Number Nine Computer Corp. PowerPac REFERENCE MANUAL For PowerPac Basics PowerPac Plus and PowerPac Professional SUPPORTS: AutoCAD / 386 R10, R11 and R12 AutoShade 2.0 Renderman and 3D Studio 1.0 and 2.0 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction PowerPac Features Matrix System Requirements CHAPTER 2: AUTOCAD/386 Installation Configuration AutoCAD Configuration Menu AutoCAD Releases 10 & 11 AutoCAD Release 12 Video Board Configuration Dual Monitor Mode Testing the Video Mode Entering Custom Configuration Exiting Basic Configuration Custom Configuration Entering Custom Configuration Custom Configuration Usage Exiting Custom Configuration Customizable Parameters Button Configuration Button Timing Button Command Selection Display List Options World Space Partitioning TRUE-Eraes Display List R12 Display List Sizes TRUE-Drags / TRUE-Rotates Dual Screen Options Dual Screen Modes Clear Graphics Screen on Exit Clear Graphics Screen on Shell Non Standard Text Screen Flip Options Flip Type Init on Shell Font Selection Rules of Thumb for Fonts Default Fonts Menu Color Scheme Palette Selection Screen Layout Number of Status Lines Width of Sidebar Menu Number of Command Lines Restore Factory Settings Restore Previous Settings POWERPAC COMMANDS ZW - Zoom Window ZV - Zoom VMAX ZP - Zoom Previous PZ - Previewed Zoom ZI - Zoom In ZO - Zoom Out ZC - Zoom Center ZCC - Zoom Center Continuous GC - Garbage Collect GCALL - Garbage Collect All RD - Redraw RDALL - Redraw All REGENMAX 9PAN 9EDG & 9EDGE BE & BIRDSEYE 9ICON 9PAL 9CONFIG 9STATUS 9HELP 9DL HotKey Interface Button Interface Zoom Window Previewed Zoom BirdsEye Zoom VMAX Zoom Center ICON Interface ICON Customization Panel Layout Title Bar Button Sections Button Definition Special Button Commands CHAPTER 3: 3D STUDIO 1.0 & 2.0 Installation Configuration Video Display Testing the Video Card Selection Font Selection Rules of Thumb for Fonts Configuration Tips Dual Screen Support Main Display Materials Editor Rendering Display RDPADI RCPADI Rendering Notes 3D Studio 1.0 Environment Variables 3D Studio 2.0 Environment Variables 3D Studio 1.0 Release Notes CHAPTER 4: AUTOSHADE 2.0 Installation Basic AutoShade Configuration Pointing Device Display Driver Video Display Testing the Video Card Selection Entering Custom Configuration Selecting a Rendering Driver AutoShade Questions Hardcopy APPENDICES Appendix A: Technical Notes Appendix B: Suggested Button Configurations Appendix C: Setting the NUMB9 Environment Variable Appendix D: Troubleshooting CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION PowerPac provides high color depth support for all ADI- based applications, and supports resolutions from 640 x 480 to 1600 x 1200 and color depths from 16 to 16.7 million displayable colors. PowerPac is a full featured, 32-bit display list driver. PowerPac has three basic user interfaces icons, mouse or digitizer buttons, and keyboard all fully customizable by you. PowerPac includes a programmable button interface, allowing you easy access to PowerPac's zoom and pan commands at the touch of a button. Certain versions feature a fully configurable BirdsEye window that can be sized and placed anywhere on the screen. You can display it permanently, or call it up only when you want it. It can be used to perform fast, regenless, dynamic zooms and pans around your drawing in real time. PowerPac ships with TRUE-Erase tm, real-time garbage collection technology. Unlike other drivers, you no longer have to worry about garbage being left in the display list from moves and erases. With PowerPac and TRUE-Erase there is no garbage. This maximizes memory usage and allows you even more speed when using AutoCAD. PowerPac will increase your productivity while reducing the interruptions in your train of thought. This guide will help you to properly install PowerPac and understand how to use its speed and features to your advantage. PowerPac is available in three upgradable configurations, Basic, Plus and Professional. PowerPac Basic provides 32-bit display list support and an advanced memory management system to accelerate pans, zooms, view and flip commands, as well as automatic garbage collection and Fast Feature Drag. The PowerPac Plus level includes all of the speed and features of the Basic version, and adds BirdsEye windows with dynamic panning and zooming, shortcut keyboard commands, a fixed pop-up ICON interface and a user- configurable mouse. The PowerPac Professional level offers all of the above features and speed of PowerPac Basic and Plus, as well as a fully configurable ICON interface and HotKeys. For details on how to upgrade to a higher level of PowerPac, contact: Number Nine Computer Corp. 18 Hartwell Ave. Lexington, MA. 02173 USA Phone: (617) 674-0009 FAX: (617) 674-2919 Note: For a description on what features are available in each level of PowerPac, see PowerPac Features Matrix below. POWERPAC FEATURES MATRIX PowerPac is available is three upgradable configurations. The following chart describes the features of each level of PowerPac. POWERPAC LEVEL: BASIC PLUS PROFES- SIONAL POWERPAC COMPATIBILITY: AutoCAD / 386 R10, R11 & R12 x x x AutoShade 2.0 (also with Renderman) x x x 3D Studio Version 1.0 and 2.0 x x x POWERPAC'S KEY FEATURES: Fast, 32-Bit Display List Processing x x x Configurable Mouse Button Interface x x Pop-Up BirdsEye Window(s) x x Multiple View Support x x Dynamic Zoom/Pan from BirdsEye x x Resizable / Relocatable BirdsEye x x Pop-Up, On-Screen ICON Interface x x Pre-Configured, ICON Menu(s) x x User-Configurable ICON Menu(s) x Hierarchical ICON Menus x User-Selectable ICON Menus x Configurable HotKey Interface x CUSTOM CONFIGURATION: Configurable Mouse Buttons x x Configurable Display List Options x x x Real-Time Garbage Collection x x x Dual Screen Options x x x Flip Screen Options x x x Selectable Menu Fonts x x x Modify Screen/Menu Colors x x x Modify Color Palette x x x Modify Screen Layout x x x POWERPAC COMMANDS: 9CONFIG (PowerPac Control Panel) x x x 9DL (Set Display List Options) x x x 9EDGE (Dynamic Edge Panning) x x 9HELP (On-Screen Help) x x x 9ICON (Pop-Up ICON Menu) x x 9KEY (Program HotKey) x 9PAL (Customize Color Palette) x x x 9PAN (Display List PAN) x x 9STATUS (Display List Status) x x x BE (Pop-Up BirdsEye Window) x x RD (Redraw) x x x RDALL (Redraw All Views) x x x GC (Garbage Collection) x x x GCALL (Garbage Collection All Views) x x x PZ (Previewed Zoom) x x REGENMAX (Set Max. Zoom Area) x x ZC (Zoom Center) x x ZCC (Zoom Center Continuous) x x ZI (Zoom In) x x ZO (Zoom Out) x x ZP (Zoom Previous) x x ZV (Zoom VMAX) x x x ZW (Zoom Windows) x x SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS To run PowerPac your computer system must be capable of running the intended AutoDesk protected-mode application. When PowerPac is being set up to run AutoCAD 386, we strongly recommend the use of additional memory. Autodesk recommends running AutoCAD 386, R10 and R11 with at least 4 Mb of memory and 8Mb for R12. We strongly recommend more than 4 Mb of memory to run at optimal performance with drawings of 300K to 400K in AutoCAD (8 Mb is a good all around configuration). For drawings over 2 Mb we suggest more than 8 Mb of memory for best performance. CHAPTER 2: AUTOCAD / 386 INSTALLATION To install PowerPac, insert the Number Nine PowerPac driver diskette into the "A" or "B" drive and type: A:INSTALL [Enter] or B:INSTALL [Enter] Follow the instructions given by the INSTALL program. Remember, if you do not install all options immediately, you can always run install again to add any options you desire, without having to re-install previously installed options. INSTALL will present a list of the Autodesk applications for which PowerPac may be installed. Using the (up) and (down) arrow keys, move the cursor to the desired application(s) and press the space bar to change the display from NO to YES. Once you have finished making your selections, press [Enter] to continue with installation. INSTALL will ask for the drive letter and path for the individual application you previously chose. If any directory is incorrectly specified or the correct executable files are not in the directory, INSTALL will issue a warning and give you the option to quit or continue with installation. Next, if INSTALL asks where to install the TI 340x0 support files, INSTALL will default to the directory which the TIGA environment variable is set to. Note: If the TIGA environment variable was set as follows, SET TIGA=-mC:\TIGA2 -lC:\TIGA2 -i0X60, the TI 340x0 files would be copied to the TIGA2 directory. Note: The #9GXE does not use TIGA as a graphics operating system. Not all Number Nine graphics boards support TIGA. Finally, INSTALL asks if you want to install the AutoPatch or NEWDX utilities. AutoPatch fixes some bugs in AutoCAD R10, R11 & 3D Studio which prevent PowerPac from working correctly. NEWDX updates your Autodesk application executable file with Phar Lap’s DOS Extender, version 2.6. PowerPac has some problems running with earlier versions of the DOS Extender. Once you have finished making your selections, INSTALL will tell you about any modifications that need to be made to your system. You have the choice of letting INSTALL make the changes automatically, making new files with the extension .NEW with the changes, or making the changes by hand. In all cases when a file is modified, the original version is backed-up with the filename extension of .BAK. After all the necessary files have been installed, INSTALL tells you that everything has been successfully installed and returns to the DOS prompt. If you have chosen to update the AUTOEXEC.BAT file you must reboot the computer for the changes to take effect. CONFIGURATION The PowerPac installation program will ask various questions about how to set up your system through a simple menu and windowing system. Pay close attention to the various text windows displayed during configuration since they display valuable information to help you customize PowerPac for your needs. AUTOCAD CONFIGURATION MENU AUTOCAD RELEASES 10 & 11 Before configuring AutoCAD for PowerPac be sure the AutoCAD environment variables have been properly set. Example AutoCAD R10 Environment Variables: SET ACAD=C:\ACADR10 SET ACADCFG=C:\ACADR10 SET DSPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET RDPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET RCPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG Example AutoCAD R11 Environment Variables: SET ACAD=C:\ACADR11 SET ACADCFG=C:\ACADR11 SET DSPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET RDPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET RCPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG Note: If you see the DOS error message "Out of Environment Space", you will need to increase the size of your environment as set in your CONFIG.SYS file. For example, shell=c:\command.com /p /e:1024 All PowerPac screen configurations take place within AutoCAD. To set up PowerPac as your display driver, enter AutoCAD as usual. When AutoCAD brings up its Main Menu, select Option 5, Configure AutoCAD, to begin the configuration process. AutoCAD will display your current configuration and prompt you to press [Enter]. After pressing [Enter], AutoCAD will take you to its configuration menu. In the configuration menu, Select Option 3, Configure Video Display, AutoCAD will display your current video mode and ask if you wish to select a new one. Press (Y)es [Enter] and choose number 1, ADI P386 v 4.0/4.1, from the next menu. After selecting the correct ADI P386 mode, PowerPac's AutoCAD Display Configuration title screen appears with bouncing boxes. If not, make sure that you have followed all the INSTALL instructions correctly. Press any key to continue. Now go to the Video Board Configuration section in this manual. AUTOCAD RELEASE 12 Before configuring AutoCAD for PowerPac, be sure that the AutoCAD R12 environment variables have been set properly. Sample AutoCAD R12 Environment Variables: SET ACAD=C:\ACAD\SUPPORT;C:\ACAD\FONTS SET ACADCFG=C:\ACAD SET ACADDRV=C:\ACAD\DRV SET DSPADI=C:\ACAD\DRV\RC9PLS.EXP SET RDPADI=C:\ACAD\DRV\RC9PLS.EXP SET RCPADI=C:\ACAD\DRV\RC9PLS.EXP SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG or SET NUMB9=C:\ACAD\NUMBER9.CFG To configure PowerPac with AutoCAD R12, enter AutoCAD's configuration menu by typing at the DOS prompt: ACAD -R [Enter] Be sure you are in the AutoCAD Release 12 directory. When the configuration menu appears, select Option 3, Configure Video Display. AutoCAD displays a list of all the possible video modes. Select the option on the list which matches your PowerPac driver. Number9 PowerPac Basic Number9 PowerPac Plus Number9 PowerPac Professional After selecting the correct driver, PowerPac’s AutoCAD Display Configuration title screen appears with bouncing boxes. If not, make sure that you have followed all the INSTALL instructions correctly. Press any key to continue. Now go to the Video Board Configuration section for more instructions. VIDEO BOARD CONFIGURATION The next screen will display your current video mode and whether you are set up for single or dual monitor operation. At this point, a warning screen may appear instead of the Video Configuration screen. This is warning that no configuration file is found. This is normal if you have never previously configured PowerPac. If you have already configured PowerPac in the past but it still cannot find your configuration file, you may need to set your NUMB9 environment variable. See Appendix C for more information. PowerPac then asks if you want to change your current video mode. To change your video mode, answer (Y)es. PowerPac will present a list of supported Number Nine graphics boards. Using the arrow keys, highlight your specific Number Nine video board and press [Enter] to select. Note: If you are using a Pepper Pro1280, you must have a DUAL MONITOR environment for the board to function properly. If a #9GX is being used, the AutoCAD F1 flip- screen will function properly in a single-screen environment only if the #9 VGA loop-through feature is enabled or the #9 VGA Module is present. Once you have selected the proper Number Nine graphics board, PowerPac displays a list of resolutions available with your graphics board. Use the same method to pick the resolution as you did previously for the video board. Be sure to choose a resolution and color depth which is supported by your particular Number Nine board. Refer to the Number Nine utilities programs or run TIGAMODE.EXE for a list of resolutions supported by your graphics board. DUAL MONITOR MODE PowerPac then asks if you want to operate in single (S) or dual (D) monitor