Release Notes for Older Versions of Sculpt/CySculpt/VP-Sculpt

version 3.07 released (11/23/01)

NEW_FEATURE: added "Align Two Models with Three Points" to the Utilities-Transform menu
NEW_FEATURE: added "Face Database" menu. This menu is used to store and retrieve information and JPEG thumbnail images for a collection of face models in an ASCII VP-Sculpt Face Database (SDB) file.
added keyboard equivalent (Alt+0) for "Save Area to File"
cleaned up and improved code associated with model trimming and hiding functions. Now don't recalculate model information (numbering, boundaries, etc.) until Esc. Also, now update window when a non-inclusive rectangle is drawn.

version 3.06 released (10/9/01)

now ignore all hidden geometry in trim-at-intersection functions
NEW_FEATURE: added "Hide All But Current Model" to the Hide menu
improved face geometry function (made corrections in messages, define default planes automatically, return to original render mode and view when done)
added "(current)" marker next to the current model in model select dialog boxes
the file name in the window title now updates properly when a file is launched from the OS (e.g., from double-clicking on an SCL file) and when the last model is closed the window title bar now shows the model name, instead of the complete path, and the database name (if open)
an SCL output file is now erased when a save or export fails due to numbering problems (to prevent corrupt files)
BUG_FIX: added error checking and eliminated possible sources of bugs in the paste and merge functions now renumber vertices and facets properly after all delete functions (this will help prevent potential crashes)
BUG_FIX: vertex and facet indices are now numbered properly after pasting or merging parts (this used to be a source of problems; e.g., crashes)
improved performance of hide and unhide functions (removed extra window redraws)
made model select dialog boxes bigger
improved renumber and redraw handling after delete island functions
added more pointer error checking throughout the code
added reminder about Shift and Ctrl keys to all multiple item list box select routines

version 3.05 released (2/26/01)

dramatically improved speed of determining the interiors of all area types (esp. custom and spine)
now use the "Display normals during fill operations" flag in area finding routines and in trim intersection routine
NEW_FEATURE: added "Hide Entire Model" to the Hide menu to allow hiding (remove from display) the entire current model
NEW_FEATURE: added "Change Model Display ..." to allow toggling the display of any of the loaded models while not affecting what has been hidden previously
NEW_FEATURE: added "Unhide All Models" to the Hide menu to allow unhiding (displaying) all portions of all models
NEW_FEATURE: added "Define and Output Face Geometry ... [\]" to bottom of Utilities menu. Prompts user to define 13 key anatomical landmarks, the plane of symmetry (sagittal plane), and the line of sight plane (transverse plane). All of this information is stored in an ASCII file.
"Delete Island" now works with multiple closed surface islands (i.e., those without boundaries or holes)
increased maximum number of regions from 300 to 500
increased maximum string length (for file path names, region names, etc.) from 200 to 1000
set maximum number of models to 500
BUG_FIX: eliminated a source of possible crashes with "Trim at Intersection"
BUG_FIX: found and eliminated a potential memory bug in the "Close Model" routine
NEW_FEATURE: project files now support OBJ files in addition to SCL files
project files now support blanks in file names
the Model Info dialog box now also includes the model center coordinates and the the model size
in trim function, improved (speed up) how candidate facets are identified with bounding box checks
Ctrl+N keyboard equivalent for "Unhide Entire Model" now works properly
all menu items now display status bar descriptions
eliminated all menu mnemonic conflicts
the M key accelerator is now active at all appropriate times
added messages to the DXF and STL import routines to recommend OBJ instead
added keyboard equivalent (Ctrl+F6) for "Delete Island ..."
now remove highlights after aborted delete island functions
improved and added messages during paste, trim, and area-finding functions
now allow proper escape out of the paste function
the "Open as read only" option no longer appears in file dialog boxes (since it wasn't supported)
now display post-trim message advising pre-paste unconnected island removal
now select the trimmed model as the current model after the trim operation

version 3.04 released (11/20/00)

