README.ACA MATROX GRAPHICS INC. April 1, 1996
MGA Millennium AutoCAD DOS Driver
Revision 1.06.023
This disk contains the MATROX MGA Millennium DynaView AutoCAD driver
for DOS. This driver works with AutoCAD 11, AutoCAD 12, AutoCAD 13,
and 3D Studio 3 and 4. International AutoCAD is supported with
release 12 and 13.
Disk contents:
-------------
README.ACA This file
INSTALL.EXE Installation program
FILES1.ZIP Product files
ENGLISH.ZIP English localization files
PKUNZIP.EXE File decompression utility
Product files:
-------------
README.ACA This file
DYNAVIEW.DOC Advanced dynaview documentation
RCMGAX64.EXP The driver
DV3DADS.EXP DynaView/3D ADS module
MENU_CMP.EXE Menu compiler and decompiler
PALNAME.EXE Custom Color Palette utility
STANDARD.PAL Standard color palette
BLACKVEC.EXE Black vector enable/disable utility
MATPAUSE.EXE DOS Shell pause enable/disable utility
MAT8X14.FNT 8 X 14 font file
MAT8X16.FNT 8 X 16 font file
MAT12X20.FNT 12 X 20 font file
MAT12X24.FNT 12 X 24 font file
WALK.LSP Sample Lisp program for 3D walk-throughs
ACAD12.MNU MATROX customized AutoCAD 12 menu file
ACAD13.MNU MATROX customized AutoCAD 13 menu file
ADD-ON.MNU MATROX changes to menu file
DV3DLDIR.DWG Directional light icon
DV3DLPOS.DWG Positional light icon
DV3DLSPO.DWG Spot light icon
MPOPUP.BIN DynaView/2D popup menu
MPOPUP.DEF DynaView/2D menu source
MPO3D.BIN DynaView/3D popup menu
MPOP3D.DEF DynaView/3D menu source
VBAR.BIN Sample menu
VBAR.DEF Sample menu source
SLIDE.SLB Slide library for menus
Software Installation and Configuration:
---------------------------------------
To install the driver files, type a:\install. and select
"AutoCAD/3D Studio Dynaview Drivers" from the installation menu.
The default path for the installation is C:\MGA\ACADRV\.
During installation, if you state that you have AutoCAD Rel 13, the driver
can be automatically copied to the ACAD13 driver subdirectory (normally
\R13\DOS\DRV). Make sure to provide the proper path.
After installation, make sure that the batch file C:\MGA\ACADRV\ACADRV.BAT
is executed, in order to set the proper environment variables.
To configure AutoCAD Rel 13 and the driver:
- Enter: cd \r13\dos
- make sure that the new ACAD 13 "ACADDRV" variable is set
- start AutoCAD with "acad -r"
- select Matrox MGA Millennium 1.06 driver
To configure AutoCAD Rel 12 and the driver:
- Enter: cd \acad
- make sure that the new ACAD 12 "ACADDRV" variable is set
- start AutoCAD with "acad -r"
- select Matrox MGA Millennium 1.06 driver
To configure AutoCAD Rel 11 and the driver:
- Enter: cd \acad
- start AutoCAD
- select Configure AutoCAD
- select Configure Video Display
- select ADI P386 v4.0/4.1
You will then automatically enter into the Matrox driver configuration
program.
Configuring 3D Studio:
---------------------
Version 3 and 4
The DynaView driver also supports 3D Studio version 3 and 4.
To enter 3D Studio configuration type "3DS VIBCFG". You will be
presented with the Vibrant configuration. You need to modify
the default configuration to load the RCPADI or RDPADI. For
example :
MAIN-DISPLAY=RCPADI
MATERIAL-DISPLAY=VGA
RENDER-DISPLAY=RCPADI or RDPADI
After saving the settings, you will automatically be presented
with the Matrox driver configuration program. If you wish to
change things such as the resolution and pixel depth, do it now
and save your changes.
