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Getting a VRML Browser

Here's the good or bad news right away: if you have a Windows 9x machine, you've got lots of choices. If you have a Mac, a Linux system, or the best selling Unix platforms, you have several choices. If you have a Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer, you're completely out of luck (though I can make you a deal on some parts).

Stand-Alones, Helpers and Plugins

Let's clear up a bit of nomenclature. Some VRML browsers are stand-alone libraries that are either included in another program (like a VRML modeler) or that you compile into an application. The latter kind requires you to do some programming. We won't cover them here, but we'll talk about them in the tools section for people who are interested in building their own applications.

Helper applications launch in a separate window when your Web browser finds a file of a particular type (e.g., RealAudio file, MIDI file, VRML world) and may talk back to your Web browser. You can also fire them up by themselves to view VRML worlds on the net or on your own machine. Some people use a helper app all by itself and never take advantage of its ability to work alongside Web browsers -- which is why they're sometimes called stand-alone applications, even though they aren't.

Plugins view VRML worlds in your web browser's own window. They clutter up your desktop a little less and may give some additional capabilities (e.g., the External Authoring Interface). Many people find plugins preferable to stand-alones or helpers. Plugins run under Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, and some have versions that will run in either one.

Finding a Browser for Your Machine

Your first stop should be the VRML Repository's list of browsers and plugins. Since that list isn't always up to date, you may want to check the next stops as well.

Now you know what's available for your machine. Hopefully, it's more than one. Let's try to choose one. Check:

And you should make a point of visiting the websites of the browser makers that you're most interested in. Often the latest version will have features that didn't get into the lists above, and sometimes you'll find that these browsers run on more platforms than the lists show.

Choosing One

Here are some criteria you might use to choose one of the browsers from the ones that will run on your machine:

Recommendations

Now for some advice that's worth exactly what you paid for it (unless you have a slow net connection):

There are several Windows9x browsers you shouldn't overlook. The smiley () marks browsers that are known to get along well alongside WorldView and Cosmo Player, the two popular VRML browsers for MSIE and Netscape, respectively:

Got a penguin on your desktop instead of a badly colored checkered flag? Or have you got another Unix or Cygwin? Check:

and for the Mac:

and for Irix:

Installing

I won't be able to say much about installing VRML browsers that won't duplicate what the browser makers say themselves, or that won't be quickly out of date, perhaps dangerously so.

It's always worthwhile to keep the installation file you downloaded -- save it to floppies if you have to. If you have more than one VRML browser on your system (something I don't recommend, except for the browsers marked with on the list above) installing one can sometimes mess up the installation of the previous browser. Read the documentation carefully. Some browser updates will automatically uninstall older versions. Others will require you to uninstall the older version yourself.

Some browser installations on Win9x will want to modify your autoexec.bat file and restart your computer. I have never found a problem caused by a browser installation doing that, and it will certainly cause problems if you don't let it do the modification.

If you possibly can, let the browser install into its default locations; it's not critical, but it's one less thing to worry about.

Special note on installing Cosmo Player: If you're installing Cosmo Player in a newer version of Netscape Navigator or Communicator, you may find that the Cosmo Player installer doesn't recognize your version of Netscape. Here's what to do:

  • Select "Unsupported version of Netscape".
  • When prompted for a path for the unsupported version give it the path for Netscape (e.g., C:\Program Files\Netscape\Communicator\Program\Netscape.exe).
  • When the installer says it will install the DLL files in C:\Program Files\CosmoPlayer, change that path to C:\Program Files\Netscape\Communicator\Program\Plugins (or wherever you have Netscape installed).

Special note on installing on Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01: Microsoft added some "features" to Internet Explorer 5.01 without telling anyone. Aren't they just adorable? These features may crash Blaxxun Contact and perhaps other VRML browsers. There's a patch available from Blaxxun that should fix it for Contact.

Special note on installing on Opera: By far the easiest way to install for Opera is to keep a copy of Netscape around, install for Netscape, and copy the plugin DLLs from Netscape's plugins directory to Opera's plugins directory. See our Multi-Plugins page for a list of the DLLs you'll need to copy.

Configuring

Once you install your browser, you should look at its configuration options (usually available either from the right mouse or from a toolbar menu while the browser is running). Some browsers have a choice between high speed and high quality rendering, and they may support hardware acceleration through your graphics board. The two most widely used rendering libraries for PCs are DirectX and OpenGL; some VRML browsers support one, others support the other, and still others let you select the one you want. The wrong configuration settings can make your VRML browser look ugly or run slow or even hang. A few minutes playing with the configuration can make a big difference in how much you enjoy the VRML worlds you visit.

It Isn't VRML...

...but it's still pretty cool. Other 3D web technologies you might want to look at (and which don't, in my experience, mess up your VRML browser) are:

This list of alternative 3D technologies for the Web has been greatly improved by Cindy Ballreich, who started a discussion on the topic on www-vrml, Hartmut Luttermann, and many other correspondents, to whom much thanks.

Did I leave something out about selecting a browser? Let me know.

-- Bob Crispen
-- Friday, December 22, 2000