3D Canvas(tm) 7.1.1

3D Canvas is a freeware real-time 3D modeling and animation tool
that incorporates a drag-and-drop approach to 3D modeling.

Complex models can be constructed from simple 3D primitives,
or created using 3D Canvas' Object Building Tools.

Creating an animated scene is as simple as positioning
the objects within your scene for each point in time in
your animation. 3D Canvas will ensure that the resulting
animation runs smoothly. No complicated scene timelines
are required. Your animation can be stepped through a
frame at a time, viewed in real-time, or recorded to a
Video (AVI) file so that you can distribute your creation.


Minimum System Requirements
---------------------------

Microsoft Windows Vista/XP/2000
DirectX 9
16 MB video card, with a minimum resolution of 800x600


Installation
------------

3D Canvas is distributed as a Windows Installer document in order
to reduce its download size. Most computers will be able to install
3D Canvas by double-clicking the 3DCanvas Windows Installer file.
If double-clicking the 3DCanvas Windows Installer file does not
install 3D Canvas you will need to download the Windows Installer.
Windows Installer is available at:

    http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=32831&area=search&ordinal=1


If installation still won't start when you double-click the 3DCanvas
installation file follow this procedure:

1) Select "Run" from the Start Menu
2) Type the following in the "Open" entry box:
       msiexec /i "path\3DCanvas.msi"
   where "path" is the location of the 3D Canvas installation file.
3) Click "OK"


If you receive error 1904 "3dcsg.dll failed to register" you will need to
download the latest version of Microsoft's DirectX which is available here:

    http://www.microsoft.com/directx/homeuser/downloads/default.asp


To install 3D Canvas for all users of a Windows XP computer:

1) Logon as an administrator
2) Select "Run" from the Start Menu
3) Type the following in the "Open" entry box:
       msiexec /i "path\3DCanvas.msi" ALLUSERS="2"
   where "path" is the location of the 3D Canvas installation file.
4) Click "OK", and follow the installation instructions
5) Run 3D Canvas. 3D Canvas will make a number of registry entries needed
   for the next step.
6) Run Regedit using the Start menu's "Run" function.
7) Right click on the key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Amabilis\3D Canvas"
   and select "Permissions" from the popup menu.
8) Select "Users" and click the "Allow-Full Control" check box.
9) click "OK"

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO PREVIOUS USERS OF 3D CANVAS:

Previous users must remember to uninstall the previous
version of 3D Canvas prior to installation of a new version.

What's New in 3D Canvas 7.1.1
-----------------------------

o) Default Scene Background Color

   A default background color for scenes can now be selected.


o) Library Background Colors

   Background colors can now be set for object, material and texture libraries.


o) Enhanced Scene Details Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro/Plus Feature)

   The Scene Details plug-in now displays additional scene information.


o) Improved Optimize Operation (3D Canvas Pro/Plus Feature)

   The Optimize operation now corrects more geometry problems.


o) Downloadable Extras (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Additional object libraries, sample models, scripts and plug-ins are now 
   available for download from the Help menu.


What's New in 3D Canvas 7.1.1 for Train Simulators
--------------------------------------------------

o) Updated Train Simulator Wizard (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   The Train Simulator Wizard now prepares and exports models to Rail 
   Simulator format.


o) New Trainz Railroad Simulator Export (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   3D Canvas now exports to Trainz Railroad Simulator format.


o) New Rail3D Export (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   3D Canvas now exports to Rail3D stock, scenery and signal formats.


o) New BVE Train Simulator Export (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   3D Canvas now exports to BVE Train Simulator format.


o) Improved MSTS Animation Export (3D Canvas Pro/3D Canvas Plus Feature)

   Animation of root groups can now be exported.


o) Improved MSTS Material Export (3D Canvas Pro/3D Canvas Plus Feature) 

   It is now possible to set all material attributes on a per face basis.


o) Improved Support for Detailed Models in MSTS (3D Canvas Pro/3D Canvas Plus Feature)


   Models with large numbers of faces and points can now be exported to the MSTS format.


o) Improved Support for Rail Simulator Materials (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   3D Canvas now exports secondary textures for Rail Simulator materials that require
   more than one texture.



What's New in 3D Canvas 7.1
---------------------------

o) New Show Only Function

   This right-click function allows you to hide every scene object except those 
   currently selected.


o) Improved Texture Cropping

   The texture cropping window now automatically adjusts to show more texture detail.


o) New Piper Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Used to create bending and twisting pipes from a base section of pipe.


o) New Bridge Engineer Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Automates the building of bridges.


o) New Foundry Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Quickly creates common structural elements, such as I-Beams.


o) New Butt Objects Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Precisely butts two objects together.


o) New Print Hierarchy Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Used to print the hierarchy of a scene.


o) New Swap Texture Files Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Used to replace a texture a model uses with a new texture.


o) New Count Triangles Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Counts the number of triangles an object or hierarchy uses.


o) New Split Faces Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Moves the selected faces to a new object.


o) Updated Pipe Builder Plug-in (3D Canvas Plus/Pro Feature)

   Now called Pipe Engineer, this new version includes new shape attributes for 
   the created pipe.


o) Updated Count Untextured Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Now called Show Untextured, this new version includes additional details to help in
   finding untextured objects and faces.


