Going Further with Cosmo Player 2.1.1

Copyright © 1997-1999 PLATINUM technology, inc. All rights reserved.

Cosmo Player plugs in to your Web browser to enable you to see and explore 3D worlds. With Cosmo Player you can visit any 3D world authored in the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). These 3D worlds often include other kinds of multimedia, like sound and movies. (For more on VRML, see the Web3D Consortium site at  http://www.web3d.org.)

This manual presents the task-oriented information you need to get the most out of Cosmo Player. It also tells you how to customize Cosmo Player.

Getting Started with Cosmo Player 2.1.1 shows you the basics of navigation. Cosmo Player 2.1.1 Quick Reference gives brief descriptions of each of the elements in the Cosmo Player interface. You can find more technical information about installation and trouble-shooting in the Release Notes.

Using Cosmo Player Controls

An unselected button is gray-green. A selected button is bright green. Unavailable buttons are flat and gray.

When you pass the pointer over a button, its name and description are displayed. You can turn off the display of names and descriptions.

To turn pop-up button names and descriptions off/on

• Click the upper triangle at the bottom-left of the dashboard.

To turn pop-up button descriptions off/on

• Click the lower triangle at the bottom-left of the dashboard.

Resizing the Dashboard

You can minimize the dashboard to devote more of the Cosmo Player window to the 3D world. When the dashboard is minimized, you can use keyboard equivalents for Cosmo Player buttons. See "Using Keyboard Commands." Of course, you can also re-expand the dashboard.

To minimize the dashboard

• Click the small triangle in the upper-left corner of the dashboard.
  
  

To re-expand the dashboard

• Click the small triangle in the bottom-left corner of the minimized dashboard.

Understanding Cosmo Player Controls

Cosmo Player has two sets of controls: you use the Movement controls to move around in 3D worlds, and you use the Examine controls to examine objects in a 3D world.

Some worlds allow you to use only Movement controls (Go, Slide, and Tilt). Other worlds allow you to use only Examine controls (Rotate, Pan, and Zoom). Still other worlds allow you to use both Movement and Examine controls.

Even if both sets of controls are available to you, it's usually best to use the controls that are displayed when you first enter a world. You could easily become disoriented by switching randomly from one set of controls to another!

If your dashboard looks like this

use Go, Slide, and Tilt to move around in the world. See "Moving Around in a World."

If your dashboard looks like this

use Rotate, Pan, and Zoom to examine objects in the world. See "Examining Objects in a World."

When you switch from one set of controls to the other, only the Movement and Examine controls change. Other Cosmo Player controls (for example, Seek, Straighten, Undo Move, and Redo Move) remain the same. See also "Using Keyboard Commands."

To switch between Movement and Examine controls

• Click the Change Controls button.
  
  Or
• Press ` (backquote), ~ (tilde), or - (minus key on numeric keypad).

Using Mouse and Keyboard

You can navigate with the mouse, the keyboard, or both mouse and keyboard.

To navigate with the mouse, choose a control and drag in the window. There are several ways of doing this:

• Click a control, release the mouse button, and then click-and-drag in the window.
  When you release the mouse, the control remains "permanently" selected until you click another.
• Click a control, hold down the mouse button, and drag in the window.
  This method temporarily selects a control: when you release the mouse button, selection reverts to the last button "permanently" selected.
• Hold down Ctrl or Alt to temporarily select a control.
  When you release Ctrl or Alt, selection reverts to the last button "permanently" selected. See "Using Keyboard Commands" and "Setting Preferences."

To navigate with the keyboard, choose a control and press the arrow keys (singly or in combination).

Most controls have keyboard equivalents.

Moving Around in a World

Cosmo Player gives you several different ways of exploring a 3D world.

You can choose from a list of interesting points in the world. See "Navigating with Viewpoints."

If you get disoriented, you can use Seek, Straighten, Undo Move, and Redo Move to find your way again. See "Going Directly to an Object," "Straightening Your View," and "Undoing and Redoing Movements."

You will often want to use the Movement controls, Go, Slide, Tilt, Float, and Gravity. See "Moving Forward and Backward," "Sliding Up, Down, Left, or Right,"   "Tilting Your View," and "Walking or Flying Through a World."

