Getting Started:

System Requirements

Registration

Download

FreeSpin3D Installation and Setup

Trial Version vs. Licensed Version

Online Resources

General Information

System Requirements

Since FreeSpin3D is an extension for Adobe Flash, it works with any installation of Adobe Flash.

• OS: Windows | Mac
• Flash Version: CS3 or CS4 - This help file is specific to the CS4 version.
• Adobe Extension Manager

Note: The Adobe Extension Manager should be installed together with the CS4, if for some reason you don't have it you can get it here.

Registration

We recommend registering before starting the trial, but it is not a requirement. Registering is easy and only takes a minute. You can register here or click on the Registration link inside the Extension when starting the FreeSpin3D trial.

Being a registered user allows you to:

• Activate the license once purchased
• Have an online FL3D Import Engine account. The online account allows the import of 3D models of 3DS file types, either using the desktop Import Engine application or the online FL3D engine
• Get the Spin newsletter
• Access to free product updates

Download

Trial version: Download the full functional trial version of FreeSpin3D from our website. The trial version outputs an occasional animated watermark on your SWF file. Purchasing FreeSpin3D gets rid of this watermark.

Licensed version: After purchasing FreeSpin3D, you will reach the download page where you can download the licensed version of FreeSpin3D. You will also receive a link in your order confirmation email.

Installation and SetUp

FreeSpin3D was built and packaged as an Adobe Flash component installed in few easy steps. With the Installation all the tools for creating 3D content will be embedded in your Adobe Flash authoring environment. Install the Freespin3D Extension using the Adobe Extension Manager.

1. From Adobe Flash, open the Extension Manager (Help->manage extensions)

2. Close Adobe Flash (keep the Extension Manager open)

3. Select to Install the FreeSpin3D Extension

4. Open Adobe Flash

The FreeSpin3D Flash Component is located in the Components Panel (Window -> Components).

Open the FreeSpin3D Control Panel: (Window -> Other Panels -> FreeSpin3D).

Trial version vs. Licensed version

The FreeSpin3D trial version is a fully functional product enabling the same features and capabilities as the licensed one. However, the SWF file that is exported from Flash will contain an animated watermark, which occasionally pops during viewing.

After purchasing FreeSpin3D you will need to download the licensed version and install it, again using the Adobe Extension Manager. This will get rid of the watermark in the exported SWF files.

Although the Trial and Licensed versions have the same functionality they have some visual distinctions both in the Component and in the Control Panel.

Visual distinctions:

Trial Version: Orange icons	Licensed Version: Red icons

Important Note: A licensed version of the FreeSpin3D Control Panel does not work with the Trial version of the FreeSpin3D Component and vice versa. Always make sure that the FLA you are working is of the same licensing status as the FreeSpin3D Control Panel.

To change a FreeSpin3D Component in an FLA just drag it from the Flash Components Panel to the Library.

Online Resources

For help, you can use one of our online resources:

• FreeSpin3D Video Tutorials
• Free 3D Model Downloads and Links to help you get started
• Online documentation, constantly being updated
• Community Forums
• The Spin, a monthly newsletter
• And you can always contact us at support[at]freespin3d.com

 

The FreeSpin3D Control Panel:

• General
• Controls and Settings
• Import 3D
• Rendering Panel
• Preloader
• Primitives / Modeling
• Animation Frames
• Behaviors

The FreeSpin3D Control Panel

General

The FreeSpin3D Control Panel was designed and built together with Flash designers and programmers to create an intuitive, efficient and easy-to-use interface for controlling 3D models within the Flash development environment allowing both designers and developers to create 3D content in minutes!

The FreeSpin3D control panel provides access to the 3D controls and properties of the 3D model instances. This includes a live preview on stage with instant visual feedback of the 3D model(s) appearance, all in the familiar Flash development environment.

The FreeSpin3D control panel provides all that is needed to create real time 3D animations.

Controls and Settings

Model Type (Primitive/Model) – With FreeSpin3D you can create a 3D model instance either from a primitive shape (i.e a sphere or a box), or from an imported 3D model.

Note: The 3D model type and the models list become enabled only when a FreeSpin3D component is selected on the stage.

Models List - Contains the list of the 3D models, the list includes:

• 3D primitive shapes
• The 3D models imported

After dragging a FreeSpin3D Component onto the stage, select a 3D model or a 3D primitive shape from the list. This will create an instance of that model.

In the Models list you also have a quick link to import a 3D model or to open the Import Engine.

