LightWave 3D [8] 1001 Tips & Tricks phần 10 ppsx

Versions: All 1299 Kurtis Harris | Installation | All Levels Using the Same Hardware Lock on PC and Mac If you have the USB port hardware lock, and it has the word “DUO” stamped into the

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1298 Kurtis Harris | Installation | All Levels

Conflicts with Other Software Using a Hardware Lock

There is the potential for conflict with other programs using a hardware locksimilar to LightWave’s This conflict can take a number of forms, including thefollowing

If a system has multiple software packages that use similar hardware locks,the software packages may have trouble differentiating between them and/or thesystem may have trouble processing that many signals on the same bus

Some software installations and their related updates write information to thefirmware on their hardware lock This process is sometimes referred to as

“flashing.” If the system the software is on has multiple similar hardware locks,

it may not be able to differentiate between them and will flash them all If thishappens, other hardware locks may become unrecognizable to their originalsoftware packages This will require negatively affected hardware locks to besent back to their original manufacturer for reprogramming

Versions: All

Using the Same Hardware Lock on PC and Mac

If you have the USB port hardware lock, and it has the word “DUO”

stamped into the plastic, you can use it on both PCs and Macs However, thehardware lock will generate a different Hardware Lock ID on the PC than on theMac Since the Permanent License Key is based on the Hardware Lock ID, youwill have to register it with Customer Service for both Hardware Lock IDs.Since you can only operate LightWave in its full-featured mode on whateversystem the hardware lock is attached to, you are allowed to have the softwareinstalled on more than one machine at the same time

Versions: 6-8

Moving the Hardware Lock

The ADB and parallel port hardware locks are not “hot-swappable.” Thismeans that they should not be installed on or removed from a computer while it

is turned on Doing so may damage them The computer should be powereddown completely when adding or removing an ADB or parallel port hardwarelock

The USB hardware lock is “hot-swappable.” It can be safely installed orremoved while the computer is running

Versions: All

Installation

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Passing Signal through a Parallel Port Hardware Lock

The parallel port hardware lock is of a pass-through design, allowing you to

“daisy-chain” other parallel devices, such as a printer, off of it Although thisfeature has been provided for your convenience, signals and/or current passingthrough the hardware lock can damage it, necessitating the hardware lock beingsent in for repairs

If you have multiple parallel port devices, the use of a switcher box is ommended Switcher boxes are available from most electronic parts houses andcomputer stores with a varying number of built-in ports In this way, you canconnect multiple parallel port devices to the same port, allowing the signal to bepassed through an easily replaceable and inexpensive switcher box, rather than amore valuable device, like a hardware lock

LightWave 7.5-7.5c: By default, LightWave’s installer will place all neededfiles and folders for LightWave’s operation into a folder called LightWave at theroot level of your C: system drive It is recommended you use this default instal-lation location and name, as it will provide the most consistent results

Versions: 7.5-8

8 Newbie Note: If you are going to install LightWave to anything other than the default location, it

must be a folder dedicated to LightWave only Specifying an installation folder that already contains otherfolders, such as C:\Program Files, may scatter the folders and files LightWave needs to operate properly,

leading to inconsistent results when using the program

Update Version Requirements

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Multiple LightWave Folders on Hard Drive After Installing an Update

Some operating systems create multiple LightWave folders on the hard drivewhen upgrading To help avoid this issue, when upgrading from LightWave 7 toLightWave 7.5 or LightWave 7.5c, rename the existing LightWave 7 folder toLightWave and direct the update installer to this folder when it asks what folder

to install to

Versions: 7.5-7.5c

ð Mac Note for Newbies: Having a blank space in the name of a folder or hard drive may cause

problems when installing and/or using LightWave

Registration

1305 Kurtis Harris | Registration | All Levels

Hardware Lock Not Found

This means LightWave cannot find your hardware lock There are severalthings that could cause this:

n Did you install the drivers for the hardware lock?

n Is the hardware lock attached to the machine?

n If you have a parallel port hardware lock, is the parallel port set to ECPmode?

n If you have a USB port hardware lock, is the green LED lit?

Versions: All

License Key Not Found

This means LightWave cannot find your license key There are several thingsthat could cause this:

n Did you give Customer Service the correct Hardware Lock ID number?

n Did you type the Permanent License Key in correctly, including dashes?

n Are there any blank spaces, carriage returns, or ASCII characters in thelicense.key file? If so, delete them

n Is the name of the license.key file spelled correctly?

n Was a txt file extension added to the license.key file? If so, rename the file

Versions: All

Registration

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8 Newbie Note: Full version-number upgrades, such as 6.0, 7.0, and 8.0, require a new Permanent

License Key, even if you have not changed your hardware lock You must re-register with NewTek CustomerService whenever you install such an upgrade

Obtaining a Permanent License Key

LightWave 3D [8]: At the end of the program installation procedure, youwill see a dialog box prompting you to register If you are on a computer that isconnected to the Internet, you will be able to register and receive your Perma-nent License Key immediately by following the on-screen prompts

If you are not on a computer that is connected to the Internet, you can ter using another computer that is connected to the Internet by visiting

regis-http://register.newtek.com or by phone at 1-800-TOASTER If you use either ofthese methods, you will need to be able to provide your LightWave 3D [8] SerialNumber, located on a barcode decal on the program CD, your Hardware Lock

ID, which will be displayed on Step 2/4 of the registration prompt, and yourcontact information

LightWave 7.5c and earlier: Once you have installed the hardware lock ers, the hardware lock, and LightWave, opening Modeler will display a text boxthat tells you your Hardware Lock ID number and how many days you have left

driv-to obtain your Permanent License Key You can obtain your Permanent LicenseKey by registering LightWave online at http://www.newtek.com/support/reg/index.html or by calling 1-800-TOASTER You will be asked to provideyour Serial Number, Hardware Lock ID number, and information about yourself.Once you have registered, Customer Service will provide you with a PermanentLicense Key and instructions on how to input it

n In Europe, please contact NewTek-Europe at

http://www.newtek-europe.com

n In Australia, please contact New Magic at http://www.newmagic.com.au

n In Japan, please contact DStorm at http://www.dstorm.co.jp

Versions: All

Creating a license.key File

In the event that you do not have a license.key file in your grams folder, you can create one yourself

LightWave\Pro-On the PC:

1 Open Notepad

2 Enter the Permanent License Key you were provided by Customer Service

3 Save the text document into the C:\LightWave\Programs (7.5) or C:\ProgramFiles\LightWave [8]\Programs (8.0) folder

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3 Save the text document into the LightWave\Programs (7.5) or LightWave[8]\Programs (8.0) folder.