What's New in 3D Canvas 7.1 for Train Simulators
------------------------------------------------
 
o) New Train Simulator Engineer Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Automatically generates wheels, chassis and bogies.


o) New Cab Engineer Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Automates the building of selected parts of locomotives.


o) New Handrail Engineer Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Automates the building of train handrails.


o) New Buffer Engineer Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Automates the building of train buffers.


o) New Fit Boiler Curve Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Adjusts the base of an object to fit a boiler shape.


o) New Animate Rods/Pistons Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Automatically generates animations for train wheel links, connecting rods and 
   piston objects.


What's New in 3D Canvas 7.0.5
-----------------------------

o) Improved Rail Simulator Export (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   The 3D Canvas Rail Simulator Export now optionally exports generated and custom
   levels of detail.


o) User Defined Fields for Groups

   Custom fields for groups can now be defined by users. These fields can be used
   for documentation or as inputs for plug-ins and operations created by third parties.


What's New in 3D Canvas 7.0.4.1
-------------------------------

o) Improved TrainSim Modeler Import (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   3D Canvas now imports texture information from TainSim Modeler files.


What's New in 3D Canvas 7.0.4
-----------------------------

o) Rail Simulator Export (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   3D Canvas now exports to the Rail Simulator IGS and IA formats.


o) Improved Texture Finding

   3D Canvas now searches for textures not only in the document`s folder,
   but also in any sub-folders.


What's New in 3D Canvas 7.0.3
-----------------------------

o) Collada (dae) Export (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   3D Canvas now has the ability to export geometry (shapes) to Collada (dae) files.

o) Quicktime 3D Metafile (3dmf) Import (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   The geometry (shapes) can now be imported from Quicktime 3D Metafiles.



What's New in 3D Canvas 7.0.2
-----------------------------

o) Enhanced Point and Face Selection Tool

   You can now indicate specifically if you want to choose Points,
   Edges or Faces, by holding down the 1, 2 or 3 buttons when using
   the Point and Face Selection Tool.


o) More Accurate Rendering

   3D Canvas now supports 32 bit and 24 bit depth buffers so 
   overlapping objects render more accurately when in the distance.


o) New Scripting Method

   The CanvasApplication object now includes the new method "GetUnits".



What's New in 3D Canvas 7.0.1
-----------------------------

o) TrainSim Modeler Import

   Model geometries created with TrainSim Modeler can now be imported.


o) Enhanced Microsoft Train Simulator Export

   The export for Microsoft Train Simulator now provides increased support
   for distance levels.


What's New in 3D Canvas 7
-------------------------

o) Spherical Environment Mapping

   Simulated reflections are now supported via spherical environment mapping.


o) Specular Mapping

   Simulated specular highlights are now supported via specular mapping.


o) Object Instance Cloning (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Objects can now be cloned using instance cloning. All changes made to a 
   cloned object are immediately applied to all clones.


o) Material Plug-Ins (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Material plug-ins are now supported. This allows third parties to extend 
   the material features of 3D Canvas.


o) Near Viewing in Perspective Views

   It is now possible to view objects ten times closer than in previous releases.


o) Material Editor

   The Object Properties window now displays an editable list of materials 
   used by the object.


o) Object Locking

   Objects can now be locked so that accidental changes do not occur.


o) Title Bar Hiding

   3D Canvas' title bar can now be hidden to provide more modelling space.


o) User Defined Fields for Objects

   Custom fields for objects can now be defined by users. These fields can be used
   for documentation or as inputs for plug-ins and operations created by third parties.


o) User Defined Fields for Materials

   Custom fields for materials can now be defined by users. These fields can be used 
   for documentation or as inputs for plug-ins and operations created by third parties.


o) Adjust Alpha Test Material Plug-In (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   The texture translucency level that should be rendered as transparent can now 
   be adjusted via the Adjust Alpha Test material plug-in.


o) Set Specular Color Material Plug-In (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   The color of specular highlighting can now be set via the Set Specular Color 
   material plug-in.


o) Material Palette Improvements

   The Material Palette has been redesigned to better group related items.


o) Improved Solid Outline Rendering

   Solid Outline rendering has been improved to display clearer lines.


o) Support for DDS Textures

   Microsoft DirectDraw Surface (DDS) textures are now supported.


o) New Texture Formats for the Freeware Version

   The freeware version of 3D Canvas now supports all the texture formats 
   of 3D Canvas Pro.


o) Additional Background Image File Formats

   Background images can now be in any texture format supported by 3D Canvas.