mode. If you have two monitors and two video boards in your system you may use dual monitor mode to display text on one monitor and graphics on the other. Note: If you are using a Pepper Pro1280 or a #9GX without a VGA-Module or VGA loop-through, you must have a dual- monitor environment. If you are using a #9GXE, dual-monitor environment is only supported if you use a Monochrome board for the text display. TESTING THE VIDEO MODE After selecting the new video mode and display options, PowerPac gives you the opportunity to test the video mode. When PowerPac asks if you wish to test the video mode, answer (Y)es or (N)o as appropriate. If you answered (Y)es, PowerPac will display a warning message. Should your system hang, simply reboot and select a different video mode. PowerPac may also warn that you have selected a video mode that does not work with the board in your system. If this is the case, verify that you selected the correct card and that your board is installed correctly. If everything is correct, you should see the a symmetrical test pattern showing your current video mode and resolution. If your screen is blank or garbled there may be a problem with your video card or your monitor. Be sure that your video card and monitor can support the desired resolution, color, depth and monitor refresh settings. Press any key to exit the video test. Some cards may not come up immediately. They take a few seconds to sync before displaying a test pattern. PowerPac then asks whether the test screen looked correct. If so, answer (Y)es, otherwise press (N)o and select another video mode. Note: Choose a video mode supported by the specific Number Nine graphics board that is installed. Unsupported video modes will cause the video test screen to display incorrectly. Wait 10 seconds, then choose a valid video mode. ENTERING CUSTOM CONFIGURATION Once you have finished selecting and testing the video mode, PowerPac asks whether you want to enter custom configuration. Custom Configuration allows you to set the buttons on your pointing device, select different menu fonts, customize your screen colors, control some display list options, etc. If you wish to enter Custom Configuration, answer (Y)es. PowerPac will bring you to the Custom Configuration menu. The options available include: Button Configuration (Plus and Professional levels only) Display List Options Dual Screen Options Flip Options Font Selection Menu Color Scheme Palette Selection Screen Layout Refer to the next section for detailed information about each of these Custom Configuration options. If you don't wish to enter Custom Configuration at this time, press (N)o. This will end Basic Configuration. At this point, PowerPac will save your configuration file with whatever changes you have made. It will create a new configuration file with your custom settings if one did not previously exist. This file is created and placed in the path specified by the NUMB9 environmental variable, or, if no variable exists, it will be created in the same directory that ACAD.CFG exists. EXITING BASIC CONFIGURATION After completing PowerPac's Basic Configuration, you are taken back to AutoCAD’s video display configuration section. You will be asked several questions about the following: Aspect Ratio Status Line Command Prompt Screen Menu Area To leave each option unchanged, simply press [Enter] as the response to each question. Refer to AutoCAD Manual for more information on these features. CUSTOM CONFIGURATION PowerPac allows you to customize a variety of options for AutoCAD. PowerPac's Custom Configuration, unlike many drivers', is available to the user from within the drawing editor of AutoCAD. You can customize PowerPac and your display as you edit your drawing. The following parameters may be changed with PowerPac's Custom Configuration as needed: Button Configuration Display List Options Dual Screen Options Flip Options Font Selection Menu Color Scheme Palette Selection Screen Layout Additionally, PowerPac provides: Restore Factory Settings Restore Previous Settings Note: Each application requires a separate NUMBER9.CFG file. Unless the environment variable NUMB9 is used to control different configuration files, all changes to Custom Configuration affect PowerPac operation under AutoCAD, AutoShade and Autodesk 3D Studio simultaneously. ENTERING CUSTOM CONFIGURATION There are two methods for activating PowerPac’s Custom Configuration process (commonly called Advanced Config or 9CONFIG). First, you can enter it through the Basic Configuration. After you have finished configuring your video board, you will be asked if you would like to enter Custom Configuration. Press (Y)es or (N)o as appropriate. Alternately, you can enter it from the AutoCAD Drawing Editor command prompt by typing: Command: 9CONFIG [Enter] Once you have entered PowerPac’s Custom Configuration, the main menu appears. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to highlight the appropriate entry and then press [Enter] to select. In many cases you will be asked to enter a value in response to a question. The first letter is sufficient to enter the option most of the time. To leave an option unchanged, simply press [Enter] to skip over it. You can exit a menu at any time by pressing (Esc). EXITING CUSTOM CONFIGURATION After you have finished making the necessary changes, simply return to 9CONFIG’s main menu and then press (Esc) or select Exit from the bottom on the menu. PowerPac asks if you want to save your changes. Respond (Y)es or (N)o. If you answer (N)o, PowerPac will discard all the changes you just made while in 9CONFIG. If you entered Custom Configuration from Basic Configuration you will automatically proceed to the next stage of configuration. If you entered 9CONFIG from the AutoCAD drawing editor, you will return to the drawing editor. All changes will appear immediately except any new font selection or any changes you made to the size of your command line, status bar and sidebar. AutoCAD must be reinitialized to make these changes. To reinitialize AutoCAD, exit the drawing editor using the Quit or End commands. Then reenter the Drawing Editor for your changes to take effect. Note: When changing the width of the sidebar menu, you must recompile your ACAD.MNU file for the change to take effect. See Width of Sidebar Menu under Custom Configuration for more information. Note: If the display list is disabled, all PowerPac's commands are disabled. To reenable the display list, you must enter Custom Configuration through AutoCAD’s Basic Configuration and select display list options, since the 9CONFIG command will not be active when the display list is disabled. CUSTOMIZABLE PARAMETERS 9CONFIG provides the following customizable parameters: Button Configuration Display List Options Dual Screen Options Flip Options Font Selection Menu Color Scheme Palette Selection Screen Layout BUTTON CONFIGURATION PowerPac Plus tm and PowerPac Professional tm versions allow complete control of the button interface through this option in Custom Configuration. The first screen asks you to specify button timing. After completing this section, PowerPac enters the button configuration section where you can configure your actual buttons. For more information on how to set up your buttons for different pointing devices, see Appendix B. BUTTON TIMING Button timing refers to the maximum time PowerPac allows between clicks on a double click or the minimum time you will need to hold down a button during a long press. The timing units are in 1/18ths of a second. You can set the value anywhere from 1 to 18. We suggest a value from 4-6. It is difficult to do a double click quickly with many digitizers. If you are using a digitizer, set your button timing a little higher to help offset this difficulty. To set the button timing, enter the time in the space provided and press [Enter] BUTTON COMMAND SELECTION PowerPac allows you to program you mouse or digitizer buttons with seven of PowerPac’s most popular functions: icons, zoom window, previewed zoom, zoom all, zoom previous, and BirdsEye window. You can program any command to work on any button with (or without) a combination of the (Shift), (Ctrl), or (Alt) keys. The seven PowerPac functions which are currently configurable here are: ICON (bring up the icon menu) Zoom Window (regenless) Previewed Zoom (regenless) BirdsEye (activate the BirdsEye window) Zoom Previous (regenless) Zoom VMAX (regenless) Zoom Center The four button click options are: Click (single button click) LPress (long button press) DClick (double button click) DLPress (single click followed by a long press). Additionally, you may opt to configure your buttons to work in conjunction with the (Shift), (Ctrl), or (Alt) keys (or any combination thereof) on the keyboard with the Shift Keys selection. You may select from a choice of: None Left (Shift) Right (Shift) (Ctrl) (Alt) Any (Shift) Any (Shift) & (Ctrl) Any (Shift) & (Alt) (Ctrl) & (Alt) Any (Shift), (Ctrl) & (Alt) Any (Shift), (Ctrl) or (Alt) Any two of (Shift), (Ctrl) or (Alt) Any combination of (Shift), (Ctrl) or (Alt) (including individual presses) There will be a highlighted cursor in the top left which can be moved around the button assignment table using the arrow keys. To configure a button for a specific function, make sure that your cursor is in the row next to the desired function and make sure that it is in the correct column for the appropriate button click type. Then, enter the button number to which to assign the command (for numbers greater than 9, use the (+) and (-) keys to scroll to higher numbers). Additionally, if you wish to activate the PowerPac command in conjunction with a special key combination, use the (Tab) key to scroll through the available options in the Shift Key window. You can scroll backward through the list using (Shift)-(Tab). For instance, to have PowerPac's Zoom Window assigned to your third button with a double click in conjunction with the Left Shift Key, move the cursor to the Zoom Window row, beneath DClick. Press (3) to assign the button number, and use the (Tab) key to scroll through the Shift Key options until LShift appears. If you have more than nine buttons on your digitizer or mouse, you may use the (+) and (-) keys to scroll through the available button numbers and to choose larger numbers. Additionally, you may use the letter keys to do the same thing (A=10, B=11, etc.). Once you have finished making the necessary changes to your button configuration, press (Esc) to return to the Custom Configuration main menu. DISPLAY LIST OPTIONS PowerPac has several options which can be used to control the operation of its display list. For a detailed discussion about Display List Technology see Appendix A, Technical Notes. PowerPac's display list options are: World Space Partitioning (supported with PowerPac Professional) TRUE-Erase Display List R12 Display List Size TRUE-Drag and TRUE-Rotate WORLD SPACE PARTITIONING World Space Partitioning, supported with PowerPac Professional only, is a method by which PowerPac orders the display list so that it can be transferred to the screen as fast as possible during a redraw. This feature partitions your drawing into blocks which can then be drawn very quickly. The only drawback is that by doing this, PowerPac reorders the way in which the vectors are drawn. If your drawing is dependent on that order (such as solids which need to be "underneath" other objects), you will want to turn World Space Partitioning off. PowerPac is shipped with World Space Partitioning on. To turn it off, type (N)o. To turn it on again, type (Y)es. When you turn World Space Partitioning off, do a regen to reorder the display list correctly. Note: CAD Overlay users should turn World Space Partitioning off. CAD Overlay requires a strict display list order for some functions. TRUE-ERASE This option will allow you to toggle PowerPac's TRUE-Erase real-time garbage collection feature on and off. When TRUE-Erase is active and you perform any erase-type command (erase, move, rotate, etc.), PowerPac will automatically remove all garbage data from the display list in real-time with virtually no speed penalty! If you wish PowerPac to operate like other drivers, you can turn off TRUE-Erase and simply use the built-in GC command to do manual garbage cleanup. To turn off TRUE-Erase answer (N)o in the space provided. Unless instructed to do so by a 3rd party AutoCAD utility software vendor, there is no reason to turn TRUE-Erase off. Note: CAD Overlay users should turn off TRUE-Erase. CAD Overlay requires black vectors for some functions. You can also toggle TRUE-Erase on and off by using the GC or GCALL commands from the command line. You do this by typing: GC=Y (Enable) or GC=N (Disable) DISPLAY LIST The Display List option allows you to disable the display list acceleration provided by PowerPac. The net effect is to remove all acceleration and shorthand zoom commands from operation as well as disabling the BirdsEye window. There are three possible ways to set the display-list: On, Off, and Fake. To enable the display-list, enter (E) in the space provided. To disable the display list, enter (D) in the space provided. PowerPac also allows you to fool AutoCAD into thinking you are running with an active display list by using its "fake" mode by entering (F) in the space provided. We advise you not to use PowerPac’s fake mode under AutoCAD/386 R10 and 11 since it is prohibitively slow. R12 DISPLAY LIST SIZE PowerPac allows you to define the size of your display list under AutoCAD R12. You can choose either a 16-bit or 32- bit display list. A 32-bit display list takes up a little more memory but allows true regenless zooms and pans, as opposed to a 16-bit display list which has a definite zoom boundary at about 40 times magnification. With a 32-bit display list, you could zoom a drawing of the entire solar system drawn to scale down to read 3 inch letters. To activate the 32-bit display list, move the cursor to highlight the R12 Display List Size option and type (3) in the space provided. To activate the 16-bit display list, move the cursor to highlight the R12 Display List Size option and type (1) in the space provided. TRUE-DRAG / TRUE-ROTATE PowerPac includes two unique features which make it much easier to move and rotate objects. TRUE-Drag allows you to actually see a selection set when you are moving it around the screen using the MOVE command. Under normal conditions, when a move is performed, the user has to place an object and then pause to wait for a slow redraw of the entire object. Each time the object is repositioned, you have to wait for the redraw so that you can see what you