4 Close SimpleText

For Mac OS X:

1 Open TextEdit

2 Enter the Permanent License Key you were provided by Customer Service

3 Save the text document into the LightWave\Programs (7.5) or LightWave[8]\Programs (8.0) folder

4 Close TextEdit

Versions: 7.5-8

LightWave Will Not Open After Inputting the Permanent License Key

LightWave’s Hub does not activate until the Permanent License Key hasbeen entered If LightWave was working before the Permanent License Key wasentered but not after, it is possible that a setting on your machine is blocking theHub from activating, which will in turn keep LightWave from opening Moreinformation about this issue can be found in Tip 1353

Versions: 6-8

Files

1310 Kurtis Harris | Files | All Levels

File Format Support for Other 3D Applications

Without any third-party add-ons, LightWave will import and export the obj,.3ds, and dxf 3D file formats and the eps and ai 2D file formats for creating3D objects

Due to differences between programs, you will notice a difference in scalewhen importing or exporting 3D file formats from one 3D application toanother

Versions: All

Setting the Content Directory

LightWave 3D [8]: When loading files into LightWave, it will automaticallystart in the C:\Program Files\LightWave [8]\Content folder created duringinstall, also referred to as the Content directory For example, when loadingobject files it will look in C:\Program Files\LightWave [8]\Content\Objects,scene files in C:\Program Files\LightWave [8]\Content\Scenes, etc

LightWave 3D [8]’s content is installed separately from the program byinstalling the CDs labeled “Content Disc 1” and/or “Content Disc 2.” Althoughuninstalling the LightWave 3D [8] program should not remove anything withinthe Content folder, it is not recommended to keep your working files in the

Files

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C:\Program Files\LightWave [8]\Content folder, because they will be deleted ifyou ever uninstall the content CDs for any reason.

LightWave 7.5-7.5c: When loading files into LightWave, it will cally start in the C:\LightWave folder created during install, also referred to asthe Content directory For example, when loading object files it will look inC:\LightWave\Objects, scene files in C:\LightWave\Scenes, etc It is not recom-mended to keep your working files in the C:\LightWave folder though, becausethey will be deleted if you ever uninstall the software for any reason

automati-You can have LightWave automatically look in your created Content

1 Go to Layout>Options>Set Content Directory

2 Use the file requester to navigate to the folder

3 Click on OK

For your created Content Directory to work properly, you should mirror thefolder structure in the original Content Directory in LightWave For example:Original: Your’s:

short-1312 Kurtis Harris | Files | All Levels

Surfaces and Pivot Points Are Not Being Saved

Surface and pivot point settings are saved with the object file, not the scenefile So, if the surface properties or pivot point position of an object are changed

in Layout, you must save the object from Layout, using Save>Save All objects

Versions: 6-8

Limits and Keyframes Are Not Being Saved

While features such as surface properties and pivot point positions are savedwith the object file, there are also features that are saved with the scene file.These features include, but are not limited to, keyframes, rotation limits,

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deformations, cameras, and lighting The scene itself must be saved for thisinformation to be recorded.

of the object in its new state, with a different name

Versions: 6-8

Configuration File Changes Not Being Saved

This is usually due to being logged onto the computer with a sions sub-account If the sub-account does not have sufficient permissions toallow the configuration files to be saved when they are changed, they will bereset to the defaults every time you log on or off the computer

limited-permis-Versions: 6-8

1316 Eki Halkka | Files | Intermediate

When LightWave Goes Haywire

If LightWave goes irreparably haywire on you, try the following:

Close Layout, Modeler, and the Hub Delete the LWHUB.cfg, LW3.cfg,LWEXT3.cfg, and LWM3.cfg files in your configurations directory Open Lay-out Go to Edit Plug-ins (Alt+F11) and scan your LightWave directory OpenModeler and the Hub by pressing F12 Close Layout, Modeler, and the Hub Youshould now have a “fresh” install with all your plug-ins added once again Makesafety copies of all the configuration files; the next time you can simply over-write the corrupted config files with these safety copies After each major update

to your installation, remember to back up the configs again Think of these ups as “snapshots” of the way you have your system configured (In fact, youmight want to make those backup files right now, before you have problems, sothey’re ready if you need them And don’t forget to save your menus and key-board shortcuts as well, although you can load them from the config files in apinch.)

back-Versions: 6-8

ð Mac Note (Robin Wood): This works the same way on the Mac, but the files you need to deleteare the various LightWave Prefs files in your Home>Library>Preferences folder And yes, do back every-thing up, and do it right now if you haven’t done it before You might be very glad you did!

