OBJView manual

Version History

Version 3.0b1 311/08 - DDS image file support - Key-frame support - LOD preview support Version	2.01 7/25/06 - Default loading now views object from the south Version 2.0b2 9/27/05 - Bug fix for animation Version 2.0b1 9/20/05 - Support for OBJ8 - Preview Lighting - Preview Animation

Introduction to OBJView and OBJ Files
OBJView is a 3-D viewer for X-Plane object files (version 2, 7, 8, and 9). X-Plane has four major revisions of the ".obj" format, none of which are related to other public .obj formats (Alias Wavefront Objects):


 * OBJ format 1 files were supported in X-Plane 5 and early versions of X-Plane 6. OBJ format 1 files use multiple bitmap files, with bitmaps applied entirely to each primitive. These objects are not supported by OBJView and are now very rare.
 * OBJ format 2 files are supported in X-Plane 6 and newer. OBJ format 2 files use one bitmap file, with parts of the bitmap applied to each primitive.
 * OBJ format 7 files are supported in X-Plane 7 and newer OBJ format 7 files are extensible, use one bitmap file per object, and contain all features of format 2 files as well as new ones.


 * OBJ format 8 is supported in X-Plane 8.20 and newer. OBJ8 files allow for animation, smooth surfaces, and some other new capabilities.

Within each major type of object file, some features were added to the format later; users of the latest version X-Plane should not have any problems with this. OBJView does not support original OBJ version 1 files.

All object files are text files; you can open the file in WordPad to see its version. The version number is the second line and will be: 2 (version 2), 700 (version 7) or 800 (version 8). A lack of version number indicates version one.

Notice: Once again, the OBJ format described here is X-Plane's OBJ format, which is totally different from the Alias/Wavefront OBJ format. This program does not work with WaveFront files!

System Requirements and Installation
OBJView should run on any Mac OS X or Windows machine capable of running X-Plane. If you cannot run X-Plane, you may not be able to run OBJView. Good OpenGL drivers (for OpenGL 1.2 or newer) are required. On Macs, OS X 10.3 or newer is recommended; on Windows PCs, Windows XP or newer is recommended.

Simply decompress the .zip or .sit file; OBJView is totally stand-alone.

Using OBJView
To use OBJView, simply double click the application and drag an OBJ file into the window to view it. Use the mouse wheel or the +/- keys to zoom in and out. Drag the mouse over the object while holding the left button to move it; click and drag it with the right button (or the Ctrl key + the left button) to rotate it. On the Macintosh you can also open additional OBJView windows by dragging .obj files onto the application icon in the dock.

One note: OBJView zooms in and out around the mouse, so you must point to the part of the object you want to see closer. This can take some getting used to, but once you work this way you will find it to be a rapid way to move around the object, particularly if you have a scroll wheel mouse.

Limitations
OBJView has some limitations in its viewing of objects:


 * It does not display smoke puffs.
 * Lights do not flash and the special lighting commands (99 99 99) etc. are not previewed.
 * Lighting mode does not work for OBJ2/OBJ7 files.

Viewing Objects with Textures
To view textures in OBJView, drag a .bmp or .png file for the object's textures into the window that you want to view the object with. OBJView does not pay attention to the relative paths of the bitmap file and object file; simply drag any properly named object and texture file into the same window to view the object with textures.

If you drag a Panel.png file onto OBJView, it will be used to show the cockpit panel texture part of your object.

Note: on the Macintosh, textures are shared between all open OBJView windows. This allows you to view multiple objects with a common texture easily, but you will not be able to view two objects with different textures of the same name. For example, if a building from Boston uses the texture boston:wall.bmp and a building in Chicago uses the texture chicago:wall.bmp, you will not be able to view both objects at once because OBJView ignores the boston: or chicago: prefix and loads only the most recently specified wall.bmp image for both files.

Keyboard Commands
All keys are case insensitive except where noted.