Index of /mirrors/ftp.sgi.com/sgi/Surf/WebSpace/tgs/IBM
README -- 17-May-95 -- WebSpace 1.0 Beta1 for AIX
Copyright 1995, Template Graphics Software Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
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* Yes! This is the WebSpace for AIX Beta release! *
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Requirements:
* AIX 3.2.5
* OpenGL from IBM (http://www.austin.ibm.com)
* Motif 1.2
* Netscape 1.1
* 8MB disk space
Installation:
WebSpace 1.0 Beta 1 is distributed as a compressed tar file.
In a new directory, e.g., WebSpace10B1, uncompress the tar file, then
untar it:
uncompress filename
tar xvf filename
You will see a bin directory (contains the WebSpace executable) and
a doc directory (contains the HTML help files), a VRML directory
(contains sample VRML files), this README, and possibly a few other
files.
Next you need to configure your Web browser to know about WebSpace.
This is described in the following sections.
Configuring Netscape for WebSpace
You must tell Netscape about the new MIME type for VRML and also
tell Netscape that there's a helper application associated with the
new MIME type. You do this by editing two files in the Netscape lib
directory (default location /usr/local/lib/netscape).
1) Edit "mime.types" and add the following line:
x-world/x-vrml wrl
2) Edit "mailcap" and add the following line(s)
x-world/x-vrml; \
/WebSpace_install_directory/bin/webspace -remote %s -URL %u; \
description="VRML document";
Replace "WebSpace_install_directory" with the absolute path of your
WebSpace installation directory.
NOTES: You may need root privileges to be able to edit these
files. Alternatively, you can edit the files .mailcap and .mime.types
in your home directory.
Environment Variables
Define environment variable WEBSPACEHOME. It should contain the
complete path of the WebSpace installation directory. For example,
setenv WEBSPACEHOME /home/whatever/WebSpace10B1
Using WebSpace Standalone
WebSpace can be run standalone. In this case, only .wrl and .iv file
types can be read. Note that since the help files are in HTML they
will not be available.
Help Files
Help files are provided in the WebSpace installation directory.
They are in HTML format and may be viewed with your Web browser.
WebSpace uses environment variable WEBSPACEHOME to locate the help files.
WEBSPACEHOME should be set to the absolute path of the WebSpace
installation directory.
Example VRML files
Example VRML files are provided in the WebSpace installation directory.
They may loaded directly into WebSpace or through your Web browser.
For example, type: webspace urlHouse.wrl
Tips
1) Viewers
WebSpace provides two different 3D viewers:
Walk Viewer (the default): For 3D scenes
Examiner Viewer : For 3D objects
VRML files should contain a "Viewer" hint that tells WebSpace which
viewer to use by default. But in some cases it may be necessary to
change viewers manually using the "View" menu.
2) Hot Objects
WebSpace highlights "hot" objects (WWWAnchor nodes) that are links
to other URLs by changing their color when the cursor moves over
them. You can also highlight all the links simultaneously using the
"Options/Show Hot Links" menu item.
Note however that hot objects are *not* highlighted while you are
moving in the Walk viewer (have the mouse button down), rotating the
object in the Examimer viewer (have the mouse button down) or while
the object is spinning in the Examiner viewer (click the trackball
to stop spinning).
3) ViewPoints
WebSpace supports the VRML "Cameras" hint which allows a VRML author
to predefine named camera positions, or viewpoints. The WebSpace
"ViewPoints" menu is dynamically created every time a VRML scene is
loaded and allows you to select any of the predefined viewpoints.
This is particularly helpful in a complex scene where "walking"
around using the viewer controls is too slow.
By default WebSpace will attempt to move "smoothly" to the selected
viewpoint by interpolating the camera position along a spline. You
change this behavior to "snapping" to the viewpoint by selecting the
"View/Jump Cuts" menu item.
4) Inventor Files
WebSpace also supports the full Open Inventor file format. These
files are identified by the extension ".iv" and may contain nodes
that are not (or at least not yet) allowed in VRML files. Inventor
nodes include 2D text, 3D text and "engines" that define various
types of predefined motion in the scene.
Known Problems
1) Dashboard obscured
In some cases graphics in the scene may be drawn on top of the
dashboard. This problem is being investigated.
2) Example files
Not all the links in the examples are valid.
3) Multiple instances of Netscape
When WebSpace passes a URL for Netscape to handle, a second
instance of Netscape is created.
Exit the second instance of Netscape.
4) Message: "File does not contain valid VRML data."
If you get this error message, the VRML file may have
been corrupted during the fetch process.
A possible workaround is to have WebSpace (instead of
Netscape) fetch the VRML file.
5) Tool Bar buttons colored incorrectly
Start WebSpace before starting Netscape.
6) Fetch cannot be stopped
Once a fetch has started, control is not
returned to the program until the fetch is complete.
7) Large texture maps may cause window manager to crash
On certain platforms, a bug in IBM's OpenGL related to
large texture maps may cause the window manager to crash.
To avoid this problem, from the WebSpace View menu, select the
No Textures item.
Registration
If you would like to register for support, see the registration
file in the WebSpace installation directory for details. A
registration form is also available on our WWW page (address
below).
Contact us at:
Template Graphics Software Inc.
9920 Pacific Heights Blvd
San Diego, CA 92121
Fax: 619-452-2547
E-mail: webspace@tgs.com
WWW: http://www.sd.tgs.com/~template
NOTE: We welcome your feedback. However, due to the volume of
user input, we are able to reply only to registered WebSpace users.
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