Adding Objects Defined Using VRML97 to Jim's 3-D Display

The Virtual Reality Modelling Language (VRML) is a standard file format for representing 3-dimensional (3D) graphics. The types of graphics that can be defined and displayed by Jim's 3-D display are simple geometric objects defined by a mesh of points and connecting lines. Here is a good starting point to find out more about VRML97.

Various tools in Jim can create VRML object files, including the Brain Finder and the the Fuzzy Connector. After a VRML file has been created on disk, it can then be loaded into the 3-D display.

Note: VRML files have an extension ".wrl".

To add objects defined in VRML files, select Load from VRML file ... from the File menu of the 3-D Viewer:

A dialog will now appear, for you to select the VRML file.

Select the VRML file that you want to display. Either click on the

button, or type in the path to the VRML file name (and press return).

Note: VRML files have an extension ".wrl".
Note: VRML files are text files, tend to be quite large and can take a long time to load.

If the VRML file contain suitable geometry that can be displayed by Jim, then it will now appear in the 3-D display.
Note: Not all VRML files will contain geometry that can be displayed. VRML is a more general purpose format that can describe other 3-D elements, such as interactions and movement. If the VRML file does not contain displayable geometric objects, Jim will pop up an error message.

You can change the appearance of the geometric objects displayed by changing the following settings:

Opacity. The opacity has a value between 0 (completely transparent) and 1 (completely opaque). Change the opacity using the opacity slider.
Colour. The default colour with which the surface or outlines are rendered is grey. To change the colour, click on the button and select the new colour from the colour chooser that will pop up. Note: VRML allows the colours of individual geometry nodes (vertices) to be specified, whilst setting the colour will set the colour off all nodes the same. If you change the colour of a VRML object in this way, the per-vertex colours will be lost and you would need to reload the VRML file to get them back. For example, the VRML brain surface produced by the Brain Finder tool has the colours of the triangular mesh set to different shades of grey according to the depth of the sulci.
Surface shininess. The surface shininess has a value between 1 and 128. Change the shininess using the spinner.
Render mode. Surface meshes loaded from a VRML file can be rendered as:
- A solid surface. Select a render mode of "Fill".
- A mesh of lines connecting the vertex points. Select a render mode of "Wire frame".
- A cloud of vertex points. Select a render mode of "Points".

The picture below shows a VRML brain surface extracted by the Brain Finder.

If you click the

button, the objects loaded from the VRML file will be removed from the 3-D viewer.

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