Let's begin with a simple example, AutoColor.net.
Find this net's filename in the list, and open this program (click its name and press OK; or double-click; or type its name as the Selection and press OK). Data Explorer starts to run, opens the program, and executes it.
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If you get an error message, you may have an older version of OpenDX installed. The error "Import: Bad parameter: cannot open file 'watermolecule' in current directory or DXDATA path" was a bug that has been fixed in the current release of OpenDX. |
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You can't start OpenDX, then open a shell window and set the DXDATA variable because then the value of the variable will not be known to the running OpenDX. If you are just now setting the environment variables, quit OpenDX, set the variables, then restart OpenDX. |
Most of the samples are set to run in a mode designed for end-users (I called this mode 1 in the introductory material). This is a presentation mode that hides the gory details of the program from someone who simply wants to interact with the visualization. Different samples provide different options to the person browsing these programs.
If all ran according to plan, you should now be seeing a multi-colored lumpy object in a window labeled:
Image: $DXROOT/dxsamples-x.x/AutoColor.net
though the window may not be wide enough for you to see the whole name.
Stretch the window by grabbing the frame with the mouse and pulling it to a larger size. You'll see the object resize to the new window size. This is a key point! You were not seeing a 2D picture that had been rendered at a fixed size, but you are looking through a porthole into a 3D world. It's a 3D object in a 3D world, dynamically redrawn as you interact with the Image window.
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Optional: View this Technical Aside if you want more detail on this subject; the information is not required to understand the upcoming material. |
Of course, simply resizing the window is not very enlightening. On the Image window, choose the Options Menu: View Control… choice. This dialog box holds many of the commands that let you modify your view of the scene.
Select Mode: Rotate from this dialog box.
Note the appearance of labeled axes within the Image window. These help you see the orientation of the object as you rotate it.
Now, using the left button on your mouse, drag the mouse on the object just as if you could reach out and grab the object with your hand and give it a tug in any direction then let the mouse button up. Depending on the speed of your machine, you may see an immediate response, or you may have to release the mouse and wait a moment for the new view to be calculated and displayed. In either case, you should be able, through a series of tugs on the object, to tumble it into any orientation you like. The "Execute" tab will stay highlighted until processing is complete.
How do you get it back to where it started? Use the Reset button in the View Control… dialog box, or press Ctrl-F while the mouse is in the Image window (no mouse buttons depressed, just have the cursor within the boundary of the Image window). Memorize this command (Ctrl-F) because you use it frequently in the Image window. If you need a mnenomic, try "First View". (Ctrl-R is reserved for Rotate, so they couldn't use it for Reset.)
You can also use the right mouse button to rotate the object. Try it and see what it does differently. Then try the left mouse button drag again and Reset when you are finished.
From the "Data Explorer" window (the one with the anchor on the menu bar), choose File: Quit… and do not save when prompted, but do say Yes when asked if you want to quit DX. Because we launched from the startupui, you will be returned to the Startup Dialog, ready to choose another sample program.
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Optional: View this Technical Aside if you want more detail on this subject; the information is not required to understand the upcoming material. |