are moving. TRUE-Drag, eliminates this repetitive redrawing. Wait for the image to completely redraw once and then the entire image can be smoothly moved with no redraw. Note: Please note that if a perspective viewport is being currently displayed, TRUE-Drag is automatically turned off until that viewport is removed. TRUE-Rotate allows you to see a 3D object that you are rotating. When rotating an object with polygonal faces, the object dimly flickers when you are rotating it, and disappears completely when you pause. This makes the object very difficult to correctly orient correctly. TRUE-Rotate solves this problem and allows you to see the object you are rotating, in full color. To turn these options on or off, answer yes or no as appropriate by entering (Y)es or (N)o in the space provided. For a complete discussion of TRUE-Rotate and TRUE-Drag, see Appendix A, Technical Notes. DUAL SCREEN OPTIONS PowerPac can be configured for dual monitors, one for your drawing editor and one for your text screen. There are four settings that control PowerPac’s dual monitor actions: Dual Screen Modes Clear Graphics Screen on Exit Clear Graphics Screen on Shell Non Standard Text Screen DUAL SCREEN MODES PowerPac provides two dual screen implementations: Enhanced Mode and True Mode Enhanced mode allows a command line to appear on the graphics screen (if you want one) and will run some script files faster. Enhanced mode does not allow you to reprogram the (F1) key. If you prefer to reprogram the (F1) key, you may have to use True Mode. Note: By using PowerPac Professional's hot keys, you may reprogram the (F1) key and still use enhanced mode. True mode ((T)) is the true AutoCAD dual screen mode that allows only a single prompt line without a graphics command area. Reprogramming the (F1) key is fully supported. CLEAR GRAPHICS SCREEN ON EXIT When exiting the drawing editor while running PowerPac in dual screen mode, you have the option of leaving the graphics screen with the last graphics image still displayed. To leave the graphics screen on when you exit the drawing editor, type (N)o in the space provided. If you would like PowerPac to clear the graphics display when you exit the drawing editor, type (Y)es in the space provided. Leaving the graphics screen active is especially handy for referring to the drawing while running another program on the system such as a word processor. This selection allows Number Nine graphics boards with a VGA daughter card to enable VGA pass-through mode. Note: If you leave the graphics screen active after leaving AutoCAD, other programs may not be able to correctly use that screen without first rebooting your system. CLEAR GRAPHICS SCREEN ON SHELL You also have the option to control the graphics screen while in a DOS shell within AutoCAD. It works much the same way as Clear Graphics Screen on Exit, except that it is controlled independently. You could have the graphics screen up while in a shell, clearing it after exiting AutoCAD (or vice versa). To have the graphics screen cleared during a shell, type (Y)es in the space provided. To display the graphics screen during a shell type (N)o in the space provided. This selection allows Number Nine graphics boards with a VGA daughter card to enable VGA pass-through mode. NON STANDARD TEXT SCREEN If you are using a video board which supports a non- standard text screen (i.e. 80 x 43 or 80 x 50 resolutions) and you want your text screen to remain at the higher resolution, you will need to activate this feature. If this feature is not set, your text screen will default to 80 x 25, and may not be reset correctly when you exit AutoCAD. To activate the Non Standard Text Screen, move you cursor to highlight the appropriate option and enter (Y)es in the space provided. To disable the Non Standard Text Screen, move you cursor to highlight the appropriate option and enter (N)o in the space provided. FLIP OPTIONS PowerPac provides three different ways to flip the screen between graphics and text mode in the drawing editor. These controlled by three settings: Flip Type Init on Flip Init on Shell FLIP TYPE There are four methods which PowerPac can use to perform a flip: full blit mode, partial redraw mode, full redraw mode, and independent mode. For those customers that don’t have enough memory, we have provided several alternatives. You can use the partial redraw mode ((P)) which stores the actual drawing space during a flip (or shell), but redraws the screen menus each time. This saves some memory and is still very fast. In general, the partial blit option provides almost identical speed at the full blit option, but saves memory. Another method, which saves the most memory is full redraw mode ((R)). This mode doesn’t save any of the screen. It does an actual redraw each time you come back from a flip. On smaller drawings, this option may actually be faster than the full or partial blit options depending on the amount of memory and the type of video board. When using a Number Nine board in a single screen system, flipping is handled by the graphics board itself, so you should set your Flip Type to Independent ((I)). INIT ON SHELL If your graphics screen is corrupted when returning to the drawing editor, you may need to turn on this option. To turn on this option, answer (Y)es in the space provided. Note: Setting this option to (Y)es allows the TIGA TSR’s to be used on the text screen. If there is not a problem with text flips on your graphics board, set this option to (N)o to save time on your text flips and shells. Note: This option is similar to the Init on Flip described above, except that it applies only to shells. This option would also apply if you run a graphics application in your AutoCAD shell. Enabling this option will cause the Number Nine operating system to be completely reloaded. To turn it on, enter (Y)es into the space provided. FONT SELECTION PowerPac provides a wide variety of menu fonts and font sizes. When selecting a font, keep in mind your current resolution and the legibility of the font. To change the desired font, use the (PgUp), (PgDn), and arrow keys to select your desired font and press [Enter]. If you entered 9CONFIG from within the AutoCAD drawing editor, you will have to exit the drawing editor before the font change will take effect. RULES OF THUMB FOR FONTS 15 pixels wide x 32 pixels high These fonts are recommended for use at 1600 x 1200 and higher resolutions. Most Autodesk applications will function with these fonts at 1280 x 1024 or higher. 11 x 21 & 12 x 26 These fonts are recommended for use at 1280 x 1024 resolution. Most Autodesk applications will support these fonts at 1024 x 768 or above. 10 x 16 & 10 x 18 These fonts are recommended for use at 1024 x 768 resolution. Most Autodesk applications will support them at 800 x 600 or above. 8 x 12, 8 x 14 & 8 x 16 These are good, general purpose fonts at all resolutions. They are recommended for 800 x 600 and 640 x 480. At higher resolutions they may be too small for some purposes, but are nevertheless very useful. 5 x 7, 5 x 8, 6 x 8, 8 x 8 & 8 x 10 These fonts are recommended for resolution of 640 x 480 or below. DEFAULT FONTS Depending on the resolution selected with your Number Nine graphics board, PowerPac selects an appropriate font automatically. MENU COLOR SCHEME PowerPac allows you to change your display colors in the following categories: Alert Boxes Background/Cursor Command/Status Lines Dialog Boxes Side Menus Pull-down Menus When you select the Menu Color Scheme option, PowerPac presents a submenu of the above options. Select the one you wish to modify and press [Enter]. For each selection, you are presented with a submenu containing the specific item. There is a space on the right of each option where you can enter a color number. Depending on the palette you are using, you can select a number from 0 to 15 or 0 to 255. The names of the first 8 colors are listed on the left of the screen for reference. To view all available colors with the appropriate numbers, load the AutoCAD drawing COLORWH.DWG. PALETTE SELECTION PowerPac currently provides six color palettes from which to choose: AutoCAD 16 AutoCAD 256 256 ADESK 256 ADI 256-16-ADI 256-16-ADESK Custom To change the color palette, use (up) and (down) arrows to highlight the appropriate palette and press [Enter]. To view the palettes, load the CHROMA.DWG drawing in AutoCAD and view it with each palette. Typically you will only use AutoCAD 16 & AutoCAD 256. The other palette options are provided for compatibility with earlier versions of PowerPac. PowerPac's 9PAL can be used to change the palette values in the drawing editor and save them to the Custom palette. For more information on this command, see later in this chapter on 9PAL. SCREEN LAYOUT PowerPac allows you to customize your AutoCAD screen. After you have selected screen layout from custom configuration, PowerPac will present various options: Number of Status Lines Width of Sidebar Menu Number of Command Lines NUMBER OF STATUS LINES PowerPac allows either one or two status lines across the top of the AutoCAD drawing editor. With a single status line, the cursor must be moved into the area for the pull-down menu titles to appear. With two lines, the pull-down menu titles continue to show after entering the pull down area. To change the number of status lines, enter the appropriate number into the space provided. To eliminate the status line completely, answer (N)o when AutoCAD asks about a status line, immediately after Basic Configuration. Note: It is normal to have a blank status line (i.e. no menu names) until you move the cursor into it for the first time. WIDTH OF SIDEBAR MENU PowerPac allows you to control the width of your sidebar menu. This will enable you to change the number of characters in each entry on your sidebar menu. To change the width of your sidebar, enter the appropriate number of screen characters in the space provided. The sidebar must be set to a value between 4 and 32 characters wide. To eliminate the sidebar completely, answer (N)o when AutoCAD asks about a sidebar menu, immediately after Basic Configuration. Note: You will need to recompile your ACAD.MNU file when changing the sidebar width, otherwise your sidebar menu will not be displayed correctly. NUMBER OF COMMAND LINES You may also choose from 0 to 25 command lines at the bottom of your AutoCAD screen. The fewer the lines the faster the scroll rate. By entering 0 you will eliminate the command line altogether. This is only appropriate with dual monitors. To change the number of command lines, enter the appropriate number into the space provided. RESTORE FACTORY SETTINGS This function resets all of the Custom Configuration parameters to the original defaults. It will only affect those parameters set in this section and has no affect on those that are part of Basic Configuration. To restore the original settings, highlight the Restore Factory Settings option on your Custom Configuration main menu and press [Enter]. PowerPac then asks if you are sure you want to do this. Answer appropriately with (Y)es or (N)o and again press [Enter]. Restore Previous Settings This function resets Custom Configuration parameters to the settings prior to entering 9CONFIG. Again, this function only affects the Custom Configuration parameters and not those set in Basic Configuration. To restore the previous settings, simply highlight Restore Previous Settings on your Custom Configuration main menu and press [Enter]. PowerPac will ask if you are sure you want to do this. Answer (Y)es or (N)o as appropriate. POWERPAC COMMANDS Many of PowerPac's special features can be accessed through simple commands which are entered on the command line in the AutoCAD drawing editor. Note: To determine which PowerPac command is enabled for a specific level of PowerPac, see Chapter 1, PowerPac Features Matrix. ZW - ZOOM WINDOW ZW is PowerPac's shorthand for the Zoom Window command. After entering ZW at the command prompt, pick the opposite corners of your desired zoom window just as you would with AutoCAD's Zoom Window command. ZW is transparent, so it can be used in the middle of many functions by appending an apostrophe to the beginning ('ZW) on the command line. ZW is fully regen protected. It will display the closest possible view without doing a regen. It is impossible to perform a regen using the ZW command. ZV - ZOOM VMAX After entering ZV at the command prompt, PowerPac will perform a fast Zoom VMAX, showing your entire drawing (based on the last regen), just as you would see with AutoCAD's R11’s Zoom VMAX command. ZV is transparent so it can be used in the middle of many commands, by appending an apostrophe to the beginning ('ZV) on the command line. ZV gives AutoCAD R10 the same function as AutoCAD R11’s Zoom VMAX command. ZP - ZOOM PREVIOUS ZP is PowerPac's shorthand for the Zoom Previous command. After entering ZP at the command prompt, PowerPac will immediately display your previous zoom level. ZP stores up to 32 zooms that have previously occurred. ZP is a circular command; once you go past the last stored zoom level (up to 32), ZP cycles back to the first stored zoom level. ZP is transparent, so it can be used in the middle of many command, by appending an apostrophe to the beginning ('ZP) on the command line. There is an individual ZP list for each active viewport on the screen. When a viewport is first created, all 32 views are set to the world view. The views are never cleared unless the viewport is erased or recreated. You can manually reset all stored ZP views back to the world view by typing; ZP=C[Enter] PZ - PREVIEWED ZOOM PZ is the shorthand for PowerPac's Previewed Zoom command. After entering PZ at the command prompt, pick the opposite corners of your desired zoom window just as you would with AutoCAD's Zoom Window command. Upon picking your second point, PowerPac will display a moveable box which will be the screen boundary of your new zoom. Place it as desired and press the pick button to zoom. PZ is transparent, so it can be used in the middle of many commands, by appending an apostrophe to the beginning ('PZ) on the command line. ZI - ZOOM IN ZI is one of PowerPac's zooming commands. After entering ZI at the command prompt, PowerPac will magnify your drawing by a certain amount with the drawing elements at the center of your screen remaining the center. ZI is transparent command so it can be used in the middle of many commands. All you need do is add an apostrophe to the beginning ('ZI) on the command line. The default value for ZI is 1.5. If you just enter ZI at the command prompt, PowerPac will use 1.5x as the magnification factor. To zoom to a different