When you import a 3D model through the models list, and the selected FreeSpin3D component is not assigned to a 3D model, it will be assigned with the imported model, otherwise it will create a new instance on the stage.

Refresh Button – Refreshes the list of 3D models imported into Adobe Flash.

Every time you import a 3D model or delete one from the library the 3D models list is updated automatically. If you don’t see an imported 3D model in the list, click on the refresh button to update the list.

Live Preview – Click the Live Preview button to display the 3D model on the stage. You will rarely need to use this option since normally the Live preview will show automatically.

Important Note: When creating an instance of a 3D model, the Live Preview is activated automatically, clicking on the live preview button results in a reload operation of the 3D model and all its textures, it’s a heavy operation so it's strongly advised to avoid it.

Rotation Controller – When the 3D model instance is selected, use the controller to rotate the 3D model, either by using the rotation sphere or the arrows around it. When rotating a 3D model instance, you get an immediate visual feedback of the rotation on the stage. The rotation type depends on the rendering type selected, either AVP or CVP.

Reset – Resets the 3D model instance to its first frame rotation angle.

Texture - Displays the 3D model instance with its textures.

Wireframe – Displays the 3D model instance in wireframe. Using the wireframe display mode speeds up the authoring work when dealing with large models and many textures.

3D Model Instance Orientation (X, Y, Z) - Displays the orientation on the 3D model instance x, y and z axes.

Import 3D

Import to stage – Check this option if you want to import the 3D model directly into the stage, this will create a new instance of the imported 3D model. If unchecked, the 3D model will be imported into your Flash project library.

Import FL3D – Opens a dialogue box for you to select the FL3D file to import.

Open The Import Engine – Opens the Import Engine AIR application.

Rendering Panel

Auto Init – Initializes the 3D model and renders the first frame. By default, the Auto Init is checked, if you choose to un-check this option, you will need to invoke the 3D model initialization through the ActionScript interface.

In cases of more than one 3D model instances, they will initialize and render sequentially in the order of the layers they are defined in. The initialization time depends on the size of the 3D model FL3D file, in cases of a large file sizes it is advised to use a preloader. 

Smooth Texture – This option smoothes the texture of the 3D model when scaled. Turning the smooth texture on will result in better quality of the 3D model when scaled but might cost in performance, in most cases the change in performance will be unnoticeable. 

AVP – Defines the rotation mode of the 3D model, when checked the 3D model will rotate according to the Absolute View Points defined when importing the 3D model.

What is AVP? The AVP (Absolute View Point) defines a view angle of the 3D model that results in a perfect real time rendering and display of the 3D model, The number of AVPs ( also called the AVP resolution) is defined in the import setting when importing the 3D model 3ds file.

CVP – Defines the rotation mode of the 3D model to be CVP, when selected the 3D model will rotate according to the 3D model self x, y, and z axes.

What is CVP? The CVP (Continuous View Point) connects the AVPs of the 3D model, thus creating a view angle for real time rendering and display of the 3D model. The CVP display accuracy depends on the AVP resolution which is defined when converting the 3D model to its FL3D file format. You can change the AVP resolution by reconverting the FL3D file using the Import Engine.

Preloader

Check this option to run a movie clip as a preloader while the 3D model instance initializes, you can either use the FreeSpin3D default preloader or a MovieClip you created yourself.

When loading more than one 3D model, you can either attach the same preloader to the 3D models instances or use a different preloader for each, in any case the Flash movie will remain in the same frame until the 3D models instances are initialized and rendered. When the initialization finishes, the Flash movie will automatically continue to the next frame in the Timeline.

Note: While FreeSpin3D initializes the 3D Model(s) it allows the pre-loader to run at a frame rate of 8 – 12 fps, so, when creating the MovieClip to be used as a pre-loader take this under consideration.

Default - Uses the FreeSpin3D default preloader

Preloader name - Select this option to use your own MovieClip as the preloader for a 3D model instance. When selecting this option you need to define the name of the MovieClip instance.

Preloader location (X, Y) - The location of the preloader on the stage.

Primitives / Modeling

FreeSpin3D enables you to easily create 3D models out of basic 3D primitive shapes, the primitive shapes available:

Box Cone Cylinder Diamond Frustum Pencil Pyramid Sphere

Level of details - This property is available in some of the primitive shapes, it defines the number of polygons in the shape.

Number of polygons – This s a read-only field which is the number of polygons in the primitive shape. In the Primitive Shapes which allow the change of the Level of Details, the Number of Polygons change accordingly.