Files

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General Tips

1317 Kurtis Harris | General Tips | All Levels

Online Documentation

LightWave 8: The entirety of LightWave 8’s documentation can be accessed

in an online format From either Modeler or Layout, left-click on the Help ton toward the top-left of the interface, then left-click again on Contents in thedrop-down menu

but-The entire content of the Help System is searchable by keyword

8 Newbie Note: The keyboard shortcut to access the online documentation is F1

LightWave 7.5: A new manual, including all of the LightWave 7 manualcontent, plus new content updated for LightWave 7.5 and 7.5c, can be down-loaded from http://www.newtek.com/products/LightWave/product/7.5c/

index.html The entire content of the Help System is searchable by keyword.Once you have downloaded the help system, installing it will create thefolder C:\LightWave\Online_Docs\help You can access the help system byopening the index.html file from this folder in your web browser

Versions: 7.5-8

8 Newbie Note: To quickly access the help system again in the future, the first time you open the

index.html file, bookmark the Help system in your web browser

Startup Error 212

This is usually an indicator that the drivers for the hardware lock are missing

or have been corrupted, or that the hardware lock itself has ceased to function

To determine which is the case, there are some things you can try

n Reinstall the hardware lock from the LightWave installation CD

n Download and install the latest hardware lock drivers appropriate for youroperating system from http://www.safenet-inc.com/support/sentinelESC.asp

or http://www.safenet-inc.com/support/eveESC.asp

n If you are using the USB port hardware lock, see if the green LED on it is lit

n If you are using the USB port hardware lock, move it to a different USB port

on your system

n Install LightWave on another system, or attach the hardware lock to anothersystem running LightWave

Versions: All

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Viewports Display Only Background Color/Texture

This is usually due to having a video card or associated driver that is patible with LightWave

incom-The first thing to try would be to make sure you have downloaded andinstalled the latest drivers available for your particular video card

LightWave requires a video card with a minimum of 32MB (6.0 to 7.5) or64MB (8.0) of onboard video RAM It is recommended that you use a videocard with onboard RAM in the range of 128 to 256MB Many options are nowavailable in this range, some of them for as little as $80

When shopping for a new video card, you should also look for one that ports the latest versions of OpenGL and DirectX

sup-Versions: 6-8

Panels Don’t Retain Second-Display Settings Between Sessions

Although LightWave will operate on dual-monitor systems, it was not cifically designed for dual-monitor display When using LightWave on a

spe-dual-monitor system, modal panels will return to the original display screenwhen first launched after starting a new session

Versions: 6-8

Pop-up Menus Appear Out of Position and/or at Center of Display

This is usually caused by the settings established in your system’s graphicscard preferences Unless overruled by these settings, LightWave will displaypop-up menus next to the buttons that spawn them Refer to the literature pro-vided with your graphics card or the technical support provided by your graphicscard’s manufacturer for information about setting the preferences to have yoursystem display in the expected manner

Versions: 6-8

Opaque Polygons Display as Transparent or Not At All

If a polygon becomes non-planar, this can cause it to display as transparent

or partially transparent in a viewport using a shaded display mode If this is thecase, tripling the polygon will cause it to display as expected While in Polygonmode in Modeler, you can check for non-planar polygons by opening the Poly-gon Statistics panel and clicking on the + to the left of Non-planar This willhighlight any non-planar polygons

If the polygon’s normal is facing away from the viewer, it will not display atall If this is the case, flipping the polygon will cause it to be displayed asexpected

Versions: 6-8

General Tips

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8 Newbie Note: The keyboard shortcut to triple polygons is “T.” The keyboard shortcut to open the

Polygon Statistics Panel is “w.” The keyboard shortcut to flip polygons is “f.”

Loading Images

Images can be loaded directly into most areas of LightWave that use them bychoosing the (load image) option from the appropriate drop-down menu.Images can also be preloaded into LightWave through the Image Editor.Once an image has been preloaded, it will be automatically entered as a selec-tion in all appropriate drop-down menus

Image loading is a function of LightWave that is handled by plug-ins If youare having difficulty loading a particular image format, try reloading yourplug-ins The instructions for doing so can be found in Tip 1329

Versions: 7-9

8 Newbie Note: The keyboard shortcut for launching the Image Editor is Ctrl+F4 (7-7.5c) or F6 (8)

Surfaces Not Displaying in Viewports

All of LightWave’s viewports have multiple display options Image mapsapplied to surfaces can be viewed in Modeler by setting any viewport to Texture

in Modeler or Textured Shaded Solid in Layout

Procedural textures cannot be viewed in OpenGL mode To see them, youwill need to do a final render from Layout as a still or animation, or make use ofLightWave’s VIPER feature

Versions: 7-8

8 Newbie Note: The keyboard shortcut to render the current keyframe is F9 Use F10 to render the

entire scene and F11 to render the selected object

ð Mac Note for Newbies: With the release of OS X (Panther), Macintosh mapped the F9, F10, andF11 keys for the operating system itself, so you will not be able to use them for LightWave unless you firstremap them for Exposé and then remap them for LightWave

Presets Not Displaying

You must have an object loaded into the program and have the Surface tor open before opening the Presets panel in order to have the Presets panelpopulate

Edi-Presets are not provided for all portions of the Edi-Presets panel Room is vided to save presets you create yourself

pro-Versions: 7-8

8 Newbie Note: The keyboard shortcut for opening the Surface Editor is Ctrl+F3 (7-7.5c) or F5 (8)

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Keyboard Shortcuts Missing

In the process of optimizing and updating LightWave, it may be found that akeyboard shortcut is not used enough to warrant keeping it in the menu, but itsfunctionality will remain in LightWave If a keyboard shortcut has been

removed from the menu, never existed in the first place, or has been changed,you can add it yourself using these steps:

1 Go to Edit>Edit Keyboard Shortcuts This will open the Configure Keyspanel

2 Select the feature to add a keyboard shortcut for from the column on the left

3 Select the key(set) to assign the keyboard shortcut to from the column in themiddle If there is already a keyboard shortcut assigned to that key(set), youwill first have to unassign it, using the Unassign key on the right

4 Click the Assign button on the right

5 Click the Done button on the right

Versions: 7-8

8 Newbie Note: The keyboard shortcut to open the Configure Keys panel is Alt+F9

Menu Buttons Missing

In the process of optimizing and updating LightWave, it may be found that abutton is not used enough to warrant keeping it in the menu, but its functionalitywill remain in LightWave If a button has been removed from the menu, neverexisted in the first place, or has been relocated, you can add it yourself usingthese steps:

