User Manual

Intermediate

design & development
http://sartori-software.com

concept
http://lichttapete.org

Overview
Introduction
Screenshots
System Requirements

Main Control and Playback
User Interface
Skin
Main Control, Output Setup and Monitor
Toolbar

Text Handling 
Design Pane
Counters
Editor - Type Text
Dictionary  - Text Files

Text Appearance
Font Settings
Font Search and Preview
3D Text
Text Color, Texture and Mask

Fast User Interface Access
Keyboard and Mouse Shortcuts

Timing, Color, Rotation, Position, Size, Particles
Timer and Sequence
Rotate, Randomize Position, Size and Color
Particles
Overall Text Control

3D Text Shapes
3D Shaped Text and 3D Models

Background Images and Videos
Output Effect Control
Background Image Control
Video Playback Control
Video Capture

Native and FreeFrame Effects
Effect Control
FreeFrame Effects
Troubleshooting FreeFrame

Text Motion, Animation, Audio Input and MIDI Control
Text Motion
Parameter Animation
Audio Input
MIDI Control

Managing Presets, Cues and Recording
Machine State Presets
Cue Editor
Recording

Projection Mapping
Design Projection Map Grids
Design Masks
Animated Projection Mapping
Projection Mapping Cues
Capture Input  from Screen

Multi Monitor Systems and Network
Setup and Control a TextMachine 3D Network

Messaging- and External Software Integration

Automating TextMachine 3D
Automating TextMachine 3D Playback

^

Operating Systems

Windows XP, Vista*, Windows 7*

Required Software Components 

DirectX 8 or later

Adobe Flash 10 or later

Appropriate codec(s) for video playback and AVI recording

Required Hardware Components 

• Modern PC

• 512 MB RAM minimum, 1024 MB RAM recommended

• 3D accelerated Graphic Card 128MB or higher recommended - PCI Express Cards recommended.

• Dual Monitor System or S-Video Output for Preview and Playback minimum resolution 1024x768

• For multi-screen projections Matrox DualHead2Go or TripleHead2Go 

• Sufficient Hard Disk Space

*Note: If you experience problems running TextMachine 3D V10 on Windows Vista or Windows 7 please report in the TextMachine 3D user forum

Click on the Picture below to get more information over the selected part of the User Interface

If you experience problems with the TextMachine 3D User Interface (e.g. windows not opening) do the following:

• Open Skin Configuration and click

If this does not solve your problem, then please try the following:

• Quit TextMachine 3D
• Delete the file "LastUIPosition.TM3DUIP" located in your TextMachine Installation folder
• Restart TextMachine 3D

Counter Settings (Main Window)

Use Counters to create 

• Timers / countdowns

• Binary, Integer, Decimal and Hexadecimal numbers

• Random text strings

• Alpha: Random Characters e.g. hHXBHHWbI
• Alphanumeric: Random Characters and Numbers e.g.11LTFe0l0
• Binary: Random or Counting Binary Numbers e.g. 011001101
• DD.MM.YYYY: Date Format 1 Random or Counting e.g. 28.11.2203
• Hexadecimal: Random or Counting Hexadecimal Numbers: e.g. 141B2FA6
• HH:MM:SS Time Format: Random or Countdowns .e.g. 20:21:37
• Integer: Random or Counting Integer Number e.g. 12345
• Real: Random or Counting Decimal Number e.g. 12,345
• Special Characters: Random Special Characters e.g.?{?-(€{\/@_{&
• YYYY-MM-DD Date Format 2 Random or Counting e.g. 2005-10-28

Counting Direction
Select counting direction +,- , Random or Hold

[-][H][+]
One click direction set: Decrement, Hold, Increment. Useful with MIDI Control Enabled

Min Digits
Minimum length of text

Max Digits
Maximum length of text

Offset
Counter incrementing value if counter type is real or integer

Line Breaks
Set how many lines the counter has

Initial Value
Specify the initial value of the Counter. Useful for countdowns

Set Value
Set the Counter Value - useful for countdowns.

Get Value
Get Current Counter Value 

Use Editor to

• Type in your own text

• Output symbols using symbol fonts

Note: You can use Font Preview for fast symbol font output

Send to Output
Sends Text to Output

Split Lines
Splits the Lines as typed in Text Field

Direction
Loop Direction of Text lines, if Split Lines is on.

Num
List all Numbers in Editor. If Split Lines is on the numbers are listed vertically.

Chr  
List all Letters in Editor. If Split Lines is on the letters are listed vertically

Special
List all special characters in Editor. If Split Lines is on the special characters are listed vertically

The Dictionary feature allows to work with text files. Such file may contain normal narrative story, set of the separate phrases, or just random words; the words or phrases may be divided by line breaks or not. Depending on the file structure and the task you have, you may want to use one of two Dictionary modes:

1. Titles. This renders the text as the cinema-like titles, scrolling them up or down within text object; each string in the text file is treated as single title line (string may also be wrapped to the next line or just cut if needed). Most useful for the lists of entries (like usual titles in cinema), separated by line breaks; can also be used for long texts.
2. Ticker. This renders the text as single line, scrolling it to the left or to the right. File is treated here as a single big string, so the line breaks are ignored. Best for streaming sentences (short enough to keep in mind until it ends), like news, SMS, etc.
3. None of the above - Display text from dictionary file line by line

Titles

press 'Add text' button or double click within the design pane press 'Dictionary' button; select text file set 'Line Breaks' to the needed amount of lines, e.g. 4 (leave 'Words/Row' and 'Word/Line Length' as it is for now) press 'Titles' set font name & size; resize the object accordingly press start, if it is not started yet

If Loop Direction is set to Increment, the text is scrolled up; if Decrement - down. In both cases text is read from the file in "normal" way - from the beginning to the end.

Note: Setting Loop Direction to Random allows you to take lines from the file randomly, in no specific order. This is very useful in most cases, when you don't need predefined ordered narrative but rather want to set some topic: just load the file containing words or short phrases (fitting on one line), belonging to that topic.
Hint: If you animate 'Reload' button (e.g. assign it to audio), you can use as Dictionary the file which is permanently updated by some other process - for instance, it can be the file with SMS messages, automatically logged by some SMS server.

Ticker

Act the same way as with Titles, but select 'Ticker' button. Set Line Breaks to 1 (bigger values will result in repeating the same ticker line several times).
If Loop Direction is set to Increment, the text is scrolled to the left (normal way); for Decrement it's scrolled to the right, being read back to front.

Dictionary Filename
Text (*.txt) filename containing the words or phrases you want to display. Click [...] to select.

Loop Direction
Select the change direction of words contained in dictionary

Word/Line Length
Limit the words or phrases loaded to length less or equal to the this value

Exclude
Exclude words on loading in dictionary containing this character

Words/Row
Set the number of words per row loaded into a single text

Line Breaks
Set the number of lines loaded into a single text

Exact
Input only words or phrases with exact Word/Line Length

Cut
Cut words or phrases to exact Word/Line Length

Binary
Load data in binary mode: Gives funny effects on image files

Titles
Scroll the Text contained in dictionary vertically

Ticker
Scroll the Text contained in dictionary horizontally

Word Filter (Begin-End) Filter words that begin or end with the defined character sequence

Reload
Reload the Dictionary with specified settings.
Tip: You can an animate this button to periodically reload the specified text file. With this feature you are able to setup e.g. an SMS to Screen system.

Use Font Settings to

• Choose/Randomize Font

• Search for- and preview a Font

• Set capitalization of your text 

• Display characters of your text vertically

Clip
Click this button to clip a text to its bounding rectangle

Random
Click this button to get Random Fonts

Search
Show Font Search and Preview
Font Search and Preview allows quick font type in search, Font grouping and preview.

Alignment
Aligns text inside bounding rectangle

Font Name
Select the font from all fonts installed on your PC for the Text Object

Size
Select the font size for the selected text

B: Text bold I: text italic U: text underline S: text strikethrough

ABC: FATAL abc: fatal AbC: FaTaL aBc: fAtAl

Vertical: click this button to display the text vertically
E.g. TextMachine is displayed as:

T
e
x
t
M
a
c
h
i
n
e

Font Search Window

Click Search button in Font Settings to open

The Font Search & Preview functionality allows to search your fonts by name.
A Font Preview of the selected Text is displayed.
The Fonts used for the current Preset can also be listed.

This functionality is very useful if you have lots of Fonts installed on your PC

Use Font Search to

• Quickly search a Font by name

• Preview the Font

• Get information about fonts used in a Preset

Double Click the Font Preview to view all characters.
Useful for Symbol Shapes - see below.

Font Name
Enter the partial font name to be searched e.g. Digit for all fonts containing Digit in their name.
Press Enter subsequently to search for the desired font.

Fonts found will be added to this drop down box for quicker access later.

Find/Add
Search for the font and add it to the Font Name List

[?]
List Fonts used in the current Preset. Click to return to Font Preview

Font Preview
Double Click to open Font Preview Window (see below)

Font Preview Slider
Move the slider to see the Font Preview of different characters and numbers.

