Number Nine Computer Corp.
PowerPac REFERENCE MANUAL
For
PowerPac Basics
PowerPac Plus and
PowerPac Professional
SUPPORTS:
AutoCAD / 386 R10, R11 and R12
AutoShade 2.0
Renderman and
3D Studio 1.0 and 2.0
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Introduction
PowerPac Features Matrix
System Requirements
CHAPTER 2: AUTOCAD/386
Installation
Configuration
AutoCAD Configuration Menu
AutoCAD Releases 10 & 11
AutoCAD Release 12
Video Board Configuration
Dual Monitor Mode
Testing the Video Mode
Entering Custom Configuration
Exiting Basic Configuration
Custom Configuration
Entering Custom Configuration
Custom Configuration Usage
Exiting Custom Configuration
Customizable Parameters
Button Configuration
Button Timing
Button Command Selection
Display List Options
World Space Partitioning
TRUE-Eraes
Display List
R12 Display List Sizes
TRUE-Drags / TRUE-Rotates
Dual Screen Options
Dual Screen Modes
Clear Graphics Screen on Exit
Clear Graphics Screen on Shell
Non Standard Text Screen
Flip Options
Flip Type
Init on Shell
Font Selection
Rules of Thumb for Fonts
Default Fonts
Menu Color Scheme
Palette Selection
Screen Layout
Number of Status Lines
Width of Sidebar Menu
Number of Command Lines
Restore Factory Settings
Restore Previous Settings
POWERPAC COMMANDS
ZW - Zoom Window
ZV - Zoom VMAX
ZP - Zoom Previous
PZ - Previewed Zoom
ZI - Zoom In
ZO - Zoom Out
ZC - Zoom Center
ZCC - Zoom Center Continuous
GC - Garbage Collect
GCALL - Garbage Collect All
RD - Redraw
RDALL - Redraw All
REGENMAX
9PAN
9EDG & 9EDGE
BE & BIRDSEYE
9ICON
9PAL
9CONFIG
9STATUS
9HELP
9DL
HotKey Interface
Button Interface
Zoom Window
Previewed Zoom
BirdsEye
Zoom VMAX
Zoom Center
ICON Interface
ICON Customization
Panel Layout
Title Bar
Button Sections
Button Definition
Special Button Commands
CHAPTER 3: 3D STUDIO 1.0 & 2.0
Installation
Configuration
Video Display
Testing the Video Card Selection
Font Selection
Rules of Thumb for Fonts
Configuration Tips
Dual Screen Support
Main Display
Materials Editor
Rendering Display
RDPADI
RCPADI
Rendering Notes
3D Studio 1.0 Environment Variables
3D Studio 2.0 Environment Variables
3D Studio 1.0 Release Notes
CHAPTER 4: AUTOSHADE 2.0
Installation
Basic AutoShade Configuration
Pointing Device
Display Driver
Video Display
Testing the Video Card Selection
Entering Custom Configuration
Selecting a Rendering Driver
AutoShade Questions
Hardcopy
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Technical Notes
Appendix B: Suggested Button Configurations
Appendix C: Setting the NUMB9 Environment
Variable
Appendix D: Troubleshooting
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
PowerPac provides high color depth support for all ADI-
based applications, and supports resolutions from 640 x 480
to 1600 x 1200 and color depths from 16 to 16.7 million
displayable colors.
PowerPac is a full featured, 32-bit display list driver.
PowerPac has three basic user interfaces icons, mouse or
digitizer buttons, and keyboard all fully customizable by you.
PowerPac includes a programmable button interface,
allowing you easy access to PowerPac's zoom and pan
commands at the touch of a button. Certain versions
feature a fully configurable BirdsEye window that can be
sized and placed anywhere on the screen. You can display
it permanently, or call it up only when you want it. It can be
used to perform fast, regenless, dynamic zooms and pans
around your drawing in real time.
PowerPac ships with TRUE-Erase tm, real-time garbage
collection technology. Unlike other drivers, you no longer
have to worry about garbage being left in the display list
from moves and erases. With PowerPac and TRUE-Erase
there is no garbage. This maximizes memory usage and
allows you even more speed when using AutoCAD.
PowerPac will increase your productivity while reducing the
interruptions in your train of thought. This guide will help
you to properly install PowerPac and understand how to use
its speed and features to your advantage.
PowerPac is available in three upgradable configurations,
Basic, Plus and Professional.
PowerPac Basic provides 32-bit display list support and an
advanced memory management system to accelerate pans,
zooms, view and flip commands, as well as automatic
garbage collection and Fast Feature Drag.
The PowerPac Plus level includes all of the speed and
features of the Basic version, and adds BirdsEye windows
with dynamic panning and zooming, shortcut keyboard
commands, a fixed pop-up ICON interface and a user-
configurable mouse.
The PowerPac Professional level offers all of the above
features and speed of PowerPac Basic and Plus, as well as
a fully configurable ICON interface and HotKeys.
For details on how to upgrade to a higher level of
PowerPac, contact:
Number Nine Computer Corp.
18 Hartwell Ave.
Lexington, MA. 02173
USA
Phone: (617) 674-0009
FAX: (617) 674-2919
Note: For a description on what features are available in
each level of PowerPac, see PowerPac Features Matrix below.
POWERPAC FEATURES MATRIX
PowerPac is available is three upgradable configurations.
The following chart describes the features of each level of
PowerPac.
POWERPAC LEVEL: BASIC PLUS PROFES-
SIONAL
POWERPAC COMPATIBILITY:
AutoCAD / 386 R10, R11 & R12 x x x
AutoShade 2.0 (also with Renderman) x x x
3D Studio Version 1.0 and 2.0 x x x
POWERPAC'S KEY FEATURES:
Fast, 32-Bit Display List Processing x x x
Configurable Mouse Button Interface x x
Pop-Up BirdsEye Window(s) x x
Multiple View Support x x
Dynamic Zoom/Pan from BirdsEye x x
Resizable / Relocatable BirdsEye x x
Pop-Up, On-Screen ICON Interface x x
Pre-Configured, ICON Menu(s) x x
User-Configurable ICON Menu(s) x
Hierarchical ICON Menus x
User-Selectable ICON Menus x
Configurable HotKey Interface x
CUSTOM CONFIGURATION:
Configurable Mouse Buttons x x
Configurable Display List Options x x x
Real-Time Garbage Collection x x x
Dual Screen Options x x x
Flip Screen Options x x x
Selectable Menu Fonts x x x
Modify Screen/Menu Colors x x x
Modify Color Palette x x x
Modify Screen Layout x x x
POWERPAC COMMANDS:
9CONFIG (PowerPac Control Panel) x x x
9DL (Set Display List Options) x x x
9EDGE (Dynamic Edge Panning) x x
9HELP (On-Screen Help) x x x
9ICON (Pop-Up ICON Menu) x x
9KEY (Program HotKey) x
9PAL (Customize Color Palette) x x x
9PAN (Display List PAN) x x
9STATUS (Display List Status) x x x
BE (Pop-Up BirdsEye Window) x x
RD (Redraw) x x x
RDALL (Redraw All Views) x x x
GC (Garbage Collection) x x x
GCALL (Garbage Collection All Views) x x x
PZ (Previewed Zoom) x x
REGENMAX (Set Max. Zoom Area) x x
ZC (Zoom Center) x x
ZCC (Zoom Center Continuous) x x
ZI (Zoom In) x x
ZO (Zoom Out) x x
ZP (Zoom Previous) x x
ZV (Zoom VMAX) x x x
ZW (Zoom Windows) x x
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
To run PowerPac your computer system must be capable of
running the intended AutoDesk protected-mode application.
When PowerPac is being set up to run AutoCAD 386, we
strongly recommend the use of additional memory.
Autodesk recommends running AutoCAD 386, R10 and R11
with at least 4 Mb of memory and 8Mb for R12.
We strongly recommend more than 4 Mb of memory to run
at optimal performance with drawings of 300K to 400K in
AutoCAD (8 Mb is a good all around configuration). For
drawings over 2 Mb we suggest more than 8 Mb of memory
for best performance.
CHAPTER 2: AUTOCAD / 386
INSTALLATION
To install PowerPac, insert the Number Nine PowerPac
driver diskette into the "A" or "B" drive and type:
A:INSTALL [Enter]
or
B:INSTALL [Enter]
Follow the instructions given by the INSTALL program.
Remember, if you do not install all options immediately, you
can always run install again to add any options you desire,
without having to re-install previously installed options.
INSTALL will present a list of the Autodesk applications for
which PowerPac may be installed. Using the (up) and
(down) arrow keys, move the cursor to the desired
application(s) and press the space bar to change the display
from NO to YES. Once you have finished making your
selections, press [Enter] to continue with installation.
INSTALL will ask for the drive letter and path for the
individual application you previously chose. If any directory
is incorrectly specified or the correct executable files are not
in the directory, INSTALL will issue a warning and give you
the option to quit or continue with installation.
Next, if INSTALL asks where to install the TI 340x0 support
files, INSTALL will default to the directory which the TIGA
environment variable is set to.
Note: If the TIGA environment variable was set as follows,
SET TIGA=-mC:\TIGA2 -lC:\TIGA2 -i0X60, the TI 340x0
files would be copied to the TIGA2 directory.
Note: The #9GXE does not use TIGA as a graphics
operating system. Not all Number Nine graphics boards
support TIGA.
Finally, INSTALL asks if you want to install the AutoPatch or
NEWDX utilities. AutoPatch fixes some bugs in AutoCAD
R10, R11 & 3D Studio which prevent PowerPac from working
correctly. NEWDX updates your Autodesk application
executable file with Phar Lap’s DOS Extender, version 2.6.
PowerPac has some problems running with earlier versions
of the DOS Extender.
Once you have finished making your selections, INSTALL will
tell you about any modifications that need to be made to
your system. You have the choice of letting INSTALL make
the changes automatically, making new files with the
extension .NEW with the changes, or making the changes by
hand. In all cases when a file is modified, the original
version is backed-up with the filename extension of .BAK.
After all the necessary files have been installed, INSTALL
tells you that everything has been successfully installed and
returns to the DOS prompt. If you have chosen to update
the AUTOEXEC.BAT file you must reboot the computer for
the changes to take effect.
CONFIGURATION
The PowerPac installation program will ask various
questions about how to set up your system through a simple
menu and windowing system. Pay close attention to the
various text windows displayed during configuration since
they display valuable information to help you customize
PowerPac for your needs.
AUTOCAD CONFIGURATION MENU
AUTOCAD RELEASES 10 & 11
Before configuring AutoCAD for PowerPac be sure the
AutoCAD environment variables have been properly set.
Example AutoCAD R10 Environment Variables:
SET ACAD=C:\ACADR10
SET ACADCFG=C:\ACADR10
SET DSPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RDPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RCPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG
Example AutoCAD R11 Environment Variables:
SET ACAD=C:\ACADR11
SET ACADCFG=C:\ACADR11
SET DSPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RDPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RCPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG
Note: If you see the DOS error message "Out of
Environment Space", you will need to increase the size of
your environment as set in your CONFIG.SYS file. For
example, shell=c:\command.com /p /e:1024
All PowerPac screen configurations take place within
AutoCAD. To set up PowerPac as your display driver, enter
AutoCAD as usual.
When AutoCAD brings up its Main Menu, select Option 5,
Configure AutoCAD, to begin the configuration process.
AutoCAD will display your current configuration and prompt
you to press [Enter]. After pressing [Enter], AutoCAD will
take you to its configuration menu.
In the configuration menu, Select Option 3, Configure Video
Display, AutoCAD will display your current video mode and
ask if you wish to select a new one. Press (Y)es [Enter] and
choose number 1, ADI P386 v 4.0/4.1, from the next menu.
After selecting the correct ADI P386 mode, PowerPac's
AutoCAD Display Configuration title screen appears with
bouncing boxes. If not, make sure that you have followed all
the INSTALL instructions correctly.
Press any key to continue. Now go to the Video Board
Configuration section in this manual.
AUTOCAD RELEASE 12
Before configuring AutoCAD for PowerPac, be sure that the
AutoCAD R12 environment variables have been set properly.
Sample AutoCAD R12 Environment Variables:
SET ACAD=C:\ACAD\SUPPORT;C:\ACAD\FONTS
SET ACADCFG=C:\ACAD
SET ACADDRV=C:\ACAD\DRV
SET DSPADI=C:\ACAD\DRV\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RDPADI=C:\ACAD\DRV\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RCPADI=C:\ACAD\DRV\RC9PLS.EXP
SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG
or
SET NUMB9=C:\ACAD\NUMBER9.CFG
To configure PowerPac with AutoCAD R12, enter
AutoCAD's configuration menu by typing at the DOS prompt:
ACAD -R [Enter]
Be sure you are in the AutoCAD Release 12 directory.
When the configuration menu appears, select Option 3,
Configure Video Display. AutoCAD displays a list of all the
possible video modes. Select the option on the list which
matches your PowerPac driver.
Number9 PowerPac Basic
Number9 PowerPac Plus
Number9 PowerPac Professional
After selecting the correct driver, PowerPac’s AutoCAD
Display Configuration title screen appears with bouncing
boxes. If not, make sure that you have followed all the
INSTALL instructions correctly.
Press any key to continue. Now go to the Video Board
Configuration section for more instructions.
VIDEO BOARD CONFIGURATION
The next screen will display your current video mode and
whether you are set up for single or dual monitor operation.
At this point, a warning screen may appear instead of the
Video Configuration screen. This is warning that no
configuration file is found. This is normal if you have never
previously configured PowerPac. If you have already
configured PowerPac in the past but it still cannot find your
configuration file, you may need to set your NUMB9
environment variable. See Appendix C for more information.
PowerPac then asks if you want to change your current
video mode. To change your video mode, answer (Y)es.
