VMD User's Guide

Chapter 6Viewing ModesThere are many different viewing modes available. These show the scene in orthographic or perspectiveviews, and in several mono- and stereo- graphic displays. The stereo mode can be changedusing the stereo entry in the Display form or the text command display stereo mode.6.1 Perspective/Orthographic viewsIn the perspective view (the default), objects which are far away are smaller than those nearby.In the orthographic view, all objects appear at the same scale. Since some prefer one over theother, both options are available. Perspective viewpoints give more information about depth andare often easier to view because you use perspective views in real life. Orthographic viewpointsmake it much easier to compare two parts of the molecule, as there is no question about how theviewpoint may affect the perception of distance.6.2 Monoscopic ModesWhen you normally look at objects, your two eyes see slightly different images (because they arelocated at different viewpoints). Your brain puts the images together to generate a stereoscopicviewpoint. When generating a single image for the computer display, the default calculations (modeStereo Off) assume there is one eye centered between where two eyes would be. For stereo, the leftand right eye views need to be generated independently. Choosing mode Left produces the left eyeviewpoint, while Right produces the right eye viewpoint. The left and right monoscopic modes aremost useful when exporting scenes to external ray tracers.6.3 Stereoscopic ModesMolecules may be rendered in stereo, which can greatly enhance the appearance and visual contentof the displayed systems. There are several stereo formats available:1. Side-by-side cross-eyed stereo;2. Side-by-side wall-eyed stereo;3. Anaglyph stereo (requires stereo-capable monitor, quad-buffered stereo video board, and redbluehorror-movie-style stereo glasses).81