The SceneExaminer is not directly comparable with a classic Open Inventor viewer as it does not provide any GUI (no buttons, no popup menu) and fewer interactive features (no animation). However it does provide a touch event handler that allows manipulating a scene on a touch device. See parent class SceneInteractor for more details about the structure of the internal scene graph.

The SceneExaminer uses an instance of SoCameraInteractor in order to manipulate the camera in response to OpenInventor events.

Notes:

• Window system integration The SceneExaminer needs a component that integrates the Open Inventor 3D rendering window with the native window system. System dependent tasks include creating a window, placing the window in the application's user interface, initializing OpenGL and processing the native event/message loop. System independent support for this is provided by the SoRenderAreaCore class. Example components are provided for WPF.
• Event handling The SceneExaminer needs a component that builds OpenInventor events (SoEvent) from native system events. System independent support for this is provided by the SoEventBuilder class. Example component is provided for WPF, see WpfEventToSoEvent.
• Library A basic version of SceneExaminer is a supported part of the Open Inventor API and prebuilt library is provided.
• Source code The basic version of SceneExaminer is also provided as source code to allow applications to customize and build their own interactive tool class. See $OIVNETHOME/source/OIV.Inventor.Viewercomponents/Nodes/.
• Interaction Modes Similar to the classic Open Inventor viewer classes, SceneExaminer is either in Navigation mode (the default, similar to viewing mode) or Selection mode. The user must press the ESC key to toggle between interaction modes. (Of course this behavior can be modified or replaced by implementing an alternate version of SceneExaminer.) In navigation mode, Open Inventor events are automatically handled to modify the camera as defined in the Usage section below. Events that are defined in this section are not sent to the application scene graph, but all other events are sent to the application scene graph. Also specific viewing behaviors can be disabled as needed (see for example #ZoomEnabled). In selection mode, all events are sent to the application scene graph.
• Scene graph The application scene graph should be the last child of the SceneExaminer. The initial application scene graph can be added by simply calling the inherited method AddChild(). But note that if you need to replace the application scene graph, for example loading a new data set, do not call RemoveAllChildren(). That would also remove the SceneExaminer's camera, headlight and event handler nodes. Add an SoSeparator to the SceneExaminer to serve as the "scene graph holder", then add and remove the application scene graph from this node.
• Clip planes SceneExaminer automatically adjusts the 'near' and 'far' clipping planes when events modifying the camera are handled. This adjustment, based on the bounding box of the scene, ensures that shapes will not be clipped as the camera orbits and also that depth buffer precision is maximized. This adjustment is only done in InteractionMode NAVIGATION and can be disabled by setting the environment variable "OIV_SCENE_EXAMINER_AUTO_CLIPPING_PLANES" to false. Note: Updating clipping planes after a camera move can be not sufficient. If the scene graph is modified or if a dragger or a rendered shape is moved, they can disappear or become partially clipped. A classic implementation of a render area must adjust clipping planes before each rendering by calling the provided method #AdjustClippingPlanes. See render area's implementations available in $OIVNETHOME/source/OIV.Inventor.Viewercomponents.Wpf folder for examples of AdjustClippingPlanes use.
• Compatibility Please note that some interaction behaviors are different than the classic Open Inventor viewer classes (e.g. SoWinExaminerViewer) :
  • In Orbit mode: Left Mouse + Shift: does : Zoom in/out.
  • In Plane mode: Left Mouse + Middle Mouse or Left Mouse + Shift: does : Roll the scene.
  • Mouse wheel in both modes performs a dolly relative to the cursor position, not the center of the viewport.
  • The classic Alt key behavior is not implemented. This key is reserved for application use.
  • The Right Mouse button does not display a popup menu. This button is reserved for application use.

Usage:

Orbit mode with a mouse:

• Left Mouse: Rotate the scene or seek to point if seek mode is activated.
• Middle Mouse or Left Mouse + Ctrl: Pan the scene.
• Left Mouse + Middle Mouse or Middle Mouse + Ctrl or Left Mouse + Shift: Zoom in/out.
• Mouse Wheel: Zoom in/out the scene (zoom center is the mouse cursor location).
• Escape key: Switch between viewing mode and selection mode.
• S key: Activate/Deactivate seek mode.

Orbit mode with a touchscreen:

• 1 finger: Rotate the scene.
• 2 fingers: Rotate the scene on the screen plan, zoom in/out and pan (rotation and zoom center are located between the two fingers).
• Double tap: Seek to the point located by the finger.
• Long tap: Enable/Disable selection mode.

Plane mode with a mouse:

• Left Mouse: Zoom in/out or seek to point if seek mode is activated.
• Middle Mouse: Pan the scene.
• Left Mouse + Ctrl or Middle Mouse + Ctrl: Roll the scene.
• Left Mouse + Ctrl + Shift or Left Mouse + Middle Mouse: Zoom in/out the scene.
• Mouse Wheel: Zoom in/out the scene (zoom center is the mouse cursor location).
• Escape key: Switch between viewing mode and selection mode.
• S key: Activate/Deactivate seek mode.

Plane mode with a touchscreen:

• 1 finger: Pan the scene.
• 2 fingers: Rotate the scene on the screen plan, zoom in/out and pan (rotation and zoom center are located between the two fingers).
• Double tap: Seek to the point located by the finger.
• Long tap: Enable/Disable selection mode.

Reference