1 Go to Edit>Edit Menu Layout This will open the Configure Menus panel

2 Select the feature to add a button for from the column on the left

3 Select the location to add the button to from the column in the middle

4 Click the Add button on the right

5 Click the Done button on the right

Versions: 7-8

8 Newbie Note: The keyboard shortcut to open the Configure Menus panel is Alt+F10

Missing Menu Tabs and/or Buttons

The tabs going across the top of the LightWave interface, as well as themenu buttons going down the left side, can be turned on or off with the key-board shortcut Alt+F2 If this does not bring them back, you can try resettingyour configuration files The process for doing this can be found in Tip 1335

Versions: 7-8

General Tips

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Custom Operation Failed Cannot Load External Plug-in File *

Many of LightWave’s functions are performed by small external programfiles called plug-ins

This message usually means that, for whatever reason, LightWave is unable

to read the plug-in file that controls the selected function

You can quickly make sure that all plug-in files in the C:\LightWave (7-7.5c)

or C:\Program Files\LightWave [8] (8) folder are loaded on your hard drive byfollowing these steps for LightWave 7-7.5c:

1 In Modeler, click on the Modeler button at the top left of the interface rightbelow the File button

2 Scroll down to Plug-ins and across to Edit Plug-ins This will open the EditPlug-Ins window

3 Click on the Scan Directory button to the right

4 Use the file requester to navigate to the LightWave folder, and click once onthe Plug-ins folder to select it Then click on OK

5 After a small delay, you will see a dialog box that says “* Plug-ins found in

* files.” Click on OK

6 Repeat steps 3-5 with the LScripts folder

7 Repeat steps 3-5 with the Legacy_Plug-ins folder

8 On the right, click on Done to close the Edit Plug-ins window

9 Close and reopen Modeler and the Hub, to make sure you have a clean exitand restart that saves the modifications

ð Mac Note: If you are using a Mac, and do not have a Legacy_Plug-ins folder, it can be downloadedfrom the appropriate page for your OS at: http://www.newtek.com/products/lightwave/downloads

LightWave 8:

1 In Modeler, click on the Utilities tab at the top left of the interface

2 Click on the Edit Plug-ins button under the Plug-ins heading This will openthe Edit Plug-ins window

3 Click on the Scan Directory button to the right

4 Use the file requester to navigate to the LightWave folder, and click once onthe Plug-ins folder to select it Then click on OK

5 After a small delay, you will see a dialog box that says “* Plug-ins found in

* files.” Click on OK

6 Repeat steps 3-5 with the Legacy_Plug-ins folder

7 On the right, click on Done to close the Edit Plug-Ins window

8 Close and reopen Modeler and the Hub to make sure you have a clean exitand restart that saves the modifications

If the Hub is operating properly, by loading the plug-ins into one part ofLightWave, such as Modeler, you are actually loading the plug-ins into bothModeler and Layout, even if the other part is closed at the time

Versions: 7-8

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8 Newbie Note: The keyboard shortcut to open the Edit Plug-ins panel is Alt+F11.

Modeler

1330 Kurtis Harris | Modeler | All Levels

Modeler Closes Immediately Upon Opening

This can be due to having a video card or its driver that is incompatible withLightWave More information about this problem can be found in Tip 1319

If Layout opens, but Modeler does not, this can also be due to the hardwarelock or its driver malfunctioning More information about this issue can befound in Tip 1318

Versions: 7-8

Loading Background Images

Modeler allows you to load images into the background of orthogonal views

to use as reference You can use any of the image formats that LightWaverecognizes

1 Open the Display Options panel

2 Click on the Backdrop tab

3 Select the viewport you would like to load the image into from the buttons atthe top

4 Click on the Image drop-down to open it Then scroll down to (load image)and click on it If the image has already been loaded into Modeler throughthe Image Editor, you can select it immediately from the Image drop-down.Otherwise, a file requester will open to allow you to choose the image toload

Backdrop image settings will not be saved with the object file, and they willnot return from session to session of Modeler To save them, you must use thePresets>Save Current Backdrop or Presets>Save All Backdrops option on theBackdrop tab of the Display Options panel

Versions: 7-8

8 Newbie Note: The keyboard shortcut for launching the Display Options panel is “d.”

Selection Set Displays as *****

If you exceed the number of points/polygons selected that Modeler is able todisplay in the space provided, it will display a series of asterisks instead

Versions: 7-8

Modeler

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1333 Wes “kurv” Beckwith | Modeler | All Levels

Grid Snap

If you are new to modeling or LightWave in general, you might find thatwhile moving points it is difficult to get them in a certain place, or they snap toareas even while zoomed in If this is a problem, make sure Grid Snap is turnedoff (it is normally on) To do this go to the Display Options menu by clicking onEdit>Display Options or by simply pressing the “d” key Then click on Unitsand change the Grid Snap option

Versions: 5-8

Layout

1334 Kurtis Harris | Layout | All Levels

Layout Closes Immediately Upon Opening

If Modeler opens, but Layout does not, this can be due to the hardware lock

or its driver malfunctioning More information about this issue can be found inTip 1318

Versions: 7-8

Graph Editor Closes Immediately Upon Opening

The most common cause of this problem is that LightWave’s configurationfiles have become corrupted If this is the case, you can create new configurationfiles

On the PC:

1 Go to C:\Documents and Settings\User Name You should see a number offiles that start with “lw” and end with “.cfg.” Depending on how many ofLightWave’s features you use, there could be as few as three and as many aseight or more

2 Select all of these files and delete them

LightWave will rebuild all the files automatically when the related featuresare next used

On the Mac:

1 Go to Users\User Name\Library\Preferences You should see a number offiles that start with “lightwave” and end with “prefs.” Depending on howmany of LightWave’s features you use, there could be as few as three and asmany as eight or more

2 Select all of these files and delete them

3 Go to LightWave\Programs\Backup Configs and run the program

InitConfigs This will rebuild default configuration files for LightWave.Function-specific configuration files will be rebuilt when those functions arenext used

ÜNote: This process will require you to re-add all of your plug-ins and reimplement any changes youhave made to the interface

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Once you have created a clean set of configuration files, you may want toback them up to another location This will allow you to copy them over, in theevent the ones you are using become corrupted, saving you the effort of reload-ing all plug-ins and resetting all menu options However, this will only work if

no file locations are changed from the time you create them to the time they arecopied over You will also need to re-add any plug-ins acquired for LightWavesince their creation