What's New in 3D Canvas 6.6
---------------------------

o) New 3D Renderer

   The 3D Canvas 3D renderer has been completely re-written so as to allow
   for the new rendering features of today's 3D graphics cards.


o) Real-time True Shadows

   True shadows can now be rendered in real time.


o) Bump Mapping

   The new 3D Canvas renderer supports Dot Product 3 bump mapping.


o) Cartoon Rendering

   Real-time Cartoon Rendering is now supported.


o) Anisotropic Filtering

   Textures can be filtered using Anisotropic filtering.


o) Improved support for Targa and PNG textures

   3D Canvas now loads Targa and PNG textures more quickly.


o) Improved Point and Face Selection

   The selection of points and faces on heavily deformed objects is now 
   more accurate.


o) Improved Outline Rendering Mode

   Outline mode now renders lines more clearly.


o) Hardware Anti-aliasing of Snapshots and Videos (3D Canvas Pro only)

   3D Canvas now renders snapshots and videos using hardware anti-aliasing.


o) New Edge Operation Features

   The Edge operation can now create edges between existing edges. It also
   allows multiple points to be joined in a single operation.


o) Enhanced Group Selection Tool

   The Group Selection Tool can now be used to select multiple edges.


o) Rendering of Complex Faces

   3D Canvas now renders concave and highly distorted faces


o) New Import Options

   There are nine new import options including automatic centering with a scene,
   resizing, creasing, defaulting textures and geometry manipulation options.


o) Hover Object Details

   Hovering the cursor over an object now displays the name of the object, the size 
   of the object, the number of faces and points, and the name of the texture 
   applied to the object 


o) Hover Position Details

   The position the cursor is hovering over is now displayed.
   

o) Distance From Selected Point Displayed

   When a point on an object is selected, the distance from the selected point to the
   hover position, or point position is displayed


o) Improved Consolidate and Merge Triangles Operations (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   These operations can now optionally merge faces and triangles of dissimilar materials.


o) Five New Import Formats (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Maya (rtg)
   RealiMation 4.1 (rbs)
   StereoLithography (stl)
   VideoScape (geo)
   XYZ (xyz)


o) Eleven New Export Formats (3D Canvas Pro Feature)

   Lightscape (lp)
   Open Inventor (iv)
   Maya (ma)
   Quicktime 3D Metafile (3dmf)
   RealiMation 4.1 (rbs)
   Softimage 3.5 (xsi)   
   StereoLithography (stl)
   TurboSilver (ts)
   VideoScape (geo)
   Viewpoint (mtx)
   X3D (X3D)


o) Improved Support For Materials during Import and Export 

   Translucency, specular, ambient and diffuse material properties
   are now preserved during import and export.


o) Enhanced Support for Backdrop Plans

   Backdrop plan support has been enhanced to support non-square plans 
   and automatic scaling of plans.


o) Improved Support for Non-Square Textures

   Non-square textures are now displayed in the original proportions.


o) Improved Import/Export Speed

   Files now import and export more quickly.


Note that not all features are supported by older computers and older 
3D Graphics cards.


What's New in 3D Canvas 6.5
---------------------------

o) Enhanced Boolean Operations (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Boolean operations now produce fewer faces and points.


o) Renderer Improvements

   The 3D Canvas renderer now displays multi-layered translucency and 
   transparency.


o) Improved Divide Operation

   The Divide operation has a new option to allow for horizontal 
   and vertical divisions.


o) Enhanced Crease Operation

   The Crease operation now creases faces that have collinear edges.


o) New Repair Geometry Operation (3D Canvas Pro only)

   The new Repair Geometry operation corrects problems with model 
   geometry such as collinear edges and concave facets.


o) Auto-Creasing

   3D Canvas now automatically re-creases after many operations in 
   order to correct creasing problems introduced by geometry changes.


o) Enhanced MD2 Export (3D Canvas Plus/Pro only)

   The MD2 export can now export hierarchies as well as individual 
   objects.


o) New Consolidate Operation (3D Canvas Pro only)

   The new Consolidate operation automatically merges faces where the
   resulting merged faces are planar and convex.


o) Microsoft Train Simulator Wizard Enhanced (3D Canvas Plus/Pro only)

   The Train Simulator Wizard now supports the export of custom levels
   of detail. It also supports the export of unconsolidated sub-objects
   for the creation of signals.


o) New Merge Triangles Operation (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Automatically merges triangles where the resulting faces are planar
   and convex.


o) New Create Unique Names Plug-in (3D Canvas Pro only)

   This new plug-in creates unique names for each group and object in the
   hierarchy selected.


o) Enhanced Extrude Operation

   The Extrude operation can now extrude based on the average face 
   direction.