The program will automatically start after you answer the last prompt.
In order to configure the driver, delete the 3dadi.cfg file before
starting 3D Studio.
DynaView/2D commands:
--------------------
The easiest way to use the DynaView/2D commands is to call the included
popup menu by typing at AutoCAD's command line:
MPOPUP
It is also possible to call MPOPUP from the keyboard using CTRL+L, or to
use the modified ACAD.MNU file included on the distribution disk. See the
documentation for more details.
DynaView/2D includes commands such as Bird's Eye, Spy Glass, as well as
windowing features such as scroll bars and Text Window. See the DynaView/2D
chapter for a complete description of the features.
There are Rel 12 (and 13) and Rel 11 versions of the MPOPUP menu. The Rel
12/13 one uses the underscore command prefix for AutoCAD commands, so
it will work on international versions of AutoCAD. If you have any problems,
go in the \mga\acadrv directory and check the MPOPUP, MPOPUP11 and MPOPUP12
files.
For advanced information on dynaview refer to the DYNAVIEW.DOC file.
DynaView/3D commands:
--------------------
DynaView/3D will yield gouraud shaded rendering.
The easiest way to use the DynaView/3D commands is to call the included
popup menu by typing at AutoCAD's command line:
MPOP3D
Like DynaView/2D, it is also possible to use the modified ACAD.MNU file
included on the distribution disk. See the documentation for more details.
Before you can use the DynaView/3D commands, it is necessary to load the
associated ADS application. This can be done via our modified AutoCAD menu
file or our DynaView 3D popup. Alternately, assuming you have installed
the driver in the default directory, you may load the ADS application by
typing the following line at the AutoCAD command prompt:
(xload "c:/mga/acadrv/dv3dads.exp").
See the documentation for more details.
For advanced information on dynaview refer to the DYNAVIEW.DOC file.
DISPLIST utility:
----------------
In some circumstances, you may have a multi-viewport drawing which contains
very small viewports, particularly in TILEMODE 0. You would typically not
perform any drawing editing in a very small viewport, so carrying a display
list for that viewport consumes memory for no use.
The Matrox DISPLIST utility allows you to disable display list creation
for that type of viewport.
To use DISPLIST, go to your \mga\acadrv directory and type:
DISPLIST x,
where x is the percentage of screen size occupied by viewport.
Examples:
1. DISPLIST 0 is the default. It means that all viewports, regardless of
size, will get a display list.
2. DISPLIST 10 means that any viewport that occupies less then 10% of the
screen size will not get a display list.
3. DISPLIST 100 means that no viewports will get a display list.
Notes:
- it is not recommended to call the "redrawall" AutoCAD command when some
viewports have no display list.
- when a viewport has no display list, the viewport will not get redrawn
after opening and closing a DynaView window (Text Window, Bird's Eye,
etc.). You will have to perform a "redraw" of that viewport.
DRIVER HISTORY
==============
Revision 1.00
- This is the first release of the AutoCad driver for the MGA Millennium
series of boards.
Revision 1.01
- Added support for 3D studio 3 and 4.
- Minor bug fixes and low-level cleanup.
Revision 1.02
- Added new modes :
800x600x8 DB Z on 2M Millennium
1280x1024x24 on 4M Millennium
1600x1200x24 on 8M Millennium
- Added VESA DDC2B support
Revision 1.04
- Added Multi-Lingual support for AutoCAD release 12 and 13.
- Fixed menu editing to correctly handle the maximum number of characters
for a button.
- Fixed reconfiguration problem with AVE Render when the text window was OFF.
- Fixed problem with AVE Render display mode in full screen rendering.See
the "KNOWN BUG, TIPS AND LIMITATIONS" section below for additional
information on new mode of operation of AVE rernder for AutoCad 12/13.
- Added DDC support for Standard Timings.