PowerPac will present a list of supported Number Nine
graphics boards. Using the arrow keys, highlight your
specific Number Nine video board and press [Enter] to
select.
Note: If you are using a Pepper Pro1280, you must have a
DUAL MONITOR environment for the board to function
properly. If a #9GX is being used, the AutoCAD F1 flip-
screen will function properly in a single-screen environment
only if the #9 VGA loop-through feature is enabled or the #9
VGA Module is present.
Once you have selected the proper Number Nine graphics
board, PowerPac displays a list of resolutions available with
your graphics board. Use the same method to pick the
resolution as you did previously for the video board. Be sure
to choose a resolution and color depth which is supported
by your particular Number Nine board. Refer to the Number
Nine utilities programs or run TIGAMODE.EXE for a list of
resolutions supported by your graphics board.
DUAL MONITOR MODE
PowerPac then asks if you want to operate in single (S) or
dual (D) monitor mode. If you have two monitors and two
video boards in your system you may use dual monitor mode
to display text on one monitor and graphics on the other.
Note: If you are using a Pepper Pro1280 or a #9GX without
a VGA-Module or VGA loop-through, you must have a dual-
monitor environment. If you are using a #9GXE, dual-monitor
environment is only supported if you use a Monochrome
board for the text display.
TESTING THE VIDEO MODE
After selecting the new video mode and display options,
PowerPac gives you the opportunity to test the video mode.
When PowerPac asks if you wish to test the video mode,
answer (Y)es or (N)o as appropriate.
If you answered (Y)es, PowerPac will display a warning
message. Should your system hang, simply reboot and
select a different video mode. PowerPac may also warn
that you have selected a video mode that does not work with
the board in your system. If this is the case, verify that you
selected the correct card and that your board is installed
correctly.
If everything is correct, you should see the a symmetrical
test pattern showing your current video mode and
resolution. If your screen is blank or garbled there may be a
problem with your video card or your monitor. Be sure that
your video card and monitor can support the desired
resolution, color, depth and monitor refresh settings.
Press any key to exit the video test. Some cards may not
come up immediately. They take a few seconds to sync
before displaying a test pattern. PowerPac then asks
whether the test screen looked correct. If so, answer (Y)es,
otherwise press (N)o and select another video mode.
Note: Choose a video mode supported by the specific
Number Nine graphics board that is installed. Unsupported
video modes will cause the video test screen to display
incorrectly. Wait 10 seconds, then choose a valid video
mode.
ENTERING CUSTOM CONFIGURATION
Once you have finished selecting and testing the video
mode, PowerPac asks whether you want to enter custom
configuration. Custom Configuration allows you to set the
buttons on your pointing device, select different menu fonts,
customize your screen colors, control some display list
options, etc.
If you wish to enter Custom Configuration, answer (Y)es.
PowerPac will bring you to the Custom Configuration menu.
The options available include:
Button Configuration (Plus and Professional levels
only)
Display List Options
Dual Screen Options
Flip Options
Font Selection
Menu Color Scheme
Palette Selection
Screen Layout
Refer to the next section for detailed information about each
of these Custom Configuration options.
If you don't wish to enter Custom Configuration at this time,
press (N)o. This will end Basic Configuration.
At this point, PowerPac will save your configuration file with
whatever changes you have made. It will create a new
configuration file with your custom settings if one did not
previously exist. This file is created and placed in the path
specified by the NUMB9 environmental variable, or, if no
variable exists, it will be created in the same directory that
ACAD.CFG exists.
EXITING BASIC CONFIGURATION
After completing PowerPac's Basic Configuration, you are
taken back to AutoCAD’s video display configuration
section. You will be asked several questions about the
following:
Aspect Ratio
Status Line
Command Prompt
Screen Menu Area
To leave each option unchanged, simply press [Enter] as the
response to each question. Refer to AutoCAD Manual for
more information on these features.
CUSTOM CONFIGURATION
PowerPac allows you to customize a variety of options for
AutoCAD. PowerPac's Custom Configuration, unlike many
drivers', is available to the user from within the drawing
editor of AutoCAD. You can customize PowerPac and your
display as you edit your drawing.
The following parameters may be changed with PowerPac's
Custom Configuration as needed:
Button Configuration
Display List Options
Dual Screen Options
Flip Options
Font Selection
Menu Color Scheme
Palette Selection
Screen Layout
Additionally, PowerPac provides:
Restore Factory Settings
Restore Previous Settings
Note: Each application requires a separate NUMBER9.CFG
file. Unless the environment variable NUMB9 is used to
control different configuration files, all changes to Custom
Configuration affect PowerPac operation under AutoCAD,
AutoShade and Autodesk 3D Studio simultaneously.
ENTERING CUSTOM CONFIGURATION
There are two methods for activating PowerPac’s Custom
Configuration process (commonly called Advanced Config or
9CONFIG). First, you can enter it through the Basic
Configuration.
After you have finished configuring your video board, you
will be asked if you would like to enter Custom
Configuration.
Press (Y)es or (N)o as appropriate.
Alternately, you can enter it from the AutoCAD Drawing
Editor command prompt by typing:
Command: 9CONFIG [Enter]
Once you have entered PowerPac’s Custom Configuration,
the main menu appears. Use the arrow keys on your
keyboard to highlight the appropriate entry and then press
[Enter] to select. In many cases you will be asked to enter a
value in response to a question. The first letter is sufficient
to enter the option most of the time. To leave an option
unchanged, simply press [Enter] to skip over it. You can exit
a menu at any time by pressing (Esc).
EXITING CUSTOM CONFIGURATION
After you have finished making the necessary changes,
simply return to 9CONFIG’s main menu and then press (Esc)
or select Exit from the bottom on the menu.
PowerPac asks if you want to save your changes. Respond
(Y)es or (N)o. If you answer (N)o, PowerPac will discard all
the changes you just made while in 9CONFIG.
If you entered Custom Configuration from Basic
Configuration you will automatically proceed to the next
stage of configuration.
If you entered 9CONFIG from the AutoCAD drawing editor,
you will return to the drawing editor. All changes will appear
immediately except any new font selection or any changes
you made to the size of your command line, status bar and
sidebar. AutoCAD must be reinitialized to make these
changes. To reinitialize AutoCAD, exit the drawing editor
using the Quit or End commands. Then reenter the Drawing
Editor for your changes to take effect.
Note: When changing the width of the sidebar menu, you
must recompile your ACAD.MNU file for the change to take
effect. See Width of Sidebar Menu under Custom
Configuration for more information.
Note: If the display list is disabled, all PowerPac's
commands are disabled. To reenable the display list, you
must enter Custom Configuration through AutoCAD’s Basic
Configuration and select display list options, since the
9CONFIG command will not be active when the display list is
disabled.
CUSTOMIZABLE PARAMETERS
9CONFIG provides the following customizable parameters:
Button Configuration
Display List Options
Dual Screen Options
Flip Options
Font Selection
Menu Color Scheme
Palette Selection
Screen Layout
BUTTON CONFIGURATION
PowerPac Plus tm and PowerPac Professional tm versions
allow complete control of the button interface through this
option in Custom Configuration. The first screen asks you
to specify button timing. After completing this section,
PowerPac enters the button configuration section where
you can configure your actual buttons. For more
information on how to set up your buttons for different
pointing devices, see Appendix B.
BUTTON TIMING
Button timing refers to the maximum time PowerPac allows
between clicks on a double click or the minimum time you will
need to hold down a button during a long press.
The timing units are in 1/18ths of a second. You can set the
value anywhere from 1 to 18. We suggest a value from 4-6.
It is difficult to do a double click quickly with many digitizers.
If you are using a digitizer, set your button timing a little
higher to help offset this difficulty.
To set the button timing, enter the time in the space provided
and press [Enter]
BUTTON COMMAND SELECTION
PowerPac allows you to program you mouse or digitizer
buttons with seven of PowerPac’s most popular functions:
icons, zoom window, previewed zoom, zoom all, zoom
previous, and BirdsEye window. You can program any
command to work on any button with (or without) a
combination of the (Shift), (Ctrl), or (Alt) keys.
The seven PowerPac functions which are currently
configurable here are:
ICON (bring up the icon menu)
Zoom Window (regenless)
Previewed Zoom (regenless)
BirdsEye (activate the BirdsEye window)
Zoom Previous (regenless)
Zoom VMAX (regenless)
Zoom Center
The four button click options are:
Click (single button click)
LPress (long button press)
DClick (double button click)
DLPress (single click followed by a long press).
Additionally, you may opt to configure your buttons to work
in conjunction with the (Shift), (Ctrl), or (Alt) keys (or any
combination thereof) on the keyboard with the Shift Keys
selection. You may select from a choice of:
None
Left (Shift)
Right (Shift)
(Ctrl)
(Alt)
Any (Shift)
Any (Shift) & (Ctrl)
Any (Shift) & (Alt)
(Ctrl) & (Alt)
Any (Shift), (Ctrl) & (Alt)
Any (Shift), (Ctrl) or (Alt)
Any two of (Shift), (Ctrl) or (Alt)
Any combination of (Shift), (Ctrl) or (Alt)
(including individual presses)
There will be a highlighted cursor in the top left which can be
moved around the button assignment table using the arrow
keys. To configure a button for a specific function, make
sure that your cursor is in the row next to the desired
function and make sure that it is in the correct column for
the appropriate button click type. Then, enter the button
number to which to assign the command (for numbers
greater than 9, use the (+) and (-) keys to scroll to higher
numbers). Additionally, if you wish to activate the PowerPac
command in conjunction with a special key combination, use
the (Tab) key to scroll through the available options in the
Shift Key window. You can scroll backward through the list
using (Shift)-(Tab).
For instance, to have PowerPac's Zoom Window assigned to
your third button with a double click in conjunction with the
Left Shift Key, move the cursor to the Zoom Window row,
beneath DClick. Press (3) to assign the button number, and
use the (Tab) key to scroll through the Shift Key options until
LShift appears.
If you have more than nine buttons on your digitizer or
mouse, you may use the (+) and (-) keys to scroll through the
available button numbers and to choose larger numbers.
Additionally, you may use the letter keys to do the same
thing (A=10, B=11, etc.).
Once you have finished making the necessary changes to
your button configuration, press (Esc) to return to the
Custom Configuration main menu.
DISPLAY LIST OPTIONS
PowerPac has several options which can be used to control
the operation of its display list. For a detailed discussion
about Display List Technology see Appendix A, Technical
Notes.
PowerPac's display list options are:
World Space Partitioning
(supported with PowerPac Professional)
TRUE-Erase
Display List
R12 Display List Size
TRUE-Drag and TRUE-Rotate
WORLD SPACE PARTITIONING
World Space Partitioning, supported with PowerPac
Professional only, is a method by which PowerPac orders
the display list so that it can be transferred to the screen as
fast as possible during a redraw. This feature partitions
your drawing into blocks which can then be drawn very
quickly. The only drawback is that by doing this, PowerPac
reorders the way in which the vectors are drawn. If your
drawing is dependent on that order (such as solids which
need to be "underneath" other objects), you will want to
turn World Space Partitioning off.
PowerPac is shipped with World Space Partitioning on. To
turn it off, type (N)o. To turn it on again, type (Y)es. When
you turn World Space Partitioning off, do a regen to reorder
the display list correctly.
Note: CAD Overlay users should turn World Space
Partitioning off. CAD Overlay requires a strict display list
order for some functions.
TRUE-ERASE
This option will allow you to toggle PowerPac's TRUE-Erase
real-time garbage collection feature on and off.
When TRUE-Erase is active and you perform any erase-type
command (erase, move, rotate, etc.), PowerPac will
automatically remove all garbage data from the display list in
real-time with virtually no speed penalty! If you wish
PowerPac to operate like other drivers, you can turn off
TRUE-Erase and simply use the built-in GC command to do
manual garbage cleanup.
To turn off TRUE-Erase answer (N)o in the space provided.
Unless instructed to do so by a 3rd party AutoCAD utility
software vendor, there is no reason to turn TRUE-Erase off.
Note: CAD Overlay users should turn off TRUE-Erase.
CAD Overlay requires black vectors for some functions.
You can also toggle TRUE-Erase on and off by using the GC
or GCALL commands from the command line. You do this by
typing:
GC=Y (Enable)
or
GC=N (Disable)
DISPLAY LIST
The Display List option allows you to disable the display list
acceleration provided by PowerPac. The net effect is to
remove all acceleration and shorthand zoom commands
from operation as well as disabling the BirdsEye window.
There are three possible ways to set the display-list: On, Off,
and Fake.
To enable the display-list, enter (E) in the space provided.
To disable the display list, enter (D) in the space provided.
PowerPac also allows you to fool AutoCAD into thinking you
are running with an active display list by using its "fake"
mode by entering (F) in the space provided. We advise you
not to use PowerPac’s fake mode under AutoCAD/386 R10
and 11 since it is prohibitively slow.
R12 DISPLAY LIST SIZE
PowerPac allows you to define the size of your display list
under AutoCAD R12. You can choose either a 16-bit or 32-
bit display list. A 32-bit display list takes up a little more
memory but allows true regenless zooms and pans, as
opposed to a 16-bit display list which has a definite zoom
boundary at about 40 times magnification. With a 32-bit
display list, you could zoom a drawing of the entire solar
system drawn to scale down to read 3 inch letters.
To activate the 32-bit display list, move the cursor to
highlight the R12 Display List Size option and type (3) in the
space provided.
To activate the 16-bit display list, move the cursor to
highlight the R12 Display List Size option and type (1) in the
space provided.
TRUE-DRAG / TRUE-ROTATE
PowerPac includes two unique features which make it much
easier to move and rotate objects.
