3.1 Command and Definitions

ACTIVE: (Select tab in Command menu box) Makes selected parts or surfaces active and thus subject to future operations. All parts and surfaces are active by default. Parts and surfaces are made inactive through use of the INACTIVE operation.

Adjust Bounding Grid: (Prep1 tab in Command menu box) For selected parts, the ENABLE command allows users to adjust the bounding grid (i.e. bounding box on which rectilinear grid is projected from onto the surfaces). Users dial in rotations about X, Y, and Z (on some platforms, users may need to depress the buttons above the dials). Once set, users depress the SET GRID button to apply the changes to the bounding grid.

ALL: (button above Select menu box) Selects all entities.

AS IS: (Meshing Operations box on MESH tab in Command menu box) Works on selected parts and surfaces.

BASE: (Model menu box) Displays the original geometry which Eclectic derived from the imported mesh.

BLACK HOLE JOIN: (Prep2 tab in Command menu box) Works in VTX select mode.

Command menu box: (collection of tabs at lower left corner of screen) This menu contains the re-meshing operations. See individual tabs and operations for descriptions.

Corner Angle: (Select tab in Command menu box) Determines how many hard vertices will be generated - the smaller this value, the more hard vertices will be employed to define a curved edge. This value can be adjusted by either using the up/down buttons or by typing in a value. If users type in a value, they must hit the ENTER key when done. 

Delete: See KILL.

DEP: (Prep1 tab in Command menu box) See VTX N command.

Display: (mid right side of screen) Users can select whether the geometry should be displayed as solid (no shading), flat shaded, smooth shading, or as wireframe.

Edge: Boundary between adjoining surfaces. Edges can be hard (i.e. the edge will be present in the final mesh) or soft (i.e. the edges may or may not be in the final mesh). Hard edges are displayed in red; soft edges are displayed in white.

Edit menu: (top menu bar) Contains command to pop-up window in which users can edit Undo-Redo queue.

Edit tab: (Command menu box) Contains command to reset co-ordinate system. See SET VIEW(T).

File - Import: (under File in top menu bar): Eclectic can import meshes in the following file formats:

•  ASC.fac (FRED ASCII)
• .fac (FRED binary)
• .facet (XPATCH)
• .g (BRL-CAD)
• .obj (Wavefront) - See Wavefront File format
• .raw (RAW triangles)
• .stl (Stereolithography)

During import, Eclectic may provide several messages. If problem areas are found, Eclectic will advise using the Test Model feature. If the imported geometry does not provide normal vectors at the vertices, Eclectic will report this ("Model had BOGUS (zero) VTX Normals -> Set to PGN Nml") and calculate vertex normals based on the normal vectors of the adjoining polygons - users need not do anything.

File menu: (top menu bar) Contains the commands:

• Open - Opens Eclectic-native file. 
• Save - Saves Eclectic-native file.
• Save As - Saves Eclectic-native file.
• Import - Imports mesh. See File - Import.
• Export - Exports Eclectic-created mesh in Wavefront OBJ file format.
• Exit - Exits Eclectic. Does not prompt users to save un-saved work.

FILL TRIANGLE:  (Prep2 tab in Command menu box) Creates a triangle from 3 selected vertices (must be in VTX selection mode).

FILL TRIANGLE:  (Mesh tab in Command menu box) Creates a triangle from 3 selected vertices (must be in VTX selection mode) in finished mesh.

FLAT: (Display box) Displays the model using flat shading.

FLAT: (Prep1 tab in Command menu box) See VTX N command.

FLIP: (Pgn N box on Prep 1 tab in Command menu box) Flips (i.e. reverses the normal) selected polygon.

FORM NEW PART: (Select tab in Command menu box) Joins selected parts, surfaces, or polygons into a single, new part.

