[Contents] [Prev] [Next]

Appendix N

Enabling OpenGL and Private Color Maps

Enabling OpenGL

OpenGL can be enabled for the C-MOLD Visualizer on UNIX systems with OpenGL. Use of OpenGL, which utilizes advanced graphics hardware when available, can provide substantial graphics performance improvement. The Visualizer can be launched from the command line by typing its program name, cviz. When you add the -opengl option, as in cviz -opengl, the Visualizer will use the OpenGL library if it is available on your system.

Normally the Visualizer is launched from the Control Panel, so an alternative method of specifying OpenGL is needed. This is done by adjusting the Cmold*isOpenGL resource in the application defaults (app-defaults) file. Perform the following steps.

  1. Examine the XUSERFILESEARCHPATH setting to determine the location of the C-MOLD app-defaults file. It is named Cmold.
  2. Copy the C-MOLD app-defaults file to your (or your user's) home directory.
  3. Open the C-MOLD app-defaults file using a text editor and search for the Cmold*isOpenGL resource. At the end of the line, change the false to true and save the file. Be sure not to add any blanks at the end of the line.
  4. Unset the XUSERFILESEARCHPATH environment variable. Since this variable is set for all C-MOLD users in the cmdefs.csh or cmdefs.sh initialization file, you need to clear the XUSERFILESEARCHPATH variable immediately after the cmdefs.csh or cmdefs.sh file is invoked from the user's .cshrc or .profile.

Enabling a Private Color Map

 A private color map allows C-MOLD to access all the colors it needs. Often the graphics hardware has the capability to allow for several programs to run simultaneously and share the available color resources. In some cases, often when you are running CAD/CAM, multimedia, or other graphics-intensive programs, the available color resources are exhausted and some programs may "lose" some colors. The solution to this problem is to install the program's color map each time the program's window is active. The drawback to private, installed color maps is that the screen colors are likely to change dramatically as you switch from one program's windows to another's. However, in each program's windows, the colors are true to what the developers intended.

From the command line for the Modeler, Visualizer, Process Estimator, and Control Panel, you can use the -install switch to install a private color map. However, as in the case for the OpenGL switch described above, using the command-line switch is not always convenient. Also note that if you start the Control Panel with the command-line switch (cmold -install), the switch does not carry over to other modules launched from the Control Panel.

The way to enable use of the installed, private color map is to modify the C-MOLD applications default file. Perform the following steps.

  1. Examine the XUSERFILESEARCHPATH setting to determine the location of the C-MOLD app-defaults file, Cmold. If you've added the OpenGL switch, go directly to step 3.
  2. Copy the C-MOLD app-defaults file to your (or your user's) home directory.
  3. Open the C-MOLD app-defaults file using a text editor and search for the Cmold*isInstallCmap resource. At the end of the line, change the false to true and save the file. Be sure not to add any blanks at the end of the line.
  4. Unset the XUSERFILESEARCHPATH environment variable. Since this variable is set for all C-MOLD users, in the cmdefs.csh or cmdefs.sh initialization file you need to clear the XUSERFILESEARCHPATH variable immediately after the cmdefs.csh or cmdefs.sh file is invoked from the user's .cshrc or .profile.


[Contents] [Prev] [Next]

Copyright © 1997-1998 Advanced CAE Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.