Double click Font Preview in Font Search & Preview to open

Use Font Preview to

• Display all characters of a selected Font

• Quickly add a character/ symbol to output

Note: 
The active text object will be set to Editor and characters will be added.
The "Split Lines" Editor Option has impact how letters/symbols are added. On=One letter/symbol per line, Off=One line, multiple letters/symbols. 

Text Color and Picture (Main Window)

Use Text Color and Texture to

• Change the color of a text object

• Display a picture inside a text object

• Add a mask to the text object/picture/video/capture

• Blend texts and show 3D Mesh

• Lock the video playback to the text object

• Lock video capture to the text object

• Open the 3D Shape Control Window

Example: Picture and Mask loaded to text object:

Color Boxes

Click to set the Text foreground (left side color box) and background color (right side color box).

To add a Texture to the Text Object:

Double click the background color box and load the picture you want to display from file

To clear a Texture from the Text Object

Right click the background color box.

To add a Mask  to the Text Object:

Double click the foreground color box and load the picture you want to set as mask from file
Black color = mask, White color = pass

To remove the Mask  from the Text Object

Right click the foreground color box.

 

Command Buttons

Blend
Blends 3D Text with background. Use this button to overlay text and to add glowing.

Mesh
Show mesh of 3D Text

Shape
3D Shaped Text: Spirals, Circles and Waves - Load 3D models in 3DS file format

Video Out/Playback
Lock video playback to text object.
The video playback is mapped to the text object shape (box, circle, wave and custom 3D model)

Video In/Capture
Lock video capture to text object.
The video capture is mapped to the text object shape (box, circle, wave and custom 3D model)

3D Text Settings (Main Window)

3D Text enables functionalities such as blending (overlay), rotate, extrude, video lock, video capture etc.

To create 3D Text Click the 3D Button on the lower left side on the TextMachine 3D User interface. To adjust the Text Size double click the Text Object in Design Pane. 

Extrude
The drop down box left side of the 3D Button defines the extrusion of the 3D Text. 
If the value differs from zero a full 3D Object of the text is created. The amount of the extrusion defines the "depth" of the 3D text. 
Full 3D text (with extrusion > 0) has the best quality at any size. Please note that some "picture" fonts cannot be used to create a full 3D text objects.

Examples of full 3D Text

Note: If you add a new Text Object it is 3D by default with extrude=0.

Projection Mapping Shortcuts

Please see following chapters:

• Projection Mapping - Grid Design
• Projection Mapping - Mask Design

Sliders - General Handling

0 = Min, 5=Mean, 1=Max. 

Right click resets Slider Value to default

+/- , Arrow Keys Change Slider Value if Activated Use CTRL Key for Offset

Scroll with Mouse wheel

Counter Directions - General Handling

I Increment

D Decrement

R Random

H Hold

Text Handling

U Text as Counter

D Text from Dictionary

E Text from Editor

V Lock Video to TextBox toggle

CTRL+ 1-9, 0 Select Text Object 1-9,10

N Select next Text Object

Selected Text Object: Arrow Keys select next/previous Text Object

Selected Text Object: CTRL + Arrow Keys move Text Object

Enter Force send changes to output

Delete Remove selected Text Object

F9 Toggle Text Object Output on/off

Text Timing

T Activate Self Time Slider

S Activate Sequence Timer

Rotation

R Activate Rotation X Slider

X Loop Rotate X Axis

Y Loop Rotate Y Axis

Z Loop Rotate Z Axis

I Invert Rotation Angle

W Rotate World

Randomization - Position, Size, Color

F Activate Randomize Font Size Slider

P Activate Randomize Position Slider

C Activate Randomize Color Slider

H Hold Output

K Feedback Output

F5 Invert Output Toggle

F6 (Hold Down) Invert Output

O Activate Fade Out Slider

G Hold Background Timer

Esc Pause Output

Q Reset Background (Hold, Feed and Images)

Animation/Audio/MIDI Control

M Activate MIDI Assignment

B Activate BPM Pad+ Space Bar rhythmically set BPM Count

Particle Window/Particle Presets

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 Load Particle Preset

0 Reset Particle Setup

Presets Window

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 Load Preset

0 Reset Output

ALT + Click add Preset to Cue Editor

Background Image Control

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 Send Image to Output

Hide All Windows/User Manual

Right click the TextMachine3D button in Main Window

F1 Show User Manual 

Tutorial Screenshots

CTRL + T > Highlight active control and save screenshot of Parent Window

CTRL + ALT + T > Highlight active control container and save screenshot of Parent Window

CTRL + Shift + T > Save screenshot of selected Text Object from Design Pane

 

Use Time and Sequence to

• Set changing speed of text objects (self time)

• Open Particle Control Window

• Set sequence time for Text Objects

• Open Text Motion Control

Timer (Slider)
Define the self time of a text to manipulate the change speed. The R button randomizes self time.

Particle Button
Opens the Particle Control Window

Sequence (Slider)
Define the sequence time. The R button randomizes sequence time

Sequence
Click this button to obtain a sequenced text according to sequence time. i.e.: for the word FATAL: F,FA,FAT,FATA,FATAL

Flash
Click this button to make a text flashing and changing according to timer setting.

Text Motion
Opens Text Motion Control Window

Use Rotate, Position & Size to

• Set rotation speed and axes

• Randomize or manually set XY position of text object

• Randomize or manually set size of text object

• Randomize or manually set color of text objects

The Sliders X,Y and Z define the rotation angle around the respective axis.

The X,Y and Z buttons below the rotation angle sliders can be used to "link" the respective axes together. 
I.e.: X=On, Y=On , Move Slider Y, Slider X is set accordingly.

LX ,LY and LZ buttons toggles continuous rotation around the respective axis

World
If activated text object rotates around the center of the screen, else around its own center. 
Use this together with Particles to get a global rotation effect.

Invert
Invert the rotation angles

Fine
Fine tune rotation angle. Use this functionality to get smooth rotations

Notes: 
The rotate functionality works only with 3D Text

Pos & Size
Use these functionalities to randomize or manually set Position, Size and Color of the Text Object

M (Buttons)
The [M] Buttons above the sliders toggle between manual and random mode.
Use the manual mode (on) to control the sliders manually or via MIDI, audio input or animation.

Use the random mode (off) to set the parameters according to the self time of the text object

X,Y (Sliders)
Randomize Text Position, Slider sets amount X and Y
On: Position X and Y together
Off: Position X and Y independently

S
Randomize text object size - defines maximum offset for size starting on text object size.
Click the Button to Pulse Size

C
Randomize text color based on current text color
Click the Button to Pulse Font Color

Note:
The changing speed for randomize position, size and color depends on the self time of the text object.

Click button in Timer and Sequence Section to open

Particle Examples

Particles

With the Particle functionality you can create a "particle generator" from each Text Object (including 3D Shapes and 3D Models - Picture and Video Textures).
Particle settings are saved to the TextMachine 3D preset but  they can also be saved to a Particle Preset File for later usage.

The Particle Preset list allows to load and apply existing Particle Presets.
Once Particle Presets are loaded/saved to the Particle Preset list, use the numeric keys (1 to 9) on your keyboard to apply the respective Particle Preset.
Numeric Key 0 (Zero) resets the Particle Setup

Some default Particle Presets can be found in the TextMachine 3D installation folder, ParticlePresets subfolder.

Particle Count Slider (N)
Particle Count - 0 = No Particle - Max = 32 Particles per Text Object

Life Slider (L)
Life Time of a Particle - if Timing is set (> 0) Life Time is synchronized with it.

The command button below the Life Slider can be set to:

• L = Loop - slow birth, life, slow death
• H = Hold - always displayed
• I = Inward - fast birth, life, slow death
• O = Outward - slow birth, life, fast death 

Timing Slider (Timing)
Timing of the particles generated. Depending on Spread Modes (Uniform, Random, Diagonal, Cross, Circle and Spiral) the XY spread,  Angle, Rotation and Size is animated according to the timing value 

Spread Sliders (XY)
The X and Y Sliders define the X and Y spread of the particles around the Text Object center.
Depending on the Spread Mode (Uniform, Diagonal, Cross, Circle and Spiral) the values can be set to be "animated" between two values. The "animation" amplitude is displayed as a colored bar on the slider background. The "Animation" time depends on Timing Slider setting.

The XY button below the spread sliders links the value of one spread slider to the other

The L buttons above the spread sliders define the "animation" direction if Timing is > 0:

• L = Loop - Start XY, End XY, Start XY
• O = Outward - Start XY, End XY
• I  =  Inward - End XY, Start XY
  

Angle Sliders (Angle)
The Angle Sliders define the X (Theta) and Y (Phi) rotation of all particles around the Text Object center with distance XY from the center.
Depending on the Spread Mode (Diagonal, Cross, Circle and Spiral) the values can be set and/or "animated" between two values. The "animation" amplitude is displayed as a colored bar on the slider background. The "Animation" time depends on Timing Slider setting.