level, specify the magnification factor at the command prompt: ZI=2.3 This would magnify your drawing 2.3 times. If you were to specify a value for ZI which is less than 1 (e.g. ZI=.5) you are, in effect, causing your drawing to be zoomed out by the reciprocal amount (ZI=.5 is the same as ZO=2). ZO - ZOOM OUT ZO is one of PowerPac's zooming commands. After entering ZO at the command prompt, PowerPac will reduce your drawing by a designated factor with the drawing elements at the center of your screen remaining the center. ZO is transparent, so it can be used in the middle of many commands by appending an apostrophe to the beginning of the command line ('ZO). The default value for ZO is 1.5. If you just enter ZO at the command prompt, PowerPac will zoom out, reducing your drawing 1.5 times. To zoom to a different level, you can specify the reduction factor at the command prompt: ZO=2.3 This would reduce your drawing 2.3 times. If you were to specify a value for ZO which is less than 1 (e.g. ZO=.5) you are, in effect, causing your drawing to be zoomed in by the reciprocal amount (ZO=.5 is the same as ZI=2). ZC - ZOOM CENTER PowerPac's ZC (Zoom Center) command is a shorthand, regenless method of panning your drawing short distances. To activate Zoom Center, type ZC at the command prompt. Position the crosshairs where you want the new center of your screen to be and press the pick button. The screen will immediately display the new view. ZC is transparent, so it can be used in the middle of many commands by appending an apostrophe to the beginning of the command line ('ZC). ZCC - ZOOM CENTER CONTINUOUS ZCC is just like PowerPac's ZC command except that it allows multiple ZC’s to be activated without retyping the command. Enter ZCC and, using the pick button, select the new center of the display until you are satisfied. To exit ZCC, you need to press any other button on your pointing device. This will return you to the command prompt. Just as with ZC, ZCC is fully regen protected and transparent. To access the ZCC within most other commands, prefix it with an apostrophe ('ZCC). GC - GARBAGE COLLECT GC is PowerPac's Garbage Collection command for a single viewport. You will rarely have to use this command if you have PowerPac's TRUE-Erase activated. In rare cases, it is possible for TRUE-Erase to make a mistake and erase the wrong vector. For example, if you have multiple vectors occupying the same space and you erase one by selecting it and using the AutoCAD Erase command. Both AutoCAD and TRUE-Erase assume you are removing the top vector, but if you make a copy of the group of contiguous vectors, AutoCAD reverses the order they are drawn, making the top vector for AutoCAD the bottom vector in PowerPac’s display list. It is difficult for PowerPac to distinguish between vectors that are in the same place. The GC command, on the other hand, requests a whole new display list from AutoCAD. If you do this after the suspect Erase, both PowerPac's display-list and AutoCAD's database will be in sync. After lengthy edit sessions, it is possible for the display list memory to become partially fragmented. Using the GC command will slightly reduce the memory usage of the driver by replacing the display list with a new one. The GC command is also used to enable or disable the TRUE-Erase feature. You may do this by typing: GC=Y (Enable) or GC=N (Disable) You may wish to disable the TRUE-Erase feature World Space Partitioning when using add-on products such as Cad-Overlay. You may also toggle World Space Partitioning on and off from the AutoCAD command line by using PowerPac’s GC command: GC=,Y (Enable) or GC=,N (Disable) TRUE-Erase and World Space Partitioning can both be toggled on and off using a single GC command by combining the two options: GC=Y,Y (Enable Both) GC=Y,N (Enable TRUE-Erase and disable W.S. Partitioning) GC=N,Y (Disable TRUE-Erase and enable W.S. Partitioning) or GC=N,N (Disable Both) GCALL - GARBAGE COLLECT ALL This is identical to the GC command described above except that it effects all viewports, as opposed to only the active one. The GCALL command may also be used to enable or disable the TRUE-Erase and World Space Partitioning features as described by the GC command above. RD - REDRAW This is PowerPac's shorthand for the AutoCAD Redraw command. It is identical in every way to Redraw. It simply gives you a quick command to redraw the screen to remove any garbage there. RD applies to the active viewport only. RDALL - Redraw All RDALL (or RDA) is the same as PowerPac’s RD command, except that it applies to all viewports, not just the active one. REGENMAX PowerPac's REGENMAX command takes the current zoom level and performs a regen so that the view is the largest possible without a regen. The REGENMAX command can also be used to increase the size of the image in the BirdsEye window. To do this, size the drawing within a view box to maximum size. Execute the REGENMAX command. The next time the BirdsEye window is called up, the image will fill the BirdsEye window. Note: REGENMAX side effects: R11: An empty layer called _ _ _ ZZ _ EMPTY may be created. Due to a complex interaction between the VPOINT location and 3D limits, this command may not always regen exactly at the current zoom level under AutoCAD R11. Under R11, depending upon the number of layers in your drawing, REGENMAX may take a long time. DO NOT ABORT THIS COMMAND with a ^C, as this may leave your limits and viewports in an indeterminate state. REGENMAX can be extremely useful in R12 to control the maximum zoom size of a drawing which is sometimes much smaller than the entire available drawing area. 9PAN The 9PAN command tells PowerPac which direction you would like it to pan the screen. The format of the command is: 9PAN=DIRECTION {,distance} DIRECTION is the direction in which you wish the screen to pan. Figure 2.3 below illustrates the appropriate values for DIRECTION. DISTANCE is an optional parameter which tells PowerPac how far to pan the screen. This is measured in 1/32 viewport distances. The default value is 4, so if you omit the dist parameter, 9PAN will pan in increments of 1/8 the width/height of the current viewport. As an example, to pan the screen half a screen width to the left, use: 9PAN=4,16[Enter] 9PAN is tedious to use by itself, but is perfect in conjunction with PowerPac's HotKey interface. You can program the cursor keys on your numeric keypad (or any other keys you desire) to activate the 9PAN command in the appropriate direction. The default HotKeys are programmed so that the cursor keys, when used in conjunction with (Ctrl), use the 9PAN command to pan the screen in all eight directions, i.e. 1 - 8. 9EDG & 9EDGE An alternate method of real-time panning is PowerPac's automatic edge panning. By moving your crosshairs into the small margin at the edge of the drawing editor, the screen will automatically pan in that direction until you remove the cursor from the edge, or the drawing boundary is reached. It is possible to pan the screen in any of eight directions, depending on where you move your crosshairs. As the crosshairs move into the panning margin, EDGEPAN appears at the bottom of the sidebar menu. PowerPac will not pan if the drawing is at the edge of the current regen limits or is at Zoom VMAX. Edgepanning is initially disabled. To activate edgepanning, type at the command prompt: 9EDGE=Y[Enter] This will activate the PowerPac's edgepanning with the default settings. To change the settings, simply type 9EDGE at the command prompt and press [Enter]. PowerPac will ask you five questions: Enable EDGEPAN? : This enables you to turn edgepanning on and off. Answer (Y)es or (N)o as appropriate. EDGEPAN pan distance (in 1/32 screen increments)? <3>: This question asks how far each pan "frame" should be from the next. This is measured in screen increments (a fraction of the screen width or height). For instance, to have edgepanning move half a screen at a time, answer 16 for this question. The default value is 3. The possible values range from 1 to 32. EDGEPAN start delay time (in 1/18 second increments)? <16>: This question allows you to define the amount of time PowerPac waits while the crosshairs are in the edgepanning region before edgepanning starts. This allows a pause which you can define, allowing time for you to move your crosshairs across the edgepanning region into the menu area, for instance. This is measured 1/18 second increments (enter 9 for a half second delay). The default value is 16. The possible values range from 1 to 99. EDGEPAN movement delay time (in 1/18 second increments)? <3>: This question sets the time PowerPac pauses between each edgepan "frame". It controls the speed of the pan around your drawing. It is measured in 1/18 second increments and defaults to 3. The possible values range from 0 to 99. Save current settings? : This option allows you to save the current setting of 9EDGE into your configuration file so that edgepanning is configured the same next time you enter the drawing editor. This option also save the active state of edgepanning. Enter (Y)es or (N)o as appropriate. There is an optional command line format for 9EDGE which allows you to define all of the available edgepanning options in a single command line. This is an ideal format for script files and for adding to PowerPac's ICON or HotKey interface. 9EDGE=Enable,Pan Distance,Delay,Pan Speed,Save [Enter] 9EDG is a shorthand version of 9EDGE which works identically. BE & BIRDSEYE PowerPac Plus and Professional have a fully customizable BirdsEye window which can be configured and activated through the BE and BIRDSEYE commands. The BE and BIRDSEYE command are identical in use and operation. To configure the BirdsEye, type at the command line: BE [Enter] A rubber band box will appear which represents the outline of the BirdsEye. It can be sized using either the (+) and (-) keys or buttons 2 and 3 on your pointing device and can be positioned using your pointing device. Once you have sized and placed the BirdsEye, use the pick button to activate it. Once the BirdsEye has been configured it will come up in the same place and size. To resize or move the BirdsEye, use the BE=T [Enter] command. Use the BE command to quickly enter it from the keyboard or use a single click of button 3 on your pointing device while holding down either (Shift) key. Once inside the BirdsEye, you can use your mouse or digitizer to zoom and pan. For more information on the usage of the BirdsEye, see Button Interface later in this chapter. To exit the BirdsEye simply press any key on the keyboard. The (Esc) key is recommended since it leaves no echo on the command line. To turn the BirdsEye off, type the following at the command line: BE=O[Enter] PowerPac's BirdsEye Windows can also be accessed and used through a set of mouse or digitizer button commands. For complete instructions on these button commands, see the section on PowerPac’s Button Interface later in this chapter. 9ICON 9ICON is the shorthand keyboard command to activate PowerPac's ICON menu system. This command is available only in the Plus and Professional versions of PowerPac. Ordinarily, you would use PowerPac’s button interface to activate and use the icon menus, but 9ICON allows you to activate specific menus and also to compile new icon menus. An example of the PowerPac Professional ICON menu is shown below. 9ICON has the following options: 9ICON [Enter] (Access icons) 9ICON=R,FILENAME [Enter](Recompiles and/or loads a new ICON Menu) Note: The =R,FILENAME option is only available with PowerPac Professional) Note: Creating and recompiling new ICON menus is only available with PowerPac Professional. For PowerPac Professional users who want to reprogram their own custom ICON Interface, see ICON Interface and ICON Customization later in this chapter. PowerPac Basic and PowerPac Plus users can upgrade to PowerPac Professional by contacting Number Nine. 9PAL PowerPac allows you to individually customize each color in your palette. With the 9PAL command, you can specify each RGB value for any of the 16 or 256 colors in your palette. To various formats for 9PAL are: 9PAL[Enter] (Interactive Mode) 9PAL=Color#,Red,Green,Blue,Save [Enter] (Command Line) 9PAL=S[Enter] (Save Palette) 9PAL=W,FILENAME.SCR [Enter] (Write Palette to Script File) The easiest way to modify the palette is to use the 9PAL command by itself. Type: 9PAL at the command line and the following appears at the command line: [Index #: 0] Red: 0 Green: 0 Blue: 0 Using the arrow keys, move the highlight brackets ([...]) left and right to the option you wish to change. Using the (up) and (down) arrow or (PgUp) and (PgDn) keys, increase or decrease the desired value. As you change the value, the color will change on your screen (if that color is displayed). Press [Enter] to accept the changes and return to the command line. To cancel any changes, press (Esc) (you will be asked to confirm this). Next, PowerPac will ask whether you want to save the new palette to the Custom palette option in Custom Configuration (Palette Selection). Press (Y)es or (N)o as appropriate. To manually change each color and its RGB values, use the 9PAL command line option. Color # is the index in your palette of the color you wish to change (i.e. to change white, which in most palettes is color number 7, put 7 for Color#). The range for Color# is determined by the number of colors set by your video mode in Basic Configuration; either 16 (0-15) or 256 (0-255). You cannot use more than 256 colors in the AutoCAD drawing editor. Red, green, and blue are the individual RGB component values for each color. Each RGB value ranges from 0 to 255. 0 is black; 255 is the full intensity of the color (be it Red, Green or Blue). Various combinations of these colors produce all other colors that you may wish to display. For shades of grey, set the RGB values each to the same number. As you vary this number upwards towards 255, the grey will pale from black (0) to white (255). The last option of 9PAL command line options allows you to save your custom color to the Custom palette, located in Custom Configuration. An "S" at the end of the command line will cause the values to be saved. To choose the Custom palette once you have changed it, enter Custom Configuration using 9CONFIG and select Custom under Palette Selection. For instance, to make color 7 red and save it to the Custom palette, type at the command prompt: 9PAL=7,255,0,0,S The 9PAL (S)ave option allows you to save the custom palette to the Custom palette stored in your configuration file and selected from Palette Selection within PowerPac's Custom Configuration. Use this option when you have defined a palette using the 9PAL command line option but have not saved. The 9PAL (W)rite option tells PowerPac to create a script file containing you Custom palette in the form of 256 (or 16) 9PAL command line options. This can be used to backup different versions of your Custom palette or to transfer a Custom palette to a colleague who is also using PowerPac. 