To use LiveGraphics3D, you must use a web browser supporting Java 1.1 (e.g., Netscape Communicator 4.0/4.5, IE 4.0/4.5/5.0, or iCab). You must also activate Java in the preferences or options menu of your web browser.
A LiveGraphics3D solid can be rotated by dragging it with the mouse, and continuously spun (while the mouse pointer is located in the applet frame) by dragging and letting up the mouse button in the middle of a drag.
2-D and 3-D animations may also be rendered using LiveGraphics3D. Such animations are rotateable, but are only active when the mouse is moved within a given animation frame. Therefore, only a single animation may be active at any given time.
In some cases, pre-processing of Mathematica graphics is necessary to put them in a form capable of being rendered correctly by LiveGraphics3D. This package by Martin Kraus contains routines to do pre-processing for many of the 3-D graphics included here.
Other commands recognized by LiveGraphics3D are summarized in the following tables.
| user action | applet reaction |
|---|---|
| dragging (left mouse button pressed) | rotating about an axis in the picture |
| releasing left mouse button while dragging | spinning about an axis in the picture |
| SHIFT key pressed plus vertical dragging | zooming |
| SHIFT key pressed plus horizontal dragging | rotating about an axis perpendicular to the picture |
| CONTROL key pressed plus vertical dragging | changing focal length |
| CONTROL key pressed plus horizontal dragging | changing strength of stereo effect |
| META (ALT) key (or right mouse button) pressed plus vertical dragging | stripping parts of the graphics |
| "o" key | printing parameter settings to the Java console (aka Java messages window) |
| "s" key | toggling between single picture, stereo pictures for diverge fusing and stereo pictures for cross fusing |
| User interface for all graphics. | |
The META key is usually mapped to the ALTERNATE or COMMAND key. However, on some systems it is emulated by the right mouse button. Rotation about an axis perpendicular to the picture is not possible if a rotating background is included.
Several additional interactions are supported for animations.
| user action | applet reaction |
|---|---|
| entering applet region | starting animation |
| leaving applet region | stopping animation |
| double clicking | stopping or restarting animation |
| META (ALT) key (or right mouse button) pressed plus horizontal dragging | switching through frames |
| Additional interface for animated graphics. | |
Additional details and documentation are given on the LiveGraphics3D Homepage.