home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
TopWare 18: Liquid
/
Image.iso
/
liquid
/
top1022
/
read.me
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1994-04-24
|
11KB
|
256 lines
ProtoCAD 3D Ver 2.00 Copyright 1994, TRIUS, Inc.
P.O. BOX 249, North Andover, MA 01845
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Orders ONLY!: 800-GO-TRIUS (800-468-7487)
Info: 508-794-9377 FAX: 508-688-6312 BBS: 508-794-0762
This READ.ME file contains information about ProtoCAD 3D that did
not make it to the printed manual of Ver. 2.00. It also lists the
files distributed with Ver 2.00, and explains how to upgrade from
previous versions.
Please READ THIS FILE THOROUGHLY! It contains very important
information, and reading it now will probably save you time and
trouble later on!
You can print this file by COPYing it to your printer with the
following command:
copy READ.ME prn
If you want to look at the other On-Disk ProtoCAD 3D documentation,
see the file list below, which lists all of the documentation files,
and see the section on the On-Disk User's Manual.
Shareware and the Association of Shareware Professionals
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
_______
____|__ | (tm)
--| | |-------------------
| ____|__ | Association of
| | |_| Shareware
|__| o | Professionals
-----| | |---------------------
|___|___| MEMBER
The shareware concept has made it possible for you to obtain extremely
powerful software at a price you can afford, and it gives you the
opportunity to try the software before you register.
Shareware is kept alive by YOUR support.
Evaluate the program for 30-days and give copies to your friends for
evaluation. If, after the 30 days, you continue to use the program,
then register it by sending us the registration/order form included in
this help file or by calling 800-468-7487 (Orders Only!). You will
receive the Latest version, Printed manual, 90-day free Technical
Phone Support, BBS Technical Support, Newsletter, and Reduced price
Upgrades.
In addition to that, the 'UNREGISTERED COPY' message will be
eliminated from the screen and a tool bar with the most frequently
used commands will take its place. Registering will also get you the
capability of using external script files to create series of TGA and
PCX files for animation sequences. And, of course, it will get you the
legal license to use the software beyond the 30-day evaluation period.
╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ If you purchased a Disk, without a printed, bound, user's ║
║ manual, or you downloaded a copy from a BBS or other ║
║ service, or you got a copy of ProtoCAD 3D from a CD-ROM, or ║
║ the program was pre-loaded on your computer, then you have ║
║ a 30-day evaluation shareware copy. You need to purchase ║
║ a registered copy after the 30-day evaluation! ║
╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
Support new developments in ProtoCAD 3D, register your copy today!
Thank you for your support!
ProtoCAD 3D is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware
principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-
related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly,
ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a
dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical
support for member's products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at:
ASP Ombudsman
545 Grover Road
Muskegon, MI 49442-9427
or send a Compuserve message via CMail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
Minimum Hardware Requirements
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- 386SX CPU (see note below)
- EGA or better video capabilities (VGA, SVGA, VESA)
- 480k minimum free memory (RAM)
- 2 Mb EMS (see note below)
- DOS 3.2 or later
- 3.5" Drive(s), or 5.25" HD Drive(s), or Diskette/Hard Disk combination
Note: Though the program will run on an XT or a 286 based CPU, with
only 640k RAM, a 386SX or better and 2Mb EMS is stronly recommended
for any serious work.
GETTING STARTED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The information provided below is to help you start the program for
your hardware configuration. For more details about the operation of
the program press the F1 (function) key once you have started the
program.
Once installed (see below for installation procedure) ProtoCAD 3D is
started from DOS using the command:
C:> PC3D /Option1/Option2/Option3/..... [ENTER]
where Option1, Option2, etc. are options specifying the type of
memory to use, the type of graphics video adaptor, etc. For a
complete description of these options, please print and consult the
on-disk user's manual.
Ordering Information
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remember that a shareware copy is an EVALUATION copy that you can use
for up to 30 days. If you continue to use the program, Registration
and payment is Required! You may register using the order form in the
ORDER.ME file, or by calling TRIUS, Inc. and charging your purchase on
your credit card. We suggest that you call, since prices are subject to
change without notice.
You may also order your copy on-line by calling our TRIUS Support BBS
at (508) 794-0762 [12/24/9600,N,8,1 - 24 hrs].
If you live outside the US and Canada you may want to contact TRIUS,
Inc. for a dealer in your country. Purchasing through these dealers
can save you the delay and inconvenience which may be involved in
dealing with currency conversions and international shipping and in
many cases will provide you with faster technical support.