NEW_FEATURE: added "Trim Model at Intersection [T]" to Utilities menu. This function finds the intersection between two models and deletes the facets (in the model to be trimmed) at the intersection
changed "Delete Islands ..." to "Delete Nonconnected Islands ..." in the Repair menu
NEW_FEATURE: added "Delete Island ..." to the Repair menu
NEW_FEATURE: added "Open Project" and "Save Project" to the File menu to allow opening and saving a list of multiple files to/from an ASCII project file (list of files)
NEW_FEATURE: now allow interactive scaling in each axis direction (X, Y, and Z) with "Reorient/Translate/Scale Model"
now retain highlighting during confirm messages in all cases (e.g., when multiple holes or boundaries are displayed), even if the dialog box is moved causing the scene to redraw
now save and update current directory based on all previous file I/O (Open, Save As, Import, Export)
now allow the W key as an alternative to the B key to resize a spine area neighborhood size
increased default speed of zooming and panning
now don’t update a spine area after neighborhood resize until both the mouse button and the B key (or W key) are released
improved (and made faster) the ray-triangle intersection routine used to locate vertices and facets
speed up facet location and plane distance calculation functions (for cut with plane, divide model, trim at intersection, etc.)
improved handling of all possible input conditions with boundary and interior cliff (half) areas (esp. with prohibiting single point ledge and degenerate manual closes)
improved handling of status bar messages (esp. "Ready" message)
now determine better when a file needs to be saved or not
now gray out File-Save when save not required
the Z key and Alt key now have the same effect (zoom by the same increment)
BUG_FIX: view zooming no longer suffers from slowing at high magnification (changed from zoom factor paradigm to size visible paradigm)
BUG_FIX: light source frustrum now persists while it is being moved and disappears when motion is complete
now update model boundaries only when necessary (in all cases)
default region export file name now works properly
improved messages to the user (made them more clear)
improved updating of window title (e.g., when automatically changing from ORIGINAL view to SCULPT view)
now only prompt "Are you sure" when opening a model when there is one and only one model already loaded

version 3.03 released (3/16/00)

NEW_FEATURE: changed "Reorient/Translate Model [Tab] ..." to "Reorient/Translate/Scale Model [Tab] ...". Interactive scaling is performed by holding down the S key with the Spacebar
NEW_FEATURE: two models can now be merged into one with "Merge Two Models ..." in the Utilities menu. This provides an alternative to paste (merge, then add facets, then fill holes)
NEW_FEATURE: can now use the right mouse button as an alternative to the left button double click
now have dialog boxes appear at the bottom left corner of the window instead of at in the center
now retain highlights while waiting for a dialog box response even when the boxes are moved by the user (causing redraws)
now have the "Quick Reference" dialog box appear at the top right corner of the window instead of at the center
now have the "Surface Thickness" dialog box appear at the bottom right corner of the window instead of at in the center
improved handling of status bar messages
added status bar messages for when dialog boxes need action
removed Cancel buttons from Info dialog boxes
improved handling of highlighted lists
increased the stack size from 5M to 8M to allow deeper recursions on large models
improved organization and speed of split model algorithm
reduced number of local variables (increase performance and reduce stack space needs) in recursive functions (e.g., finding area, delete islands, reorient normals)
now select 2nd model for paste and merge automatically if there are only two models
BUG_FIX: eliminated conflict between current_flag and flag_reset in get_vertex and get_facet (this had potential far reaching effects)
BUG_FIX: post-Esc processing now works properly with all repeated functions (e.g., Delete Individual Vertices)
BUG_FIX: fixed problem with identifying facet and vertex locations relative to a plane (for model split function)
added more ***-messages to report specific Eros due to bugs
added more info in some bug trapping error messages
ESC can now be used to abort out of "Reorient/Translate/Scale Model [Tab] ..."
now handle Cancel out of model select properly (e.g., can now cancel out of model paste)
now handle Cancel out of region select properly (e.g., can now cancel out of region name/color change)
can now escape out of region name/color change routine properly
added "Are you sure" message to "Reorient Model Normals" function
moved all transformation stuff (Center, Reorient, Translate, Mirror, Scale) into a new Transform submenu under the Utilities menu

version 3.02 released (9/15/99)