9CONFIG The 9CONFIG command is used from the drawing editor to enter PowerPac's Custom Configuration program. For more information on Custom Configuration, see earlier in this chapter. To access Custom Configuration, type at the command prompt: 9CONFIG[Enter] 9STATUS The 9STATUS command displays the current status of PowerPac. It shows the name, version number and serial number of the driver, and also shows the size in kilobytes of the display list. To get this information, simply type at the command prompt: 9STATUS[Enter] 9HELP The 9HELP command accesses PowerPac's on-line help system. Type at the AutoCAD command prompt: 9HELP [Enter] Once PowerPac's help screen appears, you can flip through the different pages by using the (PgUp) and (PgDn) keys. To exit help and return to your drawing, press the (Esc) key. 9DL 9DL is PowerPac's display list control command. It allow you to toggle the display list, TRUE Erase, and World Space Partitioning on and off. To use the 9DL command, type at the command line: 9DL={DISPLAYLIST},{TRUEerase},{WSPartition}[Enter] 9DL has three options. The first allows you to turn PowerPac's display list on and off. Set 9DL equal to (Y)es or (N)o as appropriate. Disabling the display list using this command puts PowerPac into a special "fake" mode which frees up the memory associated with the display list while fooling AutoCAD into thinking that the display list is still active, so that the rest of PowerPac's commands will be recognized by AutoCAD. To permanently turn off the display list, use Display List Options in PowerPac's Custom Configuration. Remember, disabling the display list in Custom Configuration also disables all PowerPac commands and features (including the 9DL command). The next option toggles PowerPac's TRUE Erase real time display list garbage collection feature on and off. Again, set 9DL equal to (Y)es or (N)o as appropriate. Turning TRUE Erase off is unnecessary, except for CAD Overlay users since CAD Overlay uses the black vector garbage stored in the display list. The last option controls World Space Partitioning. Again, set 9DL equal to (Y)es or (N)o to toggle World Space Partitioning on and off. World Space Partitioning is PowerPac’s way of ordering the display list to help accelerate zooms and pans. Since this changes the way objects are redrawn on the screen, if your drawing depends on objects being drawn in a certain order, turn World Space Partitioning off. If you need to change only certain 9DL options, place commas with nothing between them to step past options which need not be changed. As an example, to turn World Space partitioning off while leaving TRUE Erase and the display list with the previous setting, type at the command line: 9DL=,,N[Enter] HOTKEY INTERFACE PowerPac Professional has a unique HotKey interface which allows you to access all PowerPac and AutoCAD commands through almost any key or key combination on your keyboard. PowerPac comes with some preprogrammed HotKeys. These are stored in your configuration file and are automatically loaded with PowerPac. PowerPac's HotKey interface is controlled by the 9KEY command. To turn PowerPac's HotKeys off, type at the command prompt: 9KEY=N[Enter] When turned off, your HotKey assignments remain unchanged but instead allow the normal AutoCAD action (if any). To turn the HotKeys back on, type at the command prompt: 9KEY=Y[Enter] BUTTON INTERFACE PowerPac allows you to program you mouse or digitizer buttons with many of PowerPac’s commands. With this easy, intuitive interface you can perform fast zooms, use the BirdsEye and access our text icon interface. PowerPac comes preconfigured to work with a three button mouse. If you are using a different pointing device, see Appendix B, Suggested Button Configurations, to configure your device to work properly with PowerPac. The defaults that are shipped with PowerPac are as follows: Note: When using a Logitech® 3-button mouse with AutoCAD, the buttons are ordered (1)(3)(2). When using the default button configuration with PowerPac, remember that buttons (2) and (3) will be reversed from the diagrams shown here. To set up your buttons in a different configuration, you will need to change the settings in Custom Configuration. For detailed information on how to set the buttons, see Button Configuration described earlier in the chapter. In order to prevent incompatibilities with your existing button configuration, the zoom window and BirdsEye buttons (buttons 2 and 3) require you to use the (Shift) key while clicking the button. This default can be changed in button configuration. Note: PowerPac's button assignments start with button 1. Button 1 is defined as the pick button. Some digitizers define the pick button as button 0. If your digitizer defines pick as button 0, subtract 1 from all PowerPac button assignments to get the correct button on your digitizer. ZOOM WINDOW A single click of button 2 with (Shift) activates the PowerPac’s ZW command. This command is transparent and can be activated during almost any AutoCAD command. The cursor position becomes the first corner of the Zoom window command. The second corner is specified with either a pick or a repeat click of the Zoom Window button. The screen will zoom onto the area, creating a box that can be moved around the drawing and placed over the area that is to be zoomed. PREVIEWED ZOOM A double click of the 2nd button activates PowerPac's PZ command. The cursor position becomes the first corner of the Zoom window command. The second corner is specified with either a pick or a repeat click of the Previewed Zoom button. Drop the aspect box with a pick or another click of the Previewed Zoom button. "A double click of the 2nd button activates PowerPac's PZ command. The cursor position becomes the first corner of the Zoom window command. The second corner is specified with either a pick or a repeat click of the Previewed Zoom button. Drop the aspect box with a pick or another click of the Previewed Zoom button." BIRDSEYE The BirdsEye Window is a viewport containing the entire drawing or full display list. It can show your current zoomed view in proportion to the larger picture and allows fast real- time zooming and panning. The BirdsEye is essential to keep you constantly aware of where you are editing within a large drawing. To use the BirdsEye, first, enter it by using either the BE or BIRDSEYE command (described earlier in this chapter) or by doing a single click on your BirdsEye button (default: button 3 with (Shift)). If you have never configured your BirdsEye before, you will see a "rubber band" box which you can move around the screen. This is your BirdsEye outline. You may move and size it using your pointing device and the (+) and (-) keys or buttons 2 and 3 on your pointing device (no (Shift)). When you have finished sizing and positioning the BirdsEye, press the pick button to fix its position. Once the BirdsEye is active, an arrow cursor will appear within a miniature copy of your drawing inside the BirdsEye window. Additionally, a box with moving dashed lines will also be in your BirdsEye. This is your zoom box. This outlines your current zoom level. The zoom box may be around the outside of your BirdsEye. This indicates that your drawing is currently zoomed all the way out. The zoom box may be picked up and resized, as described below to zoom and pan around your drawing. To activate a zoom window within the BirdsEye, either single click your zoom window button (default: button 2) outside of the zoom box or double click inside the zoom box. This will give you one corner of the zoom box. Using the same button, pick the opposite corner of your zoom box. The drawing underneath the BirdsEye will then change to reflect your zoom. Do this any number of times before exiting the BirdsEye. To pan, "pick up" the zoom box by picking inside it. Your cursor will pick up the zoom/pan box and you can drag it around the BirdsEye. As you be used to step back through them. If you step past the last stored display, Zoom Previous will show you the complete drawing as defined by the last regen. A regen of any type resets the Zoom Previous command. ZOOM VMAX To activate PowerPac's regenless Zoom VMAX command, use a single click followed by long press of button 3 on your pointing device. PowerPac displays the entire drawing as defined by the last regen. In some cases this may not be the entire drawing. Since this is a regenless command, it only displays information from the last regen. "To activate PowerPac's regenless Zoom VMAX command, use a single click followed by long press of button 3 on your pointing device. PowerPac displays the entire drawing as defined by the last regen. In some cases this may not be the entire drawing. Since this is a regenless command, it only displays information from the last regen. Note: AutoCAD R12 may cause ZV to zoom your drawing too far out. Use the PowerPac REGENMAX command to control the extents of the zoom. ZOOM CENTER To activate PowerPac's Zoom Center command, position the cursor crosshairs where you wish the new center of your display to be and then use a long press of button 2 on your pointing device. The screen will shift the display to be the chosen point as the new center of the screen, without a regen. Since this is a regenless command, if a drawing boundary is discovered, Zoom Center will display the closest equivalent. Note: Zoom Window, Previewed Zoom, BirdsEye, Zoom Previous and Zoom VMAX are all transparent zoom and pan commands meaning they cannot be performed while in paperspace or while a perspective viewport. When working in tilemode 0, the button commands are active only when you are in or over a modelspace viewport. ICON INTERFACE PowerPac Plus and Professional allow users to bring up an on-screen ICON menu system via the 9ICON command. PowerPac's ICON interface is easy to use. The default icon system for PowerPac Plus integrate all of the most popular display list commands into a menu system. The default ICON system for PowerPac Professional integrates the most popular display list commands plus AutoCAD commands into a hierarchical menu system. To enter the ICON menu, do a long press of your ICON button (default: pick button). Once the menu appears, toggle between different panels by clicking on the appropriate entry in the table of contents on the panel edge (default: left edge). When the correct panel is displayed, click on the desired command. The ICON menu will usually disappear while executing your command. Note: Some digitizers do not support a long press. If you are affected by this, you will need to change the button configuration for some other sequence. This can be done in Button Configuration located in Custom Configuration. ICON CUSTOMIZATION The PowerPac Professional icon interface is configured through a text file called ICON.TXT which the INSTALL program copies to your AutoCAD directory. To modify or create an ICON panel(s), you need to edit the ICON.TXT file, or create a new .TXT file, using any text editor and then recompile that .TXT file using the 9ICON=R,FILENAME option. You may want to modify the default ICON.TXT as a model to customize your own ICON interface. Prior to making any modifications to the default ICON.TXT file, it is best to make a backup file. When you view an ICON panel on the screen, you will notice two main parts, the table of contents, the small boxes on the left, and the command panel itself, the large boxes on the right. The table of contents is a list of all available command panels, such as DRAW, EDIT, etc. To best understand how to design and organize PowerPac Professional's customizable ICON menus, compare the ICON menu with a portion of ICON.TXT below and examine the elements which were put together to create it: Portion of the text file ICON.TXT listed below. PANEL "Number Nine PowerPac Professional" s-b 20 10 2 8 [OSNAP] [#P=Temporary Osnaps] [SELECTS] [#P=SINGLE SELECT] [DRAW] [#P=Draw Menu #1] [EDIT] [#P=Edit Menu #1] [TEXT] [#P=Text] [INQUIRY] [#P=Inquiry] [DIM] [#P=Dimension] [LAYERS] [#P=Layers] [ ] [ ] [UCS] [#P=UCS] [NUMBERS] [#P=Numbers] [UTILITY] [#P=Utility] [SETTINGS] [#P=Settings] [PSPACE] [#P=MView / Pspace] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [DISPLAY] [#P=Display] [Top Menu] [#P=Number Nine PowerPac Professional] [Cancel] [^C^C] [_Last_] [#P=] 30 5 6 7 [9HELP] ['9Help ] [EdgeON] ['9EDGE=Y ] [BirdEye] ['BE ] [Zm In] [#S=’ZI ] [Zm Prev] [#S=’ZP ] [Zm Out] [#S=’ZO ] [9Config] ['9Config ] [EdgeOFF] ['9Edge=N ] [BE Move] ['BE=T ] [ ] [#S=’9PAN=6 ] [ ] [#S=’9PAN=2 ] [ ] [#S=’9PAN=3 ] [9Status] ['9Status ] [EdgCFG:] ['9Edge= ] [9Palet:] ['9Palette ] [ ] [#S=’9PAN=4 ] [Redraw] ['RD ] [ ] [#S=’9PAN=1 ] [Garbage] ['GC ] [RD All] ['RDA ] [Zm Box:] ['PZ ] [ ] [#S=’9PAN=12 ] [ ] [#S=’9PAN=8 ] [ ] [#S=’9PAN=9 ] [HotKey:] ['9KEY ] [RgnMax] ['REGENMAX ] [Zm CC:] ['ZCC ] [Zm Ctr:] ['PZ ] [Zm Win:] ['ZW ] PANEL LAYOUT Each icon panel is divided into three sections: a title bar and two button sections. A complete icon menu is a collection of different icon panels. TITLE BAR The first step in creating an icon panel is to name it. The name is displayed in the title bar when the panel is active. To begin the definition of a panel called "Panel 1", include the line: PANEL "Number Nine PowerPac Professional" BUTTON SECTIONS The two button sections of an icon panel are two independent arrays of buttons. Each button can be assigned a command which is activated by "pressing" it: place the cursor over the button and click the pick button. One button section is called Big and the other is called Small. Each button section is independently scaled when displayed and the only difference between button sections is that Small button are scaled slightly smaller than Big buttons. Big and Small are identical in operation, Big and Small serve as names only and have no practical bearing on icon panel operation. The first step of button section configuration is to define the relative positions of Big and Small. The table below describes the formatting options available. For example, to configure you button sections with Small on the left and Big on the right, enter the following after your panel name definition: S-B After naming the panel, the next step in button section configuration is to define the dimensions and contents of each