o) New De-triangulate Operation (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Automatically converts triangle faces to quadrilateral (four-sided) 
   faces.


o) Improved Solidify Operation (3D Canvas Plus/Pro only)

   The Solidify operation now uses a more sophisticated approach to 
   solidifying objects.


o) Operation Material Improvements

   All operations now retain material information.


o) Improved Face Highlighting

   Faces selected while in wireframe mode are now more visible.


o) Automatic Point Handle Resizing

   The handles for selected points are now resized based on the viewing 
   position.


o) Automatic Recovery of Selection after Undo

   Object, Face, Edge and Point selections are now recovered after  
   an undo.


o) Reduced Memory Usage

   Memory usage is reduced for scenes with large numbers of layers.


o) Plug-ins Enhanced (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Plug-ins can now be applied to selected groups and hierarchies.


o) New Scripting methods (3D Canvas Pro only)


   The CanvasApplication class now includes six new methods: GetSnapToMode, 
   GetSnapToObjectInterval, GetSnapToPointInterval, GetCanvasMode, 
   GetCanvasModeTime and GetTrainSimulatorUtilsPath.

   The CanvasGroup's ExportToTrainSimulator method now supports 
   non-consolidated sub-objects.

   The CanvasObject class now includes three new methods: Reduce, Optimize 
   and DeleteFace.

   The CanvasScene class now includes three new methods: GetSelectionType, 
   GetCameraGroup, GetActiveFaceObjectIndex. It also supports multiple 
   active groups and objects.


o) Scene Script Now Supported (3D Canvas Pro)

   Each scene can now have its own script. This can be used as a controlling 
   script for all scene components rather than having a script for each 
   individual group and/or object.


o) Third Party Operations (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Third party developers and users can now create operations for 3D Canvas Pro.


o) Chamfer Operation Enhanced (3D Canvas Plus/Pro only)

   The Chamfer operation has a new parameter so that you can easily change 
   the chamfer amount.
 

o) New Ctrl-Key and Function Key Shortcuts

   All Tools, Rendering Modes and Highlight Modes can now be selected via 
   Ctrl-Key combinations or Function keys.


What's new in 3D Canvas 6.0.2.4
-------------------------------

This release corrects a problem where animated objects and skeletons were not
being exported properly to Shockwave 3D.


What's new in 3D Canvas 6.0.2.3
-------------------------------

o) Weld To Range Plug-in (3D Canvas Plus/Pro only)

   The Weld To Range plug-in is now included in the install for 
   3D Canvas Plus/Pro. It is used to weld together points that 
   are within a specified range.


o) Sampling of Plug-Ins from Paul Gausden's Plug-in Pack (3D Canvas Plus/Pro only)

   The Pipe Builder, Reset Animation Positions and Shift Center plug-ins from 
   Paul Gausden's Plug-in Pack are available to 3D Canvas Plus and 3D Canvas Pro 
   users.

   Thanks to Paul Gauden for providing these plug-ins for 3D Canvas Plus
   and 3D Canvas Pro users.


What's new in 3D Canvas 6.0.2.2
-------------------------------

This is a maintenance release. There are no new functions.


What's new in 3D Canvas 6.0.2.1
-------------------------------

This is a maintenance release. There are no new functions.


What's new in 3D Canvas 6.0.2.0
-------------------------------

o) Support for Multi-user Systems.

   3D Canvas now supports installation on multi-user systems. Note that due
   to this change textures and libraries are now stored in a folder called
   "3D Canvas" which is located in your "My Documents" folder.

   See above for more information on installation on multi-user systems.


What's new in 3D Canvas 6.0.1.4
-------------------------------

This is a maintenance release. There are no new functions.



What's new in 3D Canvas 6.0.1.3
-------------------------------

o) Point Gliding

   Points can now be moved along an edge or across a specific plane using the new 
   point gliding function.


o) New Taper Operation

   A new simpler Taper operation is now available. It now includes simple volume based
   controls to easily select the region of the object to taper.

   The old Taper operation is still available and is now called the Taper+ operation.


What's new in 3D Canvas 6.0.1.2
-------------------------------

o) New Twist Operation (3D Canvas Pro/LP only)

   A new simpler Twist operation is now available. It now includes simple volume based
   controls to easily select the region of the object to twist.

   The old Twist operation is still available and is now called the Twist+ operation.


What's new in 3D Canvas 6.0.1.1
-------------------------------

o) New Bend Operation

   A new simpler Bend operation is now available. It now includes simple volume based
   controls to easily select the region of the object to bend.

   The old Bend operation is still available and is now called the Warp operation.