now show visual clue (ellipses at endpoints) when adjusting spine area width and don't update the are until both the mouse button and B key are released
added "Convert Custom Shape to Spine" and "Convert Closed Spine to Custom Shape" to Select menu
added "Clear Individual ..." to Markers menu
changed "Clear" to "Clear All" in Markers menu
changed default background color to gray
when picking boundary vertices, boundary neighbors are now checked if boundary not picked exactly.
now use current model name as default "Save As" name
no longer delete hidden geometry in trim (delete) functions
the thickness color contour render mode now always uses a thickness of zero as the center of the red/blue scale
added keyboard equivalents for Model Smooth [Ctrl+F9] and Smooth Boundaries Only [Ctrl+F11]
PC: improved rendering performance slightly
PC: elliptical area updates only after all control keys and the left mouse button are released
improved robustness of get_half_area functions (related to trimming spine based on auto close of perimeter)
PC BUG_FIX: Interior (Half) Area input no longer causes crash
improved robustness of find_boundary_area routine (in presence of holes or bad topology along perimeter)
now calculate spine area stretch direction properly after paste
improved accuracy of algorithm for measuring decimation feature heights
improved handling and updating of model and world extents
BUG_FIX: now renumber properly after model paste
now allow screen rectangle functions to repeat after NULL rectangle until ESC key
PC: now handle file names containing periods better (e.g., for default names in Save As and Export)
PC: now adjust aspect ratio for display with differing pixel scales in horizontal and vertical directions
BUG_FIX: now update world extents appropriately (e.g., view is now centered properly when a file is imported)
improved color input routine and now use in more places
BUG_FIX: "Divide Model w/ Split Plane" now works properly (i.e., vertex neighbor info is now retained)
now allow sculpting of post-paste spine area
BUG_FIX: fixed problems with normals in "Mirror Model About the Mirror Plane"
improved handling of screen rectangle function redraws and repeats
changed "Trim Model With a Rectangle" to "Trim Portion of Model"
added "Trim All But Portion of Model ..." to Edit menu
added keyboard equivalent (Ctrl+8) for "Replace Low Aspect Ratio Facets"
added more error checking throughout
improved handling of messages and errors in refine functions
add to ref. manual advice on what to do if refine reports topology problems (run through repair cycle)
now prevent custom shape quit when 1st vertex picked again on 2nd click
now allow Esc out of key frame animation
now update world extents properly when translate/reorient models
improved robustness of message display and clearing.
improved handling and robustness of boundary area input
improved handling of events while left mouse being held down

version 3.01 released (1/22/99)

BUG FIX: now prevent numerical drift of plane axes
improved performance of animation of visible wireframe render modes
now use background color (instead of black) in visible wireframe render modes
post-paste spine is now closed
mirror image mode is now model-specific
rendered regions no longer interfere (overlap) with model rendering
multiple regions can now be selected for removal in "Remove ..." and "Display ..." in the Region menu
added more error checking in region routines

version 3.00 released (1/8/99)

now allow loading of multiple files/models. All functions now operateon the current model (the one listed in the Info window and in the window title bar)
added "Change Current Model [Ctrl+C] ..." to Select Menu
added "Make Next Model Current [Ctrl+Tab] " to Select Menu
added "Paste One Model Onto Another [Ctrl+V] ..." to Utilities menu
now show light source as a frustrum during "Move Light Source"
added "Hide All But Portion of Model ..." to Hide menu
added "Unhide Entire Model [Ctrl+N]" to Hide menu
added "Hide Area [Ctrl+K]" to Hide menu
added "Unhide Portion of Model ..." to Hide menu (uses user-drawn rectangle)
added "Hide Portion of Model ..." to Hide menu (uses user-drawn rectangle)
added "HIDE" menu to main menu.
added "Trim Model With a Rectangle [Ctrl+Y] ..." to the Edit menu. Deletes all vertices (front and back facing) within a user-drawn screen rectangle
now allow user to reverse direction of default normal direction in Facet Add functions
now only allow boundary vertices in "Add Facet" routines
added "Add Facet Between Boundary Facets ..." to Edit menu
changed "Add Individual Facets ..." to "Add Facet Between Boundary Vertices ..." in Edit menu
now allow light source to be move perpendicular to the screen in "Move Light Source"
"Divide Model w/ a Split Plane" now creates two separate models (_top and _bottom) and leaves them both in memory
added "Change Background Color" to Render menu
added "Double Buffering" to Render menu
progress messages now update at fixed time intervals
added more percent-progress messages
added progress bar to percent-progress messages
SGI: process_obj_file program allows batch repair, fill, andsmooth
SGI: obj_file_info program allows batch reporting of model info
added "World Extents" to Info Menu
improved robustness of surface boundary finding routine
changed "Change Stretch Direction" to "Change Stretch Direction w/ Vector" in Stretch menu
BUG FIX: all up/down arrow control keys now work properly
improved handling of up/down arrow events for ellipse reshaping
Area Refine is no longer allowed when the mirrored perimeter is undefined
BUG FIX: spine area mirror imaging now works properly
BUG FIX: can now Esc out of Spine Area Select w/o problems
improved handling of inappropriately queued I/O events
now display and input ellipse sizes as diameters, not radii
BUG FIX: fixed problems with ASCII SCL Import/Export
SGI: now prevent window from growing during model save
SGI: changed default Sculpture window size to fill screen
SGI: improved layout/sizing/color scheme of Information and Thickness windows
now transform original coordinates along with sculpted coordinates in model reorient features
changed "Update Extents and Parameters" to "Update Model Extents and Parameters"
improved updating of world extents and info
"Reset Rotation Center" now resets to the world center instead of the current model center
BUG FIX: can now read SCL files from all older versions
reorganized Render menu
improved handling of messages
improved handling of errors in file I/O routines
now display orthographic view with correct aspect ratio
now calculate plane normals more accurately
now display more messages during model processing
now disallow view manipulation during decimation
now prevent changing windows during "Process Holes and Boundaries"
"Extrude Surface" is now faster
now use quick render model with arrow key rotations
improved handling of origin centering and mirror plane positioning with all translate functions (translate, center, uncenter)
BUG FIX: "Fill All Outer Boundaries" now works properly
BUG FIX: Esc out of "Reverse Facet Normal" no longer causes a crash
change "Move Light Source" quit key from Esc to Enter
functions that highlight during execution (e.g., determine elliptical area) now run faster
changed "Translate Model ..." to "Translate Model w/ Vector ..."
changed "Reorient Model ..." to "Reorient/Translate Model [Tab] ..."
changed order of "Translate Model ..." and "Reorient Model ..."
"Reorient Model ..." now rotates about the model's center.
now delete selected area when reorient to prevent problems
BUG FIX: fixed problem with original window shaded rendering modes
BUG FIX: fixed problem with thickness calculation for imported and older version files
now prevent unnecessary renders caused by off-surface picks
improved error checking in input and area-related routines
improved speed of various low-level routines by eliminating unnecessary checks
now recalculate normals when all sculpting is removed
now prevent unnecessary renders when normals are recalculated
improved error trapping and messaging in all file I/O routines
SGI: improved handling of light sources in multiple windows
added warning message to aborted refines
BUG FIX: fixed IGES Export percent progress messages
improved handling and speed of all highlighting functions (esp. facet highlighting)
BUG FIX: positive z-axis preset view now works properly
now prevent unnecessary calls to find_model_boundaries
BUG FIX: now prevent numerical inaccuracies (e.g., improper scaling) in Reorient Model
now store more parameters (e.g., window view) with Sculpt file
now prevent unnecessary renders of Original windows
improved handling of renders during “Reorient Model”
now prevent unnecessary renders when normals are recalculated
BUG FIX: eliminated ortho error message at program startup
changed "Ctrl-" to "Ctrl+" in all menus
now use window position and size in ASCII SCL Import

