Here's info about installation, bugs and future improvment of this VBX. check theDownload Page A small list of the Application created with Object3D Some info on the used lib, Object3D, can be found at The Object3D HomePage Screen Shots of sample in VB.

Latest news:

NO MORE DEVELOPMENT IS MADE ON VIEW3D.VBX....I've Switched to the Java Version...

View3D.VBX is no more a commercial product but a shareware. So evrybody can download it! Go to the Download Page
10-02-96 : I've just started the OCX version, and I must said that it's an ammmmmaaaazzzzing speed under 32 bits! 20-12-95 : The VB4.0 bug is corrected.... 17-11-95 : End of distribution of demo version 1.0

View3D.VBX Installation

How to use View3D.VBX Control:

Installation

- Follow the download instructions, and try VB samples
- First, add the control to the liste of available controls. To do this, Choose ADD from the File menu. Then, select View3d.vbx.
You should now have the View3D icon in your toolbox's bar:

Creation of a new View3d object

Like the the other controls, select the View3D icon in the toolbar, and the click on the form where your want to put a 3D object, drag the mouse and then realeas the mouse. You should have a new window in the form, a black window with nothing inside.
Now you can play with properties:
DoubleClick in the "ObjName" propertie, a file requester should appear, and then select an object ( a *.m3d file). Then the object should appear in your control.
Change the propertie FlgEditable to true, and then run the "program"...You should be able to move the object in this window with your mouse. There is three different movment if you press Left MouseButton, Right MB or the two.

Here's a copy of what you can have on your screen after few mouse clicks:

Using this VBX

There is two way to use the VBX:

Modify properties of the VBX
Use the Object3D librarie, to get more power of this VBX.

First, you can play with all the properties available, to change position (PosX,PosY,PosZ) angles (AngleX,AngleY,AngleZ), or attributes (FlgWire,FlgShadow,etc...).
But with the Object3D library, accessible as a DLL included in the View3D.VBX, you'll have more power:

Creation of object from scratch
Modification of the object : moving point, changing face attributes, etc...
Creating "subobject"

In the major part of these function, you'll need an ObjectID, or a ViewID. An objectID identify a single Object, and a ViewID identiy a View, a View is where an object is drawn. You can retreive the ObjectID of the current object with the IdObj attribute of the View3D.VBX, and the ViewID with the IdView attribute.
So with these values, you can use the major part of the function listed in the the Reference Manual
At this point, you don't need to use the Objet3D_Create ( and Delete) and the View3D_Create ( and Delete). These are nedded only if you don't use object3D from the View3D.VBX.
But you can need them, especally Objet3D_Create if you want to create childs of the "root" 3D object.

What is the current state of View3D.VBX

This VBX is fully functionnal, but still have some bugs. There is no commercial release at the moment, and I don't know how it will be commercialised! So, If you're interested, contact me.
I'm looking for people who want to make beta test of this VBX. Mail-me a letter describing what kind of application do you plan to do, and I'll send you the VBX and the examples.

Know Bugs

Future improvments ( and current limitation )

choice between Z-Buffering and painter algorithm (only painter algo for the moment)
VRML loader... Yes, you're read it. You'll be able to use VRML object in your VB program. The most part of the VRML attributes will be respected ( including texture mapping).
More than one light source.
Applications packages, the first one will be scientific visualisation.

This page have been created by Thomas LANDSPURG. Mail me if you've found wrong information, mispelling,etc...
Or look at my HomePage.

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