What's new in 3D Canvas 6.0.1.0
-------------------------------

o) User-Configurable Function Sets

   Options are now available to define which sets of operations, plug-ins
   and scripts are available. This allows users to remove clutter by 
   hiding functions that they do not use on a regular basis.


o) Non-Linear Navigation and Editing

   The Navigation and Edit Controls now work in a non-linear fashion.
   This allows easier modelling of large objects.


o) Operation Defaults Available via Right-Click

   Operation defaults can now be set using the older right-click method
   as well as the new "Remember These Setting" function.



What's New in 3D Canvas 6.0
---------------------------

o) Subdivision Surfaces

   Objects can now behave as subdivision surfaces where the object is
   automatically smoothed in real time as changes are being made.


o) Real Time Mirroring (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Objects can now be automatically mirrored in real time.


o) In-place Operations

   Many operations can now have their parameters adjusted without
   opening pop-up windows.


o) Additional Keyboard Shortcuts

   New keyboard shortcuts allow for temporary overrides of the
   current modeling constraints and the current modeling coordinates mode.
   

o) Custom Operation Defaults

   Operations now support User defined parameters defaults.


o) Enhanced Primitives Parameters

   The parameters for primitives can now be adjusted without the need
   to open a pop-up window


o) Custom Primitive Defaults

   Primitives now support user-defined parameter defaults.


o) Custom Material Defaults

   The material palette now supports user-defined defaults.

 
o) Enhanced Smooth Operation

   The Smooth operation has new options to permit multiple smoothing
   levels and tension.

   The smooth operation also now retains material information and is
   up to thirty times faster than in previous releases.


o) Enhanced Divide Operation

   The Divide operation now retains material information when applied
   to whole objects and is up to thirty times faster than in previous
   releases.


o) User-Defined Default Creasing

   A default creasing factor can now be specified for objects. This
   creasing factor is used by operations to re-crease the object
   whenever the operation can not retain creasing.


o) New Scripting methods (3D Canvas Pro/LP only)

   The Object class now includes two new methods: GetCreaseFactor and
   SetCreaseFactor. These methods are used to support default creasing.



What's New in 3D Canvas 5.7a
----------------------------

o) New Crease All Plug-In (3D Canvas Pro/LP only)

   Creases all objects in a scene.

o) Extrude Operation Enhanced

   The Extrude operation is now more accurate on heavily deformed faces.   



What's New in 3D Canvas 5.7
---------------------------

o) Enhanced Object Building Tools

   The Lathe, Extrude, Text and Terrain tools now provide in-place views
   to simplify model creation.


o) Skeletal Auto-Weighting System

   An enhanced auto-weighting system for bones is now available that
   improves the skin's appearance around joints. 


o) Bone Range of Effect Improvements

   Bones now have more flexible facilities for setting bone effect ranges,
   including the ability to encompass irregular shapes.


o) Outline Rendering Mode

   A new rendering mode has been added where the faces that make up an
   object are rendered outlined.


o) Microsoft Flight Simulator Export

   Exporting to Microsoft Flight Simulator format is now supported.


o) Microsoft Train Simulator Export Enhanced
 
   The Microsoft Train Simulator export now supports specular highlighting. 


o) Optimize Function

   Removes inactive object layers to reduce file size.


o) Clone Function Enhanced
  
   The Clone function now operates on object hierarchies.


o) New Scripting method (3D Canvas Pro/LP only)

   New Bone object method:

        GetAffectedPointWeight

   Note that plug-in developers must now implement the "GetName"
   and "GetAuthor" methods. Examples are provided in the "Plug-in/Samples"
   folder.


What's New in 3D Canvas 5.6
---------------------------

o) Shockwave 3D Export

   Export to the Shockwave 3D (w3d) format is now supported.
   Export of animation and skeletal information requires
   3D Canvas Pro.


o) Improved DirectX Export (Available with 3D Canvas LP/Pro)

   The DirectX export has been updated to conform to DirectX 8.
   This allows for the export of skeletal objects (skinned meshes). 


What's New in 3D Canvas 5.5c Revision 4
---------------------------------------

o) Enhanced Extrude Operation

   The Extrude Operation now extrudes edges as well as faces.


o) Improved Wavefront (OBJ) Export

   Wavefront (OBJ) files are no longer triangulated on export.



What's New in 3D Canvas 5.5c
----------------------------

o) Extrude Tool Enhanced

   The Extrude Tool is now capable of creating 2-d extrudes.


o) Train Simulator Wizard Enhanced

   - Now supports all available compression formats.

   - Supports water and coal intakes for tenders.

   - Now permits animation information to optionally be updated so that pre-animated
     models retain their animation information.

   - Automatically orients the part identification view towards model.


o) Triangulate Operation Improved

   The Triangulate operation now preserves materials and is considerably faster.


o) Lathe Tool Enhanced

   The Lathe Tool now supports the creation of solid lathe segments.


o) Boolean Operations Improved

   Boolean operations are now more accurate and no longer require pre-triangulation.


o) UV Map/UV Re-Map/UnWrap Operations

   These operations now support mapping rotation.


