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGENDS
Use, duplication, or disclosure by the government is subject to restrictions as
set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical Data and
Computer Software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013 or subparagraphs (c)(1) and (2)
of Computer Software -- Restricted Rights at 48 CFR 52.227-19 as applicable.
Unpublished - rights reserved under the Copyright Laws of the United States.
Bentley Systems, Inc.
690 Pennsylvania Drive
Exton, Pennsylvania 19341-1136
USA
1-215-458-5000
Intergraph Corporation
Huntsville, Alabama 35894-0001
USA
1-800-345-4856
-----------------
Installation Help
-----------------
For information about installing MicroStation, see Chapter 2, "Setting Up," in
"Introducing MicroStation."
The installation program, "install.exe," requires approximately 360K to run
properly. The configuration program, "usconfig.exe," requires approximately
340K to run properly.
------------------------
End of Installation Help
------------------------
-------------
Documentation
-------------
For current information on product documentation, please see the information in
the Intergraph Document List (IDL), which is on the Intergraph MicroStation
Utilities CD.
--------------------
End of Documentation
--------------------
--------
Training
--------
Whether you're a new or an experienced MicroStation user, Intergraph's
MicroStation Training courses can give you the knowledge and skills that will
shorten your production cycle and enhance your design abilities. Instructor-led
classes let you work intensively with qualified Intergraph specialists,
providing immediate feedback as well as hands-on experience.
Training is available at your site and at the following Intergraph Training
Centers: Huntsville, AL; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Dallas, TX; and
Irvine, CA. To schedule training, telephone the Intergraph Education Services
Department at 1-800-240-3000.
Course Number Title
------------- -----
TSYS1002 MicroStation 2D Level 1 Graphics Training
TSYS1005 MicroStation 2D Level 2 Graphics Training
TSYS1003 MicroStation 3D Graphics Training
TSYS1006 MicroStation Surface Modeling Training
TSYS1007 MicroStation Edit Design Graphics Training
TSYS1009 MicroStation for IGDS Users Training
TSYS1010 MicroStation for AutoCad Users Training
TSYS1100 MicroStation User Command Language Training
TSYS1200 MicroStation Customer Support Library Training
TSYS1400 MicroStation Customization Training
TSYS1500 MicroStation Development Language Training
TSYS1600 MicroStation Workshop Training
TNUC1053 MicroStation/InFORMIX Structured Query Language
TNUC1091 MicroStation 32/ORACLE
Self-Paced/Video Training:
DGAK054 MicroStation Review Training Video
---------------
End of Training
---------------
----------------
Product Sections
----------------
Digitizing Tablets
Plotting
Multi-lines
Database
Fonts
Cells
EDG
Utilities
Compatibility
MicroStation Manager in Version 5
General Information
-----------------------
End of Product Sections
-----------------------
----------------------------------------------------
Digitizing Tablets and Windows Connection (DOS only)
----------------------------------------------------
MicroStation's Windows Connection software supports the WINTAB digitizer
driver. For more information about WINTAB, see Appendix B in "Introducing
MicroStation."
When switching between DOS and Windows Connection, you may have to reset your
digitizing partition and setup. This is because MicroStation's DOS digitizer
driver and WINTAB report different resolutions for the same tablet. Since the
digitizer partition and digitizer setup depend on the values returned by the
tablet software, the values saved when in DOS are not correct for WINTAB and
vice-versa.
------------------------------------------------
End of Digitizing Tablets and Windows Connection
------------------------------------------------
--------
Plotting
--------
The MicroStation Plotting Environment (mplot.ma) is no longer delivered with
MicroStation. It is included on the Intergraph MicroStation Utilities disk.
"plotfile.exe" has been replaced with "plotutil.exe" and "plotfile.bat."
"plotfile.bat" sets the plotting environment variables and then runs
"plotutil.exe." For more information about these files, see Chapter 5 in
"Introducing MicroStation."
The default communication parameters can be changed by adding or altering the
COMMUNICATION line(s) in the plotter configuration file.
