Installation and use

The LifeExplorer software is an open source project under GPL license. Current version uses 3D rendering from http://www.openscenegraph.org. It runs on Windows and requires a 3D graphic card. 

Installation:

On Windows, run the executable LifeExplorer_installer_2010_01_08.exe.
LifeExplorer is then installed in the default location: \Program files\LifeExplorer_080110.

LifeExplorer runs on Linux. Please contact us to get installation information.

LifeExplorer is not compatible with Mac OS X.

Getting started:

• First start

On Windows, start LifeExplorer by doubleclicking Lifeexplorer_installer_2010_01_08.exe in \Program files\LifeExplorer_080110.

Once the software is opened, press spacebar to initialize the view. A cow and a truck are displayed as test 3D structures.

Close the software. 

Go to \Program files\LifeExplorer_080110\examples, and delete the files cow.osg and dumptruck.osg in order not to display the cow and the truck any longer.

• Navigating in a 3D scene

There is no standard menu Open-File yet.

To see a 3D scene, first copy a file scenename.osg in \Program files\LifeExplorer_080110\examples (a scene can be made of several scenename.osg like the septosome model. In that case, copy all scenename.osg in ...\examples).

Then start LifeExplorer by doubleclicking LifeExplorer.exe in \Program files\LifeExplorer_080110 or by doubleclicking a shortcut of LifeExplorer.exe on the desktop for instance.

The LifeExplorer window opens and the scene is displayed.

Press the space bar to reinitialize the view, i.e. to see all the objects in the display window.

Mouse right- click allows to zoom in or out the scene. Mouse left- click allows to rotate around the centre of the scene. 

Mouse right and left simultaneous click allows to move laterally through the 3D view without changing the relative direction in which the user is looking (pan movements).

• Object selection

Ctrl - mouse left-click allows to select an object in the 3D window. A red bounding box appears around the selected object. Ctrl - mouse left- click allows to clear the selection.

• Scenegraph

The left panel of the user interface show the list of all the objects forming the scene.

From this tree, a selected object can be hidden in the 3D window (often, an object of the list is named Geometry. This object has to be hidden. This point has to be correct).

An object can be selected from the tree (a bounding box appears around the object in the 3D window). A succesion of objects can be selected by using Shift key, several objects not following by using Ctrl key.

Right-clicking on a selection allows the user to attribute the selection a label. "Add to label - New label" displays a popup window "Create a new label" where the user enters a name for the labelled selection. In the upper part of the scenegraph, the user can select "all" and choose which label to display: selecting a label means that only the objects included in the label are displayed in the 3D window; "all" means that all the objects forming the scene are displayed in the 3D window. A label can be deleted (remind that a label can still not be saved).