TRUE-Drag allows you to actually see a selection set when
you are moving it around the screen using the MOVE
command. Under normal conditions, when a move is
performed, the user has to place an object and then pause
to wait for a slow redraw of the entire object. Each time the
object is repositioned, you have to wait for the redraw so
that you can see what you are moving. TRUE-Drag,
eliminates this repetitive redrawing. Wait for the image to
completely redraw once and then the entire image can be
smoothly moved with no redraw.
Note: Please note that if a perspective viewport is being
currently displayed, TRUE-Drag is automatically turned off
until that viewport is removed.
TRUE-Rotate allows you to see a 3D object that you are
rotating. When rotating an object with polygonal faces, the
object dimly flickers when you are rotating it, and disappears
completely when you pause. This makes the object very
difficult to correctly orient correctly. TRUE-Rotate solves
this problem and allows you to see the object you are
rotating, in full color.
To turn these options on or off, answer yes or no as
appropriate by entering (Y)es or (N)o in the space provided.
For a complete discussion of TRUE-Rotate and TRUE-Drag,
see Appendix A, Technical Notes.
DUAL SCREEN OPTIONS
PowerPac can be configured for dual monitors, one for your
drawing editor and one for your text screen. There are four
settings that control PowerPac’s dual monitor actions:
Dual Screen Modes
Clear Graphics Screen on Exit
Clear Graphics Screen on Shell
Non Standard Text Screen
DUAL SCREEN MODES
PowerPac provides two dual screen implementations:
Enhanced Mode and True Mode
Enhanced mode allows a command line to appear on the
graphics screen (if you want one) and will run some script
files faster. Enhanced mode does not allow you to
reprogram the (F1) key. If you prefer to reprogram the (F1)
key, you may have to use True Mode.
Note: By using PowerPac Professional's hot keys, you may
reprogram the (F1) key and still use enhanced mode.
True mode ((T)) is the true AutoCAD dual screen mode that
allows only a single prompt line without a graphics command
area. Reprogramming the (F1) key is fully supported.
CLEAR GRAPHICS SCREEN ON EXIT
When exiting the drawing editor while running PowerPac in
dual screen mode, you have the option of leaving the
graphics screen with the last graphics image still displayed.
To leave the graphics screen on when you exit the drawing
editor, type (N)o in the space provided. If you would like
PowerPac to clear the graphics display when you exit the
drawing editor, type (Y)es in the space provided.
Leaving the graphics screen active is especially handy for
referring to the drawing while running another program on
the system such as a word processor.
This selection allows Number Nine graphics boards with a
VGA daughter card to enable VGA pass-through mode.
Note: If you leave the graphics screen active after leaving
AutoCAD, other programs may not be able to correctly use
that screen without first rebooting your system.
CLEAR GRAPHICS SCREEN ON SHELL
You also have the option to control the graphics screen
while in a DOS shell within AutoCAD. It works much the
same way as Clear Graphics Screen on Exit, except that it is
controlled independently. You could have the graphics
screen up while in a shell, clearing it after exiting AutoCAD
(or vice versa).
To have the graphics screen cleared during a shell, type
(Y)es in the space provided. To display the graphics screen
during a shell type (N)o in the space provided.
This selection allows Number Nine graphics boards with a
VGA daughter card to enable VGA pass-through mode.
NON STANDARD TEXT SCREEN
If you are using a video board which supports a non-
standard text screen (i.e. 80 x 43 or 80 x 50 resolutions) and
you want your text screen to remain at the higher resolution,
you will need to activate this feature. If this feature is not
set, your text screen will default to 80 x 25, and may not be
reset correctly when you exit AutoCAD.
To activate the Non Standard Text Screen, move you cursor
to highlight the appropriate option and enter (Y)es in the
space provided.
To disable the Non Standard Text Screen, move you cursor
to highlight the appropriate option and enter (N)o in the
space provided.
FLIP OPTIONS
PowerPac provides three different ways to flip the screen
between graphics and text mode in the drawing editor.
These controlled by three settings:
Flip Type
Init on Flip
Init on Shell
FLIP TYPE
There are four methods which PowerPac can use to perform
a flip: full blit mode, partial redraw mode, full redraw mode,
and independent mode.
For those customers that don’t have enough memory, we
have provided several alternatives. You can use the partial
redraw mode ((P)) which stores the actual drawing space
during a flip (or shell), but redraws the screen menus each
time. This saves some memory and is still very fast. In
general, the partial blit option provides almost identical
speed at the full blit option, but saves memory.
Another method, which saves the most memory is full
redraw mode ((R)). This mode doesn’t save any of the
screen. It does an actual redraw each time you come back
from a flip. On smaller drawings, this option may actually be
faster than the full or partial blit options depending on the
amount of memory and the type of video board.
When using a Number Nine board in a single screen system,
flipping is handled by the graphics board itself, so you should
set your Flip Type to Independent ((I)).
INIT ON SHELL
If your graphics screen is corrupted when returning to the
drawing editor, you may need to turn on this option. To turn
on this option, answer (Y)es in the space provided.
Note: Setting this option to (Y)es allows the TIGA TSR’s to
be used on the text screen.
If there is not a problem with text flips on your graphics
board, set this option to (N)o to save time on your text flips
and shells.
Note: This option is similar to the Init on Flip described
above, except that it applies only to shells. This option
would also apply if you run a graphics application in your
AutoCAD shell. Enabling this option will cause the Number
Nine operating system to be completely reloaded. To turn it
on, enter (Y)es into the space provided.
FONT SELECTION
PowerPac provides a wide variety of menu fonts and font
sizes. When selecting a font, keep in mind your current
resolution and the legibility of the font.
To change the desired font, use the (PgUp), (PgDn), and
arrow keys to select your desired font and press [Enter].
If you entered 9CONFIG from within the AutoCAD drawing
editor, you will have to exit the drawing editor before the
font change will take effect.
RULES OF THUMB FOR FONTS
15 pixels wide x 32 pixels high
These fonts are recommended for use at 1600 x 1200 and
higher resolutions. Most Autodesk applications will function
with these fonts at 1280 x 1024 or higher.
11 x 21 & 12 x 26
These fonts are recommended for use at 1280 x 1024
resolution. Most Autodesk applications will support these
fonts at 1024 x 768 or above.
10 x 16 & 10 x 18
These fonts are recommended for use at 1024 x 768
resolution. Most Autodesk applications will support them at
800 x 600 or above.
8 x 12, 8 x 14 & 8 x 16
These are good, general purpose fonts at all resolutions.
They are recommended for 800 x 600 and 640 x 480. At
higher resolutions they may be too small for some purposes,
but are nevertheless very useful.
5 x 7, 5 x 8, 6 x 8, 8 x 8 & 8 x 10
These fonts are recommended for resolution of 640 x 480 or
below.
DEFAULT FONTS
Depending on the resolution selected with your Number
Nine graphics board, PowerPac selects an appropriate font
automatically.
MENU COLOR SCHEME
PowerPac allows you to change your display colors in the
following categories:
Alert Boxes
Background/Cursor
Command/Status Lines
Dialog Boxes
Side Menus
Pull-down Menus
When you select the Menu Color Scheme option, PowerPac
presents a submenu of the above options. Select the one
you wish to modify and press [Enter].
For each selection, you are presented with a submenu
containing the specific item. There is a space on the right of
each option where you can enter a color number.
Depending on the palette you are using, you can select a
number from 0 to 15 or 0 to 255. The names of the first 8
colors are listed on the left of the screen for reference. To
view all available colors with the appropriate numbers, load
the AutoCAD drawing COLORWH.DWG.
PALETTE SELECTION
PowerPac currently provides six color palettes from which
to choose:
AutoCAD 16
AutoCAD 256
256 ADESK
256 ADI
256-16-ADI
256-16-ADESK
Custom
To change the color palette, use (up) and (down) arrows to
highlight the appropriate palette and press [Enter]. To view
the palettes, load the CHROMA.DWG drawing in AutoCAD
and view it with each palette.
Typically you will only use AutoCAD 16 & AutoCAD 256. The
other palette options are provided for compatibility with
earlier versions of PowerPac.
PowerPac's 9PAL can be used to change the palette values
in the drawing editor and save them to the Custom palette.
For more information on this command, see later in this
chapter on 9PAL.
SCREEN LAYOUT
PowerPac allows you to customize your AutoCAD screen.
After you have selected screen layout from custom
configuration, PowerPac will present various options:
Number of Status Lines
Width of Sidebar Menu
Number of Command Lines
NUMBER OF STATUS LINES
PowerPac allows either one or two status lines across the
top of the AutoCAD drawing editor. With a single status line,
the cursor must be moved into the area for the pull-down
menu titles to appear. With two lines, the pull-down menu
titles continue to show after entering the pull down area.
To change the number of status lines, enter the appropriate
number into the space provided.
To eliminate the status line completely, answer (N)o when
AutoCAD asks about a status line, immediately after Basic
Configuration.
Note: It is normal to have a blank status line (i.e. no menu
names) until you move the cursor into it for the first time.
WIDTH OF SIDEBAR MENU
PowerPac allows you to control the width of your sidebar
menu. This will enable you to change the number of
characters in each entry on your sidebar menu.
To change the width of your sidebar, enter the appropriate
number of screen characters in the space provided. The
sidebar must be set to a value between 4 and 32 characters
wide.
To eliminate the sidebar completely, answer (N)o when
AutoCAD asks about a sidebar menu, immediately after
Basic Configuration.
Note: You will need to recompile your ACAD.MNU file when
changing the sidebar width, otherwise your sidebar menu
will not be displayed correctly.
NUMBER OF COMMAND LINES
You may also choose from 0 to 25 command lines at the
bottom of your AutoCAD screen. The fewer the lines the
faster the scroll rate. By entering 0 you will eliminate the
command line altogether. This is only appropriate with dual
monitors.
To change the number of command lines, enter the
appropriate number into the space provided.
RESTORE FACTORY SETTINGS
This function resets all of the Custom Configuration
parameters to the original defaults. It will only affect those
parameters set in this section and has no affect on those
that are part of Basic Configuration.
To restore the original settings, highlight the Restore
Factory Settings option on your Custom Configuration main
menu and press [Enter]. PowerPac then asks if you are
sure you want to do this. Answer appropriately with (Y)es
or (N)o and again press [Enter].
Restore Previous Settings
This function resets Custom Configuration parameters to
the settings prior to entering 9CONFIG. Again, this function
only affects the Custom Configuration parameters and not
those set in Basic Configuration.
To restore the previous settings, simply highlight Restore
Previous Settings on your Custom Configuration main menu
and press [Enter]. PowerPac will ask if you are sure you
want to do this. Answer (Y)es or (N)o as appropriate.
POWERPAC COMMANDS
Many of PowerPac's special features can be accessed
through simple commands which are entered on the
command line in the AutoCAD drawing editor.
Note: To determine which PowerPac command is enabled
for a specific level of PowerPac, see Chapter 1, PowerPac
Features Matrix.
ZW - ZOOM WINDOW
ZW is PowerPac's shorthand for the Zoom Window
command. After entering ZW at the command prompt, pick
the opposite corners of your desired zoom window just as
you would with AutoCAD's Zoom Window command. ZW is
transparent, so it can be used in the middle of many
functions by appending an apostrophe to the beginning
('ZW) on the command line.
ZW is fully regen protected. It will display the closest
possible view without doing a regen. It is impossible to
perform a regen using the ZW command.
ZV - ZOOM VMAX
After entering ZV at the command prompt, PowerPac will
perform a fast Zoom VMAX, showing your entire drawing
(based on the last regen), just as you would see with
AutoCAD's R11’s Zoom VMAX command. ZV is transparent
so it can be used in the middle of many commands, by
appending an apostrophe to the beginning ('ZV) on the
command line.
ZV gives AutoCAD R10 the same function as AutoCAD R11’s
Zoom VMAX command.
ZP - ZOOM PREVIOUS
ZP is PowerPac's shorthand for the Zoom Previous
command. After entering ZP at the command prompt,
PowerPac will immediately display your previous zoom level.
ZP stores up to 32 zooms that have previously occurred. ZP
is a circular command; once you go past the last stored zoom
level (up to 32), ZP cycles back to the first stored zoom level.
ZP is transparent, so it can be used in the middle of many
command, by appending an apostrophe to the beginning
('ZP) on the command line.
There is an individual ZP list for each active viewport on the
screen. When a viewport is first created, all 32 views are set
to the world view. The views are never cleared unless the
viewport is erased or recreated. You can manually reset all
stored ZP views back to the world view by typing;
ZP=C[Enter]
PZ - PREVIEWED ZOOM
PZ is the shorthand for PowerPac's Previewed Zoom
command. After entering PZ at the command prompt, pick
the opposite corners of your desired zoom window just as
you would with AutoCAD's Zoom Window command. Upon
picking your second point, PowerPac will display a moveable
box which will be the screen boundary of your new zoom.
Place it as desired and press the pick button to zoom. PZ is
transparent, so it can be used in the middle of many
commands, by appending an apostrophe to the beginning
('PZ) on the command line.
ZI - ZOOM IN
ZI is one of PowerPac's zooming commands. After entering
ZI at the command prompt, PowerPac will magnify your
drawing by a certain amount with the drawing elements at
the center of your screen remaining the center. ZI is
transparent command so it can be used in the middle of
many commands. All you need do is add an apostrophe to
the beginning ('ZI) on the command line. The default value
for ZI is 1.5. If you just enter ZI at the command prompt,
PowerPac will use 1.5x as the magnification factor. To zoom
to a different level, specify the magnification factor at the
command prompt:
ZI=2.3
This would magnify your drawing 2.3 times. If you were to
specify a value for ZI which is less than 1 (e.g. ZI=.5) you are,
in effect, causing your drawing to be zoomed out by the
reciprocal amount (ZI=.5 is the same as ZO=2).