If you do decide to back up your configuration files for later use, it is mended that you save them somewhere other than the hard drive, such as afloppy disk or CD

recom-Versions: 7-8

ð Mac Note for Newbies: With the release of OS X 10.3 (Panther), this became a known issue withLightWave 7-7.5c, due to changes made by Macintosh within the operating system that affected the function-ality of 3D applications on the platform, including LightWave With the release of OS X 10.3.3, this issue hasbeen corrected by Macintosh

Object(s) Return to Original Position When Moving Timeline/Rendering

This is usually due to not setting keyframes after modifying the object(s).When you change the position, rotation, or scale of an item (such as objects,bones, lights, or cameras) in LightWave Layout, you must set a keyframe torecord the change to that item If you do not set a keyframe, LightWave assumesyou did not want to implement that change, and resets the item when you per-form an action such as changing the position in the timeline or rendering Thisfeature can also be used as an alternative to undo in certain circumstances.Selecting the Auto Key button at the bottom center of the LightWave Layoutinterface will automatically create keyframes for items as they are modified.However, since it is an automatic feature, it may create a keyframe you do notwant, and the keyframe must be manually deleted

Versions: All

Items Unexpectedly Change Position When Parented to Other Items

Parenting one item to another causes the child item to inherit any tions (movement, rotation, scaling) from the parent item If the parent or childitems have been modified in any way before parenting, they will be changedimmediately upon parenting

modifica-In order to parent one item to another without changing that item’s position

in the scene, select the Parent In Place option from the General Options panel

Versions: 7-8

8 Newbie Note: The keyboard shortcut to open the General Options panel is “o.”

Layout

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Completely Removing Envelopes

An animation envelope can be completely removed by holding down theShift key and left-clicking on the “e” (envelope) button

Versions: 6-8

VIPER Does Not Display Anything

VIPER needs render buffer information in order to display changes madewhile accessing it

To correct this:

1 Check the Enable VIPER option in the Render Options panel

2 Perform an F9 render of the scene

3 Open a panel that makes use of the VIPER option, such as the SurfaceEditor

4 Open the VIPER panel As you make changes in the panel that uses VIPER,click on the Render button on the VIPER panel to see the render previewupdate with those changes

Versions: 7-8

8 Newbie Note: The VIPER render preview can be used to view changes to procedural texture settingsthat cannot be seen in viewports set to shaded mode VIPER does not render shadows The keyboard short-cut to open the Surface Editor panel is Ctrl+F3

ð Mac Note for Newbies: With the release of OS X 10.3 (Panther), Macintosh mapped the F9, F10,and F11 keys for the operating system itself, so you will not be able to use them for LightWave unless youfirst remap them for Exposé and then remap them for LightWave

Objects Turn Into Boxes When Viewing an Animation Preview

The more polygons Layout has to redraw in OpenGL, the slower the back will run If it is necessary to play an animation preview back in real time,Layout will convert objects to bounding box mode Changing to bounding boxmode does not change your object in any way or affect the way a final-renderedanimation will look It only affects the way the animation displays in preview.The number of polygons Layout will redraw without changing the object tobounding box mode can be set manually by using the Bounding Box Thresholdoption in the Display Options panel If you have a video card with a largeamount of onboard video RAM, or are more concerned with seeing the actualmovement of the objects rather than the correct speed of that movement, you canset this number higher You can determine the number to set it to by accessingthe Statistics panel and looking at the polygon count for the scene

play-Versions: 6-8

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8 Newbie Note: The keyboard shortcut to open the Display Options panel is “d.” The keyboard shortcut

to open the Statistics panel is “w.”

Long Render Times

As is true with any 3D application, any feature added to a render session willincrease the scene’s render time The more features, the greater the increase.Features that increase render time include but are not limited to:

n Shadows

n Reflection

n Refraction

n Antialiasing

n Lighting effects such as lens flares and radiosity

n Special effects such as HyperVoxels, volumetrics, and fog

n Post-process effects such as Soft Filter

Versions: 6-8

8 Newbie Note: Lowering the render mode to Wireframe or QuickShade in the Render Options panelwill lower render times but will also lower the realism of the image These modes can be useful when doingmotion tests that do not require photorealism

Long Render Times II

Applications that run in the background, such as virus protection utilities,can divert system resources from LightWave, leading to longer render times.Disabling such applications during a render session can shorten render times

ÜImportant: If you disable virus protection utilities during a render session, avoid using the Internetduring the render session and be sure to re-enable the utility once the session has ended

Even though current systems are designed to provide for multitasking, ning more than one application at a time, using your system while rendering willdivert system resources from LightWave, leading to increased render times

Versions: 6-8

8 Newbie Note: Higher antialiasing settings will increase render times

Layout

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Segment Memory Settings

The Segment Memory option in the Camera Properties panel will determinehow much memory is assigned to the rendering process The more memoryassigned to the rendering process, the fewer segments the image is rendered in

It will be necessary to test different settings to determine which setting is mosteffective for your application However, as a general rule, smaller images renderfaster in fewer segments, and larger images (print resolution) render faster inmore segments

If you are receiving low memory errors when attempting to render, settingthe segment memory lower may help to resolve the issue

Versions: 6-8

Setting Limited Region

Using the Limited Region option in the Camera tab (6-7.5c) or the Rendertab (8) will let you render a small portion of the camera’s view, allowing forquicker render times when it is only necessary to review a small portion of thefinal render However, LightWave will still buffer the entire image frame inmemory, so Limited Region is not an answer to issues arising from memoryerrors when attempting to render larger format images, such as those at printresolution

Versions: 6-8

Screen Saver Crashes Render

Running a screen saver on your system will divert system resources fromLightWave, especially those that utilize OpenGL In a best-case scenario, thiswill increase your render times In a worst-case scenario, the screen saver willdivert enough system resources away from LightWave to crash a render inprogress

Although most monitors now have built-in protection to keep the screenfrom becoming “burned-in” by the display remaining static for a long period oftime, if you are worried about this happening or want to conserve energy, simplyturn the monitor itself off while rendering

Versions: All

Saving an RGB Image from an F9 Render

Using the keyboard shortcut F9 in Layout will render a still image of the rent frame selected in the timeline This image is not displayed or saved

cur-automatically

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To display it, you will need to set the Render Display option in the RenderOptions panel to an option other than (none) Image Viewer is recommended.