Navigating with Viewpoints

One of the simplest ways of exploring a world is to move between viewpoints. Viewpoints are named locations that the world's author has defined.

To navigate with viewpoints

• Click the Viewpoint List button and choose a viewpoint from the pop-up list
  The current viewpoint is checkmarked. The current viewpoint is displayed in the Current Viewpoint box.
  Or
• Click the Next Viewpoint or Previous Viewpoint button.
  You can press Page Down for Next Viewpoint or Page Up for Previous Viewpoint.
  Or
• Press the Home key to return to your initial viewpoint in the world.

Going Directly to an Object

Seek

Use the Seek button to go directly to an object in the 3D world.

To seek an object

1. Click Seek.
   The Seek button is selected.
2. Click an object to "seek" it.
   You move directly to the object, and the Seek button is unselected.

You can also put Cosmo Player in Continuous Seek mode, which makes your pointer act as if Seek were being continually pressed.

In Continuous Seek mode other navigation controls continue to function, but you don't interact with active objects. (An active object is one that will do something--like play sound or an animation--when you click it or drag-and-click it. See "Activating Objects.")

To move in Continuous Seek mode

1. Double-click Seek.
   The Seek button turns white:
2. Click objects.
   You can also click and drag to navigate normally with the navigation control you have selected.
3. Turn off Continuous Seek by clicking Seek again.

You can program a mouse button or key to turn on Continuous Seek. See "Setting Preferences."

Straightening Your View

Straighten

Straighten is especially useful if you've become disoriented--facing the ground, for example--and want to return to a position from which it is easier to navigate.

Click the Straighten button to return your view to an upright position.

You can also press the End key to straighten your view.

Undoing and Redoing Movements

Undo Move/Redo Move

Cosmo Player keeps track of each place you stop in a world. Use the Undo Move and Redo Move buttons to move backward and forward in the list of places you've visited.

Keyboard equivalents for Undo Move are Delete or Backspace. Keyboard equivalents for Redo Move are Insert or Shift+Backspace.

If you've made a mistake in navigation, Undo Move is a quick way to get back to where you were.

After you've used Undo Move at least once, Redo Move enables you to move forward through the locations you've "undone."

Moving Forward and Backward

Go

Use the Go button (the default Movement control) to move in any direction in the world.

Go turns your point of view in the direction of movement.

To go in any direction

1. Make sure Cosmo Player is in Movement mode.
   See "Understanding Cosmo Player Controls."
2. If Go is not already selected, click the Go button.
3. Drag up to go forward, down to go backward, left to go left, or right to go right.
   You can press the arrow keys (singly or in combination) instead of dragging in the world. Hold down Shift to go faster (the Go button turns white).

Sliding Up, Down, Left, or Right

Slide

Use the Slide button (a Movement control) to slide up, down, left, or right in a world. Unlike Go, Slide does not turn your point of view in the direction of movement. See also "Walking or Flying Through a World."

To slide in any direction

1. Click Slide.
   You can also press Alt to temporarily switch to Slide from any other selected Movement control. (Once you release Alt, selection reverts to the previously selected button.)
2. Drag up to slide up, down to slide down, left to slide left, or right to slide right.
   You can press the arrow keys (singly or in combination) instead of dragging in the world. Hold down Shift to slide faster (the Slide button turns white).

Tilting Your View

Tilt

Use the Tilt button (a Movement control) to tilt your view of the world as if you were tilting a camera. You cannot turn your view upside down with Tilt.

To tilt your view in any direction

1. Click Tilt.
   You can also press Ctrl to temporarily switch to Tilt from any other selected Movement control. (Once you release Ctrl, selection reverts to the previously selected button.)
2. Drag up to tilt up, down to tilt down, left to tilt left, or right to tilt right.
   You can press the arrow keys (singly or in combination) instead of dragging in the world.

Walking or Flying Through a World

Gravity Float

Depending on how a world is designed, gravity can be turned on or off when you're using the Movement controls. When gravity is on, you walk along the ground. When gravity is off, you can float up off the ground.

