# The Graphics Frame

Graphics Frames will spice up your user interface in a number of ways. They are useful in framing objects such as input/output devices and buttons. And they let you import pictures, graphics and movies. This section will discuss the Graphics Frame object's Surface Operations and Basic Operations via the Graphics Frame dialog box.

## Surface Operations

To create a Graphics Frame, click once on the icon in the palette; select a location on the screen and click once to place the object. The default size of the Graphics frame is determined by the target screen size as defined in the Export for Runner... dialog under the File menu. A selected Graphics Frame has the appearance shown in Figure 6-80 below.

Figure 6-80 Graphics Frame Surface Operations

Moving: To re-position a Graphics Frame, click-and-hold within the border, and drag to the desired position.

Resizing: To resize the Graphics Frame, select it, then drag on one of the Resizing Handles to increase or decrease the size to your specifications. In addition, within the graphics frame dialog, you can resize the graphics frame to full screen for a number of target screen sizes as defined by the Export for Runner... dialog under the File menu.

##
Dialog Operations

To open the Graphics Frame and access its Dialog Box, select the object and either double-click on the border or choose Open Selection... from the Interface menu. The Dialog Box will appear like the one in Figure 6-81.

Object Type. There are two types or "styles" of Graphics Frames: Graphics and 3D Housing. These determine the display of the Graphics Frame only. The basic capabilities of the frame are independent of the object type.

The Graphics incarnation has a 2-dimensional appearance, no fill options and several border styles (including no border at all)-the dialog is shown in Figure 6-81. On the other hand, as shown in Figure 6-82, the 3D Housing has a 3-dimensional appearance, the option to fill or not fill, and no border style choices.

Figure 6-81 Graphics Frame Dialog Box with Picture Assigned

Figure 6-82 Graphics Dialog Box with 3D Hosing Style and Movie Assigned

Functionality: Both Types of Graphics frames permit assignment of movies and importing of pictures.

Importing Movies: In Order to assign QuickTime movies to a Graphics Frame, your machine must have QuickTime capability; i.e., your machine must have color and have the QuickTime software installed. The Assign Movie button will appear gray if the QuickTime software is not resident on your computer.

To assign a movie to the Graphics Frame, click on the Assign Movie button visible in Figure 6-82. A standard Get File dialog will appear. Locate and select the movie that you wish to assign. The first frame of the assigned QuickTime movie will be displayed in the center of the Graphics Frame.

Assigning movies to Graphics Frames is very similar to assigning movies to Sector Frames. To read additional details and learn helpful hints about this process, refer to the discussion of Sector Frames

Importing Pictures. To import a picture into a Graphics Frame, click on the Import Picture button in the Graphics Frame dialog box. You will view a standard Get File dialog. Locate the graphics file that you want to import into the Graphics Frame. See the Appendix at the end of this chapter for a list of graphic file formats that can be imported into your graphics frame.

Importing picture files into Graphics Frames has many similarities with importing picture files into Sector Frames. To read additional details and learn helpful hints about this process, refer to the discussion of Sector Frames.

Graphics Frames expand the creative possibilities for the model interface. Figure 6-83 shows side-by-side comparison of Graphics Frames using different options that are available. Experiment liberally and don't be afraid to have fun!

Figure 6-83 Different Style Options for Graphics Frames