version 2.93 released 9/24/98

added "Translate Model ..." to Utilities menu
added "Reset Rotation Center" to View menu
added "Change Rotation Center ..." to View menu
dramatically improved the interactivity of "Reorient Model"
now allow a single scale factor in "Scale Model"
now also scale original model in "Scale Model"
now display height, width, and depth in "Model Extents"
added keyboard equivalent (F10) for "Roughen" in Edit-Area menu
added keyboard equivalent (F12) for "Fill Area Holes" in Repair menu
added keyboard equivalent (Ctrl-F) for "Snap to Plane" inEdit-Area menu
added keyboard equivalents for "Line Distance" (Ctrl-/), "SurfaceDistance" (Ctrl-.), "Radius From 3 Points" (Ctrl-,), and"Area Surface Area" (Ctrl-M) in the Measure menu
added keyboard equivalent (Ctrl+7) for "Delete Improper Model Facets"and rearranged Repair menu.
now label Sculpt and Original window titles appropriately in allsituations
now update all parameters when "Update Extents and Parameters"
now redraw the model only when necessary during key-down-with-mouse-motion events
improved Esc handling in "Add Individual Facets"
parameters and views are now reset after "Scale Model" and "Convert Model Units"
added keyboard equivalent (Ctrl-E) for "Reset Stretch Direction"in Stretch menu
improved "Center View" and "Update Extents and Parameters"
changed "Model Size" to "Model Components"
changed "select" to "pick" in the Info Window
changed "Uncenter Model to Original Origin" to"Return Model to Original Origin"
switched order of "Delete" and "Delete All But" in Edit-Area menu
moved "Scale" and "Expand" from Edit-Model to Utilities menu and rearranged Utilities menu
moved "Update Extents and Parameters" from View menu to Edit menu and removed two menu divider lines
SGI: incorporated various code improvements and small bug fixesfrom the PC version
SGI: eliminated redundant renders after a file is loaded from the command line
SGI: now prevent undesirable key repeats
SGI: file names can now be entered with or without an extension
SGI: file overwrite warnings are now provided when appropriate
SGI: light source position can now be different in each window
SGI: messages now persist in message window more robustly
SGI: now use Visible Production License Key for VP version
SGI: dramatically improved handling of I/O involving multiple windows ("Sculpture" and "Original" windows)
SGI: must now keep mouse button down to prevent elliptical area update when adjusting A, D, L, and W

2.92 released (3/4/98).

added "Reorient Model" to Utilities menu.
the demo versions can now import OBJ files.
now highlight plane a(x)-axis (red), b(y)-axis (green) and normal (now blue) as thick lines.
PC: BUG FIX: fixed Ctrl key plane rotation direction.

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2.6 released (2-10-95).

initial vertion (summer, 1994).