Clip in VR further from face

[m-schmid@…]

When moving around inside tomograms with surface display it would help to clip everything within 18 inches. That way by just head movement it is easy to get a good view inside crowded regions. Currently the near clip distance in VR is set to 10 cm (4 inches), too close to focus. Would be nice to have a to set this vr near clip distance.

I tested this, simply requires changing the _z_near VR camera parameter from 0.1 to 0.5. Worked fine, but also clips the cones and user interface which is a bit annoying. Maybe the task would be better handled by per-model clipping with the per-model clip plane adjusted by the VR wand. We don't have per-model clipping but I tried this with a whole scene clip plane and it works nicely after turning of surface cap display which is too slow (command "surface cap false") for VR.

[Tom Goddard]

I added vr command options nearClipDistance and farClipDistance (meters) to let you control vr clipping, for example,

vr on near 0.5

Also you can change the value while VR is running

vr near 1.0 far 2.0

The default near/far values are 0.1 and 500. Currently there is no preference setting to remember a different near/far value.

[m-schmid@…]

Hi-
Thanks! I found the line in vr.py, and changed it, but I didn't have admin privileges to replace it, and my knowledge of permissions in Windows is rudimentary at best, even changing the current disk is a challenge.... 
I will get the current build of ChimeraX and play with the near clipping.
MIke

On 6/15/20, 11:22 AM, "ChimeraX" <ChimeraX-bugs-admin@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:

    #3361: Clip in VR further from face
    ----------------------------------+-------------------------
              Reporter:  m-schmid@…   |      Owner:  Tom Goddard
                  Type:  enhancement  |     Status:  closed
              Priority:  moderate     |  Milestone:
             Component:  VR           |    Version:
            Resolution:  fixed        |   Keywords:
            Blocked By:               |   Blocking:
    Notify when closed:               |   Platform:  all
               Project:  ChimeraX     |
    ----------------------------------+-------------------------
    Changes (by Tom Goddard):
    
     * cc: Elaine Meng (added)
     * status:  assigned => closed
     * resolution:   => fixed
    
    
    Comment:
    
     I added vr command options nearClipDistance and farClipDistance (meters)
     to let you control vr clipping, for example,
    
       vr on near 0.5
    
     Also you can change the value while VR is running
    
       vr near 1.0 far 2.0
    
     The default near/far values are 0.1 and 500.  Currently there is no
     preference setting to remember a different near/far value.
    
    --
    Ticket URL: <https://plato.cgl.ucsf.edu/trac/ChimeraX/ticket/3361#comment:1>
    ChimeraX <http://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/>
    ChimeraX Issue Tracker
    

[goddard@…]

The vr command near/far options will be in tonight's ChimeraX builds.

[m-schmid@…]

Xlnt!

On 6/15/20, 11:32 AM, "ChimeraX" <ChimeraX-bugs-admin@cgl.ucsf.edu> wrote:

    #3361: Clip in VR further from face
    ----------------------------------+-------------------------
              Reporter:  m-schmid@…   |      Owner:  Tom Goddard
                  Type:  enhancement  |     Status:  closed
              Priority:  moderate     |  Milestone:
             Component:  VR           |    Version:
            Resolution:  fixed        |   Keywords:
            Blocked By:               |   Blocking:
    Notify when closed:               |   Platform:  all
               Project:  ChimeraX     |
    ----------------------------------+-------------------------
    
    Comment (by goddard@…):
    
     {{{
     The vr command near/far options will be in tonight's ChimeraX builds.
    
     }}}
    
    --
    Ticket URL: <https://plato.cgl.ucsf.edu/trac/ChimeraX/ticket/3361#comment:3>
    ChimeraX <http://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/>
    ChimeraX Issue Tracker