ZO - ZOOM OUT
ZO is one of PowerPac's zooming commands. After
entering ZO at the command prompt, PowerPac will reduce
your drawing by a designated factor with the drawing
elements at the center of your screen remaining the center.
ZO is transparent, so it can be used in the middle of many
commands by appending an apostrophe to the beginning of
the command line ('ZO). The default value for ZO is 1.5. If
you just enter ZO at the command prompt, PowerPac will
zoom out, reducing your drawing 1.5 times. To zoom to a
different level, you can specify the reduction factor at the
command prompt:
ZO=2.3
This would reduce your drawing 2.3 times. If you were to
specify a value for ZO which is less than 1 (e.g. ZO=.5) you
are, in effect, causing your drawing to be zoomed in by the
reciprocal amount (ZO=.5 is the same as ZI=2).
ZC - ZOOM CENTER
PowerPac's ZC (Zoom Center) command is a shorthand,
regenless method of panning your drawing short distances.
To activate Zoom Center, type ZC at the command prompt.
Position the crosshairs where you want the new center of
your screen to be and press the pick button. The screen will
immediately display the new view. ZC is transparent, so it
can be used in the middle of many commands by appending
an apostrophe to the beginning of the command line ('ZC).
ZCC - ZOOM CENTER CONTINUOUS
ZCC is just like PowerPac's ZC command except that it
allows multiple ZC’s to be activated without retyping the
command. Enter ZCC and, using the pick button, select the
new center of the display until you are satisfied. To exit ZCC,
you need to press any other button on your pointing device.
This will return you to the command prompt.
Just as with ZC, ZCC is fully regen protected and
transparent. To access the ZCC within most other
commands, prefix it with an apostrophe ('ZCC).
GC - GARBAGE COLLECT
GC is PowerPac's Garbage Collection command for a single
viewport. You will rarely have to use this command if you
have PowerPac's TRUE-Erase activated.
In rare cases, it is possible for TRUE-Erase to make a
mistake and erase the wrong vector. For example, if you
have multiple vectors occupying the same space and you
erase one by selecting it and using the AutoCAD Erase
command. Both AutoCAD and TRUE-Erase assume you are
removing the top vector, but if you make a copy of the group
of contiguous vectors, AutoCAD reverses the order they are
drawn, making the top vector for AutoCAD the bottom
vector in PowerPac’s display list. It is difficult for PowerPac
to distinguish between vectors that are in the same place.
The GC command, on the other hand, requests a whole new
display list from AutoCAD. If you do this after the suspect
Erase, both PowerPac's display-list and AutoCAD's
database will be in sync.
After lengthy edit sessions, it is possible for the display list
memory to become partially fragmented. Using the GC
command will slightly reduce the memory usage of the driver
by replacing the display list with a new one.
The GC command is also used to enable or disable the
TRUE-Erase feature. You may do this by typing:
GC=Y (Enable)
or
GC=N (Disable)
You may wish to disable the TRUE-Erase feature World
Space Partitioning when using add-on products such as
Cad-Overlay.
You may also toggle World Space Partitioning on and off
from the AutoCAD command line by using PowerPac’s GC
command:
GC=,Y (Enable)
or
GC=,N (Disable)
TRUE-Erase and World Space Partitioning can both be
toggled on and off using a single GC command by combining
the two options:
GC=Y,Y (Enable Both)
GC=Y,N (Enable TRUE-Erase and disable W.S.
Partitioning)
GC=N,Y (Disable TRUE-Erase and enable W.S.
Partitioning)
or
GC=N,N (Disable Both)
GCALL - GARBAGE COLLECT ALL
This is identical to the GC command described above except
that it effects all viewports, as opposed to only the active
one. The GCALL command may also be used to enable or
disable the TRUE-Erase and World Space Partitioning
features as described by the GC command above.
RD - REDRAW
This is PowerPac's shorthand for the AutoCAD Redraw
command. It is identical in every way to Redraw. It simply
gives you a quick command to redraw the screen to remove
any garbage there. RD applies to the active viewport only.
RDALL - Redraw All
RDALL (or RDA) is the same as PowerPac’s RD command,
except that it applies to all viewports, not just the active one.
REGENMAX
PowerPac's REGENMAX command takes the current zoom
level and performs a regen so that the view is the largest
possible without a regen.
The REGENMAX command can also be used to increase the
size of the image in the BirdsEye window. To do this, size
the drawing within a view box to maximum size. Execute the
REGENMAX command. The next time the BirdsEye window is
called up, the image will fill the BirdsEye window.
Note: REGENMAX side effects: R11: An empty layer called
_ _ _ ZZ _ EMPTY may be created. Due to a complex
interaction between the VPOINT location and 3D limits, this
command may not always regen exactly at the current zoom
level under AutoCAD R11. Under R11, depending upon the
number of layers in your drawing, REGENMAX may take a
long time. DO NOT ABORT THIS COMMAND with a ^C, as this
may leave your limits and viewports in an indeterminate
state. REGENMAX can be extremely useful in R12 to control
the maximum zoom size of a drawing which is sometimes
much smaller than the entire available drawing area.
9PAN
The 9PAN command tells PowerPac which direction you
would like it to pan the screen. The format of the command
is:
9PAN=DIRECTION {,distance}
DIRECTION is the direction in which you wish the screen to
pan. Figure 2.3 below illustrates the appropriate values for
DIRECTION.
DISTANCE is an optional parameter which tells PowerPac
how far to pan the screen. This is measured in 1/32
viewport distances. The default value is 4, so if you omit the
dist parameter, 9PAN will pan in increments of 1/8 the
width/height of the current viewport.
As an example, to pan the screen half a screen width to the
left, use:
9PAN=4,16[Enter]
9PAN is tedious to use by itself, but is perfect in conjunction
with PowerPac's HotKey interface. You can program the
cursor keys on your numeric keypad (or any other keys you
desire) to activate the 9PAN command in the appropriate
direction.
The default HotKeys are programmed so that the cursor
keys, when used in conjunction with (Ctrl), use the 9PAN
command to pan the screen in all eight directions, i.e. 1 - 8.
9EDG & 9EDGE
An alternate method of real-time panning is PowerPac's
automatic edge panning. By moving your crosshairs into
the small margin at the edge of the drawing editor, the
screen will automatically pan in that direction until you
remove the cursor from the edge, or the drawing boundary
is reached. It is possible to pan the screen in any of eight
directions, depending on where you move your crosshairs.
As the crosshairs move into the panning margin, EDGEPAN
appears at the bottom of the sidebar menu. PowerPac will
not pan if the drawing is at the edge of the current regen
limits or is at Zoom VMAX.
Edgepanning is initially disabled. To activate edgepanning,
type at the command prompt:
9EDGE=Y[Enter]
This will activate the PowerPac's edgepanning with the
default settings. To change the settings, simply type 9EDGE
at the command prompt and press [Enter].
PowerPac will ask you five questions:
Enable EDGEPAN? <N>:
This enables you to turn edgepanning on and off. Answer
(Y)es or (N)o as appropriate.
EDGEPAN pan distance (in 1/32 screen increments)? <3>:
This question asks how far each pan "frame" should be
from the next. This is measured in screen increments (a
fraction of the screen width or height). For instance, to
have edgepanning move half a screen at a time, answer 16
for this question. The default value is 3. The possible values
range from 1 to 32.
EDGEPAN start delay time (in 1/18 second increments)?
<16>:
This question allows you to define the amount of time
PowerPac waits while the crosshairs are in the edgepanning
region before edgepanning starts. This allows a pause
which you can define, allowing time for you to move your
crosshairs across the edgepanning region into the menu
area, for instance. This is measured 1/18 second increments
(enter 9 for a half second delay). The default value is 16.
The possible values range from 1 to 99.
EDGEPAN movement delay time (in 1/18 second
increments)? <3>:
This question sets the time PowerPac pauses between each
edgepan "frame". It controls the speed of the pan around
your drawing. It is measured in 1/18 second increments
and defaults to 3. The possible values range from 0 to 99.
Save current settings? <N>:
This option allows you to save the current setting of 9EDGE
into your configuration file so that edgepanning is
configured the same next time you enter the drawing editor.
This option also save the active state of edgepanning. Enter
(Y)es or (N)o as appropriate.
There is an optional command line format for 9EDGE which
allows you to define all of the available edgepanning options
in a single command line. This is an ideal format for script
files and for adding to PowerPac's ICON or HotKey
interface.
9EDGE=Enable,Pan Distance,Delay,Pan Speed,Save [Enter]
9EDG is a shorthand version of 9EDGE which works
identically.
BE & BIRDSEYE
PowerPac Plus and Professional have a fully customizable
BirdsEye window which can be configured and activated
through the BE and BIRDSEYE commands. The BE and
BIRDSEYE command are identical in use and operation.
To configure the BirdsEye, type at the command line:
BE [Enter]
A rubber band box will appear which represents the outline
of the BirdsEye. It can be sized using either the (+) and (-)
keys or buttons 2 and 3 on your pointing device and can be
positioned using your pointing device. Once you have sized
and placed the BirdsEye, use the pick button to activate it.
Once the BirdsEye has been configured it will come up in the
same place and size. To resize or move the BirdsEye, use
the BE=T [Enter] command.
Use the BE command to quickly enter it from the keyboard or
use a single click of button 3 on your pointing device while
holding down either (Shift) key.
Once inside the BirdsEye, you can use your mouse or
digitizer to zoom and pan. For more information on the
usage of the BirdsEye, see Button Interface later in this
chapter. To exit the BirdsEye simply press any key on the
keyboard. The (Esc) key is recommended since it leaves no
echo on the command line.
To turn the BirdsEye off, type the following at the command
line:
BE=O[Enter]
PowerPac's BirdsEye Windows can also be accessed and
used through a set of mouse or digitizer button commands.
For complete instructions on these button commands, see
the section on PowerPac’s Button Interface later in this
chapter.
9ICON
9ICON is the shorthand keyboard command to activate
PowerPac's ICON menu system. This command is available
only in the Plus and Professional versions of PowerPac.
Ordinarily, you would use PowerPac’s button interface to
activate and use the icon menus, but 9ICON allows you to
activate specific menus and also to compile new icon menus.
An example of the PowerPac Professional ICON menu is
shown below.
9ICON has the following options:
9ICON [Enter] (Access icons)
9ICON=R,FILENAME [Enter](Recompiles and/or loads
a new ICON Menu)
Note: The =R,FILENAME option is only available with
PowerPac Professional)
Note: Creating and recompiling new ICON menus is only
available with PowerPac Professional. For PowerPac
Professional users who want to reprogram their own
custom ICON Interface, see ICON Interface and ICON
Customization later in this chapter. PowerPac Basic and
PowerPac Plus users can upgrade to PowerPac
Professional by contacting Number Nine.
9PAL
PowerPac allows you to individually customize each color in
your palette. With the 9PAL command, you can specify each
RGB value for any of the 16 or 256 colors in your palette.
To various formats for 9PAL are:
9PAL[Enter] (Interactive Mode)
9PAL=Color#,Red,Green,Blue,Save [Enter]
(Command Line)
9PAL=S[Enter] (Save Palette)
9PAL=W,FILENAME.SCR [Enter] (Write Palette to
Script File)
The easiest way to modify the palette is to use the 9PAL
command by itself. Type:
9PAL
at the command line and the following appears at the
command line:
[Index #: 0] Red: 0 Green: 0 Blue: 0
Using the arrow keys, move the highlight brackets ([...]) left
and right to the option you wish to change. Using the (up)
and (down) arrow or (PgUp) and (PgDn) keys, increase or
decrease the desired value. As you change the value, the
color will change on your screen (if that color is displayed).
Press [Enter] to accept the changes and return to the
command line. To cancel any changes, press (Esc) (you will
be asked to confirm this).
Next, PowerPac will ask whether you want to save the new
palette to the Custom palette option in Custom
Configuration (Palette Selection). Press (Y)es or (N)o as
appropriate.
To manually change each color and its RGB values, use the
9PAL command line option.
Color # is the index in your palette of the color you wish to
change (i.e. to change white, which in most palettes is color
number 7, put 7 for Color#). The range for Color# is
determined by the number of colors set by your video mode
in Basic Configuration; either 16 (0-15) or 256 (0-255). You
cannot use more than 256 colors in the AutoCAD drawing
editor.
Red, green, and blue are the individual RGB component
values for each color. Each RGB value ranges from 0 to 255.
0 is black; 255 is the full intensity of the color (be it Red,
Green or Blue). Various combinations of these colors
produce all other colors that you may wish to display. For
shades of grey, set the RGB values each to the same
number. As you vary this number upwards towards 255, the
grey will pale from black (0) to white (255).
The last option of 9PAL command line options allows you to
save your custom color to the Custom palette, located in
Custom Configuration. An "S" at the end of the command
line will cause the values to be saved. To choose the
Custom palette once you have changed it, enter Custom
Configuration using 9CONFIG and select Custom under
Palette Selection.
For instance, to make color 7 red and save it to the Custom
palette, type at the command prompt:
9PAL=7,255,0,0,S
The 9PAL (S)ave option allows you to save the custom
palette to the Custom palette stored in your configuration
file and selected from Palette Selection within PowerPac's
Custom Configuration. Use this option when you have
defined a palette using the 9PAL command line option but
have not saved.
The 9PAL (W)rite option tells PowerPac to create a script file
containing you Custom palette in the form of 256 (or 16) 9PAL
command line options. This can be used to backup different
versions of your Custom palette or to transfer a Custom
palette to a colleague who is also using PowerPac.
9CONFIG
The 9CONFIG command is used from the drawing editor to
enter PowerPac's Custom Configuration program. For
more information on Custom Configuration, see earlier in
this chapter.
To access Custom Configuration, type at the command
prompt:
9CONFIG[Enter]
9STATUS
The 9STATUS command displays the current status of
PowerPac. It shows the name, version number and serial
number of the driver, and also shows the size in kilobytes of
the display list.
