This command takes a snapshot of the current scene and saves it under the specific filename. The image format will be automatically determined by the extension of the file name. The list of available formats includes: TIFF (.tif,.tiff), SGI-RGB (.rgb,.sgi,.bw), JPEG (.jpg,.jpeg), PNM (.pgm,.ppm), BMP (.bmp), PNG (.png), and Encapsulated PostScript (.eps). If the viewer number is not given, the snapshot is taken from all viewers, if you have selected the 2 or 4 viewer layout from the View menu. If the -offscreen option is specified, offscreen rendering with a maximum size of 2048x2048 is used. In this case the viewer number is required even if viewer 0 is addressed. If the width and height is not specified explicitly, the size of the image is the current size of the viewer. Caution: If you have more than one transparent object visible in the viewer and you want to use offscreen rendering set the transparency mode to Blend Delayed and check to see if all objects are rendered properly prior to taking a snapshot. viewer [<number>] setPosition <x> <y>
Sets the position of the viewer window relative to the upper left corner of the screen. The allowed range of x and y values is defined by the resolution of the screen. Typically this will be 1280 x 1024. viewer [<number>] getPosition
Returns the position of the viewer. viewer [<number>] setSize <width> <height>
Sets the size of the viewer window. The visible part of the 3D window exactly matches the given size if decorations are switched off (see below). viewer [<number>] setVideoFormat pal|ntsc
Sets the size of the viewer window according to PAL 601 or NTSC 601 resolution, i.e., 720x576 pixels or 720x486 pixels. The current setting of the decoration is taken into account. viewer [<number>] setVideoFrame <state>
If state is 1, a frame is displayed in the overlay plane of the viewer. This frame depicts the area where images recorded to video are safely shown on video players. Setting state to 0 switches the frame off. Note: Objects displayed in the overlay planes are not saved to file with the snapshot command (see above). viewer [<number>] getSize
Returns the size of the viewer window. viewer [<number>] getCamera
This command returns the current camera settings, i.e., camera position, camera orientation, and camera focal distance. The values are returned as Amira commands, which can be executed in order to restore the camera settings. viewer [<number>] setCameraPosition <x> <y> <z>
Defines the position of the camera in world coordinates. viewer [<number>] setCameraOrientation <x> <y> <z> <a>
Defines the orientation of the camera. By default, the camera looks in negative z-direction with the y-axis pointing upwards. Any other orientation may be specified as a rotation relative to the default direction. The rotation is specified by a rotation axis x y z followed by a rotation angle a (in radians). viewer [<number>] setCameraFocalDistance
Defines the camera's focal distance. The focal distance is used to compute the center around which the scene is rotated in interactive viewing mode. viewer [<number>] setAutoRedraw <state>
If state is 0, the auto redraw mode is switched off. In this case the image displayed in the viewer window will not be updated, unless a redraw command is sent. If state is 1, the auto redraw mode is switched on again. In a script it might be useful to disable the auto redraw mode temporarily. viewer [<number>] redraw
This command forces the current scene to be redrawn. An explicit redraw is only necessary if the auto redraw mode has been disabled. viewer [<number>] rotate <degrees> [x|y|z|m|u|v]
Rotates the camera around an axis. The axis to be taken is specified by the second argument. The following choices are available.
- x the x-axis (1,0,0)
- y the y-axis (0,1,0)
- z the z-axis (0,0,1)
- m the most vertical axis of x, y, or z
- u the viewer's up direction
- v the view direction
The decoration is an extended window frame that serves as a user-interface. It contains buttons and thumb wheels for adjusting the view or switching between interaction and viewing mode. The decoration command can be used to show or hide the decoration area. Hiding the decoration is useful when multiple viewers are open and the size of a single viewing window is rather small. viewer [<number>] setBackgroundColor <r> <g> <b>
This command sets the color of the background to a specific value. The color may be specified either as a triple of integer RGB values in the range 0...255, as a triple of rational RGB values in the range 0.0...1.0, or simply as plain text, e.g. white, where the list of allowed color names is defined in /usr/lib/X11/rgb.txt. viewer [<number>] setBackgroundColor2 <r> <g> <b>
Sets the secondary background color which is used by non-uniform background modes. viewer setBackgroundMode <mode>
Allows you to specify different background patterns. If mode is set to 0 a uniform background will be displayed. Mode 1 denotes a gradient background, while mode 2 causes a checkerboard pattern to be displayed. This might help to understand the shape of transparent objects. viewer setBackgroundImage <imagefile>
This command allows you to place an arbitrary raster image into the center of the viewer's background. The image must not be larger than the viewer window itself. The format of the image file will be detected automatically by looking at the file name extension. All formats mention for the snapshot command are supported except of Encapsulated Postscript. viewer [<number>] saveScene <filename>
Saves all of the geometry displayed in a viewer in Open Inventor 3D graphics format. Warning: Since many Amira modules use custom Inventor nodes, the scene usually can not be displayed correctly in external programs like ivview. viewer [<number>] viewAll
Resets the camera so that the whole scene becomes visible. This method is called automatically for the first object being displayed in a viewer. viewer [<number>] show
This command opens the specified viewer and ensures that the viewer window is displayed on top of all other windows on the screen. viewer [<number>] hide
This command closes the specified viewer. viewer [<number>] setTransparencyType <type>
This command defines the strategy used for rendering transparent objects. The argument type may be a number between 0 and 6, corresponding to the entries Screen Door, Add, Add Delay, Add Sorted, Blend, Blend Delay, and Blend Sorted as described for the View menu. Most accurate results are obtained using mode 6, which is the default. However, some objects may not be recognized correctly as being transparent. In this case you may switch them off and on again in order to force them to be rendered last. Also, if lines are to be rendered on a transparent background problems may occur. In this case, you may use transparency mode 4 and ensure the correct rendering order manually. viewer [<number>] getTransparencyType
This command returns the current transparency type as a number in the range 0...6. The meaning of this number is the same as in setTransparencyType. viewer [<number>] fogRange <min> <max>
Sets a range of attenuation for the fog affect that can be introduced into a viewer scene by the View menu. The default range is
. Values within this range correspond
to distances of scene points from the camera, such that points
nearest to the camera have value zero and those farthest away
have value one. Restricting the range of attenuation means that
attenuation will start at points where the specified minimum is
attained and reach its maximum at points where the specified
maximum is attained. Maximum attenuation by fog is equivalent to
invisibility, thus all points beyond that maximum will appear
as background.