in K-3D, everything that isnt geometry is a K-3D object. K-3D objects are external plug-ins to the main program, and can be created by SDP or other vendors. try the following:
| look in the ObjectBox, located on the Vertical Toolshelf to see a listing of all K-3D objects installed on your system. |
| within the ObjectBox, double-click the LMB on an objects name to create a new object of that type. a dialog box will appear, labelled "Rename <objectype>", where <objecttype> is the type of object you selected. you should give each object you create a distinctive name that will allow you to tell what the object does in your document. note that K-3D prevents you from giving multiple objects identical names. |
| after you give the new object a name, its interface will appear - usually on either the Horizontal or Vertical Toolshelf, allowing you to edit the object's parameters. |
| look in the Hierarchy on the Vertical Toolshelf to see a hierarchical (parent / child) view of all the K-3D objects within your document. |
| within the Hierarchy, double-click the LMB on an objects name to re-open the objects interface, allowing you to edit its parameters. |
| within the Hierarchy, click the RMB on an objects name to see a context menu enabling you to manipulate the object. |
| many objects can be treated like points and polygons by tools - for example, if you want to change the position of a Light, use the Hierarchy context menu to select the Light, then use the Translate tool as you normally would. dont forget to deselect the Light in the Hierarchy when youre done. |
| to create a clone of an object, open its' Hierarchy context menu and select "Duplicate". a new object with the name "<oldname> copy" will appear, where <oldname> is the name of the original object. |
| you can use the "Hide" and "Unhide" context menu commands to temporarily disable objects. for example: if you were using an ImageLayer object to create a background for your animation, and you wanted to "turn it off" temporarily to get faster screen updates, you would simply use the "Hide" command from the Hierarchy context menu. use the "Unhide" command to return it to normal operation. |