TriDef Photo Transformer - Tutorials

3-D Previews And Outputs

Training objectives

At the end of this tutorial you will be able to:

• Find the TriDef Control Panel
• Select a 3-D Display
• Adjust 3-D Focal Point
• Adjust 3-D Scene Depth
• Display 3-D Preview
• Update 3-D Preview
• Select an appropriate output type
• Create a TriDef PowerPoint Template from Photo Transformer (requires Microsoft PowerPoint)
• Create a 3-D Image file
• Export a Depth Map

For this tutorial you can either continue to use the same Photo file you have built up yourself over tutorials 1-3 (Student.TriDefPhoto), or you can open a file which shows how your Depth Data might look at this point (Tutorial4.TriDefPhoto).

Don't be too concerned if the Tutorial4 file Depth Data looks quite different from yours, as long as you are not adding hundreds of extra data points. The important thing is the Depth Map.

3-D Displays

You choose your 3-D Display in the TriDef Control Panel. Double-click in the System Tray. Some 3-D Displays need to be calibrated and/or fine tuned to get the best overall effect, so make sure your display is properly set up before you do anything else. More information is available in the main Help topics (See Index 'Selecting a 3=D Display').

3-D Settings

Each Photo benefits from being viewed with the best 3-D Scene Depth and 3-D Focal Point for that particular image and 3-D Display. The 3-D Settings in Photo Transformer are in the 3-D Preview Settings Window (View > 3-D Preview), and Photo Properties (File > Properties).

3-D Focal Point

Definition Since this idea is very close to creating a Depth Map, when you set the 3-D Focal Point you have the same choice of Percent (0-100) or Value (0-255 grays) scales.

3-D Scene Depth

Definition.

Viewing a 3-D Preview

1. Open any TriDef Photo.

   Tip: Sample TriDef Photos can be downloaded from TriDef Downloads page. Once the TriDef Photo Samples have been installed, if you installed into the default folder they are located in: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\DDD\Samples\TriDefPhoto\. Choose any TriDef Photo file which starts with 'Std'.

   Please Note: The Application Data folder is Hidden by default, so you may need to change your Windows Explorer options to see it.

2. Choose View > 3-D Preview

3. If the Full Screen checkbox isn't selected, click it now then press Update Preview.

4. Look at the 3-D effect. You can move the 3-D Focal Point to any point by doing this:

   (a) Click on the 3-D Settings tab.

   (b) Click on the tool there.

   (c) Click on the image where you want the 3-D Focal Point to be.

   The Photo will redraw with the new 3-D Focal Point.

5. Show or hide the 3-D Settings box by pressing H

6. Make the 3-D effect 'stronger' by moving the 3-D Scene Depth towards the 'Expand' end of the slider.

   Tip: Adjust this setting in small increments (5 or 10).

7. Click Update Preview.

   Look at the 3-D again. How does this look? Experiment with the two settings to find a 3-D effect that appeals to you. Don't forget to refresh the image each time, and view the display at the same distance as your audience will.

8. When you are finished, click the Close Preview button or press Escape.

Tip: Keyboard shortcuts are available for adjusting 3-D Settings. See Help Index 'Keyboard Shortcuts'.

Scaling

If your TriDef Photo is not the same proportions as the 3-D Display, then you have to choose how it will scale when you view it. See Help (Index Scaling) for more information about Scaling options for Previews and outputs.

Types of 3-D File Outputs

The best Photo Transformer output formats in terms of flexibility across different 3-D Display types and sizes are the 2-D compatible 3-D file formats:

• Depth based TriDef Photo file
• 2-D compatible 3-D BMP/PNG/JPEG

All of these can be shown on any supported 3-D Display, using the TriDef Photo Viewer or the TriDef PowerPoint Plug-in. As well as displaying on any type of 3-D Display, you can adjust the 3-D Scene Depth and 3-D Focal Point of these types of files any time.

A TriDef 3-D Image file can also be viewed on any 3-D Display using the TriDef Photo Viewer or the TriDef PowerPoint Plug-in, and you can also adjust its 3-D Settings. The difference is that you can also view these files in 3-D with any normal graphics viewer, as long as you have the same size and type of 3-D Display the file was originally created for in Photo Transformer, and you don't want to adjust the 3-D Settings.

3-D Image (3-D PNG/BMP) files are used with a specific size and type of 3-D Display which you specify in Photo Transformer. These image also have a fixed 3-D Scene Depth and 3-D Focal Point which you set in Photo Transformer and cannot adjust after you export the files. These files can only be viewed with non-TriDef viewing tools.

This table summarizes these characteristics:

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Creating a TriDef PowerPoint presentation from Photo Transformer.

You will need the TriDef PowerPoint Plug-in for this section.

This process adds a TriDefPhoto to the background of a PowerPoint slide.

1. Keep Photo Transformer open, and also open PowerPoint. In PowerPoint, open a presentation or template file and select a slide. Now bring Photo Transformer to the front.

2. Choose File > Export > Send To PowerPoint

   You'll see a dialog where you can choose a specific 3-D Display format for the new presentation, and you have a last chance to adjust the 3-D Settings and Scaling options. Leave all of these alone for now.

3. Click OK

   This adds a TriDef Photo to the background of the open PowerPoint slide. It also updates the PowerPoint Page Setup to match the aspect ratio of the selected 3-D Display so the image does not become distorted.

4. Switch to PowerPoint and save this file as a .ppt presentation.

   If you like you can spend some time experimenting with adding text and viewing the result. You can also save these files as .pot template files for future use.

   Make sure that you do not change the Page Setup height and width, or the 3-D effect will fail.

   Note: If you want to use a presentation on more than one type of 3-D Display, use the TriDef Control Panel to change 3-D Display type. See Help PowerPoint topics for more information.

Creating a 3-D Image (PNG/BMP) file

To create a 3-D Image (PNG/BMP) file choose File > Export > 3-D Image and select a place to save the file. To view the file use any graphics viewing software and choose Full Screen view. Try it now.

Exporting a Depth map

Depth Maps may be useful in other applications, or you may simply want to apply a post-processing technique to your Depth Map before using it in a TriDef Photo. Choose File > Export > Depth Map and select a place to save the file as a BMP, PNG or JPEG.

Once you have exported a Depth Map you must use TriDef Photo Builder to use it in a TriDef Photo.

Next Tutorial - Depth Data Ramps

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