The Angle button below the spread sliders links the value of one angle slider to the other

The L buttons above the angle sliders define the "animation" direction if Timing is > 0:

• L = Loop - Start Angle, End Angle, Start Angle
• O = Outward - Start Angle, End Angle
• I = Inward - End Angle, Start Angle

Rotation Angle Slider (R)
The rotation angle slider defines the rotation angle of each particle around its own center.  The values can be set and/or "animated" between two rotation angles. The "animation" amplitude is displayed as a colored bar on the slider background. The "Animation" time depends on Timing Slider setting.

The R button below the rotation slider synchronizes the rotation of each particle if set to on.

The L button above the rotation slider define the "animation" direction if Timing is > 0:

• L = Loop - Start Angle, End Angle, Start Angle
• O = Outward - Start Angle, End Angle
• I = Inward - End Angle, Start Angle

Size Slider (S)
The size slider defines the size of each particle. The values can be set and/or "animated" between two sizes. The "animation" amplitude is displayed as a colored bar on the slider background. The "Animation" time depends on Timing Slider setting.

The S button below the size slider synchronizes the size of each particle if set to on.

The L button above the rotation slider define the "animation" direction if Timing is > 0:

• L = Loop - Minimum Size, Increase Size, Maximum Size, Decrease Size
• O = Outward - Minimum Size, Increase Size, Minimum Size
• I  = Inward - Maximum Size, Decrease Size, Maximum Size

Spread Modes

Uniform
Uniform Particle Distribution centered around the Text Object center and spread according to Spread Slider Value (XY)
Note: Angle Setting is not available for uniform spread mode.

Random
Random Particle Distribution centered around the Text Object center and spread according to Spread Slider Value (XY)
Note: Angle Setting and XY animation is not available for random spread mode.

Diagonal
Diagonal Particle Distribution centered around the Text Object center, spread according to Spread Slider Value (XY) and Angle Sliders (Angle) 

Cross
Cross Particle Distribution centered around the Text Object center, spread according to Spread Slider Value (XY) and Angle Sliders (Angle) 

Circle
Circular Particle Distribution centered around the Text Object center, spread according to Spread Slider Value (XY) and Angle Sliders (Angle) 

Spiral
Spiral Particle Distribution centered around the Text Object center, spread according to Spread Slider Value (XY) and Angle Sliders (Angle) 

Use Overall Text Control if you have multiple text objects to

• Shuffle self time

• Synchronize self time

• Randomize flash and sequence

• Toggle Randomizations On/Off

Time Sync
Synchronize all text timers to the arithmetic mean

Hold and Release

Rotate
Hold and Release Rotation

Pos & Size
Hold and Release Position and Size Randomization

Timer
Hold Text Object Timer

Note: use these controls to add live dynamics to your output

TextMachine 3D
Click to show splash screen, to enter the Registration code, and to display the User Manual.
Right Click to hide all Windows

Audio Input
Click to open Audio Control Window

Click Shape button in Text Color, Texture and Shape  to open

The 3D Shape Parameter Window is displayed. The configuration of the Text Object shape can be achieved as follows:

Note: The appearance of the circle depends also on the Font Name, Font Size and the Bounding Rectangle in the Preview/Design Pane.

R=4, S=1, T=2

R=4,S=72,T=1

S
Size of the wave

P
Phase Shift - increment for moving waves

T
Amount of text tiling inside the wave.

Note: The appearance of the wave depends also on the Font Name, Font Size and the Bounding Rectangle in the Preview/Design Pane.

A=5, S=-180, P=0, T=1

A=5, S=-475, P=0, T=1

For this purpose the 3D models must be available in 3DS or the Direct X  X-File format. 
TextMachine 3D converts 3DS Models to X-Files for faster loading.

The 3D Models can be texture mapped with counters, dictionaries, pictures and videos in TextMachine 3D. 
You can also choose to keep the original textures of your 3D models.

Important Note:
Always define the texture mapping coordinates of your 3D model in the application where it has been created before exporting it as 3DS or X File.

Load
Load 3D Model in 3DS or X File format
Note: TextMachine 3D always converts 3DS to X File format for faster loading

T
Keep original textures of 3D model
On=3D model textures are used
Off=You can map text, pictures and videos on your 3D model

Z
Z position of the 3D model - up = far, down = near

Information Text
The information text displays the filename of the 3D Model, and its face (F) and vertex (V) count.

3D Cube model with text mapping

3D Sphere Model with picture mapping and FreeFrame effect

Use Output Effect Control to

• Feedback, Hold and Color Invert the Output

• Set the overall Output filter color

• Control Position, Size Tiling and Offset of Background Images and/or Feedback effect

Background Color
Click to select the color of the output background

Filter Color
Click to select the color of background image filter

Feed
Feedback Mode Toggle. Click this Button to Feedback the Output.
With this Function you can achieve Trails, Motion Blur and other cool effects.

Hold 
Hold current output and overlay next frames

Invert
Color invert output 
Shortcuts F5=Toggle, F6 hold=on, release=off

Color Rnd - Slider
Randomize Filter Color, Slider sets amount

Feed FPS  - Slider
Set the number of Frames Per Second for Feedback effect.

Slider Timing and [H] Button
Control timing of Size, Position, Tiling and Offset changes.
[H] Button holds timing, so parameters can be manually set.

Size Sliders and [Size] Button
Define the size change of Feedback or Background Images in pixels X and Y
[Size] Button synchronizes X and Y changes if toggled.

Position Sliders and [Position] Button
Define the position change of Feedback or Background Images in pixels X and Y
[Position] Button synchronizes X and Y changes if toggled.

Tiling Sliders and [Tiling] Button
Define the amount of Feedback or Background Image texture tiling in X and Y
[Tiling] Button synchronizes X and Y changes if toggle

Offset Sliders and [Offset] Button
Define the amount of Feedback or Background Image texture offset in X and Y
[Offset] Button synchronizes X and Y changes if toggled

Note: 
This parameters operate on Feedback as well as on Background Images.

Feedback

Tiled Feedback

Invert

Click the [Image] button in Toolbar open

Note: 
Timing of Image playback speed, fade in/out, as well as tiling and sizing is controlled in the Main Window in section Output Effect Control

Toolbox
Controls in Order of appearance.

• Load an Image File
• Load all Image Files contained in a Folder
• Playback selected Images
• Stop Image Playback
• Remove selected Image from List
• Clear Image List

Fade In/ Fade Out 
Toggle to Fade In/Out images on playback

Lock Image Aspect Ratio
On: Image proportions are kept, Off: Image is stretched to Output Size

[Set as Mask]
Set selected image as Mask/ On Off Toggle. 
Enables the output of rounded or custom shaped projections. 
By using the delivered masks as template, own masks can be built and used. 
Black Color=Mask, White Color=Pass -  you can use grayscale images to get gradient effects.

Lock Mask
Hold Mask on Preset load. This function is useful to hold an overall output mask.


[MAP] Button and Combo Box
Select Image and then select the Projection Mapping Object where the Image should be placed.
Please see Projection Mapping for details.

Masking Example

Output

Mask

Masked Output

Video Control Window

Click the [Video] button in Toolbar to open

The Video Control Window can be used to playback Video Files. 

Important Note: It's recommended to download and install the "K-Lite Mega Codec Pack" for optimal video playback.

Supported File types are: AVI, MPEG, WMV, FLV and Flash Movies (SWF)

You can configure the playback speed (except for swf) and frame rate with the sliders located below the video preview.

Multiple video loops can be loaded and sent to output by double- or right clicking the desired item.

Mapping a video to a text object
The video playback can be mapped to a text object by toggling the 
"Video" command button in Text Color, Texture and Mask section

Play Video

Pause Video

Stop Video

Open Video Capture Window

Video Filter Color
Sets the Video Filter Color

Slider Video Speed
Change Playback Speed (except for swf)

Slider FPS Playback
Sets the number of Frames Per Second for Video Playback

Source Blend
Defines the Source blending parameter. (SRC=Source, DEST=Destination, INV= Invert)

Target Blend
Defines the Target blending parameter. (SRC=Source, DEST=Destination, INV= Invert)

1,2,3,4
Video Blending Presets 1-4. Most effective blending parameters at one click!

Loop
Play video files in list looped (from top to bottom)
Note: if you want to play only the selected video, turn off Loop and Random.

Random
Play video files in list randomly
Note: if you want to play only the selected video, turn off Loop and Random.

Load Video File

Load all Video Files contained in a folder

Lock Aspect Ratio
Locks the Aspect Ratio of the video. 
If toggled off the video is stretched to output size

Delete Video File

Discard all Video Files

Time Size, Position, Tile and Offset (Slider)
Adjust the Slider to obtain timing for Offset, Tiling, position and size of the video playback randomization.

[H]
Hold the timing of Offset, Tiling, position and size of the video playback randomization.