button section. Each button section is separately defined, Small first, then Big. To set the number and arrangement of buttons for each button section, first enter the number of buttons and then the dimensions of the panel in rows (y-axis) and columns (x- axis). For example, to create a button section with 4 buttons arranged vertically, enter after the panel configuration command: 20 10 2 Other layout options for a 20 button panel include 2 10, 10 2, and 20 1. Next, you must specify the minimum width of each button in characters. For example, to make your buttons 9 characters wide, enter after button layout: 8 This completes button section configuration. Next, you need to define each button individually, giving each a name and function. After fully configuring and assigning commands to Small, repeat the process for Big. BUTTON DEFINITION After you have the button configuration section, each button must be named and assigned commands. Each button definition has two parts: a name and a function assignment. A button name and button definition can be any collection of characters except "[" or "]". These are reserved characters used to separate the button name from the button definition: [Button Name] [Button Definition] Additionally, the only other reserved words are #P, #N, and #S. These are only reserved in the button definition and are described later. When naming a button, be sure to bear in mind the width of your button as defined previously in button section configuration. For example, to create a button called "ZOOM VMAX" which transparently zooms to the full drawing extents, enter: [Zoom Vmax] ['ZV] The button definition can be any command which can be typed at the AutoCAD command prompt. Special Button Commands There are three special button commands: #S=, #P=, and #N=. These are used in the button definition field. To use a special commands, insert it before the AutoCAD command in the button definition: [Zoom Vmax] [#s='ZV] #S= (execute and return to (S)ame panel) is a special command which leaves the icon menu active after the button has been pressed. Normally, the icon menu disappears after a button has been pressed, but if a button definition is prefixed with #S=, after the button is pressed the icon menu stays active and another button can be pressed. This is ideal for number entry or any other repetitive command, such as the 9PAN command. #P= (go to Panel) is a special command which flips between icon panels. This allows you to group your commands on separate panels according to function. The text after #P= is the name of a panel to display: [ONE] [#p=PANEL 1] There is an option with #P= that lets you execute a command and then flip to a new panel. Add a colon ":" after the panel flip command and then add the command to be executed after the colon: [ONE] [#p=PANEL 1:'RDALL] This command executes the 'RDALL command and then activates panel ONE. If no panel name is specified ([#P=]) PowerPac flips back to the last icon panel displayed. PowerPac remembers the last fifteen icon panels. This allows creation of icon subroutines which correctly return to the appropriate panel. There is a special case of #P= = (note double equal signs) that flips two panels back, instead of one. The last special command is #N=. This operates exactly like the #P= command, except that it comes into effect the next time the icon menu is activated. For instance: [Reset] [N=PANEL] [#N= =] is fully supported and works just like [#P=]. In order to use special characters like ^C, precede the character with the caret ("^") symbol. Most of the commands in the default PowerPac icon panel are prefixed with ^C^C to ensure that any current AutoCAD command is aborted. CHAPTER 3: 3D STUDIO 1.0 & 2.0 3D STUDIO 1.0 & 2.0 PowerPac is also fully compatible with 3D Studio 1.0 & 2.0. PowerPac is unique in that it allows you to select different video modes for each of 3D Studio’s displays: Main Display, Materials Editor and Rendering Display (both RDPADI & RCPADI). For example, you could edit your drawing at 1280 x 1024 x 16 colors in the Main Display, select and view materials at 640 x 480 x 256 colors, and render your drawing at 1024 x 768 x 16.7 million colors. Of course, all selected modes need to be supported by the Number Nine graphcis board in the systems. Note: PowerPac requires an Intel math coprocessor. If a Weitek math coprocessor is present, PowerPac ignores it. INSTALLATION Insert the PowerPac disk in the floppy disk drive and at the DOS prompt type: A:INSTALL [Enter] or B:INSTALL [Enter] INSTALL will present a list of the Autodesk applications for which PowerPac may be installed. Using the (up) and (down) arrow keys, move the cursor to the desired 3D Studio version(s) and press the space bar to change the display from NO to YES. Once you have finished making your selections, press (Enter) to continue with installation. INSTALL will ask for the drive letter and path for 3D Studio. If any directory is incorrectly specified or the correct executable files are not in the directory, INSTALL will issue a warning and give you the option to quit or continue with installation. Next, INSTALL asks where to install the TI 340x0 support files, INSTALL will default to the directory to which the TIGA environment variable is set, for example, SET TIGA=- mC:\TIGA2 -lC:\TIGA2 -i0X60 Note: The #9GXE does not use TIGA as a graphics operating system. Not all Number Nine graphics boards support TIGA. Finally, INSTALL asks if you want to install the AutoPatch or NEWDX utilities. AutoPatch fixes some bugs in AutoCAD R10, R11 & 3D Studio which prevent PowerPac from working correctly. NEWDX updates your AutoDesk application executable file with Phar Lap’s DOS Extender, version 2.6. PowerPac has some problems running with earlier versions of the DOS Extender. Once you have finished making your selections, INSTALL will tell you about any modifications that need to be made to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and 3DS.SET file. You have the choice of letting INSTALL make the changes automatically, making new files with the extension .NEW with the changes, or making the changes by hand. In all cases when a file is modified, the original version is backed-up with the filename extension of .BAK. After all the necessary files have been installed, INSTALL tells you that everything has been successfully installed and returns to the DOS prompt. Reboot your system to make the necessary changes, then run 3D Studio. CONFIGURATION You can now enter 3D Studio and begin the configuration process. If you are reconfiguring, you must delete the 3DADI.CFG file located in the 3D Studio directory. At the DOS prompt, type: CD \3DS [Enter] 3DS [Enter] PowerPac's title screen should appear with various boxes bouncing around the screen. If not, make sure that your environment variables are set correctly, that you have correctly edited your 3DS.SET file and that you have deleted the 3DADI.CFG file. You can press any key to continue to the next screen or wait about 10 seconds for it to happen automatically. There are four sections of 3D Studio 2.0 and three section for 3D Studio 1.0 for which PowerPac needs to be configured: Main Display Materials Editor Rendering Display (RDPADI) (3D Studio 2.0 only) Rendering Display (RCPADI) Note: Under 3D Studio 1.0, PowerPac cannot be used as a RDPADI rendering driver. You will be configuring PowerPac for each display in turn. Configuration for each is very similar. Read over the configuration instructions below and review the tips for each 3D Studio display located after the configuration section before continuing PowerPac configuration. Please note that if you have not set up separate NUMBER9.CFG files with the NUMB9 environment variable, any changes you make here for 3D Studio will be in effect for AutoCAD, and AutoShade. VIDEO DISPLAY The next screen will display the section of 3D Studio that you are configuring as well as your current video mode. PowerPac will ask you whether you want to change your current video mode. To change your video mode, answer (Y)es. PowerPac will present you will a list of Number Nine graphics boards. Using the arrow keys and the (PgUp) and (PgDn) keys, highlight your video board and press (Enter) to select. PowerPac will then give you a list of resolutions available with your Number Nine graphics board. Use the same method to pick the resolution as you did previously for the video board. TESTING THE VIDEO CARD SELECTION After selecting the new video mode and display options, PowerPac will give you the opportunity to test the video to make sure that it is correct. When PowerPac asks whether you wish to test the video mode, answer (Y)es or (N)o as appropriate. If you answered (Y)es, PowerPac will first print a warning: If you have selected an incorrect video mode, testing the video mode may crash your system. Should your system hang, reboot and select a different video mode (Don’t forget to delete the 3DADI.CFG file first). PowerPac may also give you a warning that you have selected a video mode that does not work with the board in your system. If everything goes well, you should see a symmetrical test pattern listing your current video mode and resolution in the center. If your screen is blank or garbled there is a problem with your video card or your monitor. Be sure that your video card and your monitor can support the desired resolution. Wait 10 seconds or press any key to exit the video test. PowerPac will then ask you whether the test screen appeared correctly. If so, answer (Y)es otherwise, press (N)o and select another video mode. FONT SELECTION Once you have finished selecting and testing the video mode, PowerPac will ask you whether you want to change the current menu font. If you wish to change your current font answer (Y)es. PowerPac will give you a list of fonts to select from. Using the same method as selecting your video mode, choose your desired font from the list.{tc "Once you have finished selecting and testing the video mode, PowerPac will ask you whether you want to change the current menu font. If you wish to change your current font answer (Y)es. PowerPac will give you a list of fonts to select from. Using the same method as selecting your video mode, choose your desired font from the list."} RULES OF THUMB FOR FONTS 15 pixels wide x 32 pixels high These fonts are recommended for use at 1600 x 1200 and higher resolutions. The minimum resolution at which most AutoDesk applications will function with these fonts is 1280 x 1024. 11 x 21 & 12 x 26 These fonts are recommended for use at 1280 x 1024 resolution. The minimum resolution at which most AutoDesk applications will function with these fonts is 1024 x 768. 10 x 16 & 10 x 18 These fonts are recommended for use at 1024 x 768 resolution. The minimum resolution at which most AutoDesk applications will function with these fonts is 800 x 600. 8 x 12, 8 x 14 & 8 x 16 These fonts are good, general purpose fonts at all resolutions. They are recommended for 800 x 600 and 640 x 480. At higher resolutions they may be a little small for some purposes, but are nevertheless very useful. 5 x 7, 5 x 8, 6 x 8, 8 x 8 & 8 x 10 These fonts are recommended with resolutions below 640 x 480. They are useful when a very small font is needed. 3D STUDIO MATERIAL EDITOR FONTS These fonts have been specifically created to maximize 3D Studio’s Materials Editor. The size of the Materials Editor on the screen is determined by the font size. PowerPac will automatically select a Materials Editor font appropriate to your resolution. CONFIGURATION TIPS There are many issues to take into consideration when it comes to configuration PowerPac for 3D Studio’s Main, Materials, and Rendering displays. This section is designed to help you make the most informed decision about configuring PowerPac and how to get the most out of 3D Studio. DUAL SCREEN SUPPORT 3D Studio 2.0 fully supports simultaneous use of two separate monitors. If you are using more than one monitor, only one monitor will be active at one time unless you answer (Y)es when asked if the RCPADI or RDPADI device renders to a separate screen. You can use PowerPac, for instance, with a VGA board for the Main display and the Materials Editor and then use the Number Nine board for the Rendering display. MAIN DISPLAY Speed is of the essence when using 3D Studios Main display editor. You will want to have the highest clarity with the most speed. To maximize speed, you should select a 16 color mode. This will cut down on the redraw times. The Keyframer will benefit most from this. It is a good idea to select a medium to high resolution for the Main display since this will give you the most clarity. A good resolution to pick is 1280 x 1024 or 1024 x 768, with 16 colors. MATERIALS EDITOR It is a good idea to select 640 x 480 x 256 colors as the resolution for the Materials Editor. This gives a good balance between readability and speed. The material renderings are fairly fast while being clear enough to view effectively. Whatever resolution you use, you should select a 256 color mode for the materials editor. While you may select a mode with more than 256 colors, only 256 colors will be used and performance will be slower. The size of the Materials editor is controlled by the font size, so choosing the correct font is important here. For 640 x 480, BLOCK12X19 has been found to be ideal. It causes the Materials editor to be at its largest, allowing the Materials editor to fill the entire screen. PowerPac automatically defaults to the largest possible font, depending on the resolution you have selected previously. RENDERING DISPLAY You will configure PowerPac twice for the rendering display, once for RDPADI and once for RCPADI if you set both the RCPADI and RDPADI environment variable during configuration. RDPADI Before configuring PowerPac for RDPADI, 3D Studio will present you with this prompt: Will the RDPADI render on a separate screen? PowerPac with 3D Studio 2.0 supports simultaneous dual graphics screens using two different graphics boards in your system, allowing you to use the display modules on one screen, and to render on another. If you are using a single monitor only for editing and rendering, you must answer (N)o to this question. After answering this question, you will return to normal PowerPac configuration. RCPADI Before RCPADI PowerPac configuration, 3D Studio will present you with this prompt: Will the RCPADI render on a separate screen (unlikely)? 