When the VRML Export Expert is executed using the icon on the Powertool bar, it will open its option selection panel.
In this slot the file to receive the VRML output is specified. The VRML specification reserves the file extension ".wrl" for files containing VRML language specifications, so that is the default extension when no other extension is given.
The name may be typed in, or it may be selected from the list of the most recently used names using the listbox expansion button on the right end of the edit box (the most recently used filename is displayed in the box by default), or it may be specified by clicking on the "Browse..." button, which opens a standard windows open dialog. The filename may be specified as an absolute file name including the complete partition and path, or it may be relative, based on the Punch! main folder. Note that this means that just giving a simple filename without path data will result in the files being created within the Punch! main folder, which is not usually where one would expect to find them. VRML Export Expert will warn of this situation and give an option to reconsider the location.
Note that when the VRML Export Expert executes it will build its output into the specified file. In addition, any required textures and/or plant files will also be created in the same directory the VRML file is to be placed in. It may therefore be considered prudent to have a empty folder for this use, to avoid mixing these files in with other files.
Sometimes a model can be so large that it creates an unusually large VRML file, or one that is slow to render when the file is "executed". Options which limit the completeness or high-reality of the VRML model are therefore available.
There are a series of display options which can be used to limit the kinds of objects which are converted to the VRML model. For example, you can request that roofs as a class not be converted, or plants, for example. By default all these options are checked on.
Also the output can be limited to a subset of the floors which are in the original Punch! model. You can export only the main floor, for example. Like the object deletions, these are all checked by default.
A checkbox here allows the user to turn off the creation of trim around doors, windows and base trim on walls, as well as library panelling and wainscotting. By default this is unchecked, allowing trim to be displayed.
Checkbox selections here allow for three options: Full Textures, Average Texture Colors and No Textures (average texture colors is not yet available). Full textures, the default selection, is the choice with which all textures and colors are rendered just as in LiveView. Average texture color attempts to paint the surface with a solid color that most closely matches the average color of a texture. No textures specifies that textured surfaces will be rendered medium gray, though colored surfaces will be rendered with the specified color.
Railings are expensive to create in VRML, because the balusters require 4 surfaces for each baluster. Simplified Balusters, created out of two surfaces (in an "X" shape) or even simpler ones created from a single surface may be pressed into service if the VRML model runs too slowly. The default are the boxed, 4-sided balusters.
Doors may be specified as normal, with the open angle is specified in the Punch! plan, or with all doors closed.
The panelled style of door, as used in LiveView and as opposed to a plain flat surface door, may be requested as well.
The default scale is 100, meaning 100% true size. A different scale factor entered here will result in all the VRML objects being scaled larger than real size (scale > 100) or smaller then full scale. Normal avatar height (the height of the travelling viewpoint) is considered to be 1.8 meters (5', 5.5"), which may be a bit tall for some people, resulting in collisions with door overheads. If this is a problem, scale the world up to, say, 120%, and that will feel more normal.
Punch! has a dirt-brown cube below the terrain, to provide a brown background when you are below the ground. It's a cube because that is faster ti generate in software, and because a sphere would be faintly ridiculous. VRML Export Expert will provide that cube if you check this box; otherwise the terrain will be all alone. The downside to such a cube is that it will mess up the center of a VRML Study rotation, as it shifts the "center of gravity" far below the surface.
If this checkbox is checked, your Internet Browser will be invoked with the output of your VRML export as soon as the export is completed. This presupposes the browser that is assigned as your "primary" browser has a vrml plugin installed. VRML Export Expert looks up the primary browser command line in the registry.
This button, when pressed, immediately aborts VRML Export Expert and returns control to the Punch! program.
The Help button displays this (hopefully helpful) help file.
This button indicates that you are happy with the options selected, and tells VRML Export Expert to proceed to generate the VRML file. After being pressed, the button disappears and is replaced with a progress bar indicating how the conversion is faring.
When the VRML export operation is complete, if Call Browser was requested, VRML Export Expert will attempt to start the browser with the generated .wrl file as the target. If your browser is Internet Explorer, it may need prompting from the yellow caution bar at the top of the browser window to complete the action. An inspection of the folder to which the .wrl was directed will show a number of .png files in addition to the .wrl file. These are copies of the textures and plants used in the Punch! model. They must be in the same directory in which the .wrl file resides to work properly to show textures. Because of the existance of these files, it is usually expedient to direct the output of VRMLEX to an empty folder so all the files can be handled as a group.
VRML Export Expert and the contents of this help file are
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