To get this information, simply type at the command prompt:
9STATUS[Enter]
9HELP
The 9HELP command accesses PowerPac's on-line help
system. Type at the AutoCAD command prompt:
9HELP [Enter]
Once PowerPac's help screen appears, you can flip through
the different pages by using the (PgUp) and (PgDn) keys. To
exit help and return to your drawing, press the (Esc) key.
9DL
9DL is PowerPac's display list control command. It allow
you to toggle the display list, TRUE Erase, and World Space
Partitioning on and off. To use the 9DL command, type at the
command line:
9DL={DISPLAYLIST},{TRUEerase},{WSPartition}[Enter]
9DL has three options. The first allows you to turn
PowerPac's display list on and off. Set 9DL equal to (Y)es or
(N)o as appropriate. Disabling the display list using this
command puts PowerPac into a special "fake" mode which
frees up the memory associated with the display list while
fooling AutoCAD into thinking that the display list is still
active, so that the rest of PowerPac's commands will be
recognized by AutoCAD. To permanently turn off the display
list, use Display List Options in PowerPac's Custom
Configuration. Remember, disabling the display list in
Custom Configuration also disables all PowerPac commands
and features (including the 9DL command).
The next option toggles PowerPac's TRUE Erase real time
display list garbage collection feature on and off. Again, set
9DL equal to (Y)es or (N)o as appropriate. Turning TRUE
Erase off is unnecessary, except for CAD Overlay users
since CAD Overlay uses the black vector garbage stored in
the display list.
The last option controls World Space Partitioning. Again, set
9DL equal to (Y)es or (N)o to toggle World Space Partitioning
on and off. World Space Partitioning is PowerPac’s way of
ordering the display list to help accelerate zooms and pans.
Since this changes the way objects are redrawn on the
screen, if your drawing depends on objects being drawn in a
certain order, turn World Space Partitioning off.
If you need to change only certain 9DL options, place
commas with nothing between them to step past options
which need not be changed. As an example, to turn World
Space partitioning off while leaving TRUE Erase and the
display list with the previous setting, type at the command
line:
9DL=,,N[Enter]
HOTKEY INTERFACE
PowerPac Professional has a unique HotKey interface which
allows you to access all PowerPac and AutoCAD commands
through almost any key or key combination on your
keyboard. PowerPac comes with some preprogrammed
HotKeys. These are stored in your configuration file and are
automatically loaded with PowerPac.
PowerPac's HotKey interface is controlled by the 9KEY
command.
To turn PowerPac's HotKeys off, type at the command
prompt:
9KEY=N[Enter]
When turned off, your HotKey assignments remain
unchanged but instead allow the normal AutoCAD action (if
any).
To turn the HotKeys back on, type at the command prompt:
9KEY=Y[Enter]
BUTTON INTERFACE
PowerPac allows you to program you mouse or digitizer
buttons with many of PowerPac’s commands. With this
easy, intuitive interface you can perform fast zooms, use the
BirdsEye and access our text icon interface.
PowerPac comes preconfigured to work with a three button
mouse. If you are using a different pointing device, see
Appendix B, Suggested Button Configurations, to configure
your device to work properly with PowerPac. The defaults
that are shipped with PowerPac are as follows:
Note: When using a Logitech® 3-button mouse with
AutoCAD, the buttons are ordered (1)(3)(2). When using the
default button configuration with PowerPac, remember that
buttons (2) and (3) will be reversed from the diagrams shown
here.
To set up your buttons in a different configuration, you will
need to change the settings in Custom Configuration. For
detailed information on how to set the buttons, see Button
Configuration described earlier in the chapter.
In order to prevent incompatibilities with your existing button
configuration, the zoom window and BirdsEye buttons
(buttons 2 and 3) require you to use the (Shift) key while
clicking the button. This default can be changed in button
configuration.
Note: PowerPac's button assignments start with button 1.
Button 1 is defined as the pick button. Some digitizers
define the pick button as button 0. If your digitizer defines
pick as button 0, subtract 1 from all PowerPac button
assignments to get the correct button on your digitizer.
ZOOM WINDOW
A single click of button 2 with (Shift) activates the
PowerPac’s ZW command. This command is transparent
and can be activated during almost any AutoCAD command.
The cursor position becomes the first corner of the Zoom
window command. The second corner is specified with
either a pick or a repeat click of the Zoom Window button.
The screen will zoom onto the area, creating a box that can
be moved around the drawing and placed over the area that
is to be zoomed.
PREVIEWED ZOOM
A double click of the 2nd button activates PowerPac's PZ
command. The cursor position becomes the first corner of
the Zoom window command. The second corner is specified
with either a pick or a repeat click of the Previewed Zoom
button. Drop the aspect box with a pick or another click of
the Previewed Zoom button. "A double click of the 2nd
button activates PowerPac's PZ command. The cursor
position becomes the first corner of the Zoom window
command. The second corner is specified with either a pick
or a repeat click of the Previewed Zoom button. Drop the
aspect box with a pick or another click of the Previewed
Zoom button."
BIRDSEYE
The BirdsEye Window is a viewport containing the entire
drawing or full display list. It can show your current zoomed
view in proportion to the larger picture and allows fast real-
time zooming and panning. The BirdsEye is essential to keep
you constantly aware of where you are editing within a large
drawing.
To use the BirdsEye, first, enter it by using either the BE or
BIRDSEYE command (described earlier in this chapter) or by
doing a single click on your BirdsEye button (default: button
3 with (Shift)). If you have never configured your BirdsEye
before, you will see a "rubber band" box which you can
move around the screen. This is your BirdsEye outline. You
may move and size it using your pointing device and the (+)
and (-) keys or buttons 2 and 3 on your pointing device (no
(Shift)). When you have finished sizing and positioning the
BirdsEye, press the pick button to fix its position.
Once the BirdsEye is active, an arrow cursor will appear
within a miniature copy of your drawing inside the BirdsEye
window. Additionally, a box with moving dashed lines will
also be in your BirdsEye. This is your zoom box. This
outlines your current zoom level. The zoom box may be
around the outside of your BirdsEye. This indicates that
your drawing is currently zoomed all the way out. The zoom
box may be picked up and resized, as described below to
zoom and pan around your drawing.
To activate a zoom window within the BirdsEye, either single
click your zoom window button (default: button 2) outside of
the zoom box or double click inside the zoom box. This will
give you one corner of the zoom box. Using the same
button, pick the opposite corner of your zoom box. The
drawing underneath the BirdsEye will then change to reflect
your zoom. Do this any number of times before exiting the
BirdsEye.
To pan, "pick up" the zoom box by picking inside it. Your
cursor will pick up the zoom/pan box and you can drag it
around the BirdsEye. As you be used to step back through
them. If you step past the last stored display, Zoom
Previous will show you the complete drawing as defined by
the last regen. A regen of any type resets the Zoom
Previous command.
ZOOM VMAX
To activate PowerPac's regenless Zoom VMAX command,
use a single click followed by long press of button 3 on your
pointing device. PowerPac displays the entire drawing as
defined by the last regen. In some cases this may not be the
entire drawing. Since this is a regenless command, it only
displays information from the last regen. "To activate
PowerPac's regenless Zoom VMAX command, use a single
click followed by long press of button 3 on your pointing
device. PowerPac displays the entire drawing as defined by
the last regen. In some cases this may not be the entire
drawing. Since this is a regenless command, it only displays
information from the last regen.
Note: AutoCAD R12 may cause ZV to zoom your drawing
too far out. Use the PowerPac REGENMAX command to
control the extents of the zoom.
ZOOM CENTER
To activate PowerPac's Zoom Center command, position the
cursor crosshairs where you wish the new center of your
display to be and then use a long press of button 2 on your
pointing device. The screen will shift the display to be the
chosen point as the new center of the screen, without a
regen.
Since this is a regenless command, if a drawing boundary is
discovered, Zoom Center will display the closest equivalent.
Note: Zoom Window, Previewed Zoom, BirdsEye, Zoom
Previous and Zoom VMAX are all transparent zoom and pan
commands meaning they cannot be performed while in
paperspace or while a perspective viewport. When working
in tilemode 0, the button commands are active only when you
are in or over a modelspace viewport.
ICON INTERFACE
PowerPac Plus and Professional allow users to bring up an
on-screen ICON menu system via the 9ICON command.
PowerPac's ICON interface is easy to use. The default icon
system for PowerPac Plus integrate all of the most popular
display list commands into a menu system. The default ICON
system for PowerPac Professional integrates the most
popular display list commands plus AutoCAD commands into
a hierarchical menu system.
To enter the ICON menu, do a long press of your ICON
button (default: pick button). Once the menu appears, toggle
between different panels by clicking on the appropriate
entry in the table of contents on the panel edge (default: left
edge). When the correct panel is displayed, click on the
desired command. The ICON menu will usually disappear
while executing your command.
Note: Some digitizers do not support a long press. If you
are affected by this, you will need to change the button
configuration for some other sequence. This can be done in
Button Configuration located in Custom Configuration.
ICON CUSTOMIZATION
The PowerPac Professional icon interface is configured
through a text file called ICON.TXT which the INSTALL
program copies to your AutoCAD directory. To modify or
create an ICON panel(s), you need to edit the ICON.TXT file,
or create a new .TXT file, using any text editor and then
recompile that .TXT file using the 9ICON=R,FILENAME
option. You may want to modify the default ICON.TXT as a
model to customize your own ICON interface. Prior to
making any modifications to the default ICON.TXT file, it is
best to make a backup file.
When you view an ICON panel on the screen, you will notice
two main parts, the table of contents, the small boxes on the
left, and the command panel itself, the large boxes on the
right. The table of contents is a list of all available command
panels, such as DRAW, EDIT, etc.
To best understand how to design and organize PowerPac
Professional's customizable ICON menus, compare the ICON
menu with a portion of ICON.TXT below and examine the
elements which were put together to create it:
Portion of the text file ICON.TXT listed below.
PANEL "Number Nine PowerPac Professional"
s-b
20
10 2
8
[OSNAP] [#P=Temporary Osnaps]
[SELECTS] [#P=SINGLE SELECT]
[DRAW] [#P=Draw Menu #1]
[EDIT] [#P=Edit Menu #1]
[TEXT] [#P=Text]
[INQUIRY] [#P=Inquiry]
[DIM] [#P=Dimension]
[LAYERS] [#P=Layers]
[ ] [ ]
[UCS] [#P=UCS]
[NUMBERS] [#P=Numbers]
[UTILITY] [#P=Utility]
[SETTINGS] [#P=Settings]
[PSPACE] [#P=MView / Pspace]
[ ] [ ]
[ ] [ ]
[DISPLAY] [#P=Display]
[Top Menu] [#P=Number Nine PowerPac Professional]
[Cancel] [^C^C]
[_Last_] [#P=]
30
5 6
7
[9HELP] ['9Help ]
[EdgeON] ['9EDGE=Y ]
[BirdEye] ['BE ]
[Zm In] [#S=’ZI ]
[Zm Prev] [#S=’ZP ]
[Zm Out] [#S=’ZO ]
[9Config] ['9Config ]
[EdgeOFF] ['9Edge=N ]
[BE Move] ['BE=T ]
[ ] [#S=’9PAN=6 ]
[ ] [#S=’9PAN=2 ]
[ ] [#S=’9PAN=3 ]
[9Status] ['9Status ]
[EdgCFG:] ['9Edge= ]
[9Palet:] ['9Palette ]
[ ] [#S=’9PAN=4 ]
[Redraw] ['RD ]
[ ] [#S=’9PAN=1 ]
[Garbage] ['GC ]
[RD All] ['RDA ]
[Zm Box:] ['PZ ]
[ ] [#S=’9PAN=12 ]
[ ] [#S=’9PAN=8 ]
[ ] [#S=’9PAN=9 ]
[HotKey:] ['9KEY ]
[RgnMax] ['REGENMAX ]
[Zm CC:] ['ZCC ]
[Zm Ctr:] ['PZ ]
[Zm Win:] ['ZW ]
PANEL LAYOUT
Each icon panel is divided into three sections: a title bar and
two button sections. A complete icon menu is a collection of
different icon panels.
TITLE BAR
The first step in creating an icon panel is to name it. The
name is displayed in the title bar when the panel is active.
To begin the definition of a panel called "Panel 1", include
the line:
PANEL "Number Nine PowerPac Professional"
BUTTON SECTIONS
The two button sections of an icon panel are two
independent arrays of buttons. Each button can be
assigned a command which is activated by "pressing" it:
place the cursor over the button and click the pick button.
One button section is called Big and the other is called Small.
Each button section is independently scaled when displayed
and the only difference between button sections is that
Small button are scaled slightly smaller than Big buttons.
Big and Small are identical in operation, Big and Small serve
as names only and have no practical bearing on icon panel
operation.
The first step of button section configuration is to define the
relative positions of Big and Small. The table below
describes the formatting options available.
For example, to configure you button sections with Small on
the left and Big on the right, enter the following after your
panel name definition:
S-B
After naming the panel, the next step in button section
configuration is to define the dimensions and contents of
each button section. Each button section is separately
defined, Small first, then Big.
To set the number and arrangement of buttons for each
button section, first enter the number of buttons and then
the dimensions of the panel in rows (y-axis) and columns (x-
axis). For example, to create a button section with 4 buttons
arranged vertically, enter after the panel configuration
command:
20
10 2
Other layout options for a 20 button panel include 2 10, 10 2,
and 20 1.
Next, you must specify the minimum width of each button in
characters. For example, to make your buttons 9 characters
wide, enter after button layout:
8
This completes button section configuration. Next, you need
to define each button individually, giving each a name and
function. After fully configuring and assigning commands to
Small, repeat the process for Big.