3D Studio 2.0 supports simultaneous dual graphics screens using two different graphics boards in your system, allowing you to use the display modules on one screen and to render on another. If you are using a single monitor only for editing and rendering, you must answer (N)o to this question. This is completely separate from the RDPADI setting described above. Typically, you should answer this question the same way as you answered the one with RDPADI (answering the same way for both indicates that both RCPADI and RDPADI are on the same screen). You will again be returned to PowerPac’s configuration to complete the configuration for 3D Studio. Once you have completed this, you will be sent to the Main Display of 3D Studio 2.0. RENDERING NOTES It is useful to note that the higher the resolution you select for a rendering, the longer your drawing will take to render. A good resolution at which to render is 640 x 480 or 1024 X 768, with 16.7 million (24-bit) colors. Any higher resolution takes a longer time for only slightly better results. 3D Studio 2.0 performs all rendering calculations with 24-bit display in mind. It takes longer to render if you use a 256 color mode since 3D Studio makes two passes: one to display and another to calculate the new colors. It might seem redundant that you can use PowerPac for either RCPADI or RDPADI, but it does provide an interesting shortcut when rendering. Set up RCPADI (or RDPADI... it doesn’t matter) with a low resolution (say, 640 x 480 x 16.7 million colors). This gives you a quick "draft" rendering for verifying object positioning and light and shadow intensity. Then, for your final rendering display, configure RDPADI (or RCPADI if you selected RDPADI for your draft mode) for a higher resolution (1280 X 1024 or 1024 x 768 x 256 or 16.7 millions colors). This way, you can save time by doing draft renderings during the design phase and then only spending the time necessary to do a final rendering after all the work is done. To toggle between RCPADI and RDPADI, choose the appropriate rendering driver in Render, Setup..., Configure in 3D Studio. 3D Studio 1.0 Environment Variables SET DSPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET RCPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG 3D Studio 2.0 Environment Variables SET DSPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET RCPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET RDPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG The driver name may differ depending on which PowerPac driver you purchased. 3D STUDIO 1.0 RELEASE NOTES 3D Studio (version 1.0) has some bugs which affect the use of PowerPac. Most of these have been fixed in 3D Studio 2.0. If you use the command sequence Render, Setup..., Configure to select a different rendering display device, you may not select RDPADI (when PowerPac is configured as a RDPADI device, 3D Studio crashes during rendering). This bug affects all drivers, including AutoDesk’s supplied sample driver RCPVGA41.EXP. After performing a number of renderings, you may unexpectedly crash. This is because each time you render 3D Studio loads another copy of PowerPac and allocates memory for the Phar-Lap DOS extender. This memory is never returned to the DOS extender so eventually it runs out of Local Descriptor Table (LDT) sectors. The only solution is to quit and then reenter 3D Studio after every eight or nine renderings. Note that having 3D Studio render a sequence of frames counts as only one rendering. Another symptom of the problem described above is that after just a few renderings you may run out of physical RAM and the system will dramatically slow down as it pages frequently to the hard disk. Again, there is no other solution than to exit and restart 3D Studio. The only way to cause 3D Studio to reconfigure PowerPac is to delete the 3DADI.CFG file. CHAPTER 4 AUTOSHADE 2.0 PowerPac supports AutoShade/386 2.0 as a display driver and as a combination rendering and display driver, allowing you not only to display your wireframes at high resolutions, but also to generate high resolution, photo-realistic renderings. This combination of display and rendering driver is the preferred method of using PowerPac with AutoShade. Additionally, PowerPac lets you control certain aspects of your editing display, allowing you to customize your menu fonts, screen colors and the palette. INSTALLATION Put the disk in the disk drive and type at the DOS prompt: A:INSTALL [Enter] or B:INSTALL [Enter] INSTALL will present a list of the Autodesk applications for which PowerPac may be installed. Using the (up) and (down) arrows, move the cursor to the AutoShade option and press the space bar. Once you have finished making your selections, press (Enter) to continue with installation. INSTALL will ask for the drive letter and path for AutoShade. If any directory is incorrectly specified or the correct executable files are not in the directory, INSTALL will issue a warning and give you the option to quit or continue with installation. Next INSTALL will asks where to copy the TI 340x0 support files, INSTALL will default to the directory to which the TIGA environment variable is set. ex. SET TIGA=-mC:\TIGA2 -lC:\TIGA2 -i0X60 Note: The #9GXE does not use TIGA as a graphics operating system. Not all Number Nine graphics boards support TIGA. Once you have finished making your selections, INSTALL will tell you about any modifications that need to be made to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you let INSTALL make the changes automatically, it will make new files with the extension .NEW with the changes. Otherwise, you can make the changes by hand. In all cases when a file is modified, the original version is backed up with the filename extension of .BAK. After all the necessary files have been installed, INSTALL tells you that everything has been successfully installed and returns to the DOS prompt. Reboot your system to implement the necessary changes, then run AutoShade. BASIC AUTOSHADE CONFIGURATION Invoke SHADE.EXE from DOS using AutoShade’s -R command line option: SHADE -R After invoking AutoShade, you will be asked a series of questions on the following topics: Pointing Device Display Driver Rendering Driver Sharing the Screen with ShadeRender Sharing the Screen with AutoDesk Renderman Hardcopy Rendering Device Each of these questions and their answers are outlined below and on the following pages. Should you answer any of the configuration questions incorrectly you must return to DOS and start over since AutoShade does not allow any changes to the existing configuration. POINTING DEVICE AutoShade presents a list of pointing devices. Select your pointing device from the list and press (Enter). DISPLAY DRIVER Next, AutoShade will ask you to select from the list the display driver you wish to use. Choose 2 (PADI 386) and press [Enter]. At this point, you should see PowerPac’s title screen with boxes bouncing around the screen. Press any key to continue or wait ten seconds for the screen to change. VIDEO DISPLAY The next screen displays your current video mode. PowerPac asks whether you want to change the mode.{tc "The next screen displays your current video mode. PowerPac asks whether you want to change the mode."} To change the video mode, answer (Y). PowerPac displays a list of Number Nine graphics boards. Using the (up), (down) arrow keys, highlight your video board and press [Enter] to select. PowerPac presents a list of resolutions available with your graphics board. Use the method described above to pick the resolution. Note: The Pepper Pro1280 will only support 1280 x 1024 x 16 colors under TIGA, and does not support AutoShade with this driver. To run AutoShade in dual screen mode, select this mode later when AutoShade asks you if the Display and Rendering screens share the same screen. Dual screen cannot be configured here. Note: If you haven’t set up separate NUMBER9.CFG files with the NUMB9 environment variable, any changes made here for AutoShade will affect AutoCAD and 3D Studio as well. Testing the Video Card Selection After selecting the new video mode and display options, PowerPac gives you the opportunity to test the video mode to make sure that it is correct. When PowerPac asks if you wish to test the video mode, answer (Y) or (N) as appropriate. If everything goes well, you should see a symmetrical test pattern showing your current video mode and resolution. If your screen is blank or garbled there is a problem with your video card or monitor. Be sure that your video card and monitor can support the selected resolution. Wait 10 seconds or press any key to exit the video test. PowerPac asks you if the test screen looked correct. If so, answer (Y) otherwise, press (N) and select another video mode. ENTERING CUSTOM CONFIGURATION After configuring for your video display, PowerPac asks if you would like to enter custom configuration. Answer (Y) or (N) as appropriate. If you answer (Y), PowerPac will enter Custom Configuration menu. If you answer (N), PowerPac continues with rendering configuration. SELECTING A RENDERING DRIVER After you have finished configuring the main display driver, AutoShade asks you to select a rendering driver. Again, select number 2 (PADI 386). You should see PowerPac’s title screen again, with the bouncing boxes. Press any key or wait ten seconds for the next screen. PowerPac then asks for your video card and resolution just as before. Since PowerPac can now recognize that you are configuring for AutoShade’s rendering driver, you will not prompted to enter Custom Configuration. Note: Both AutoShade and AutoDesk Renderman use the same rendering mode. Bear this in mind when selecting your resolution. Selecting a higher resolution will result in AutoDesk Renderman taking longer to render. You should select a 16.7 million (24-bit) color mode for rendering (if possible). Rendering, especially with AutoShade’s optional AutoDesk Renderman module, becomes more photo-realistic. Note: If you haven’t set up separate NUMBER9.CFG files with the NUMB9 environment variable, the rendering mode selection you make here will be for both AutoCAD and 3D Studio. AUTOSHADE QUESTIONS AutoShade will now ask several questions relating to the interaction of the display and rendering screens. Do the display and AutoShade rendering devices share the same screen? (default = No): Answer (N) only if you have two separate graphics boards that each have their own screen. Most users will want to answer (Y) here. Do the display and AutoDesk Renderman rendering devices share a single screen? (default = No): Answer this question the same as the previous one. Most users will answer (Y) to this question. Note: It is imperative that you answer these questions correctly for PowerPac to work as your rendering driver. When in doubt, you can always answer these questions (Y). You will get the next question only if you have answered the above questions with a (Y). Does Flip Screen require a redraw? (default = No):AutoShade If you want your wire frame to be preserved while flipping to the rendering screen, answer (N) here. Note: To prevent the redraw, the driver will save the wireframe image. Note that this requires the driver to use more memory. HARDCOPY AutoShade presents a list of hard copy devices. Select your hard copy device from the list and press [Enter]. APPENDIX A: TECHNICAL NOTES DISPLAY LIST TECHNOLOGY The display list is a copy of the drawing with only the data needed to draw it on the screen. All other unnecessary information is removed. AutoCAD includes limited display list capabilities, but by using a specialized display list driver, like PowerPac, the speed of the display can be considerably improved. AutoCAD keeps the drawing in a very precise database with 16 digit floating decimal point accuracy. This is called world space. Because all of that information is unnecessary to see any portion of the drawing on the screen, AutoCAD creates a display list of XY coordinates that are integers from 0 to 32,000 (releases 10 & 11) and 32,000 times that range for release 12. This is called virtual space. Every time a new virtual space is extracted from the world space a complete regen must be done. AutoCAD then allows zooms and pans within this virtual space by mapping the appropriate view within the virtual space to the device coordinates. This is called a redraw. When PowerPac is installed, it takes over the device coordinate mapping and accelerates zooms, pans and redraws using proprietary display-optimization algorithms. DISPLAY LIST COMPRESSION PowerPac has a function called display list compression that conserves memory on very large drawings that are text or polyline intensive. TRUE-ERASE PowerPac includes TRUE-Erase, which eliminates garbage build-up in your display list. With most other display list drivers, whenever a vector- erasing command is executed, AutoCAD erases the object by using background color vector to obscure the original vector on the screen. The display list driver automatically assumes that this was a new vector and added it to the display list (keeping the original one as well). The net result was that the display list grows, regardless of your drawing’s size, using valuable memory. Redraws take longer, since there were more vectors to draw. Often the screen flickers as the original vector(s) is drawn and then overdrawn with its background color companion. Problems arise with two (or more) vectors drawn on top of each other. When one was erased, they were all hidden beneath the background color vector. This could only be fixed by a regen. Display list drivers have tried various methods to combat this problem, but all attempts have been prohibitively slow, in many cases incorrect, and a burden to the user. Now, with TRUE-Erase from Number Nine there is a solution. TRUE-Erase correctly detects a black background color vector before it is added to the display list and removes the correct colored vector with no speed penalty. When TRUE- Erase is turned on in the Display List Options section of Custom Configuration, garbage is handled automatically. PowerPac ships with TRUE-Erase enabled as the default. Note: CAD Overlay users may want to disable TRUE-Erase. The GC= command may be used to quickly disable TRUE- Erase, or you can use Custom Configuration. TRUE-DRAG TRUE-Drag works with AutoCAD’s move or copy commands, allowing you to move a block, without the objects disappearing as they are positioned. After selecting the objects to move and choosing the base point, AutoCAD creates a special drag list for these objects. This can take several seconds. Wait for the objects to fully reappear on the screen, indicating that the drag list is complete and will not have to be recreated as you quickly move the objects around the screen. When you then continue to move the object, you will see a smooth representation of your