Hard vertex: Before the final meshing operation, Eclectic and the users define certain vertices to be hard. When generating vertices for the mesh, Eclectic will "snap" to the nearest hard vertex if there are any hard vertices in the vicinity. This does not mean that all hard vertices will appear in the final mesh - a hard vertex will not be used if 1) there is a hard vertex closer to the location where Eclectic wants to place a vertex, and 2) Eclectic does not want to place a vertex in the vicinity of the hard vertex. Hard vertices are displayed as violet circles. Soft vertices are not displayed - the location of soft vertices can be identified by examining the polygons. Selected vertices can be transformed back and forth between being soft and hard by the SOFT <> HARD VTXs button in the Prep 2 tab of the Command menu box. 

HIDE: (hide box in bottom right corner of screen) Hide box parts, surfaces, and polygons can be rendered invisible through the Hide feature. Selecting part(s), surface(s), or polygon(s) and then depressing the Hide button, renders the selected entities invisible. Selecting a part, surface, or polygon and the depressing the SHOW button renders only the selection visible. The Restore button makes all entities visible.

HIDE ACTIVE: (Select tab in Command menu box) This toggle button hides (makes invisible) all active parts or surfaces.

HIDE INACTIVE: (Select tab in Command menu box) This toggle button hides (makes invisible) all inactive parts or surfaces.

HIDE JOIN: (Select tab in Command menu box) This command is not functional.

Import: (on File menu on top menu bar) See File - Import.

INACTIVE: (Select tab in Command menu box) Makes selected parts or surfaces inactive and thus exempt from future operations. All parts and surfaces are active by default. Inactive parts and surfaces are made active through use of the ACTIVE operation.

INDEP: (Prep1 tab in Command menu box) See VTX N command.

JOIN: (Select tab in Command menu box) Joins selected surfaces and parts into a single surface or part.

JOIN 2 TRIANGLES: (MESH tab in Command menu box) Creates a quadrilateral polygon from two selected (in PGN mode) triangles in the finished mesh.

JOIN VERTICES: (Prep2 tab in Command menu box) Joining vertices results in moving a vertex so that it "overlaps" another existing vertex. This operation can only be performed in Select vertex (VTX) mode. Select two vertices and then depress the JOIN VERTICES button. The first vertex that is selected does not move - the second selected vertex is moved to the position of the first selected vertex. 

KILL: (Select tab in Command menu box) Deletes selected parts, surfaces, or polygons.

KILL ELEMENT: (MESH tab in Command menu box) Deletes selected triangle or quadrilateral.

KILL TRIANGLE: (Prep2 tab in Command menu box) Deletes selected triangle (must in PGN select mode).

Memory: (top menu bar) Contains command to pop-up window that reports detailed memory usage.

MESH: (Model menu box) Displays to the mesh created by Eclectic.

MESH: (Meshing Operations box on MESH tab in Command menu box) Meshes the selected parts or surfaces.

Mesh Length: (Select tab in Command menu box) Sets the resolution of the mesh (i.e. distance between adjacent elements). This value can be adjusted by either using the up/down buttons or by typing in a value. If users type in a value, they must hit the ENTER key when done. The SET MESH SPACE command must be used to implement any changes to the Mesh Length.

MIX: (Model menu box) Displays both the BASE geometry and Eclectic-created mesh.

Model had BOGUS (zero) VTX Normals → Set to PGN Nml: (warning message) During import, Eclectic may provide several messages. If problem areas are found, Eclectic will advise using the Test Model feature. If the imported geometry does not provide normal vectors at the vertices, Eclectic will report this ("Model had BOGUS (zero) VTX Normals -> Set to PGN Nml") and calculate vertex normals based on the normal vectors of the adjoining polygons - users need not do anything.

Model menu box: Determines what is exported and what is displayed: BASE geometry, Eclectic-created mesh, or both geometry and mesh.

Mouse operations: See section 3.2.

Part: A grouping of surfaces (polygons).