To save it, you will need to use the File>Save RGBA option in the ImageViewer window and select an image type to save it as The image’s alpha chan-nel can also be saved from the Image Viewer window by selecting Image>Alpha

at the right of the window and then using the File>Save RGBA option again

Versions: 6-8

8 Newbie Note: When saving an RGB image from an F9 render, you must manually put the file sion at the end of the filename Note that some image formats will save an alpha channel automatically,

exten-such as tga and tif

ð Mac Note for Newbies: Although the Mac OS does not require the use of the file extension to ognize the file type, the Windows OS does If you need to move the files from a Mac to a PC, you will have toadd the file extension if you have not already done so

rec-With the release of OS X 10.3 (Panther), Macintosh mapped the F9, F10, and F11 keys for the operatingsystem itself, so you will not be able to use them for LightWave unless you first remap them for Exposé andthen remap them for LightWave

Post-Render Processes Not Appearing in Alpha

LightWave will usually display actual geometry in the alpha It will not play most post-render processes, such as lens flares, since they are not produced

dis-by actual geometry

Versions: 6-8

8 Newbie Note: A post-render process is a 2D effect applied mathematically to an image after the

geometry is rendered, much like applying a filter to an image in a 2D image application

1349 Kevin Phillips | Layout | Beginner

Jumbled Clip Maps and Images in Render

If you have a large scene of facades, or items with clip maps or transparencymaps that suddenly appear to lose track of themselves and get jumbled, it islikely that this is caused by the use of duplication tools in the Image Editor.It’s a common practice to simply clone or instance a 32-bit image to create aseparate “alpha” version for use in clip mapping However as of LightWave7.5c, this still causes a problem where images will eventually start to becomejumbled and lose track of their copies If this is the case for you, the safestmethod is to generate alpha images as separate files and avoid using the ImageEditor’s duplication facilities altogether

Versions: 6-7.5c

Layout

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1350 Kurtis Harris, Kevin Phillips | Layout | All Levels

Plug-in Image Saver Failed

This error appears when the plug-in that saves the images to disk does notwork correctly or could not write the images to disk The most common reasonfor this error is an invalid file path, such as if you moved the scene to anothercomputer and just pressed the F10 key It’s possible that the save options pointed

to a disk or folder that doesn’t exist on the current computer To correct this,simply do the following:

1 Click Yes to abort the render

2 Open the Rendering Options panel and verify that the output file paths arevalid

3 Save the scene to save the changes you made

4 Re-render your scene again

Note that accidentally renaming, moving, or deleting folders while

LightWave is still rendering will cause this error if it cannot find the correctplace to save the new renders Be careful if you are browsing images whileLightWave is still rendering them

This error is also possible if there has been a slight corruption of the

LightWave scene file in the area that specifies the render saving options If this

is the case, it can be corrected by manually editing the scene file in the text tor appropriate for your operating system

edi-1 Open the scene file in the text editor

2 Scroll down to find the lines that specify the save options They will usually

be toward the bottom of the file and look something like the followingexamples:

Animation file:

SaveAnimationName C:\LightWaveRenders\Animations\Test1.aviAnimationSaver AVI(.avi)

Still image file(s):

SaveRGBImagesPrefix C:\LightWaveRenders\Animations\Test1

RGBImageSaver LW_JPEG(.jpg)

3 Delete both lines

4 Save the scene file and close the text editor

5 Reopen the scene file in Layout

6 Reset the render saving options

7 Save the scene file

It is recommended that you make a backup of your scene file before forming this operation in the event that you make an unintended change in yourtext editor

per-Versions: 7-8

8 Newbie Note: In order to see the scene file listed in the text editor’s file requester so you can selectand open it, you may need to set the file type option at the bottom of the file requester to All File Types

or “*”

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Multithreading

LightWave can take advantage of multiple processors while rendering byusing the Multithreading option near the bottom of the Rendering tab in the Ren-dering Options panel in Layout The normal setting would be one thread perprocessor; however, performance varies with different settings It is recom-mended that you test different settings to determine the best results, even to thepoint of setting the number of threads higher than the number of processors inthe system

When doing multithreaded rendering, it is recommended that you avoid

run-ning any other programs, including those that run in the background.

Versions: 6-8

Inconsistent Results When Using ScreamerNet

ScreamerNet can be an effective tool for quickly rendering large animationscenes by taking advantage of the processing power of multiple computers.However, it can be somewhat complicated to configure, and the consistency ofthe results can vary greatly based on the setup

The most common setup errors are:

n Multiple platforms ScreamerNet is designed for single-platform rendering.Due to the differences in the way rendering calculations are performed, youwill see variations if ScreamerNet is run across multiple operating systems(i.e., Windows, Mac, Linux) and/or multiple processor brands (i.e., Intel andAMD) For best results, use matching operating systems (such as all Win-dows 2000) and processors (such as all Intel Pentium 4)

n Incorrect paths All machines used in a ScreamerNet setup must be accessingthe same objects, scenes, plug-ins, etc., to render properly There cannot sim-ply be copies of the same files on each machine All computers must beaccessing the same content directory mapped to the same network drive let-ter (such as S:\LightWave\NetworkRender)

One of the most comprehensive tutorials for setting up ScreamerNet II waswritten by Matt Gorner It is hosted by NewTek Europe at http://www.newtek-europe.com/Stuff/LightWave/Misc/MattGorner_ScreamerNet_Tutorial.pdf

Versions: 7-8

Hub

1353 Kurtis Harris | Hub | All Levels

Hub Does Not Open

The Hub is disabled in Demo Mode/Discovery Edition If you are using alicensed version of LightWave, look at the program name at the top left of yourscreen If it says Demo Mode or Discovery Edition, this could be an indicatorthat the hardware lock is not attached or is not functioning properly

Hub

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Although the Hub does not cause LightWave to access the Internet, it doesutilize TCP/IP protocols (the same ones used by programs that do access theInternet) to allow Modeler and Layout to share information If your computer isnot connected to the Internet, you may need to enable TCP/IP protocols on yoursystem If your computer has a firewall, it may think that LightWave is attempt-ing to access the Internet without permission and block it Since the settings varysomewhat for enabling TCP/IP protocols or making a firewall allow the Hub tofunction, if you are unfamiliar with how to effect these changes yourself, pleasecontact someone familiar with your operating system or your firewall to assistyou in doing so.