Tile X,Y (Slider)
Amount of horizontal and vertical Video tiling

Offset X,Y (Slider)
Amount of horizontal and vertical Video Offset

Size (Sliders X,Y)
On: Size X and Y together
Off: Size X and Y independently
Randomize Video Size, Slider sets amount X and Y

Position (Sliders X,Y)
On: Position X and Y together
Off: Position X and Y independently
Randomize Video Position, Slider sets amount X and Y

[Tiling] Button
Randomize the amount of Background Tiling by using the amount of Tile X and Tile Y and timing defined

[Offset] Button
Randomize the amount of Background Offset by using the amount of Offset X and Offset Y and timing defined

Video Performance Tips
For smooth video playback use short and small Video Loops.
DivX encoded avis are not suppoerted.

Video Capture Window

Click the [Video] button in Toolbar, then  in Video control window, click to open

The Video Capture Window can be used to capture external video input via video capture device or web cam 

Important Note:  

Plug-in and power on your video capture device before starting TextMachine 3D. 
You can configure the capture device properties (Compression, Format and Source) after starting video capture by clicking the [Capture] button.

Always check the latest update of your video capture device or web cam drivers to get best performance.

Device & Quality

Select the available video capture device from the first drop down box

Select the Capture quality inside TextMachine 3D by selecting the appropriate value from the second drop down box

[Capture]
Start/stop video capturing - Preview will be shown in the box below.

[Compression]
Opens the video compression dialog box of your video capture device

[Format]
Opens the video format dialog box of your video capture device - RGB24 if available should be selected.

[Source]
Opens the video source dialog boy of your video capture device

Mapping the video capture to a text object

The video capture is mapped to a text object by toggling the "Video Capture" command button in Text Color, Texture and Mask section

Effect Control Window

Click [FX] button in Background Control and Images to open

Effects can be used to overlay Images or color 
Rectangles on the TextMachine 3D output. 
The Source and Target blending options color can be easily configured. 
With the provided parameters you can achieve 
color inversions, dust, scratches noise effects etc.

The Effect Functionality can also be used to output textured Text.

Example of Noise Texture effect

Example of Effect Texture capturing

Source Blend
Defines the Source blending parameter. (SRC=Source, DEST=Destination, INV= Invert)

Target Blend
Defines the Source blending parameter. (SRC=Source, DEST=Destination, INV= Invert)

Effect Filter Color
Set the Effect Filter Color

Filter Color (Slider)
Randomize Filter Color, Slider sets amount

1,2,3,4
Effect Blending Presets 1-4. Most effective blending parameters at one click!

Enable
Enable Effects on TextMachine 3D Output

Timer (Slider)
Adjust the Slider to obtain timing for Offset, Tiling and Filter Color randomization.

[H]
Hold the timing of Offset, Tiling, position and size of the Effect randomization.

Capture current Output as Effect Texture.

Load Effect Texture

Lock Aspect Ratio
Locks the Aspect Ratio of the Effect Texture. 
If toggled off, the Effect Texture is stretched to output size

Discard Effect Texture

Tile X,Y (Slider)
Amount of horizontal and vertical Effect Texture tiling

Offset X,Y (Slider)
Amount of horizontal and vertical Effect Texture Offset

Size (Sliders X,Y)
On: Size X and Y together
Off: Size X and Y independently
Randomize Effect Texture Size, Slider sets amount X and Y

Position (Sliders X,Y)
On: Position X and Y together
Off: Position X and Y independently
Randomize Effect Texture Position, Slider sets amount X and Y

[Tiling] Button
Randomizes the amount of Background Tiling by using the amount of Tile X and Tile Y and timing defined

[Offset] Button
Randomizes the amount of Background Offset by using the amount of Offset X and Offset Y and timing defined

Note:
Some effect Textures like noise, scratches and clouds can be found in the TextMachine 3D Installation Folder
The best way to find out the optimal blending settings is to play around with them.

FreeFrame Control Window

Click [FreeFrame] button in Toolbar to open

Example of Pete Warden's Gaussian Blur Effect:

FreeFrame is a open-source cross-platform real-time video effects plug in system. See http://freeframe.sourceforge.net/ for details.

FreeFrame Effects for Windows are available as DLL Files (Dynamic Linking Libraries) - TextMachine 3D V10 default effects installed are made by Pete Warden http://www.petewarden.com/

How to Control FreeFrame Effects in TextMachine 3D V10

The FreeFrame Effect Plugins Control Window allows to apply installed effects to TextMachine3D output.
A Maximum of 8 parameters can be controlled trough this user Interface.

The type (Slider, Command Button, On/Off Toggle Button) and resulting effect of the parameters are FreeFrame effect dependent. More information about your FreeFrame Plugins can be obtained in the respective manufacturer user manual or website.

Adding New FreeFrame Effects to TextMachine 3D

You can load as many FreeFrame Plug Ins as you want by placing them into TextMachine 3D V10 installation folder, FreeFrame subfolder: e.g. C:\Program Files\TextMachine3DV10\FreeFrame

To organize your FreeFrame Effects you can create as many subfolders you want.

Note: The default FreeFrame Effects provided by Pete Warden should not be removed, else TextMachine Installer will try to repair your installation each time you start the TextMachine 3D.

User Interface Description

Plug In Drop Down Box
List of installed Plugins for FreeFrame Effect selection (all DLL Files contained in Programs\TextMachine3DV10\FreeFrame and subfolders).
Once FreeFrame is enabled you can scroll trough this list to quickly change effect.

[R]
Reload Installed Plug In List - Use this button if you copy new effects in the Programs\TextMachine3DV10\FreeFrame folder and you don't want to restart TextMachine 3D.

Effect Filter Color
Set the overall FreeFrame Effect Filter Color, used in concomitance with the FreeFrame Blending Buttons 1,2,3,4 you can vary the color and appearance of your output.

Quality Slider
This slider allows to define the quality of the applied effect. Set the quality before enabling FreeFrame.
Note:
High Quality and High Output Resolution may result in Poor Performance.
The Default Setting of 8 has been proven good on a Desktop PC with 3 GHz Processor.

Enable Free Frame

Source Blend
Defines the Source blending parameter. (SRC=Source, DEST=Destination, INV= Invert)

Target Blend
Defines the Target blending parameter. (SRC=Source, DEST=Destination, INV= Invert)

1,2,3,4
FreeFrame Blending Presets 1-4. Most effective blending parameters at one click!

Parameters
TextMachine3D V8 displays up to 8 FreeFrame Effect parameters. The number and functionality of these parameters are Effect dependent.
Please see in the related FreeFrame Effect manufacturer user manual or website for more information.

 

Slice.dll
SlidingStripBothWays.dll
StreamReceive.dll
CPluginDebug.dll
FF_Difference.dll
FF_Mosaic.dll
Filmstrip.dll
LumaEdges.dll
rescaptureScreen.dll
resChristmasBalls.dll
resFilmstrip.dll
rescaptureScreen.dll
resChristmasBalls.dll
resLumaEdges.dll
Scope.dll

If you have installed new FreeFrame Plugins and you notice that TextMachine 3D is crashing on startup, just try to restart the software until its loads completely.

The FreeFrame Effects causing problems are automatically renamed from Effect.dll to Effect.dll.ERROR.

For your convenience the FreeFrame Loading Process is logged in InstallFolder\FreeFrame\FreeFrameLoadLog.txt

Each Line, Circle and Freehand Path defines a subset of the Motion Path.
All together define the complete Motion Path

Draw Freehand
Keep left mouse button pushed while moving the mouse to draw the Motion Path

Draw Line 
Click left mouse button to set origin point, click again to set end point 
or
Use right mouse button to draw a polygon

Draw Circle
Click left mouse button to set center point, click again to set circle distance from center point

Delete Motion Path (=delete ALL motion paths drawn)

+
Increase Motion Path size

-
Decrease Motion Path size

Split Text
Splits selected Text Object into new Text Objects containing one letter each.

Assign Text
Assigns selected Text Object to the Motion Path.

Remove Text Object assignment

Playback Text Motion

Stop playback Text Motion

Delete ALL Motion Paths and Text Objects assignments

Speed
Controls the speed of the Text Motion.

Phase
Controls the distance between the Text Objects assigned to the Motion Path

Invert the Text moving direction along the Motion Path

Synchronize
Synchronize text self time (changing speed of text) to Text Motion

SP Size Partial
Increase Size of text object while moving along a subset of the Motion Path

ST Size Total
Increase size of text object while moving along the whole Motion Path

X 
Enable Text Motion along X axis (horizontal)
Use this also to draw horizontal lines only (X=On, Y=Off) with Draw Line

Y
Enable Text Motion along Y axis (vertical)
Use this also to draw vertical lines only (X=Off, Y=On) with Draw Line

Redraw
Redraws Motion Path if it doesn't display correctly.

Click [Text Motion] button in Timer and Sequence to open

The Text Motion Control Window can be used to design paths in design pane and let Text Objects move along those paths. 

Motion Paths can be free shapes, lines or circles.

You can assign the whole Text Object or only chosen letters from the split Text Object to the Motion Path.

You can synchronize the text self time (changing speed of text) with the motion path.

The size of the text object can also be synchronized to the total text motion path or its sub-paths.