When plotting to a color PostScript device, if color 0 in the attached color
table is white (red=255, green=255, blue=255), then the output is plotted as
black. If a white color is needed, use a color other than 0 and change that
color in the color table to white. For more information about color tables, see
Chapter 15 of the User's Guide.
Color plotting of raster elements of type 87/88 is supported in the HP-GL/2
protocol only. The raster data will always be plotted before the vector data.
When you plot a file that has multiple IRAS raster layers loaded, the images
will all be plotted in the same color even though the images are displayed in
different colors. The color that the images are plotted can be determined by
the value of the PEN= option in the BORDER configuration file record. For
example, to plot the images with pen 3 change the border command to following:
BORDER/PEN=3/filename.
The num_pen record in the "cal960.plt" file should be set to 2 when using a
CalComp 960 plotter and to 4 when using a CalComp 965 plotter.
The file "sizes.dat" located in the plotcfg directory contains examples of the
maximum plotting area of certain HP plotters. Values are given for normal and
expand mode.
---------------
End of Plotting
---------------
-----------
Multi-lines
-----------
In MicroStation Version 5, the manner in which multi-line styles are defined,
saved, retrieved, and used has changed, along with the user interface (dialog
boxes, menus, and so on). Users familiar with multi-lines in previous versions
will notice that the STYLE MDL application is no longer delivered. Defining
and editing multi-line styles is still accomplished through the Multi-lines
settings box, opened from the Element menu. However, all multi-line style
saving and retrieving is accomplished through the Settings Groups dialog boxes
(Settings menu/Groups).
To use a multi-line style library created in MicroStation Version 4 with
MicroStation Version 5, you must first import it into a Settings file. The
multi-line styles delivered with Version 4 in the library "ustation.sty" can be
found in the delivered "styles.stg" settings file. For more information about
Settings Groups and multi-lines, see Chapters 3 and 15 in the User's Guide.
------------------
End of Multi-lines
------------------
-----
Fonts
-----
The format of the file MicroStation uses for font information has been changed;
it is now a MicroStation resource file. The old and new font files are not
interchangeable. If you have a Version 4 font library that you have customized,
you should back it up before loading MicroStation Version 5. It is recommended
that you add the extension ".flb" to all older font libraries.
When creating a new font resource file, the Font Installer dialog box
automatically adds the extension ".rsc" to the filename.
If you added fonts to a Version 4 font library, you will need to add those
fonts to the new font resource file to be used with Version 5. The Font
Installer dialog box lets you import .cel, PostScript, TrueType, .shx, and
Version 4 fontlib files. For more information, see "Font Libraries" in Chapter
15 of the User's Guide.
The first font copied into a new font resource file becomes the default font
(equivalent to the old style fastfont).
The default Version 5 font resource file is located in the "wsmod\default\symb"
directory and is named "font.rsc". It contains the same fonts as the "fontlib"
font library from MicroStation Version 4 as well as three IGES fonts (fonts 15,
16 and 17). The "flib" utility has been replaced with the Font Installer dialog
box (User menu/Utilities > Install Fonts ...).
Version 5 uses the configuration variable MS_SYMBRSRC for the search path for
symbology resource files, including font resource files.
Version 5 allows fonts from more than one resource file to be used during a
design session. This is accomplished by using wildcards or by assigning
multiple font resource files to the MS_SYMBRSRC configuration variable. If two
font resource files contain the same font number, then the last font read will
override any other.
In Version 4, if a text string contained a character that was not available in
the font, MicroStation displayed an asterisk (star). If the font did not
contain an asterisk character (oct052/dec42), MicroStation would not display a
character. Version 5 displays a question mark in a diamond if a character is
not available.
Currently the "Remove" function is not implemented. You can only change a font
number at this time; the font description and name are automatically set for
you. Future versions of the Font Installer supporting these features will be
posted to MicroStation information forums, including Intergraph's bulletin
board (InterBoard), Compuserve, etc.
It is recommended that 16 MB of memory be available on a PC used to install
fonts.
------------
End of Fonts
------------
--------
Database
--------
Index files on mslink must be created for each table that will be linked to
graphics and inserted into the data dictionary for the Xbase server. See
Chapter 4 of the Database Guide.
