You'll find lots of samples and resources to help you understand and better use Virtools Dev. Take a minute to read this handy intro, then warm up your Virtools Web Player...

Introduction

The MiniSite gives you easy access to 4 main topics via the menu bar at the top of each page. Most topics are broken down into categories that are displayed on the sub-menu to the left.

Requirements

To view composition files (CMOs) within this site, you need the Virtools Web Player. The Web Player should be installed by default, but if not please do the following:

1. run the Virtools Dev installation program Setup.exe
2. in the Select Components section, select Virtools Web Player, and the Netscape Plugin if you use Netscape.

The Tutorials theme includes several videos (AVIs) and documents in Portable Document Format (PDFs) to view.

To view the AVIs, you'll need:

1. the Microsoft Media Player
2. the TechSmith Screen Capture Codec

This codec is normally installed by default with Virtools Dev. If not, use the installer (tscc.exe) in the Addons folder of the Virtools Dev CD or download the installer from TechSmith.

The PDFs require Adobe Acrobat Reader, which can be found in the "Addons" folder of the Virtools Dev CD or on the Adobe Acrobat Reader page.

Technical Samples

The Technical Samples theme regroups over 70 basic CMOs that'll show you how to use certain Building Blocks (BBs), sometimes in new and unique ways (especially in the category Visuals). Be sure to check out the CMOs that illustrate interesting uses of the recently introduced Virtools Scripting Language, VSL, as well as the latest feature, Programmable Vertex and Pixel Shaders.

The categories on the sub-menu to the left link to a page that includes the name and screenshot of the CMO along with a brief description. Click on the screenshot window to open the CMO in the Virtools Web Player.

You can also open the CMO in Virtools Dev to see how it is scripted - all technical samples can be found in Cmos\TechnicalSamples of the Documentation Folder.

Tutorials

Tutorials contains materials for tutorials, some of which are only available in this site. The tutorials are split up into categories, most of which contain a single page.

You can view completed CMOs for the tutorials in the Virtools Web Player, or have a look at the AVIs to see what to do. Times noted next to AVI files indicate the length of the video. Some tutorials also have text available by clicking the PDF link.

To complete the tutorials yourself, open the appropriate CMO in Virtools Dev. You will find the file you need in Cmos\StartCmos of the Documentation folder. Completed versions can be found in the FinishedCmos folder.

Web Player Commands

Web Player Commands introduces you to the commands and properties you can use with the Virtools Web Player.

Each property, command or set of commands has its own page. On this page you will find all the information you need to use this feature: syntax, script, html, screenshots from Virtools Dev Schematic, and for commands only, a sample CMO to interact with.

You can also open the CMO in Virtools Dev to see how it is scripted - all Web Player examples can be found in the Cmos\WebPlayer of the Documentation Folder.

Demo

We've added a slew of new demos to this release, to give you a better idea of how to build your composition more efficiently. These strategies will help you organize your production process and create leaner and meaner compositions than ever before.

Each demo is available in the Documentation folder/Cmos/. Read the description first, then dive into Dev to reverse engineer away!