Example of Text Motion:

Multiple Text Objects (English Dictionary) moving along linear paths, Synchronize=On and SP (Size Partial) - Design Pane and Output

Parameter Animation Window

Click Animation button in Toolbar to open

To Animate a Parameter

• Display the Functionality which Parameters you want to animate

• Position the Slider, Button, Drop Down to the desired start position for your animation.

• Click Record Animation 

• Click to the Control/Parameter you want to Animate then change its value

• Click Record again to stop animation recording

• Start Animation Playback

Note: 
The Animation is saved with your preset. Animation of Machine State Preset playback is not possible - You can use the Cue Editor instead.

Record Animation. Click this button and modify the parameters to be animated. Your actions are recorded.


Stop Animation Recording.


Play/Stop Animation Playback


Play Control Animation sequentially:  E.g.. Red > Green  > Blue Color Slider Animation


Play Control Animation parallel: E.g. Red, Green and Blue Color Slider all together with their own timeline.

BPM Sync
Synchronize Animation to BPM (Beats Per Minute) defined in Audio Input

1/4,2/4,3/4,4/4
Synchronize to full, or quarters of BPM beat measure (e.g. Techno = 4/4, Walzer = 3/4)


Reset Animation


Remove last animated Parameter

Sync Button and Slider
Synchronize Animation to Slider value in seconds.
Use this to time match your animation.

Animated Control List
Displays the currently Animated Controls/Parameters and the number of Animation Key frames.
In the screenshot on the right: e.g. Red Color Slider - 3 Key frames

Note: Animation Playback of Text Object dependent Parameters operate always on the currently selected Text Object

Audio Input Window

Click button in Main Window to open

The Audio Control Window is used to make the parameters of the Text Objects react to the sound. The whole spectrum of the sound frequencies is divided for 10 bands; each band can be assigned to one or several parameters. Parameters may be selectable/measurable (like sliders or dropdown menus) or Boolean ones (such as buttons).

Please note: Complicated Picture Fonts rendering might be slow, therefore assignment of Audio to the Font settings (font name, size, etc.) might not produce reasonable speed of reaction. Use other parameters instead, not relating directly to fonts.

Select audio input device.

Open Windows Volume Control to select the source channel on the input device.

Enable/disable audio input functionality.

Indicator of the loudness level for specific band. The red line indicates threshold, which is used when assigning band to a logical (Boolean) parameter (values above threshold mean "on", values below mean "off"). Thresholds may be set individually per band (left click on the corresponding indicator) or all at once (right click on any indicator).

Gain control for adjusting sound level in case it is too high or too low. SRL Sustain/Release Toggle (On) keep the audio controlled value until the audio band level rises again over the threshold level (red line) or to (Off) set the audio controlled value real-time to the current bad audio level.

Band control button.

To assign the band to the logical/boolean control (such as button) do the following: click on the band number to enter band assign mode, click on the control button which you want to animate with sound, click on the band number button again to exit assign mode.

To assign the band to the selectable menu or slider do the following: set the menu/slider control to the lowest desirable value, click on the band control button, set the menu/slider control to the highest desirable value, click on the band control button again.

After that the blue frames appears around both band number button and selected control, indicating that link is established; also the number appears on the control button showing which band it is linked to. If Audio Input is turned on at that moment, the control value starts changing driven by the sound.
Note that you can assign several different controls to a single band!

Band Hold. This does not remove the established links to the controls, but release them temporarily, so that you can change controls manually. Pressing this button again removes Hold and resumes Audio control over the linked parameters.

Band Reset. Clears all existing links from this band to the controls. Please note that this clears all the links from this specific band! For the moment it's not possible to clear links individually per control. Reestablishing links after band reset requires repeating the steps described above. As with any automation techniques don't forget to adjust parameters after the automation stops ::)

BPM counter. Tap it to set approximate value, use "+" and "-" for fine corrections. Hint: tapping by spacebar gives better results than by mouse button. BPM Sync can also be set for parameter animation.

Include Audio into Preset.
If this button is "on", the audio setup is saved within the preset when you capture and save the Machine State in "Machine State Presets" window; if not - audio setup is ignored.
Similar story for Machine State preset loading: if this button is "on" and audio setup is found within saved preset, that saved audio setup is loaded. If the button is "off" or there was no audio setup in the preset, audio configuration is not changed.

Save Audio Setup. The audio setup saved this way is "global" and not preset-dependent.

Load Audio Setup.

MIDI Control Window

Click [MIDI Control] button in Main Control to open

Important Note: Connect the MIDI Device(s) to your Computer and turn it on before starting TextMachine 3D

MIDI Device #1 -#3
Select the MIDI Device(s) attached to your Computer you want to use.

Enable MIDI
Toggle this button to open/close MIDI communication between TextMachine 3D and your MIDI Device(s)

Once you have chosen your Device(s) and enabled MIDI, move the Sliders or push the Buttons on your MIDI Device(s).
If TextMachine 3D gets a MIDI Signal it will be displayed as shown in the screenshot.

Assign
Assign MIDI Controller parameter to active TextMachine 3D Control

Save MIDI Setup to File

Load MIDI Setup from File

Delete Controller Assignment

Discard Current MIDI Setup

How to configure TextMachine 3D MIDI Setup

1) In the MIDI Control window click Assign
2) Select the TextMachine 3D parameter you want to control via your MIDI Device(s)
3) Move the Slider, rotate the Potentiometer or push the Button on your MIDI Device you want to use.

Alternatively you can select the TextMachine 3D parameter first and then press M on your Keyboard to enable MIDI assignment.
You can limit the MIDI Input signal buffering by using the MIDI Buffer Limitation Slider located below the MIDI Signal Display.

To Delete a MIDI Controller assignment choose the controller on your MIDI Device and then click the Remove Button

Important Note:
Once you have configured  MIDI Control save your Setup to File. The MIDI Control Setup File is saved independently from the Machine parameters you have configured. You can copy your MIDI Control Setup File to each computer you are working on.

Click [Presets] button in Toolbar to open

The Machine State Presets can be used to capture Machine State output for faster access later in time, while you are playing with TextMachine 3D.

Machine State presets can be captured from current output or batch loaded from File. The Machine State Presets can also be batch saved to file for a later use.

Every TextMachine 3D Preset you build with the Fonts installed on your PC, your favorite Backgrounds, Effect Textures, Masks and Dictionaries references these Objects in your File System.

To correctly deploy TextMachine 3D Presets on another Computer
1)  Load them into the Machine State Preset Window. 
2) Select the desired Presets in the Preview Pane and right click the Save Button .

All referenced Files and Fonts will be copied to the Folder containing the preset. 
Additionally a HTML file will be created listing the Fonts used. The Fonts are linked to Google search. 
Click on the Font link to find them in Internet for download.

You can then simply copy your Preset to another PC.
Fonts on the Target PC will automatically be installed by TextMachine 3D, when a newly deployed Preset is loaded.
Note: The Windows Font Folder will popup when new Fonts are being installed.


For your convenience, the last Machine State Preset Layout is loaded when you start TextMachine 3D.

If you want to have empty Machine State Presets when TextMachine 3D starts, clear the Machine State Presets before exiting.

Notes
The Machine State Preset Window can be opened from Main TextMachine 3D Window. The Control for calling the Machine States Preset Window is located on the left side in TextMachine 3D Toolbar .

TextMachine 3D saves a Preview Image of each Preset in the Preset Folder itself.
To rebuild the Preview Image(s): Delete the JPG Preview File and load the Preset to the Machine State Preset Window.

Capture
Click this button to capture the current Machine State as Preset

CUE
Open the Cue Editor Window

Load Preset
Load a Preset from file.

Save (selected)
Click to save all selected Presets to file
Right Click to collect all Referenced Background-, Mask-, Effect Texture- and Dictionary File Names. 
Use this functionality to deploy your TextMachine 3D Presets to different computers.

Batch Load
Load all Presets contained in a folder on your PC

Save All
Click to save all Presets to file

Load Play List
Load a Machine State Play list

Save Play List 
Configure your Presets and save them as play list. 
Note:  
Save captured Presets first before saving play list
The "Play Presets", "Randomize Play", "Overlay" and "Timing" settings will be saved to your play list.
TextMachine 3D always starts with your last play list.

Play Presets
Play Presets in list - Use Preset Timer Slider to set timing

Randomize Play
Randomize Preset Play list,  if playing 

Preset Timer (Slider)
Preset change speed in seconds, if playing

Overlay Frame Count (Slider) 
Set the number of frame overlay between the running Preset and the new Preset sent to output.

Overlay 
Overlay Machine State Preset on load with current Output. Use Overlay Frame Count Slider to set number of frames to be overlaid.

[R] Randomize Preset Timer 
Randomizes Preset Timer

Delete selected Preset

Clear all Presets

Mouse and Keyboard Shortcuts:
CTRL+ Click or Double Click a Preset to send it to output, you can also navigate with the keyboard arrow keys to select a Preset, then press enter. CTRL + Arrow Keys have the same functionality.
ALT + Click adds Preset to CUE Editor

Use Number Keys 1 trough 9 to output Machine State Presets. 0 Resets Output.