To create the RIS database example for the lesson:
1. Create a schema named "gis" in your database. If you are using
Informix, you must create a database.
2. Change directory to the ustation\database\ris\examples\gis directory
3. Execute the rislod program delivered in the \ris\risutl\bin
directory. Accept the default values for each prompt except
"Main file for loading [ris.dmp]:". You will need to key in
"gis.dmp".
MicroStation Version 5 supports Oracle forms 3.0 only.
---------------
End of Database
---------------
-----
Cells
-----
Prior to MicroStation Version 5, a maximum of 1,000 cells could be listed in
the Cell Library settings box. This limitation has been removed. However, the
256 block limitation on the size of cells remains.
As always, point cells are placed using the current active symbology including
the use of custom line styles. Exceptions to this are point cells that contain
cone (type 23) elements. If the Active Line Style is set to a custom line
style, such cells will be placed using the standard solid line style (zero).
As in previous versions, using empty text nodes or empty enter-data-fields
within shared cells is not supported.
------------
End of Cells
------------
---
EDG
---
This release includes a new version of EDG. See the topic entitled
"release-notes -> differences" in the on-line EDG help file for detailed
information if you are a user of previous versions of EDG.
Some commands may not work the same as they did in previous releases or may not
yet be implemented. See the section entitled "release-notes -> feature-lists"
of the on-line EDG help file for a list of all of the commands and their
status. The on-line help feature has a detailed explanation of the differences
as well as the new features that are incorporated into this version of EDG.
It is best to run EDG from a local hard drive. If it is run from a drive
accessed across a Novell network, EDG tries to write to the root directory
(unless the DOSX variable points to a swap directory the user has write access
to) and gives the error "Cannot access file." EDG works fine on other network
drives using the TCPIP protocol.
The verification procedure EDG is now much simpler than in older versions. In
older versions, SET VERIFY was used to enable element verification mode. As
the user moved through the file the elements were verified. The SET VERIFY
command now simply specifies operating parameters for the new VERIFY command.
Refer to the EDG on-line help file for greater detail.
To check a file's integrity, simply enter "verify whole" or "vw" at the EdG>
prompt. EDG will verify each element in the file and stop on the first error
encountered. The default sensitivity of the VERIFY command is set to suppress
errors that are not severe. In order to continue the verification process from
the current position, enter "verify after" or "va". The VERIFY WHOLE command
always begins verification from the top of the file.
For a complete list of new features, and detailed information regarding these
commands and parameters see the EDG on-line help file or refer to Chapter 5 of
the Development and Support Guide.
----------
End of EDG
----------
---------
Utilities
---------
The following utilities are no longer delivered on the MicroStation
installation disks. They are now on the Intergraph MicroStation Utilities CD.
Name Description
acct.ma records the amount of time spent in each design file.
acctr.ma creates reports with totals/subtotals from acct.ma data.
baseline.ma clears NEW and MODIFIED bits in all displayable elements.
bulktext.ma creates text from a design file or design file from text.
celst.ma lists cells in a design file or cell library.
cvt.exe displays input data in different formats (decimal, hex, etc.)
deldup.exe deletes duplicate elements in design files.
fixrange.ma recalculates the ranges of design file elements.
isit.ma used by user commands to determine whether a file exists.
leveluse.ma shows the design file levels that contain displayable elements.
mplot.ma used to plot multiple (existing) plotfiles.
mscomp.ma compress multiple design files 'offline'.
offpat.ma pattern shapes "off-line" in multiple design files.
overview.ma shows location of one view within another (like IGDS).
rcl.ma replace existing cells in a design file with new cells.
readasc.ma read ASCII files from a user command.
renum.ma renumber the graphic group and/or text node numbers.
rfmod.ma modify reference file attachment information.
scltxt.ma modify text within a design file.
xqt.ma used by user commands to execute a system command.
----------------
End of Utilities
----------------
-------------
Compatibility
-------------
Protected mode MicroCSL, External programs, and Dynamic Link Modules
for Version 5.
Requirements.