What's New in 3D Canvas 5.5b
----------------------------

This is a maintenance release. No new functions are included.


What's New in 3D Canvas 5.5a
----------------------------

Minor revisions were made to face and point movement to make them
consistent with object movement.


What's New in 3D Canvas 5.5
---------------------------

o) Right-Click Access to Common Operations

   Many of the most common operations are now available via
   the right-click popup menu.


o) Right-Click Selection Features

   Many new object, face, edge and point selection features have
   been added to the right-click popup menus. New features include
   Select Group, Grow Selection, Edge Loop, By Direction, By Material etc.


o) Center Mouse Button Navigation

   The center mouse button is now used as a navigation button.
   Center-dragging while the mouse pointer is over an object examines
   the object. Center-dragging while not over an object results in
   zooming in/out. Holding down the ctrl, shift, or ctrl-shift keys
   provide additional navigation options.


o) Chamfer Operation (3D Canvas LP/Pro only)

   Chamfers points and edges. 


o) Chamfer Scaling

   Chamfer scaling is available by shift-dragging on the scale planes
   of the Edit Control.


o) Point Position Operation

   Permits direct entry of the position of the selected point.


o) Inset Operation

   Creates a new faces inset within the selected face or faces.


o) Smooth Operation

   Uses a new smoothing algorithm. This result is better adherence to
   the general shape of the original object.


o) Soften Operation

   Softens the edges of an object. Similar to the Smooth operation
   though it does not increase the number of faces or points. It also
   can be used on a selection of faces, edges or points.


o) Equalize Operation

   Equalizes a selection of points along either the X, Y or Z axes.


o) Bridge Operation (3D Canvas LP/Pro only)

   Creates a bridge between two faces.


o) Weld-Nearest Operation (3D Canvas LP/Pro only)

   Welds the nearest neighbouring point to the selected point.


o) Weld-To-First Operation (3D Canvas LP/Pro only)

   Welds all selected points to the first selected point.


o) Weld-To-Nearest Operation (3D Canvas LP/Pro only)

   Welds the selected point to its nearest neighbouring point.


o) Divide Operation

   The Divide operation can now divide edges into a user-selectable
   number of edges.


o) Mirror/Flip Operations (3D Canvas LP/Pro only)

   The Mirror operation has been renamed the Flip operation. A new
   Mirror operation takes its place which automates the entire
   mirroring process including the removal of interior faces.
   Also, both operations now support mirroring on the X, Y and Z axes.


o) Extrude Operation

   The Extrude operation now has the option of extruding a group of
   faces as a region or individually. If faces are extruded as a region
   they remain linked after the extrusion.


o) Trim Operation

   The Trim operation is now available in the freeware version of 3D Canvas.


o) Scale Operation

   The Scale operation is now available in the freeware version of 3D Canvas.


o) Improved Grouping

   3D Canvas now uses a familiar grouping concept. Groups, and group
   hierarchies can be selected and manipulated as a whole.


o) Automatic Face Re-Selection

   The faces most likely to be used for the next operation are
   automatically re-selected.



o) New Scripting method (3D Canvas Pro/LP only)

   New Face object method:

        GetFaceNormal


What's New in 3D Canvas 5.0.8
-----------------------------

o) Importing and Exporting of the MD2 Format (3D Canvas Pro/LP only)


o) Adjust Points Operation (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Used to animate points. A typical use for this operation is the
   animation of facial expressions.


o) Unlink Operation (3D Canvas Pro only)


   Used to unlink faces so that they no longer share points. When applied
   following a Burst or Swirl operation it permits their animation to be
   exported to MD2 and Neutral Object Format.


o) Support for the PCX Textures


o) Enhanced Neutral Object Format Import and Export (3D Canvas LP/Pro only)


o) Skeleton Enabling and Disabling

   All bones associated with a skin can now be enabled or disabled en-masse.


o) Combined Skeletal and Operation Animation

   Operation animation and skeletal animation can now be combined on a single object.
   As an example, this permits facial animation using the Adjust Points operation
   to be combined with skeletal animation of limbs.



What's New in 3D Canvas 5.0.7
-----------------------------

o) Train Simulator Wizard 1.1

   Adds support for the engineer "head out" view, fuel and freight intakes,
   and passenger view positions.