If you are using Mac OS 9, the Hub is disabled by default To enable it:

1 Go to LightWave\Programs

2 Open the Modeler cmdLine file with SimpleText

3 Delete the “ -0” (space-hyphen-zero) that is in the file

4 Save the file

5 Repeat this process for the Layout cmdLine file

The next time you open Modeler or Layout, the Hub should open

automatically

Versions: 6-8

1354 Kurtis Harris | Hub | All Levels

Disabling the Hub

Should you want to disable the Hub, make sure Layout, Modeler, and theHub are closed, and follow the process below for your operating system

LightWave 3D [8]:

PC:

1 Go to the Start>Programs>NewTek LightWave 3D [8]>Modeler shortcut inthe Start menu

2 Right-click on it and select Properties to open the Properties panel

3 At the end of the Target line, add “ -0” (space-hyphen-zero)

4 Click on Apply, then OK to apply the change and close the Properties panel

5 Repeat for the Start>Programs>NewTek LightWave 3D [8]>LightWaveshortcut

Mac:

2 Open the Modeler cmdLine file with TextEdit

3 Type “ -0” (space-hyphen-zero) on a blank line in the file

4 Save the file

5 Repeat for the LightWave cmdLine file

LightWave 7.5c and earlier:

PC:

1 Go to the Start>Programs>LightWave>Modeler 7.5 shortcut in the Startmenu

2 Right-click on it and select Properties to open the Properties panel

3 At the end of the Target line, add “ -0” (space-hyphen-zero)

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4 Click on Apply, then OK to apply the change and close the Properties panel.

5 Repeat for the Start>Programs>LightWave>LightWave 7.5 shortcut

Mac:

2 Open the Modeler cmdLine file with SimpleText (OS 9) or TextEdit (OS X)

3 Type “ -0” (space-hyphen-zero) on a blank line in the file

4 Save the file

5 Repeat for the LightWave cmdLine file

The Hub will not launch automatically the next time you open LightWave

Versions: 6-8

Hub

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Chapter 15

Bonus Section

Optimization Pays at Render Time

by Jack “Deuce” Bennett

It may be because of the great advances in computer technology and the paralleladvances in animation software that we have become spoiled into thinking that

we need not be sparing in what we demand of our computers Those of us whobegan animating on prototype machines that required infinite patience to render

a single frame learned early that some luxuries come at great expense

Amazingly, many, including some professionals in the industry, still don’tunderstand why they should be frugal in building their scenes for final rendering

of their projects I know of a few people who were let go from their jobs becausetheir scenes clogged up the render farm at the studio where they worked

An animation project is driven by two commodities — time and money.Whatever may waste either of these commodities will ultimately affect the suc-cess of the project Success is generally measured in dollars of profit Meetingthe schedule is of great importance in making a profit Coming in under sched-ule generates bonuses for the producer and sometimes for the crew as well.Now what, ultimately, am I talking about? I remember when people wouldpost pictures of works in progress (WIPs) on the Internet and brag, “This modelhas 1.4 million polygons and took six hours to render on my P4 Xeon 2.8 GhZ.”Friends of mine in the industry would then say to themselves, “Well, he’ll neverget a job at *fill in the blank*.” Now, why would they make a comment likethat?

Being a pro in 3D means that you can create stunning works and have those

works render in your lifetime That is optimization So, what is optimizationanyway? Well, let’s talk a little about what ultimately is going to be rendered.The assets of an animation project consist of characters, props, environmentalobjects, and the set, be it a landscape or an interior room All assets that willoccupy the foreground of the shot will, of course, need to be at a high resolutionfor the style and object In some shots, only one or two walls of the room setwill be seen and their back sides never will be So, if the room is part of a com-plete house there is no need to load down the scene with the entire house.Automobiles can easily incorporate half a million polys, but if we are seeinghundreds of autos in an aerial shot of a freeway, each vehicle will only be repre-sented by maybe a dozen pixels Use of low-poly autos is a no-brainer Duringthe planning phase of any project it is fairly easy to determine what assets need

to be created and at the same time decide what density variations may be

581

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needed Vegetation, like trees, bushes, and grass, can really load down a scenewith polys HyperVoxels create great effects but at a high cost in rendering time.Distant trees can be created economically by mapping tree images on single-poly objects Grass seen at a distance can be a well-designed texture and add lit-tle to render time Occasionally, modelers get fixated on creating extremelycomplex geometry because they don’t know how much can be accomplishedwith creative surfacing You only have to look at game-craft models to under-stand that geometry is not everything Games use very Spartan geometry withreally great maps They are super-conscious of render economy because gameshave to render “on the fly.”

Tips like these, along with creative use of really good texturing, can meanthe difference between making a deadline and blowing a deadline

It can also mean the difference of landing that job and being snickered atbehind the scenes

Some of My Best Friends Are Nulls

by Jack “Deuce” Bennett

“What good is a null?” — Those words have haunted me ever since I first sawthem posted on a discussion forum What good is a null? That phrase is one way

of spotting someone who is new to 3D, or at least to 3D software Oh, the manyand varied uses that nulls have provided me in my many years of using

LightWave I’m still finding uses even now — but having the knowledge of usesmakes finding new ones even easier

First, let’s make sure we understand just what a null is The dictionarydefines a null thusly:

null adj.

