Written by David Lippman, Pierce College; based on Javaview by Konrad Polthier, Zuse Institute, Berlin
Helpful shortcuts:
| To get the planes | "Implicit Surface" x*y*z=0 (increase discr) |
| Rotate the graph | Grab it with the mouse and move it |
Bounds | Use Clip Bounds |
helps fit graph into window if you have a singularity (function goes to infinity) |
Zoom Fit |
helps fit graph into window if you don't have a singularity |
right click on surface | New window |
resize this window for full-screen picture |
ctrl m | check "transparency" |
make surface transparent |
Hold down z key and the left mouse button; as you roll the mouse, the size changes |
zoom in and out |
shift j |
lighting on and off |
shift x |
axes on and off |
right click on surface | Rotate, orbit |
normal mode to drag graph |
| discr | changes smoothness, but draws slower |
| Edges | uncheck "Show Edges" to get rid of cross section lines |
| Notes: |
| Be careful about changing discr too quickly; higher values slow down the drawing. |
| Your graphing window must be active and your mouse in the window for some of these to work. |
| If nothing happens, try hitting the Stop or Start button to refresh the display. |
| If you are doing several surfaces: |
| You have to do this for each surface; you can't go back once you have drawn another. |
| To get smoother intersections: shift z (this may slow the drawing some) |
| Remove Selected removes the selected surface from Select Existing |
| To see through surfaces: ctrl m | check transparency |
| Special effects: |
| Parameters- adjust the surface shape with the sliders: Example - Implicit Surface: x^2/a^2 - y^2/b^2 + z^2 = 1 |
| Animations - use time as a variable: Example - Implicit Surface: x^2 + y^2 + z^2 = time |
| To save your picture: |
Print Screen on your keyboard; then paste into Paint or some other program. |
Available functions (always use lower case variables):
| Misc. Math | * is multiply; / is divide; ^ is power; abs(x); unit step function Ua(x) = (1+sign(x-a))/2 |
| Log and exponential | exp(x); natural log = log(x); base 10 log = log(x)/2.303 |
| Root (x>=0 only) | sqrt(x) or x^0.5; cube root = x^(1/3)... |
| Trig | cos(x); sin(x); tan(x);atan(x); acot(x); acos(x); asin(x) |
| Hyperbolic Trig | sinh(x); cosh(x); coth(x); asinh(x); acosh(x); atanh(x); acoth(x) |
y^(1/4)*exp(sqrt(x)) + log(x/y)