Hopefully you have managed to get OziExplorer3D installed, when installed correctly OziExplorer will have a new menu called "3D" will be added to its menu system.

This tutorial will guide you through some of the more common features of the software by using the supplied Demonstration data.

How OziExplorer3D works (a summary)

• OziExplorer will detect that OziExplorer3D has been installed and add a new menu called "3D" to the OziExplorer menus.
• When started (or saving OziExplorer Elevation Configuration) OziExplorer will scan all the Height Data files available
• A map is loaded into OziExplorer (a normal OziExplorer map).
• Use the 3D Control to select a region of a map
• Create the 3D map file
• Display the 3D map in OziExplorer3D
• Apply features of OziExplorer3D to the map (like shading, waypoints, tracks etc.)
• Save your 3D map to a file so you can reload it again later (optional).

So you can use OziExplorer3D in two ways

• Create a 3D map in OziExplorer and display it using OziExplorer3D
• Load a 3D map which has already been created by OziExplorer directly into OziExplorer3D.

Requirements

• The OziExplorer software
• The OziExplorer3D software
• A properly calibrated OziExplorer map file.
• Height data files (commonly called DEM (Digital Elevation Model)) in a supported format for the region the map covers

For use in this tutorial demonstration height data files and map files have been provided.

Obtaining Height Data

OziExplorer supports height data in the following formats.

• DTED format
• Gtopo30 - really just Arcview BIL format
• BIL format - Arcview, Globe data
• Grid ASCII format - Arcview
• USA DEM 24K format
• USA DEM 250K format

For use in this tutorial example height data has been provided. To obtain and use your own height data refer to the Height Data help.

Configuration

OziExplorer

Note : you should now be working in OziExplorer not OziExplorer3D.

IMPORTANT - To make things work there are some essential elevation configuration settings in OziExplorer which must be done.

On the "3D" menu of OziExplorer, select "Elevation Configuration" to display the configuration options.

System Tab

• Ensure the "Use Elevation Data" checkbox is ticked. If this is not ticked OziExplorer will completely ignore the height data.

Paths Tab

• The elevation data for the "Demo2.map" is installed in the "Elevation Data\Demo Data" sub-folder of the folder where you installed OziExplorer. The demo height data is supplied in Gtopo30 format. Use the open button and locate the folder. Tick the "Active" box adjacent to the Gtopo30 data type so OziExplorer knows to look for and use this data. These settings should already be set to the correct values.

Other configuration options can be adjusted later as required by referring to the OziExplorer Elevation configuration help.

OziExplorer3D

There are no configuration settings which are essential to make OziExplorer3D work but there are settings which can be adjusted later as required by referring to the OziExplorer3D configuration help.

Toolbars

The toolbars in OziExplorer3D can be turned on and off using the option on the View menu.

Toolbars can be dragged into any position, including making multiple lines by grabbing the vertical "Bars" on the left hand side of each toolbar.

Working with the Example Data

First we will load and view a 3D map which has already been created and explore some of the features.

Load a 3D map directly into OziExplorer3D

Click on the "Load an Existing 3D Map" button on the toolbar and using the dialog, navigate to the "3D Maps" folder, normally \OziExplorer\3D maps, select the Demo3D2.3d1 file from the example maps provided and press the Open button. The 3D map will be displayed in the window.

Double Click on the window caption (or press the maximize button on the caption (next to the X)), the window will be enlarged to fill the window.

Place the cursor over the map (the cursor will change to a hand), press and hold the left mouse button and drag the map to rotate the image. Release the mouse button, the map will remain in the rotated position.

Note: You will notice during the rotation the map is displayed in "wire frame" mode. This can be turned off in Configuration so that the rendered map is kept during the rotate. Rotating or moving the map with full render will require much more system performance (CPU and graphics card) so will not be useful on all systems.

Place the cursor over the map, press and hold the right mouse button and move the map to a new position.  If you now use the left mouse button to rotate the map, you will notice that you now have a new rotation centre.

Click the "Default Position" button, the map will return to the default position.

Now we will change the way the map looks, to do this we will use the Map Control.

Click on the "Map Control" button to display the Map Control. 

• Map Zoom - In the same way you can zoom in and out using the Zoom slider. Try it out to see how you can change the view of your map. If you have a mouse with a "Scroll Wheel" you can change the zoom by using the wheel, make sure the map window has the focus by clicking on the map.
• Map Height Factor - Position the mouse over the Height Factor slider on the Map Control-Map tab, press and hold the left mouse button and move the slider up and down to accentuate the elevations on the map.If you have a mouse with a "Scroll Wheel" you can change the height factor by holding down the Right mouse button while using the mouse wheel, make sure the map window has the focus by clicking on the map.
• Lighting - Click on the "Lighting" tab on the Map Control to display the controls for lighting.  (Note: Lighting controls are disabled in the Evaluation Version). Changing the lighting will alter the shading applied to the map.  If the Shading button on the toolbar is not depressed, click on the button to turn on Shading.  On the Map Control, move the slider upwards, you will see the map lighten with less shadows as the light is higher and more directly above the map. Press and hold the left mouse on the Sun, drag it around in the window and watch how your map shading is adjusted for the sun position. Click on the "Default" button to reset the shading to the default settings.
• Fog - Click on the "Fog" tab on the Map Control to display the controls for fog. (Note: Fog controls are disabled in the Elevation Version). Changing the fog will enhance the 3D effect and improve perspective. If the Fog button on the toolbar is not depressed, click on the button to turn on Fog.  The sliders allow the fog settings to be adjusted for the current map view. Click on the "Default" button to reset fog to the default settings.