Shape: Cone Level of Details : 50 Number of Polygons: 200	Shape: Cone Level of Details : 10 Number of Polygons: 40

3D Dimensions – Controls the width, height and depth dimensions of the primitive shape. The values for each range from 0 to 1. Changing the 3D dimensions offers a large range of primitive shapes:

Shape: Cone Width: 1 Height: 1 Depth: 0.5	Shape: Cone Width: 1 Height: 0.5 Depth: 1	Shape: Cone Width: 0.5 Height: 1 Depth: 1

Color – Specifies a colored texture for the 3D model instance.

Texture – Select a texture for the 3D model, either from a list of already assigned textures, or browse to select a bitmap from you local disk. Each texture comes with a default texture and a sample texture. You can use each of the textures and change them anyway you like.

Editing the textures - The texture files are located in the Flash library making it very easy to edit them with any image processing tool (like Photoshop) and change the texture to your needs.

Default Texture	After Editing

Perspective – Check this property to give the shape a self perspective.

Stage Perspective – Check this property to give the shape a stage perspective.

Animation Frames

The Animation Frames rollout displays all the frames in the animation where there is a 3D rotation of the 3D model instance. You can add an Animation Frame in any frame in the timeline, regardless of it being a keyframe or not, just stand on the frame and rotate the 3D model instance. An Animation Frame will be automatically created.

Preview – Each Animation Frame has a preview of the 3D model in the frame.

Details – Displays the details of the 3D model, it includes:

Number of Polygons AVP Resolution (X/Y) Open Angle (X/Y)

Frame – The frame in the Timeline where the 3D rotation relates to.

When selecting an Animation Frame in the list, the Preview window will show the 3D model instance with the rotation angle specified in that frame, and the relative key frame in the timeline is selected.

Rotation – The x, y and z values of the 3D model rotation in the selected Animation Frame.

Play All – Plays the timeline animation with the 3D Animation Frames using Frams Per Second.

Behaviors

The FreeSpin3D Behaviors let you assign complex physics to 3D models, by using a simple interface. The FreeSpin3D Component comes with a set of behaviors for you to use. During product updates, the behaviors are also updated, adding new ones.

To be able to add a behavior you need to first open the actions panel, at least once. When you add a behavior to a 3D model, FreeSpin3D creates a new ActionScript layer; the layer is always created as the first layer.

It is advised to attach behaviors to the 3D model in the first frame, you will have the option to set the timing for the behavior, allowing you to decide in which frame the behavior becomes active.

Keyboard Control – When checked it enables the user to rotate the 3D model instance using the keyboard arrows.

Mouse Control – When checked it enables the user to rotate the 3D model instance using the mouse.

Note: When either the Keyboard or mouse controls are enabled, the timeline animations will play without the 3D rotations, meaning that the Animation Frames are ignored.

Live texture – Allows you to add a MovieClip on the texture of a 3D model instance, creating a live texture. When checked you need to specify the name of the MovieClip.

Depth – Adds the model to the depth and z-sorting calculations of the stage, once you check this option you assign the 3D model instance with a z-value.

The Behaviors Editor Panel - in this easy to use panel, you select the behavior you want, set the behavior settings (either by selecting a preset, or manually) and see a preview of the behavior on the 3D model.

Selecting a preset – After selecting the behavior, the settings for that behavior are displayed; the behaviors also come with a set of presets for easy selection, you can select the preset you desire and if needed manually change the setting for final adjustments.

Note: At any time, while in the behavior panel, you can check and evaluate the behavior settings with the preview window.

Instance Name – To create a behavior for a 3D model instance, you need to give it an instance name, if you haven’t done so, before adding the behavior, you can do so in the behavior editor panel.

Deleting a behavior - If you wish to delete the behavior, select the behavior in the behaviors list in the Control Panel and click on the ‘Delete’ button’. This will delete the behavior.

Note: Even if you delete all the behaviors, the Behaviors ActionScript layer will still remain, and will be used the next time you add a behavior.

Timing – Defines the when and for how long is the behavior active:

• Always – The behavior is active as long as the 3D model instance is
• From To – The Behavior is active between the defined frames
• Perform Once – Good for the effect behaviors, the behavior is performed one time at the specified frame.

Note: After setting the ‘timing’ you need to click on the ‘Set’ for the timing definition to take effect.

Installing the FreeSpin3D Extension

 

The FreeSpin3D extension is installed using the Adobe Extension Manager. For a smooth installation (or upgrade) do the following:

1. The Adobe Extension Manager is normally installed together with the installation of adobe Flash CS4 (unless you specified otherwise). If you don’t have the Adobe Extension manager, you can download it here. After the download install it.