What's New in 3D Canvas 5.0.5
-----------------------------


o) Flat-Wireframe Rendering Mode

   A new rendering mode where the faces that make up an object
   are rendered outlined.


o) TrainSimWizard Plug-In (3D Canvas Pro/LP only)

   A wizard that assists in configuring and exporting models
   to Microsoft Train Simulator format.


o) Translucent Grid Mode


o) NormalizeFames Plug-In (3D Canvas Pro/LP only)

   Sets all of the scene's frames to the default orientation
   while retaining the appearance of the scene.


o) FillUntextured Plug-In (3D Canvas Pro/LP only)

   Fills all untextured faces with the current material from
   the material palette.


o) CountUntextured Plug-In (3D Canvas Pro/LP only)

   Counts the number of untextured faces.


o) Importing and Exporting of Neutral Object Format (NOF) (3D Canvas Pro/LP only)


o) New Scripting methods (3D Canvas Pro/LP only)

   New CanvasApplication object methods:

      GetTexturePath
      FormatExport
      FormatExportMeters

   New Scene object methods:

       GetLightCount
       GetLight

   New Frame object methods:

       GetLightCount
       GetLight
       SetParent

   New Light object method:

       GetType



What's New in 3D Canvas 5.0
---------------------------

o) Direct raytracing (3D Canvas Pro only)

   A single click on the "Raytrace" button on the main toolbar
   raytraces your scene. The image is displayed directly in
   3D Canvas. This requires that either POVRay or Blue Moon Rendering
   Tools is installed. Both are available for free. Clicking the
   Raytrace button on the main toolbar provides more information on
   where to download these products.

o) Improved Importing and Exporting (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Importing and exporting are now faster and texture coordinates are
   preserved for most formats. New formats include Renderware (RWX)
   and limited support for Lightwave (LWO).

o) Animated Light Properties

   Light properties such as light color/intenstity can now be animated.

o) Animated Camera Properties

   Camera properties such as depth of field can now be animated.

o) Bumpmapping (3D Canvas Pro only - Raytracing only)

o) Support for RenderMan/Blue Moon Rendering Tools

o) Object Nudge

   Objects can be nudged tiny increments using the arrow keys
   on the keyboard.

o) Expanded Raytracing Material attributes (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Many additional POVRay material attributes are supported including
   predefined materials and color patterns.

o) Terrain Building Tool (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Terrain can now be created using the new Terrain Building Tool.
   Terrain can be random, based on Height Maps, or created using
   Fractals.

o) Oriented tools and operations

   All relavent tools and operations can now be applied using
   an orientation. The possible orientations are:

       Standard, Screen, World, Object and Face

o) Integrated Timeline (3D Canvas Pro only)

   The timeline can now be displayed when animating. This allows for
   direct selection of animation times and easy manipulation of
   key-frames.

o) Animation Sequences (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Animation sequences can now be saved with an object so that they
   can be used as needed when the object is used in multiple scenes.
   For example a walk-sequence, run-sequence etc. could be defined for
   a model of a human. This model could then be stored in an object
   library and used in multiple scenes including only those sequences
   necessary for a particular scene.

o) Orientation Previews

   The orientation of an operation can now be previewed. An orientation
   map is applied to the active selection so that the exact orientation
   of the operation is visible

o) Material Wrapping Previews

   The orientation and wrapping appearance of texture wraps can now
   be previewed.

o) Operations can now be applied to groups

   Operations can now be applied to Object hierarchies that
   have been Alt-Selected.

o) Enhanced Shift Tool

   Now permits the use of the edit control. This allows the center
   of rotation to be rotated as well as moved.

o) Enhanced Rotation Axis Tool

   Now permits the use of the edit control. This allows more precise
   orientation.

o) ActiveX Plugins (3D Canvas Pro/LP only)

   Developers can now create ActiveX plugins as well scripts for
   3D Canvas Pro. The 3D Canvas API described in the online help
   is used in the same way for ActiveX plugins as it is for scripts.
   There are several plugin samples written in Visual Basic in the
   Plugins\Samples folder. Of particular note is the NameIt sample
   which uses a 3D Canvas viewport to view the scene, allow
   navigation and selection of objects from within the plugin.
   (Note that this viewport is not currently available due to 
   an installation issue)

o) New Orthographic Views

   In addition to the current Front, Top and Side (Left) views there
   are now Rear, Bottom and Right Side views.

o) UV Re-Map Operation

   Permits adjustment of texture coordinates on texture mapped objects
   without affecting any other aspect of their material.

o) Material Update Plug-in

   Updates the selected object, or object faces with the current material
   in the Material Palette.

o) Enhanced Unwrap Operation

   Now permits adjustment of texture coordinates prior to creation of the
   texture map. Also permits an entire object to be unwrapped onto a single
   texture.

o) Selectable Units

   Units of Meters, Centimeters and Feet can be selected. Units are
   displayed appropriately on status bars and with object properties.

o) Automatic conversion of models created in Feet to Meters when
   exporting to Microsoft Train Simulator's "S" format

o) Enhanced toolbars

   Toolbars can now be customized based on your usage of 3D Canvas.

o) Objects can now be displayed using points

o) Frame Orientation Reset Operation

   Resets the frame of the selected object to the default orientation.