Now that we have explored the basics of OziExplorer3D, let's create our own 3D map using OziExplorer. You can close down OziExplorer3D using the "Quit" button.

Create your own 3D map from OziExplorer

Run OziExplorer and load the map "Demo2.map". (If you are unsure of how to do this refer to the OziExplorer Tutorial).

On the "3D" menu, select "Show Elevation Control" to display elevation information. Move your cursor over the map, you should see the elevations changing in the Elevation Control as the elevation at the position under the cursor changes. If the display is "???" in the elevation control, OziExplorer cannot find elevation data at the position of the cursor. (In this case check the above configuration settings are correct and the demo height data is in the configured folder and that you have the Demo2.map loaded).

On the "3D" menu, select "3D Map Control" to display the buttons and information to help you create your 3D map. (Note: The options to select "full map" and select "a map section inside the corner markers" are disabled in the Shareware/Demo and Trial versions of OziExplorer ).

We will now create our 3D map, the steps are:

• define the area of the map
• select the grid for this area
• and create the 3D map

Click on the "Draw Box" button, the button will remain depressed and the cursor will change to a cross hair. We will now select the limits of the 3D map which will be displayed. Press and hold the cursor near the top left corner of the map and drag the cursor to near the bottom right corner of the map and release the mouse button. The selected area will be marked by a dotted line.

Now we will define the size of the grid (in pixels) to be used to map the elevations. Select the number of pixels by clicking on the down arrow and select "16", we will use a 16 pixel grid for the "Demo3D2" map. (You will learn more about what effect this setting has on the 3D image later).

Click on the "Create Map" button, OziExplorer will begin creating your map in 3D.  When the creation is complete OziExplorer3D will be run (it is OK if it is already running).

You should now be able to see your map in 3D.  It will be displayed in a window in the default position.  Using your left and right mouse buttons just like you did above with the example 3D map, try: (refer above for more details on using these controls to alter your map view).

• rotating and dragging the map
• click on the "Map Control" button and move the controls to alter your map view.
• click on the "Shading" and "Fog" buttons to turn on/off shading and fog.

Load Waypoints and Tracks in OziExplorer3D

Click on the "Waypoint Load" button and load the waypoint file "Demo2.wpt".  If you do not see your waypoints, click on the "Show Waypoint" button.

Click on the "Track Load" button and load the track file "Demo2.plt".  If you do not see your tracks, click on the "Show Tracks" button.

You can alter the way you display the objects. Click on the "Configuration" button and the "Waypoints" tab on the configuration window. Change the settings and click "Save" to view the changes you have made. Any changes will be applied to the current map and future maps, but will not alter other maps which are loaded

Refer to the OziExplorer3D configuration for details.

• click on the "Show Waypoint" button to show or hide the waypoints.
• click on the "Show Track" button to show or hide the tracks.

Saving a 3D map file to a new file name

Click on the "Save 3D Map" button. When you have selected the save location and entered a new file name for the 3D map, click the Save button. (Do not click the Save button now unless you want to save the image). The file extension will be (.3D1) and this file can be re-loaded in OziExplorer3D.  (Note : unless the image is small and embedded in the 3D1 file then the image filename is stored in the 3D1 file and the image must be available to enable the 3D map to be re-loaded).

Elevation pointers

Click on the "Elevation Pointers" button. This will hide/show the 3 elevation pointers. The elevation pointers show the positions of minimum and maximum elevations for the map, and the other pointer shows the position at the screen centre.  Press and hold the right mouse button on the map and drag the map. As you drag the map you will see the elevation at the position of the "screen centre pointer" will be changing as it displays the elevation at this position. (The units the elevation is displayed in and the pointer colors, can be altered in Configuration).

Moving Map

We will now display the OziExplorer moving map position on the 3D map. To do this you must have OziExplorer and OziExplorer3D running.

If not already loaded, load the "Demo3D2.map" in OziExplorer3D and the "Demo2.map" in OziExplorer.

Follow these steps to run the moving map simulator in OziExplorer.

• On the Moving Map menu, click "NMEA Simulator" to display the simulator.
• Click the "Here" button on the simulator and click on the map (about the centre of the map).
• On the NMEA Simulator, click the +20 button to set a speed of 20 (in the units configured) and click the +10 button 3 times to set a bearing of 30 degrees.
• On the Moving Map menu, click "Start NMEA Communication with GPS". If it is working ok you should see some indication on the Status Line at the bottom of the map.
• Swap to OziExplorer3D and click on the "Show Moving Map" button. You should now see the moving map pointer on the 3D map.
• You can swap back to OziExplorer, alter the speed and direction and return to OziExplorer3D and see the changes.
• Note: OziExplorer3D will NOT swap maps for you when you leave a map.