Compilers:
MetaWare HIGHC Versions 3.10, and 3.11
Lahey FORTRAN 77 Version 5.10
Linkers:
Phar Lap 386|DOS Extender Versions 4.x, and 5.x
The default tutorial set is no longer delivered; tutorials are still supported.
Associative patterns created in Version 5 cannot be displayed in Version 4.
--------------------
End of Compatibility
--------------------
--------------------
MicroStation Manager
--------------------
MicroStation Manager has been updated for Version 5 and is now integrated into
MicroStation. This means that the MS_INITAPPS configuration variable does not
have to be set and that "mm.ma" is no longer delivered. For more information
about MicroStation Manager, see Chapter 1 of the User's Guide.
With MicroStation Version 5, "RMAKER" (a text-file-based resource utility) is
obsolete. Also, since MicroStation Manager is integrated into MicroStation, the
source code is unavailable. However, developers can still write a MS_INITAPPS
MDL application to replace MicroStation Manager. Also, users can customize
MicroStation Manager with the Modify User Interface dialog box, which replaces
the Nexus configurability tools. See the User's Guide, Chapter 16.
---------------------------
End of MicroStation Manager
---------------------------
-------------------
General Information
-------------------
The following video modes do not support backing store: EGA, DGIS, TIGA 1.1,
TIGA 2.0 (Version 4.0), the Windows Connection Driver, and any driver written
specifically for MicroStation prior to Version 5.
Introducing "InterBoard"
The Intergraph Customer Support Bulletin Board Service (InterBoard) is an
electronic forum that allows Intergraph customers to exchange messages and
files with Intergraph's technical and marketing staff and with other Intergraph
customers. InterBoard is structured to allow customers to give suggestions,
make inquiries, and exchange other support-related information. Within each
product area, InterBoard provides information and forums for discussion about
various topics, including:
* Technical notes, release notes, and general product information
* Documentation and training information
* Sample data, programs, and configurations
Calling InterBoard
The InterBoard telephone number is (205) 730-8786. It is available 24 hours
a day, seven days a week, and it can accommodate many callers
simultaneously. To connect to InterBoard, follow these steps:
1. Set your communications for eight (8) data bits, no parity, one (1)
stop bit, and any baud rate up to 14,400.
2. Dial the InterBoard number: (205) 730-8786.
3. Once connected, respond to the login request with your user ID.
If you have not connected before, respond with "NEW", and InterBoard
will lead you through the process of creating a user ID.
If you have trouble connecting to or using InterBoard, call the InterBoard
system operator, at (205) 730-1413.
Using InterBoard
From the moment you call, InterBoard leads you through all procedures with
menus and on-line help. If you are new to computer bulletin boards, rest
assured that the software gives you clear choices and plenty of help at every
step. A text file that explains the InterBoard commands and organization is
offered to you for downloading when you first call. If you have used Compuserve
or hobbyist bulletin boards, you will feel comfortable right away.
If you have used the MicroStation Information Center (MIC), you will notice
that this system is the same except it has been expanded to form the Intergraph
Customer Support BBS (InterBoard). As a result, a number of changes have taken
place. Here is a summary of some of the enhancements:
New features
* Expanded message forums and file libraries for Intergraph applications
* Full-screen editor
* Support for V.32bis modems with transmission rates up to 14,400 bps
* Restructured menus
* Added voice support for connection problems
The MicroStation Product Forum on Compuserve
Bentley Systems maintains the MicroStation Product Forum on Compuserve for
MicroStation users. The forum gives users who subscribe to Compuserve the
ability to converse with other MicroStation users, receive MicroStation related
information including marketing and technical information. It also provides
access to a number of libraries containing hardware drivers, useful utilities,
and programming examples. To access the forum, just type GO MSTATION at any "!"
prompt.
For a list of know software anomalies, reference the certnote.txt found
in the docs directory.
--------------------------
End of General Information
--------------------------
------------
New Features
------------
Refer to the MicroStation documentation and on-line help. New features are
summarized in Chapter 1 of "Introducing MicroStation:" "The Newest
MicroStation."
-------------------
End of New Features
-------------------