10.8. Extended Selection

SoBase SoBase SoBase
- SoFieldContainer SoFieldContainer SoFieldContainer
  - SoNode SoNode SoNode
    SoGroup
    SoSeparator
    SoSelection
    SoExtSelection

Figure 10.8. Extended selection node class

An SoExtSelection SoExtSelection SoExtSelection node, like the node SoSelection SoSelection SoSelection it is derived from, is typically inserted near the top of the scene graph. It offers the same picking capabilities as the SoSelection SoSelection SoSelection node (see the section called “SoSelection”, pp. 260-261 of The Inventor Mentor) but also extends these capabilities by allowing the user to select several objects at the same time. When a left mouse button press occurs, a lasso is displayed and the shape of the lasso follows the mouse motion; as soon as the mouse button is released, all shapes surrounded by the lasso are selected and the lasso is erased. The SoExtSelection SoExtSelection SoExtSelection node maintains the paths of selected shapes the same way as SoSelection SoSelection SoSelection .

Lasso Representation

Different shapes are available to represent the lasso:

SoExtSelection::NO_LASSO : No lasso is drawn and the behavior is the same as for SoSelection SoSelection SoSelection .
SoExtSelection::LASSO: A series of connected lines is drawn following the mouse motion. When the mouse button is released, the first point and the last point of this set of lines are connected forming a polygon.
SoExtSelection::RECTANGLE: A rectangle is drawn following the mouse motion as a rubberband.

Example 10.9. Retrieving details on point shapes

SoExtSelection *extSelection = new SoSelection;
extSelection->setPointFilterCallback(soExtSelectionPointCB);
...
extSelection->addChild(new SoPointSet);
...
...
SbBool soExtSelectionPointCB(void *userData,
                            SoCallbackAction *action,
                            const SoPrimitiveVertex *v)
{
    const SoDetail *detail = v->getDetail();  
    int coordIndex= ((SoPointDetail*)detail)->getCoordinateIndex();  
    ...
    // Specific treatment for point coordIndex of the selected  
    // SoPointSet shape.  
    ...  
    return FALSE;     // Continue examining next primitives. 
}

SoExtSelection extSelection = new SoExtSelection();
extSelection.PointFilterCallback = new SoExtSelection.PointCB(soExtSelectionPointCB);
//...
extSelection.AddChild(new SoPointSet());
//...
bool soExtSelectionPointCB(SoCallbackAction action, ref SoPrimitiveVertex v)
{
  SoDetail detail = v.Detail;
  int	coordIndex = ((SoPointDetail) detail).GetCoordinateIndex();
  ...
  // Specific treatment for point coordIndex of the selected  
  // SoPointSet shape.  
  ...  
  return false;  // Continue examining next primitives
}

Example 10.10. How to use SoExtSelection

Rectangle representation for the lasso

The following example is extracted from the file:

$OIVHOME/src/Inventor/examples/Features/

ExtSelection/extSelection.cxx.

int
main(int argc, char **argv)
{
 ...
 // Creation and initialization of
 // the lasso as the root of the
 // scene graph.
 // The selection policy is
 // SINGLE, the shape of the lasso
 // is a rectangle and the color
 // of the lasso is green
 root = new SoExtSelection;
 root->ref();
 root->setLassoColor(SbColor (0, 1, 0));
 root->policy = SoSelection::SINGLE;
 root->lassoType = SoExtSelection::RECTANGLE;
 ...
 // Building the scene graph with children under
 // the SoExSelection node.
 ...
 viewer = new SoXtExaminerViewer(myWindow);
 viewer->setSceneGraph(root);
 
 // Selected objects are highlighted with a surrounded bounding box.
 viewer->setGLRenderAction (new SoBoxHighlightRenderAction());
 
 viewer->redrawOnSelectionChange(root);
 viewer->setTitle("Selection Test");
 viewer->show();
 
 SoXt::show(myWindow);
 SoXt::mainLoop();
 return 0;
}

// Creation and initialization of
// the lasso as the root of the
// scene graph.
// The selection policy is
// SINGLE, the shape of the lasso
// is a lasso and the color
// of the lasso is red	
root = new SoExtSelection();
...
root.SetLassoColor(new SbColor(1, 0, 0));
root.policy.Value = SoSelection.Policies.SINGLE;
root.lassoPolicy.Value = SoExtSelection.LassoPolicies.PART;  
root.lassoType.Value = SoExtSelection.LassoTypes.LASSO;
...
viewer = new SoWinExaminerViewer(this, "", true, 
	                             SoWinFullViewer.BuildFlags.BUILD_ALL, 
		                         SoWinViewer.Types.BROWSER);
viewer.SetSceneGraph(root);
// Selected objects are highlighted with a surrounded bounding box.
viewer.SetGLRenderAction(new SoBoxHighlightRenderAction());

viewer.RedrawOnSelectionChange(root);
viewer.SetTitle("Selection Test");

viewer.Show();
viewer.ViewAll();

// Creation and initialization of
// the lasso as the root of the
// scene graph.
// The selection policy is
// SINGLE, the shape of the lasso
// is a lasso and the color
// of the lasso is red	
selectionRoot = new SoExtSelection();
selectionRoot.useOverlay(true);
selectionRoot.setLassoWidth (2);
selectionRoot.setLassoColor (new SbColor (0, 1, 0));
//    selectionRoot.setOverlayLassoPattern ((short)0xE0E0);
//    selectionRoot.animateOverlayLasso (true);
selectionRoot.policy.setValue(SoSelection.Policies.SINGLE);
selectionRoot.lassoType.setValue(SoExtSelection.LassoTypes.NOLASSO);
selectionRoot.lassoPolicy.setValue(SoExtSelection.LassoPolicies.PART);

// Add an event callback so we can receive key press events
SoEventCallback myEventCB = new SoEventCallback();
myEventCB.addEventCallback("com.openinventor.inventor.events.SoKeyboardEvent",
			   new MyKeyPressCB(), selectionRoot);

...
// Building the scene graph with children under
// the SoExSelection node.
...

// Create a viewer for viewing the scene
SwSimpleViewer myViewer = new SwSimpleViewer(SwSimpleViewer.EXAMINER) ;
myViewer.getArea().setGLRenderAction(new SoBoxHighlightRenderAction());
myViewer.getArea().redrawOnSelectionChange(selectionRoot);
myViewer.getArea().setSceneGraph(selectionRoot);

panel.add(myViewer);
add(panel);

The fast edit mode allows using the fast edit features from the SoSeparator SoSeparator SoSeparator node. It enables Open Inventor to cache the frame buffer and the depth buffer in order to edit a sub scene-graph without re-rendering the full scene graph. Saving the buffers and restoring them instead of re-rendering the scene graph is very efficient for large scenes that may be difficult to render at interactive frame rates. This mode is used in the SoExtSelection SoExtSelection SoExtSelection node in order to perform fast animation for the lasso and optionally fast rendering of a custom scene graph.

Enable or disable this feature by using the method useFastEdit(). By default this feature is disabled.

Another advantage of this mode is that it does not require high-end hardware features like overlay planes to render selection graphics at interactive rates. Also, unlike the default mode, it does not require GDI functions (which breaks Aero on Microsoft Windows Vista).

Note: See the section called “Fast Editing” for more information about fast editing.