Cortona VRML Client, Version 3.1
by ParallelGraphics


About Cortona VRML Client
=========================

Cortona is a pluggable application for MS Internet Explorer and
Netscape  Navigator, capable of browsing virtual worlds written in
VRML. Cortona provides  navigation paradigms (such as walking or
flying) which enable the user to move  the viewer through the virtual
world. Additionally, it provides a mechanism that allows the user to
interact with the world.

Cortona is designed on the basis of the universal component technology
that provides the opportunity to create a wide range of 3D applications:
from graphical processors to complex multi-user Internet-services.
Cortona VRML client supports: OpenGL; Direct3D; Java language; Splines
and NURBS; External Authoring Interface (EAI). The client also has its
own built-in VRML Automation Interface (Automation Interface for
managing VRML scenes) based on the ActiveX Automation technology.


Hardware and System Requirements
================================

 - Operating system: Microsoft(r) Windows(r) 95/98/ME/2000 or 
   Windows NT(r) 4.0.
 - Internet Explorer 4.0 or a later version, or 
   Netscape Navigator 4.0 or a later version. 
 - Computer: Pentium(r) 90 MHz or faster processor. 
 - Random Access Memory (RAM): minimum of 16 MB.
 - Free disk space: 6 MB of hard disk space for program files. 
 - Display: SVGA/256 colors. The 800x600 high color mode is recommended.
 - Input devices: Mouse and keyboard, joystick optional.
 - Sound card: optional.


Installing Cortona VRML Client
==============================

1.  Make sure that Microsoft Internet Explorer and/or Netscape Navigator is 
    installed on your computer. 
2.  Before installing Cortona VRML Client Version 3.1, uninstall any earlier
    version(s) of Cortona.
3.  Run cortvrml.exe program. 
4.  Follow the setup instructions.


What's New in Cortona 3.0 and 3.1
=================================

- The Full Screen viewing mode. This hides most screen elements so that you
  can view the whole scene. To enter this viewing mode, select the
  corresponding item from the right-button pop-up menu. To close the Full Screen,
  press ESC or F11.
- Joystick input for navigation commands is now supported.
- VR 3D Glasses for 3D scene stereo viewing (Only in the Full Screen mode).
- Enhanced anti-aliasing for both static and dynamic scenes (depends on the 
  current frame rate).
- Enhanced support for the FontStyle node. As well as specifying the font family
  rendering techniques, Cortona allows the developer to select a specific font
  based on the font name.
- New ParallelGraphics VRML extensions:
 
  an AdvancedAppearance node that enables reflection-map textures; 
  a Text3D node that enables 3D text. 
 
  For more details, see ParallelGraphics' VRML extensions at 
  http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/extensions/


Important Changes
=================

- The same user interface for both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape
  Navigator.
- All actions from the keyboard commands now correspond to the movement of your
  mouse and depend on the navigation type and its option. The CTRL and SHIFT
  keyboard buttons are always used for the accelerations. The ALT and SPACE keys
  allow the user to quickly change the navigation option to PAN and TURN accordingly. 
- Unified renderers for P-III and others. The operations for turning the optimization
  mode on or off are available through the Preferences...\Renderer from the Cortona
  pop-up menu. 
- Java Script processing has been optimized.
- The WaitForAllResources parameter controls the downloading of a VRML scene. The
  scene to be downloaded appears on the screen only when all the resources have
  already been received.
- Multiple URLs are now supported in the Anchor node. 
- Additional Cortona Control methods and plug-in parameters for controlling Cortona
  in the HTML pages.
- Support for RGB + transparent color in 16 bits per sample PNG textures.
- The ParallelGraphics' team fixed many bugs between the 3.0 and 3.1 versions. Several
  of the key fixes are:
       The operation of addChildren and removeChildren in EAI is fixed.
       The type ["WALK", "ANY"] in NavigationInfo node is handled properly.
       The bindTime eventOut of a Viewpoint node is generated every time whenever the
       first viewpoint is bound to the browser view in the opened VRML scene.   


Compatibility Notes
===================

Cortona is fully compliant with the existing VRML97 specification (ISO/IEC 14772:1997)
and it supports VRML1.0 in using Cortona VRML 1.0 Converter. 



====================================================
(C) 1999-2001 ParallelGraphics. All rights reserved.


ParallelGraphics
E-mail: support@parallelgraphics.com
WWW: http://www.parallelgraphics.com