Cue Editor Window

Click CUE button in Machine State Presets Window to open

How to create a Cue

• Create/Load Presets to Machine State Preset Window

• Select your Cue playback mode: Defined Duration or Absolute Time

• Select the Preset you want to Cue

• Set the timing HH:MM:SS

• Click to add Preset to Cue

• Continue with next preset

• Click Play

The Cue Editor can be used to automate preset playback in a defined sequence and timeline.
Use this functionality to program exactly timed shows or informative video panels.

Save Cue

Load Cue

Load selected Presets from Machine State Preset Window

Load all Presets from Machine State Preset Window

Defined Duration
The Cue playback will switch Preset after defined duration in HH:MM:SS (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)
E.g. 00:01:00 - will playback preset for one Minute

Absolute Time
The Cue playback will switch Preset after defined time at HH:MM:SS (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)
E.g. 23:00:00 - will switch preset at 11 PM (Note: You must have 24 hour time format on your PC > go to Regional Options to set)


Play Cue

Move Cue Item up

Move Cue Item down

HH:MM:SS
Time input Hours:Minutes:Seconds
Select the Presets in Cue to set timing at once. 
You can set also to desired duration value before adding Presets to Cue.

Set
Set Time in HH:MM:SS to selected Presets in Cue.

Remove Cue Item

Clear Cue

Notes: 
Please note that a Cue is bound to Machine State Presets.
Machine State Presets must be saved to File before they can be loaded into a Cue
If you remove a Preset from Machine State Presets Window it will be also removed from Cue if assigned

Recording Window

Click record button in Main Control to open

Select Video Compression (AVI only)

Recording Progress Display

Numbered Frame Sequence - JPG
Set the recorded output to a numbered sequence of JPG frames. 
The JPG files are numbered according to the name given from 0000000-9999999

Output Filename
Browse your computer to choose the folder where the output will be recorded, and give it a name, using
After Record is complete double click the Filename to open AVI or JPG sequence in default software.

Length in Sec.
Select the duration of the recording, in seconds (if Auto Stop button is active)

Frames per Sec.
Select the number of frames recorded per second

Record
Recorded files will be created with the width and height given as Resolution and Monitor Settings in Main Control panel
Press Record to start recording. If your output is AVI you can choose Video Compression
Press Stop to terminate recording.

After recording is complete your settings will be saved as text file in the same location of your recording

Video Compression
Select your favorite output Codec for the AVI video file after pressing Record button.
Be careful : default is "Uncompressed - raw video" will create very big files!

Notes 
If you notice a slower output speed while recording don't worry: TextMachine 3D V10 is synchronizing playback and hard disk record timing.
DivX Codec is not supported.

Projection Mapping Window

Click the [MAP] button in Main Control to open 

The mapping design occurs in real-time. 
Once your beamer is setup in place, you can easily draw your mapping  by clicking the target surface corners.

Example of Projection Mapping with TextMachine 3D:

Rendering Setup

Rendering Setup 

Start TextMachine 3D playback before continuing.

[Enable]
Toggle Projection Mapping feature on/off

[Color]
Background color of the screen not covered by the Projection Mapping Grids. 
See example on the right.

Load Projection Mapping Setup from file

Save Projection Mapping Setup to file

[Capture]
Toggle capture mode on/off.
Capture Windows can be defined on screen to grab input from other applications such as video players, web cams etc.
The input of the Capture Window(s) you define on screen is routed to the Projection Mapping Grids.

See "Projection Mapping - Screen Capture" for more information.

[CUE]
Opens the Projection Map Cue Editor Window - See Details

Background Image
A Background image can be loaded to test/learn the Projection Mapping design technique.

Load Background Image

Remove Background Image

Projection Mapping with Background Image

Click [Design Grid] button to start

Toggle the Projection Map Grid design mode ON/OFF
If ON, the Projection Map Grid(s) are shown in TextMachine 3D output window and they can be manipulated via mouse and keyboard shortcuts.
 

NX/NY Sliders
Number of Projection Map Grid Cells in X and Y, when adding or resetting Projection Map Grid

[Add] Button
Add a new Projection Map Grid

Draw Projection Map Grid Mode ON/OFF

if ON, the Projection Map Grid can be designed by clicking the boundaries of the Object (building, room corner, custom screen) to be mapped.

For easier drawing a crosshair is shown in the TextMachine 3D output window according to the mouse position 

Overlay Projection Map Grids ON/OFF Toggle.

Reset Projection Map Setup

Texture Operations

[Detach] Button
Detaches the selected Grid portion from a Projection Map and creates a new Projection Map Grid. The output texture coordinates are recalculated according to the status of the [H] Hold Button. 
For example, this functionality can be used to split a projection over multiple screens.

[H] Hold Button
ON - Detached Projection Map Grid holds the texture coordinates from the original Projection Map Grid. 

OFF - Detached Projection Map Grid matches the texture coordinates to the number and position of detached Objects from the Projection Map Grid.

See examples later in this chapter

Tile Mode

Full - Tile the input for the Projection Map to the whole Grid

Cell - Tile the input for the Projection Map to each Grid Cell

[X] and [Y] Buttons
Swap texture coordinates X and Y
For example this functionality can be used to build mirrored Projection Maps.

Build Mask from Grid Cells
Adds a Mask for each selected Projection Map Grid Cell coordinates - See Mask Setup for further manipulation

Build Mask from Grid Outline
Builds a Mask from selected Projection Map Grid coordinates - See Mask Setup for further manipulation

 Multiple Grids and Selection

Drawing Grid 

Press [N] key on the keyboard or click [Add] button in Projection Mapping Window.
This is useful if you need to draw multiple Projection Maps

Selecting Projection Map Grid Points

Click to select a Grid Point

Hold [CTRL] key on keyboard and click to select multiple Grid Points

Click and Drag Selection Rectangle over the Grid Points

Selecting Projection Map Grids

Double click a Projection Map to select the whole Grid.

If at least one Grid Point is selected, [Enter] on the keyboard selects whole Projection Map Grid. 

Advanced Selection Options

Holding [F1] pressed while selecting Grid Point, selects all Grid Points in X

Holding [F2] pressed while selected a Grid Point, selects all Grid Points in Y

To select all Projection Map Grids press [CTRL]+[A] on the keyboard

To select next or previous Projection Map Grid Points (all points in X or Y) - Press [W] or [Q] on your Keyboard

Invert Selection

To Invert the selection press [CTRL]+[I] on your Keyboard

Clear Selection

Press [Esc] or [Space bar] on the keyboard

Double click outside Projection Map Grid(s)


Freeze / Unfreeze Projection Map Grid Points

Individual Projection Map Grid Points can be frozen  to further manipulate the rest of the Projection Map Grid.

To freeze selected Projection Map Grid Points Press [F] on your Keyboard.

To unfreeze selected Projection Map Grid Points Press [U] on your Keyboard

Remove Projection Map Grids

Select the desired Projection Map Grid(s), then press [Del] key on the keyboard. 

Undo
Press [Ctrl] + [Z] on your Keyboard

Copy

Select the Projection Map Grid you want to copy.

Press [CTRL]+[C] on the keyboard.

Move

Select the Projection Map Grid/Points you want to move.

Drag with the mouse or 

Use keyboard arrow keys. 
If [CTRL] key is pressed on the keyboard, the steps made with the arrow keys are bigger.

Scale

Select the Projection Map Grid/Points you want to scale

Scroll the Mouse Wheel or

Use keyboard [+] and [-] keys.

By holding [F1] or [F2] keyboard key pressed scaling can be applied to X or Y direction only

Rotate

Select the Projection Map Grid/Points you want to rotate

Hold the right mouse button pressed and move the mouse up or down.

Trapezoid/Keystone Transform

Clear Projection Map Grid selection first, by pressing [Esc] or [Space bar] on the keyboard.

Press the [ALT] Key on your keyboard and keep it pressed.

Select the Grid Point located at the corner or inside the Projection Map Grid, you want to trapezoid transform

Drag the Grid Point to the desired position, then continue with the next corner Grid Points.

Increase Quality of Projection Map Grid

To Double the Grid Quality (doubling the Projection Map Grid Cells) select the desired Projection Map Grid, then Press [2] on your Keyboard.

Tessellate
Tessellation can be applied to a  Projection Map Grid, in order to minimize the texture distortion.
TextMachine 3D tessellates the selected Projection Map Grid by using its minimum cell size.


To Tessellate a Projection Map Grid, press [T] on your Keyboard

Box Mapping
To create a Box Projection Map, e.g. for Projection Mapping inside a room click the TextMachine 3D Output Window and hit the [B] key on your Keyboard.

Add Keyframe to Projection Map Animation
To add a keyframe to projection map Animation, select the desired Projection Map Grid Points, move, size and rotate them to the desired position then press [K] on your keyboard.

