home previous next contents # Shout3D™ 1.0 - User Guide |

## Publishing and File Conversion with the Shout3DWizard The Shout3DWizard is an interactive tool that helps you publish 3D applets to the web. You can also use the wizard to convert VRML 97 files into the Shout3D format. If you haven't done so already, click hereto try the 10-minute QuickStart Tutorial, which will get you acquainted with the Shout3DWizard and what it does. This document contains a more detailed guide to the Shout3DWizard's functionality. It is divided into the following sections: Launching the Shout3DWizard Loading a VRML97 or s3d scene Converting a VRML file to a Shout3D (s3d) file Previewing a scene Opening the Publishing Area Registration Codes Publishing Publishing Options ## Launching the Shout3DWizard Windows users can take a short cut and use a windows executable file, while other users will need to run java on the java class Shout3DWizard.class, as follows: ##### Windows Users: Double-click the file Shout3d_wizard\Shout3DWizard.exe ##### Macintosh Users: Double-click the file Shout3d_wizard\Shout3DWizard.exe ##### Other Users: Make sure you have a Java runtime environment installed Open a system window (such as a system console for Unix or DOS prompt for Windows 3.1) Get into the Shout3d_wizard directory. Type the following: java Shout3DWizard If you can not successfully launch the Shout3DWizard, check the system requirements. When it starts up, the application should look like this: ## Loading a VRML97 or s3d scene Initially, a VRML or Shout3D file must be opened using the menu command File » Open VRML... or File » Open S3D... Select a file and click Open. Once a file has been opened, the Save As S3D..., Preview... and Publishing Options buttons are enabled. ## Converting a VRML97 file to a Shout3D (s3d) file Shout3D has its own file format, which resembles VRML97 but is more compact and also may contain new types of nodes not found in VRML97. Files in the Shout3D format have the extension .s3d. The Shout3D format also has a non-human-readable, compacted (using gzip) version, and these files end in the extension .s3z. When you publish with the Shout3DWizard, two files will typically be referred to in the final .html output -- an .s3d file and an .s3z file. Newer browsers will be able to read the .s3z file, which is smaller and hence downloads faster. Older browsers will default to reading the larger (but equivalent) .s3d file. When the file currently loaded into the Shout3DWizard is a VRML97 file, the Save As S3D.. button will be enabled. The Save As S3D... button opens a dialog to save the converted content by itself in the Shout3D format (without the associated Shout3D runtime files). When you save as s3d, two files will be saved into the directory you select, an .s3d file and also an associated .s3z file. The .s3z file will be a gzipped version of the .s3d file. ## Previewing a Scene The Preview... button allows the Shout3D file to be previewed in a browser. Each time you change the setting of an option in the Shout3DWizard, the following preview will reflect those changes. The wizard has been tested using Netscape, Internet Explorer and appletviewer as browsers. In most cases, the Shout3DWizard will be able to locate and launch a browser. If the Shout3DWizard can not do so, it will launch a File Chooser and ask you to find and select your preferred browser. Note: The browser in which the file is previewed can be set in Publishing Options (see below). The first time you try to preview a file, the wizard will try to use the system's default browser. If preview does not initially work, the browser path may need to be set manually. Go into publishing options and click in the empty path cell labeled Browser path under the Preview category to display the browser selection dialog, and use it to find and select your browser. Then try again to preview your file. The browser path needs to be set only once; thereafter, the wizard will remember it between sessions. ## Opening the Publish Area The Publishing Options button can be used to display or hide the Publish button and the set of option values for editing. ## Registration Codes Shout3D ordinarily displays a black band across the bottom containing the Shout3D logo. This black band may be disabled if the html file that invokes Shout3D contains a valid registration code. When you purchase a license for the Educational or Professional version of Shout3D 1.0, you will receive an email with a registration code and name. Attached to the email will also be a small registration file. Copy this file into your `Shout3d_wizard` directory. Any Shout3D-enhanced documents you create will then be registered. Alternatively you can copy the registration code and name into the Registration publishing option cells described above. For more information about registration codes, click here. ## Publishing The Publish button below the options table will place all the files required to run your Shout3D-enhanced document in the `published` directory located in the parent directory to `Shout3D_wizard`. From