- Support for proposed VESA VBE/DDC Version 1.1. The monitor DDC
implementation is treated as 1.1 only if the EDID structure returned by the
monitor is Version 1 Revision 1. Note that the alternate use of the detailed
timing description areas which is new as of 1.1 is not supported by our
current implementation
- Added Displist.exe utility to deactivate display-lists for viewports smaller
than a given portion of the screen.
Revision 1.06
- The driver now works with CAD Overlay GSX 7.10
KNOWN BUGS, TIPS AND LIMITATIONS
================================
3D Studio:
---------
- See "Configuring 3D Studio" section above for recommended configurations.
- When using the Matrox driver, the mapping symbol from the Surface/Mapping
menu will appear in black instead of yellow with one side in green to
differentiate left and right.
- When using the Matrox driver, the Material Editor does not work well when
configured to work in MGA high resolution in 16bpp and 24bpp. Use the
VGA for the Material Editor as recommended in the "Configuring 3D Studio"
section.
- The BPATCH modeler must use the 8x16 font or it will not display properly.
- There are limitations about which fonts can be used with different
resolutions :
Resolution Font Permitted
---------- --------------
640x480 8x14
800x600 8x14, 8x16
others any font
DynaView/3D:
-----------
DynaView/3D will yield gouraud shaded rendering.
In ACAD13, Dynaview/3D will not render 3D solid objects.
Text Window:
-----------
Certain third party applications may not work correctly with the Matrox
text window. This could typically happen with applications which
put up menus and colored backgrounds in the acad text screen. If
problems occur with the text window it should be disabled from
the configuration.
TILEMODE 0:
----------
There are a few known problems with the driver in TILEMODE 0 mode, for
instance, with viewport borders. Workaround: some problems can be avoided
by disabling the DynaView Graphic Window, through the driver configuration
utility.
Other problems will require the use of the "redrawall" command.
AME and AVE Render:
------------------
There may be some crashes with the advanced modeling extension when you try
rendering a drawing. This occurs in the 16 and 24 bpp modes, and is not
a Matrox specific problem.
AVE Render with AutoCad 11:
--------------------------
When re-configuring AutoCAD and switching from an 8bit 2D mode to a mode
which is not also 8bit 2D, subsequent AVE renders may result in incorrect
results on your display. Switching in the reverse manner may also cause
problems. When switching between two 8bit 2D modes or switching between
two modes which are not 8bit 2D, the rendering will not be the same size
as the original drawing. After re-configuring AutoCAD, the user must also
reconfigure AVE render in order to work around this problem.
AVE Render with AutoCad 12 and 13:
---------------------------------
Restrictions as per AutoCad 11 do not apply. Full Screen AVE rendering is
always done in the mode set with AVE render config. This mode may be
different than the mode used by AutoCad. This situation may occur if you
re-configure AutoCad without re-configuring AVE render. It is up to the
user to re-configure AVE render after re-configuring AutoCad if he wants
AVE render to use the same display mode as AutoCad.
ACAD13 and Matrox MATRD:
------------------------
There may be some crashes with ACAD13 if you try to quit or config your
AutoCAD driver after doing a MATRD while in 16 bits display-list mode. If
you want to avoid the problem configure the driver in 32 bits display-list
with the Matrox configuration program.
Performance hints:
-----------------
The use of a disk cache program is recommended for better performances.
Digitizing tablets:
------------------
The "interrupt" mode is recommended over the "poll" mode when using the
Calcomp tablet with slower systems (486). With Pentium systems, it
is recommended that you use polling mode and set the VSCAN flag to a
very large number such as 8,000,000. The VSCAN flag is set by the
CFIG386.EXE program.
It is recommended when using the digitizer in a calibrated mode, to
turn OFF the resizeable graphics window in the driver's configuration
utility. Otherwise, with the resizable graphics windows ON, when
zooming a drawing area mouse movement will not be as smooth.
CAD Overlay GSX 4.0:
-------------------
Using the display driver with CAD Overlay GSX 4.0 may cause some problems
unless reconfiguring the DynaView driver to disable the resizable graphic
editor window.
