Shout3D™ 2.5 - User Guide

Your Shout3D Installation

The first step in learning to use Shout3D is becoming familiar with the contents and organization of your Shout3D installation. Your Shout3D installation, in the Shout3d_2.5 directory, is composed of the following subdirectories:

Shout3d_runtime
docs
Shout3d_wizard
3DStudioMax_plugin

The Shout3d_runtime directory

Although not the first directory in the list, Shout3d_runtime is the most important. It contains the Shout3D Java class library used to run Shout3D content, the 3D scene files used in Shout3D content and the HTML files that are run to display Shout3D applets.

The runtime directory is divided into a codebase directory and demos directory. The demos directory contains only HTML files in which Shout3D applets are embedded. You simply load these into a Web browser to view the demo content. You'll add your own HTML pages to this directory to view and test Shout3D content that you'll create.

The codebase directory is where all of the action is. Note that you'll work directly with only three of its subdirectories.

applets

Contains custom applet and panel classes extended from the basic Shout3DApplet and Shout3DPanel. You'll find both the source code and the compiled version of every class. You'll add your own custom applet and panel classes here.

custom_nodes

Contains custom node classes extended from node classes in the standard Shout3D library. You'll find some examples (with source code) that used are in existing demos, but this is where you'll typically store custom nodes of your own creation.

interactiveRenderDemo

Contains only compiled classes used in the InteractiveRenderDemo. You won't use the contents of this directory directly.

javax

Contains only compiled classes needed by the Shout3D Wizard (Swing classes). You won't use the contents of this directory directly.

models

Contains the 3D scene files (.wrl or .s3d) and supporting image files. You'll add your own scenes and images here.

opengl

Contains files necessary to support optional OpenGL hardware acceleration. You won't use the contents of this directory directly.

shout

Contains only compiled classes required by the Shout3D Wizard. You won't use the contents of this directory directly.

shout3d

Contains the Shout3D class library used to load and display Shout3D content. Other than uploading these classes to a Web server to deliver Shout3D content, you won't use the contents of this directory directly.

The docs directory

The docs directory contains the online documentation and tutorials in the following subdirectories:

user_guide

Contains this very Shout3D 2.5 User Guide, the document you are currently reading.

demo_guide

Contains a guide with links to all the demos included with Shout3D 2.5.

Shout3d_specification

Contains the Shout3D 2.5 Specification, a technical explanation that includes a useful Node Class Reference.

javadocs

Contains the Shout3D 2.5 Application Programming Interface documentation, the essential reference to all classes in the Shout3D library.

wizard_quickstart

Contains the Shout3D 2.5 Wizard QuickStart Tutorial, an initial hands-on introduction to using Shout3D.

workflow_tutorial

Contains the Shout3D 2.5 Workflow Tutorial, an introduction to the entire Shout3D development process.

MAX_tutorial

Contains the Shout3D 2.5 3D Studio MAX Export Tutorial, an introduction to creating Shout3D scene content in 3D Studio MAX.

The Shout3d_wizard directory

The Shout3d_wizard directory contains the Shout3DWizard.exe application that is used to launch the Shout3DWizard. Once you drag a shortcut to this application onto your desktop, you're not likely to need to visit this directory again.

The 3DStudioMax_plugin directory

The 3DStudioMax_plugin directory contains the 3D Studio MAX Export Plugin and a README file. Once you've consulted the README file and copied the plugin file to your MAX installation, you're not likely to need to visit this directory again.