Part commands: See

• ACTIVE
• Adjust Bounding Grid
• AS IS
• FORM NEW PART
• HIDE ACTIVE (display only)
• HIDE INACTIVE (display only)
• INACTIVE
• JOIN
• KILL (deletes)
• MESH
• Surf angle - determines how Eclectic will break up the part(s) into surfaces.
• unMESH

Pgn N: (Pgn N box on Prep1 tab in Command menu box) Contains command to flip (i.e. reverses the normal) selected polygons.

Polygon: Triangle or quadrilateral.

Polygon commands: See

• FILL TRIANGLE (creates triangular element)
• FLIP (reverses normal)
• JOIN 2 TRIANGLES (in finished mesh)
• KILL (deletes)
• KILL ELEMENT (in finished mesh)
• KILL TRIANGLE (deletes triangle while in Prep 2 phase)
• SPLIT QUAD (finished meshes only)

Prep1: (tab in Command menu box) Eclectic creates surfaces during this phase of the meshing operation. How Eclectic creates surfaces from parts is determined by user settings of Corner Angle and Surf Angle.

Prep2: (tab in Command menu box) Eclectic defines edges between surfaces, and identifies hard vertices, and which edges are soft and hard.

Queue: (bottom right corner of screen) Recent commands can be undone, and undone commands can be redone using the buttons in this menu. The queue of recent commands can be edited by using the Undo-Redo command in the Edit part of the top menu bar.

REDO: (Queue box in bottom right corner of screen) Undoes the last UNDO operation. Recent commands can be undone, and undone commands can be redone using the buttons in this menu. The queue of recent commands can be edited by using the Undo-Redo command in the Edit part of the top menu bar.

Report memory usage: (under Memory in top menu bar) Pop-up window that reports detailed memory usage.

RESTORE: (hide box in bottom right corner of screen) Makes all entities, whether they are currently visible or hidden, visible.

Rotating model: See section 3.2.

Scaling model: See section 3.2.

Select menu box: Determines what is displayed and what type of entity is being worked on (and thus affects which operations in the Command menu may be exercised). Also activates grey-shaded view of geometry (GREY) and bounding box view (FACE). Entities include:

• PART - A part is a grouping of surfaces. Eclectic retains the grouping of polygons into parts that is in imported mesh file.
• SURF - A surface is a group of polygons. This grouping of polygons is unique to Eclectic. Eclectic will create a single surface for each imported part. When meshing, Eclectic projects the rectilinear grid on one bounding box face into each surface - consequently, all the normal vectors of polygons in a surface should point in the same general direction - towards the side of a bounding box.
• PGN - Polygon. Either a triangle or quadrilateral. 
• PNT - Point.
• VTX - Vertex.

Select: (tab in Command menu box) Contains operations that effect how the geometry is broken into parts and sets the basic attributes of the Eclectic-created mesh. To reach the next phase of re-meshing, users must activate the SET READY to PREP1 button. See individual operations for descriptions.

SET READY to PREP1: (Select tab in Command menu box) Performs the Prep 1 phase of the re-meshing process. The Prep 1 operation will break parts into surfaces if Eclectic deems it necessary.

SET READY to PREP2: (Prep1 tab in Command menu box) Performs the Prep 2 phase of the re-meshing process. The Prep 2 operation defines hard/soft edges and hard vertices in the model.

SET READY to MESH: (Prep2 tab in Command menu box) Prepares the model for re-meshing process. 

SET MESH SPACE: (Select tab in Command menu box) Values of Mesh Length and Corner Angle do not become active until this button is depressed. When active, the new Mesh Length can be viewed on the boundary box (FACE in the Select menu box). Note that the displayed mesh density on the bounding box is 8 times coarser than the true mesh density.

SET VIEW(T): (Edit tab in Command menu box) Resets co-ordinates so that up-direction in current display view is +Z, forward-direction is +X, and left-direction is +Y.

SHOW: (hide box in bottom right corner of screen). Selecting a part, surface, or polygon and the depressing the SHOW button renders only the selection visible. The Restore button makes all entities visible.