If the author of a world has given you the choice of walking or flying, you can use the Float button to be able rise up into the air or the Gravity button to be able to walk on the ground.

When Gravity is selected, you cannot move off the ground. When you walk, you follow the ups and downs of the surface. If you are in mid-air when you turn Gravity on, you fall to the ground.

When Float is selected, you can move off the ground with Slide, unless the author has specified that gravity is always on. See "Sliding Up, Down, Left, Right."

The keyboard equivalent for switching between Float and Gravity is the Tab key or  + (plus sign on numeric keypad).

Examining Objects in the World

You examine objects primarily by using the Examine controls: Rotate, Pan, and Zoom. These work best with objects floating in space--it's better to use the Movement controls when you're navigating in a world with "sky" and "ground" or "floor" and "ceiling." See ""Understanding Cosmo Player Controls." See also "Walking or Flying Through a World."

Making an Object Rotate

Rotate

Use the Rotate button (the default Examine control) to spin an object in front of you.

To rotate an object

1. If Rotate is not already selected, click the Rotate button.
2. Drag the pointer in the direction you want to rotate the object.
   You can also use the arrow keys (singly or in combination). Rotate an object faster by holding down an arrow key and Shift.

You can also make an object spin by itself when Rotate is selected: just rotate the object normally by dragging the mouse, but release the mouse with a "throwing" motion (by releasing the mouse button while you're still dragging.) The object in front of you continues to spin even after you release the mouse.

Panning Up, Down, Left, and Right

Pan

Use the Pan button (an Examine control) to pan up, down, left, and right.

To pan

1. Click Pan.
   You can also press Alt to temporarily select Pan when another Examine control is active. (Once you release Alt, selection reverts to the previously selected button.)
2. Drag up, down, left, or right.
   You can also use the arrow keys (singly or in combination). Pan faster by holding down an arrow key and Shift.

Zooming In and Out

Zoom

Use the Zoom button (an Examine control) to zoom in or out.

To zoom in or out

1. Click Zoom.
   You can also press Ctrl to temporarily select Zoom when another Examine control is active. (Once you release Ctrl, selection reverts to the previously selected button.)
2. Drag up to zoom in or drag down to zoom out.
   You can also use the arrow keys (singly or in combination). Zoom faster by holding down an arrow key and pressing Shift.

Activating Objects

An active object is one that will do something when you click it or click-and-drag it. Typical actions include playing sound or an animation, taking you to a different place in the world or to a new world or Web page, or displaying information in your browser.

When you move the pointer over an active object, the pointer changes to a starburst.

Note: When Seek or Continuous Seek is selected, touchable objects remain inactive. See "Going Directly to an Object."

Using Keyboard Commands

You can use keyboard commands as substitutes for Cosmo Player dashboard controls. Keyboard commands are especially useful when the dashboard is minimized. See "Resizing the Dashboard." See also "Setting Preferences" on how to customize mouse buttons and some keys for left-handed or right-handed use.

Setting Preferences

To set preferences

1. Click the Preferences button on the lower-right of the dashboard.
   
   The Preferences window is displayed.
   
2. Click a tab in the Preferences window.
3. Set or change options by clicking checkboxes, radio buttons, or list items.
4. Click OK to set the new options or click Cancel to revert to previous options and close the Preferences window.

World

Collision Detection On

When collision detection is on, Cosmo Player will prevent your walking or flying through solid objects in the scene.

Headlight On [keypad * key]

Turns the headlight on and off. Try using this option when the lighting doesn't look right in the world you're exploring.

Navigation Speed

Changes the speed at which you move through the world. The "as-is" speed is set by the author, but you can accelerate or decelerate the author's setting.

Performance

Animate transitions between viewpoints

When selected, your perspective shifts smoothly as you move from one viewpoint to another. When deselected, your perspective jumps as you move from one viewpoint to another.

Nice Transparency

Blends transparent colors with the objects behind them.

Textures

When selected, gives all background texture and image details, with possible reduction in performance. Textures are images that are mapped onto the surfaces of some 3D objects. If you turn off textures in a world that makes heavy use of them, you won't see the world as its author intended.