Center Vertically and Horizontally

Select the Projection Map Grid or Grid Points

Press [H] key on the keyboard to center horizontally

Press [V] key on the keyboard to center vertically

Merge Grid Point Positions

Select the desired Projection Map Grid Points

Press [M] key on the keyboard

Flip Horizontally - Flip Vertically

Press [X] key on the keyboard to flip selected Projection Map Grid/ Points Horizontally 

Press [Y] key on the keyboard to flip selected Projection Map Grid/ Points Vertically

Radial Transformation

Select the  Projection Map Grid Points you want to radial transform

Press and Hold [Shift] Button on your keyboard

Scroll the Mouse Wheel to set the Transformation Amount

To subsequently radial transform Projection Map Grid Points Press the [R] button on your keyboard

Linear Transformation

Select Projection Map Grid Points you want to linearize, then press [L] on your Keyboard

Toggle the button in Projection Mapping window

Click [Add] button or to start from scratch

Click the corner points of the object you want to map.

To start a new Grid Line, right click with the mouse

Continue with the next Grid Line by clicking with the left mouse button on the object corner points.

Continue with next Grid Lines as you need.

Once done press Escape on the keyboard or press [N] if you want to draw a new Projection Map Grid

Once the Projection Map Grid has been designed, it can be further manipulated.

Tessellation can be applied to a  Projection Map Grid, in order to minimize the texture distortion.
TextMachine 3D tessellates the selected Projection Map Grid by using its minimum cell size.

To Tessellate a Projection Map Grid, press [T] on your Keyboard

Clear Projection Map Grid selection first, by pressing [Escape] or [Space bar] on the keyboard.

Press the [ALT] Key on your keyboard and keep it pressed.

Select the Grid Point located at the corner of the Projection Map Grid, you want to trapezoid transform

Drag the Grid Point to the desired position, then continue with the next corner Grid Points.

Select the Grid Points you want to radial transform.

Hold the [Shift] button pressed on your keyboard and scroll the mouse wheel or press [+]/[-] on the keyboard.

The transformation direction is given by the scroll direction of the mouse wheel

To subsequently radial transform Grid Points press [R] on your keyboard

To radial transform the whole Projection Map Grid, select it first, then while holding the [ALT] or [CTRL] button on your keyboard, scroll the mouse button or press [+]/[-] Keys on your Keyboard.

Linear Transformation

Select Projection Map Grid Points you want to linearize, then press "L" on your Keyboard

Radial Transformation of the Projection Map Object by respectively holding "ALT" and "CTRL" keyboard buttons pressed

Detach selected Grid Points as shown, to split the projection.

Select the Grid Points you want to detach, then click [Detach] in Projection Mapping Window or press [F3] on the Keyboard.

Continue with the next Grid Points you want to detach.

[H] Button influences the texture coordinates of the detached Projection Map Grids. See examples on the right.

If you want to detach each cell of a Projection Map Grid, Select the whole Projection Map Grid, then press [F3] on your keyboard or click [Detach] button in Projection Mapping Window

Detach and hold texture coordinates. [H] Button ON

To set the Tile Mode select the desired Projection Map Grid, then choose from the Drop Down List "Full" or "Cell" in Projection Mapping Window.

To swap Texture Coordinates, select the desired Projection Map Grid, then click X or Y in Projection Mapping Window.

X,Y Texture Coordinate Swap.

To create a Box Projection Map, e.g. for Projection Mapping inside a room click the TextMachine 3D Output Window and hit the [B] key on your Keyboard.

Each element of the Projection Map Box can be adjusted.

Click [Design Mask] Button to start

ON=Display Mask Points, OFF=Display Mask Objects only
Inverts the whole Mask
Resets Mask

Masking Example - normal and inverted

Defining the Mask Size 
Click TextMachine 3D Output Window, then press and hold "ALT" key on your keyboard.

Scroll the mouse wheel or press "+" or "-" keys on the keyboard to change the Mask size 
Press and hold "CTRL" key on the keyboard to get a bigger scale amount
Press and hold "F1" or "F2" key on the keyboard to limit the scaling to X and Y respectively. 

Adding a Mask

Press and hold following keys on the keyboard:
 [C] for Circular, [T] for Triangular, [S] for Rectangular [D] for freehand/ polygon drawing.

Click in the TextMachine 3D Output window on the desired position.

Selecting Mask Grid Points

Toggle Show Mask Design ON or press [P] on your Keyboard

Click to select a Mask Point

Click and Drag Selection Rectangle around the Mask Points

Selecting Mask Object

Toggle Show Mask Design OFF or press [P] on your Keyboard

Click the Mask to select.

Clear Selection

Press [Esc] or [Space bar] on the keyboard

Click outside the Mask

Remove Mask

Select the desired Mask, then press [DEL] key on the keyboard.

Remove Mask Points
Toggle Show Mask Design ON or press [P] on your Keyboard

Select the desired Points

Press [DEL] key on the keyboard

Undo
Press [CTRL] + [Z] on your Keyboard

Copy

Select the Mask you want to copy.

Press [CTRL]+[C] on the keyboard.

Move

Select the Mask/Points you want to move.

Drag with the mouse or 

Use keyboard arrow keys. 
If [CTRL] key is pressed on the keyboard, the steps made with the arrow keys are bigger.

Scale

Select the Mask/Points you want to scale

Scroll the Mouse Wheel or

Use keyboard [+]and [-] keys.

By holding [F1] or [F2] keyboard key pressed scaling can be applied to X or Y direction only

Rotate

Select the Mask/Points you want to rotate

Hold the right mouse button pressed and move the mouse up or down.

Create a Mask from Projection Map Grid

To Create a Mask from a Projection Map Grid, go in Projection Map Setup Design mode, select the desired Projection Map then click [Build Mask from Grid Cells] or [Build Mask from Grid Outline].

Center Vertically and Horizontally

Select the Mask/Points you want to center

Press [H] key on the keyboard to center horizontally

Press [V] key on the keyboard to center vertically

Merge Point Position

Select the desired Mask Points

Press [M] key on the keyboard

Flip Horizontally - Flip Vertically

Press [X] key on the keyboard to flip selected Mask/Points Horizontally 

Press [Y] key on the keyboard to flip selected Mask/Points Vertically

Invert Mask Object

Select the Mask Object you want to Invert, then press [I] on your Keyboard

Press and hold the "D" key on the keyboard and create the mask border points by clicking the desired position in TextMachine 3D output window

Release "D" key on the keyboard when done ant to repeat the operation.

The Mask Objects designed can be selected, copied, rotated, scaled, moved etc.

By default the whole Mask Object is affected, to switch to mask point manipulation click or press "P" on your keyboard

To invert a Mask Object, select it an press "I" on your Keyboard.
Note: To invert the whole mask, click in Projection Mapping Window.

A Gradient can be applied to selected Mask Objects

The first slider affects the size in % of the mask size

The second slider defines the steps of the gradient, less steps result in sharp gradient transitions.

Projection Mapping Keyframe Animation can be used to animate Projection Map Grid(s), - Grid Point(s), Masks and Mask Point(s).

This feature enables to add additional dynamics to projection mapping.

[Add Keyframe]
Adds an animation Keyframe to the selected Projection Map Grid(s), - Grid Point(s), Masks or Mask Point(s).

Invert
Inverts Animation direction

Reset
Resets the Animation on selected Projection Map Grid(s) or Mask(s)

Playback Control
 
Controls Animation Keyframe: Move First, Move Previous, Playback Animation, Move Next, Move Last respectively

  Animation Keyframe Motion

On: morph between Keyframes
Off: jump from one Keyframe to the next 

Slider
Controls the Animation playback speed/timing

To Animate Projection Map Grid(s) and - Grid Point(s)

• Switch to Projection Map Setup  [Design Grid] mode.

• Select the Projection Map Grid Point(s) you want to animate.

• Press [K] on your keyboard, or the [Add Keyframe] button in Projection Mapping Window.

• Move, rotate, scale the Projection Map Grid - Grid Point(s) to the desired position.

• Press [K] on your keyboard, or the [Add Keyframe] button in Projection Mapping Window.

• Continue to define your animation.

To Animate Masks and Mask Point(s)

• Switch to Mask Setup [Design Mask] mode.

• Select the Mask or Mask Point(s) you want to animate.

• Press [K] on your keyboard, or the [Add Keyframe] button in Projection Mapping Window.

• Move, rotate, scale the Mask or Mask Point(s) to the desired position.

• Press [K] on your keyboard, or the [Add Keyframe] button in Projection Mapping Window.

• Continue to define your animation.

Animation Playback

• To playback the animation press the play button

• To define the animation speed/timing use the slider located in Projection Mapping Window, Animation section

• To morph between Keyframes toggle the Animation Keyframe Motion button on

• To playback Animation jumping from one Keyframe to the next one toggle Animation Keyframe Motion off

• To invert animation playback click the Invert button 

Projection Mapping Cue Editor Window

Click [CUE] button in Projection Mapping Window to open

How to create a Projection Map Cue

• Design and save your Projection Maps via Projection Mapping Window

• Load a Projection Map by clicking  or load all Projection Maps contained in a folder by clicking

• Configure timing by selecting the desired Projection Map(s) and setting the time MM:SS:FF (Frames)
  The slider below the Projection Map List will set the timing for all Projection Maps at once

• Configure Fade In/Fade out of the content on the Projection Map

• Click Play to start Projection Mapping Cue playback

The Cue Editor can be used to playback predefined Projection Maps in a defined sequence and timeline.
Use this functionality to program timed architectural projection mapping.

