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RE: Difficult text effect

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg34158] RE: [mg34147] Difficult text effect
  • From: "David Park" <djmp at earthlink.net>
  • Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 03:53:53 -0400 (EDT)
  • Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

Fran,

Unfortunately, text in Mathematica 3D graphics is quite primitive. It is
essentially 2D graphics superimposed on the 3D plot.

I suppose it would be possible for someone to make a package that would draw
letters as 3D polygons, where one would specify the point of application and
a normal vector to the plane of the letter, and the size of the letter. I
don't know of any such package. It would be some work to lay out all the
letters. Or the letters could be rendered as a series of lines where the
thickness was specified. Such a package should also allow one to give a text
string and the point of application of the first letter.

Another deficiency in 3D text is that text whose point of application is
hidden behind a surface is still displayed. This leads to confusion in
viewing such plots when they are rotated. I would think it wouldn't be too
difficult for WRI to suppress all of the text if its point of application
was hidden.

Maybe future versions will be better with 3D text. I cross my fingers!

In the mean time, the best approach might be to mark special features with
points or other true 3D graphics objects and then annotate them with the 2D
text.

David Park
djmp at earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~djmp/

> From: Fran_Klein [mailto:fran123 at address.com]
To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
>
>
> With Mathematica, it is pretty straightforward to define planar shapes
> that live in 3-dimensional space.  As far as I know, however, text is
> not treated like one such shape.  For example, if one adds bits of
> text to a 3-dimensional figure, and then rotates the figure, the bits
> of text continue to face the viewer.  Is there a way to get
> Mathematica to treat a piece of text as if it where just another plane
> shape in 3-dimensional space?  For example, is there a simple way to
> take a single letter, say, of a given font, weight, etc., and produce
> the plane (filled) shape in 3-dimensional space corresponding to a
> trace of the letter's outline?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Fran
>



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