Installation Requirements

Running VRML Export Expert requires that a "PowerTool-enabled" version of Punch! be installed; that is, any version of Punch! that is greater than or equal to 6.0. The installation requirements for the version of Punch! will cover VRML Export Expert, which means that VRML Export Expert should run on Windows 95, 98, SE, ME, Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

Installation

Installation of VRML Export Expert is simple. After downloading the install executable, simply double-click it to cause it to run, and follow the directions on your screen.

It will first ask the user to read the TKE license for VRML Export Expert and indicate acceptance, then display a screen that will search for the installed Punch! packages on your machine.

Press the Start Search button to start it searching. When it is done, it will present a list of Punch! installs that it can use. (I have several, as you can see.)

Select one of them and press the Next button. VRML Export Expert will be installed, and you are ready to use it after pressing Finish.

If the search did not find an acceptable Punch! version and you press Next, or if you press the Locate manually button, the installer will show a screen on which you may browse to the Punch! install you wish to use. The installer will verify that it is a Punch! install, and that the version is "PowerTool-enabled". If all is well, the Next button will install.

Saving Your Installer and Updates

Don't neglect to save a copy of your downloaded PowerTool, preferably burned onto a CD-R disk. Also place copies of the latest updater and any updaters needed to bridge from an earlier version to the current version. If the originally purchased version was 1.2 and the current version is 3.2.1, you will probably need updaters for 1.2->2.0, 2.0->3.0, and 3.0->3.2.1. They should always be available the TKE update page, but a belt and suspenders philosophy says to keep copies. You will likely need the original download from time to time, certainly when you purchase and install a new version of the Punch! software. Updates will not install if they cannot find an original installation to update.

TKE gives users who accept the software license full permission to make a copy of the installer for their own use only. Such copies may not be distributed to others except as the license allows.

As we explain later, there is an option in VRML Export Expert for automatically starting up your browser to view the VRML output after it is generated. In order for this feature to work, you must have installed a plugin for your browser as mentioned above. It, in turn, should have created an association for the .wrl file suffix pointing to your browser. That association allows the user to double click a WRL file and automatically start the browser with the VRML plugin. That association must be in place for the browser feature to work.

You can check whether there is such an association on your computer by:


    

VRML Export Expert and the contents of this help file are
Copyright©2006 by ThistleKeep Engineering; all rights are reserved.

Comments and suggestions, as well as support, are entertained at Lmc@ThistleKeep.com.
"Punch!" and other titles of Punch! operations are trademarks of Punch! Software L.L.C.