Contributors

VRMLworks

comp.lang.vrml FAQ
Version 2.53: Thursday, December 21, 2000

This FAQ, with all pages and examples, can be downloaded in zip or tar.gz form.
Yukio Andoh has translated of these pages.
Hendrik Reichel hat diese Seiten ins Deutsche übersetzt.
Roberto G. Puentes Diaz provee estas páginas en Español.
Un FAQ del VRML in Italiano
Sylvain Carette a traduit ces pages en français
Tima (Mikhail Timofeev) has translated these pages

  1. The Basics
    1. What is VRML?
    2. What kind of language is VRML?
    3. What's a VRML world?
    4. What is the format of a VRML file?
    5. What is the MIME type of a VRML file?
    6. What filename extensions designate a VRML file?
    7. What is comp.lang.vrml?
    8. What's the difference between VRML 1.0 and VRML 97?
    9. What's the difference between VRML 2.0 and VRML 97?
    10. What do I need to view (or visit) a VRML world?
    11. What VRML browser is best?
    12. Is there a VRML browser for [Mac/Unix]?
    13. I downloaded a VRML world to study it and it seems to be in some kind of binary format. How do I find out about VRML binary format?
    14. What's the cheapest way to get started in VRML?
    15. What's the easiest way to get started in VRML?
    16. Where are the best places on the net to find out about VRML?

  2. Common problems
    1. My world looks fine on my machine, but when I put it on my website, all I get is text.
    2. All I see on my screen is black -- help!
    3. When I select my VRML file foo.wrl.gz [on my local disk/on a website] it opens my unzip application instead of my VRML browser.
    4. How can I visit VRML worlds in my AOL browser?
    5. The ["javascript:"/"vrmlscript:"] URL doesn't work.
    6. Where is the center of rotation of the EXAMINE navigation type?
    7. Can you give me a crack for [modeling program]?
    8. How do you turn off gravity?

  3. Problems with Java
    1. Where do I get the VRML classes for Java?
    2. I can't get Java to run in Script nodes.
    3. My Java compiler says that "vrml.*" and the other VRML classes are unknown.
    4. When I run a Java Script, I get a NullPointerException.
    5. I can't get the EAI to work on my browser.

  4. Building your own worlds
    1. Should I build my VRML world in VRML 1.0 or VRML 97?
    2. What development environment do I need to program in VRML?
    3. I'm not a programmer. Can I build VRML worlds?
    4. What's a good VRML compiler?
    5. Are there any programs that will let you look at VRML source code?
    6. Is there any way to prevent people from looking at your VRML source code?
    7. Can you generate VRML dynamically from a CGI script?
    8. What VRML modeler is best?
    9. What's the best book on VRML?
    10. Can I use models from [program X] in my VRML worlds?
    11. How do I convert [file type X] to VRML?
    12. My [CAD/Animation] package only exports VRML 1.0. How can I use the models from that package?
    13. Where can I get models and textures?
    14. Are there any free tutorials on VRML?
    15. How do I gzip/gunzip a VRML file? Will PKZip work?
    16. Is there a VRML syntax checker?
    17. What's VRMLScript?
    18. Which is better, Java or JavaScript/ECMAScript?
    19. Do you know anything about building shared multi-user VRML worlds?

  5. Techniques
    1. How do I embed a VRML world in a frame or a web page?
    2. How do I spawn off a new little window for my VRML world?
    3. How can I let the user click on something and fire up a web page or another VRML world in a different window or frame so she doesn't have to keep reloading the VRML world?
    4. Can I get rid of the VRML browser's control panel?
    5. How do I make a substitute for the VRML control panel that will always stay in front of the visitor?
    6. I can't get [createVrmlFromURL/createVrmlFromString] to work.
    7. How do you bind Viewpoints?
    8. How can I take my visitor for a ride in a [car/balloon/spaceship/elevator]?
    9. How can I make my VRML world faster?
    10. I want the visitors to my site to see a VRML banner ad if they have a VRML browser, but if they don't, I want to show them an animated GIF. How do I do that?
    11. How do I make a viewpoint track an object as it moves around my world?
    12. How can I make VRML worlds communicate through sockets?
    13. Is it possible to morph shapes in VRML?
    14. How do I figure out the magic numbers to plug into the orientation field of a Viewpoint node to make the camera point to where I want it?
    15. How do you make addChildren and removeChildren work?
    16. How do you put a texture on one side of a box?
    17. How do you make things disappear when you (e.g.) click on them?
    18. Is there any way to get the user's position in real time?
    19. When I set solid to TRUE, I only see one side of an object. It isn't solid at all!
    20. Can you use VRML worlds in a C++ or Java application?
    21. How do you write Script nodes in [Visual Basic/Ada/COBOL]?
    22. How do you let the visitor move objects around in the world?
    23. How can you get LODs to prefetch in the background?
    24. How do you turn off collision for the avatar?
    25. How do you detect when other objects in the scene (not the avatar) collide with one another?
    26. How do you print a VRML world?
    27. How do you make a motion trail that follows the path of an object?
    28. Can you view an object in wireframe as well as solid?
    29. How big a VRML world is too big?
    30. How many digits of precision do you need in your IndexedFaceSet numbers?
    31. How do you do a guided tour?
    32. How do you animate a texture without using a MovieTexture?
    33. PROTOs can have exposedFields, but Script nodes can't. How can you map a PROTO to a Script?
    34. How do you make an ElevationGrid?

  6. The VRML Cabal, politics, and miscellaneous whining
    1. Who owns VRML?
    2. VRML would be perfect if only it [did/had] [X].
    3. Why does VRML support that strange graphics format PNG, but not GIF?
    4. Is VRML good for anything useful?
    5. What's the difference between VRML and [Chrome/MetaStream/Java3D/XML]?
    6. Will VRML survive the onslaught of [Chrome/MetaStream/Java3D/XML]?
    7. [ActiveWorlds/Viscape/Meme/Diamond Park] are much better than VRML.
    8. [Cosmo Player/WorldView/Community Place/CCPro] has a serious bug. When it tries to do [X], [Y] happens.
    9. The VRML color and lighting model is supposed to be standard. Why do my worlds look different in different VRML browsers?

  7. Questions nobody asked

    but they didn't fit anywhere else and you might like to know the answers

    1. Stupid registry tricks for VRML in Win95
    2. More stupid registry tricks

  8. Contributors

    In the long tradition of FAQs on USENET, this FAQ is personal opinion, and no one should assume that the answers here are anything but that. In particular, they are not the official opinions of any group, company or organization. I'm grateful to the following contributors, who no doubt have opinions of their own:

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Did I leave out a question people have asked a lot on comp.lang.vrml? Let me know.

-- Bob Crispen
-- Thursday, December 21, 2000