MAN Files

JetStream Roamer can read .man files from Informatix's MicroGDS version 6.0 or later. MicroGDS projects are not supported. The workaround is to first export the desired project window as a .man file.

MicroGDS Renderer materials are shown in their flat-shaded colors in JetStream Shaded display. In Full Render or Presenter rendering, the full shaders are used. Only the standard LightWorks shaders are available - those which are unique to MicroGDS are not available inside JetStream - a compromise is made for shaders which are not available inside JetStream.

• height band color shader is treated as plain grey

• wrapped random color shader is treated as a plain color using the flat-shaded color from MicroGDS.

• wrapped stencil transparency is ignored

• undulate wrapped brick wrapped grid and wrapped ripple displacement shaders are ignored

• object axis texture space is equivalent to the JetStream Box texture space

• auto axis and object xy axis texture spaces are treated as a Box texture space

• grid background is treated as a plain background using the background color - no grid lines will show.

• Foreground and Environment shaders are ignored.

• All other shaders, as of MicroGDS 7.2, are correctly imported into JetStream.

• Note that MicroGDS materials are specified in millimetres, and are converted into metres to make JetStream materials, dividing distance parameters by 1000. Windows with Perspective Views are read into JetStream as View objects.

Windows with Perspective Views are read into JetStream as Saved Viewpoints.

Supported Entities

• Clump primitives.

• Line primitives. The color of line primitives is determined by the first phase in which they appear in the Principal Window. If they are not included in the Principal Window, they will have a color determined by their style.

• Light styles. Projector lights are treated as a Spot light without the transparent image.

• Material styles, both plain and most LightWorks Renderer materials. Materials using wrapped images locate their image files using the "Texture Path" specified below.

• Views. Perspective Views are read in as if 3-point Perspective; parallel Views are not read. A Section Plane in a MicroGDS View is set in the corresponding JetStream View.

• Layers. All layers are read, and made visible according to their status in the Principal Window of the MAN file.

• Instances.

• Object data structure.

Unsupported Entities

• Text primitives.

• Photo primitives.

MAN File Reader Options

Setting the MAN file reader options

1. Go to Tools, Global Options, MAN file

   The MAN file dialog is displayed

   

2. Check the box Include line-geometry to include MicroGDS line-primitives into JetStream

3. Set Facet circle . Adjust the number of facets used for arcs - enter the number of straight line segments to facet a whole circle. (This corresponds to the MicroGDS Set Facet preference.)

4. Texture Path . Enter the path to the folder containing images used in MicroGDS Materials. Materials using image files will use this string as the base for relative paths. (This corresponds to the MicroGDS Renderer Textures preference.)

5. Check the box Define Presenter Materials if you wish MicroGDS material-styles to be defined as JetStream Presenter materials.

6. Click OK to set these options or Cancel to exit the dialog without setting them.