BUTTON DEFINITION
After you have the button configuration section, each button
must be named and assigned commands. Each button
definition has two parts: a name and a function assignment.
A button name and button definition can be any collection of
characters except "[" or "]". These are reserved
characters used to separate the button name from the
button definition:
[Button Name] [Button Definition]
Additionally, the only other reserved words are #P, #N, and
#S. These are only reserved in the button definition and are
described later. When naming a button, be sure to bear in
mind the width of your button as defined previously in button
section configuration.
For example, to create a button called "ZOOM VMAX"
which transparently zooms to the full drawing extents, enter:
[Zoom Vmax] ['ZV]
The button definition can be any command which can be
typed at the AutoCAD command prompt.
Special Button Commands
There are three special button commands: #S=, #P=, and
#N=. These are used in the button definition field. To use a
special commands, insert it before the AutoCAD command in
the button definition:
[Zoom Vmax] [#s='ZV]
#S= (execute and return to (S)ame panel) is a special
command which leaves the icon menu active after the button
has been pressed. Normally, the icon menu disappears
after a button has been pressed, but if a button definition is
prefixed with #S=, after the button is pressed the icon menu
stays active and another button can be pressed. This is
ideal for number entry or any other repetitive command,
such as the 9PAN command.
#P= (go to Panel) is a special command which flips between
icon panels. This allows you to group your commands on
separate panels according to function. The text after #P= is
the name of a panel to display:
[ONE] [#p=PANEL 1]
There is an option with #P= that lets you execute a command
and then flip to a new panel. Add a colon ":" after the
panel flip command and then add the command to be
executed after the colon:
[ONE] [#p=PANEL 1:'RDALL]
This command executes the 'RDALL command and then
activates panel ONE. If no panel name is specified ([#P=])
PowerPac flips back to the last icon panel displayed.
PowerPac remembers the last fifteen icon panels. This
allows creation of icon subroutines which correctly return to
the appropriate panel.
There is a special case of #P= = (note double equal signs)
that flips two panels back, instead of one.
The last special command is #N=. This operates exactly like
the #P= command, except that it comes into effect the next
time the icon menu is activated. For instance:
[Reset] [N=PANEL]
[#N= =] is fully supported and works just like [#P=].
In order to use special characters like ^C, precede the
character with the caret ("^") symbol. Most of the
commands in the default PowerPac icon panel are prefixed
with ^C^C to ensure that any current AutoCAD command is
aborted.
CHAPTER 3: 3D STUDIO 1.0 & 2.0
3D STUDIO 1.0 & 2.0
PowerPac is also fully compatible with 3D Studio 1.0 & 2.0.
PowerPac is unique in that it allows you to select different
video modes for each of 3D Studio’s displays: Main Display,
Materials Editor and Rendering Display (both RDPADI &
RCPADI). For example, you could edit your drawing at 1280 x
1024 x 16 colors in the Main Display, select and view
materials at 640 x 480 x 256 colors, and render your drawing
at 1024 x 768 x 16.7 million colors. Of course, all selected
modes need to be supported by the Number Nine graphcis
board in the systems.
Note: PowerPac requires an Intel math coprocessor. If a
Weitek math coprocessor is present, PowerPac ignores it.
INSTALLATION
Insert the PowerPac disk in the floppy disk drive and at the
DOS prompt type:
A:INSTALL [Enter]
or
B:INSTALL [Enter]
INSTALL will present a list of the Autodesk applications for
which PowerPac may be installed. Using the (up) and
(down) arrow keys, move the cursor to the desired 3D Studio
version(s) and press the space bar to change the display
from NO to YES. Once you have finished making your
selections, press (Enter) to continue with installation.
INSTALL will ask for the drive letter and path for 3D Studio.
If any directory is incorrectly specified or the correct
executable files are not in the directory, INSTALL will issue a
warning and give you the option to quit or continue with
installation.
Next, INSTALL asks where to install the TI 340x0 support
files, INSTALL will default to the directory to which the TIGA
environment variable is set, for example, SET TIGA=-
mC:\TIGA2 -lC:\TIGA2 -i0X60
Note: The #9GXE does not use TIGA as a graphics
operating system. Not all Number Nine graphics boards
support TIGA.
Finally, INSTALL asks if you want to install the AutoPatch or
NEWDX utilities. AutoPatch fixes some bugs in AutoCAD
R10, R11 & 3D Studio which prevent PowerPac from working
correctly. NEWDX updates your AutoDesk application
executable file with Phar Lap’s DOS Extender, version 2.6.
PowerPac has some problems running with earlier versions
of the DOS Extender.
Once you have finished making your selections, INSTALL will
tell you about any modifications that need to be made to
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and 3DS.SET file. You have the
choice of letting INSTALL make the changes automatically,
making new files with the extension .NEW with the changes,
or making the changes by hand. In all cases when a file is
modified, the original version is backed-up with the filename
extension of .BAK.
After all the necessary files have been installed, INSTALL
tells you that everything has been successfully installed and
returns to the DOS prompt. Reboot your system to make
the necessary changes, then run 3D Studio.
CONFIGURATION
You can now enter 3D Studio and begin the configuration
process. If you are reconfiguring, you must delete the
3DADI.CFG file located in the 3D Studio directory. At the
DOS prompt, type:
CD \3DS [Enter]
3DS [Enter]
PowerPac's title screen should appear with various boxes
bouncing around the screen. If not, make sure that your
environment variables are set correctly, that you have
correctly edited your 3DS.SET file and that you have deleted
the 3DADI.CFG file.
You can press any key to continue to the next screen or wait
about 10 seconds for it to happen automatically.
There are four sections of 3D Studio 2.0 and three section
for 3D Studio 1.0 for which PowerPac needs to be
configured:
Main Display
Materials Editor
Rendering Display (RDPADI) (3D Studio 2.0 only)
Rendering Display (RCPADI)
Note: Under 3D Studio 1.0, PowerPac cannot be used as a
RDPADI rendering driver.
You will be configuring PowerPac for each display in turn.
Configuration for each is very similar. Read over the
configuration instructions below and review the tips for
each 3D Studio display located after the configuration
section before continuing PowerPac configuration.
Please note that if you have not set up separate
NUMBER9.CFG files with the NUMB9 environment variable,
any changes you make here for 3D Studio will be in effect for
AutoCAD, and AutoShade.
VIDEO DISPLAY
The next screen will display the section of 3D Studio that you
are configuring as well as your current video mode.
PowerPac will ask you whether you want to change your
current video mode.
To change your video mode, answer (Y)es. PowerPac will
present you will a list of Number Nine graphics boards.
Using the arrow keys and the (PgUp) and (PgDn) keys,
highlight your video board and press (Enter) to select.
PowerPac will then give you a list of resolutions available
with your Number Nine graphics board. Use the same
method to pick the resolution as you did previously for the
video board.
TESTING THE VIDEO CARD SELECTION
After selecting the new video mode and display options,
PowerPac will give you the opportunity to test the video to
make sure that it is correct. When PowerPac asks whether
you wish to test the video mode, answer (Y)es or (N)o as
appropriate.
If you answered (Y)es, PowerPac will first print a warning:
If you have selected an incorrect video mode, testing the
video mode may crash your system.
Should your system hang, reboot and select a different
video mode (Don’t forget to delete the 3DADI.CFG file first).
PowerPac may also give you a warning that you have
selected a video mode that does not work with the board in
your system.
If everything goes well, you should see a symmetrical test
pattern listing your current video mode and resolution in the
center. If your screen is blank or garbled there is a problem
with your video card or your monitor. Be sure that your
video card and your monitor can support the desired
resolution.
Wait 10 seconds or press any key to exit the video test.
PowerPac will then ask you whether the test screen
appeared correctly. If so, answer (Y)es otherwise, press
(N)o and select another video mode.
FONT SELECTION
Once you have finished selecting and testing the video
mode, PowerPac will ask you whether you want to change
the current menu font. If you wish to change your current
font answer (Y)es. PowerPac will give you a list of fonts to
select from. Using the same method as selecting your video
mode, choose your desired font from the list.{tc "Once you
have finished selecting and testing the video mode,
PowerPac will ask you whether you want to change the
current menu font. If you wish to change your current font
answer (Y)es. PowerPac will give you a list of fonts to select
from. Using the same method as selecting your video mode,
choose your desired font from the list."}
RULES OF THUMB FOR FONTS
15 pixels wide x 32 pixels high
These fonts are recommended for use at 1600 x 1200 and
higher resolutions. The minimum resolution at which most
AutoDesk applications will function with these fonts is 1280 x
1024.
11 x 21 & 12 x 26
These fonts are recommended for use at 1280 x 1024
resolution. The minimum resolution at which most AutoDesk
applications will function with these fonts is 1024 x 768.
10 x 16 & 10 x 18
These fonts are recommended for use at 1024 x 768
resolution. The minimum resolution at which most AutoDesk
applications will function with these fonts is 800 x 600.
8 x 12, 8 x 14 & 8 x 16
These fonts are good, general purpose fonts at all
resolutions. They are recommended for 800 x 600 and 640 x
480. At higher resolutions they may be a little small for some
purposes, but are nevertheless very useful.
5 x 7, 5 x 8, 6 x 8, 8 x 8 & 8 x 10
These fonts are recommended with resolutions below 640 x
480. They are useful when a very small font is needed.
3D STUDIO MATERIAL EDITOR FONTS
These fonts have been specifically created to maximize 3D
Studio’s Materials Editor. The size of the Materials Editor
on the screen is determined by the font size. PowerPac will
automatically select a Materials Editor font appropriate to
your resolution.
CONFIGURATION TIPS
There are many issues to take into consideration when it
comes to configuration PowerPac for 3D Studio’s Main,
Materials, and Rendering displays. This section is designed
to help you make the most informed decision about
configuring PowerPac and how to get the most out of 3D
Studio.
DUAL SCREEN SUPPORT
3D Studio 2.0 fully supports simultaneous use of two
separate monitors. If you are using more than one monitor,
only one monitor will be active at one time unless you
answer (Y)es when asked if the RCPADI or RDPADI device
renders to a separate screen.
You can use PowerPac, for instance, with a VGA board for
the Main display and the Materials Editor and then use the
Number Nine board for the Rendering display.
MAIN DISPLAY
Speed is of the essence when using 3D Studios Main display
editor. You will want to have the highest clarity with the
most speed.
To maximize speed, you should select a 16 color mode. This
will cut down on the redraw times. The Keyframer will
benefit most from this.
It is a good idea to select a medium to high resolution for the
Main display since this will give you the most clarity. A good
resolution to pick is 1280 x 1024 or 1024 x 768, with 16 colors.
MATERIALS EDITOR
It is a good idea to select 640 x 480 x 256 colors as the
resolution for the Materials Editor. This gives a good
balance between readability and speed. The material
renderings are fairly fast while being clear enough to view
effectively.
Whatever resolution you use, you should select a 256 color
mode for the materials editor. While you may select a mode
with more than 256 colors, only 256 colors will be used and
performance will be slower.
The size of the Materials editor is controlled by the font size,
so choosing the correct font is important here. For 640 x
480, BLOCK12X19 has been found to be ideal. It causes the
Materials editor to be at its largest, allowing the Materials
editor to fill the entire screen. PowerPac automatically
defaults to the largest possible font, depending on the
resolution you have selected previously.
RENDERING DISPLAY
You will configure PowerPac twice for the rendering display,
once for RDPADI and once for RCPADI if you set both the
RCPADI and RDPADI environment variable during
configuration.
RDPADI
Before configuring PowerPac for RDPADI, 3D Studio will
present you with this prompt:
Will the RDPADI render on a separate screen? <Y>
PowerPac with 3D Studio 2.0 supports simultaneous dual
graphics screens using two different graphics boards in
your system, allowing you to use the display modules on one
screen, and to render on another. If you are using a single
monitor only for editing and rendering, you must answer (N)o
to this question.
After answering this question, you will return to normal
PowerPac configuration.
RCPADI
Before RCPADI PowerPac configuration, 3D Studio will
present you with this prompt:
Will the RCPADI render on a separate screen (unlikely)? <N>
3D Studio 2.0 supports simultaneous dual graphics screens
using two different graphics boards in your system, allowing
you to use the display modules on one screen and to render
on another. If you are using a single monitor only for editing
and rendering, you must answer (N)o to this question. This
is completely separate from the RDPADI setting described
above. Typically, you should answer this question the same
way as you answered the one with RDPADI (answering the
same way for both indicates that both RCPADI and RDPADI
are on the same screen).
You will again be returned to PowerPac’s configuration to
complete the configuration for 3D Studio. Once you have
completed this, you will be sent to the Main Display of 3D
Studio 2.0.
RENDERING NOTES
It is useful to note that the higher the resolution you select
for a rendering, the longer your drawing will take to render.
A good resolution at which to render is 640 x 480 or 1024 X
768, with 16.7 million (24-bit) colors. Any higher resolution
takes a longer time for only slightly better results. 3D Studio
2.0 performs all rendering calculations with 24-bit display in
mind. It takes longer to render if you use a 256 color mode
since 3D Studio makes two passes: one to display and
another to calculate the new colors.
It might seem redundant that you can use PowerPac for
either RCPADI or RDPADI, but it does provide an interesting
shortcut when rendering. Set up RCPADI (or RDPADI... it
doesn’t matter) with a low resolution (say, 640 x 480 x 16.7
million colors). This gives you a quick "draft" rendering for
verifying object positioning and light and shadow intensity.
Then, for your final rendering display, configure RDPADI (or
RCPADI if you selected RDPADI for your draft mode) for a
higher resolution (1280 X 1024 or 1024 x 768 x 256 or 16.7
millions colors). This way, you can save time by doing draft
renderings during the design phase and then only spending
the time necessary to do a final rendering after all the work
is done. To toggle between RCPADI and RDPADI, choose
the appropriate rendering driver in Render, Setup...,
Configure in 3D Studio.