2. Launch the Adobe Extension Manager from within Adobe Flash (Help -> Manage Extensions) and then close Adobe Flash.

 

3. If you have any previous version of FreeSpin3D installed, first remove them and then install the new FreeSpin3D version.

4. After the installation run Adobe Flash, the FreeSpin3D component and Control Panel should be installed and available.

 

The FreeSpin3D Control Panel is disabled (grayed out)

 

There can be a few reasons for the FreeSpin3D Control Panel to be disabled (grayed out)

1. You did not activate the trial version or the trial period is over, click on the license link and see the status of the trial. If the license period is over you can purchase a license here.

 

2. You did not select a FreeSpin3D Component on the stage.  Open the Flash Components panel (Window -> Components), drag the FreeSpin3D component t o the stage and select it. The options to create a 3D instance out of a primitive shape and the option to import a 3D model should become available.

 

Altering 3D primitive shape texture

 

With FreeSpin3D you can create a 3D model instance out of a primitive shape, to do so drag the FreeSpin3D component to the stage and in the FreeSpin3D Control panel select the primitive shape you want, after the selection the primitive shape selected will appear on the stage.

 

You can assign either a color to the primitive shape created or assign it a texture, FreeSpin3D comes with two texture files you can use, the default texture and a sample texture.

When selecting the default texture it allows you to alter the texture to your needs, you can do that in one of two ways:

Using the Flash IDE: Go to the Library where you can find a Movieclip with the texture.

 

Double click on the Movieclip, add layers and edit it as you want.

Using an external image editing tool: The image of the texture is also in the Flash library.

 

Right click on it and select 'Edit with', the is opened for editing in the selected tool, like Photoshop. The changes are immediately updated in the Flash library.

 

Importing a 3D model of FL3D file type

The FL3D file type is a 3D model that was converted so it can be imported into Adobe Flash using FreeSpin3D. The Fl3D file types are converted from 3ds files using the FreeSpin3D Import Engine. For a quick start you can download some free 3D models from our web site here.

There are several ways for importing a 3D model. The most straight forward way is:

1. Drag the FreeSpin3D component to the stage (or double click it)

2. Select it and click on 'Import 3D Model' from the models list

 

3. A dialogue box will open where you can select the 3D model (of file type FL3D) to import

4. The 3D model is imported into the Flash library and assigned to the selected component, creating an instance of it

Note: make sure the 'Import to stage' option is checked.

 

 

3D models and the Flash Timeline

 

When importing a 3D model, it is strongly advised to:

1. Designate a different layer in the Flash Timeline for each 3D Model instance

2. Create the 3D model instances in the first frame.

 

 

Live preview

The Live Preview provides instant visual feedback of the 3D model instance when on the stage.

There might be a situation, especially after reopening the FLA file where you don't see the 3D model on the stage, or you just see the red FreeSpin3D icon. In that case try the following:

1. Select the 3D model instance on the stage and click on 'Texture' in the FreeSpin3D Control Panel

 

2. If clicking on 'Texture' does not help, try to 'Save and Compact' (File -> Save and Compact), you might need to do this operation twice.

 

Behaviors

The FreeSpin3D behaviors allow you to attach simple interactive movements to 3D models instances.

Adding FreeSpin3D Behaviors

Keep the following in mind when adding behaviors:

1. Add the behavior in the first fame of the Timeline, you will be able to set the timing of the behavior in the FreeSpin3D Control Panel.

2. When adding a Behavior, it basically runs ActionScript code on the 3D model instance. When Adobe Flash sees that there is ActionScript code running on an instance it disregards any animation in the Timeline, so when running a Behavior you will need to create the animation using ActionScript code.

When adding a behavior the following happens:

1. A new layer is added to the Timeline with the parameters code of the selected behavior.

2. The Behavior is added to the Behaviors list in the FreeSpin3D Control Panel.

 

 

Timing

The timing defines when the behavior is enabled and functional. When changing the timing you must click on 'Set'.

Editing a Behavior

In the current version there is no option to edit a behavior through the FreeSpin3D Control Panel, you may only add or remove Behaviors. If you still want to edit the added Behavior settings, you may do so directly in the ActionScript frame added for the Behavior.

In the Timeline open the frame added for the behavior, there you will see all the behavior settings .

 

Online Resources

For help, you can use one of our online resources:

- FreeSpin3D Tutorials

- Free 3D Model Downloads and Links to help you get started

- Online documentation, constantly being updated

- Community Forums

- The Spin, a monthly Newsletter

- And you can always contact us at support[at]freespin3d.com