Extended OI Xt viewer
=====================
INCOMPLETE DRAFT
G4OpenInventorXtExaminerViewer is based on and is
a plug-in replacement for SoXtExaminerViewer which
is a base class viewer provided by the SoXt (Coin3d)
library. SoXtExaminerViewer is the normal viewer
that you get when doing /vis/open OIX.
These viewers depend on X, Xt and Xm and so are
limited to UNIX/MAC and will not run on native
Windows.
The SoXtExaminerViewer is instantiated by
G4OpenInventorXtViewer. This has been temporarily
disabled and has been replaced by an instantiation
of G4OpenInventorXtExaminerViewer, together with
some additional configuration. The intention
is to find a suitable mechanism to allow a choice
of viewer (standard or extended) at run time.
No modifications to user code or to any other
Geant4 categories are required to use the extended
viewer. Many of the implemented features are made
possible by the SCENE GRAPH technology in Open
Inventor which stores the scene elements and
associated information in a structured way.
Features
========
Reference Path navigation
-------------------------
Most of the new features are concerned with navigation
along a "reference path" which is a piecewise
linear path through the world. The reference path
can be any particle trajectory, chosen as follows:
The application can attach a "reference trajectory"
attribute to a particular trajectory.
If there is no such designated trajectory, the viewer
chooses the longest trajectory as the initial reference
path.
Any other trajectory can be selected as the reference
by selecting it with the mouse.
Elements are assigned a "distance" along the reference
path, based on the perpendicular from the element's
placement coordinates to the path. Elements are then
sorted by distance and the list is displayed in an
auxiliary window of the viewer. NOTE: at present
the path is not extrapolated at the ends, so elements
"before" or "after" the path are assigned distances
of 0 or the total path length respectively. This
will be generalized in future.
Reference path navigation controls:
Select an element from the list: navigate along the
path to the element's "location" (distance along
the path.
L,R,U,D refer to the arrow keys.
Shift-L and Shift-R: navigate to the previous or next
element on the path (with wraparound).
L and R: rotate 90 degrees around the vertical axis
U and D: rotate 90 degrees around the path
Ctrl-L and Ctrl-R: rotate 90 degrees around the horizontal axis
All these keys have a "repeat" function for continuous motion.
The rotation keys put the camera in a definite orientation.
The Shift-L and Shift-R keys can be used to "fly" along the
path in whatever orientation is in effect.
NOTE: if this appears to be "stuck", try switching from
orthonormal camera to perspective camera ("cube" viewer button).
Tools / Go to start of reference path: useful if you get lost
Tools / Invert reference path: flips the direction of travel
and the distance readout
Reference path animation
This is a special mode which flys the camera steadily along the
path, without wraparound. Special controls are:
Tools / Animate Ref Particle: start animation mode
Page-Up: increase speed
Page-Down: decrease speed
U: raise camera
D: lower camera
ESC: exit animation mode
For suitable geometries the U and D keys can be used to
get "Star Wars" style fly-over and fly-under effects.
Bookmarks
At any time, the viewpoint and other camera parameters can
be saved in a file as a labelled "bookmark".
The view can then be restored later in the current run or
in another run.
The default name for the bookmark file is ".bookmarkFile"
The first time a viewpoint is saved, this file will be
created if it does not already exist. When the viewer
is first opened, it will automatically read this file
if present and load the viewpoints into the left-hand
panel of the viewer's auxiliary window.
Controls:
Select viewpoint from list: restore this view
Right-arrow VIEWER button: go to next viewpoint
Left-arrow VIEWER button: go to next viewpoint
"Floppy Disk" button: save current view.
The user can type in a label for the view,
or use the default label provided.
File / Open Viewpoint File: loads an existing bookmark file
File / New Viewpoint File: creates a new bookmark file for
saving subsequent views
Special Picking Modes
"Console" VIEWER button: enable brief trajectory picking and
mouse-over element readout
For trajectories, the list of all trajectory points is
replaced by the first and last point only, allowing easier
identification of the particle without scrolling back.
Passing the mouse over an element will give a readout
of the volume name, material, and position on the
reference path.
"Star" VIEWER button: select new reference path
The cursor will change to a small cross (+)
after which a trajectory can be selected to become
the new reference path.
Convenience feature
Escape from viewer without using the mouse:
In addition to the File / Escape menu item, pressing the "e"
key on the keyboard will exit from the viewer's X event loop.
The viewer becomes inactive and control returns to the
Geant4 UI prompt.
Prototype only:
File / Save-Load Ref Coords: status to be determined
File / Save-Load Scene Graph: this saves the current scene graph,
(whatever is being viewed and navigated in the viewer)
including the geometry, camera, lighting information, into a
file which can be read back, thus returning to a previous
viewing "experience". This only partially works and some
or all of the geometry may be missing. Geant4-specific
scene elements may be lacking a "save" method.
Known problems:
Viewer occasionally hangs in an unknown state.
Usually can be "cleared" by trying various viewer buttons
or menu items. Last resort: escape to the G4 prompt and
run more events. Viewer will usually be o.k. afterwards.
Unpredictable mode-switching behaviour: switching between
orthonormal and perspective camera may give wierd results.
Navigation may appear "stuck" with orthonormal camera.
Both the standard and extended viewers can crash the
executable or even the X server if they are pushed
too far (e.g. by excessive zooming).
Gabriele Cosmo