SMOOTH: (Display box) Displays the model using smooth shading.

SOFT to HARD EDGES: (Prep2 tab in Command menu box) Turns a soft (white) edge into a hard (red) edge. Hard edges will be present in the final mesh. Edges are selected by selecting the adjoining part, surface, or polygon. Preferred selection method is surface.

SOFT<->HARD VTXs: (Prep2 tab in Command menu box) Switches selected vertices between being hard and soft. Hard vertices are displayed as small blue circles; soft vertices are not displayed. When creating a mesh, Eclectic will "snap" to any hard vertices in the vicinity.

Soft vertex: Vertices define each polygon. A soft vertex is a vertex that is not hard. Eclectic does not consider soft vertices during the meshing process - soft vertices merely define the base geometry. This is opposed to how Eclectic handles hard vertices - Eclectic will use hard vertices in the final mesh (see Hard vertex for more details). Unlike hard vertices, soft vertices are not displayed - the location of soft vertices can be identified by examining the polygons. Selected vertices can be transformed back and forth between being soft and hard by the SOFT <> HARD VTXs button in the Prep2 tab of the Command menu box. 

SOLID: (Display box) Displays the model as solid (i.e. no shading).

SPLIT QUAD: (Mesh tab in Command menu box) Splits a quadrilateral polygon in the finished mesh into two triangles. Operates in VTX select mode. Click within the quadrilateral next to a corner that you want split. 

STITCH: (Mesh tab in Command menu box) Joins selected vertices in finished mesh. Works in VTX select mode. Select two vertices and then depress the JSTITCH button. The first vertex that is selected does not move - the second selected vertex is moved to the position of the first selected vertex. 

Surf Angle: (Select tab in Command menu box) Sets the angular resolution of the surfaces Eclectic creates during Prep 1. The smaller this value, the greater number of surfaces Eclectic will create to model a curved surface. This value can be adjusted by either using the up/down buttons or by typing in a value. If users type in a value, they must hit the ENTER key when done. The SET MESH SPACE command must be used to implement any changes to the Surf Angle. This command operates on selected parts only.

Surface: A surface is a group of polygons. This grouping of polygons is unique to Eclectic. Eclectic will create a single surface for each imported part. When meshing, Eclectic projects the rectilinear grid on one bounding box face into each surface - consequently, all the normal vectors of polygons in a surface should point in the same general direction - towards the side of a bounding box.

Surface commands: See

• ACTIVE
• AS IS
• FORM NEW PART from selected surfaces
• HIDE ACTIVE (display only)
• HIDE INACTIVE (display only)
• INACTIVE
• JOIN
• KILL (deletes)
• MESH
• Surf angle (determines how Eclectic creates surfaces from parts)
• Surface Cutting Operations (fixes glitches from Prep1 surface creation)
• unMESH
• VTX N (vertex normal)

Surface Cutting Operations: (Prep1 tab in Command menu box) The Prep1 surface creation process will sometimes create jagged edged surfaces (such as for a sphere). The edge of surfaces should be smooth. The Surface Cutting Operations gives users the ability to smoothly cut the surfaces. Surfaces that need this operation will be outlined in white. The choices are:

• Thru Point
• WRT (With Respect To) Normals

Test Model: (button in middle right of screen) Tests model for overly small or skinny elements. If problem areas are found, follow instructions on pop-up window.

UNDO: (Queue box in bottom right corner of screen) Undoes the last operation. Recent commands can be undone, and undone commands can be redone using the buttons in this menu. The queue of recent commands can be edited by using the Undo-Redo command in the Edit part of the top menu bar.

Undo-redo: (under Edit in top menu bar) Pop-up that allows users to edit the queue or recent commands for Undo-Redo operations.