o) The 3D Canvas grid can now be displayed in wireframe or using
   points.

o) Improved Flatten Operation (3D canvas Pro/LP only)

   Now permits flattening of object sub-sections and non-uniform flattening.

o) Improved Crease Operation

   Now permits creasing of individual faces, edges and points.

o) Area Lights (Raytracing only)

   When used with raytracing, Area lights produce soft shadows.

o) New Scripting methods

   New Scene object methods:

       GetAnimationKeyFrameCount
       SetAnimationKeyFrameCount
       GetAnimationKeyFPS
       SetAnimationKeyFPS

   New Frame object methods:

       ExportToDirectX
       ExportToTrainSimulator

o) Support for TIF textures


What's New in 3D Canvas 4.24
----------------------------

o) Added support for POVRay 3.5

   Support for MegaPOV has been removed since MegaPOV was simply
   an early beta of the features of POVRay 3.5. The Light "Glow"
   function was removed since it is not support by POVRay 3.5.


What's New in 3D Canvas 4.23
----------------------------

o) Scene Details script (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Provides details about the scene such as number of points,
   number of faces, number of objects, object positions,
   materials used by objects etc.

o) Support for Targa (tga) textures

o) Custom Grids

   The standard 3D Canvas grid can now be replaced by custom
   front, side and top views.

   The Lathe and Extrude tools now permit a side view of the
   desired object to replace the standard grid.

o) Microsoft Train Simulator export improvements (3D Canvas Pro only)

   -Full support for translucency.
   -Automatic generatation of distance-based levels of detail.
   -Improved Mipmap levels.
   -Exported file is now automatically converted to unicode. 
   -Support for the numbering systems of non-english speaking 
    regions.

o) Scripting Enhancements (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Three new methods have been added to the Scene object that can
   be used to determine the number of faces in the scene, the
   number of points in the scene and the size of scene.

o) UV Map operation enhancement

   The UV Map operation now supports zooming to permit more accurate
   mapping.



What's New in 3D Canvas 4.24
----------------------------

o) Added support for POVRay 3.5

   Support for MegaPOV has been removed since MegaPOV was simply
   an early beta of the features of POVRay 3.5. The Light "Glow"
   function was removed since it is not support by POVRay 3.5.



What's New in 3D Canvas 4.23
----------------------------

o) Scene Details script (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Provides details about the scene such as number of points,
   number of faces, number of objects, object positions,
   materials used by objects etc.

o) Support for Targa (tga) textures

o) Custom Grids

   The standard 3D Canvas grid can now be replaced by custom
   front, side and top views.

   The Lathe and Extrude tools now permit a side view of the
   desired object to replace the standard grid.

o) Microsoft Train Simulator export improvements (3D Canvas Pro only)

   -Full support for translucency.
   -Automatic generatation of distance-based levels of detail.
   -Improved Mipmap levels.
   -Exported file is now automatically converted to unicode. 
   -Support for the numbering systems of non-english speaking 
    regions.

o) Scripting Enhancements (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Three new methods have been added to the Scene object that can
   be used to determine the number of faces in the scene, the
   number of points in the scene and the size of scene.

o) UV Map operation enhancement

   The UV Map operation now supports zooming to permit more accurate
   mapping.


What's New in 3D Canvas 4.22
----------------------------

Version 4.22 is a maintenance release. There are no
functional changes.


What's New in 3D Canvas 4.21
----------------------------

o) Enhanced Shift Tool

   An object's point of rotation can now be moved without 
   affecting the position of the object.

o) Glowing Lights (3D Canvas Pro - Raytracing only)

   Lights rendered with POVRay/MegaPOV .7 can now have a
   glow effect.

o) Atmosphere Enhancements (3D Canvas Pro - Raytracing only)

   When rendering with POVRay visible light effects can
   be enabled without enabling fog.


What's New in 3D Canvas 4.2
---------------------------

o) Weld Operation (3D Canvs Pro only)

   Welds object points together.


o) Edge Operation (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Creates an edge between two selected points.


o) Trim Operation Enhanced (3D Canvas Pro only)

   The Trim operation can now trim edges.


o) Scale Operation Enhanced (3D Canvas Pro only)

   The Scale operation can now scale an object to specified
   dimensions.


o) Microsoft Train Simulator Export (3D Canvas Pro only)

   Exporting to Microsoft Train Simulator format (.s) is now
   supported.


o) Scripting Enhancement (3D Canvas Pro only)

   An object can be added to another object using the new
   AddObject method.


Known Issues
------------

An up to date list of known issues is available at
http://www.amabilis.com/faq.htm

Support
-------

Email support is available at support@amabilis.com

For the latest information on 3D Canvas(tm) see www.amabilis.com.

Copyright (c) 2007 Amabilis Software