Accessibility

Change the perspective with 3D images

 

Created:
21 May 2005
User Level:
Intermediate, Advanced
Products:
Acrobat undefined or later

By the experts at Adobe.

Imagine the possibility: You’re putting together an Adobe® PDF file that details instructions for a piece of make-it-yourself furniture. Your designer says he can create 3D drawings of the various steps, and you’d love to incorporate those in your Adobe PDF file. Guess what! With Adobe Acrobat® 7.0 Professional, you can! Simply embed those 3D drawings in your PDF file, and your customers will be able to bring those drawings to life and see any perspective they choose simply by clicking on them and dragging the mouse.

In Acrobat 7.0 Professional, you can embed a 3D file (U3D) in a PDF document by using the 3D tool. When you embed your 3D file, you may include a JavaScript file to add extra functionality, such as custom menus, tools, and animations, and you can specify a poster frame to represent the image before the 3D content is enabled. If your 3D file lacks lighting, Acrobat automatically enables lighting.

After you embed your 3D file, you can adjust the 3D canvas, edit the presentation properties for the 3D toolbar and content, and create an initial view. You can use views that you've saved with your 3D file or create new views in Acrobat. Create additional views to allow users to quickly navigate the 3D content. A list of views appears in the Views menu in the 3D toolbar. You can also add your 3D views to bookmarks or links by using the Go To 3D View action.

To add a 3D file

  1. To select the 3D tool, choose Tools > Advanced Editing > 3D Tool.

  2. Drag a rectangle on the page to create the canvas area for the 3D file.

  3. In the Add 3D Content dialog box, click Browse to select your 3D file (Figure 1).

    acr7sd3dcontent_1_int

    Figure 1: Select the 3D file you want to use in the Add 3D Content dialog.

  4. (Optional) To include a JavaScript (JS) file, click Browse and select the file. If you created a JavaScript file with the same name as the 3D file, it loads automatically when you select the 3D file.

  5. Specify how you want your 3D file to appear before it's enabled by choosing a Poster Setting, and then click OK:

    • Retrieve Poster From Default View generates a poster frame from the 3D file's default view.

    • Create Poster From File lets you specify an image file (BMP, JPG, PDF) for the poster frame.

To move, delete, or resize the 3D canvas

  1. Choose Tools > Advanced Editing > Select Object Tool.

  2. Select the 3D canvas.

  3. Do any of the following:

    • Move the canvas by dragging its icon to a new location on the page.

    • Delete the canvas by selecting it and pressing Backspace or Delete.

    • Resize the canvas by dragging one of the corners of the frame until it is the desired size. The 3D content stays proportional within the adjusted frame.

To edit properties for the 3D file

  1. Using the Select Object tool, right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the 3D canvas, and choose Properties.

  2. In the Properties dialog box (Figure 2), specify any of the following properties:

    • Enable 3D Toolbar displays the 3D toolbar with the enabled 3D content, and is the default setting.

    • Activation and Deactivation allow you to specify conditions for enabling the 3D content.

    • Edit Content lets you replace the embedded 3D file, JavaScript, or poster image.

      acr7sd3dcontent_2_int

      Figure 2: The 3D Properties dialog.

To create a new view

  1. Select the Hand tool.

  2. Use the tools in the 3D toolbar to navigate to the location you want.

  3. In the 3D toolbar, choose Views > Manage Views.

  4. In the Manage Views dialog box, click New View.

  5. Optional) Select the view, and then do any of the following:

    • Click Move Up or Move Down to move the selected view up or down in the list.

    • Click Use As Default to specify the view to appear when the 3D content is enabled.

To add a 3D view to a bookmark or link

  1. Right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac OS) the bookmark or link, and choose Properties.

  2. Click the Actions tab.

  3. From the Select Action menu, select Go To A 3D View, and then click Add.

  4. In the Select A 3D View dialog box, select the view you want, click OK, and then click Close.

By the experts at Adobe. © 2005 Adobe Systems Incorporated.