Files on the ProtoCAD 3D Distribution Disk(s)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PC3D20.FLS - Compressed Archive
READ.ME - Start-Up instructions (This file)
ORDER.ME - Ready-to-print order form
LICENSE.DOC - Please Read This!!
VENDOR.DOC - Info on Distributing Shareware Copies
INSTALL.EXE - Automated SetUp File
Installation on Floppy or Hard Disk:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The program will work if installed on 3.5" (720K or 1.44Mb) diskettes,
or 5.25" HD (1.2 Mb) diskettes. We recommend that the program is
installed either on a hard disk, or a high density floppy diskette,
since this will permit the help file, and other auxiliary files, to be
available to the user.
If you Install and run ProtoCAD 3D from a floppy disk, without
Expanded memory (EMS), or if the /NE command line switch is
used, and you remove the ProtoCAD 3D program disk from
the drive while the program is running, you will get an
error message and will be instructed to re-insert the disk.
* Place the ProtoCAD 3D original diskette in drive A: (or B:)
* Make sure the current logged drive is A: (Type A:, or B:, and
press ENTER, if it is not).
* Type INSTALL and press [ENTER]. Then, follow the simple on-screen
instructions to install your copy of the program on the desired disk(s)
and/or subdirectory.
Windows Users
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ProtoCAD will work fine under Windows 3.1. If you are going to run the
program in a windows environment, you may use the files PC3D.PIF and
PC3D.ICO which extracted as part of the installation process. It should
be noted that the PC3D.PIF file is setup to run the program in a windowed
mode. For better program response, however, we recommend that the PIF
file is modified (using the Windows PIF Editor), to run in full screen
mode.
On-Disk Documentation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The installation process extracts a file called PC3D.MAN. This is a
ready-to-print formatted, User's manual for the program.
Following the installation, make sure that the PC3D.MAN file is
indeed on your default directory. Then, to print this manual:
(1) Make sure that the your printer is ON and there is enough
paper in it (the manual is about 100 pages).
(2) From the DOS prompt, type
COPY PC3D.MAN PRN and press [ENTER]
Note that if your printer is connected to a SERIAL port,
then you need to use the command COPY PC3D.MAN COM1, or
COPY PC3D.MAN COM2 (depending on which serial port your
printer is connected to).
NOTES/ADDITIONS TO THE USER'S MANUAL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. When a new view is selected, an image extents scan is made and the
image is placed in the center of the screen (similar to performing
an Image, All command), if the Auto Ctr toggle is ON.
2. Identifying reference marks are placed in the center of facets. This
is particular useful when trying to change the surface normal, since
it permits you to select uniquely identified facets.
3. The limit on the number of points that can be accommodated when
importing a WAV file, was increased to 8000.
4. VGA 256-color and VESA color mapping is done using a 3,3,2 model,
i.e., 3 bits are used for Green, 3 for Red and 2 for Blue. Since
there is not enough resolution (2 bits) for Blue, you might
experience blue patches when rendering an 'almost' gray scale image.
If that happens, select the Gray option in the Render sub-menu.
5. When rendering in 256 colors, the edges are NOT visible regardless of
the setting selected in the Render, Edges sub-menu.
6. The trackball employs an effective 'gimbal lock' mechanism. If the
image is rotated/rolled beyond a 90 degree angle, the Yaw angle
automatically switches by 180 degrees.
7. As the observer distance (D) is reduced, and you move closer to the
center of the image, you will observe some clipping of polygons that
are effectively behind te focal length plane. This normally occurs at
about D=0.5. You might need to render the image to re-orient
yourself.
8. When attempting to print without EMS, the 32k-48k shadow buffer is
used by the Z-buffer model to internally render the image in
horizontal strips. Since the buffer size is limited, the longer the
strip (specified print width) the narrower the vertical strip size
that can be accommodated. When the calculated vertical size falls
below 16 scan lines, the program will not render and will abort the
printing process. This limit will accommodate a 7.5 inch width at
120 dots per inch resolution. Under these conditions, if you want to
increase the resolution, you'd have to reduce the specified print
width. For above example, if you wanted to use 240 dpi resolution,
the specified width should be approximately 3.75 inches.
9. When creating TGA output files, the program requires approximately
300k of EMS to render the image. If it's not available, the TGA
output menu is disabled and an appropriate error message will be
issued.
- End -