1 Having no legal force; invalid: render a contract null and void.

2 Of no consequence, effect, or value; insignificant

3 Amounting to nothing; absent or nonexistent: a null result.

4 Mathematics Of or relating to a set having no members or to zero

magnitude

A null in LightWave is an object that possesses all the properties of a realobject with the exception of surface attributes It has size, rotation, and positioninformation but doesn’t render, cast shadows, or add to render time Simply put,it’s a placeholder in space But so very useful that little null can be

Back in the days of LightWave 5.6 and before (that makes me sound a lotolder than I am), we couldn’t keyframe individual motion channels So, what wedid was add a null, parent our camera, light, or object to that null, then keyframethe null for the separation I can remember some situations where I would havethe camera parented to six nulls to get smooth control over its movement I stilluse a null for situations like this — if you have to do a very smooth circularmovement, there is no easier way than to parent your camera, or whatever needs

to move this way, to a null at the center of where you want your circle

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Many surface attributes can use a null as a reference object How simple it is

to animate a moving texture — drop in a null, make it a reference, and animatethe null

Need to make sure you keep a certain part in the camera view? Add a null,select the camera, and under the motions options for the camera, make the null atarget Now, wherever the null is, your camera will look straight at it Lights are

a good use for this technique too — even eyes, guns on a ship, anything thatshould target a point in space

Rigging characters would be strange to accomplish without nulls Nulls arethe most common goal objects for IK chains, and using nulls with proxy pickmakes selecting parts of a complex rig very simple

Now, those are common uses — but let’s explore a little more and come upwith ideas you may or may not have thought of for the null

How about reference points? Ever needed to know how far something isfrom something else? There are plug-ins that allow for this — but being able to

take a measurement, and move that measure around I have found useful on more

than one occasion So, take two nulls, parent one to the other, and move onlyone on a single axis Since Layout will show you the coordinates for the second

null in its parent space, you will always know how far the second null is from its

parent Now you have a measuring tape that you can move around your scene Ihave also used a null just to mark a place in space I recently did a spaceshipdoing the classic “stretch to warp speed” and I didn’t want the back end of theship to move in and out as it stretched Just add a null at the position of the back

of the ship, and you have a reference as to how much the adjustments make theback end move

Being able to easily see certain parts of your scene, especially in the SceneEditor, is of paramount importance So what I do is use a null as my holder forall the parts of a scene that are part of the static set What I mean is everythingthat is part of the environment that does not move or interact with the main char-acters Parent all that to a single null named “SET” — and just by clicking onthe expand/contract widget in the Scene Editor, I can hide all that from view so I

am only looking at the parts that I need to see Very clean area to work in

Ever make a landscape that is just huge in terms of polygons and size? I

have used plug-ins that read the location of objects and save them to Modeler tocut down on that size Just add nulls “outside” the field of view of the camera,load those locations into Modeler, and “cut away” the geometry outside thoseareas You’ll reduce the load on your computer, and make it easier to movearound

One last thought — I use the Replace object with null command for ping objects out of a scene to be quickly replaced by updated geometry or forholding out parts of a scene for rendering in passes Also, nulls can be the “mas-ter position” for characters; make it the top of the character rig, and you canmove the character “already animated” around the set for tweaking location

drop-I hope this has at least opened your eyes to the null Maybe the next timeyou see or hear someone ask “What good is a null?” you can roll your eyes atthem too

Bonus Section | 583

Some of My Best Friends Are Nulls

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This section gives you some inside information and an idea of what notch Hollywood studios do to create those incredible effects we see or mightsometimes overlook because they are simply done so well

top-David Ebner, co-founder and digital effects supervisor of CaféFX, was

gra-cious enough to share information with us on three of his numerous films: Panic

Room, Spy Kids II, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Panic Room

Effects: Photogrammetry, full CGI shots, miscellaneous effect shots

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For the title sequence, we did most of the city backgrounds using filmedfootage mapped onto shapes in LightWave Some sections are full 3D and a fewshots are full 3D as well The Cineon images originated from 35mm film and65mm IMAX film stills These were brought into LightWave using the Tiff Floatformat to preserve the full dynamic range of the image A new background passwas rendered using the newly animated camera move.

The titles themselves were modeled in Modeler and textured in LightWave.The lighting is 80 percent lit with Radiosity with an Image World and the photo-grammetry models The settings on the Radiosity lighting had to be set very high

to yield a clean render We rendered this text element as a Tiff or HDR imagesequence to preserve the full range as well and so we can curve down overex-posed areas if needed The text models were also use to render shadow passesand reflected light passes onto the geography of the shots

Bonus Section | 585

CaféFX

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For the sequence at the end of the film with the bonds and leaves flyingaround, we started by matching the camera moves and matchmoving ForestWhitaker We used LightWave for this work as well, including making a model

of Forest for the matchmove LightWave’s bones were used for the setup andmatchmove process Once our 3D environment was ready, we used LightWave’sparticle animation system to blow the leaves around and blow the bonds up inthe air We used this technique to get most of the way there with the motions,and then hand-keyframed some leaves and specific areas of a motion if some-thing undesirable took place Extra rain was added in as well in some shots,which we also used the particle system for With rain we use several renderedcomponents and treatments in the composite to get a realistic look

Bonus Section | 587

CaféFX

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Dwight Yoakum’s head blowing apart was a LightWave effect shot that was

a lot of fun A LightWave modeled face was matchmoved and then torn apartand animated using morph targets and keyframing Globs of blood and facepieces were hand-animated as well The superfine mist of blood was not

LightWave but was created in the particle program of Digital Fusion Specialattention was taken during the surfacing and levels of color correction used inthe comp We created two versions: one for the film and one for the DVD Theless detailed version went in the film because it downplays the texture of therevealed underside of the skin and therefore is less disgusting

Tiêu đề	Lightwave 3D Troubleshooting
Tác giả	Kurtis Harris
Thể loại	Hướng dẫn

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Số trang	64
Dung lượng	3,44 MB