Save Projection Mapping Cue

Load Projection Mapping Cue

Load Projection Map to Cue

Load all Projection Maps contained in a folder to Cue

Start/Stop Projection Mapping Cue playback

Lock TextMachine 3D Presets to Projection Map Cue.
For each Projection Map in Cue the correspondent Preset in Machine State Presets window will be loaded for playback

[Fade-in]
Fade the Output in when switching to next Projection Map in Cue

[Fade Out]
Fade the output out when switching to next Projection Map in Cue

[Slider]
Set the timing for all Projection Maps at once

Move Projection Map up in the Cue

Move Projection Map Down in the Cue

HH:MM:FF
Time input Minutes:Seconds:Frames
Select all Projection Maps in Cue to set timing at once. 

Set
Set Time in HH:MM:FF to selected Projection Maps in Cue.

Remove selected Projection Map from Cue

Reset Projection Mapping Cue

Projection Map Cue Setup example

Projection Map Cue Playback example

Click [Capture] Button to start

[Capture] 
Toggle on to enable screen capturing.
You can grab everything from screen trough capture windows and send it to TextMachine 3D Projection Mapping Output

 
Show Capture Window(s) - Drag and size the Capture Windows over the portion of the screen you want to capture.

[1:N]  [N:N]

1:N = one input Capture Window to all Projection Mapping Grids.
N:N = multiple input Capture Window paired to Projection Mapping Grids.

For multi-screen stage setups, multiple instances of TextMachine 3D can be launched on the same computer or on computers connected via a local area network or even via Internet.

An instance of TextMachine 3D can be configured to behave as Server and the client instances will accept all user commands given on it.

The multi-screen stage setup with a TextMachine 3D Network can so be controlled from the Server instance of TextMachine 3D simultaneously.

TextMachine 3D can also be launched multiple times on the same computer, creating a multi-screen stage setup from a single computer.

To distinguish different TextMachine 3D instances running on the same computer, the user interface will be randomly colored.

Click the [NET] Button in Main Control Section on Main Window to open the Network Remote Control Window.

If you want to control more than one TextMachine 3D Client instance, right click the [NET] Button in Main Control Section on Main Window to open a new Network Remote Control Window.

Local IP Address
TCP-IP Address of the computer where this TextMachine 3D instance is running
If the TextMachine 3D Network runs on the same computer leave local host 127.0.0.1.
If you run the TextMachine 3D Network on different computers, set to the IP Address of the local computer where this TextMachine 3D instance is running.

Local Port
TCP-Port of the local computer where this TextMachine 3D is running.

Remote IP Address
TCP-IP Address of the remote computer where the other TextMachine 3D instance is running
If the TextMachine 3D Network runs on the same computer leave local host 127.0.0.1.
If you run the TextMachine 3D Network on different computers, set to the IP Address of the remote computer where the other TextMachine 3D instance is running.

Remote Port
TCP-Port of the remote computer where the other instance of TextMachine 3D is running.

Note: 
The Remote IP Address and Port must correspond to Local IP Address and Port on the connected TextMachine 3D instance and vice versa.

Recommended Setup for multiple instances running on local computer is shown on the left.
For computers in a local area network set Local- and Remote IP Address according to the Windows IP configuration

You might need to configure the Firewall settings of your computer(s) before you can connect TextMachine 3D to a Network.

[Ping]
Ping the Local IP Address and Port

[IP?]
Show the Windows IP configuration of the local computer.

[Connect]
Connect/Disconnect to the TextMachine 3D Network defined by Local and Remote IP Configuration

Data Interchange
Display for TextMachine 3D Network data interchange. Shows and notifies about the Network Connection Status, commands sent or received

[Reset Buffer]
Resets the buffer of the received remote control instructions.

[Send Data] 
Sends the text typed in "Data Interchange" to the connected TextMachine 3D instance.
This can be used to send text messages and control instructions to other TextMachine 3D instances in the Network.
See the Technical Specification in next chapter for control instruction details.

[Identify Output]
Colors the TextMachine 3D output to the TextMachine 3D instance user interface color, to ease multi-screen setup.

The TextMachine 3D network feature, can be used by messaging software or other external programs, to remote control TextMachine 3D.

For example, TextMachine 3D can be used as rendering and display software of text messages incoming via SMS, Twitter etc.

How to Setup TextMachine 3D to display text from a Messaging Software:

1) Click the [NET] button in TextMachine 3D main window to open the Network Remote Control Window

2) Configure [Local IP Address/Port] according to the computer on which TextMachine 3D is running.

3) Configure [Remote IP Address/Port] according to the computer where your Messaging Software is running.

4) Set TextMachine 3D to [Behave as] Client.

5) Click [Connect] button to establish the connection in TextMachine 3D

6) Configure your Messaging Software accordingly and connect to TextMachine 3D

Note:
To display text incoming from your Messaging Software you need to add Text Objects of type "Editor" to the TextMachine 3D preset.

TextMachine 3D Objects are indexed 1 to N - Your Messaging Software may give the possibility, to render text in multiple TextMachine 3D objects by specifying their index.

Remote Controlling TextMachine 3D

The connection to TextMachine 3D must be of  type UDP (User Datagram Protocol)

Control instructions can be sent as string in the format:

UDPCommand + ObjectIndex + WindowName + ControlName + ControlValue
Parameters must be separated with ASCII Character Code 16

To see examples and get the possible parameter values, turn on Network Remote Control and use the TextMachine 3D user interface. 
The control instructions are displayed  in the [Data Interchange] field of Network Remote Control user interface.

UDPCommand: Internal TextMachine 3D command 

ObjectIndex: The index of the TextMachine 3D Object which has to be controlled

WindowName: The internal TextMachine 3D Window Name where the control resides

ControlName: The internal TextMachine 3D control name

ControlValue: The value to set on the control.

Text rendering for Messaging Applications

TextMachine 3D is listening for UDP messages on a freely definable IP Address/HostName and Port.

Format of the Message (String):
SetTextBuffer;[TargetTextBoxIndex];[DisplayTimeSeconds];[Text]

Example:
SetTextBuffer;1;10;Hello world
SetTextBuffer;1;5;Have a nice day
SetTextBuffer;2;60;Dinner tonight

Means:
TextMachine 3D displays in TextBox 1 "Hello World" for 10 Seconds, then "Have a nice day" for 10 Seconds.
Contemporarily in TextBox2 "Dinner tonight" for 60 seconds.

Incoming Messages are buffered and displayed sequentially as requested.

For this purpose a command line mode has been  implemented. 

You can build a Windows Shortcut with this command line and place that Shortcut in your Windows "Start Up" folder.
See Windows Help to obtain more Information about Shortcuts and command lines for shortcuts.

TextMachine 3D  command line has to be provided as follows:

PlayList; PlayPreset; OutputMonitor; FullScreen Or Resolution WxH; AlwaysOnTop;ProjectionMapSetup;OutputSetup

• PlayList - Play List filename to be loaded (See Machine State Presets)

• PlayPreset - Index of Preset to start playback with (See Machine State Presets) e.g. 1,2,5 etc.

• OutputMonitor - Monitor index for output (See Main Control ) e.g. 1,2 etc.

• FullScreen Or Resolution WxH- Full Screen switch  (See Main Control ) Possible values 1=Full Screen, 0=Normal Window, WidthxHeight e.g. 2400x600 for a fixed resolution.

• AlwaysOnTop - Output always on top  (See Main Control ) Possible values 1=Always on Top, 0= Not Always on Top

• ProjectionMappingSetup - Filename of the Projection Mapping setup to be loaded (See Projection Mapping for Details)

• OutputSetup - Filename of the Output Setup to be loaded (See Main Control )

Example

Suppose you have the play list you want automatically playback when the system starts located in C:\MyPlayList.TM3DPL

And you want to send the output Full Screen and Always on Top  to Monitor 2 starting with preset #3.

Your call to TextMachine 3D V10 will be as follows:

"C:\Program Files\TextMachine3DV10\TextMachine3DV10.exe" C:\MyPlayList.TM3DPL;3;2;1;1

If you want to specify a fixed resolution, say 2400x600, your call to TextMachine 3D will be as follows:

"C:\Program Files\TextMachine3DV10\TextMachine3DV10.exe" C:\MyPlayList.TM3DPL;3;2;2600x600;1

If you want to specify a defined Projection Map and/Or Output setup to be loaded, your call to TextMachine 3D will be as follows:

"C:\Program Files\TextMachine3DV10\TextMachine3DV10.exe" C:\MyPlayList.TM3DPL;1;1;0;1;C:\MyProjectionMap.TM3DPMap;C:\MyOutputSetup.TM3DUIP

Be sure to put the path to TextMachine3DV10.exe between Double Quotes (")