Getting Started

7 • ARENA VISUAL DESIGNER
and review the concepts in this manual, you should be able to navigate the entire
example.
The Arena Visual Designer application does not include 2D or 3D design
tools, but it supports the import of graphic files in both animated 3D .x, .3ds
and .skp file formats as well as 2D .bmp and .jpg file formats.
Default 2D and 3D static images can be added to your scene by dragging the
controls from the Toolbox onto the perspective or orthogonal view of the
scene. Once the default image is placed in the scene, you can replace it by
clicking on the default object to open the Properties toolbar. In the File Name
drop-down box, you can then select any previously defined object in the
model or you can browse your picture libraries or computer folders for a
desired new image.
Now that you have a basic understanding of the 3D scene environment and how to
navigate, let’s now look at some of the components of the Scene window that are
used when creating your animation.
Animation Objects
ANIMATING USING THE TOOLBOX
The Animation Objects from the Toolbox (Entity Picture, Global Variable, Level,
Queue and Resource) can be used to place objects in the 3D scene. This method
places generic instances of an animated object, meaning that the associated Arena
element or expression must be defined by the user. This is the only method to place a
global variable in the 3D scene. Once the objects are placed in the scene and defined,
they will appear in the corresponding folder (Entity Picture, Global Variable, Level,
Queue and Resource) in the tree view of the Editor Explorer.
To place an object, simply drag the generic icon from the Toolbox into the scene. The
scene view can be set as either perspective or orthogonal. Since these are generic
instances of animated objects, the properties associated with the object will need to
be defined.
When placing objects using the Toolbox, it is important to define those objects. For
example, after placing a resource, the Name property needs to be defined with the
symbol name of the resource identified in the model. After placing a global variable,
the Expression property needs to be defined with the model expression that will
animate the various defined triggers.
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