Units: (mid right side of screen). Selects units of model. Users can cycle through a selection of various units (inches, feet, yards, meters, and millimeters). 

unMESH: (Meshing Operations box on MESH tab in Command menu box) Deletes the created mesh from the selected parts or surfaces.

Vertex: Point defining corner of polygon. Vertices can be hard or soft during the Prep2 phase. Hard vertices are displayed as small blue circles; soft vertices are not displayed. Mesh vertices in vicinity of a hard vertex will "snap" to that vertex, so that many hard vertices will appear in the final mesh. Vertices are selected in VTX mode by clicking on a polygon neat the desired vertex. Clicking outside the model will not select a vertex no matter how close users click to a vertex. Only one vertex can be chosen per polygon - to select multiple vertices users must click on a different polygon for each vertex. To de-select a vertex, click anywhere within the polygon used to originally select that vertex.

Vertex commands: See

• JOIN VERTICES (Prep2 command)
• SOFT <-> HARD VTXs (Prep2 command)
• STITCH (join vertices MESH command)

Vertex Normal command: (Prep1 tab in Command menu box) See VTX N command.

VIEW: (top right corner of screen) The azimuth, elevation and twist angles, as well as the scale (zoom) factor are numerically displayed here - clicking the boxes next to the numbers sets the angles to zero and the scale factor to 1.0. Below the numerical display are six buttons that set the geometry in the six orthogonal views - a seventh button in the center sets the angles and scale factor to a convenient, full-view (of both the geometry and bounding box), off-orthogonal orientation. 

VTX N: (Prep1 tab in Command menu box) When projecting the rectilinear mesh in the boundary box onto surfaces, Eclectic takes into account the normal vectors of the surface polygons. This command provides the users with several choices as to how surfaces and vertex normals are handled:

• DEP - All selected surfaces are treated as a single surface with respect to vertex normals. Use only for complexly curved surfaces.
• INDEP - All selected surfaces are treated independently with respect to vertex normals. 
• FLAT - Vertex normals are not treated across the selected surfaces. OK for models with flat and/or simply curved surfaces.

Wavefront file format: (File->Import and ->Export under top menu bar) Eclectic imports and exports only a subset of all possible Wavefront file organizations. Eclectic accepts the following line types:

• v - Geometric vertices
• vn - Vertex normals
• f -  Facet
• s - Smoothing group
• g - Group name (Eclectic does not preserve group names in imported file)
• usemtl - Material name (Eclectic does not preserve group names in imported file)
• # - Comment line

Weld-Join Length: (Prep2 tab in Command menu box): Works in conjunction with WELD commands.

WELD ONE EDGE: (MESH tab in Command menu box) Works in VTX (vertex) selection mode.

WELD ONE EDGES:  (Prep2 tab in Command menu box) Works in VTX (vertex) selection mode.

WELD SELECTED: (MESH tab in Command menu box) Works in PGN (polygon) selection mode.

WELD SOFT EDGES:  (Prep2 tab in Command menu box) Turns soft (white) edges into hard (red edges) by tracing soft edge until angle is exceeded (Corner Angle in Select tab). White edges selected by selecting adjoining part, surface, or polygon. Although can be used for part and surface selection, this command only makes sense when selecting polygons (for parts and surfaces, this command functions just like the SOFT to HARD EDGES command). 

WIRE: (Display box) Displays the model in wireframe mode.

??: (button above Select menu box): Opens a window that displays information about the selected entities (vertex data, bounding box information, Eclectic-assigned name, etc).

3.2  Mouse Operations

Users manually rotate and scale (zoom) the geometry through the mouse. A right mouse click centers the display over the area where the mouse was clicked. Dragging the mouse with the right mouse button depressed will scale the geometry during up-down mouse movements, and will twist (angular movement in the direction of a clock hand) the geometry. Moving the mouse with the left mouse button depressed rotates the geometry in the elevation (up-down mouse movement) and azimuth (right-left mouse movement) orientations.

Click here for table of mouse operations.

3.3  Color