selection, in full color, moving with your cursor. TRUE-ROTATE Without TRUE-Rotate, rotating a 3D object with AutoCAD causes the object to disappear during the rotation, making it very difficult to preview the position and orientation. When numerous side by side polygons are redrawn during a rotate, they are XORed with any other objects they overlay. The XOR (pronounced Ex-Or) technique mixes the background and foreground colors and creates a third color which acts as a highlight. This is the method that causes text to highlight in a word-processor and also causes colored pixels to appear in your AutoCAD lines when they cross another line. When two pixels of the same color are XORed, the result is color zero, the background color (usually black). With a lot of contiguous polygons, all the edges of which are overlapping, the XOR algorithm often turns most of your drawing to black as you rotate. TRUE-Rotate, correctly eliminates all redundant vectors, letting the original colors show through so you can rotate in full color. APPENDIX B: SUGGESTED BUTTON CONFIGURATIONS B.2 SIXTEEN BUTTON DIGITIZER We recommend assigning the button below the pick button for Zoom Window and the button below that for Bird’s Eye. This seems to give the most natural access to these functions. PowerPac assumes your digitizer is numbered from 1 through 16. Some digitizers are numbered from 0 to 15 or 0 to 9 and A to F. If you are configuring one of these digitizers, subtract 1 from the button number when configuring the buttons. If all your buttons are used for AutoCAD commands already, you can assign PowerPac commands to be activated in conjunction with a press of the (Shift), (Ctrl), and/or (Alt) key(s) on the keyboard. This will allow you to avoid conflicts with your standard button assignments. Note: Some digitizers will not function correctly with a long press button assignment. B.2 FOUR BUTTON DIGITIZER Assign button 3 and 4 to be Zoom Window and BirdsEye, buttons, respectively. Some digitizers are numbered from 0 to 3. If this is the case, subtract 1 from the button number while configuring PowerPac for your digitizer. If all your buttons are used for AutoCAD command already, you can assign PowerPac commands to be activated in conjunction with a press of the (Shift), (Ctrl), and/or (Alt) key(s) on the keyboard. B.3 THREE BUTTON MOUSE This is the default button configuration for PowerPac. For complete details on this button configuration, see Button Interface at the end of Chapter 2. If all your buttons are used for AutoCAD command already, you can assign PowerPac commands to be activated in conjunction with a press of the (Shift), (Ctrl), and/or (Alt) key(s) on the keyboard. B.4 TWO BUTTON MOUSE In order to program PowerPac's Button Interface for a two button mouse, the icon button should be programmed for a long press of button 1. The zoom window button should be button 2 and the BirdsEye button should be button 2 in conjunction with the (Shift), (Ctrl), and/or (Alt) keys on the keyboard. This configuration precludes the use of any AutoCAD buttons. If you need to use an AutoCAD button command (a Return, for instance), you can move either the BirdsEye or Zoom Window button to button 1 with the (Shift), (Ctrl), and/or (Alt) keys on the keyboard. B.5 SINGLE BUTTON DEVICE It is easy to get the full range of PowerPac capabilities, even with a single button pointing device. Program the icon button to be a long press of the mouse button. Configure the BirdsEye button as (Shift), (Ctrl), and/or (Alt) and with the mouse button. This way you can pick things on the screen using your regular pick button and use (Shift) and a single click for BirdsEye and use PowerPac’s ICONs to access all the other commands including zoom window. Note: PowerPac button commands only work if the crosshairs are in the drawing. If the cursor is on one of the menus, you'll get the AutoCAD button commands instead. APPENDIX C: SETTING THE NUMB9 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE PowerPac saves all configuration data to a file. This file has the default name of NUMBER9.CFG and by default resides in the same directory as ACAD.CFG. If you are planning to use the same display mode, including the same resolution and number of colors, for all AutoDesk applications on your system, then you don’t have to worry about setting the NUMB9 variable in anything other than the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. On the other hand, if different configurations will ever exist for one or more AutoDesk applications on the same system, each application needs to know which PowerPac configuration to use. Setting the NUMB9 environment variable in a batch file facilitates this. Placing the NUMBER9.CFG file properly is important under a number of different circumstances. These include: Running different AutoDesk applications in different resolutions and color modes on the same system. Having several users on the same system, each requiring a different configuration of fonts, command lines, menu colors, etc. Running more than one release of AutoCAD, since each requires a different configuration set up. Running in a network environment so that each user has the appropriate configuration of PowerPac for their hardware. To allow each application to have its own configuration, it is important to set the environment variable with the directory, subdirectory and filename. This way the correct configuration of PowerPac is saved with the matching configuration of the AutoDesk program it supports. If the variable is not set when the file is first created, it will follow the search path outlined on the next page, looking for ACAD.CFG to place NUMBER9.CFG in the same sub directory. If the variable is set but contains an invalid path or filename, then the NUMBER9.CFG will not be created or used and any configuration changes will be lost. SETTING THE ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE It is advisable to name the configuration file in such a way that you know which application or configuration it supports. For example, if you were setting up a configuration for AutoShade you might type: SET NUMB9=C:\SHADE\9SHADE.CFG These "set" commands can be placed in any .BAT file and then used to start the application. THE SEARCH PATH If the environment variable is not set, when PowerPac saves configuration changes it searches through the following to find an appropriate place to put the configuration data file. To do this is looks for ACAD.CFG in: 1. The current directory. 2. Next, all paths specified in the environment variable ACADCFG. 3. Then, all paths specified in the environment variable ACAD. 4. Next, all paths specified in the environment variable PATH. 5. If ACAD.CFG is still not found, the current directory is used. Letting PowerPac do this search will only have predictable and valid results if PowerPac is used exclusively with AutoCAD. Otherwise the NUMB9 environment variable must be set at least in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Sample AutoCAD Batch File: ACADR12.BAT SET ACAD=C:\ACAD\SUPPORT;C:\ACAD\FONTS;... SET NUMB9=C:\ACAD\NUMBER9.CFG SET DSPADI=C:ACAD\DRV\RC9PLS.EXP SET RCPADI=C:\ACAD\DRV\RC9PLS.EXP SET RDPADI=C:\ACAD\DRV\RC9PLS.EXP SET ACADDRV=C:\ACAD\DRV CD\ACAD ACAD Sample 3D Studio batch file: 3DSTUDIO.BAT SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG SET DSPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET RCPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET RDPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP CD\3DS2 3DS Sample AutoShade 2.0 batch file: SHADE2.BAT SET SHADECFG=C:\SHADE2\ SET SHADE=C:\SHADE2\RMANSUPT SET RIPROGRESS=1 SET DSPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET RCPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET RDPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG CD\SHADE2 SHADE APPENDIX D: TROUBLESHOOTING SYMPTOMS AND SOLUTIONS SYMPTOM: OUT OF ENVIRONMENT SPACE error SOLUTION: Environment space is controlled by the SHELL statement in your CONFIG.SYS file. For example: SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /P /E:1024 The /E:1024 sets the environment space to a maximum size of 1K (1024 bytes) in this example. To change the size of your environment space, change the number after /E:. The DOS SET command may be used to make sure that all your environment variables are correctly set. Type at the DOS prompt: SET [Enter] DOS will display the current environment variables set on your system. If you have insufficient environment space for all your variables, some may be incomplete or not displayed at all, and you should increase the size of your environment space in your CONFIG.SYS file and reboot your system. SYMPTOM: System crashes unexpectedly under AutoCAD. Unable to use PowerPac HotKeys. SOLUTION: Sometimes various system interactions require you to install the newest PharLap DOS Extender version for AutoCAD (higher than or equal to version 2.6). The new version has a different memory allocation methodology. An upgraded DOS Extender can be attached to your AutoCAD by using the AutoDesk NEWDX.EXE program. If you plan to use the NEWDX.EXE we have provided as a courtesy, you must specify that while installing PowerPac, or re-run the PowerPac install program and follow the on- screen instructions to install only the NEWDX.EXE program. NEWDX.EXE is also located on Disk 8 of R11. SYMPTOM: Materials Editor under 3D Studio appears small and takes up only a portion of the screen. SOLUTION: When installing PowerPac protected-mode driver, select a larger font for the material editors. This is not necessary for any other mode, but the materials editor screen size is related to the font size and should be larger. An 18-point font at 640 x 480 is ideal. For higher resolutions, choose a larger font. By default, PowerPac will select the largest appropriate font for you automatically. SYMPTOM: System crashes unexpectedly under 3D Studio 1.0 while rendering. SOLUTION: Check to be sure that you are choosing RCPADI (not RDPADI) as your rendering device under 3D Studio 1.0. The only time you should select RDPADI under 3D Studio 1.0 is if you have a graphics board that isn’t compatible with PowerPac and have installed a separate 3D Studio driver for it. SYMPTOM: After a flip screen, plot or shell command, the text screen will not appear correctly. SOLUTION: Certain versions of ANSI.SYS published by Compaq Computer Corp. have problems with PowerPac. Replace the Compaq ANSI.SYS with any other version of ANSI.SYS. If you have difficulty locating a suitable replacement version, contact us. SYMPTOM: Cursor leaves unexplained trash on the screen. SOLUTION: PowerPac uses a specific high speed drawing mode that some mouse drivers do not correctly detect. Replacing the mouse driver with a current version will generally eliminate the problem. If not please contact us. Microsoft Mouse drivers versions 5.xx, 6.xx, and 7.xx have been known to be especially prone to this problem. Version 8 of the Microsoft Mouse drivers is now available from Microsoft. SYMPTOM: Excessive Swapping, i.e., your hard disk is active during normal editing and the system slows down measurably. SOLUTION: Either you have drawings that create especially large display lists; too many viewports open at once; an inappropriate Flip Screen Option mode selected for your memory configuration; or you need more RAM for the size drawing that you want to edit. Lower the value used in AutoCAD's VIEWRES. This will make the display lists slightly smaller. Don't have as many Viewports open at one time. Enter Custom Configuration and select Redraw mode for Flip Screen Option. Buy more RAM. You may also want to try installing a new version of the Phar-Lap DOS Extender (2.6 or higher). The new version has a different memory allocation methodology and may improve your memory situation. An upgraded DOS Extender can be attached to your AutoDesk application by using the AutoDesk NEWDX.EXE program. SYMPTOM: AutoCAD cannot located the pointing device or plotting device drivers when ACAD -R is typed to reconfigure. SOLUTION: The SET ACADDRV= environment variable is set to a location where these drivers are not located. The solution is to install the PowerPac drivers into the AutoCAD device driver directory (ex. C:\ACAD\DRV). AutoCAD will now check the environment variable will find all device drivers in this directory. SYMPTOM: NULL POINTER REFERENCE error is displayed. SOLUTION: This error may occur if the the GXi memory address has NOT been excluded from you memory manager. We have also seen this error occur when the TIGACD.EXE driver has been loaded in high memory. SYMPTOM: Drawing inside the BirdsEye is very small. SOLUTION: Use the command REGENMAX at the command prompt. 1992 Number Nine Computer Corporation. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. This document is provided pursuant to an agreement containing restrictions on its use and is protected by federal copyright law. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form of by any means or be used to make any derivative (such as translation, transformation, or adaptation) without permission in writing from Number Nine Computer Corporation. DISCLAIMER Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Number Nine Computer Corporation. Number Nine Computer Corporation reserves the right to revise this publication and to make changes from time to time in its content without obligation of Number Nine Computer Corporation to notify any person of organization of such revision or change. TRADEMARKS PowerPac, HawkEye, #9GXE and #9GXi are trademarks of Number Nine Computer Corporation. PowerPac logo and Number Nine Computer Corporation are registered trademarks of Number Nine Computer Corporation. AutoCad, AutoShade and 3D Studio are registered trademarks of AutoDesk, Inc. TIGA is a trademark of Texas Instruments, Inc. True Erase, True Drag and True Rotate are trademarks of Vibrant Graphics. GENERAL NOTICE Some of the product names used herein have been used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective manufacturers and sellers. LICENSE AGREEMENT By opening this sealed package, you agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, which include the software license and the limited warranty. This Agreement applies to you and any subsequent licensee of this software program. If you do not accept or agree to the terms of this agreement, do not open the package. Promptly return the unopened package to Number Nine for a refund. Number Nine Computer Corp (Number Nine) and Vibrant Graphics, Inc. (Vibrant) and retain ownership of the enclosed program. 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