there you can copy the files to your server for viewing. Automatically-generated HTML files will have a prefix of `autogen_` attached to the base name of the Shout3D file; for example the file `autogen_example.html` will be generated to accompany `example.s3d`. After you publish, you can read the `autogen_` file into most html authoring tools and add text, images, or other elements. ## Publishing Options Clicking the Publishing Options button will produce a table filled with parameters that enable you to quickly set up a Shout3D-enhanced HTML file, as well as the Publish button to publish the project to a directory. Most of the options correspond to applet parameters of the Shout3DApplet. If you look at the generated html file's source, you'll be able to see your actions reflected in changes to those values. For information about the Shout3D applet parameters, click here. The available option sets are organized in the following categories and sub-categories: Background Color Set the background color by clicking on the cell to the right. A small color widget will popup. Use the sliders to change the color. Hit return or click anywhere else in the table to close the color chooser. (default = 0, 0, 0) Image A background image is a simple way to add a setting to a world, without the expense of high-polygon models. Click the cell to the right, and use the file chooser to select an image file (JPEG or GIF). For example try `wooden_stage_bg.jpg` in the `shared` directory.(default = none) Stretch to fit Sometimes the background may not be the same size as the applet. You may want the background to be half the size of the applet in order to reduce the download time of the image. By setting this option true, the image will be stretched to fit the applet. (default = false) Bounds Width The width of the applet in pixels. (default = 320) Height The height of the applet in pixels. (default = 240) Preview Browser path Find and select a browser to preview your Shout3D world. For example, `Netscape.exe`, `IExplore.exe`, or `appletviewer.exe`. (default = your default browser) Publish Include codebase If true, the wizard will publish the Shout3D Java runtime to the `published/codebase` directory. If false, it will publish only the autogen_.html file and the supporting 3D model and images. For most cases, this should be left at the default value of true.(default = true) Clear directory first If true, will delete all files in the `published` directory before publishing the current project. If false, any existing files will be left there. The default value of false allows you to publish multiple html files that share the same Shout3D Java runtime classes. Following such multiple publishing, you can then upload the entire directory to your server, and when you change from one autogen_.html file to another, the Java classes will not need to be re-fetched. This saves downloading time for visitors to your web site.(default = false) World Anti-alias If true, anti-aliasing is applied to the Shout3D scene. Anti-aliasing is only applied at edges between the scene geometry and the background. Anti-aliasing looks good, but slows down rendering. (default = false) Smooth Textures If true, applies bilinear filtering to textures. This smooths out the pixellated artifact that occurs when small textures are applied to large surfaces. Bilinear filtering improves image quality but slows down rendering (default = true) Convert to S3D If true, the VRML file loaded from the File menu will be converted to the Shout3D format; the resulting .s3d and .s3z files will be the ones published and referred to in the autogen_.html file. If false, the VRML file will be copied to the `published` directory as VRML without modification (and referred to in the autogen_ .html file). (default = true) Headlight on If true, a white headlight will be added to the scene, attached to the viewpoint and directed along the negative Z-axis. (default = true) Threaded Loading If true, the Shout3D scene will progressively load in one or more background threads. The scene may appear more quickly this way, prior to the completion of the fetching of all textures. The disadvantage here is that some textured objects will appear 'naked' (without their textures) until their textures have been fetched. If the value of this option is false, then textures and sounds will load as part of the main thread; this results in a longer delay before the Shout3D scene will be displayed, but no objects will ever be seen 'naked'. (default = true) Applet type Opens a dialog to select the applet class file, which must contain a Java class extending `Shout3DApplet`. Selecting non-default applets will change the behavior of the scene. The two recommended applets, other than the default, are the ExamineApplet and the WalkApplet. (default = Shout3DApplet) Registration Code Overrides the registration code from a registration file in the `Shout3D_wizard` directory. Name Overrides the registration name from a registration file in the `Shout3D_wizard` directory. Copyright© 1999-2000, Shout Interactive, Inc.