The M3DCNT program can create a 3D view of a 3D NMR spectrum. The screen is divided into four areas. The upper left area contains the 3D box, and the other three windows contain a plane in each of the three dimensions.
The program draws graphics using the GL interface. This currently only works on the Silicon Graphics machines.
The program is started without any parameters:
<Machine ID>m3dcnt
The program will prompt you for the name of the spectrum to contour, the ppm ranges in the three dimensions, and the contour level. The program can currently only contour one spectrum, at one contour level.
The display is divided into four areas:
| 3D view | 2D: Dimension 0 |
| 2D: Dimension 2 | 2D: Dimension 1 |
The meaning of: 2D: Dimension 2 is: The contours for values of a fixed index dimension 2, i.e. a plane in the slowest dimension.
The axes are identified using a color code:
Dimension 0: Cyan
Dimension 1: Yellow
Dimension 2: Magenta
The mouse can be used to manipulate the 3D display. The action of moving the mouse inside the 3D display window depends upon which mousebuttons have been pressed simultaneously:
| Left | Middle | Right | Action: |
|---|---|---|---|
| + | Rotate in X-Y plane. | ||
| + | + | Rotate in Z plane. | |
| + | Translate in X-Y plane. | ||
| + | + | Translate in Z plane. Use this to move the drawing inside the clipping planes. | |
| + | + | Scale. |
The following keys can be used:
| ESC | Terminates the program. |
| r | Resets the view. |
The cursor keys can be used to rotate 45 degrees around the x or y axes.
Holding the left mousebutton down while moving the mouse vertically lets you step between the different planes.
The right mousebutton toggles a "cursor" in the 3D display: If the cursor in toggled on in one of the 2D displays, then the plane in this window will be drawn in the 3D display using thick lines. However, stepping between the planes in a 2D display will be slowed down when the "cursor" is enabled, as the program now must redisplay the 3D view each time a new plane is selected in the 2D display.
The program can be terminated using the ESC key in any of the windows.
The window manager can be used to manipulate the sizes of the windows. The following actions are normally set by default:
| Alt-F1 | Raise the window. |
| Alt-F3 | Lower the window. |
| Alt-F7 | Move the window. |
| Alt-F8 | Resize the window. |
| Alt-F9 | Iconify the window. |
| Alt-F10 | Set the window size to the size of the screen. |
| Alt-F5 | Restore the size of the window after Alt-F10. |