VMD-L Mailing List

From: Axel Kohlmeyer (akohlmey_at_cmm.chem.upenn.edu)
Date: Tue Sep 02 2008 - 14:10:19 CDT

On Tue, 2 Sep 2008, markus mooslechner wrote:

MM> hi everyone!

hi markus,

MM> i am fairly new to vmd - and (now i am outing myself as an artist with no
MM> scientific academic background) i have a little trouble with some
MM> teeny-weeny newbie issues:
MM>
MM> 1) i do not really get vmd to render stuff. whenever i hit eg "vrml" or
MM> "pov3" i get the following errors:
MM> /info> executing post-renderer cmd 'true' ....
MM> /and then:/ "true" not found or misspelled/ (i translated the line) // do i

this is more a windows vs. linux/unix issue, but actually not a real
problem. the input file for the renderer should be written anyways,
only the rendering is not done, but that is usually done better
independently anyways.

MM> perhaps have to install something in order to be able to render to vrml?/
MM> /with povray i get the same error - substituting "true" with "povray" // i
MM> figure that vmd needs a path input for povray? where would that be done?

please note that in almost any case, the GUI in VMD is just a frontend
for the various script commands and thus rendering with external
programs is always done in two steps. 1) writing the input file for
the external renderer (see the "render" command in the VMD tcl script
interface) and 2) actually calling the rendered. this is what is done
through calling the command string in the second entry of the render
dialog window. you can change that text to your local need. what VMD
inserts there is just a default guess (and probably wrong on windows).

MM> 2) i would like to render my vmd stuff either in finalrender-stage2 or
MM> cinema4d. what would be the right output-format from vmd?

again, please see the render command discription in the VMD users
guide for a list of supported file format. please note, that not
for everything you see on the screen there is yet a proper equivalent
output in the various render formats. the best supported format is
the one for john's tachyon renderer. renderman and povray are also
pretty complete.

cheers,
   axel.

MM>
MM> thank you for reading and helping :)
MM> regards,
MM> markus
MM>
MM> www.humanchaos.net
MM>
MM> 

-- 
=======================================================================
Axel Kohlmeyer   akohlmey_at_cmm.chem.upenn.edu   http://www.cmm.upenn.edu
   Center for Molecular Modeling   --   University of Pennsylvania
Department of Chemistry, 231 S.34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6323
tel: 1-215-898-1582,  fax: 1-215-573-6233,  office-tel: 1-215-898-5425
=======================================================================
If you make something idiot-proof, the universe creates a better idiot.