Image/Texture Quality

• Automatic - Attempts to make balance performance and quality.
• Best Quality - Provides maximum image quality but can reduce performance speed, especially if you don't have hardware 3D acceleration on your system.
• Fastest - Ensures maximum performance speed, with possible degradation of image quality.
• Enable specular and emissive color shine-through on textured objects - When selected, specular and emissive lighting will be unaffected by textures on objects. This is the correct behavior according to the VRML spec, but it may degrade performance (only on some systems), and it may cause textured objects in some non-spec-compliant worlds to appear "washed out".

Mouse

Mouse Drag Feedback

• None - Provides no indication of where you clicked the mouse button.
• Crosshair at Mouse-down Point - Places a crosshair where you clicked the mouse button.
• Crosshair and Rubberband - Places a crosshair where you clicked the mouse button and draws a line from there to the current pointer location. This option applies only to movement with Go and Slide.

Right/Middle Mouse Button

The effect of the following options depends on your input device.

• Slide/Pan - Turns the right/middle mouse button into a shortcut to activate Slide (Movement mode) or Pan (Examine mode).
• Tilt/Zoom - Turns the right/middle mouse button into a shortcut to activate Tilt (Movement mode) or Zoom (Examine mode)).
• Continuous Seek - Keeps Seek turned on. Dragging navigates as usual; clicking moves you to the object.

Keyboard

CTRL/ALT

Determines how the control keys toggle between Cosmo Player commands. You can optimize for either right-handed or left-handed use. See "Using Keyboard Commands."

• Right-handed: CTRL=Tilt/Zoom and ALT=Slide/Pan - Pressing Ctrl changes to Tilt (Movement mode) or Zoom (Examine mode). Pressing Alt changes to Slide (Movement mode) or Pan (Examine mode).
• Left-handed: CTRL=Slide/Pan and ALT=Tilt/Zoom - Pressing Alt changes to Tilt (Movement mode) or Zoom (Examine mode). Pressing Ctrl changes to Slide (Movement mode) or Pan (Examine mode).

SHIFT

Determines the effect of the Shift key on Go, Slide, and Seek.

• Turbo Mode - Accelerates Go and Slide when the Shift key is pressed.
• Turbo Mode and Continuous Seek - Accelerates Go and Slide when the Shift key is pressed and activates Continuous Seek.
• Continuous Seek Only - Activates Continuous Seek when the Shift key is pressed.

Audio

These options do not take effect immediately. You must either reload the current world or visit another one.

Spatialize Audio

When selected, sounds seem to originate from left, right, behind, or forward. Choose an output device.

Max. number of simultaneous (non-MIDI) sounds

• Automatic - Sets the maximum number of non-MIDI sounds to equal the number in the world you're navigating.
• Custom: __ Sounds - Type the maximum number of non-MIDI sounds you want to allow. Performance may degrade when you set values above 6.

Automatic Muting

• Mute when window is not active - Turns off sounds in inactive windows.
• Never mute - Allows sounds to continue in inactive windows.

Graphics

Renderer Selection

The Cosmo Player renderer draws the 3D image. Your renderer may be software-only or it may also use hardware acceleration, if it is available on your system. Cosmo Player provides two renderers: OpenGL (an industry standard) and Direct3D (a Microsoft standard). Either renderer can use hardware acceleration. If your system has hardware acceleration for either OpenGL or Direct3D, Automatic Renderer Selection will choose the appropriate renderer for you.

Force Software-only Rendering

Choosing this option forces Cosmo Player to use only software rendering, even if your system has hardware acceleration.

Advanced

Examine Viewer Style

• Standard Examiner - The object always rotates in the direction of your mouse-drag.
• Virtual Trackball - Rotation depends on the point on the screen where you grabbed the object.

VRML Console Behavior

Determines when the VRML console is displayed (for VRML developers). Flashing yellow warning and red error lights on the dashboard are your signal to open the VRML console for messages.

• Show console on error or warning - Displays the VRML console when a VRML error or warning is encountered in the world.
• Show console on startup - Displays the VRML console whenever Cosmo Player starts.
• Display VRML Console now - Displays the VRML console. Keyboard equivalent:  \ (backslash).