3D Studio 1.0 Environment Variables
SET DSPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RCPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG
3D Studio 2.0 Environment Variables
SET DSPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RCPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RDPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG
The driver name may differ depending on which PowerPac
driver you purchased.
3D STUDIO 1.0 RELEASE NOTES
3D Studio (version 1.0) has some bugs which affect the use
of PowerPac. Most of these have been fixed in 3D Studio 2.0.
If you use the command sequence Render, Setup...,
Configure to select a different rendering display device, you
may not select RDPADI (when PowerPac is configured as a
RDPADI device, 3D Studio crashes during rendering). This
bug affects all drivers, including AutoDesk’s supplied
sample driver RCPVGA41.EXP.
After performing a number of renderings, you may
unexpectedly crash. This is because each time you render
3D Studio loads another copy of PowerPac and allocates
memory for the Phar-Lap DOS extender. This memory is
never returned to the DOS extender so eventually it runs out
of Local Descriptor Table (LDT) sectors. The only solution is
to quit and then reenter 3D Studio after every eight or nine
renderings. Note that having 3D Studio render a sequence
of frames counts as only one rendering.
Another symptom of the problem described above is that
after just a few renderings you may run out of physical RAM
and the system will dramatically slow down as it pages
frequently to the hard disk. Again, there is no other solution
than to exit and restart 3D Studio.
The only way to cause 3D Studio to reconfigure PowerPac is
to delete the 3DADI.CFG file.
CHAPTER 4
AUTOSHADE 2.0
PowerPac supports AutoShade/386 2.0 as a display driver
and as a combination rendering and display driver, allowing
you not only to display your wireframes at high resolutions,
but also to generate high resolution, photo-realistic
renderings. This combination of display and rendering driver
is the preferred method of using PowerPac with AutoShade.
Additionally, PowerPac lets you control certain aspects of
your editing display, allowing you to customize your menu
fonts, screen colors and the palette.
INSTALLATION
Put the disk in the disk drive and type at the DOS prompt:
A:INSTALL [Enter]
or
B:INSTALL [Enter]
INSTALL will present a list of the Autodesk applications for
which PowerPac may be installed. Using the (up) and (down)
arrows, move the cursor to the AutoShade option and press
the space bar. Once you have finished making your
selections, press (Enter) to continue with installation.
INSTALL will ask for the drive letter and path for AutoShade.
If any directory is incorrectly specified or the correct
executable files are not in the directory, INSTALL will issue a
warning and give you the option to quit or continue with
installation.
Next INSTALL will asks where to copy the TI 340x0 support
files, INSTALL will default to the directory to which the TIGA
environment variable is set.
ex. SET TIGA=-mC:\TIGA2 -lC:\TIGA2 -i0X60
Note: The #9GXE does not use TIGA as a graphics
operating system. Not all Number Nine graphics boards
support TIGA.
Once you have finished making your selections, INSTALL will
tell you about any modifications that need to be made to
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you let INSTALL make the
changes automatically, it will make new files with the
extension .NEW with the changes. Otherwise, you can make
the changes by hand. In all cases when a file is modified, the
original version is backed up with the filename extension of
.BAK.
After all the necessary files have been installed, INSTALL
tells you that everything has been successfully installed and
returns to the DOS prompt. Reboot your system to
implement the necessary changes, then run AutoShade.
BASIC AUTOSHADE CONFIGURATION
Invoke SHADE.EXE from DOS using AutoShade’s -R
command line option:
SHADE -R
After invoking AutoShade, you will be asked a series of
questions on the following topics:
Pointing Device
Display Driver
Rendering Driver
Sharing the Screen with ShadeRender
Sharing the Screen with AutoDesk Renderman
Hardcopy Rendering Device
Each of these questions and their answers are outlined
below and on the following pages. Should you answer any
of the configuration questions incorrectly you must return to
DOS and start over since AutoShade does not allow any
changes to the existing configuration.
POINTING DEVICE
AutoShade presents a list of pointing devices. Select your
pointing device from the list and press (Enter).
DISPLAY DRIVER
Next, AutoShade will ask you to select from the list the
display driver you wish to use. Choose 2 (PADI 386) and
press [Enter].
At this point, you should see PowerPac’s title screen with
boxes bouncing around the screen. Press any key to
continue or wait ten seconds for the screen to change.
VIDEO DISPLAY
The next screen displays your current video mode.
PowerPac asks whether you want to change the mode.{tc
"The next screen displays your current video mode.
PowerPac asks whether you want to change the mode."}
To change the video mode, answer (Y). PowerPac displays a
list of Number Nine graphics boards. Using the (up), (down)
arrow keys, highlight your video board and press [Enter] to
select.
PowerPac presents a list of resolutions available with your
graphics board. Use the method described above to pick the
resolution.
Note: The Pepper Pro1280 will only support 1280 x 1024 x 16
colors under TIGA, and does not support AutoShade with
this driver.
To run AutoShade in dual screen mode, select this mode
later when AutoShade asks you if the Display and Rendering
screens share the same screen. Dual screen cannot be
configured here.
Note: If you haven’t set up separate NUMBER9.CFG files
with the NUMB9 environment variable, any changes made
here for AutoShade will affect AutoCAD and 3D Studio as
well.
Testing the Video Card Selection
After selecting the new video mode and display options,
PowerPac gives you the opportunity to test the video mode
to make sure that it is correct. When PowerPac asks if you
wish to test the video mode, answer (Y) or (N) as
appropriate.
If everything goes well, you should see a symmetrical test
pattern showing your current video mode and resolution. If
your screen is blank or garbled there is a problem with your
video card or monitor. Be sure that your video card and
monitor can support the selected resolution.
Wait 10 seconds or press any key to exit the video test.
PowerPac asks you if the test screen looked correct. If so,
answer (Y) otherwise, press (N) and select another video
mode.
ENTERING CUSTOM CONFIGURATION
After configuring for your video display, PowerPac asks if
you would like to enter custom configuration. Answer (Y) or
(N) as appropriate. If you answer (Y), PowerPac will enter
Custom Configuration menu. If you answer (N), PowerPac
continues with rendering configuration.
SELECTING A RENDERING DRIVER
After you have finished configuring the main display driver,
AutoShade asks you to select a rendering driver. Again,
select number 2 (PADI 386).
You should see PowerPac’s title screen again, with the
bouncing boxes. Press any key or wait ten seconds for the
next screen. PowerPac then asks for your video card and
resolution just as before. Since PowerPac can now
recognize that you are configuring for AutoShade’s
rendering driver, you will not prompted to enter Custom
Configuration.
Note: Both AutoShade and AutoDesk Renderman use the
same rendering mode. Bear this in mind when selecting
your resolution. Selecting a higher resolution will result in
AutoDesk Renderman taking longer to render.
You should select a 16.7 million (24-bit) color mode for
rendering (if possible). Rendering, especially with
AutoShade’s optional AutoDesk Renderman module,
becomes more photo-realistic.
Note: If you haven’t set up separate NUMBER9.CFG files
with the NUMB9 environment variable, the rendering mode
selection you make here will be for both AutoCAD and 3D
Studio.
AUTOSHADE QUESTIONS
AutoShade will now ask several questions relating to the
interaction of the display and rendering screens.
Do the display and AutoShade rendering devices share the
same screen? (default = No):
Answer (N) only if you have two separate graphics boards
that each have their own screen. Most users will want to
answer (Y) here.
Do the display and AutoDesk Renderman rendering devices
share a single screen? (default = No):
Answer this question the same as the previous one. Most
users will answer (Y) to this question.
Note: It is imperative that you answer these questions
correctly for PowerPac to work as your rendering driver.
When in doubt, you can always answer these questions (Y).
You will get the next question only if you have answered the
above questions with a (Y).
Does Flip Screen require a redraw?
(default = No):AutoShade
If you want your wire frame to be preserved while flipping to
the rendering screen, answer (N) here.
Note: To prevent the redraw, the driver will save the
wireframe image. Note that this requires the driver to use
more memory.
HARDCOPY
AutoShade presents a list of hard copy devices. Select your
hard copy device from the list and press [Enter].
APPENDIX A: TECHNICAL NOTES
DISPLAY LIST TECHNOLOGY
The display list is a copy of the drawing with only the data
needed to draw it on the screen. All other unnecessary
information is removed. AutoCAD includes limited display
list capabilities, but by using a specialized display list driver,
like PowerPac, the speed of the display can be considerably
improved.
AutoCAD keeps the drawing in a very precise database with
16 digit floating decimal point accuracy. This is called world
space. Because all of that information is unnecessary to see
any portion of the drawing on the screen, AutoCAD creates
a display list of XY coordinates that are integers from 0 to
32,000 (releases 10 & 11) and 32,000 times that range for
release 12. This is called virtual space.
Every time a new virtual space is extracted from the world
space a complete regen must be done. AutoCAD then
allows zooms and pans within this virtual space by mapping
the appropriate view within the virtual space to the device
coordinates. This is called a redraw.
When PowerPac is installed, it takes over the device
coordinate mapping and accelerates zooms, pans and
redraws using proprietary display-optimization algorithms.
DISPLAY LIST COMPRESSION
PowerPac has a function called display list compression that
conserves memory on very large drawings that are text or
polyline intensive.
TRUE-ERASE
PowerPac includes TRUE-Erase, which eliminates garbage
build-up in your display list.
With most other display list drivers, whenever a vector-
erasing command is executed, AutoCAD erases the object
by using background color vector to obscure the original
vector on the screen. The display list driver automatically
assumes that this was a new vector and added it to the
display list (keeping the original one as well). The net result
was that the display list grows, regardless of your drawing’s
size, using valuable memory. Redraws take longer, since
there were more vectors to draw. Often the screen flickers
as the original vector(s) is drawn and then overdrawn with
its background color companion. Problems arise with two
(or more) vectors drawn on top of each other. When one
was erased, they were all hidden beneath the background
color vector. This could only be fixed by a regen.
Display list drivers have tried various methods to combat
this problem, but all attempts have been prohibitively slow, in
many cases incorrect, and a burden to the user.
Now, with TRUE-Erase from Number Nine there is a solution.
TRUE-Erase correctly detects a black background color
vector before it is added to the display list and removes the
correct colored vector with no speed penalty. When TRUE-
Erase is turned on in the Display List Options section of
Custom Configuration, garbage is handled automatically.
PowerPac ships with TRUE-Erase enabled as the default.
Note: CAD Overlay users may want to disable TRUE-Erase.
The GC= command may be used to quickly disable TRUE-
Erase, or you can use Custom Configuration.
TRUE-DRAG
TRUE-Drag works with AutoCAD’s move or copy commands,
allowing you to move a block, without the objects
disappearing as they are positioned.
After selecting the objects to move and choosing the base
point, AutoCAD creates a special drag list for these objects.
This can take several seconds. Wait for the objects to fully
reappear on the screen, indicating that the drag list is
complete and will not have to be recreated as you quickly
move the objects around the screen. When you then
continue to move the object, you will see a smooth
representation of your selection, in full color, moving with
your cursor.
TRUE-ROTATE
Without TRUE-Rotate, rotating a 3D object with AutoCAD
causes the object to disappear during the rotation, making it
very difficult to preview the position and orientation.
When numerous side by side polygons are redrawn during a
rotate, they are XORed with any other objects they overlay.
The XOR (pronounced Ex-Or) technique mixes the
background and foreground colors and creates a third color
which acts as a highlight. This is the method that causes
text to highlight in a word-processor and also causes
colored pixels to appear in your AutoCAD lines when they
cross another line. When two pixels of the same color are
XORed, the result is color zero, the background color
(usually black). With a lot of contiguous polygons, all the
edges of which are overlapping, the XOR algorithm often
turns most of your drawing to black as you rotate.
TRUE-Rotate, correctly eliminates all redundant vectors,
letting the original colors show through so you can rotate in
full color.
APPENDIX B: SUGGESTED BUTTON CONFIGURATIONS
B.2 SIXTEEN BUTTON DIGITIZER
We recommend assigning the button below the pick button
for Zoom Window and the button below that for Bird’s Eye.
This seems to give the most natural access to these
functions.
PowerPac assumes your digitizer is numbered from 1
through 16. Some digitizers are numbered from 0 to 15 or 0
to 9 and A to F. If you are configuring one of these digitizers,
subtract 1 from the button number when configuring the
buttons.
If all your buttons are used for AutoCAD commands already,
you can assign PowerPac commands to be activated in
conjunction with a press of the (Shift), (Ctrl), and/or (Alt)
key(s) on the keyboard. This will allow you to avoid conflicts
with your standard button assignments.
Note: Some digitizers will not function correctly with a long
press button assignment.
B.2 FOUR BUTTON DIGITIZER
Assign button 3 and 4 to be Zoom Window and BirdsEye,
buttons, respectively. Some digitizers are numbered from 0
to 3. If this is the case, subtract 1 from the button number
while configuring PowerPac for your digitizer.
If all your buttons are used for AutoCAD command already,
you can assign PowerPac commands to be activated in
conjunction with a press of the (Shift), (Ctrl), and/or (Alt)
key(s) on the keyboard.
B.3 THREE BUTTON MOUSE
This is the default button configuration for PowerPac. For
complete details on this button configuration, see Button
Interface at the end of Chapter 2.
If all your buttons are used for AutoCAD command already,
you can assign PowerPac commands to be activated in
conjunction with a press of the (Shift), (Ctrl), and/or (Alt)
key(s) on the keyboard.
B.4 TWO BUTTON MOUSE
In order to program PowerPac's Button Interface for a two
button mouse, the icon button should be programmed for a
long press of button 1. The zoom window button should be
button 2 and the BirdsEye button should be button 2 in
conjunction with the (Shift), (Ctrl), and/or (Alt) keys on the
keyboard.
