CompuServe Thread

#Printing Top Viewport

7 messages in this thread
#163479From: Robert WickendenApr 7, 1995 10:47 AM
I need to create a print-out of the top viewport of a 3ds architectural environment which I'm working on. I've tried saving the top viewport as a .DXF file which I imported into Corel Draw -but this turned out as a mess. Basically what I think I need is simply a screen capture program that I can run under 3DS.
#163537From: Brian Rudolph [Adesk]Apr 7, 1995 2:35 PM
<<Basically what I think I need is simply a screen capture program that I can run under 3DS>> – There is a handy screen dump utility built into 3DS This is primarily for people who are doing docs for IPAS routines and book writers, and others who need to be able to dump screens to disk. Here's how it works: In your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, place a line: SET SCREENGRAB=YES This enables the screen grab functionality of 3DS. Without this, the program won't do it. Run 3DS. At any point in the program, press CTRL-PRINT SCREEN. The screen saver will snap a picture of how the screen looks at this point, including the cursor position. The program will pop up a simple filename entry dialog, which just allows the entry of an 8-character filename with a 3-character extension. Type in the name you want to save the file to, specify the file type by including the extension (.gif, .tif, .tga, etc.), and then click on Save. (If you don't include an extension, it uses the current image file type you've set in the Configuration dialog.) This dialog does NOT respond to CR or ESC keys to Save or Cancel — they would confuse the program if you were doing a screen grab from within another dialog. If you select Save, the image is saved to the IMAGE-PATH under the name you entered. You may use any standard 3DS file type or .BXP file type. Saving to flics is NOT recommended. The screen grab will not work if you are inside the screen grab itself, viewing its file save dialog. —————————————————————-
#163727From: T-Spect LeApr 9, 1995 12:17 AM
Pardon me for jumping in: Several months ago I posted a message in relation to this topic. Absolutely NO ONE ANSWERED. I was dismayed and this is the 2nd attempt. I would like to find out how I can capture an animated sequence of the rendering screen in progress. I saw this was sucessfully done on the 3DSr2 WCT-CDROM, the 3DSr3 demo disk, ect.. Are there any "top secret" info about this procedures? (Automated message, 24-36 hrs. read/reply cycle) – TSL
#163789From: david W. mennenohApr 9, 1995 1:48 PM
TSL – PMJI, but the animated rendering screen was just an animation that someone made. Nothing more. Just make an image of the renderer's dialog box, map a flic of a red bar onto the gas gauge part and render it. There is no way to actually screen capture the renderer in progress. Though I'd expect anything once R5 is available. Maybe you could use Lotus ScreenCam to make animated R5 tutorials and such. DM
#164058From: T-Spect LeApr 10, 1995 11:52 PM
DM, Ahh, what an easy (albeit tedious) overlooked technique. Thanks for the info. – TSL
#163969From: Brian Rudolph [Adesk]Apr 10, 1995 5:23 PM
tsl, David is right. I believe the animated sequences where you see 3ds "rendering" are a screen shot with an animated red bar and animated mouse. The other method would be like what digimation did for their studio tapes. Attach a VGA->NTSC card to the computer. Then record the under interface right to video tape. If you need it on disk, you could then digitize the tape back into the computer either as .TGA's or an AVI file.
#163644From: Michael LudwigApr 8, 1995 6:51 AM
Somewhere in the libraries theres a text file called r3hidn.txt. It states that if you set the environment variable SCREENGRAB to YES 3DS allows to capture the screen with CTRL-PRTSCRN. I haven't tried this at all and don't know if it works in R4, but have a try ! Good luck Michael