This configuration precludes the use of any AutoCAD
buttons. If you need to use an AutoCAD button command (a
Return, for instance), you can move either the BirdsEye or
Zoom Window button to button 1 with the (Shift), (Ctrl),
and/or (Alt) keys on the keyboard.
B.5 SINGLE BUTTON DEVICE
It is easy to get the full range of PowerPac capabilities, even
with a single button pointing device. Program the icon
button to be a long press of the mouse button. Configure
the BirdsEye button as (Shift), (Ctrl), and/or (Alt) and with the
mouse button. This way you can pick things on the screen
using your regular pick button and use (Shift) and a single
click for BirdsEye and use PowerPac’s ICONs to access all
the other commands including zoom window.
Note: PowerPac button commands only work if the
crosshairs are in the drawing. If the cursor is on one of the
menus, you'll get the AutoCAD button commands instead.
APPENDIX C: SETTING THE NUMB9 ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE
PowerPac saves all configuration data to a file. This file has
the default name of NUMBER9.CFG and by default resides in
the same directory as ACAD.CFG. If you are planning to use
the same display mode, including the same resolution and
number of colors, for all AutoDesk applications on your
system, then you don’t have to worry about setting the
NUMB9 variable in anything other than the AUTOEXEC.BAT
file.
On the other hand, if different configurations will ever exist
for one or more AutoDesk applications on the same system,
each application needs to know which PowerPac
configuration to use. Setting the NUMB9 environment
variable in a batch file facilitates this.
Placing the NUMBER9.CFG file properly is important under a
number of different circumstances. These include:
Running different AutoDesk applications in different
resolutions and color modes on the same system.
Having several users on the same system, each requiring a
different configuration of fonts, command lines, menu colors,
etc.
Running more than one release of AutoCAD, since each
requires a different configuration set up.
Running in a network environment so that each user has the
appropriate configuration of PowerPac for their hardware.
To allow each application to have its own configuration, it is
important to set the environment variable with the directory,
subdirectory and filename. This way the correct
configuration of PowerPac is saved with the matching
configuration of the AutoDesk program it supports.
If the variable is not set when the file is first created, it will
follow the search path outlined on the next page, looking for
ACAD.CFG to place NUMBER9.CFG in the same sub
directory. If the variable is set but contains an invalid path or
filename, then the NUMBER9.CFG will not be created or
used and any configuration changes will be lost.
SETTING THE ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE
It is advisable to name the configuration file in such a way
that you know which application or configuration it supports.
For example, if you were setting up a configuration for
AutoShade you might type:
SET NUMB9=C:\SHADE\9SHADE.CFG
These "set" commands can be placed in any .BAT file and
then used to start the application.
THE SEARCH PATH
If the environment variable is not set, when PowerPac saves
configuration changes it searches through the following to
find an appropriate place to put the configuration data file.
To do this is looks for ACAD.CFG in:
1. The current directory.
2. Next, all paths specified in the environment
variable ACADCFG.
3. Then, all paths specified in the environment
variable ACAD.
4. Next, all paths specified in the environment
variable PATH.
5. If ACAD.CFG is still not found, the current directory
is used.
Letting PowerPac do this search will only have predictable
and valid results if PowerPac is used exclusively with
AutoCAD. Otherwise the NUMB9 environment variable must
be set at least in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
Sample AutoCAD Batch File: ACADR12.BAT
SET ACAD=C:\ACAD\SUPPORT;C:\ACAD\FONTS;...
SET NUMB9=C:\ACAD\NUMBER9.CFG
SET DSPADI=C:ACAD\DRV\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RCPADI=C:\ACAD\DRV\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RDPADI=C:\ACAD\DRV\RC9PLS.EXP
SET ACADDRV=C:\ACAD\DRV
CD\ACAD
ACAD
Sample 3D Studio batch file: 3DSTUDIO.BAT
SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG
SET DSPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RCPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RDPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
CD\3DS2
3DS
Sample AutoShade 2.0 batch file: SHADE2.BAT
SET SHADECFG=C:\SHADE2\
SET SHADE=C:\SHADE2\RMANSUPT
SET RIPROGRESS=1
SET DSPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RCPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET RDPADI=C:\POWERPAC\RC9PLS.EXP
SET NUMB9=C:\POWERPAC\NUMBER9.CFG
CD\SHADE2
SHADE
APPENDIX D: TROUBLESHOOTING
SYMPTOMS AND SOLUTIONS
SYMPTOM:
OUT OF ENVIRONMENT SPACE error
SOLUTION:
Environment space is controlled by the SHELL statement in
your CONFIG.SYS file. For example:
SHELL=C:\COMMAND.COM /P /E:1024
The /E:1024 sets the environment space to a maximum size of
1K (1024 bytes) in this example. To change the size of your
environment space, change the number after /E:.
The DOS SET command may be used to make sure that all
your environment variables are correctly set. Type at the
DOS prompt:
SET [Enter]
DOS will display the current environment variables set on
your system. If you have insufficient environment space for
all your variables, some may be incomplete or not displayed
at all, and you should increase the size of your environment
space in your CONFIG.SYS file and reboot your system.
SYMPTOM:
System crashes unexpectedly under AutoCAD.
Unable to use PowerPac HotKeys.
SOLUTION:
Sometimes various system interactions require you to
install the newest PharLap DOS Extender version for
AutoCAD (higher than or equal to version 2.6). The new
version has a different memory allocation methodology. An
upgraded DOS Extender can be attached to your AutoCAD
by using the AutoDesk NEWDX.EXE program.
If you plan to use the NEWDX.EXE we have provided as a
courtesy, you must specify that while installing PowerPac, or
re-run the PowerPac install program and follow the on-
screen instructions to install only the NEWDX.EXE program.
NEWDX.EXE is also located on Disk 8 of R11.
SYMPTOM:
Materials Editor under 3D Studio appears small and takes up
only a portion of the screen.
SOLUTION:
When installing PowerPac protected-mode driver, select a
larger font for the material editors. This is not necessary for
any other mode, but the materials editor screen size is
related to the font size and should be larger. An 18-point
font at 640 x 480 is ideal. For higher resolutions, choose a
larger font. By default, PowerPac will select the largest
appropriate font for you automatically.
SYMPTOM:
System crashes unexpectedly under 3D Studio 1.0 while
rendering.
SOLUTION:
Check to be sure that you are choosing RCPADI (not
RDPADI) as your rendering device under 3D Studio 1.0. The
only time you should select RDPADI under 3D Studio 1.0 is if
you have a graphics board that isn’t compatible with
PowerPac and have installed a separate 3D Studio driver for
it.
SYMPTOM:
After a flip screen, plot or shell command, the text screen will
not appear correctly.
SOLUTION:
Certain versions of ANSI.SYS published by Compaq
Computer Corp. have problems with PowerPac.
Replace the Compaq ANSI.SYS with any other version of
ANSI.SYS. If you have difficulty locating a suitable
replacement version, contact us.
SYMPTOM:
Cursor leaves unexplained trash on the screen.
SOLUTION:
PowerPac uses a specific high speed drawing mode that
some mouse drivers do not correctly detect.
Replacing the mouse driver with a current version will
generally eliminate the problem. If not please contact us.
Microsoft Mouse drivers versions 5.xx, 6.xx, and 7.xx have
been known to be especially prone to this problem. Version 8
of the Microsoft Mouse drivers is now available from
Microsoft.
SYMPTOM:
Excessive Swapping, i.e., your hard disk is active during
normal editing and the system slows down measurably.
SOLUTION:
Either you have drawings that create especially large
display lists; too many viewports open at once; an
inappropriate Flip Screen Option mode selected for your
memory configuration; or you need more RAM for the size
drawing that you want to edit.
Lower the value used in AutoCAD's VIEWRES. This will
make the display lists slightly smaller.
Don't have as many Viewports open at one time.
Enter Custom Configuration and select Redraw mode for
Flip Screen Option.
Buy more RAM.
You may also want to try installing a new version of the
Phar-Lap DOS Extender (2.6 or higher). The new version has
a different memory allocation methodology and may improve
your memory situation. An upgraded DOS Extender can be
attached to your AutoDesk application by using the
AutoDesk NEWDX.EXE program.
SYMPTOM:
AutoCAD cannot located the pointing device or plotting
device drivers when ACAD -R is typed to reconfigure.
SOLUTION:
The SET ACADDRV= environment variable is set to a
location where these drivers are not located. The solution is
to install the PowerPac drivers into the AutoCAD device
driver directory (ex. C:\ACAD\DRV). AutoCAD will now
check the environment variable will find all device drivers in
this directory.
SYMPTOM:
NULL POINTER REFERENCE error is displayed.
SOLUTION:
This error may occur if the the GXi memory address has NOT
been excluded from you memory manager. We have also
seen this error occur when the TIGACD.EXE driver has been
loaded in high memory.
SYMPTOM:
Drawing inside the BirdsEye is very small.
SOLUTION:
Use the command REGENMAX at the command prompt.
1992 Number Nine Computer Corporation. All rights
reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. This document is provided
pursuant to an agreement containing restrictions on its use
and is protected by federal copyright law. No part of this
document may be reproduced in any form of by any means
or be used to make any derivative (such as translation,
transformation, or adaptation) without permission in writing
from Number Nine Computer Corporation.
DISCLAIMER
Information in this document is subject to change without
notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of
Number Nine Computer Corporation. Number Nine
Computer Corporation reserves the right to revise this
publication and to make changes from time to time in its
content without obligation of Number Nine Computer
Corporation to notify any person of organization of such
revision or change.
TRADEMARKS
PowerPac, HawkEye, #9GXE and #9GXi are trademarks of
Number Nine Computer Corporation. PowerPac logo and
Number Nine Computer Corporation are registered
trademarks of Number Nine Computer Corporation.
AutoCad, AutoShade and 3D Studio are registered
trademarks of AutoDesk, Inc. TIGA is a trademark of Texas
Instruments, Inc. True Erase, True Drag and True Rotate are
trademarks of Vibrant Graphics.
GENERAL NOTICE
Some of the product names used herein have been used for
identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their
respective manufacturers and sellers.
LICENSE AGREEMENT
By opening this sealed package, you agree to be bound by
the terms of this agreement, which include the software
license and the limited warranty. This Agreement applies to
you and any subsequent licensee of this software program.
If you do not accept or agree to the terms of this agreement,
do not open the package. Promptly return the unopened
package to Number Nine for a refund.
Number Nine Computer Corp (Number Nine) and Vibrant
Graphics, Inc. (Vibrant) and retain ownership of the enclosed
program. This program is licensed to you for use under the
following conditions:
You May:
Use the software on only one computer at a time.
Use the software on a network, file server or virtual disk,
provided that access is limited
to one user at a time for each license owned, and that each
user has an original copy of the documentation and the
program disk.
Make one (1) copy of the program in machine readable form
solely for backup purposes, provided that you reproduce all
proprietary notices.
Permanently transfer the software to another user if you
transfer the documentation and all disks to the user, only if
the other user agrees to this Agreement.
You May Not:
Make any copies of the documentation or more than one
backup of the program disk.
Loan, rent, sub-lease, or otherwise transfer the software or
the documentation except as provided above.
Modify, translate, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble
or create derivative works based on, the program or
documentation.
Remove any proprietary notices, labels, or marks on the
program, documentation or program disk.
This license is not a sale. Title and copyrights to the
program, documentation, and any backup copy made by you
remain with Number Nine and Vibrant. Unauthorized copying
of the program or the documentation, or failure to comply
with the above restrictions, will result in automatic
termination of the license and will make available to Number
Nine and Vibrant other legal remedies.
LIMITED WARRANTY & DISCLAIMER
Number Nine Computer Corp and Vibrant Graphics, Inc.
warrant that, under normal use, for a period of ninety (90)
days from the date of delivery, the program disk will be free
from defects in materials or workmanship and the program
will perform without significant errors that make it unusable.
Number Nine’s and Vibrant’s entire liability and your
exclusive remedy under this warranty (which is subject to
you returning the program to Number Nine) will be, at
Number Nine's or Vibrant's options, to attempt to correct or
help you around errors with effort which Number Nine and
Vibrant believe suitable to the problem, to replace the
program or disk with functionally equivalent software or
disk, as applicable, or to refund the purchase price and
terminate this Agreement.
Except for the above express limited warranties, Number
Nine and Vibrant make and you receive no warranties,
expressed, implied, statutory, or in any communication with
you, and Number Nine and Vibrant specifically disclaims any
implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a
particular purpose. Number Nine and Vibrant does not
warrant that the operation of the program will be
uninterrupted or error free.
Some states do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties
so the above exclusions may not apply to you. This warranty
gives you specific legal rights. You may also have other
rights which vary from state to state.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
In no event will Number Nine or Vibrant or be liable for any
damages, including loss of data, lost profits, cost of cover or
other special, incidental, consequential, or indirect damages
arising from the use of the program or accompanying
documentation, however caused, and on any theory of
liability. this limitation will apply even if Number Nine and
Vibrant have been advised of the possibility of such damage.
You acknowledge that the license fee reflects this allocation
of risk. Some states do not allow the limitation or exclusion
of liability from incidental, or consequential damages, so the
above limitation may not apply.
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT USE
Use, duplication, or disclosure by the United States
Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in
subdivision (c)(1)(ii) of the Right in Technical Data and
Computer Software clause at 252.227-7013.
GENERAL
This Agreement will be governed by the laws of the
Massachusetts.
This agreement is the entire agreement between us and
supersedes any other communications or advertising with
respect to the program and accompanying documentation.
If any provision of the Agreement is held invalid, the
remainder of this Agreement shall continue in full force and
effect.
Number Nine Computer Corporation
18 Hartwell Avenue
Lexington, MA 02173
Tel (617) 674-0009
Fax (617) 674-2919